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A Mountain Oasis
Daily Life in a Village in the Yasin Valley, Pakistan
Series: - Iran and the Caucasus Monographs, Volume: 2
Author:
In A Mountain Oasis, Susan York presents a richly illustrated socio-economic study of village life in Pakistans Yasin Valley, undertaken during one year spent living with a local family. It documents this dynamic agro-pastoral society at a time when few researchers were recording developments in these far-flung and difficult to reach mountain oases of the Hindukush. It is a record of a time when development interventions were in their beginnings, and before this area in Gilgit-Baltistan entered a crucial period of transformation. It provides solid comparative reference material for future research on this region, which is continuing to undergo challenging and complex changes.
Susan York is a social anthropologist, researcher and teacher with degrees in social anthropology, humanities and psychology. She has carried out research on mountain communities in Pakistan, Afghan refugees in Pakistan and food emergencies in Sudan.
"The book fills a significant gap in the modern knowledge of Gilgit-Baltistan, bringing a peripheral area into the limelight of global academia. Unfortunately, the region is still outside the mainstream of Pakistans publishing industry. Even the infrastructure of knowledge has its peripheries" - Aziz Ali Dad, in: The News On Sunday, June 16, 2024
"As a woman, the author had the chance to look closer into the female side of household life, which is mostly closed to male visitors or researchers. Thus, female activities dominate to some extent the discourse and are more specific. Studies by male authors will display the opposite imbalance...With her book, the author adds a valuable contribution to the set of publications now available that discuss aspects of life, nature and their change in this previously remote, mountainous area of Northern Pakistan." - Georg Stöber, Georg-Eckert-Institut für internationale Schulbuchforschu, in: Erdkunde 73, no. 3 (2024)
"In her brilliantly written monograph, York documents the daily activities in Barkulti in the years between 1982 and 1983. She provides extensive accounts of social and economic life, the subsistence economy, and its essential component of interdependence and cooperation." - Fizza Batool, University of Augsburg, in: HIMALAYA 43, no. 2 (2024)
"As a woman, the author had the chance to look closer into the female side of household life, which is mostly closed to male visitors or researchers. Thus, female activities dominate to some extent the discourse and are more specific. Studies by male authors will display the opposite imbalance...With her book, the author adds a valuable contribution to the set of publications now available that discuss aspects of life, nature and their change in this previously remote, mountainous area of Northern Pakistan." - Georg Stöber, Georg-Eckert-Institut für internationale Schulbuchforschu, in: Erdkunde 73, no. 3 (2024)
"In her brilliantly written monograph, York documents the daily activities in Barkulti in the years between 1982 and 1983. She provides extensive accounts of social and economic life, the subsistence economy, and its essential component of interdependence and cooperation." - Fizza Batool, University of Augsburg, in: HIMALAYA 43, no. 2 (2024)
Foreword
Prologue and Acknowledgements
List of Maps, Figures and Graphs
List of Photographs
List of Tableslii
1 The Valley and the Village Economy
âBackground
âA Household-focused Mountain Economy
âVillage Housing Layout
âClans
2 The House and Its Uses
âThe Main Room ha
âA Multi-Purpose Space
âConstructing a House
3 The Seasons: Spring and Summer
âSpring (gar)
âSpring Celebrations (Bo)
âSummer (in)
4 The Seasons: Autumn and Winter
âAutumn (dat)
âWinter (bi)
5 Daily Life in a Large Household
âFirst Task of the Day Light the Fire
âMaking the Breakfast Bread for gunca i
âThe Rest of the Household Awakens
âAfter Breakfast
âMid-morning: Time for Tea akal i
âMid-day: More Bread and Tea doi pqo
âAfternoon Tea: pin i
âEvening Bread: ama pqo
6 A High Pasture Settlement
âEstablishing a High Pasture Settlement
âLeaving for the High Pastures
âDaily Life in a High Pasture Settlement Makuli âMakuli High Pasture Settlement Shelters in 1982
âVisitors to the High Pastures
âClear Air, Clean Water and Plentiful Food
7 Food: Daily and Celebratory
âBread and Tea The Daily Diet
âThe Evening Meal
âSeasonally Available Foods
âBread (pqo) A Staple and Celebratory Food
âMilk (mam) Products
âHot and Cold Foods
âFood for Celebrations
8 Making and Decorating: Craft Activities
âSpinning and Weaving
âKnitting
âBasket Making
âEmbroidery
âTailoring
âShoe Making
âWood Carving
âOther Craft Activities
9 The Household: Who Lives in the House?
âForming a Household and Changes in Household Size
âHouseholds and Changes over Time
âWhy Did Households Divide?
âDeveloping Trends
10 Relationships within the Household
âAge
âChildren
âAdulthood
âInterpersonal Status
11 Beyond the Household
âPerspectives on Co-operation
âRelationships between Members of the deh
âGrambu-level Interactions
âInter-household and Interpersonal Relationships beyond the Household, deh and grambu
Epilogue
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Prologue and Acknowledgements
List of Maps, Figures and Graphs
List of Photographs
List of Tableslii
1 The Valley and the Village Economy
âBackground
âA Household-focused Mountain Economy
âVillage Housing Layout
âClans
2 The House and Its Uses
âThe Main Room ha
âA Multi-Purpose Space
âConstructing a House
3 The Seasons: Spring and Summer
âSpring (gar)
âSpring Celebrations (Bo)
âSummer (in)
4 The Seasons: Autumn and Winter
âAutumn (dat)
âWinter (bi)
5 Daily Life in a Large Household
âFirst Task of the Day Light the Fire
âMaking the Breakfast Bread for gunca i
âThe Rest of the Household Awakens
âAfter Breakfast
âMid-morning: Time for Tea akal i
âMid-day: More Bread and Tea doi pqo
âAfternoon Tea: pin i
âEvening Bread: ama pqo
6 A High Pasture Settlement
âEstablishing a High Pasture Settlement
âLeaving for the High Pastures
âDaily Life in a High Pasture Settlement Makuli âMakuli High Pasture Settlement Shelters in 1982
âVisitors to the High Pastures
âClear Air, Clean Water and Plentiful Food
7 Food: Daily and Celebratory
âBread and Tea The Daily Diet
âThe Evening Meal
âSeasonally Available Foods
âBread (pqo) A Staple and Celebratory Food
âMilk (mam) Products
âHot and Cold Foods
âFood for Celebrations
8 Making and Decorating: Craft Activities
âSpinning and Weaving
âKnitting
âBasket Making
âEmbroidery
âTailoring
âShoe Making
âWood Carving
âOther Craft Activities
9 The Household: Who Lives in the House?
âForming a Household and Changes in Household Size
âHouseholds and Changes over Time
âWhy Did Households Divide?
âDeveloping Trends
10 Relationships within the Household
âAge
âChildren
âAdulthood
âInterpersonal Status
11 Beyond the Household
âPerspectives on Co-operation
âRelationships between Members of the deh
âGrambu-level Interactions
âInter-household and Interpersonal Relationships beyond the Household, deh and grambu
Epilogue
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
University libraries and departments, institutes, scholars and students, general readers and travellers, with an interest in: Pakistan, Hindukush/Karakoram region, Gilgit-Baltistan, mountain economies and societies, agro-pastoral societies, high mountain pastoralism, household nutrition, traditional crafts.