The Voice of the Nightingale: A Personal Account of the Wakhi Culture in HunzaThe Wakhi, an ethnic group originating from Afghanistan, live in four neighbouring countries: Afghan Wakhan, Tajikistan, Xinjiang (China), and northern Pakistan. These remote mountain regions and crossroads of culture have been of interest to travellers and ethnographers since Marco Polo first wrote about them. Sabine Felmy came to Pakistan in 1977, and lived among the Wakhi for several years, studying their history and oral traditions. In The Voice of the Nightingale, she presents an account in which local people express their views on daily matters and practices. Woven around a wider framework of archival research, historic travelogues and ethnographic literature, these narrations form the first comprehensive summation of this unique culture. The voice of the nightingale refers to the famous (bulbulik) triplets sung by Wakhi women who spend the summers on the high pastures. |
Contents
Origin and Migration | 1 |
Imaginations and Perceptions | 31 |
Public Life and Prospects | 72 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
Afterwards allowed animals apricots Areas asked attend barley Bibi border boys bread butter called celebrated Central ceremony China close cooking crops daily daughter early especially family members famous female festival fields followed former friends gather Ghujal Gilgit girls give goats ground Gulmit hand harvesting head horses household Hunza important Karakoram khalifa Khan language leave living London look male meet mother mountain neighbours night Northern Areas nowadays Pakistan Pamir parents Pass pastures Persian person platform play players Political polo prepared present problems reached region relatives religious remote roof ruler rules season Shah sheep society sometimes studies summer teacher teaching traditional travelling Upper valley village Wakhan Wakhi whole winter women