[Friday Times] Symbols and structures of Ganish Khun

The historical buildings of Ganish, a beautiful village in the Hunza Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan, include wooden mosques, an impressive village guesthouse and imposing towers that mark the landscape. It is situated on the right bank of the Hunza river and is one of the oldest settlements in the valley.

Ganish has become home to many tribes and caravans that came traveling through the ancient Silk Route. There are many interpretations of the name Ganish. Oral historian Iftikhar Hussein says there are three meanings: it denotes a crossroads since it is located on the junction of Hunza and Nagar; it means gold that people in the past used to recover from the waters of the Hunza River; and it means a place from where a road takes you somewhere. The people who look for gold in the Hunza River can still be found; they are locally called maruts. Maruts are also found along the Ghizar, Gilgit and Indus Rivers and usually camp on the banks of these rivers.

Ganish is believed to have been founded by Shish Kin, a Chinese visitor. After him many other people and tribes, namely the Shigri from Baltistan and the Hamachiting, settled down in Ganish. Then a number of prominent persons whose names survive made Ganish their home. Their descendants bear their names. The descendants of one Barcha are called Barchating. He had three sons: Sukh after whom the Sukhkutz are named; Barah from whom sprang the Brahkutz; and Bak after whom the Bakkutz are named. When they embraced Islam, some of the families of the Barchating, Raley Ramal and Shish Kin built mosques which carried their names. Some also built towers to keep an eye on outsiders.

According to Mumtaz, a graduate of Quaid-i-Azam University, there were a total of 14 towers of which three survive, including Tamurkutz tower, Shaikutz tower, and Rupikutz tower. While others such as Dodasen tower and Lutoting tower are believed to have been swept away by the flood that inundated Ganish village in 1958. The towers indicated the power of the lineage that erected them. The tradition of erecting towers still continues in the tribal valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan and Koshistan in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. At present, in the valleys of Darel and Tangir in Diamer district, the height of the tower indicates the power that the builder wields in the village. The height of the tower can even be taken to indicate the number of murders that the builder has committed! To give an example from the Darel valley, Shah Zaman has committed many murders. His tower is located in Yeshoot village and is a four-storeyed building overlooking the river that gushes down from the Midan, an amazing plateau in the Darel valley. Similarly, once there were several watchtowers dominating the village of Koranga Bala in Tangir valley which were erected to control and give safe exit to caravans that extracted iron ore from Satil, a communal pasture of Tangir.

From Satil two tracks originate: one leads to the Phundar valley via Chachhi nullah. Chachhi nullah has three pristine, serene lakes. The other tract leads to Dahi Mal village in Gupis close to the Yasin river via Bathret nullah. In order to go to Dahi Mal, one has to take Pai Nullah to reach the Chileli area from where one enters into Baro Bathret, which further leads to Dahi Mal village in Gupis of Ghizer district. There are two nullahs by the name of Bathret, Baro (large) Bathret and Biyalo (small) Bathret. The junction of the nullahs meets at Miro Das, a breathtaking sight. Both nullahs are home to many beautiful lakes. This route was used by pilgrims and invaders in ancient times. Many traders and pilgrims also used this route to reach Yasin, Chitral and as far away as Afghanistan. These were the routes from where the Pathans and other tribes penetrated and went as far as Hunza, along the way introducing the tradition of woodcarving, which is still reflected in the mosques and towers of Ganish village.

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