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Gilgit Baltistan-Culture Thread

WAJsal

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I think this was a brilliant idea shared by @Talwar e Pakistan , and @saiyan0321 . I will look to merge all threads under this one and keep updating it, thanks all...
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Inside View Of A Pamiri House
Inside-the-Pamir-House-4.jpg


The Pamiri house is a single large room, with compartments and elevated portions used for different purposes and occasions. The exquisitely and colorfully decorated house, with carpeted walls, are a delight for the eyes. Elements of faith have been embedded in the architecture, structure, of the house; the five pillars denote the Panjutan (five members of the prophet’s (PBUH) family. There are many similarities in the houses built in different parts of the Giglit-Baltistan and Chitral regions, and the ones in Badakhshan region of Tajikistan, shown in the photographs below. A very prominent feature of the Pamiri houses is the central roof-opening, used for ventilation and letting the light in.

Inside-the-Pamir-House-5.jpg


The entrance/exit
Inside-the-Pamir-House-7.jpg

The sitting area
Inside-the-Pamir-House-3.jpg

Different compartments inside the house
Inside-the-Pamir-House-9.jpg


Different utensils and photographs depicting the region’s history at display


Inside-the-Pamir-House-11.jpg


Handicrafts
Inside-the-Pamir-House-10.jpg

A man dressed in the traditional winter Pamiri attire

Inside-the-Pamir-House-1.jpg

Exterior view of the house that is also being used a museum

Inside views of a Pamiri House | PAMIR TIMES | Voices of the Mountain Communities
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This is what almost all houses in Gilgit look like, the roof is exactly the same. Go in Hunza, Ghizer, this is just so refreshing to see, so homely for me. The designing on the walls is usually the same and they have a hole in the roof, as they install a, 'chula', or you can say a heater. Good to see, thought i'd share.
@Mr.Meap ,@Slav Defence ,@HRK ,@unleashed ,@PARIKRAMA ,@Levina ,@krash ,@Color_Less_Sky ,@Ammara Chaudhry ,@Zibago ,@Daneshmand ,@Gufi ,@Shah01 ,@The Eagle ,@anant_s ......
 
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@WAJsal a rare beauty to see... nice share.... would love to visit once had a chance... a beauty rich with culture indeed....
Amazing stuff. Don't even want to imagine how much work would've gone into building that...
It has it's own history, you will see it everywhere, be it Gilgit city, Hunza or as far away as Ghizer, Phundar, etc, etc. It's just a beautiful culture and custom, the clothing and jewelry too. Even in modern houses, the roofs are the same. People design all sorts of great textures on the wooden walls. I do have some images, but i am doing crazy things(posing with an old rifle my uncle owns, lol). I would have posted it, if had a better image. lol.
 
It has it's own history, you will see it everywhere, be it Gilgit city, Hunza or as far away as Ghizer, Phundar, etc, etc. It's just a beautiful culture and custom, the clothing and jewelry too. Even in modern houses, the roofs are the same. People design all sorts of great textures on the wooden walls. I do have some images, but i am doing crazy things(posing with an old rifle my uncle owns, lol). I would have posted it, if had a better image. lol.

unedited is always better to share..... :D.... I found bit of same culture & interior once i was in Kaghan and on route to further area.... a long time ago but still like a memory to remember....
 
Looks great but i guess a heavy dose of housekeeping is required to keep the houses neat and clean.

Reminds me of my days in Sopore.
 
this pic is portraying so beautifully the inside of the house specially the roof .... btw these wall carpets are handcrafted (if I am not mistaken) ....
Yes they are, some make a honest living out of it, though it is done by people themselves, they build everything themselves. We have a better designed roof, walls and pillars; i am making a crazy pose, if i had a better image would have posted it. And i am wearing an Almond necklace, not kidding.
unedited is always better to share..... :D.... I found bit of same culture & interior once i was in Kaghan and on route to further area.... a long time ago but still like a memory to remember....
You might even see it in Chitral, fascinating isn't it?
 
So colorful and amazingly beautiful. Look at the architect. Awesome!
 
Inside-the-Pamir-House-4.jpg


The Pamiri house is a single large room, with compartments and elevated portions used for different purposes and occasions. The exquisitely and colorfully decorated house, with carpeted walls, are a delight for the eyes. Elements of faith have been embedded in the architecture, structure, of the house; the five pillars denote the Panjutan (five members of the prophet’s (PBUH) family. There are many similarities in the houses built in different parts of the Giglit-Baltistan and Chitral regions, and the ones in Badakhshan region of Tajikistan, shown in the photographs below. A very prominent feature of the Pamiri houses is the central roof-opening, used for ventilation and letting the light in.

Inside-the-Pamir-House-5.jpg


The entrance/exit
Inside-the-Pamir-House-7.jpg

The sitting area
Inside-the-Pamir-House-3.jpg

Different compartments inside the house
Inside-the-Pamir-House-9.jpg


Different utensils and photographs depicting the region’s history at display


Inside-the-Pamir-House-11.jpg


Handicrafts
Inside-the-Pamir-House-10.jpg

A man dressed in the traditional winter Pamiri attire


Exterior view of the house that is also being used a museum

Inside views of a Pamiri House | PAMIR TIMES | Voices of the Mountain Communities
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


This is what almost all houses in Gilgit look like, the roof is exactly the same. Go in Hunza, Ghizer, this is just so refreshing to see, so homely for me. The designing on the walls is usually the same and they have a hole in the roof, as they install a, 'chula', or you can say a heater. Good to see, thought i'd share.
@Mr.Meap ,@Slav Defence ,@HRK ,@unleashed ,@PARIKRAMA ,@Levina ,@krash ,@Color_Less_Sky ,@Ammara Chaudhry ,@Zibago ,@Daneshmand ,@Gufi ,@Shah01 ,@The Eagle ,@anant_s ......
Beautiful :-).
However, there are variants of these houses too, I've seen such structures with various rooms, instead of the single room, as shown above.
Plus imagine a modern interior twist to these houses
P7242081.JPG
:smitten:.
 
You might even see it in Chitral, fascinating isn't it?

Yes and i think the beauty of such interiors not just represent the culture but the dedication of profession and love for the culture as well. It is also noticed that those people are not very wealthy or living a corporate life but still they are rich with cultural beauty and those attractive interiors which are not bound to money always.
 
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One of the most important repositories of the culture of the Pamirs is the traditional Pamiri house, locally known as 'Chid'. It embodies elements of ancient Aryan philosophy - including Zoroastrianism - many of which have since been assimilated into Pamiri Ismaili tradition. What to the untrained eye looks like a very basic - even primitive - structure, is, for the people who live in it, rich in religious and philosophical meaning. The symbolism of specific structural features of the Pamiri house goes back over two and a half thousand years.

The house itself is the symbol of the universe and also the place of private prayer and worship for Pamiri Ismailis - the Ismailis have as yet no mosques in Gorno-Badakhshan. The layout of the house is as described below, although some houses have a mirror-image of what is described.

The Pamiri house is normally built of stones and plaster, with a flat roof on which hay, apricots, mulberries or dung for fuel can be dried.






House in Andarob (Ishkashim district). The skylight can be seen on the roof.


Inside, most houses comprise a small internal lobby - frequently used for sleeping or eating in the summer months - and a large square room, entered through a door in the lobby. Beyond this door is the main room, entered through a small corridor (with space to the left and right for washing and storage); the corridor leads into an open area comprising the following standard elements:

a) Three living areas ('Sang', or 'Sandj'), symbolising the three kingdoms of nature: animal, mineral and vegetable: the floor ('Chalak'), normally of earth, where the fire (or more frequently today, a cast-iron oven) burns, corresponds to the inanimate world; the first raised dais ('Loshnukh') corresponds to the vegetative soul; and the third floor level ('Barnekh') to the cognitive soul.

b) Five supporting pillars, symbolising the five members of Ali's family: Mohamed, his son-in-law Ali, Mohamed's daughter Bibi Fatima (Ali's wife), and their sons Hassan and Hussein - it has been suggested that in Zoroastrian symbolism the pillars may have corresponded to the major gods/goddesses ('Yazata' or 'Eyzads'): Surush, Mehr, Anahita, Zamyod and Ozar. The number five also reflects the five principles of Islam.

1. The pillar symbolising the prophet Mohamed ('Khasitan-Shokhsutun'), to the left of the entrance, was traditionally made of juniper - a sacred tree and symbol of purity, the smoke of which has healing and disinfectant properties; today, there are no longer enough junipers of adequate size for making this pillar in newly constructed houses. The child's cradle will normally be put close to this pillar.






'Ali' pillar in the museum in Langar in the Wakhan, showing Zoroastrian sun symbols


2. The pillar symbolising Ali ('Vouznek-sitan') is situated diagonally left from the entrance. In Zoroastrian tradition, this pillar corresponded to the angel of love ('Mehr'). At weddings, the bridal couple will be seated at this pillar, in the hope of being blessed with good fortune and happiness ('Barakat'). Tradition requires that - in addition to her own father and father-in-law - the bride must have a third father, the person who, at this pillar, ritually uncovers her face from seven veils during the wedding ceremony.

3. Diagonally right from the entrance is the pillar symbolising Bibi Fatima ('Kitsor-sitan'). It is the place of honour for the bride at the engagement ceremony and her engagement dress corresponds to the traditional perception of Fatima (and the goddess Anahita): red dress, bracelets, rings, ear-rings. In Zoroastrian tradition, this column corresponded to the angel who guarded the fire. The stove or family fire is closest to this pillar and it serves also for fire-related rituals.






Interior of a Pamiri house in Roshtkala: in the foreground the 'Fatima' pillar, then - background clockwise - the pillars symbolising 'Ali', 'Mohamed' and 'Hussein'


4/5. The fourth (Hassan) and fifth (Hussein) pillars are joined to show the closeness of the relationship between Hassan and Hussein. The crossbar is carved with Zoroastrian symbols, frequently including a central depiction of the sun, and is sometimes decorated with the horns of a Marco Polo sheep (Ovis poli).






'Hassan' and 'Hussein' pillars in the museum in Langar (Ishkashim district)






'Hassan' and 'Hussein' pillars in the Sufi Muboraki Vokhoni museum in Yamg (Ishkashim district)


The 'Hassan' pillar ('Poiga-sitan') is the place of family and private prayer and is considered the place of honour for the religious leader ('Khalifa') or a chief guest. The chief guest will normally leave a small symbolic space next to him/her against the pillar showing that it is reserved for the Khalifa. In Zoroastrian tradition, this pillar may have personified 'Zamyod'.

Mourning ceremonies - with a ritual lamp or candle lit for three days - are carried out close to the 'Hussein' pillar ('Barnekh-sitan'). In Zoroastrian tradition this pillar could have been associated with 'Ozar'.

c) Two main transversal supporting beams - one across the 'Mohamed' and 'Ali' pillars, one across the 'Fatima' and 'Hassan/Hussein' pillars. For Pamiri Ismailis, the first symbolises universal reason ('Akli kul'), and the second the universal soul ('Nafsi kul'). In Zoroastrianism, the two beams corresponded to the material and spiritual worlds.

d) Several groups of beams. The total number varies according to the size of the house and local interpretation of Pamiri tradition. There are several different theories concerning their number. For some the total must be the number of Ismaili Imams (49), for others they are equal to the number of Ali's Army, when they were killed in Dashti Karbalo (72). In most cases, there are thirteen intermediary beams: six - over the fireplace - representing Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohamed, the six prophets revered in Islam (in Zoroastrianism the number six could relate to East, West, North, South, Upper, Lower); and seven representing the first seven Imams. In Zoroastrianism the number seven relates to the main heavenly bodies (Sun, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury) and the seven principal Amesha Spentas or 'Holy Immortals'). The Ismailis are 'sevener' Muslims: for them Ismail was the seventh Imam.

Other beams on the ceiling may include groups of eighteen or seventeen beams corresponding to elements of Ismaili cosmogony.

e) A raised platform (approx. 50cm) around the inside walls of the house. Underneath the platform is a storage area, but - prior to the widespread introduction of metal stoves, which now stand in the open floor area - it would have incorporated the family hearth, as in the photo below.






Fireplace in the Sufi Muboraki Vokhoni museum in Yamg (Ishkashim district)


f) A skylight, the design of which incorporates four concentric square box-type layers known as 'chorkhona' ('four houses') representing, respectively, the four Zoroastrian elements earth, water, air and fire, the latter being the highest, touched first by the sun's rays.






Skylight in the Sufi Muboraki Vokhoni museum in Yamg (Ishkashim district)





Skylight in an old Pamiri house in Roshorv (Bartang Valley)

Skylight in the museum at Langar (Ishkashim district)


Other decorative elements in a Pamiri house - in addition to the carved Zoroastrian symbols - frequently include a combination of red and white, symbolising respectively (in both Zoroastrianism and local Ismaili belief):

· Red: the sun, blood - the source and essence of life - and fire and flame - the first thing created by God;

· White: light, milk - the source of human well-being.

At the Persian New Year ('Navrouz'), a willow wreath (in the form of a circle containing a cross) is dipped in flour and used to draw figures and designs on the walls and columns of the main room. Stripped willow twigs are bound together (to resemble a vegetable stalk) and placed between the beams as a token of abundant crops in the new year.

For the people of the Pamirs, willow is the symbol of new life, because in spring it is the first tree that "wakes up" after a long sleep. It plays a role in wedding ceremonies, when a willow twig is used to lift the bride's veil and when an arrow made of willow is shot through the skylight. In old times when a husband wanted to divorce his wife, he took a stick of willow and broke it above her head.

At burials, a willow stick is used to measure the length of the body and determine the size of the grave to be dug.

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