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Thar -- Pakistan’s largest desert of living traditions
By Munir Ahmed
“Thar and my heart are the two names
of the same desert”, once wrote Mazhar-ul-Islam, the world-renowned short story
writer and pioneer of a new school of short story in Urdu, Pakistan’s national
language. He belongs to Punjab province, writes in Urdu, and most of his admirers belong
to Sindh province of which Tharparkar district is one of the major parts with a total area
of 28,170 sq. k.m.
Times back, there was a sea where the Thar
is now. The geologists believe that the sea turned to a desert because of some big
earthquake and stormy winds created sand dunes. But, the wrinkled-faces of old folks of
Thar are there to tell the travelers a centuries old tale of a Rishi (worshiper)
who’s buddua (asking something from god against someone) turned the sea dry.
Topography:
Tharparkar consists of two words, Thar
means ‘desert’ while Parkar stands for ‘the other side’. Years back,
it was known as Thar and Parkar but subsequently became just one word
‘Tharparkar’ for the two distinct parts of Sindh province. On the western side,
Parkar is the irrigated area whereas Thar, the eastern part, is known as the largest
desert of Pakistan with a rich multifaceted culture, heritage, traditions, folk tales,
dances and music due to its inhabitants who belong to different religions, sects and
casts. The Parkar area has been formed by the alluvial deposits of river Indus while Thar
mostly consists of barren tracts of sand dunes covered with thorny bushes. The only hills
of the district, named Karon-Jhar, are in the extreme south-east corner of Nagar Parkar
Taluka, a part of Thar. These hills are spread over about 20 kilometers in length and
attains a height of 300 meters. Covered with sparse jungle and pasturage, they give rise
to two perennial springs as well as streams caused after rain.
Climate:
The Thar area has a tropical desert
climate. The months of April, May and June are the hottest ones during the day. The
average maximum and minimum temperatures during this period remain 41 centigrade to 24
centigrade respectively while December, January and February are the comparatively coldest
months with average maximum and minimum temperatures 28 centigrade to 9 centigrade
respectively. Rainfall varies from year to year. Most of the rain falls in the monsoon
months between June and September whereas the winter rains are insignificant.
Water and housing in the desert:
 The rains play a vital role in the life of
all parts of Thar as the water deposits in tobas (small ponds) are used for drinking,
washing and other purposes. These tobas are the only source of water for animals and human
in most of the desert area. Just for this reason, major portion of the population
lives like gypsies. When a toba comes to dry, they move to the next destination around the
water-filled toba. The human settlements are mostly found near the Karon-Jhar hills where
two seasonal streams flow but not in all the seasons. The underground water is rarely
found in Thar desert. If luckily found, after digging a very deep well, it comes out quite
sour and putrid. Simply undrinkable. Sometimes fortune do knock the doors of the Thar
inhabitants, when sweet water comes out of a very deeply dug well. Then the housing units
start increasing around that well. Digging the well is not so easy a number of times, it
claims the lives of the well-diggers. According to 1980 housing census, there were 241,326
housing units of one or two very small rooms. The degree of crowding was six persons per
housing unit and three persons per room.
For most of the housing units
(approximately 76 per cent), the main construction material of outer walls is unbaked
bricks whereas wood is used in 10 per cent and baked bricks or stones with mud bonding in
8 per cent housing units. A large number of families still live in jhugis (one room
housing units formed with straws and thin wood-sticks). The wind storm proves these jhugis
unsustainable all the times. But the poverty leaves no other option to these jhugiwalas
(people living in jhugis).
What attract you most:
The life is miserable and uncertain in
Thar but full of action and thrill for those tourists and visitors who take pains to
discover and see new cultures, lifestyle and traditions. Right from a travel on kaikra
(the 2nd world war army truck) which is the only transportation for people and animals
together to reach inside Thar and to the sun-rising and sun-setting scenes, camel
caravans, grazing and traveling herds, big and small sand dunes with thorny bushes,
traditional dresses and jewelry of women, folk music and dances may attract you for their
richness and originality.
Some worth-seeing places:
Though sand is all around in Thar.
But, in the Nangarparkar, the egg-shaped hills of Karon-Jhar and the charm of its valleys
coupled with some sacred places for Hindus may give unforgettable memories.
A few kilometers away in the north-western
side from Nangarparkar, Hindus’ holy place Saroharo attracts its believers as hindus
denote this temple to their Mahadev (the biggest god). Saroharo is on the brink of a
seasonal stream and a all-season-pond where Hindus come for their rituals. Since they have
faith on the presence of these hills and pond in their holy books, they throw the bones
and ashes of dead bodies into whirlpool of this pond after burning them. They also
celebrate Shorateri fair here every March. Above Saroharo, there is the Rishi’s
aasthan (a very small room used for worship) and ten impressions of his fingers of feet.
According to a belief that Rishi worshipped here for ten thousand years but finally lost
his invocation by touching a young girl. (He is the same Rishi whose request to the god
turned the sea into a desert.)
Gaomakhi is another aasthan, just a
kilometer away in the north of Saroharo. Here the tips of two hills join each other,
making the shape of a cow. A 30-feet high waterfall may be witnessed here during the
monsoon season. Hindus come here too for their rituals. At the distance of a few yards in
the south of Gaomakhi, here is a very deep pond named Bhemgoda. It is 20 feet wide and
around 30 feet long pond that never dries up. Inchlas is another aasthan towards the
south-western of Nangarparkar. Here, three streams come out of different hills. Water
flows from these natural streams all the year. A tavern is here for the travelers and
Hindus who visit Inchlas aasthan. Chandan Gud is a fort, built by Rana Chandan, one of the
Parkar rulers, in 1859. Now, only its remains are there.
Some customs and traditions:
The common life style in Thar is based on
joint family system. All three generations; grand-parents, parents and children prefer to
live under one roof. However, the men and women have divided out-door and domestic
responsibilities among themselves according to their ages and skills. Main duties of the
men in the family are ploughing the fields, animal-grazing, weaving and house-construction
or other money-earning actvities whereas the women responsibilities include bringing water
from the well or pond, cooking, washing, maintenance of house, thread-making,
embroidering, knitting etc. The money earned through any means by anyone is the
common property of the family.
The daughter is given more respect and
honour. If someone swear upon his daughter’s head, it considered more valid than any
other swear. The Hindus and other non-Muslims settledown the engagement of their daughter
in her childhood where Muslims go for daughter’s wedding in her adult age without
giving any importance to her consent, age-difference or financial status. Mostly close
relatives, family circle or caste is preferred for weddings even in Muslims too. Muslims
have also acquired another tradition from Hindus that they wed their daughter and son in
the same family together. If a daughter is married to a family with no girl, it has to pay
some money to daughter’s father. If a family has no son to get married in replication
then daughter’s father gets married with bride’s sister. Boy’s family
celebrates the wedding by singing songs and beating dhol (the traditional drum) while
girl’s family remains grim and no such activity is seen there. The wedding procession
goes on well-decorated camels to girl’s house. In case of Muslim bridegroom’s
death, the younger brother weds to the bride whereas Hindus have no such tradition and the
widow cannot have her other marriage rest of his life.
If someone passes away in a Muslim family,
they put on black dresses, women break their bangles and start weep-n-cry together. They
mourn for three days. The Hindus shave their heads and mustaches and put on an unstitched
cloth on their heads for 12 days of mourning. At the end of mourning in both religions,
meal is served to family, relatives and neighbours after offering some prayers for the
soul of dead one. Muslims have their graveyards but Hindus burn the dead-bodies and throw
aches into sacred ponds and whirlpools.
Adopting a son by issueless families is
common in Thari Hindus. They celebrate it like weddings by singing songs and beating drum
in a crowd of relatives. The ownership rights of man’s property goes to the
boy, adopted by him.
Main Professions:
Woodwork, wool-weaving, leather work,
jewelry-making, cloth-dyeing, embroidery, snake-charming, agriculture (in a few parts),
herd-grazing
About music, dance and festivals:
Thar is a cultural island in the mid of
Sindhi, Rajhestani and Gujrati ocean of cultures. The Rajhestani culture overshadows the
other two cultures. Thari music seems to be more inspired by the Rajhestani music
traditions but with its own emotional rhythm and colours.
An old Thari musician believes that most
of the Thari music is based on Mandh beat of Rajhestani music even the women on a death
weep-n-cry in the same rhythm. Thari music is considered to be of vital importance in folk
music of Pakistan. Often used as background music for TV plays and serials because of its
simplicity of emotional expressions, oneness and oddity.
The Thari musicians are especially invited
to all folk concerts and fairs all over Pakistan as they are considered as best in Kafi
singing. Kafi is a kind of poetic expression with a blend of mysticism. Most of the kafis
are written by the great sufis (mystics) of the Sindh province. They have their own
regional and folk songs too what they sing on their weddings and other happy occasions
like fairs and when the rain falls. Mostly the each verse of their folk songs are divided
into four rhythmic beats but the frame of composition remains the same. The folk
music and dance are the living traditions of Thar. If asked to any woman or man to
dance or sing, they can. Pain, agony, solitude and deprivation are the basic components of
Thari music, perhaps, because of their miserable life-style. Even their melodies are sung
on sorrowing rhythmic beats. Thari male singers are commonly known as faqirs (the person
devoted himself to saint’s tomb). Among the six popular singers from Thar five are
men including Murad Faqir, Budhu Faqir, Kalu Faqir, Shaadi Faqir Dhadhi and Bhgru Bhel.
Mai Bhagi was the only female singer who got recognized herself on national level. Her
songs were recorded by radio and TV and later on released on cassettes.
Kamacha, sitar, tabla, sarinda, harmonium
and shahnai are the main musical instruments of Thar. But Kamacha is the identity of Thar,
it cannot be found anywhere else in the province. Playing Kamacha is not a joke, only a
master musician with years of practice can.
Like other parts of Pakistan, Thar also
has a few folk dances including dandan rand, mitco, chakar rand and rasooro. The dandan
rand is performed by eight or ten men, having one small stick in one hand and silk
handkerchief in the other one, on the dhol beat in a circle. The dhol player also sings
the songs while rest of the men dance. The mitco is the solo performance by a male dancer.
It is also performed by women in their houses on weddings of their sons alone. The chakar
rand dance is the traditions Thari Muslims. The male dancer perform it holding a sword in
his hand on dhol beat. The rasooro is a stick dance by women even dhol is played by women
and some women also sing song on the dhol beat.
The festivals are a significant part of
Thar's cultural life. Since the life of people is quite miserable and they feel starved
for recreational activities, the festivals provide them a source of delight and joy.
Mostly the Muslims’ festivals are arranged at the tombs of saints and sufis whereas
Hindus’ at their temples. For both Muslims and Hindus, these festivals remain simple
in nature as a few shops of sweets are erected, besides mlakhra competition (a kind of
wrestling) and some musical events. The popular Muslims’ festivals are Razi Shah
Mela, Syed Misri Shah Mela, Mueen Shah Mela, Pir Aalam Shah Mela and Pir Hassan Ali Shah
Mela while Par Barham Mela, Sho Mela, Ram Gabbar Mela and Malhan Mela are known
Hindus’ festivals.
Major Seasonal Ponds (Box item)
Chalchi, Unand ki trai, Gudray, Rana Ser,
Katho, Mithi, Sanga and Lorai
Water deposits in these ponds remain
maximum to seven or eight months. There are many other small ponds that become dry with in
a month or two.
Main parts of Thar (box item)
Chachro, Mithi, Diplo, Nangarparkar,
Umerkot
A tale of Rishi’s “buddua”
(Side-bar or Box item)
Once upon a time, there was a Rishi
(worshiper) who was in search of an isolated place to worship. One day when he was in
trans, he saw the Karon-Jhar Hills and decided to go there for his worship. He spent
almost ten thousand years in devotion standing on each finger of his feet. During the last
days of his worship, the Rishi’s wife sent a letter to him tied around the neck of a
butterfly requesting him to come back. Replying back to his wife, the Rishi wiped off the
drops of perspiration from his forehead and wrapped in his wife’s letter and returned
the butterfly back to his wife. While passing over the sea, an eagle attacked the
butterfly, and Rishi’s sweat-drops fell in the mouth of a fish. Later on the fish
gave birth to a girl who was brought-up by fishermen and named after Machandra. In her
youth, she turned to be a most beautiful girl, used to sail in the full-moon nights.
Meanwhile, the Rishi has completed his worship and went to the fishermen so that they
could take him to the other side of the sea. But, all fishermen were busy and they asked
Machandra to take the Rishi other side of the sea. After sitting in the boat and watching
the beauty of Machandra, the Rishi fell in love with the girl. He rubbed the back of girl.
Realizing his wrong-doing, he stopped himself at once but he has lost his ten thousand
years’ worship. Than he raised his hands for buddua (asking something from god
against someone) and said, “O’ Parkar no Rishi or Monk shall take birth on thy
soil”. Rishi’s buddua led the sea dried and a busy harbour turned to a desert.
The history has no evidence to any Rishi or Monk on the soil.
Average temperature (Centigrade) and
precipitation recorded at Umar Kot, a part of Thar
Month
Max.
Min.
Precipitation in mm
January
25.6
7.6
1.00
February
29.5
10.7
2.00
March
35.3
16.6
1.00
April
39.9
20.7
1.00
May
42.4
25.0
1.00
June
40.8
27.3
10.00
July
37.2
26.8
50.00
August
35.1
25.8
76.00
September
36.2
24.2
23.00
October
36.4
20.1
5.00
November
32.3
13.9
1.00
December
27.4
8.7
1.00
Source: Meteorological Department,
Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.
The above table shows that the best months
to visit Thar are December, January and February.
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