Notes on the Hagiography and Cult of a Muslim Saint
in Nager and Hunza (Northern Pakistan)
By Jürgen Wasim Frembgen, Munich
Introduction: The Context of Islamization
The Islamization of the mountain peoples living in the Eastern Hindukush,
Karakoram, and Western Himalaya seems to have taken place gradually,
introducing different sects.' After a first "pulse" of propagation of Sunni
Islam, apparently as late as the 16'*^ century, the Ismailiyya was brought in
from Badakhshan (by the end of the IS'** c). Missionaries spreading the
Twelver-Shi a faith {Ithnä 'Ashari Shi'ism) reached the Karakoram from
Kashmir via Baltistan from about the century, but this by no means im¬
plies that most of the population already converted at that time. Later Sunni
Islam made its inroads from the South. A more thorough conversion to this
orthodox creed apparently started during the course of the IS'"^ century and
continued progressively through the 19''' century. In Indus Kohistan, for
instance, Islamization is connected with different Pakhtun "saints" and
missionaries who came from Swat, Buner, and nearby regions to preach the
new faith.^ Thus, the regional tradition of Islam in the high mountain areas
of Northern Pakistan consists of several streams and waves with differences
in religious faith and practice.
In the central area of Gilgit and in the nearby Hunza-valley, people pre¬
serve the memory of a number of holy men who are thought to have been
missionaries of Islam during the first half of the 16^'^ century.' Thus, Sayyid
Sultan Wali is buried in Amphari and the better known Sayyid Sultan Alif
Shah in Danyor (both villages are situated in the vicinity of Gilgit). In Gilgit
proper, there are the tombs of a few minor saints, namely of Sayyid Safdar
Shah, Sayyid Akbar Shah, and Sayyid Shah Afzal. The most famous bozorg
' Jettmar 1989, pp. 62-64; Dani 1989a, pp. 166-167, 170, 176, 195, 216-217; Caco-
pardo/Cacopardo 2001, pp. 33-34, 38, 54.
2 Frembgen 1999, pp. 83-84.
5 Dani 1989b, pp. 151,153.
(saint) of the former kingdom of Hunza is Baba Ghundi, whose shrine is
situated in the remote North-Western Chupursan-valley.'' He is vener¬
ated by the majority of the Hunzukuts (Burusho and Shin) as well as by
the Wakhi population of the upper Hunza-valley, who are all adherents of
the Ismailiyya. Other locally important saints are Shah Sultan Talib, who
is buried in the Wakhi-village of Husaini, and Shah-i Shams resp. Shams
ud-Din Tabrizi (Shimshal). In central and lower Hunza many people also
venerate Sayyid Shah Wali, the most prominent saint of Nager, a former
centralized state opposite Hunza, whose inhabitants are strict followers of
the Twelver-Shi'a. His shrine in the Nager-village of Ghulmeth, at the foot
of the majestic Rakaposhi peak, is the largest site of devotion and pilgrimage
in the main Hunza-valley. Generally speaking, the veneration of saints in
the Karakoram tends to reflect the more sober religious "climate" of Cen¬
tral Asia than the emotional and ecstatic Islamic mysticism displayed at the
countless shrines in South Asia.
According to oral tradition. Shah Wali is supposed to have been a descend¬
ant of Jafar as-Sadiq, the sixth Imam of the Twelver-Shi a. A written pedigree,
kept by the guardians of his shrine in Ghulmeth, gives 18 generations be¬
tween the saint and his alleged forefather Imam Mohammad Taqi; thus, the
saint's full name is officially given as Sayyid Shah Waliullah Taqvi Mahbub
Ilahi.* Being identified as a Sayyid, Shah Wali is embued with the charisma
of the Prophet Muhammad. The claim to belong to the religious elite and to
be of Arab origin is a common hagiographical motif, for instance also found
among Muslim saints in the Deccan.* Local North Pakistani hagiography
portrays Shah Wali as a preacher and missionary (dai), who held particular
magical powers. It is not known if he belonged to any dervish brotherhood
such as the Iranian Ni'matullahiyya, Dahabi, or Khaksar. The people of
Nager and Hunza deny that he performed any ecstatic Sufi practices or that
he entered ascetic retreats. Generally they consider him as a powerful saint
who embodies piety and adherence to the orthodox Islam of the Imami Shi'a
sect, but not as a Sufi saint. He actually might have been a Sufi, because of
his honorific name consisting of the titles Shah - "king" - and wall- "friend of God" (lit. "protector", "benefactor"). Wi^/z generally bears connotations
of close friendship, servanthood, and authority. Nor can it be ruled out that
the name/title of the missionary has a connection to the invocation yä 'All
wall ("Oh. saint Ali!") or to the formula 'All wall Alldh ("Ali, the friend of
For the Muslim saints of Hunza cf. Müller-Stellrecht 1979, pp. 236-242.
^ The shajara nasah (genealogy), which I could photograph, was compiled in 1958 by
Darbesh Mohammad from Ghulmeth and gives an alleged pedigree starting with Adam.
<■ Green 2003, pp. 501-502.
God") which is added to the Shi'a call to prayer. Furthermore, the descend¬
ants of his servant are called Darbeshkuts ("dervishes") in Nager - but no
information on a Sufi affiliation has been handed down to us.
Documents written in Persian as well as oral sources report that Shah
Wali reached Nager in the early 18^'' century at a time when part of the popu¬
lation had already been (superficially) converted to Islam. It is said that he
came to Ghulmeth in the year 1140 Hijri (= 1727 ce)^ when Tham Rahim
Shah ruled Nager (about 1720-1762). The earlier Islamization is attributed
to Sayyid Shah Buria who is said to have reached Nager in the time of Rahim
Shah's father Tham Kamal Khan (about 1120 Hijri = 1708 ce). The saint
originally belonged to Iran and came via Kashmir and Baltistan. According
to local oral and written sources, he was accompanied by the forefathers of
the Kashmiriting, a kinship group whose members are often religious schol¬
ars and functionaries. The names of these companions of Shah Buria are
Abul Hasan Isfahani (who is mentioned in a written order by Tham Kamal
Khan), Aqhon Nuro, and Shah Mohammad with his sons Taimur, Shah, and
Abul Hasan (who all remained in Uyum Nager). Nuro's son Saqi is said to
have later preached Islam in the village of Sumaiyar.
In popular local perception, the historical traditions dealing with Shah
Buria and Shah Wali are sometimes blended with the well-known legend
about a group of six Muslim saints coming from Baltistan via Shigar and
spreading the message of Islam in Nager (allegedly staying seven days
there) and surrounding regions. According to A.H. Dani, Mir Shams ud-
Din Iraqi sent these six missionaries sometime in the first half of the 16'*^
century.* The composition of this group may vary: In addition to Shah
Buria and Shah Wali, informants mention Sayyid Sultan Alif Shah, Sayyid
Sultan Wali, Sayyid Shah Sultan Talib, and Saghe Ali. Also Sayyid Dado,
whose small shrine is situated in the Nager-village of Pheker, Sayyid Safdar
Shah, and Saghe Ali's brother Ashur Ali are associated with them. Shah
Buria and Saghe Ali eventually proceeded further to Chitral.
Within the traditions memorized about Shah Buria, it is reported that
the ruler Tham Kamal Khan (whose mother is said to have been an already
converted princess from Baltistan) and his Wazir Uchano Tuchano as well as
"many Nagerkuts" embraced Islam and that the first small mosque (Kamäl
masjid) was built in the fortified main village of Uyum Nager. Of course,
the construction of this first mosque does not imply that Nager was fully
converted. It is rather unlikely that more mosques (masjid) and places of
assembly (imämbärha, mätam-sarä) existed in Nager at the time of Shah
7 Dani 1989a, p. 200; Dani 1989b, p. 155.
* Dani 1989b, p. 151.
Wali. Informants are unanimous that also in the course of the 18^'' century-
prayers were still performed on flat stones or on a lawn. Apparently, Shah
Wali was only staying for a relatively short while in Nager (the statements of
informants vary between a couple of months and a few years), before he died
there in the village of Thol, a period too short to supervise the construction
of religious buildings at a time when the pagan religion of the Burusho and
Shina-speaking Dards was still very much alive.
In the present paper, I would like to focus on the hagiography and cult of
Shah Wali in both Nager and Hunza. Special emphasis will be laid on the
oral tradition of the saint's legendary life and wanderings. It is an ideologi¬
cally used tradition which is contested by the former arch-enemies of Nager
and Hunza and appropriated by interest groups within Nager. The saint's
miracle-working and the controversy over his dead body throw a particular
light on the hardships of rural life in the high-mountain areas of Northern
Pakistan. The second part of the article deals with the spatial realization of
the saint's legends and contains a documentation of Shah Wall's shrines and
holy places, including notes on the role of the Darbeshkuts, who are their
hereditary guardians. The article will be rounded off by a discussion of the
local devotional practices.
Hagiography
The Life and Wanderings of Shah Wali (Nager version)
The following version of Shah Wall's migration to Nager and his sojourns
in various villages is based primarily on the narratives of some very knowl¬
edgeable persons from the Darbeshkuts, namely Mozahir Husain, Ghulam
Nabi, and Zawar Abdur Rahim. Their ancestor Mohammad Ali was a com¬
panion and servant of the saint. Additional information on Shah Wall's life-
history was collected particularly in the villages of Hopar, Uyum Nager,
Ghulmeth, and Thol.
It is said that the holy man grew up in a Sayyid-family in Khorasan. He
had two brothers, the elder one was Sultan Alif Shah (buried in Danyor)
and the younger one Safdar Shah (buried in Gilgit-Amphari). When their
mother died, their father remarried and the stepmother started to mistreat
the children. According to hagiographical tradition, the three boys could
fly - a motif which is characteristic for the local Burusho belief in diwaäkos,
i.e. men with superhuman qualities or demon-like supernatural beings. In
order to nullify the boys' saintly ability to fly, the evil stepmother mixed
hen's eggs into their food. As a result, the brothers decided to leave their
home and set out on their journey to the East.
In Ghazni or Kabul (informants are divided on that point), the young
Mohammad Ali joined them as a servant (khadim). The latter's father had
a dream one day before the arrival of the saints, that he should send one of
his three sons (Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Shah, Abdullah) with them. By
casting lots, it was decided that Mohammad Ali should be their attendant.
When the holy men, who had anticipated the encounter, arrived, they ac¬
cepted the young man and changed his original name Zewardi to the Shi'a
name Mohammad Ali.
From Kabul the small group moved to Badakhshan and proceeded fur¬
ther to Wakhan and into the land of the Kirghiz nomads. On their way,
other male devotees joined the saints and became their servants. In the au¬
tobiography of Mir Mohammad Nazim Khan it is mentioned that Shah
Wali came in fact on a pilgrimage from Badakhshan to visit the tomb of
Baba Ghundi near Ishkuk in the valley of Chupursan.^ Qudrat Ullah Beg
adds in his Tdrikh-i 'ahd-i 'atlq-i riydsat-i Hunza ("History of the old way
of rule in the dominion of Hunza") that Shah Wali found the saint's grave
open and therein the corpse of a newborn child. It held a yamhü (silver bar)
in his hand and the saint took it into his safe-keeping. He then filled up the
grave.'" Eventually, the group reached the Guhjal-area of the upper Hunza-
valley. There are different views in Nager about the continuation of the
journey: Some are of the opinion that the group went to the Shimshal valley
and from there to Hispar, a remote village belonging to Nager. After cross¬
ing a glacier, they came down from Hispar to Uyum Nager. Others narrate
that Shah Wali and his companions first moved to the Ultar mountain range
where they crossed the Ultar glacier. Then they stayed some time in Central
Hunza, where the brothers separated: Sultan Alif Shah and Safdar Shah
went down to Gilgit, whereas Shah Wali went together with Mohammad
Ali and some other khadim^ to Uyum Nager. It should be added that the
relationship between the three saints is obviously not necessarily authentic
and more likely constructed, thereby emphasizing a common identity.
At this point we will not pursue the legend as far as the saint's life in
Hunza is concerned, but instead focus on the saint's wanderings in Nager.
Shah Wali is said to have travelled from Hispar via Basho and Biraldo first
to the pasture land of Huro. There were goats and sheep and also some fields
belonging to the Goshotkuts-clan of Hopar. A man named Huko took care
' Nazim Khan, p. 138.
Qudrat Ullah Beg 1973, p. 126; cf. Müller-Stellrecht 1979, p. 238.
of the saint and his companion and led them to Ghzmu-das (also called Bon-
chi), a barren area close to the village of Hopar. Legend has it that in those
days all was topsy-turvy in Hopar: water flooded part of the oasis, landslides
came down, animals grazed in the fields, and the wheat grain was black be¬
cause of the mathel disease; there was generally no law and order and all was
haräm (in the sense of "bad" and "forbidden" according to Islam). Basically
the people just had beans (hukdk) to eat and, as a result were constantly fart¬
ing and therefore smelled bad. Shah Wali therefore refused to stay in Hopar
any longer; he blew on the corn to stop the disease and then proceeded down
to Uyum Nager-Tokurkhay. My informant Ghulam Mohammad from
Hopar-Goshoshal told me that his forefather Sukuno (in another version a
man from the Goshotkuts named Mamue Puno) hastened to prepare some
bread made of buckwheat. He then followed the holy man to Tokurkhay and
offered the bread to the saint, who was resting seated on a lawn. As a reward.
Shah Wali gave him his wooden stick. - Analysing this part of the legend,
which is well-known in the whole of Nager, we see that oral tradition here
justifies a hierarchical relationship between the powerful "capital" of Uyum
Nager and the "backward" people of Hopar. Nevertheless, the villagers of
Hopar "retaliated" with their episode of the miraculous stick.
Hagiographical oral tradition records that the saint spend about 2-3 days
in Uyum Nager praying in Manal-guts-das, Tokurkhay, and Melukushal.
In order to strengthen the Shi a faith, he left two khadlms in that village,
who became the ancestors of the Ayubokuts-lineage. Likewise two other
khadims settled in the next village of Sumaiyar to preach Islam. This is con¬
tradicted by the view that he was only accompanied by his faithful servant
Mohammad Ali. After Shah Wali miraculously saved his companion and
himself from rockfall on the steep slope between present-day Shahyar and
Hakuchar (villages which did not exist in those days) he reached Pheker
where the people were just celebrating the sowing festival of Thamo Bo,
mixing barley and gold and dancing enthusiastically. He reprimanded them
and taught them how to say the kalima (the Muslim formula of creed) and
perform the prayers. Before leaving, he blew on the grain to ensure the fertil¬
ity of the crops. According to another tradition recorded in the neighbour¬
ing village of Dadimal, Shah Wali cursed the "unbelievers" (käfir) of Pheker
after they had invited him to join their dance. Thereupon many Phekerkuts
died and the village was partly destroyed by a landslide. Walking further
down through Dadimal, the saint reached Pisan where he stayed in a house
inside the old fortified village. The tradition goes that he loved to pray at an
elevated place above the village (behind the present-day imämbärha) where
he asked the people to bury him after death. Then he came to Ghulmeth
where the crops were only growing quite low at that time. Through the
blessings of Shah Wali, they attained their proper height and the people
became prosperous. Finally, he reached the village of Thol, where he set¬
tled down. It remains a matter of speculation whether the saint chose this
place because of its still existing pre-lslamic religious structure, a Buddhist
stupa,'' in order to curb local "paganism".'^ The Nagerkuts deny that and
point out the tradition that Shah Wali had spent a few months in each village
of Nager when he finally fell ill in Thol.
In the religious memory of the Nagerkuts, there were at that time only
seven houses in the old khan (fortified village) of Thol, all inhabited by the
Shin-clan of the Manishere. Shah Wali used to live in a small house and was
taken care of by one of the Manishere-families. He remained unmarried. It
is said, that he did not speak or understand the Burushaski or Shina lan¬
guages and therefore could only communicate with a few people in Persian.
The fact that he spoke Persian must be seen in Nager within the context of
a process through ^h\c\y farsi became the court language." Persian became
the medium of the elite used in administration, diplomacy, and trade. In ad¬
dition, it represents the expression of Shi'a religious-cultural heritage.
Shah Wali impressed the local people through his piety and proceeded
to action by performing miracles. In Thol he used to receive the people: he
prayed for them, wrote amulets, and cured them by reciting verses from
the Qur'an and blowing his barkdt (the local pronouncation of the Arabic
baraka) - "power" - on them. While visiting a village, he used to preach
Islam (da'wa, lit. "invitation") and to admonish the Nagerkuts to observe
the religious rules and obligations, particularly to say the daily prayers
in the prescribed way. If the people did not follow him, he became angry.
Sometimes he would even curse them, causing trouble and bad luck. This
is another characteristic trait of many saints that they were held in awe and
feared by the people. Thus, people say that Shah Wali eventually placed a
curse on the family which was supposed to take care of him in Thol, because
the Manishere did not serve him well. He proclaimed that the family would
never have any offspring and this, it is said, became true.
" Even in the 1920s, the stupa was still an impressive monument, as can be gauged from photographs (Stein 1907, no. 4 opp. p. 20; Visser/Visser-Hooft 1935, p. 134). The monument was locally known as moghule cheti and villagers thought that it was used as a watchtower for hunting.
'2 The famous Sufi and founder of the Naqshbandiyya, Baha ud-Din Naqshband, for
example, was buried at a Buddhist centre of pilgrimage called Qasr-i Hindawi - "Hindu Palace" (cf. Ahmad 1999, p. 126).
Frembgen 1986, pp. 574-580.
My informants from the Darbeshkuts preserve an ideahzed image of the
appearance of the saint (most probably inspired by popular devotional prints
showing Iranian saints), describing him as a slim, bearded man of average
build, wearing a black turban, and a long green or black overcoat ('aba'). He
used to wear the green 'aba' for prayer and the black one during religious
rituals such as the n/^^?^-ceremony at a marriage and at a funeral (kafan-
dafan, where the fätiha, the first süra of the Qur an, is spoken). He is said to
have been very polite, serious, and having good table manners. The tradition
goes, that he usually participated in the joyful seasonal festivals celebrated
in the village (thereby finding a modus vivendi with the still partly "pagan"
Nagerkuts), but when people drank wine and indulged in obscene talk, his
face became hard as stone and he turned away.
The Life and Wanderings of Shah Wali (Hunza version)
According to numerous informants from Hunza, the saints Shah-i Shams
(Shimshal) and/or Shah Sultan Talib (Husaini) did not allow the newly ar¬
rived Shah Wali to proceed through their territories further down the main
Hunza-valley. Therefore, the holy man and his entourage (some informants
mentioned a group of twelve dervishes to D.L.R. Lorimer)" were appar¬
ently miraculously transported across the Ultar mountain range and came
straight through the narrow gorge, reaching Baltit, the capital of the Hunza-
state. The short text about the "Story of Saiyid Shah Wall", collected by
Lorimer In 1923/1924, begins as follows:
"They say that in early times a man called Saiyid Shah had come with his wife
out of the Ulter Ber in Hunza. The people were amazed saying: 'Wherever this
man has come from, and however he has come, there was no road (for him)
anywhere.' " (Lorimer 1935, p. 293)
It Is narrated that the saint first appeared at the Ultar glacier called bdyo
saharan In the high pasture-land of Ultar. Lorimer's informants added that
"... from the Boyo Shabaran the ice broke away under his horse's hoofs, and that the blast of wind from the falling ice struck a man who was ploughing in Ultar and carried him away across the valley." (in Müller-Stellrecht 1979, p. 248)
Then Shah Wali proceeded to Baltit. At that time Tham Silum Khan II was
the ruler of Hunza. The king gave his permission to the saint to settle down
In Shiqaqlants close to the hamlet of Burongoshal.'*
" In Müller-Stellrecht 1979, p. 248.
'5 Qudrat Ullah Beg 1973, p. 124.
Shah Wali started to preach Islam and helped the people in many ways.
He also worked miracles, so the Hunzukuts held him in great respect. But,
it is told, the Tham soon gave a glad eye to the saint's attractive, young wife.
Once, the Hunza ruler threatened Shah Wali and magically produced a heavy
downfall over Shiqaqlants, but the holy man protected himself by simply
drawing a circle around him - a well-known apotropaic gesture. Other in¬
formants are of the opinion that the queen insisted on Shah Wall's departure
from Hunza, because she became jealous of the saint's wife. Nevertheless,
the relationship between Tham Silum Khan and Shah Wali, as reflected in
local narrative history, is also a striking example of the age-old conflict over
popularity and authority between ruler and saint, the "sultan of the world"
and the "sultan of the heart".'* Eventually, when Shah Wali learned that the
Tham wanted to murder him,'^ he left Hunza and crossed the river to Nager.
My informant Taighun Shah adds that the Nagerkuts welcomed the Shi'a
missionary and offered him food and shelter. In return, he prayed for the
fertility of their fields and for their wellbeing. Many Hunzukuts, who had
pleaded with him to stay on, regretted that he had left and continued to
visit him in Nager to pay their respects and to offer him clothing. The saint
prayed on their behalf to ensure that there would be always plenty of sheep
wool in Hunza and thus it came true. Lorimer's text gives another detail
about the inhabitants of Shiqaqlants:
"They say he gave the people there some of his hair, saying: 'Bury this there'.
And he had said to them: 'When there have come to be seven Saiyid's graves in
this place Hunza will become very prosperous.' "(Lorimer 1935, pp. 293, 295).
Some people in Hunza preserve a particular tradition about Shah Wall's
young wife, whose existence is vehemently denied by the Nagerkuts. It is
said that she worried about her future in case her much older husband died.
But he reassured her that he had already made provision for that. When the
saint died, in the same moment his wife was miraculously transformed into
a pigeon. The bird flew from Thol across the river to the Hunza-village of
Maiyun where it sat on a tree, at the same place where later a shrine for Shah
Wali was built. After some time, the pigeon flew up the main Hunza-valley
and disappeared in the Ultar gorge, from where the saint had originally
come. The inhabitants of Maiyun presumed the existence of a treasure at
the place where the bird had stopped. In fact, a man started to dig and found
gold and other valuables, but, when he returned home, he became sick and
died. Nobody has ever dared to look there for treasure again. The latter
Frembgen 2000, p. 63.
'7 Qudrat Ullah Beg 1973, p. 127.
theme is well-known from many hagiographies in which sacrilegious deeds
are severely punished by the respective saint.
Miracles and Deeds
Among the Burusho, miracles are called since Islamization by the standard
Arabic term karämät. The miracle stories told about Shah Wali are deeply
embedded in a magical milieu: A particular important one, widely known
in both Nager and Hunza, is either located at the glacier between Hispar
and Uyum Nager or at the Ultar glacier. It is said that the saint and his com¬
panions were wandering on the glacier when Mohammad Ali suddenly fell
into a crevasse. The other khadims cried out for fear, but the saint calmed
them and simply wrote a tumdr (amulet), threw it into the same crevasse and
proceeded on his journey. Two days later, the group reached the end of the
glacier and met Mohammad Ali, who had been miraculously saved. He told
them that he had wandered under the glacier as if promenading on a lawn,
with an illuminated path in front of him, guided by the light which radiated
from Shah Wall's stick. In another version, it was the tumdr which showed
him his way under the glacier.
Some informants narrate that when the saint reached the Nager-village of
Hopar, he was confronted with a famous hitdn (shaman) who challenged his
authority and claimed to be more powerful than the Muslim holy man. Thus
they entered into a competition: First Shah Wali had to demonstrate his
power. He raised his stick and the shaman stretched his arm into the air. But
as soon as the saint had struck the ground with his stick, the hitdn became
paralysed and could no longer move his arm. Only when the latter accepted
Shah Wall's superiority and pleaded for help did the saint pray to God and
finally obtain divine permission to enable the shaman to lower his arm again.
The magician then embraced Islam. Mozahir Husain added that everywhere
in Nager hitdn, pas'uii (seer), and jadügar (practicioners of magic) came to
see Shah Wali and challenged his powers. But in his presence, they became
weak and unable to perform any miracles themselves.
In Manal-guts-das (a hamlet situated on the outskirts of Uyum Nager), in
those days a dangerous place with landslides and hardly any water to irrigate
the land, Shah Wali prayed and water started miraculously to flow under the
earth and to surface at a place where it could be easily distributed by building
canals. One of the Manalokuts living there embraced Islam and was called Ghu¬
lam Ali (he later migrated to Pisan where he married a woman from the Shin).
The piety of the saint, who was constantly on the lookout for a suitable
place to say his prayers, where water for ritual cleansing and a flat prayer
stone (nimdaz-bat)^^ would be at hand, has especially shaped people's im¬
agination of the topography of Upper Nager. The rise of several springs
(bul), such as the Baaskir-^/</ in fiispar, the Huro-bul between Hispar and
Uyum Nager, and the Tokurkhay-^«/ are all attributed to him. In a miracu¬
lous gesture known from many saints in the Muslim world, Shah Wali used
to strike his stick on a rock and fresh water poured out. Here the notion of
flowing water has different implications: In hagiography it symbolizes Shah
Wall's purgative path and his ritual purity, but for the local peasants it repre¬
sents a source for fresh drinking water and for water to irrigate their fields.
Shah Wall's most famous miracle is connected with the Melukushal-/?«/ in
Uyum Nager. The villagers of Melukushal say that in those days the saint ar¬
rived shortly before the maghrib-przyer. As there was no water for his ritual
ablutions, they hastened to fetch it from the Nager-river with the help of
a calabash (hösar). But when they returned, the saint had already struck his
stick on a huge rock from where a spring had emerged and was busy doing
his wudü' (ritual ablution). Otherwise he would have missed the maghrib
prayer. Then Shah Wali realized that there was no suitable flat nimdaz-hat
available like in Tokurkhay and Hispar. As soon as he expressed his wish
to God, the stone (in most versions the one from Tokurkhay) miraculously
moved through the air and landed in Melukushal. Much later, in the time
of Mir Sikandar Khan (1904-1940), a beautiful flat prayer-stone was found
in Chinishi, a pasture land near Payalokushal, high above the other villages
and hamlets of Uyum Nager. As the area around the holy place in Meluku¬
shal was dirty because of cow dung, it was decided to exchange the stones.
Under the supervision of Wazir Khudaman, labourers carried the original
nimdaz-hat of Shah Wali to Chinishi, which is close to the high mountain
areas considered pure and sacred according to the local beliefs. But twice
both stones flew back to their original places. Thus, Shah Wall's stone is now
again in its right place in Melukushal.
On his way down from Uyum Nager to Thol, the saint is said to have
miraculously saved his group:
"The stone-shoot between Shayar and Hakucher was raining down stones, and
on Saiyid Shah's coming level with it, it sent down stones. A big boulder de¬
scended from above. Saiyid Shah, saying a prayer, spat upwards and made the
stone, which had come rolling down, halt on the face of the slope. The boul¬
der stopped by Saiyid Shah's prayer is there on the slope to the present day."
(Lorimer 1935, p. 295)
Cf. Cacopardo/Cacopardo 2001, p. 143 (on flat stones used for prayer).
In Nager the people say that the saint took a handful of pepples, blew on
them, and threw them in the direction of the rolling rock, which stopped at
once. This story of the miraculous saving of travellers at the steep slope near
Shahyar is, by the way, also attributed to a golden-haired fairy named zighat
apiP After creating another spring near Bulokot, which is part of Dadimal
situated between the villages of Pheker and Miachar, some informants claim
that Shah Wali performed another miracle in the village of Pisan where he
allegedly pressed a stone in his fist until milk poured out. In Thol it is said
that, in the middle of the winter season, he ordered one of his dervishes to
shake a peach tree and the villagers could enjoy the fruit. This miracle motif
was probably taken over from outside and adapted from dervish stories or
folk tales. For example, a story is told in Anatolia about the famous saint
Haci Bekta§ Veli (13''^ c.) who miraculously made an apple tree blossom and
bear fruit in the middle of the winter.^"
My friend and colleague Ejazullah Beg from Hunza told me the following
story of a karämät which Shah Wali is supposed to have performed when he
resided in Thol: Wandering around Nomal, a big village in the lower Hunza-
valley already belonging to Gilgit, the saint met a man from the Hunza-
village of Hindi (nowadays called Nasirabad), who beseeched him for help
because in those days people suffered severely from the shortage of water
for irrigation. The man asked for an amulet which could solve his problems.
Shah Wali eventually gave him a leather bag (meesh) with the instructions
not to open the bag before he reached the place in Hindi where the spring
would arise. On the way back, the man stayed overnight in his sister's home
in Guachi. He ordered his sister to keep the bag in a safe place and not to
open it under any circumstances, because it contained something very pre¬
cious. However, when her brother was out, the woman could not control
her curiosity and untied the bag. At that moment, a light grey ptarmigan
(buld) shot out of the bag like a rocket across the river and hit straight on a
rockface, from where a spring gushed out. To this day, this buld-bul causes
many dangerous landslides for travellers on the Karakoram Highway near
Jutial. Deeply distressed, the man looked into the bag and saw that only one
feather was left. After his return to Hindi, he opened the bag and the wind
carried the bird's feather towards the mountainside where it created a small
spring, the Phulghu-/?«/. Its water was mixed with blood and even today it is
not potable. Thus, the moral narrative says it happened, because the people
did not respect the saint's authority and failed to follow his instructions.
" Frembgen 1988, pp. 41-42.
2° Kriss/Kriss-Heinrich 1960, p. 298.
In Hunza, the Aqhonkuts are related through family memory to Shah
Wali. Mumtaz Muluk (Aliabad) told me that his family had preserved the
following episode from the saint's life: Before settling in Shiqaqlants, Shah
Wali stayed for some time with their forefather Mamad (from the Achancho-
Barataling lineage) in Baltit-Shanokushal. The people were surprised that
Shah Wali preferred to live with such a poor family who had no offspring.
Mamad's wife offered him milk, but he did not drink, and only put the lit¬
tle finger of his right hand into the milk. Through this blessing, the family
never lacked for milk. When Mamad returned from the mountains where he
had worked as a shepherd, the saint ordered him to return again to look for
a glittering precious stone. However, he could not find it and only brought
back a flint. Following Shah Wall's instructions, he placed the flint under
the grain box (chdgur). From that day on, the family always had enough
bread to eat. Because they were already old and still childless, Mamad asked
the saint for an amulet. Shah Wali wrote a tumdr and advised Mamad to
wear it permanently on his body. Soon Mamad's wife became pregnant and
from then on, the family always had enough offspring. This stereotypical
motif of the old Zakariya (Zacharias) and his barren wife, who nonetheless
had a son named Yahya, is most probably borrowed from the Qur'an {süra
19/1-16). Later a relative of Mamad was able to steal the amulet and bring it
to his home in Aliabad, where he attached it to a beam. Eventually, the house
broke down because the saint's order had been violated.
Shah Wali's main miracle in Hunza again focuses on the fertility of the soil
and points to one of his particular benign attributes. It is reported by Qudrat
Ullah Beg as well as by Lorimer. The latter reports the story as follows:
"Saiyid Shah possessed supernatural powers, they say. One day he said to the
people: 'O men of Hunza, the water of Baltit is scanty; a Deu is drinking up
all the water. I shall get the Deu out for you, and do you slay him.' At that time
the people were afraid, so Saiyid Shah shot (at the Deu) with a gun; whereupon a
considerable spring of water gushed out. Saiyid Shah said to them: Tf you had
slain the Deu much (more) water would have come out. I shot him just now in
one tooth. The spring will remain to you for ever.' The spring is there now. We
call h the Pfuru.e Bul (the 'Reed Spring')." (Lorimer 1935, p. 293)
In Qudrat Ullah Beg's version, on the other hand, it is said that Shah
Wali did not fire a second time because he was afraid that the demon would
come out and harm the people.^' Therefore the Hunzukuts should be content
with the water available. Lorimer remarked in his notes: "Up to the present
day there is water from the spring for a big field. At the place he fired from
2' Qudrat Ullah Beg 1973, p. 127; Müller-Stellrecht 1979, p. 249.
they have made a small shelter for herdsmen" (in Müller-Stellrecht 1979,
p. 249). My informant Nasimullah Beg (Baltit) added a further detail, men¬
tioning the saint's prophecy that more water would gush out if one would fire
at a second tooth. This apparently proved right, when in 1996 a contractor
blew up the rock above the H[yderabad-^<«r and plenty of water came out.
The Death of the Saint
The following account was given to me by Ghulam Nabi (Darbeshkuts)
from Ghulmeth: On the day Shah Wali felt that he was going to die, he or¬
dered his servant Mohammad Ali to get a white shroud (kafan) for the burial
and to look for it either at the royal court in Uyum Nager or in Baltit, the
capital of Hunza. Although it was already afternoon, the khadim should be
back by sunset in any case. Thus, Mohammad Ali started his long journey
from Thol to Uyum Nager. As the king was not in the palace, the queen
received him and explained that, in fact, a kafan would be ready, but she
didn't know if it had been borrowed from somewhere and it probably had
been paid for yet either. She would leave it to the servant's discretion to take
it or not, but probably it would be better to look for one in Hunza where
there were usually plenty of woollen kafans due to the flourishing trade
with Eastern Turkestan. As a result, Mohammad Ali went to the ruler of
Hunza and got the shroud there. Miraculously he returned to Thol in time.
In Lorimer's short Hunza-text it is noted in that respect: "Saiyid Shah was
a holy man of God, and they say he had kept the sun from setting. On their
bringing him the shroud Saiyid Shah Wali died" (Lorimer 1935, p. 295). In
Lorimer's notes we find a more detailed, yet differing narrative provided by
informants from Hunza:
"... he sent a man to Hunza and another to Nager for a shroud. A fine clean
shroud arrived first from Hunza while he was still alive. When later a thin
worn-out, rained-on shroud arrived from Nager, Saiyid Shah Wali made a
double blessing for Hunza, cancelling the original curse he had put on it. Ap¬
proving the Hunza shroud, he gave orders, saying: 'Put this shroud on me,' and
then died." (in Müller-Stellrecht 1979, p. 249)
Another version, apparently recorded from Nager, also shows a lukewarm
response to the saint's cause in the capital of the Nager-state, but is concili¬
atory in the end:
"It is related that when the great saint ... was on his deathbed, he despatched a
disciple to the then Mir of Nagar, asking for a shroud. The Mir agreed to give
him one and went inside, keeping the messenger waiting. Time passed; the
messenger had been exhorted to return by sunset when the saint expected to
breathe his last. In despair, he left, and approached the Mir of Hunza at Baltit,
who promptly provided a shroud with which the messenger galloped back.
Meanwhile the Mir of Nagar emerged, with a shroud all ready, only to be told
that the messenger had already left. He blamed himself bitterly for his dilatory
behaviour; and, by way of making amends, despatched at once meat, vegeta¬
bles, poultry and fruit for a sumptuous funeral feast. The provisions arrived
just at the moment when the shroud came from Baltit; the saint was still alive.
He blessed the Mirs and the people of both states, saying that Hunza should
never lack fine raiment and that Nagar should never lack food." (Rushbrook
Williams 1964, p. 234)
A slightly different version, recorded by John Staley in the Nager-village
of Minapin, mentions the apologetic offering of grain and fruit on the part of
the ruler of Nager. -^^ Here the saint utters the following prophecy (reflecting
widely-held popular stereotypes):
"... because the Mir of Hunza had acted so promptly and had sent a shroud, the
people of Hunza were to be hardworking and were to have good cloth; whereas
the people of Nagar were to be slow and idle, but nonetheless were to have
abundant grain and fruit." (Staley 1982, p. 122)
In this respect legends reflect above all aetiological aspects. Shedding light on
the continual conflict and rivalry between Nager and Hunza, the following
Hunza-version is more focused on delimitation and is clearly ethnocentric.
It is said that Shah Wali requested both the people of Nager and of Hunza to
prepare a bier (tabüt) for him. The Hunzukuts, diligent and obedient to the
holy man's order, were the first to get the bier ready. Therefore Shah Wali
prayed that their kingdom would always prosper and never be conquered.
However, while addressing the negligent Nagerkuts, he prophesied that if
their state declined, it would never be possible to reconquer it. Qudrat
Ullah Beg, on the other hand, even more expressively takes the stance of
Hunza when he writes that the saint wished to be buried in Shiqaqlants and
therefore only requested the Hunzukuts to bring a shroud.-^'
As far as his tomb is concerned, the inhabitants of Thol argue that the
saint had specified that he wished to be buried in the middle of a large boul¬
der in Thol.^'' The villagers asked him how they could actually manage that
with their poor equipment consisting of a few axes and ibex-horns. Shah
Wali just replied that they should recite the basmala-iormula. (invocation
" Staley 1982, p. 122.
" Qudrat Ullah Beg 1973, p. 127.
" This represents, of course, a completely un-Islamic mode of burial. It refers more to the local folk-religious idea that certain superhuman beings, such as deu or phut (demons), inhabit boulders and rocks.
of God) three times and then wait. They did so after his death and the rock
miraculously split open or, according to another version, burst into many
pieces. Shah Wali was eventually not buried in Thol, but in Ghulmeth, where
subsequently, because of the saint's presence, much more water was flowing
from the Ghulmeth-^««?:^* Villagers from Thol claim that in lieu of the dead
body, a huge rock flew from Ghulmeth to the place in their village where
eventually an astdan (holy place) was built. In later times, some women from
Thol and Gushpur-women (i.e. women belonging to the royal family) from
the neighbouring village of Niit, in fact, saw on Thursdays light emanating
from the rock and moving around. Subsequently, a number of Tholkuts (lit.
"people from Thol") had a dream in which the saint appeared to them and
told that he was staying inside the boulder.
The oral traditions dealing with Shah Wali's death show various "us" vs.
"them" - layers and clearly reflect a powergame over the holy man's barkdt-
filled body between the villages of Thol, Ghulmeth, and Pisan. Eventually,
the numerically more powerful people of Ghulmeth got hold of his mortal
remains and buried him in their village, as mentioned above. Such a theft
or abduction of a saint's body represents a well-known topic in Muslim
hagiography.^'' Repeatedly, the Nagerkuts referred to the weakness of Thol,
where there were allegedly only seven houses at that time. A stronger chal¬
lenge was the claim made by the inhabitants of the old neighbouring village
of Pisan. It is said that Shah Wali had promised Tranpha Ghazi (Hashime)^*
from Pisan that he would be buried slightly above that village, because in those
days there were so many ill people who hoped to be cured in the saint's pres¬
ence. The villagers of Ghulmeth, on the other hand, claimed the holy man's
body in the hope of an effective cure against the wheat-disease (mathel).
Returning to the hagiographical legend, the narrative continues, men¬
tioning that when the news about Shah Wali's death in Thol spread, Tranpha
Ghazi arrived with his men (mention is made of Ghulam Ali and Mir Ali)
from Pisan. According to the saint's earlier instructions, his body should be
taken first to the house of a man in Thol whose name was Mahmud. There
it should be ritually washed, but the soil beneath under no circumstances
25 Cf. Qudrat Ullah Beg 1973, p. 127.
2' Lorimer 1935, p. 295; cf. Skyhawk 1999, p. 192. - A similar competition of people from different villages over the body of a Muslim saint can be found in the oral traditions of Biyori, a village in the area of the Palula in Southern Chitral (Cacopardo/Cacopardo 2001, p. 114).
" For example Dermenghem 1954, p. 17; Müller-Stellrecht 1979, p. 238, note 501
(Baba Ghundi).
2* In Pisan this Tranpha (i.e. an official with authority over a village) is locally only known by the name of Hashim.
thrown away. When Shah Wali's body was now washed, a woman from the
Manishere poured the running off water in an adjacent cowshed. As a re¬
sult of this sacrilegious act, disregarding the holy man's wish, the family of
Mahmud and the other Manishere had no more offspring. An old woman,
originally belonging to the Nage-lineage, observed in the cowshed that an
intense glowing light was emanating from the ground. She took a little bit
from the moist soil and put it in the corner of her house. From then on, her
family was prosperous.
After the ritual washing, the Pisankuts laid the saint's body on a tabüt
and started to carry it to their village.^' On the way, the Ghulmethkuts
treated them to a good meal and offered them wine.'° Furthermore, the men
of Pisan who were already inebriated were bribed with wheat and their chief,
Tranpha Ghazi, even with gold to leave Shah Wali's body in Ghulmeth. The
latter's inhabitants quickly buried the saint to create a fait accompli. While
walking back to Pisan, Tranpha Ghazi and his small group suddenly heard
in Yz\-parrP^ Shah Wali's voice exclaiming "you have bartered me for gold,
here is more of it" and a big gold-nugget fell on the saddle right in front of
the village-headman. In other versions of the moral tale the voice said: "Do
you like me or do you prefer gold?" or "If you want gold, look in your bag!"
and at that moment all the gold turned into charcoal (hanjü). Now Ghazi
and his companions realized the sacrilege they had committed. They re¬
turned to Ghulmeth, but the people there had already expected them and
emplaced their guns (tumdk). In the ensuing encounter a number of people
were injured, but, finally, the Pisankuts had to retreat empty-handed to their
village. - On the one hand, it is narrated that until the middle of the 1990s,
Tranpha Ghazi's family did not increase and therefore visited Shah Wali's
shrine in Ghulmeth every year on a Thursday to plead for forgiveness and
to sacrifice a bull. Only a few years ago, their plea was heard and Ghazi's
family once again has two households. On the other hand, villagers in Pisan
point out that the families of Tranpha Ghazi and his companions Ghulam
Ali and Mir Ali all died out with the exception of one girl who later married
into another family. This motif of a sole survivor is well-known from vari¬
ous myths and legends in the Karakoram.
2' The following abbreviated Hunza-version leaves out the role of the Pisankuts and is therefore not verified by the people of Nager. According to Lorimer's informant "... the
people of Ghulmit learned what had happened and came to carry off Saiyid Shah's body
from the people of Tol. And they did carry it off, for the people of Ghulmit were many and the people of Tol were few. Overpowering and beating the people of Tol they carried off the body to Ghulmit, where they buried it and made a tomb" (Lorimer 1935, pp. 295, 297).
^° CL Staley 1982, p. 123.
" A very steep and dangerous sliding area near the village of Yal.
Conceming the blessings of the shrine for the people of Ghulmeth,
Lorimer writes in his notes recorded in Hunza:
"Since it (the shrine) has been there, wheat and barley have ripened there; other¬
wise, the glacier water came out late in Ghulmet and only millet were cultivated.
It was an unhealthy place; many imbeciles and goitrous persons were born there.
Sickness also has now disappeared." (in Müller-Stellrecht 1979, p. 249)'^
In Lorimer's hagiographical text the following is added with respect to the
Ghulmethkuts:
"To the Hunza people too, it is said, they did not surrender the body, (though)
some years after Saiyid Shah had died, the people of Hunza had come up in
armed force against Ghulmit." (Lorimer 1935, p. 297)
This is in line with Qudrat Ullah Beg's and Lorimer's notion that the
saint originally wished to be buried in Shiqaqlants. Shah Wali is thought to
have said:
"Let my shrine be here, and if there are the shrines of seven saiyid with me here, there will be no scarcity of water in Hunza any longer." (Müller-Stellrecht
1979, p. 249)
The Cult: Holy Places and the Practice of Veneration
The Main Shrine in Ghulmeth
Shah Wali's shrine in Ghulmeth is the focal point of spiritual authority in
Nager wielding especially magical powers. It is officially called Dargäh-e
sharif Hazrat Sayyid Shäh Wall, but in the vernacular it is only known as
the astdan (holy place) of Shah Wali. It is situated in the middle of a court¬
yard in the village of Ghulmeth, just on the left side of the old imämhärha
(renovated in 1986). In front of these religious buildings is a huge, magnifi¬
cent plane-tree (chendr) with extremely long branches said to have stretched
once to the ancient gate (khane hingbaltarc) of the nearby fortified village.
The plane is generally venerated by Shi'as because of its hand-shaped leaves
symbolizing the holy family and also evoking the image of hands raised for
prayer. Close to the chendr-tree are the former "place of assembly" (hidak),
where horses were also fastened, and a small mosque in the background.
According to W. M. Conway, who visited Ghulmeth in 1892, Shah Wali's
shrine was apparently a simple wooden construction and allegedly bare
Staley 1982, p. 123.
with no tomb in it (?).'' One objection to the latter "observation" is that it
seems to be based on a very superficial impression; furthermore, elevations
of tombs in Nager and surrounding regions are generally very slight and not
cenotaph-like. Some time after Conway, in 1933, also R.C.F. Schömberg
saw the shrine, but unfortunately refrained from any closer description.'''
The structure was described to me as a cubic block made of stone with
wooden beams in the local half timbered style, with a few small windows in
the upper part. In the 1960s, Mir Shaukat Ali Khan, the ruler of the Nager,
ordered that a wall be built around the shrine area. Finally, in 1977/1978, the
villagers themselves dismantled the old building and replaced it by an octa¬
gonal solid structure with a cupola, a door, and three arched windows. The
project was executed by the local craftsman Mistri Ali Haidar (Madikuts).
This mausoleum (now containing a cenotaph), made of stone and wooden
beams, had plastered walls and was still of a modest size more like the cham¬
ber of a tomb. A lintel dated 1295 Hijri (= 1878 ce) was most probably taken
from the earlier shrine and reused in the new building.'* In 1986, the villag¬
ers again decided to renovate and embellish the astdan: Instead of having
plastered walls, the mausoleum was now built with grey stone bricks; the
door, the green windows, and the white plastered dome essentially remained
as before. The decoration of the narrow interior consists of a floral ornament
painted by the craftsman Ramazan, two framed genealogies, and two older
poster-prints depicting Imam Husain's horse. The whole site has been rear¬
ranged so that the small mausoleum now has a quadrangular walled enclo¬
sure made of the same brickwork thereby creating a sort of inner courtyard.
The front of the enclosure shows a symmetrical structure with a main door
in the center, flanked on each side by a window. Both corners are marked
by a round, tower-like minaret with two arched openings in its upper part.
It seems that this new architectural design was influenced by popular devo¬
tional paintings (poster-prints) and by embroideries showing the facades of
famous religious monuments of the Twelver Shi'as in Iran and Iraq. In ad¬
dition to this enclosure, the outer courtyard is fenced off by a wall and by a
huge portal for entrance, both made of stone brickwork.
As the shrine of Shah Wali is the most important one in Nager, people
from Chaprot and Bar as well as from the remote Hispar come to Ghulmeth
to pay their respects to the saint and to seek his blessings in all aspects of
life. Usually they utter the formula: yd Shäh Wall, yd farydd dokoyal. The
pilgrims used to stay overnight in small mehmän-khänds (guesthouses)
" Conway 1894, p. 223.
Schömberg 1935, pp. 101-102.
" Dani 1989b, p. 155.
if they had no relatives in the village. On Thursdays and Fridays whole
families, particularly women with children, visit the astdan. Until the 1960s
Hunzukuts (particularly women) also frequently came to pray and to sub¬
mit their wishes and vows. Nowadays, drivers (from Nager as well as from
Hunza) stop at the Karakoram Highway, utter a short invocation to Shah
Wali to ensure a safe journey, and deposit some money (often 5 rupee notes)
into a donation box.
The Nagerkuts seek Shah Wali's intercession for a number of reasons, but
particularly to ensure fertility. Being a powerful auxiliary saint and media¬
tor to God, many women visit the astdan to pray for the birth of a son. An
exemplary case was reported by Ghulam Nabi: In 1971 one of his female
relatives, who lived in Sumaiyar, was still childless and at a loss, because
neither the use of amulets nor the consultation of medical practitioners
proved successful. She then decided to stay for five days with Ghulam
Nabi's family in Ghulmeth in order to submit her supplication every day to
Shah Wali. Ghulam Nabi had to return to Karachi for work, but when he
finally returned to Nager after five years to settle permanently in Ghulmeth,
he learned that his relative had given birth to five children (three boys and
two daughters). Ghulam Nabi added that the woman complained about her
physical weakness, because every year she had to bear a child. Therefore she
requested the saint to prevent her from becoming pregnant and Shah Wali
eventually granted her wish. In this short narrative the obvious use of the
five as an auspicious number in any Shi'a context already reveals a legendary
trait. Another tale from Ghulmeth also underlines the important quest for
male offspring: About 20 years ago. Raja Nizam ud-Din (Moghlotkuts), who
lives close to the shrine, saw in a dream a nurani bozorg (a saint with radiat¬
ing light) praying in the courtyard of the astdan. Most probably it was Shah
Wali himself. The holy man addressed the Raja and said: "Tell your neigh¬
bour Tranpha Mast Ali he should just pray and donate z phiröoza-buröndo
(finger-ring with a turquoise) to the shrine." A few days before, the Raja had
jokingly promised the Tranpha that he would help him to get a son. He in¬
formed his neighbour about the dream and left it to his discretion to believe
or not to believe the divine message. Mast Ali followed the bozorg's orders
and after two months a son was born to him (today he has even four sons).
Shah Wali is said to help in many different ways: In case of a land dis¬
pute, both opponents went to the astdan and swore on the Qur'an that they
had uttered the truth. Salt was sprinkled on the pages which both men had
to lick up. Usually the one who was wrong was expected to be struck by
misfortune or even die within a couple of days. This sort of oath-taking at
shrines used to be very common in both Nager and Hunza. Today jobless
men pray to the saint to find a suitable position. Furthermore, the holy man
had the divine powers to cure diseases. People in Ghulmeth say that once
a mother prayed at the astdan for the cure of her sick daughter, who had a
stiff arm. In a flash, her ring was removed from her finger and set itself on
the tomb. Her daughter could soon move her arm again. Another story told
about Zawar Rajab from Ghulmeth (who originally belonged to Dadimal)
highlights the saint's quality as a protector: In the 1960s, Rajab had a dream
in which he met a nurani bozorg with his khadim (apparently Shah Wali
with Mohammad Ali, as my informant concluded), who were on their way
to the Rakaposhi glacier. He asked them in the customary way where they
were going and what they intended to do. They replied: "We are ascending,
because there will be a great misfortune, and we are going to avert it." The
next day a big avalanche occurred, but miraculously no one died, and only
trees and fields were devastated.
In order to remind Shah Wali of a wish and to emphasize its binding effect,
devotees fix 'alams (standard consisting of a small stick with a piece of cloth
attached) or padlocks on the doorhandles of the shrine (formerly a chain). A
wish is usually combined with a vow. Thus pilgrims whose wishes have been
granted (which is expressed in Burushaski as muräd puro mantmi or hajät
qabül mammi), offer wheat-flour, clarified butter ( maltdsh/ghi), and nowa¬
days often money. These donations are taken by the guardians of the astdan.
Depending on the character of the wish, some believers also vow to slaughter
a goat or sheep and to prepare special bread with butter (pushooro, also pro¬
nounced zspirishoro) to be distributed among the poor.'* Cases are known of
an offering being rejected by the saint. Not surprisingly, such stories are told
particularly about devotees from Hunza (for example when g^z was miracu¬
lously separated in lumps and scattered around). Other pious people vow to
circumambulate the astdan three times within the enclosure on a Thursday
evening while praying xht fätiha and a du'ä (personal petitive prayer).'''
A particular expression for such an offering is qbudei. In connection with Shah Wa¬
li's shrine it is said that once in the early 1940s, a big sheep was missing, which belonged to Raja Muzafar ud-Din Shah (Moghlotkuts), the Jagirdar of Ghulmeth. The servants looked for it and found it sleeping in the saint's courtyard, remarkably with its head turned to¬
wards the qibla (i.e. towards Mecca). This was considered very auspicious because, fol¬
lowing the model of Abraham's sacrifice, every animal in Islam is slaughtered with its head turned in the direction of Mecca. The Raja ordered to sacrifice the sheep as qbudei and to distribute the meat to all the villagers. On the next day the message arrived that Muzafar ud-Din Shah was appointed as "Raja" (here in the sense of governor) of Chilas.
'7 It must be emphasized that no religious festivities or celebrations are held on behalf
of Shah Wali, such as commemorating his death, etc. The devotion displayed here defi¬
nitely lacks the fervent character such as is found for instance in Punjab and other parts of
A way to obtain Shah Wah's blessings is to touch the piqmdr stone lying
in the main courtyard close to the entrance.'* This piqmdr shows the saint's
footprint and was found many years ago lying in the das (desert-like land)
between the Ghu\meth-khan and the small adjacent village of Masot. When,
in 1994, the respective plot was divided among the sons of the owner, the
stone was eventually brought to the astdan. The pilgrims also drink the
rainwater which collects in the deepening of Shah Wali's footprint. The
water, which is "loaded" with his barkdt, is taken with a spoon. On special
request, the mujäwer (guardian) on duty distributes sacred earth from the
tomb, particularly to pregnant women and sick children. He may also pre¬
pare amulets. In the evenings, a man from the Darbeshkuts (the hereditary
guardians of the shrine) blows into a yakhorn to announce the lighting of
the oil lamps, whose residues are taken as substances containg barkdt by
devotees. Later the mujäwer on duty closes the doors of the shrine. It is told
that sometimes in the morning the doors are wide open, which confirms
Shah Wali's presence.
The Role of the Darbeshkuts
The twelve families of the Darbeshkuts, settled nowadays in Ghulmeth as
well as another family living in adjacent Masot, are all descendants of Shah
Wali's servant Mohammad Ali Qadimi.''^ It is said that the village consisted
of only 30 houses at that time about eight generations before. Zawar Abdur
Rahim remarked that the Darbeshkuts had prospered since then, because
they did not desert their saint (otherwise Shah Wali had threatened them
with extinction). Like the local Ulama, they were also exempted from pay¬
ing taxes during the rule of the royal dynasty of Nager.
South Asia. This may also be due to the renewed Shi a faith and the preachings of the local Ulama (religious scholars).
h piqmdr is usually considered to be a sacred stone or rock showing the imprints of the feet or hands of a saint; frequently people see light emanating from them (cf. Müller-
Stellrecht 1979, pp. 243-244). In some cases, for instance in the Nager-village of
Askurdas, a mosque is built over 3. piqmdr. The prayer-stone from Chinishi near Uyum Nager, already mentioned above in the context of Shah Wali's miracle to create a spring for his ablutions, is also considered as d.piqmdr where people go to pray for the birth of a son.
Occasionally people visit such a holy place, distribute lumps of butter (pusbdoro) among children and pray for the betterment of weather. This indigenous custom, which is known 3.S piqmdre pushooro, is still observed in Chinishi.
" To to my knowledge, there are no Darbeshkuts living in other villages of Nager;
only in the time of Mir Sikandar Khan (1905-1940) a certain Darbesh Chiltani migrated from Ghulmeth to the remote village of Bar and died there without leaving any offspring.
The Darbeshkuts preserve a particular memory about their forefather
Mohammad Ali. They narrate that the latter was treated by the Nager people
only as a mean servant after the saint's death. Being utterly disappointed, he
left and went to the village of Taus in Yasin. While sleeping under a tree, he
had a dream in which the saint admonished him: "Why did you leave me?"
And Mohammad Ali complained: "The Nagerkuts are not treating me well
and they did not give me a wife." Shah Wali reassured him in saying: "Don't
worry, go to the next house and there you will get what you want! Then re¬
turn to Nager and the people will treat you respectfully!" Close to the house
he met a mother with her daughter. Mohammad Ali married the young
woman and also received a letter of recommendation to be handed over to
the Nager people, which the saint had miraculously deposited there. In the
khadim's absence (for about a week), the inhabitants of Ghulmeth had been
unable to open the doors of the shrine. Despite all efforts, the doors remained
firmly locked. On Mohammad Ali's return to Ghulmeth, he blew into his
yakhorn before entering the village, and the doors of the astdan opened by
themselves. The villagers were very impressed by this miracle. The story re¬
flects the well-known motif that people who are at the bottom of the society
and do not have power are eventually validated. Mohammad Ali Qadimi
was later buried in the cemetery close to the saint's tomb.''° His descendants
intermarried with indigenous women from Ghulmeth, they were "put into
chains" (sdngalis'ing egtni), as one of my informants vividly stated. Since then,
they perform their service of guarding and maintaining the shrine, blowing
three times into their horn, burning oil lamps, etc. This is organized in a sys¬
tem of turns called astdane gait, whereby one khadim (also called mujäwer
or darbesh) at a time works at the shrine and another one at the donation
box placed at the Karakoram Highway. The system is organized flexibly: a
khadim whose family owns more land will only work for one or two months,
whereas a khadim belonging to a poor family will earn his living by work¬
ing longer (three to four months). Until the rule of Mir Shaukat Ali Khan
(1940-1972), a smaller group of Darbeshkuts regularly toured the villages of
Nager and Hunza once a year after the harvest to collect nazräna (offerings).
Some poor dervishes also came individually at certain times. They carried
wooden begging bowls (kishti) and blew into their yakhorns when they ar¬
rived at a village. In return for wheat flour, wood, dried apricots, and apricot
oil (used for burning lamps at the shrine)'", they would hand out amulets,
cure through blowing, and distribute ash and sacred earth from Shah Wali's
^° This cemetery was levelled in 1977/1978.
There were no fixed contributions by the villagers.
tomb. Similarly, in Hunza, a mujäwer of Baba Ghundi would go from village to village to collect offerings (until the 1960s).
Other Shrines and Holy Places in Nager
The following chapter deals with the wider "sacred geography" of Nager as
far as it is related to Shah Wali, whereby emphasis will be given to magical
items and commemorative structures.
Shah Wali's wooden stick (iphdgu), which the saint had presented to the
ancestor of the Mamukuts (lineage of the Goshotkuts) in Hopar, became
a particular object of devotion. It is said that when Mamue Puno touched
the iphdgu, it immediately turned into a gun (tumdk). No one was able to
shoot with that gun and everyone who kept it at his house went mad. Only
for a single family of the Goshotkuts did the "stick-gun" become an object
containing barkdt. Today it belongs to a man named Asmano.
In order to obtain the barkdt of the saint's miraculously transformed
stick, women and men stroke the barrel of the gun three times with their
hands beginning at the upper part and then down to the muzzle, thereby
uttering a dud. Each year the women in Asmano's family make a new gun-
case (yuulgis) out of cloth, which receives the sacred object's barkdt. The
previous one is cut into small pieces which serve as amulets. It is said that
the iphdgu ("stick-gun") helps in all areas of life. Eventually it was also suc¬
cessfully used in peacemaking. Allegedly, during the famous Hunza-Nager
campaign of December 1891 it was carried down to Niit. At the moment
it arrived, the battle ended. More recently, in 1988 during the Sunni-Shi'a
encounters in the vicinity of Gilgit, the situation became critical and dan¬
gerous for the Shi'as and people from Chalt requested the Goshotkuts from
Hopar to bring Shah Wali's iphdgu. First they went down to Ghulmeth
where they circumambulated (tawdf) the saint's shrine three times. Then
they proceeded further down the valley; when they finally reached the vil¬
lage of Danyor, the battle had just finished.
In addition to such objectified sacred power, there is the well-known idea
in popular Sufism that a place where a saint once stayed for some time (gen¬
erally known as maqdm) is thought to be impregnated by his superhuman
power. Thus, for example, Bonchi as well as Sinekar (near Huro) are places
where Shah Wali is said to have rested before going to Hopar. At both places
the people occasionally eat some of the green leaves of a variety of artemisia
called mon. It is a grey-coloured, fragrant plant whose branches are used
as firewood. People say that only the mon growing in those places has the
medical properties to cure the worm disease. They add that one must pull
down the leaves starting from the top (the same gesture as with stroking
Shah Wall's "stick-gun"); only then the patient will emit the worms. But,
parallel to the related physical movements of the body, an inversed striping
of the leaves from down to top would make the man vomit.
In Uyum Nager-Melukushal, where Shah Wali performed his most fa¬
mous miracle, there is an astdan commemorating the place of his prayer.
The small sanctuary, officially named Sayyid Shäh Wall qadam gdh, is built
around the saint's prayer-stone on which nobody is allowed to step. Within
the enclosure there is a place for prayer (for men only), flags ('alam) con¬
nected with personal wishes, oil lamps, and a box for donations. The local
mujäwer is paid from the little money deposited in the box. Many people re¬
port that they see lights at the astdan in the month of Ramazan. Similar to the
devotion displayed at the m.ain shrine in Ghulmeth, the pious come to pray
in cases of illness and to seek the saint's help in bestowing children. Thus,
for example, the wife of Raja Mohammad Ali Khan (father of Mir Shaukat
Khan, the last ruler of Nager) had several miscarriages and often came to the
astdan for du'ä and to make a vow. Then, after some time, Mir Shaukat Ali
Khan, was born. Once, it is said, a man died beside Shah Wali's prayer stone.
He had entered the shrine in an impure state without performing the ablu¬
tions prescibed after sexual intercourse. After that, the villagers put a second
slab of stone on top of the original prayer-stone. Moreover, horses which are
sick and cannot pass urine are led five times around the shrine.''^
The Melukushal-^«/ or tok-bul, which is thought to have been created by
the saint and is therefore also called Sayyid Shah-bul, is situated only a few
steps away from the astdan up on the mountain slope. Immediately below
there is an hammäm (bath), where also clothes can be washed, as well as the
M.e\ukush.a\-masjid. It is said that if someone pushed a stick into the spring,
it would vanish in the water and the person would be thrown back by a mi¬
raculous power. Furthermore, an amazing feature of the spring is that its
water level remains the same in summer and winter; in addition, in winter
the water is rather warm. The bul has long been used for magically changing
the weather by producing or stopping rain: If there is a draught or if there is
too much rain, the villagers of Uyum Nager pray for the fulfilment of their
wish and bring qhamdli and burum hdnik (bread, butter, fruit), which are
distributed among the poor. According to the rules of purity and pollution,
a woman during menstruation is not allowed to drink from the pure water,
otherwise she will become sick. The spring as well as the astdan are visited
predominantly by the inhabitants of Nager 's "capital village" Uyum Nager,
but sometimes people from other villages also come to these holy places.
« Frembgen 1984, p. 224.