The Muslim dated September 22, 1997
Author: Syed Shams ud
Din
In short, the
people of these areas were, in one way or the other, undergoing enormous stress
and strains resulting from the incessant taxation vis-Ã -vis the economic
doldrums they were always in. In the rest of the agency, no development
whatsoever, was ever underway except a water channel the construction of which
would at the most, be undertaken with hundred per cent participation of the
public or construction of a track in the same manner.
The arrival
of a government official to a village those days would be heralded with the
beating of the drums signifying a ‘specific emergency’. It is noteworthy that
the musicians here are apt in these specific tunes from times immemorial. These
are halved into those of war and peace, etc. This practice seems to be rife
here from olden times, where beating of the drum by the village musicians on a
specific tune would abruptly call the village folk to gather at once signifying
prompt united action. Evpreas undernnual repairing of the village water channel
and maintenance of the tracks, such a drum-beating would precede.
The works
thus jointly to be undertaken were calle ‘halshari’ - connoting intra-mural
undertakings, by the people of Bagrote valley. Induction into civil services
those days was something quite inconceivable because of the rampant illiteracy
and also due to a scant administrative setup of the agency. The only service
that was all along available was to get inducted into the ‘scouts’ - the
paramilitary establishment of the areas. These accounts had a bearing on the
customs and conditions prevalent only three decades ago when the writer was in
his teens and was schooling.
These strange
customs and traditions of the ancient times preceding the proselytisation of
the people here to Islam remained deeply ingrained despite passage of
considerable time necessitating a metamorphosis and despite stiff resistance by
the clergy terming them as anti-Islamic activities being mere vestiges of
Hinduism. However, these customs have now steadily died down, due obviously to
the constant admonitions of the clergy.
In the olden
days, there used to be a common sitting place called ‘beyak’. This circular
place in the midst of the village houses served also as a centre-place where people would frequently converge
especially at the noon when work on fields could be halted. Its feasibility
among other things referred to above, would be determined by the immense
shaddiness under the ‘chenar’ or walnut trees, preferably the former. A cluster
of such trees surrounded this place. There used to be a carefully raised
pavement of considerable breadth around this place. The entire village folk
save women, could throng around this circular place on every special occasion –
be that a festival or any other day of special gathering.
The chief
characteristic of this place was ordinarily the gatherings of the elders to
resolve disputes of intra or inter village significance. On the other occasions,
it used to be the centre place for having a chat on leisure hours when people
would be back from the petty agrarian works. The ‘beyaks’ of Taisote and
Bilchar in Lower Bagrote attach great significance in the above context while
those of Farfoo and Bulchi villages in Upper Bagrote too, were famous. The
centuries old historic ‘chenar’ tree skirting the ‘bayak’ at village Sinakir is
worth seeing. What had been rife here in Gilgit area included numerous customs.
The
harvesting season followed by grinding of wheat in such quantities that could
cater to the entire requirements of the whole season at a stretch. However,
there used to be an exception for odd quantities to be rarely brought to the
mill to cope with any deficiency resulting from under-grinding of the ‘deshaki’
– as the grinding process was named. The grinding of this huge quantity of corn
was done at once in a day or two, before the onset of the winter.
This process
also necessitated early accomplishment at places lying at high altitudes where
the streams would freeze shortly with the advent of winter that could hamper
the grinding process. The flour thus ground was being stored in big wooden
containers specifically made for the purpose to be called ‘taon’ while at
certain places, the corn too, was kept in these unlike other who make these
containers of either birch or willow twigs which would be commissioned atop the
houses duly plaster, to avoid seepage of rain water.
The festival
common to these people was that falling in the middle of November every year
when every household would kill specially bred goat, sheep or bullock. This
killing was called ‘noos’ while that killed was named ‘nasaloo’. The animal
would be bred at least for a couple of months by giving it grain once a day in
addition to the fodder ordinarily to be provided. It is noteworthy that giving
grain daily here was then called ‘baspoor’.
During the
halcyon days, this festivity was celebrated with great fanfare and jubilation
befitting the occasion while these days, it meaninglessly survives in the
adjoining areas as the fervor seems to
have altogether died down.
Urbanisation
has taken place in Gilgit town and its immediate outskirts where animals are
butchered daily to ensure daily supply of meat hence the people living here
have done away with the traditional ‘nasalo’ except a very few still sticking
to it nominally. Nominal in the sense that these are now-a-days not solemnized
with much aplomb except those in Hunza where the festival ‘ghanooni’ -
connoting heralding harvesting season is
celebrated with all traditional fervor. Not only this but that
‘Naoroze’ - the advent of the new years
too, is being celebrated in the erstwhile gleeful manner.
Another
peculiarity pertaining to ‘nasalo’ would be the process of filling of its
stomach with spiced meat then a rough intestinal stitching was carried out.
This stuff was then put into the big cooking pot called ‘balosh’ and heated.
Once boiled along with the head of the animal, the same would be kept hanging
in the olden store called ‘dambor’ for quite a long period. It only redounded
to the credit of a very few to preserve this stuff until the next ‘noos’ of
which the people would boastfully bring out these parts for cooking. Honourable
guests would be invited for the meal which was greatly commended as a very
delicious meal.
This however,
happened in the case of parts of ‘nasalo’ too. The affluent who could manage
numerous ‘nasalos’ would be in a position to preserve the same until the next
year for similar a feasting. It had long been customary with the people of the
entire Northern Areas to keep butter buried on the ground. The process
commences with a neat kneading of the butter preceding its being wrapped with
birch bark - which is known traditionally for its
undecaying ingredients.
Once the
burial takes place, the butter is kept years on. It is on record here that the
affluent would keep hundreds of kilos of butter buried thus. The longer it
remains buried, the more pungently fragrant it becomes.
During the
ancient times, the old butter say not less of five years was brought out during
ceremonies, marriages and the like. The animals slaughtered for such
festivities were simply boiled and boiled for long times and then the pungently
fragrant butter was put into it munificently.
The people accustomed
to it would always praise such a butter which would cause inflammation to the
throat for having been buried for longer periods. The people then were not used
to any kind of spicing their meals. It was in vogue to boil vegetables without
resorting to the present adulterative methods, and the cooking was quite
stupendously wholesome being free of all pernicious effects. Whenever need was
felt for oiling the food, a lump of fat extracted especially from the ‘nasalo’
would be mixed with the food being cooked or the vegetable boiled.
There also
used to be abundance of indigenous oil extracted from walnut, almond and mostly
that of the apricot kernel, which were being used instead of the present
variety of cooking oils. The people would always remain contented with whatever
they would get from their own farms, or orchards.
It was
perhaps, this very simple living and the use of simple diet that the folk would
be unimaginably healthy. There were many athletes in the past known for their
power of muscle. Nouveau riche and parvenus of the day were non-existent in the
earlier times nor were there other diabolical activities of the present era
rife in those days. This is perhaps because of the fact that materialism with
all its horrific effects, had not yet made inroads into that society. Despite
socio-ethnological stratification that was underway, there would hardly be any
nuisance as to rip as under the fragile membranes of the society as is well
imminent these days. Nor was there any other obnoxious ‘ism’ to create societal
rift detrimental to the homogenized whole in existence.
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