Kohistani History

To reach Thull, a Kohistani community that is found in the mountains near the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, you have to make a hazarding trip on an endless dirt road that is unattainable in bad weather. The Kohistani are inherently a violent people who strongly believe in vengeance and had most of their fighting take place between descent groups. For the most part conflict was handled by local leaders, and there was usually no fatal accident due to a lack of fatal weapons. The lack of guns was due to the lack of roads that limited economic development, which limited the amount of money a person could amass. However, when Pakistan took charge in 1965, a number of social and economic developments took place. The roads that were installed made it possible for Thull to be linked to other parts of Pakistan. Included with the overwhelming amount of changes that followed, Kohistani violence evolved due to the outside impression that all started because of the roads. By the way that Kohistani violence and other facets of their culture changed when the roads were introduced, it shows how interconnected everything is. The introduction of the road demonstrated how culture is integrated by the way it altered subsistence strategies, increased violence, and brought innovative ideas to religion.
Before the road, subsistence in Thull solely depended on alpine herding and agriculture. Since importing fertilizer was now possible, Thull shifted its system to one weighing in the cultivation of potatoes, a cash crop that brought about several changes. The amount of men who participated in herding drastically decreased after the road was built due to the fact that herding was no longer the main source of income. With less land being used for herding, farmers were able to convert the property into more profitable potato fields. With the diminishing activity in herding, crosscutting ties became weakened as well. Even though the system for apportioning pastures remained the same,