Real Life of Bakarwals | The Shepherds who Migrate with their Families
It is summer in the Darlang valley of Paddar. The mountains here come alive with the songs of the bakarwals And the bleats of their sheep and goods. The Bakarwals are a tribe of nomadic shepherds From the Himalayan foothills near the Jammu region of India. For hundreds of years, the Bakarwals Have been migrating between the lower and higher reaches of the Himalayas in search of grazing grounds for their animals. Unlike the Gaddis of Himachal, where only the men migrate with their animals.
The Bakarwals travel with their entire families. Taking their wives, daughters, sons, mothers, and fathers with them. This way of life is likely to continue For many more generations. As the Bakarwals do not have many other options to earn a living in this modern world. The Bakarwal migration starts in the middle of March When they leave their homes in the foohills of the Himalayas And slowly move towards high altitude pastures In places like the Darlang Valley of Paddar in the Kishtwar Himalaya.
It is a long arduous journey. And the Bakarwals face numerous challenges along the way. The Bakarwals travel with a large number of horses and mules. These pack animals carry essential supplies for their journey And for their entire 3 months stay in the mountains of the Darlang Valley. The Bakarwal women are responsible for taking care of the horses. They lead the horses on the journey, Traveling fast between campsite to campsite, While the men follow behind, traveling slowly with their herds of sheep and goats.
After a long journey across the mountains, The Bakwarals finally reach the Darlang Valley of Paddar in the beginning of June. During the journey, the Bakarwals stay in makeshift camps along the way. Sometimes they stay out in the open without any shelter. And sometimes they use plastic sheets as temporary shelters along the way. But in Darlang valley, The Bakarwals stay in permanent shelters called the Kotas. These circular structures with a dome shaped roof, are built to withstand the heavy snowfall and rain that falls in the valley.
The Kotas are constructed, using materials available nearby in the mountains. Materials such as stone and wood from the nearby birch trees. The Kotas are the domain of the Bakarwal women. They spend most of their days inside, cooking food for their families. And entertaining guests who visit from the other Bakarwal camps in the area. One interesting aspect of the Bakarwal cuisine, is the use of goat milk in their cooking.
Being nomadic in nature, the Bakarwals Do not take cows along with them on the journey, But instead, they use the milk from their goats in their tea and coffee, And also churn butter, using the goat's milk. The goat milk used by the Bakarwals, Is prized by outsiders, for their medicinal properties. The horses of the Bakarwals are decorated to make them look pretty, with colourful laces and trinkets. The women spend their free time in the mountains, knitting and weaving new laces for their horses.
Even the drab Gunny sacks, that the Bakarwals use for carrying their supplies, Are also decorated with colourful covers, To make them look attractive. It is the responsibility of the men, to take the animals out to graze every day. And to ensure that all the animals are back home safely in the evenings. The grass in the high altitude valley of Darlang is very nutritious. And it allows the animals to fatten up, Before they go back to spend the winter in the foothills of the Himalayas. Each Bakarwal family has a permit for a specific area in the valley, where they are allowed to graze their animals.
Conflicts arise sometimes between the Bakarwal families if the animals of one family stray into the grazing area of a different family. The main threat to the goats and sheep, come from wild animals. Mainly in the form of Bears that are numerous in the valley. The dogs of the Bakarwals, are the first line of defence against bear attacks.
The dogs raise an alarm when a bear ventures close to their camp. And the Bakarwals would then come out to chase the bears away. There are over hundred Bakarwal camps in the Bhot Valley of Paddar. The darlang valley is one of the side valleys in the Bhot valley. And it alone is home to over 60 Barkarwal camps. With so many Bakarwal camps in the valley, There is frequent socialization between the members of various camps in the valley.
With the people gathering together often for prayers and other family functions. The game of Kabaddi is a favourite pastime of the Bakarwals. No social gathering in the valley would be complete, without a few friendly games of Kabaddi. The Bakarwals stay in the Darlang valley for three months. From the beginning of June till the beginning of September. With so many people, young and old living in the valley, There are chances that some of them might fall sick or get injured during this time.
And getting medical help in emergencies, is very incredibly difficult for the Bakarwals. The Bakarwals start preparing for the return journey by the middle of August. The women at the various bakarwal camps prepare ropes from goat hair. They used these ropes to lead their horses on their way back. And also for tying sacks containing their supplies to the horses.
One important activity of the Bakarwals before they leave the Darlang valley, is to sell the wool from their sheep to the local traders. So a few days before their departure, the Bakarwals load all their wool on horses, And take them to a trader in the nearby Machail village. A couple of days before leaving, the Bakarwals bring all their sheep and goats, from the higher reaches of the valley back to their camps. Sometimes the animals would be on the opposite bank of the valley. And the Bakarwals use makeshift log bridges, to help the animals across the Darlang stream.
Once all the animals have crossed safely, the Bakarwals dismantle the log bridges. These bridges are at a risk of being damaged By heavy snowfall and avalanches during the winter months. So the Bakarwals take apart the bridge And store the wooden logs in a safe place for the winter. It was absolutely incredible to see the bridge being taken apart by the Bakarwals. They showed incredible balance and skill while working on the bridge as it was being taken apart. Any fall from the bridge into the stream below would result in some serious injuries, and maybe even death.
The most crucial part of the bridge dismantling Was the safe retrieval of the support logs That are used to span the two banks of the river. The logs are too heavy to be lifted across the stream by the people, so the Bakarwals secure them with ropes and push them into the stream, and fish out the log while it is floating in the water. Sometimes things do not go as planned, And the Bakarwals have to improvise on the spot in order to rescue the logs. Finally, the day of the departure arrives, and all items from the Kota are packed into colorfully decorated gunny sacks, and are loaded onto the horses and to the mules.
Small kids, both with four legs and two, are loaded on to the horses and tied down securely, So that they do not fall on the way back. With everything packed and loaded, the entrance of the empty Kota is now blocked with a stick. It is a symbolic gesture to let any visitors know that the occupants of the Kota have left for the year. Once all the pack animals are loaded, the women lead them away immediately without any pomp or ceremony.
Soon after the women leave with their horses and mules, The men of the family also start leading the sheep and goats out of the valley. The men walk slowly with their sheep and goats, < 146 00:29:26,806 --> 00:29:29,893 but the women with the horses travel quite fast. And they reach their destination early in order to set up camp for the day, and wait for the men to arrive. And just like that, the stay of the Bakarwals In the Darlang valley of Paddar this year has come to an end. It will be nine months before the Bakarwals return.
And the Darlang valley would once again be filled with the songs of the Bakarwals And the bleats of their sheep and goats.
2024-11-30 13:33
