Mountain Oasis

Susan York is a social anthropologist, researcher and teacher with degrees in social anthropology, humanities and psychology. She has carried out research on mountain communities in Pakistan, Afghan refugees in Pakistan and food emergencies in Sudan.

"The book fills a significant gap in the modern knowledge of Gilgit-Baltistan, bringing a peripheral area into the limelight of global academia. Unfortunately, the region is still outside the mainstream of Pakistans publishing industry. Even the infrastructure of knowledge has its peripheries" - Aziz Ali Dad, in: The News On Sunday, June 16, 2024"As a woman, the author had the chance to look closer into the female side of household life, which is mostly closed to male visitors or researchers. Thus, female activities dominate to some extent the discourse and are more specific. Studies by male authors will display the opposite imbalance...With her book, the author adds a valuable contribution to the set of publications now available that discuss aspects of life, nature and their change in this previously remote, mountainous area of Northern Pakistan." - Georg Stöber, Georg-Eckert-Institut für internationale Schulbuchforschu, in: Erdkunde 73, no. 3 (2024)"In her brilliantly written monograph, York documents the daily activities in Barkulti in the years between 1982 and 1983. She provides extensive accounts of social and economic life, the subsistence economy, and its essential component of interdependence and cooperation." - Fizza Batool, University of Augsburg, in: HIMALAYA 43, no. 2 (2024)

• ForewordPrologue and AcknowledgementsList of Maps, Figures and GraphsList of PhotographsList of Tableslii1 The Valley and the Village EconomyBackgroundA Household-focused Mountain EconomyVillage Housing LayoutClans2 The House and Its UsesThe Main Room – haA Multi-Purpose SpaceConstructing a House3 The Seasons: Spring and SummerSpring (garú)Spring Celebrations (Bo)Summer (šiní)4 The Seasons: Autumn and WinterAutumn (datú)Winter – (bái)5 Daily Life in a Large HouseholdFirst Task of the Day – Light the FireMaking the Breakfast Bread for gunc̣áṭa čáiThe Rest of the Household AwakensAfter BreakfastMid-morning: Time for Tea – čaṣṭákal čáiMid-day: More Bread and Tea – doɣói páqoAfternoon Tea: pišín čáiEvening Bread: šaáma páqo6 A High Pasture SettlementEstablishing a High Pasture SettlementLeaving for the High PasturesDaily Life in a High Pasture Settlement – Makuli Makuli High Pasture Settlement Shelters in 1982Visitors to the High PasturesClear Air, Clean Water and Plentiful Food7 Food: Daily and CelebratoryBread and Tea – The Daily DietThe Evening MealSeasonally Available FoodsBread (páqo) – A Staple and Celebratory FoodMilk (mamú) ProductsHot and Cold FoodsFood for Celebrations8 Making and Decorating: Craft ActivitiesSpinning and WeavingKnittingBasket MakingEmbroideryTailoringShoe MakingWood CarvingOther Craft Activities9 The Household: Who Lives in the House?Forming a Household and Changes in Household SizeHouseholds and Changes over TimeWhy Did Households Divide?Developing Trends10 Relationships within the HouseholdAgeChildrenAdulthoodInterpersonal Status11 Beyond the HouseholdPerspectives on Co-operationRelationships between Members of the dehGrambéšu-level InteractionsInter-household and Interpersonal Relationships beyond the Household, deh and grambéšuEpilogueGlossaryBibliographyIndex