BETWEEN RUINS, REBUILDING AND REMEMBRANCE: THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF PHUGUCH VILLAGE, DAREL VALLEY, GILGIT-BALTISTAN

Abstract

This paper deals with the cultural and religious heritage of Phuguch village in Darel Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan, drawing on my ethnographic fieldwork in 2000, 2001, 2009 and 2019. My research focused on the remains of the Buddhist monastery locally known as Naukot (also called Buddhist University), the eighteenth-century wooden mosque and the graves of Muslim mystics. I documented the mosque's carved architectural features and collected information from villagers about the mystics and the religious practices associated with their graves. The mosque was rebuilt in 2018, while the carved wooden tomb of Shah Khel Baba, photographed by Stein (1928), has disappeared. Local people said saint veneration had ceased after the spread of the Deobandi school of thought, although stories about the mystics continued to be told. Based on my observations, interviews, photographs and earlier historical accounts, I discuss the cultural and religious heritage of Phuguch and the changes I documented during successive visits.