Hindko and Gujari. c - SIL International

132
Calinda E. Hallberg and Clare F. O’Leary
Peshmal Gujars own land in the upper regions above
Peshmal. Transhumant or semi-nomadic Gujars, referred to by
locals as Ajris or in the literature as Ajars, come up into the area
from Lower Swat during the summer months and pay the settled
Peshmal Gujars for permission to graze their herds on the land. 23
Peshmal Gujars also own forest land. They cut the timber and
sell it to people from Bahrain, Mingora, and other places further
down the valley. The government also buys timber directly from
the Gujars.
Many Peshmal Gujars (preliminary questionnaire data
indicate approximately half the population) leave Peshmal for
about six months in the winter to escape the cold and snow and
to seek employment. They travel to lower areas such as
Malakand, Peshawar, Nowshera, and Rawalpindi. Often whole
families travel south. 24
Peshmal has a small bazaar with seven shops where basic
supplies can be purchased. Many items, such as fresh meat and
medicine, must be obtained from the larger bazaar in Kalam.
There is a hotel and restaurant in Peshmal, also a police station
and power house. The middle school (classes one through eight)
where Gujar children are educated, is located across the river in
Ariani. A mosque school (classes one through three) is located in
Peshmal. There are eight small mosques located throughout the
area for prayer. The local people report that Gujari is generally
spoken in the mosque. Friday prayers, however, are given in
Pashto because people come from other areas who do not speak
Gujari.
23
Barth (1956b:76) divides the Gujars of Swat Kohistan into two
categories:
(1) large numbers of nomadic herders utilizing the high valley and
mountain pastures in the summer season and spending the winter in
Buner or Peshawar District, and (2) scattered permanent settlements
of Gujar agriculturalists, either associated with Kohistani villages,
or in separate communities. These latter communities are found
mainly above Utror in the tributaries to the main valley, and
between Kalam and the Torwal area, along the Swat river.
24
Similar winter migration patterns to cities further south are also
practiced by other ethnic groups in the area such as Kalam Kohistanis. (See
Stahl 1988.)