The Explorer: Journal of Social Sciences ISSN: 2411-0132, Vol-1, Issue (1):9-11 www.theexplorerpak.org
EXPLORING RULI: AN INDIGENOUS NOTION OF FEMALE AUTHORITY AMONG BURUSHO IN CENTRAL HUNZA Humera Dinar1, Dr. Waheed Chaudhry2 1 Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, PMAS Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, 2In-charge, Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad Corresponding Author:
Humera Dinar PMAS Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi humeradinar@uaar.edu.pk Abstract: The society of Hunza has always depicted a romantic picture to the researchers who had been interested in exploring diverse nature of human culture. Amidst extreme climate, harsh geographic conditions and extreme poverty the populations of Hunza developed elaborate patterns for subsistence in order to ensure survival in a deadly precarious milieu. In such socio-economic and ecological conditions the people developed a shared labor mechanism by men, women and children that defined their due role and status in the society. The current research is a diachronic qualitative analysis of indigenous concepts regarding female role and authority in the society of Hunza. It is an ethnographic study conducted among burusho (people speaking Burushaski) in Aliabad, Hunza. It explores the pivotal role of females locally termed as ruli.
Key Words: Ruli, Authority, Females, Role, Status, Indigenous Notion INTRODUCTION The Burushos of northern Pakistan have fascinated historians and linguists for nearly a century (Tuite 1996). The population of the Hunza Valley consists of four ethno-linguistic groups and the Burusho of Central Hunza are the biggest group in number (67.1%). They speak a language, Burushaski, that has not been convincingly grouped into any known linguistic family (Kreutzmann 1993). Until 1974, the Hunza area was controlled by a local despot who imposed excessive taxes of grain (Allan 1990), and also labor taxes were obligatory for the common masses. The political system of princely states across Chitral, Ghizer, Hunza and Baltistan was dismantled in 1970s (Geof Wood 2006). Although some English visitors have characterized the Hunza valley as a harsh or "fearful" environment (Goudie 1981), it has an equable climate with ample solar radiation due to the abundant sunshine. Hunza had a hydraulic agriculture which led to a principality form of social organization (Allan 1990). Under these conditions, labor power was significantly controlled by local, aristocratic clans and royal lineages. Human lives were precarious and the physical environment was fragile(Geof Wood 2006). The livelihoods of all but a tiny minority was could classically be understood within the framework of a peasant subsistence socio-economy - very hand to mouth. Farmers produced primarily for their own consumption, driven by the particular dependency ratios in their families. Hence, the family and the relationships
within the family are central. In the traditional society of the Hunza Valley, the powerful position of women stems from their control over the crops and the harvest as well as over the preservation and distribution of the food supply which must last each extended family an entire year. Women sat at the center of family life. "Because of her role as farmer, cook and dispenser of resources, a woman was greatly respected and treated as an equal with men," wrote the anthropologist Margaret H. Myer in 1995. "One feels," she continued, "that the women of the Hunza Valley have a wonderful self confidence and pride in themselves, which seems to stem from the important role that has been uniquely theirs, but is now threatened by the many changes that are occurring (Deitz 2007). MATERIALS AND METHODS The research was conducted in Aliabad which situates in central Hunza. Aliabad is at the distance of 5 km from Karimabad, the capital of Hunza. It is an ethnographic study of power and authority associated with females focusing the cultural expressions of female authority and their role and status. It is a narrative of the locals recounting their centuries old practices. Data for the research was collected through participant observation, key informants method, and in-depth interviews. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The authority of a woman is termed as “Ruli� in the local language Brushaski. The literal meaning of Ruli is to have authority. In its wider meaning it reflects the social, economic, geographic and political 9
conditions of Hunza, prevailed there just a few decades back before 1980s. For decades, Hunza has remained isolated and almost cut off from the outer world due to its mountainous structure and harsh climatic conditions. With inadequate infrastructural arrangement and fewer opportunities to develop and enhance the skills there was no possibility for other sectors to grow in these mountainous valleys. So, people relied on agricultural and animal husbandry for livelihood. Women were the major contributors for work on the farms and most of their time other than the household chores was spent on the fields. People had developed elaborate systems of sharing work in which young and old, men and women, all played their part in order to survive the extreme climatic and geographic conditions of the high mountains. Women had to do a significant amount of the farm activities as well as household tasks and childcare. Women almost exclusively did the collecting of fuel wood and fetching of water. A woman said: “During our times, when we were young, we worked for the family from a very young age. Our parents worked in the fields and we would help them. We took cattle for grazing. We would collect wood and ‘guspen’ (shit of goats) from forests. At home we would help our elders in domestic chores. There was no system of education. People were poor and it was hard to live. Every member of a family whether young or old had certain duties. They all had to work for their survival. Men had higher status. They were more respected. They were given the finest meal, earlier and more than females. Women were given in marriage at a very young age.” The ultimate endeavor was to produce and store food for their survival. During summers they would collect grains, wheat, maize, fruits, dry fruits, vegetables and all food items grown in their land, in a huge wooden box called zhagur and it was placed in chikisch (store room) which was adjacent to their single room multipurpose traditional house (ha). The eldest woman of the family had the key. This was called ruli or ha ruli or zhagurate ruli. She had the ruli to go to the store room and bring the food items at the time of cooking. She would decide what to cook and in what amount the food items should be used daily so that they may be sufficient for the family till the next summers. People recounted that when their mothers go to store room they would stand by the zhagur for a long time, offering prayers to God for barakah (blessings and prosperity). A lady of 55 years said:“The eldest woman of the house had Ruli of the house. She had
the key of dagowang (flour), hani (kernels), bater (dried apricots), alu (potatoes), chap (meat) etc. It was her responsibility to use all these things in such a way that these would be sufficient for the whole year because there was no other source of food. She would keep things for different occasions and the man whose wife would use all these things skillfully, was praised at the time of Ginani (harvesting ceremony).” It was also her responsibility to distribute food equally among all the members of the family. Some people told that chapattis of wheat flour were made for male members only as they were called rajakiye hir (man for corvee) which means that they performed harder and heavier physical tasks so they needed the best food to gain energy. Men were always engaged in cultivating cultivation and irrigation. Women would eat the chapattis of hari (barley) and baru (millet). They always saved the best food for their sons and husband as they were the earners of their family. Sometimes they had to face famine in April or May when all the food resources were exhausted. The woman who had preserved enough food for rainy days was praised by all people and this would give her husband honor in the community. Although, men had the leading authority and power in the society yet the prominent role of females at small-scale household level was worth noting. According to the respondents, this concept of ruli subsided gradually and is completely vanished now, said by 84% of the respondents. The reasons they gave are now there is no scarcity of food items due to its link with the other parts of Pakistan after the construction of Karakoram Highway (KKH). People don’t face famine due to unavailability of food. Now there is no need to store food items for the whole year that’s why this concept lost its meaning. The remaining 16% of the respondents said ruli has been metamorphosed and retained itself in the shape of responsibilities of home, children, livestock, and fields. On the contrary, majority of the locals sighed that this form of authority is not in practice due to change in the socio-economic conditions of the people but particularly with the construction of modern architectural style of houses. Not only the concept even this term is obsolete today. Now, this term ruli is just a relic from the past. The traditional ha (house) has been abandoned by the majority and it was the ha with which the concept of ruli was associated. With this lots of Burushaski vocabulary, idioms, proverbs and myths immensely associated with it has also diminished. This is a loss of their cultural and lingual asset. 10
CONCLUSION This study explored a distinctive feature of Hunza society wherein the females had a very special status and role. They were not marginalized and powerless rather they held a central and peculiar role mandatory for the survival of the families. This practice had a particular local terminology, ruli, which is a reflection of socio-economic conditions of classic Hunza. Ruli was a whole cultural institution in which innumerable socio-cultural meanings and symbols were embedded. It defined gender role and status appropriated for the prevailed social and economic settings. It is an indicator of dominant role and status of females in the society. Moreover, this concept was closely adherent with traditional ha which was the most common architectural style of houses in the given climatic and geographic scenario. With the opening of the area through the construction of KKH, the socio-economic indicators began to change which brought with it concomitant effects in cultural beliefs and practices. People do not live in traditional ha anymore and hence numerous rituals and practices associated with it seem quite outmoded. REFERENCES Allan, Niger J. R. 1990 Household Food Supply in Hunza Valley, Pakistan. Geographical Review 80(4):399-415.
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Deitz,Paula 2007 Life on the Roof of the World. The Sewanee Review 115(3):470-474. Geof Wood, Abdul Malik and Sumaira Sagheer 2006 Valleys in Transition. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press. Goudie,Andrew 1981 Fearful Landscape of Karakorum. Geographical Magazine 53:306-312. Kreutzmann, Hermann 1993 Challenge and Response in the Karakorum: Socioeconomic Transformation in Hunza, Northern Areas, Pakistan. Mountain Research and Development 13(1):19-39. Tuite, Kevin 1996 Evidence for Pre-historic Links between the Caucasus and Central Asia: The Case of the Burushos.
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