Eurasian Studies

Balkans, Anatolia, Iran, Caucasus and Central Asia Studies Notebooks

Una luna velata sul ‘Tetto del Mondo’

Culture identitarie nel Pamir afghano

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Abstract

Afghanistan is an ancient land, rich in traditions and cultures having their roots in the millennial history of this country. Situated along the ancient caravan routes of Central Asia, by its caravanserais and markets it has represented an important point for exchange, communication and cultural interaction between the East and the West. Afghanistan is partly linked to the complex genealogical tree of Central Asia, full of intricate branches; one of those branches, at its eastern extremity, is knotted with the ‘Roof of the World’ (Bam-e Dunya): the vast orographic area of Pamir bordering on Tajikistan, Pakistan and China. This Afghan border territory (Wakhan Woluswali) includes different ecological areas: from the high-altitude valleys to the pastures in the plateaus, as far as the highest mountains of Pamir. Wakhan is populated particularly by Wakhi and, in its easternmost part, by Kyrgyz people. The Wakhi follow a subsistence strategy based on mountain agriculture combined with pasturage; they are Ismaili Nizaris and they speak a language (khik-zik, khik-wor) belonging to the north-eastern branch of the Iranian languages. Identity and religious cultures significantly influence the social life of those small mountain communities cut off on the ‘Roof of the World’.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: July 29, 2019 | Accepted: Sept. 18, 2019 | Published Oct. 17, 2019 | Language: it

Keywords Nizari Ismailism • Cultures and identities in the Afghan Pamir • High mountain pastoralism • Wakhan Pamir (Afghanistan) • Wakhi • Mountain communities of Pamir • Rangeland in mountain areas

Copyright © 2019 Giovanni Pedrini. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-340-3/014


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