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Homepage of Razwal Kohistani Lesser known Shin, Yashkun, Kamin, Gabara, Chilis and Marooch tribes of Indus Kohistan [Location] [Area and Population] [Religious sects] [Political Perspective] [Languages of Indus Kohistan] [Traditional Institutions] [Jirga System] [Shin tribes] [Yashkun Tribes] [Chilis and Gabara Tribes] [Kamin Tribes] [Other Casts and branches] [Land tenure system] [Forest tenure system] [Crop Land Tenure System] [Kinship system] [Marriage customs] [Transhumance] [Life in Kohistan] [Folk Tales] |
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Location of Indus Kohistan Indus or Abasin Kohistan is the most backward district of Hazara division in North West Frontier Province. It is located along the well-known Himalayas of Pakistan from 34.40 to 30.35 degrees of altitude and from 75.30 to 50.72 degrees of longitude. Naran, Kaghan, Siran, and Allai lie in the east and south of Kohistan, Swat in the west while the valleys of Chilas, Darel and Tangir are located in the north of it. PICs River Indus originates from Mansoro Lake at the altitude of 17000 feet in Himalayas. Fed by River Gilgit and other tributaries on the way, River Indus flows down through the middle of Kohistan. The Silk Road, that links Pakistan with China and serves as an important trade route between the two countries, leads down all the way along the River Indus bank up to Besham at the end of District Kohistan. Silk Road has long been a thoroughfare for the tourists, traders and conquerors from Central Asia. In the past, business delegations would use this passage to travel up to Europe and the Little Asia (Kochak). Moreover, it was an important outlet to the land of Sind. At present, the Silk Road and the Basphorus Bridge in Turkey have made it possible to travel by road from Atlantic Oceans to the shores of Pacific in Asia. In the vicinity of Silk Road, there exist the rock inscriptions of universal importance. These inscriptions pertain to various historical periods, languages, races, religions and civilizations. Kohistan is located on such a global space where it serves as a natural boundary for environmental regions in the chains of Himalayan, Korakorum and Hindukush mountains The Climate Kohistan is comprised over mountains and the hilly agricultural regions. Many high mountains and thickly grown beautiful forests of good quality are found on those mountains containing the trees of cedar, pine, juniper, fir, Chilghoza, Olea erruinea, oak, Shisham, walnut, birch and many more. The lower regions in Kohistan get very hot in summer and extremely cold in winter season. In the higher regions, weather remains pleasant in summer. Due to the intensive snowfall, traveling to and from the valleys remains closed in winter. The mountains are very tall. The raining in the region mainly depends on intensive and continuous blowing of monsoon winds. The valleys are green and pretty and many small glaciers are found on the higher altitudes. Table 2: Average Monthly Temperature
Table3. Monthly Average relative Humidity
Geology The Geological Survey of Pakistan has not yet surveyed the area for detailed geo-physical interpretation, however, a team from the Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar has conducted a survey. According to their report the rock types between Besham and Komila comprise of Besham group, Dubair grandodiorite, Jijail ultranaties, Pattan Garnet and the Komila Amphibolites. Besham group These include metasediments, which are divided into biotic psanamitic metasediments, graphitic medasediments, graphitic metasediments and amphibolitic from mafic intrusions. Jijal ultramifics These rocks are exposed for about 8 km north of Jijal. The most common rock type is pyroxenite; dunite and periodtite are less abundant. Present mineralogy appears to be metamorphic and to reflect conditions around 800-850 Co. The important minerals are plagioclase, garnet, chinopyroxene and Quartz. There is approximate transition from perioditites to garnet, garnet granulites continue until Pattan. Most of these rocks contain plagioclase and are derived from mafic to intermediate compositions. Komila/Dassu This is a complex terrain of amphibolitc, layered mafic complex largely of morite composition and mineralogy, multiple granitic intrusions of both pre and post tectonic character and volcanic rocks. Along Pattan stream a few meters thick calcarious horizon comprises mainly of quartz, plagiclase, grossular garnet and calcite associates the amphibolites can be found. The banded aspect and the association of metasedimentary rocks lead the previous workers to regard the banded amphibolites of the area to be meta-sedimentary. The medium to course grained and non-bounded amphibolities, on the other hand, clearly seem in many cases to be igneous parantage, probably basic intrusions in main, because: in places they contain xenoliths of fine grained amphibolites; they locally cut across the banded types, and their outcrops are irregular in outlines; although most of them are concordant, they may not extend for long distances along the general trend of the bending despite their large sizes in some cases. Most of these rocks are gneissore and dioritic looking, but a few are mela-nocratic. Some of the amphibolities in the Indus Valley have a very high proportion of hornblende at places to the near exclusion of other minerals. It appears that metamorphism has played an important role in the development of such hornblende rich rocks.
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Shina Research Forum Karakorum Himalayas
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