VILLAGE INSTITUTIONS, COMMUNAL RESOURCES AND PASTORAL LIFE IN TANGIR VALLEY, GILGIT-BALTISTAN: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY

Abstract

This paper presents an ethnographic study of village institutions, communal resources and pastoral life in Tangir Valley, Diamer District, Gilgit-Baltistan. It draws on repeated ethnographic fieldwork beginning in 2000, supplemented by follow-up telephone interviews conducted in 2025 and 2026. The study includes key informant interviews, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, informal conversations, and visits to villages, nullahs and pastures. It documents the division of Tangir into Roms and villages and discusses local institutions and functionaries, particularly the Jirga, Justero (Yustero), Kul, Zaitu and Wai Segalo. It also considers customary distinctions between ownership and use rights and the indigenous distribution of communal resources through Dookar and Dalo. Pastoral practices, including the seasonal movement of livestock to nullahs (side-valleys) and pastures and the celebration of Gape Khushle on the safe return of shepherds and their herds, further reveal the close relationship between livelihood and collective village life. The paper argues that village institutions, customary authority, communal resources, and pastoral practices in Tangir Valley are interconnected parts of a locally rooted system through which communities have traditionally organised village affairs, managed shared resources, and maintained their relationship with the surrounding landscape.