preview

Kohistani History Essay example

Decent Essays

To reach Thull, a Kohistani community that is found in the mountains near the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, you have to make a hazarding trip on an endless dirt road that is unattainable in bad weather. The Kohistani are inherently a violent people who strongly believe in vengeance and had most of their fighting take place between descent groups. For the most part conflict was handled by local leaders, and there was usually no fatal accident due to a lack of fatal weapons. The lack of guns was due to the lack of roads that limited economic development, which limited the amount of money a person could amass. However, when Pakistan took charge in 1965, a number of social and economic developments took place. The roads that were …show more content…

With crosscutting ties losing their effectiveness in sustaining peaceful relations, death enmity started to thrive. With the emerge of roads, the subsistence strategy of the Kohistani people changed, and with that incorporated more violence into their culture as well. This is a good example demonstrating how culture is integrated by the way that a street can alter other aspects of the Kohistani culture like its subsistence strategy, which in turn affects violence in the Thull.
In addition, not only did the emergence of roads bring a change to subsistence practices in Kohistani culture, but also brought a change to the economic system as well. This change was based on cultivating potatoes as a cash crop tied with an amplified quantity of fields that brought a significant influx of money into the community. Additionally, money in the community continued to build even more with the extensive timber exploitation that was occurring, which was the foremost motive of the Pakistan government to build the road. With timber contractors hiring local Kohistani people as wage laborers, also brought about paid royalties on the timber, which brought even more cash to the community. This all seems like it benefits the Kohistani community in a positive way, but that isn’t the case. The deforestation that takes place is harming their environment greatly and affecting the fertile land around it, and with an increase in wealth, members of the community can purchase firearms. Prior to

Get Access