During a
recent visit to the State of Azad Jammu & Kashmir for a workshop, had
witnessed the beautiful terrain all the way to Muzaffarabad.
On my way happened
to witness the Bakarwal community.
I asked about them from the colleague of
mine who is a resident of AJK. He told me that Bakarwals are nomadic shepherds
who roam around the lower part of the Himalayan Mountain region of the Azad
Jammu and Kashmir, in search of pastures for their livestock.
Their
language is known as Parimu or Hindki being quite different from the Kashmiri and
other Dogri languages.
The people
are generous in nature. Sometimes they have hundreds of sheep’s in their herd
which are protected by Bakharwal Dogs, an ancient working breed of dog found in these areas though there is a rapid decline of
this species and it is at a verge of extinction. They also have beautiful horses which carry their basic stuff which is used for making tent and living a nomadic life.
Documenting Bakarwal Indigenous Knowledge:
They have
excellent knowledge of the indigenous plants that grow within the lower region
of Himalayan Mountain range. They used to trade natural herbs/shrubs in return
of food.
As these
people are nomadic and fast disappearing due to unprecedented climatic changes within
the region. It is imperative that their knowledge of the plants/herbs/shrubs is
documented along with their way of life.
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