Matthieu Paley | Archives

Show Navigation
  • Archives
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area
  • Contact
All Galleries

Where Modernity Meets Tradition - Pakistan's Karakoram mountains.

180 images Created 8 Jan 2021

Inside one of Pakistan’s Remote Region - Where Modernity Meets Tradition

Text ©Matthieu Paley
Over the years, a mountainous region in Pakistan has become my second home. I’ve seen firsthand how global events have hurt locals’ livelihoods and how technology has challenged the meaning of tradition.
PASU, Pakistan—Sajid Alvi is excited. He just got a grant to study in Sweden.
“My Ph.D. is about friction in turbo jet engines,” Alvi says. “I will work on developing new aerospace materials—real geeky stuff!”
Alvi’s relatives have come to bid him farewell as he prepares to leave his mountain village and study in a new country, some 3,000 miles away.
“We will see you again,” one of them says as they hang out in the potato field in front of Alvi’s house. “You know you won’t get far with a long beard like that. You look like Taliban!”
Alvi, dressed in low-hanging shorts and a Yankees cap, is far from a fundamentalist: He’s Wakhi, part of an ethnic group with Persian origins. And like everyone else here, he is Ismaili—a follower of a moderate branch of Islam whose imam is the Aga Khan, currently residing in France. There are about 15 million Ismailis around the world, and 20,000 live here in the Gojal region of northern Pakistan.
I’ve been visiting Gojal for 17 years, and I’ve watched as lives like Alvi’s have become more common here. Surrounded by the mighty Karakoram Mountains, the Ismailis here have long been relatively isolated, seeing tourists but little else of global events. But now, an improved highway and the arrival of mobile phones have let the outside world in, bringing new lifestyles and opportunities: Children grow up and head off to university, fashions change, and technology reshapes tradition. Gojal has adjusted to all of this, surprising me every time I return by showing me just how adaptable traditions can be.
Full story here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/10/gojali-pakistan-islam/
Next
View: 100 | All
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
x

Loading ()...

  • Above the village of Passu, a teenager checks his Facebook. Many residents here are Ismaili, followers of a moderate branch of Islam. A sign on the mountain slope commemorates the time in 1987, when the Ismaili imam, the Aga Khan, visited the remote region.
    MMi53134_160711_0282.jpg
  • Girls play a game of cricket during school break. In the distance, a high-altitude trail leads into Afghanistan’s Pamir Mountains.
    MMi53134_160614_0067.jpg
  • At a school assembly in the Zood Khun village, the boys' class discusses an upcoming excursion to the edge of Chapursan Valley.
    MMi53134_160617_0099.jpg
  • The school in Zood Khun village. Education is a cornerstone of Ismaili culture, especially for girls.
    MMi53134_160617_0102.jpg
  • A boy plays on the wall of the family’s mud house in Kermin village, in the Chapursan Valley.
    MMi53134_160620_0148.jpg
  • The recently repaired Karakoram Highway has inspired more and more tourists from the heated plains of Pakistan to take road trips through Gojal to the Pakistan-China border. Selfies in front of the stunning, mountainous Cathedral Ridge are practically mandatory.
    MMi53134_160711_0273.jpg
  • Punjabi tourists getting off a tourist boats in a wind storm.<br />
Around Attabad lake, upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160724_0441.jpg
  • Zahir and Mariyam wedding celebration (love marriage), Zood Khun village, Chapursan valley.
    MMi53134_160719_0412.jpg
  • A shepherd returns from picking a stray sheep, in Moorkhun village.
    MMi53134_160809_0531.jpg
  • She is blind and he takes care of her—a Wakhi couple poses in Darkot village.
    MMi53134_160629_0175.jpg
  • Men and women’s chores are often interchangeable in Wakhi culture. Here, a mother and daughter from Hussaini village walk to their summer pastures to collect fodder for their animals.
    MMi53134_160805_0508.jpg
  • A bride and bridesmaids laugh at a selfie.
    MMi53134_160719_0400.jpg
  • The remote Shimshal village, with its incredible hiking territory, once saw many tourists. But after 9/11, the number of tourists to northern Pakistan dwindled.
    MMi53134_160811_0543.jpg
  • Fruit trees, potatoes, wheat, and barley surround most Wakhi homes. The crops can grow in the short summer.
    MMi53134_160609_0016.jpg
  • Sost is a village in Gojal, Upper Hunza, Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. It is the last town inside Pakistan on the Karakoram Highway before the Chinese border. The town is an important place on the highway for all passenger and cargo transport because all traffic crossing the Pakistan-China border passes through this town; the Pakistani immigration and customs departments are based here. Pakistan and China have opened border for trade and tourism at the Khunjerab pass.
    MMi53134_160608_0009.jpg
  • Shah Bul Masoom practices songs on his Rubab, a traditional instrument similar to a lute. He is a student of the Bulbulik music school in Gulmit village, and he’s working on mixing traditional Wakhi music with modern influences.
    MMi53134_160727_0464.jpg
  • Years ago, marriages in the area were arranged by the bride and groom’s parents. Now, most couples tell their parents whom they should pick for a partner.<br />
Woman’s name is Aliya Waheed , man’s name is Salman Alam , they met in college in Gilgit city.
    MMi53134_160714_0319.jpg
  • Robina, in scarf, tries her cousin’s motorcycle. She wants to learn how to ride, so she can be more independent.
    MMi53134_160719_0420.jpg
  • A young guest. Zahir and Mariyam wedding celebration (love marriage), Zood Khun village, Chapursan valley.
    MMi53134_160719_0416.jpg
  • A young Wakhi girl. Stories abound that Wakhis are descendant of Alexander the great.
    MMi53134_160719_0417.jpg
  • A man from the Hussaini village returns home after playing a cricket game. On his forearm, he wears a sleeve that doubles as sunburn protection and fashion accessory.
    MMi53134_160714_0327.jpg
  • Passu village, cricket player.
    MMi53134_160725_0443.jpg
  • A full moon rises over the Passu village and its glacier, and the Karakoram Highway snakes its way through the landscape.
    MMi53134_160721_0430.jpg
  • View over Attabad lake, upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160812_0552.jpg
  • In Chapursan valley, a boy is collecting wild Rhubarb, to eat it.
    MMi53134_160613_0052.jpg
  • Ismaili Scouts return home after a day’s excursion to a nearby village.
    MMi53134_160805_0513.jpg
  • Young Wakhis dance after celebrating Imamat Day, which marks the anniversary of the day their present (or Hazar) imam succeeded his predecessor. These young men study in big cities away from the mountains, and for them, this celebration is a time to reconnect with their homeland.
    MMi53134_160711_0287.jpg
  • Girls playing volleyball. During the yearly celebration of Imamat Day (11 July), a day to celebrate the crowning of the current Aga Khan. Ismailis usually celebrate this day with dancing and religious singing, sport activities etc. In Passu village, upper Hunza, Gojal region.
    MMi53134_160711_0281.jpg
  • Children on the sings during break at the school in Zood Khun village. Education is a priority in Ismaili communities. <br />
Life in Chipursan valley. It is the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160617_0108.jpg
  • Traditional Dance after a Polo match, Mastuj town, Chitral.
    MMi53134_160707_0243.jpg
  • Students teach each others music at the Bulbulik music school in Gulmit village, upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160726_0457.jpg
  • A Wakhi home sports an embroidery of Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, the current imam of Ismaili Muslims. He has an estimated 15 million followers in more than 25 countries, including 20,000 in Gojal.
    MMi53134_160705_0228.jpg
  • Karim, a newly married, upload pictures to his phone.<br />
Love marriage of Karim and Samrina, in Sost village, upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160713_0302.jpg
  • The "ruhsat", the emotional  time when the bride says good bye to the close members of her family before moving to the groom's home.
    MMi53134_160713_0306.jpg
  • The bride getting make up etc. Chapursan valley.
    MMi53134_160719_0395.jpg
  • Traditional game while coming out of the Jama Khana: girlfriend and relative of the bride arguing the price of the groom's shoes with a man from the groom's family.
    MMi53134_160714_0310.jpg
  • The bride cries as she leaves. Wedding celebration in upper Sost village, Gojal region.
    MMi53134_160714_0323.jpg
  • Preparing traditional wedding food, similar to cream of wheat.
    MMi53134_160715_0334.jpg
  • Women doing selfies while men are bringing a sheep on their motorcyle.
    MMi53134_160716_0345.jpg
  • The "ruhsat", the emotional  time when the bride says good bye to the close members of her family before moving to the groom's home. Zahir and Mariyam wedding celebration (love marriage), Zood Khun village, Chapursan valley.
    MMi53134_160718_0380.jpg
  • "We first met on social media, and we slowly fell in love," say Esar Ali and Shayna, who married 11 months ago.
    MMi53134_160616_0093.jpg
  • Shortly before reaching Passu village, a trekker walks along a hanging bridge across the Hunza River.
    MMi53134_160722_0436.jpg
  • A Wakhi mother and her kids.<br />
Life in Chipursan valley, the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160611_0036.jpg
  • Father and son. Two Wakhi men in Chipursan valley.
    MMi53134_160715_0338.jpg
  • Girls and boys scream, afraid that they car will fall in a water channel, Chapursan valley.
    MMi53134_160719_0422.jpg
  • A motorcyle on the Karakoram Highway. Gojal region, upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160712_0291.jpg
  • A jeep on the road to Shimshal village, one of the remotest village in Gojal region, upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160812_0551.jpg
  • The school in Zood Khun. Education is a priority in Ismaili communities. <br />
Life in Chipursan valley. It is the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160613_0045.jpg
  • The school in Zood Khun village. Education is a priority in Ismaili communities.
    MMi53134_160614_0061.jpg
  • The school in Zood Khun village. Education is a priority in Ismaili communities. <br />
Life in Chipursan valley. It is the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160617_0104.jpg
  • Islamic studies at the school in Zood Khun village. Education is a priority in Ismaili communities. <br />
Life in Chipursan valley. It is the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160614_0072.jpg
  • Wakhi women bringing back wood. Darkot village, Yasin valley.
    MMi53134_160628_0167.jpg
  • Two girls walking hand in hand in Zood Khun village. Chapursan valley on the border with Afghanistan.
    MMi53134_160718_0383.jpg
  • Mother and daughter watering wheat field.
    MMi53134_160618_0124.jpg
  • Nana and her family working on the family potatoe field.
    MMi53134_160619_0137.jpg
  • Offering tea the the passing tourist.<br />
Nana and her family working on the family potatoe field.
    MMi53134_160619_0141.jpg
  • Taking a break from digging potatoes in her field, a Wakhi woman poses with her family.
    MMi53134_160619_0146.jpg
  • Daughter (studying in Islamabad, spends summer in village) and mother picking apricots that will be fed to the animals.<br />
Kamaris village, upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160803_0490.jpg
  • A Wakhi woman harvesting hay for the cows - to be used in winter. Upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160805_0504.jpg
  • A Wakhi woman put ashes in her field to fertilize it.
    MMi53134_160618_0126.jpg
  • Apricot gathered at the bottom of the tree.<br />
Around Shimshal village, one of the remotest village in Gojal region, upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160811_0541.jpg
  • View over the Hunza valley - nicknamed the Shangri-La of Pakistan. Karakoram mountains.
    MMi53134_160731_0475.jpg
  • A girl making a necklace at home.
    MMi53134_160619_0135.jpg
  • A Wakhi girl. Life in Chipursan valley, the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160613_0060.jpg
  • Part of the village that was submerged by the lake which was created during a massive landslide in January 2011. <br />
Around Attabad lake, upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160726_0446.jpg
  • Part of the village that was submerged by the lake which was created during a massive landslide in January 2011. <br />
Around Attabad lake, upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160726_0451.jpg
  • A doctor and his staff crossing the Garam Cheshma glacier river (near Boroghil pass, on the Afghan border), to bring medicine to the Garam Cheshma village, a remote Ismaili village.
    MMi53134_160702_0211.jpg
  • View over Garam Cheshma village (near Boroghil pass), Chitral.
    MMi53134_160702_0213.jpg
  • Wakhi encounter on the trail in Chitral. Yarkhun valley.
    MMi53134_160704_0225.jpg
  • Ismaili old couple in a traditional Wakhi home. Kishmanja village, Yarkhun valley.
    MMi53134_160704_0226.jpg
  • A Wakhi family in Chikar village, below the Darkot pass.
    MMi53134_160702_0198.jpg
  • Head of the village in Lasht village,  Yarkhun valley.
    MMi53134_160706_0234.jpg
  • Baby with cream to protect from the sun. Lasht village, Yarkhun valley.
    MMi53134_160706_0231.jpg
  • Portrait of an old Wakhi lady.
    MMi53134_160706_0233.jpg
  • Passu village at night. Gojal region, upper Hunza.
    MMi53134_160712_0299.jpg
  • A boy screams out to his brother in the Karakoram mountains.
    MMi53134_160611_0033.jpg
  • A boy jumps over a stream in a mountain landscape.
    MMi53134_160628_0168.jpg
  • A young boy washes his head in a stream.
    MMi53134_160628_0171.jpg
  • Horses. in the Hindukush mountains.
    MMi53134_160629_0176.jpg
  • Woman in her tent at night, lit by camping light. Angel.
    MMi53134_160629_0178.jpg
  • A young trekker jumps over rocks in the Hindukush, near the Darkot pass (4690m).
    MMi53134_160630_0182.jpg
  • Family portrait during a trekking at high altitude in the mountains over a glacier.
    MMi53134_160701_0188.jpg
  • A young trekker leads the way on a trek in the Hindukush.<br />
Trekking over the Darkot pass (4690m), linking Darkor village (Yasin Valley) to Chikar, below Boroghil pass on the Afghanistan border.
    MMi53134_160702_0197.jpg
  • A child make a makeshift tent with sticks and red cloth during a trekking trip over a high pass in the mountains.
    MMi53134_160701_0194.jpg
  • Two brothers sit in mud.
    MMi53134_160712_0295.jpg
  • A trekker during a trek in the Karakoram mountains.
    MMi53134_160816_0590.jpg
  • A Wakhi couple, crossing the Ghulkin glacier, upper Hunza. Karakoram mountains.
    MMi53134_160804_0493.jpg
  • Mr Sher Aziz, the "mookie" of Hussaini village, Gojal region. Mookie means Ismaili religious leader of a community.
    MM8243_140223_16106.jpg
  • Going to get wood for cooking and heating in Khuramabad, a winter pasture two hour walk from Passu village, across the Hunza valley riverbed. Gojal region.
    MM8243_140221_14709.jpg
  • After it fell as a cub in the water, this snow Leopard has been kept in captivity, near Sust village, Gojal.
    MMi53134_160610_0028.jpg
  • Tourists entering Chipursan valley in a jeep. It is the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160610_0030.jpg
  • A child calls out to his brother from a rock.
    MMi53134_160611_0034.jpg
  • Boys going to look for Rhubarb, to eat it.<br />
 Life in Chipursan valley. It is the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160613_0050.jpg
  • A young Wakhi boy in Chipursan valley. It is the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160613_0059.jpg
  • A young tourist boy run with a local girl.<br />
Life in Chipursan valley. It is the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160614_0079.jpg
  • A young student and his teacher in a class room.
    MMi53134_160613_0041.jpg
  • Detail of school book.
    MMi53134_160707_0239.jpg
  • Life in Chipursan valley. It is the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160620_0147.jpg
  • Two friends.<br />
Life in Chipursan valley. It is the most Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and China. The people speak the Wakhi Language and belong to the Ismaili sect of Islam.
    MMi53134_160619_0131.jpg
  • A footbal (soccer) player ready for action.
    MMi53134_160628_0174.jpg
Next
View: 100 | All