Flying with the Vanishing Fairies: Typology of the Shamanistic Traditions of the Hunza

Flying with the Vanishing Fairies:Typology of the ShamanisticTraditions of the Hunza

l á s z ló kopp án y c s á j iDepartment of Ethnography and CulturalAnthropology, University of Pécs,Pécs [email protected]

ab stract

Until recently, very little has been written examining the beliefs and practicesof the Hunzakuts shamans of North Pakistan. This paper attempts to provideinsight into the shamanic traditions of the Burushaski speakers of Hunza,focusing on those specialists within this community who serve as intermediariesbetween the human and spirit worlds—bitan, dashmán, jaadugár, síre gús, andaqhón—with particular emphasis on the bitan, whose role can be easilycompared with our term “shaman.” Using ethnographic techniques such asparticipant observation and interviewing, this paper describes the Hunzakutsprocess of becoming a bitan, the techniques used to fulfill the role asintermediary, the role of hallucinogens, and the role of the bitan’s patron spirit(parí). After listing the exceptional and usual elements of the Hunzakuts’shamanism as a typological summary, it is concluded that Hunza’s shamanicpractices can be easily placed within the Eurasian shamanic traditions.k e yword s : Hunza, Burushaski, shaman, Islam, Pakistan, juniper

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i n troduct ion

The objective of this article is to examine Hunzakuts’1 shamanism, which islittle known among Western scholars. Up until now, only a few books andarticles have been published on this culture. Mircea Eliade, MarjorieMandelstam Balzer, Michael Harner, Mihály Hoppál, Juha Pentikäinen, and

Anthropology of Consciousness, Vol. 22, Issue 2, pp. 159–187, ISSN 1053-4202, © 2011 by theAmerican Anthropological Association. All rights reserved.DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-3537.2011.01048.x

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Miklós Diószegi did not analyze the Hunzakuts’ shamanistic rituals in theirgeneral books on shamanism, nor did they list Hunza shamanism among theEurasian shamanistic traditions. One reason could be that Hunza is locatedfar from Siberia and North Eurasia—hence the Hunzakuts’ shamans do nothave direct connection to the other Eurasian shamans2 or remote shamanisticcommunities. However, as this paper is intended to show, shamanic practicesplay a significant role in modern Hunzakuts society. The majority of thepeople in Hunza are connected with sorcery and the spirit world. They livein a world where fairies, ghosts, and spirits are evident and part of everydaylife. In accordance with the complexity of the kinds of spirits and the trans-missions to other Upper and Lower Worlds, there are different social func-tions, or occupations, to control or communicate with the spirits. TheHunzakuts know about sacred trees (e.g., the Baltar tree, an old junipertree in the Boiber valley), rocks, and the gateways between the Upper andLower Worlds. This article will concentrate on the Hunzakuts’ shamans’aerial voyage and the trance states, focusing on the various and differingroles of individuals within the community who serve as intermediariesbetween the human and spirit worlds, paying particular attention to thebitan,3 whose role can most easily be compared with our term “shaman.”

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where i s hunza ?

To place this territory and people, we see that the Hunza is the only riverthat cuts across the Karakorum Mountain in the Pakistani-controlled area ofKashmir. The former kingdom, also known as Hunza, was mostly on theright (north and west) side of the river. However, in some southern andnorthern parts of Hunza, the kingdom extended itself to the opposite side ofthe bank as well (Willson 1999:5–7). From north to south and east to west,the area spanned approximately 80 kilometers.4 Due to the mountainouslandscape, the region is divided into many smaller valleys. The ChapursanValley borders Afghanistan’s Wakhan corridor, the Boiber Valley is located onthe Chinese border, and the Shimshal Valley, which extends toward Baltis-tan, is near the cease-fire line between India and Pakistan in the middle ofthe disputed Kashmir area. Hunza is exactly at the border point betweenChina, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. There are several peaks reaching7,000 meters, though most of the inhabited territory is below 3,000 meters,and around Hunza there are 33 peaks rising over 7,300 meters (Willson1999:16). Only the high grasslands—used to feed cows, yaks, horses, buffalos,and goats in summertime—is higher, spanning between 3,300 and4,200 meters high. The territory is very isolated, and, in fact, the KKH roadbetween China and Pakistan was the first road to reach the region in 1978,

1 60 anthropology of consc iousne s s 2 2 . 2

cross the Chinese border in 1982, and open to foreigners in 1986 (Sidky1994:94, Willson 1999:1, Flowerday 2006, etc.). Until then it was reachableonly on foot, through very high passes.

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economy of hunza

The Hunzakuts are farmers, cultivating grain and barley fields as well asvegetable and fruit gardens (mostly apricot, apple, almond, cherry, andwalnut trees) and pastorals. The region receives only an estimated 130 milli-meters of rain per year (Willson 1999:25), so an extended irrigation canalsystem provides the Hunza with water. These canals are carved into the rocksto bring the fresh waters from the glaciers to the fields and gardens. Diggingand maintaining the conditions of the canal system are at the center ofHunza rituals and festivals. Apricot is the most important of the fruit trees,and can be used for food and drink in several ways. Some of the peopledrive the stocks of cow, horse, and buffalo up to the summer pastures fromMay and June to September and October. This land is apportioned betweenthe several stems of the Hunzakuts. This economy can be called complexagriculture, with a reduced form of seminomadism (Lorimer 1929a, Csáji2004:19).

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the hunza soc i e t y

The Hunza society is based on khans, or communities. While there areseveral khans, at the center of the Hunza society are the first establishedkhans: Baltit (Karimabad), Altit, and Ganesh, which together—including allthe cultivated land, excluding the summer pastures—are not more than30 square kilometers. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the khans’centers were traditional, stone-built towns surrounded by high walls. A towerwas located in the center of the khan to provide a good position from whichto see approaching enemies.The society is divided into three main groups. Contrary to Lorimer

(Lorimer 1935–38:304), there are no tribes in the Hunza society,5 butthe society is divided into lineages, phratries, and clans. For example, theAyasho family belongs to the Tharákuts clan, and—together with theWaziírkuts—form the Diramiting phratry (Willson 1999:192–193, see alsoStaley 1969, Sidky 1996). They have the most respected status. Some peoplefrom this Diramiting phratry can be a tarkhan, which means: “those whocan evoke the duty of working themselves on canals of the irrigation systems”(Willson 1999:75). The second group is the Burusho people, and they

fl y ing w ith the van i sh ing fa i r i e s 1 6 1

represent the middle status. The third group is the Shina who live in thesouth. In addition, there were some servant groups that form an occupationalcommunity (e.g., the Berichos) who are the blacksmiths and the musiciansof their people (and nowadays they own and hire the tractors for the plow-ing). The Wakhis, and in the past some Kirghiz nomads, come from thenorth and are mostly animal-keeping people from Wakhan. Today they aresettled farmers who speak the Wakhi language, a relative of Tajik and Sarakol(the latter included in the Pamiri language group).There are four languages spoken in the geographical Hunza region: (1)

Burushaski, the main language spoken in central territories and in other areasof Hunza (approximately 50,000 speakers) and Nagar (approximately 52,000speakers); (2) Shina, spoken in the south (approximately 20,000 speakers); (3)Wakhi, spoken in the north (approximately 10,000 speakers); and (4) Bericho(or Dumaki), spoken mostly in Berishal (Moominabad) and some in Dorkhalnear Baltit (approximately 300 speakers).6 Burushaski (or, as they call itMisháaski, which means “our way/speech”) is said not to be related to anyother language in the world (Lorimer 1939, Toporov 1970, Berger 1974, Will-son 1999).7

On the left (south and east) side of the Hunza river lies the Nagar king-dom, which in some areas can extend to the west side as well. As the brotherand neighboring community of Hunzakuts, the Nagar residents are calledNagarkuts. Their tradition is very similar to the Hunzakuts, and shamanism isalso practiced in a very similar way. Nagarkuts also speak Burushaskilanguage.There is no difference among “folk” and “elite” culture in Hunza even

now, but there is a penetration of Pakistani culture and the present consumersociety’s virtues and fashion parallel to the modification of the economy andconnections. Tourism, Pakistani officers, and the influx of modern technol-ogy and media—especially along the Karakorum Highway—have affectedtheir beliefs, customs, and traditions.

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h i s tor y of hunza

According to the region’s mythology, a long time ago the forefathers of thefirst rulers of the Nagar and Hunza regions migrated there from the south.The first two kings, Girkis and Moghlot (meaning “mouse” and “mon-goose”), were the descendants of Azur Jamshed, the famous king of Gilgit.As a result, they were also descendants of the Trakhan dynasty (see Willson1999:228). As the story goes, the two brother-princes were on a hunting expe-dition, chasing wild ibex (also called “horse of the fairies”) who are said tohave guided them to the Hunza and Nagar region (Csáji 2004:111–112). Upon

1 6 2 anthropology of consc iousne s s 2 2 . 2

their arrival, they found original inhabitants called the Buru people, orBurusho. Hence, the land’s name in a former time was Buru-za (or Bru-za),the “Land of the Burusho people” (Dani 1989:43–46). Upon their return, thetwo brothers asked their father to give them the huge valley, and so he did.The right bank was given to Girkis, and the left bank was given to Moghlot.They married the natives’ daughters and formed the Diramiting clan. Thebrother-princes started to fight each other soon after entering into power, andMoghlot killed Girkis. The daughter of Girkis left the region to find some-one from the same bloodline, and came back from Badahsan with a strongman. The people asked her: “Where did you find him?” And the girl replied,“From the sky.” These words in the Burushaski language are ayasho, mean-ing “heavenly born” (Willson 1999:228). Variations of this ancestry myth canbe heard in several villages in Hunza.8 So that is why the dynasty was calledAyasho until the end of the 20th century, when Pakistan ended the tháms’(thám9 means king) administrative power (Clark 1956, Dani 1989, Sidky 1990,Willson 1999, Csáji 2004).10 Until the 1970s, Hunza and Nagar were semi-independent kingdoms, and before Partition (1947) they were sovereign “prin-cely” states in the British Empire.Sometime in the seventh or eighth century, the territory’s name changed

in the ancient sources and a new name arose: Hun-za.11 The rulingclans—Tharákuts and Wazíirkuts—came to the Hunza region only duringthe early Middle Ages from Gilgit region (Dani 1989), and have differentethnic roots than the several native groups (e.g., Burúmokuts, Bákuts, Faráat,Haríkuts and dozens of others, the original inhabitants, who are collectivelyknown as Burusho, “the Burushaski speakers”). The original inhabitants lin-guistically assimilated the conquerors (Hamid 1979, Dani 1989:45–46, Willson1999:10–11, 30). Hunza light cavalry were both famous and feared. Even theChinese Empire asked the Hunzakuts to help against the revolutions inXinjiang, part of the Western territories of the Empire. In the past, thesehorsemen attacked the caravans of the Silk Road several times. Hinduismand Buddhism were the main religions of the region at that time.12

Even after the arrival of Islam13 between the 11th and 15th centuries(Dani 1989:198–201), the Hunza and Nagar kept many of their previousbeliefs and culture. These traditions included making alcohol in their tradi-tional way and employing shamans (bitan, dashmán, and several otherfunctions) to connect with the spiritual world. We can call the territory aseparate, even isolated, island of shamanism inside the Islamic world.Around the Hunzakuts there are Islamic communities, and only some ofthe neighboring valleys kept some of the shamanistic traditions from thetime before conversion to Islam. We can see that even in Islam communi-ties such as in Danyor, Bogrot, and Haramosh,14 as well as other previoussmall kingdoms like Hunza, Nagar, and Yasin, shamanism can be a parallel


living construction in the culture, with only a few influences from theMuslim faith.

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re se arch method

My research in the region began in June 2001. I conducted fieldwork in thissmall territory until late autumn, and returned in 2005 for further studies.I recorded several ethnological interviews in the Burushaski language, withshamans and other people in Hunza and also in the Chapursan and Boibervalleys. My research concentrated on the townships of Baltit, Altit, andGanesh. I also trekked through the high passes into Yasin Valley and to Thui,the Afghan border territory of Gazin in Chitral, and took a short trip to Gujalin North Hunza, to collect more information on shamanism. I collected folktales and songs, but mainly shamanistic traditions (both texts and performedrituals). I worked closely with seven research participants,15 and I conductedinterviews with 37 others (of whom nine were women, 28 men, and all ofvarious ages). I performed what is called participant-observation; I stayed withthe chosen community in central Hunza for two seasons and witnessed theireveryday life and shamanistic rituals and ceremonies. I recorded these inter-views and shamanistic rites and practices on digital video and audio tape.I collected more than 31 hours of taped or filmed materials to analyze themfor further study.After my first visit, I compared the information I had collected with infor-

mation found in the books and articles of cultural anthropological research-ers in Hunza (Lorimer 1929a, b, 1935–38, 1979, Clark 1956, Jettmar 1961,1980, Staley 1969, Frembgen 1984, 1985, 1985–86, 1988, Sidky 1990, 1994,1996, 2004, Tikkanen 1991, 1995, Felmy 1997, Willson 1999),16 and also withbooks and articles about Hunza in general (mostly linguistic works).17 I thenreturned to Hunza to extend my research, using a modified and longer ques-tionnaire. My intention was to elaborate on my subject for the InternationalSociety for Shamanistic Researches, where I was invited to give a lectureabout the shamanism of Hunza at the 2007 conference. It was not easy tocollect the available articles and books on Hunza culture; among them wereworks by linguists, cultural anthropologists, historians, and travelers, pub-lished in very few copies (Ujfalvy 1884, Leitner 1893, Schomberg 1935, Banikand Taylor 1970, Климoв and Эдeльмaн 1970, Toporov 1970, Biddulph 1971,Berger 1974, Dani 1989, Tiffou 1993). Only a very few discuss the Hunzakuts’shamanism, but many of them had some sporadic information useful for mystudies. In this paper I have included a bibliography on Hunzakuts’ shaman-ism, something that was previously missing in the literature. My goal was toresearch the Hunzakuts’ transcendent world, including the social functions


of the many kinds of specialists related to the transcendent: witches, shamans,and others who have a strong contact with the spirits and connections to theUpper and Lower Worlds. These findings were published in a book entitled,Extracts from the Treasury of the Hunza Culture (Csáji 2004) as well as in aseries of documentaries for the worldwide satellite cultural channel, DUNATelevision.The framework of this paper is not sufficient for detailed analyses of the

data and information based on my research and that of others’ results, so Iwas faced with two possibilities: (1) analyze only my research and excludethe information conducted by other scholars or (2) write on the basis of onlythe coherent data and information that align with my results, as confirmedby other scholars’ works.18 The former would result in much more detailedsubstrata, but less stable data. The latter would result in less data, but wouldprovide data that were well-controlled and reliable. For the purposes of thispaper, I have chosen the second option.There are many things we do not know about Hunza’s shamans. For exam-

ple, I have not studied the psychiatric aspects (as I am not a psychologist) orthe historical aspects (which would require further studies in neighboringvalleys). Nor have I studied the socio-economic aspects, such as reciprocity(service and return service between the shaman and the client or the com-munity). This paper is about the shaman’s activity—the shamanic technique—itself. In it, I write only about the current shamanistic practices,techniques, and present folk beliefs. This article is based largely not only onmy own fieldwork and participant-observation, but also on the results of inter-views and questionnaires. As a result, this article is not filled with citations. Ihave focused my fieldwork on the positions and techniques of the bitan, andI compared other occupations (dashmán, síre gús, aqhón, jaadugár) with thebitans’ activity, not with each other.

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contact w i th the s p i r i t world

The Hunza have different specialists who are linked to various spirits. Thefive specialists related to the connection with the spirits and spiritual worldsare:

(1) Bitan, who we would call “shaman.”19

(2) Dashmán or bitan dash(a)mán, a shaman who does not dance as atechnique of ecstasy.

(3) Jaadugár, a sorcerer20 or “black shaman.”(4) Síre gús, a divining/miraculous woman or witch.21

(5) Aqhón, a vernacular priest.


It is believed that nearly everyone in the Hunza society has some kind ofconnection to the spirit world and can cause harassment by engaging in “smallsorcery” such as the casting of the evil eye (ílchin yáare étas). However, the spe-cialists listed above have more direct and frequent connection with a variety ofspirits—some who have a body, others without a body. In Burushaski languagethere is a whole system for the many kinds of spirits, and the most basic divisionis spirits with or without body. The following describes only some of them, andonly from the category of “spirits with a body.”

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categor i e s of s p i r i t s ( PA R Í AND P HÚ T- B I L A S HO )

The general word for all kind of spirits—which can include human spirits aswell—is ruú (plural: rúumuts). This word, which is a well-known Persianword, reflects the influence of Islam. There are many kinds of rúumuts;according to my research participants, the parí and the phút-bilasho kinds arethe most important. The parí is both a broader as well as a more specific cat-egory of spirits. Parí, in its broader term, usually translates to “fairies.”22 Infact, paríting are close to the category of fairy known in East Europe, as theyare from the Upper World, not from our Middle one, and form a whole soci-ety. Hunzakuts’ fairies differ from the recent Western European folktales (seealso Lorimer 1939) as they are quite large—some are up to two and a halfmeters tall (but some of them are only half a meter). Fairies are the rulers ofwild animals and try to keep their region free of humans (Sidky 1994:81–84,Willson 1999:166). The more specific category of paríting are consideredmountain spirits, though they are not exactly mountain spirits, as they do notlive only in our world’s mountains, but also live in other dimensions thatcan be reached by transport-sites (strange stones, holes, some old trees, etc.)at the mountainous area.23

According to the broadest definition of parí, ghuníqish parí and the afore-mentioned phút-bilásho can also be called parí. But the “real” parí—hencethe more specific category—are from the “first” Upper World (one levelabove our Middle World). The paríting of the Upper World are connectedwith the bitans and dashmáns, while the paríting of the Lower World, forexample, the phút-bilásho are connected to the jaadugár and síre gús. Phútand bilas spirits are the most well-known types of evil kind of paríting calledghuníqiants paríting. Other kinds of ghuníqiants paríting—such as tísh andsheitáayo, and so forth—also exist. Phút-bilásho are spirits “who were leftbehind” (phát umánumisho) in our Middle World, divided from their genea-logical type that live in the Lower World constituting a whole society. TheBurushaski word tísh comes from a smaller category of evil spirits, as tísh is


an independent being (i.e., ghosts and demons). There are several otherkinds of spirits in the seven Upper Worlds (i.e., tháló asmáaning) and in theseven Lower Worlds (i.e., the tháló zámíiyo). These spirits can include giants,demons, small people in the Under World, one-eyed men, witches, dragons,fire spirits, and the horse spirit.Good and bad is not a clear and homogenous category, good parí can

harass or hurt humans, and even phút-bilásho can give help to someone ina particular case. They are all naughty, and many times they do really evilthings (kill people or animals, cause sickness, etc.). As tísh are normally con-sidered as bad, tísh-haghúr (spirit-horse) is said to be a good and helpful kindof creature. As the society is Muslim, they have strong notion of positive/neg-ative categories; according to my experience, different kinds of spirits areexpected to be placed into a good/bad opposition by the Hunzakuts’ society,even if it is difficult to do so. Bitans warned me against this simplifying, so itis probably a later tendency among the society, parallel to the melting ofknowledge about the spirits’ world.The spirits cannot be put into a coherent system of categories nowadays, as

some of them have many levels of meanings (e.g., rúu); there are syntheticcategories (e.g., parí itself) and qualification categories (e.g., ghuníqiantsparíting), some are known and mentioned only by very few of the informants(e.g., tísh-haghúr), and there are even opposed confidences (e.g., which isgood or bad, and the intersection between some categories). A possible classi-fication may include types of24 spirits that are exclusively male or female andtypes that may be either male or female. Those mentioned above can beboth female and male, but, for example, dánglatas and meélgus kinds aresolely female spirits.

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moral a s pect s

Bitan and dashmán usually have an ethical goal, an unwritten quasi-ethiccodex: to help others and not to harm or harass people. The jaadugár andthe síre gús do not have such an ethical obligation, but because they are partof the human community, they cannot go against most of the society’snorms. Any of these people can fall into a trance (except aqhón), but onlythe bitan performs the shaman dance, called girátas, to reach that state.Sometimes they act in front of a large audience.Pure and impure—as a binary opposition—is an important division of the

things, phenomenon and creatures of the Hunzakuts’ world. The bitans’ anddashmáns’ activity are connected to nature as a pure thing25 an opposingnotion to what ordinary Hunzakuts say about wild animals for example (seeSidky 1994:75–80). Many elements of the pure and impure categories seem


to be inverted. For example, while cow’s milk is pure for the society, it isconsidered very impure—even taboo—for the bitan; in contrast, the deer’smilk is considered pure for the bitan and impure for the other members ofthe community. Jaadugár and síre gús are connected with the impure, andtheir activities are hidden from the normal social practices (though everyonein the community [khan] knows who they are). Their activity is largelyunknown to the police, Pakistani politicians, and tourists, and sometimeseven by other Hunzakuts’ khans. Finally, the category aqhón is an Islamicreligious position, one that has the capacity to assert power over certain badspirits. He26 is a respected person.

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b i tan s

Many shamanistic communities in Eurasia believe that shamans have morebones, or are born with extra teeth, a sixth finger, or other physical signs. Butthe bitans have no physical deformity. The patron spirit, the parí, chooses themafter their birth. Each springtime, when the apricot and cherry trees are bloom-ing, the fairies come down from the Upper World and the mountains and smellthe newborn babies’ noses and mouths. If the breath of the baby smells pleas-ant, the patron spirit chooses him or her as the new bitan. It is not possible toimmediately realize who was chosen, but he or she is usually “different” fromother children; sometimes they become unconscious (though not in a trance)or sometimes they jump up without reason. At the age of puberty, between 10and 15 years of age, the patron spirit appears before the chosen bitan andannounces the child’s obligation to become a shaman. The child usually triesto resist, but this is not recommended. At this point, the child may come downwith a special sickness, and may become unconscious for several days or evenseveral weeks. Sometimes this sickness comes back if the child tries to turnaside from the path shown by the patron spirit. If the refusal persists, in mostinstances, the child dies. However, there is a small chance that a child canbecome free of the bitan obligation. To do so, the child must drink only cow’smilk (Lorimer 1979:264, Sidky 1995:12, Sidky 1994:77), which is forbidden tothe bitans (who can drink only deer milk in the wild), and they shall not listento the bitans’ music, nor wear red or gold clothing. It is evident that the parírule the shaman. Every shaman has a parí, and every shaman has a differentone. The shaman who is stronger has a patron parí who is more powerful.There is no “shamans’ book” or code that exists in Hunza. In fact, it is exactlythe contrary—all the knowledge comes from the patron spirit directly (as all thebitans told me).A bitan has the ability to fly. This is called dancing or flying.27 This is the

ritual “trance” dance. A bitan usually dances in festivals (like the harvest


festival of Ginani) and predicts future fertility and success.28 Dancing infront of such large audiences does not let the bitan’s soul out, but it doesallow the spirits to come around him or her. At other times, a bitan’s soulcan fly to other worlds. Of course, no one has seen any flying shamans inthe Hunza’s sky—rather, this means that the movable spirit of the shamancan enter into Upper or even sometimes Lower Worlds. Theoretically, any-body can enter the Upper or Lower World through the hidden gates (specialrocks or sacred trees), but I have not met anybody who had been thereexcept the shamans. There is a widely known local legend about a man whoentered the Lower World by falling asleep next to a big rock. He found a vil-lage of the phút-bilásho spirits there. Although he can see the phút-biláshospirits, he was not visible to them. He slipped into the body of a beautifulphút-bilásho girl, and only the phút-bilásho’s bitan29 could force him out ofher by cutting off one of the man’s ears. He had returned to his MiddleWorld, but without one of his ears. The man with one ear was last seen in aprison in Gilgit town.30

For Hunzakuts’ shamans, the drum—sometimes a means of shaman’stransport in other Eurasian shamanic traditions—is an importantinstrument. For the bitan to participate in the trance dance (or flying) infront of an audience, special music is necessary. This music contains twokinds of drums and a whistle. This music, used to call the fairies, is calledsiri-zaman, meaning “sweet tongue.” However, Hunzakuts’ shamans neverplay music or drums for themselves; they do not even own drums. Onlythrough the Bericho people or other special musician groups can thismusic be made as Burushaskis are not entitled by the community to playany kind of instrumental music. Dadang, dadamel, and gabi are the musicalinstruments used by the three Bericho musicians during the siri zamanmusic. The first instrument is a double-sided, big, round drum (used widelyamong Turkish societies). The second is a small drum that contains twohemisphere-shaped drums,31 played with two sticks (used widely in Tibetand India). The third instrument is a reed pipe, similar to the Turkishflute. Siri zaman music recorded during my research was very similar toeach other. This “orchestra” for shaman rituals (as a special ecstasytechnique) is an uncommon custom among the Eurasian shamanistictraditions.Other important elements for calling the fairies include: (1) fire and smoke

of the leaves of juniper (called gál)32 or Syrian rue (supándur)t33; (2) the longcoat of the bitan; (3) the fresh blood of a male goat34; and (4) the danceitself, which imitates flying. When the spirits come,35 the normally Burusha-ski-speaking bitan speaks in a different language, in the Shina language36,used by the spirits and the people who live in south Hunza and further southin the Gilgit area. The bitan on these occasions always speaks or sings

fl y ing w ith the van i sh ing fa i r i e s 1 69

(ghár étas) the words of the spirits while possessed, during the ecstatic dance.But this is not a real possession, as the bitan talks to the parí who sits in thedrum and to the one who sits in the pipe, and the shaman’s voice is notchanged to the voice of the parí. The bitan just replies to comments andsometimes argues with them in Shina.37

The dance, the long shaman coat38 (shokka), the music, and the smokeare not necessary for the bitan to reach the trance state; they are only the cat-alysts for calling the paríting spirits. Sometimes several spirits stay with theshaman without any of these practices occurring. If the shaman dances infront of an audience, the servants of the bitan (usually two or three men)help as the bitan enters into the trance state. The bitan can sing in thetrance once, twice, or three times39 (and usually in one to three sentences)before he or she collapses.40 Then the assistants pour or splash some wateronto the bitan’s head and body to help him or her regain consciousness.Sometimes the bitan reaches the trance state and sings (speaking the wordsof the spirit) without dancing. Other times the bitan disappears from the vil-lage for weeks at a time. At these times, it is said that the shamans only eatand drink the milk of the deer and ibexes, but on other occasions they mustfight with an evil spirit or another person (e.g., jaadugár). Bitans have anunwritten ethical code (e.g., as noted, they do not eat cow meat and do notdrink cow milk; they do not harm people and do not make evil sorcery) thatis controlled by the spirits. If the shaman breaks the rules, the shaman canbe punished by the patron spirit.The bitans are rarely from the ranks of prestigious clans or rich members

of the community, and in the past they were usually women. Approximatelytwo-thirds of the known, or reported, former bitans were female.41 Evennow, women have great autonomy and independent status in Hunza. Bitanswork and live in a community just like other people. To be a bitan is not a“salaried” position, even if the bitan is a specialist (if only a part-timespecialist). Bitans may receive a gift from the sick or afflicted person’s familyor the person who asks them to help, but there is no fixed price and eventhe price itself is of lesser importance. The gift (animals or, more recently,money) is often seen as a form of reciprocity or mutual help between theshaman and the “client,” and is done without anybody controlling theequality of the “service” and “fee.” Certainly it is an ethical obligation togive something as a form of gratitude, and greater help requires greatergifts.42 So this is more like a reciprocal gift-giving rather than a payment.That said, when I asked the bitans for foretelling, they fixed their pricebefore the performance.At present, the shaman’s duties are to connect to the spirits and to other

worlds for the purposes of: (1) finding someone who is lost, whether in themountains or in the glaciers; (2) healing those who are sick because of the


spirits; (3) foretelling the future; (4) preparing basic natural medicines oramulets to take away the evil eye or other magic injuries; (5) cure thelove-magic or sickness-sorcery of the síre gús or jaadugár; (6) defend thecommunity from an attack by evil spirits; and (7) banish evil spirits, whichmany times occupy animals, houses, and even people. The bitan not onlycommunicates with the spirits, but can also entreat them or offer somethingto conciliate them. They are also able to fight with spirits from the LowerWorlds. Nearly all spirits of the Lower Worlds are considered evil.43

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the impact of the b i tan ’ s work today

Much has been changed in Hunza from the time of Biddulph (1971),Leitner (1893), and Lorimer (1929a, b, 1935–38). Although the scholars ofthe 1960s and 1970s concentrated mostly on the special and exotic phenom-enon of Hunza (Jettmar 1961, Staley 1969, Banik and Taylor 1970, Berger1974), those who started their research in the late 1980s and 1990s would beable to witness the strong difference between the late 19th century andbeginning of the 20th century Hunza world and the one that can beobserved today (Frembgen 1984, 1985, Sidky 1990, 1994, 1996, Flowerday2005, 2006, Kreutzmann 2006). For example, there are still many síre gússand aqhóns, but bitans and dashmáns are much scarcer than what wasfound at the beginning of the 20th century.In the past, any important enterprises, agricultural rituals, or journeys out

of Hunza could not be imagined without asking the bitan—or, rather, theparíting, indirectly—first. Today, these kind of shamanistic divinations arevery unusual. People would rather interpret the unexpected experiences as arational causality than as the effect of fairies or other spiritual beings. Myparticipants expressed many times that, “paríting (fairies) are dying out of theworld.”44 But this is an ambivalent statement, as, on the one hand, itincludes a declaration of the believed existence of the spiritual beings while,on the other, giving a pseudo-rational reason for the transition in Hunza cus-toms. Paríting are continuously losing their power as they grow older andultimately will die like humans. The population of fairies is also believed tobe decreasing, and are now less in number than ever before. Long ago theylived all over the worlds (mostly this Middle World of ours and the oneabove). Now they are retreating back to the levels above this world. In ourMiddle World, they only exist in Hunza and some other Asian territories(Caucasus, Pamir, and Kashmir). According to the Hunza tradition men-tioned by old and young people alike, the Fairy Queen (who serves as headof the parítan community) lives in Hunza on Ultar Peak in a crystal palace.She sometimes visits the old spirits—weakened paríting—who live far away


(e.g., in the Caucasus), but it happens—as the Hunzakuts unanimously toldme—more and more rarely. It is also said that the bitans and the dashmánsof the present time are much less powerful than those great bitans anddashmáns of hundreds of years ago (e.g., the legendary Shón Gukúr [the“Blind”] and Húk Gukúr [the “Dog”]).45 As fairies are dying out, they arebecoming weaker and weaker. At the same time, the bitan and dashmánsare becoming less respected and are less numerous in their communities.The process causes the loss of shamans’ power and less communication withthe fairies.The societal attitude toward the bitan and the trust placed in them by

these communities are not homogeneous. There are different attitudes aboutthe various kinds of shamans’ duties, such as healing, foretelling, and prepar-ing amulets, and there are different attitudes based on age groups within thecommunity. The most preserved work of the bitan and dashmáns are healingand preparing amulets.46 The regional health centers and doctors do partici-pate in healing activities, but there is a tacit “division of labor” that hasstarted to develop between them and the shamans. Many times the bitan willrecommend that the patient go to the hospital.According to my observations, smaller children and the elderly trust in the

bitan much more than the youth. This transition in trust by age may nothave been caused by the strengthening of Islam religion or the 1947 Partition,but may be the result of the establishment of Pakistani state elementary andsecondary secular schools. The secular schools are the outcome of the “Bhu-tto reforms” parallel to the dethronement of the thams in the 1970s. Todaythe illiteracy rate is extremely low among the under-50 age group. On thebasis of my experiences, I think that the skepticism against shamans arisesmore from what is taught in schools rather than what is heard on the radioor television (which can reach even the remotest villages in Hunza). Hun-zakuts are critical of newspapers and media, believing them to be controlledby the unpopular Pakistani state. So while the 50-plus age group trusts thebitan more than the 15–30 age group,47 the 30–50 age group varies. Theseare, of course, approximate, and not homogenous categories.Today, the stories about fairies and shamans are transforming from cultural

beliefs into memorats, fables, and sometimes even to jokes—primarily amongthe educated group (which is increasing in number). Another factor thatboth contributes to and presents as a symptom of this transition is that manyshamans are rivals and attempt to destroy each other’s nimbus.48 The Hunzaeconomy is also in transition, impacted by tourism and researchers. Thesedialectic tendencies could fill a whole article (for the impact of this transitionon Hunza society and economy in general see Flowerday 2005, 2006), butfor the purpose of this article it is best to summarize that the bitans’ work,and its acceptance among their changing society, is complex. While the


bitans kept some of their formal social importance and respect, it is also withan ever-decreasing repertoire of duties.

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da shmáns

Dashmáns49 largely serve the same function as the bitan, except they do notdance. However, they have the ability to achieve ecstasy, and to reach thespirits without dancing in front of an audience. The dashmáns also have theirown patron spirits (paríting). That is why they also are called bitan dashmán.In the last decades, under Pakistan’s control, many of the female bitans havebecome dashmáns, and they work almost in secret. Willson calls them “holymen,” and states that there are no dashmán in the present (Willson 1999:165).I did not have the opportunity to meet a dashmán personally, but theirexistence was reported by my informants. This shall be researched in furtherstudies. Dashmáns are less expressive people than the bitans, but sometimestheir patron spirits are stronger than the bitans’ spirits.I argue that we can probably use the word dashmán to extend the etymo-

logical research for linguists concerning the word “shaman” itself. The pres-ent etymological vocabularies say that our word “shaman” comes from theTunguz language. We know very well that the s: amana meant “Buddhistmonk” in Gandharan Prakrit and Páli language and similar words we knowfrom Sogdian, Tokhar (Tugri), and Khotanese Saka language during the firstmillennium A.D. I think that the Hunzakuts data should also be used to clar-ify the etymology of the “original” Tunguz term, but it should be exploredby etymologist specialists together with anthropologists.

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j a adugár and s í re gú s

These particular shamans have control over some kind of spirits, but it is notclear if they also have a patron spirit who rules them or if they control aspirit of one of the worlds below us. The jaadugár (male) and the síre gús(female) have a kind of friendship with the patron spirit, one unlike the hier-archic connection with a bitan and the patron parí. Jaadugár and síre gúscan sometimes reach the trance state—ecstasy—without dancing, drinkingblood, or other practices used by the bitans. They never dance in front of anaudience. The jaadugár can take away spells and enchantments, but can alsocause them. They can prepare amulets and foretell the future (called fáalbisháyas) and participate in fortune telling. There are eight known jaadugárstoday (four in Hyderabad, three in Ganesh, and one in Dorkhan), and sev-eral síre gús (Willson 1999:165, 166).


Síre gús can use sorcery to awaken love or cause bad luck or loss of healthor mind, but this shiqá-butáring (black magic), is theoretically forbidden.However, there have been reports of such dark activities in the region.On the other hand, síre gús can also help people to get rid of the evil eye oran evil spirit’s possession. The síre gús have a connection not with the presti-gious parís, but with the quasi-weak phút-bilásho spirits and other similar spir-its coming from the worlds below. Síre gús have a connection with sheitáayo(demons), and the ghuníqiants ruúmuts (bad spirits) (Willson 1999:166).Unlike the bitans, they obtain knowledge from a different kind of education(teaching others, learning from books, learning from supernatural beings,etc.), and they chose this way of life for themselves. Jaadugárs even have abook that explains how to foretell the future and prepare amulets. Jaadugárand síre gús can learn from each other, and even some knowledge can betransported from one jaadugár to another. Meanwhile bitans and dashmánsrarely communicate with each other, due in part that they are few in numberand usually located far from each other. The bitan do not speak to theneighboring jaadugár and síre gús.

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aqhón

The aqhón is a kind of priest (always male). He is connected with IsmailiIslam, and can sing religious songs, make amulets, help heal people fromsickness, and banish calamity or bad luck. He has power against phút-bilashospirits from the world below us. The aqhón also has a book of fortune tellingpractices, and he is able to prepare things for or against people’s health, luck,or mind. He is an Islamic priest without official status, also referred to as apopular (vernacular) priest or lay priest. They cannot be called shamans, asthey do not experience ecstasy or demonstrate possession, do not have apatron spirit, and are not in touch with spiritual beings.

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t y pology of hunzakut s ’ shaman i sm

Currently there is not a fixed formation or rules of Eurasian shamanism, andneither is there a formalized code. A general definition is hard to provide forthe word “shamanism,” but we can compare the Hunzakuts’ typical, or usual,elements and peculiarities with other Eurasian’s shamanistic communities’traditions. Shamanism is a very diverse and very complex phenomenon, andfar from homogenous. The “typical” elements and peculiarities are examinedand analyzed in hundreds of books (e.g., works of Balzer, Basilov, Campbell,Eliade, Hoppál, Diószegi, Lommel, Pentikäinen) and encyclopedias (e.g.,


Encyclopedia Britannica) for different cultures and in general. In spite of thiswide variety of literature, there is no useful or commonly accepted “list” ofwhat kind of elements should be examined, and no matrix existing about atypology of Eurasian shamanism. So it is impossible to give citation to myown statements, which are the usual, often, rare, unusual and very untypicalelements. It would be very unfair if I would emphasize only some of thebooks or papers on shamanic studies with a citation, as they were togetherand not independently the base of my conclusions. The frame of this paperis very tidy for giving longer comparison to other communities’ shamanistictraditions. This can be done in further studies by examining only one ele-ment with comparison to other traditions, using the whole library of studieson shamanism and on the particular cultures which are compared. Hunzak-uts’ shamanism has several very typical elements that are similar to other Eur-asian communities’ forms of shamanism. These similarities include:

(1) The importance of the patron spirit. Shamanic power in Hunzakut is deter-mined by the strength of the patron spirit. The shaman’s work is based onthe communication between the human and the spiritual beings.

(2) The shamans’ knowledge comes directly from the patron spirits or otherworlds’ spirits. Having a patron spirit is very common among shamans inEurasia. However, it is unusual (though not unknown) that only thepatron spirit teaches the bitan rather than also learning the tradition fromolder shamans.

(3) There is a sickness caused by the patron spirit when a chosen individualrefuses to become a bitan. This is a very common experience amongEurasian shamans.

(4) There are “social duties” of shamans, including: healing, fortune telling,preparing amulets, conciliation of spirits, praying to the spirits, avoidingand absolving bad luck and the evil eye, and participating in agriculturalrites and other national celebrations and festivals. (However, the latterfunction has been nearly totally diminished due to new Islamic rules inPakistan.) These functions are almost generally observed among otherEurasian shamans.

(5) The bitan uses dance as a technique of ecstasy. The dance includes wav-ing, quick shaking, and movement that imitate flying. However, thisdance is not considered a possession by the spirits. This feature of theecstasy—that it represents not possession but enclosure—is usual in theEurasian shamanistic traditions.

(6) The “flying” ability of the bitan is, of course, a ritual flying. The flying isnot exactly the ecstasy itself, just the technique the bitan uses to get toecstasy. Usually, during dancing, it can be a true imitation of flying move-ments and gestures. The trance state seems to appear during the dance


when the bitan drinks the blood from the freshly struck head of the goat.It is very common in the Eurasian shamanistic traditions that one of theshamans’ souls has the ability to fly.

(7) Smoke and fire (typically made from juniper and, on occasion, Syrian rue)are used as catalysts in the calling of the spirits. These are hallucinogens.Using hallucinogens is quite common among Eurasian shamans, but can-not be stated as universal. The most powerful Saami, Hanti, Mansi, Altai,Kirghiz, Buriat shamans usually avoid these materials. The Hunzakuts’bitans inhale very small quantities of the smoke, so we can say that this ismostly a symbolic action. This symbolic action is quite rare in Eurasia,where typically when a shaman uses hallucinogens, the quantity usuallymust be enough for reaching an altered state of consciousness.

(8) The blood of a male animal (mostly goat) is frequently used. This is notonly for sacrificial purposes, but for the blood itself, as blood is necessaryfor catalyzing the connection between the bitan and the spirits. Bitanstold me that without blood it would have been accidental or a very slowprocess to make the paríting speak. Drinking of blood is quite commonin the southern part of Eurasia (as I have seen among Kham Magars inNepal, Shinas in Pakistan, and as has been reported among the Rabarisin India), but quite rare among the northern peoples’ shamans (Mansis,Jakuts, Buriats, Mongolians, and so on). Blood often appears in shamanis-tic rituals, so the usage of fresh blood—for catalyzing the coming of thespirits and the obsession—–is not a general, but quite well-known tradi-tion in Eurasia. Drinking of the fresh blood during the rituals is a muchrarer, although far from unknown, tradition.

(9) It is also quite common that, in the past, shamans, their patron spirits,and even other types of spirits were stronger but now are reported to besignificantly weaker. Almost every shamanistic tradition in Eurasia statesthis as a well-known fact.

Also evident are other typical, but not really usual elements:

(1) In the past, more than a half of the Hunzakuts’ shamans, both bitans anddashmáns, were female according to approximately two-thirds of my infor-mants (see also Willson 1999:165, 187). Until the 1960s, female bitans weremore numerous than their male counterparts. The high rate of female sha-mans is not rare among the Eurasian shamanistic traditions. Today they canbe at the most dashmán, not bitan. I am aware of only one female bitan.This current demographic illustrates the structural changing of this statusaccording to the Islamic Pakistani state power from the Ali Bhutto era.

(2) As with perhaps all shamanistic communities, the shaman’s life is sur-rounded by taboos (such as avoiding drinking cow’s milk in Hunza) and


prescriptions (such as how to call the spirits). This article is too short toexplain all the taboos and rules valid for the shamans.

(3) The Hunzakuts shamans maintain other occupations such as farmingand animal husbandry, so we can call them “part-time specialists.”50 Noone can earn a living from the shaman activity, and the bitans anddashmáns are in the poorer half of the community. It should beexamined that in the past there were “rich” shamans or not, getting theirfortune from their shamanic activity. This article is not based on historicalstudies, but I must remind of some former shamans (e.g., Shón Gukúrand Hún Gukúr), whose memory is vivid even hundreds of years aftertheir lives. They must have been honored more than the present ones,even by the king of Hunza. So even if I noted that the Hunzakuts’ sha-mans nowadays are part-time specialists, it is not obvious that for the pastthis statement would be also true.

(4) After the trance state, when the shamanistic ecstasy ends, the bitan col-lapses and becomes unconscious for a short time (from 30 seconds toone minute). After the state of unconsciousness, the shaman does notremember the words that he or she spoke on behalf of the patron spirit,so others must listen to them carefully to remember. This amnesia iswidely reported around the world. The unknown speech from the patronspirit or the possessor is not rare according to most experiences of theEurasian shamanism. The bitan’s voice during the ecstasy is not his orher own. This phenomenon is common among mediums and those whocan see the dead (e.g., the Japanese itako), and quite rare among sha-mans as this phenomenon is connected to the exact possession, and notthe obsession or other interaction, with spirits.

Hunzakuts’ shamanism also has several rarely observed elements:

(1) The most important and most easily visible difference between theHunzakuts shamanic tradition and Eurasian shamanism is the absence ofshamanic drums. As a result, all the beliefs and motives typically con-nected to the drum are also absent. While normally the shamans usetheir own drum, and play it for themselves, in Hunzakuts the drum isplayed by special musicians. They are not only for shamanic purposes,but—as these drums are considered profane, not “sacred” as in otherareas of Eurasia—are also used on other occasions such as weddings,ceremonies, and festivals.

(2) In fact, Hunzakuts shamans cannot play any musical instrument at all—akind of taboo that is opposite of the customs of most other shamaniccommunities in Eurasia. Three Bericho—not Burusho—Hunzakuts


musicians play for the bitan’s dance. This kind of phenomenon is veryrare in Eurasia.

(3) Hunzakuts shamans have a special language. The bitans do not revealthe words of the spirits in the bitans’ own mother language. So it is notin Burushaski, but the Shina language, that the bitan sings (ghár étas).This tradition is not unknown in other Eurasian communities, but is veryrare.

(4) The Hunzakuts’ shamans do not have a special dress, except for a longcoat that hangs to the knees or below. This absence of any special dressor accessories is not unknown, but is quite rare, among other communi-ties’ shamans in Eurasia.

(5) The shaman has no special feature or physical difference from the ordin-ary people of the Hunza. There are no extra bones or teeth in the bitan’sbody distinguishing him or her at birth as a shaman. Only the patronspirit can choose who shall be a bitan.

(6) The prohibition of drinking cow milk or eating cow meat is quite uncom-mon, and could be an influence of the Shinas of Gilgit (Biddulph1971:96, Sidky 1994:75–76), or the Indian civilization to the southern,Hindu and Buddhist religions (Dani 1989:164–166), as people are allowedto drink cow milk in the Indian subcontinent, but Hindus are notallowed to eat the meat of the cow. For Hunzakuts’ bitan, both are taboo.This is very rare among Eurasian shamans (an exception can be men-tioned: the bhopis and bhopas or goralas of the Indian Rabaris—sincethey are officially Hindus).

(7) The Hunzakuts shaman does not have an older shaman patron or thepatronage of a dead shaman. Nor are they descendants of shamanicancestors. Only the patron spirit helps him or her to obtain knowledge.This element is known among some ethnic groups, but not everywherein Eurasia. Thus, it can be called an unusual, but not a unique, phenom-enon. Shamans do not have a shaman family, there is no lineage of sha-mans; however, in some families there are multiple shamans.51

It is notable that the differences listed above are mainly connected to theshaman’s performance—for example, the absence of the drum, the usage ofthe orchestra, and the simple, but not every day, style of dress. Despite thesedifferences, Hunzakuts’ shamanism can be folded easily into the Eurasianshamanistic rituals and techniques. With so many customs open to researchin Hunzakuts’ shamanism—such as the methods of ecstasy, the trance, whatthe spiritual worlds are like, which beliefs survive and which become a partof memorats or fables with the shaman’s work in transition, this paper can beseen as only one step in an ongoing journey of discovery.


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note s

1. The word Hunzakuts is both a plural and singular term. It means “person or peo-ple of Hunza.” Some sources (e.g., Frembgen 1988, Sidky 1994, etc.) use the sin-gular form, Hunzakut. Throughout this paper, I use the “emic” terms for basicsocial and cultural categories and phenomenon, and for this reason, I use theorthography of Stephen R. Willson (1999:3–7), which differs from the Interna-tional Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), but may be read more easily by non-linguists andused for later studies about Hunza.

2. There is no general “shaman religion” in Eurasia, there are only shamanistic tra-ditions, so there is no widely accepted definition and criteria for the term shamanor sorcerer. That is why I’ve chosen to use the original Burushaski terms for thesekinds of specialists.

3. Willson notes that pronunciation of the letter “t” in bitan is special: “similar to tbut with the tongue tip curled up and back” (Willson 1999:6). He writes a pointunder the letter t to sign the difference (t:). With the IPA alphabet we should spellit biʈan.

4. For more about Hunza geography and ecology see Staley (1969), Banik and Tay-lor (1970), Willson (1999), Flowerday (2006), and Ujfalvy (1884).

5. Tikkanen wrote about a smaller population (Tikkanen 1988:304–305), but thesemore recent data are from Willson who used the official Pakistani statistics for hiswork (Willson 1999:10).

6. David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer, the noted linguist, who performed his classicresearch in the late 1920s and in the 1930s, identified the Burushaski term ruúm as“tribe” (Lorimer 1935–38:304). However, more recently cultural anthropologists haveagreed that this definition is not accurate (Sidky 1996, Willson 1999, Csáji 2004).

7. Some linguists try to demonstrate parallels between Burushaski and some Paleo-Siberian languages (e.g., Ket)—see Климoв and Эдeльмaн (1970), Toporov (1970).

8. As told by Ijlal Hussein and Lal Hussein, my informants from Karimabad. Severalother variants appear in Lorimer (1929a, b, 1935–38), Dani (1989), Sidky (1990),and Willson (1999).

9. Hunzakuts also use the Persian term mir (Ujfalvy 1884, Leitner 1893, Sidky 1994,1996, Willson 1999, etc.) or míir, as Persian was the language taught in the pri-mary schools of Hunza until 1947 (Sidky 1996:228, Willson 1999:12). According toSidky, the king of Hunza also had supernatural power:

A person’s claim to bitan-ship had to be affirmed by the Mir of Hunza himself.In this connection it should be noted that, according to traditional Hunzakutideology, the Mir ruled his state through a divine mandate granted by theparíting themselves. The Mir was supposed to demonstrate this mandate throughhis supernatural powers of rainmaking and storm-quelling. [Sidky 1994:83–84]

fl y ing w ith the van i sh ing fa i r i e s 1 79

Another aspect has been described as the, “Bitan usually validated the activities ofthe Mirs of Hunza, who themselves were said to rule through a divine mandatefrom the parí. The bitan’s legitimacy, in turn, depended upon his being recognizedas a practitioner by the Hunza Mirs” (Sidky 1994:93–94). I use these citations fromSidky because I could not collect information about the thám of Hunza.

10. In 1974, the central government abolished the privileges of all former princelystates’ kings and rulers in Northern Pakistan (Sidky 1994:71).

11. Many etymologies are available for this ethnonim among linguists—for example“land of people fighting with bow,” “Khans’ land,” and the “land of the Huns.”The latter term arises from the “Hun-na-sa” or “Hun zamiin” (zamiin means landin Burushaski). Others state, that “hunzo” means “bowmen,” so the word Hunzacan also come from it, meaning “land of people fighting with bow.” Others speakabout the land of Khans, because several sources mentioned this territory as Kha-njuut or “the khans’ land” (Willson 1999:11), and can be the base for word hunzawith an affix (formative syllable). Others claim that the name arose from thefamous Hephtalite/White Hun invasion to the Indian Subcontinent (Sidky1996:26, Csáji 2004:14–15). Even today they keep the tradition of the skeletondeformation, where a child’s forehead is flattened with a cloth and wooden brace.There is no commonly accepted etymology for this ethnonim (see Dani 1989:44–46, 143–147).

12. The northernmost territory of Hinduism was previously only 50 kilometers fromHunza in the Gilgit territory (Dani 1989:149–156). Buddhism flourished in theHunza, Nagar, and Gilgit regions for hundreds of years in the first millenniumA.D. until the introduction of Islam during the late medieval centuries (Dani1989:165). In the early medieval ages there existed even a Zoroastrian communityin Gilgit (Dani 1989:164). It is important because this territory (Karakorum) is farfrom being “untouched” by other cultures and religions, even if it was reallyisolated.

13. Today all of Hunza and Nagar, and even Yasin inhabitants, have adopted Islam.In Hunza and Yasin, the population is predominantly Ismaili and a small per-centage is Shiah (Shía). According to Willson, the rate is roughly 90 and 10 per-cent, respectively (Willson 1999:200). In Nagar, the Burushos are mostly Shiahs.Islamic positions in the society are strictly separated from those occupations men-tioned in this article, except the aqhón (Willson 1999:147).

14. In these territories—except Danyor and Yasin, where Burushaski is alsospoken—people speak Shina. In Shina language danyal means bitan. Lorimer,Dani and Sidky all stress the importance of the little-known Shina shamanismwithin the much more studied Hunzakuts’ archaic techniques (see Lorimer 1979,Dani 1989, Sidky 1994).

15. My key informants were: Mashruf Khan (Ganesh, age: 30 years, gender: male),Bita’ Ibrahim (Altit, age: 70 years, gender: male), and other five men (two ofthem in their twenties, one of them in his thirties, one in his fifties, and one in


his seventies). One of them in the latter group was a 34-year-old Wakhi manfrom Sost, all the others were Burushaski speakers. Two of them could speakEnglish.

16. Some very important articles have been published in recent years (Sidky 2004,Flowerday 2005, 2006).

17. The four main scholars on Hunza society, history, and culture are: David L. R.Lorimer (linguist), Muhammad Homayun Sidky (cultural anthropologist),Stephen R. Willson (linguist, ethnographer), and Professor Ahmed Hasan Dani(historian and archeologist).

18. Data that could not be confirmed were omitted (e.g., the payment for the sha-mans’ service, materials hung on the belt, the usage of amulets, etc.), and can bea part of a later analyses. My article also did not include the typology of the for-mer shamanistic tradition in Hunza in the 20th century. But, according to mystudies, there is a rapid change of the shamanic techniques (Csáji 2004:53–78)that can be a subject of another work (some aspects are discussed in Sidky 1994,Willson 1999, Flowerday 2006).

19. Willson (1999:164) and Sidky (1994:67–93) verify the bitan as shaman. It is notevident that we can state them as equal categories, so typological examinationand notes have been necessary. This is what I have planned to do within thisarticle.

20. Although Willson considered them as equal categories (Willson 1999:165),Jaadugárs do not make only magic, but hold some elements of a bitan, as theycan also communicate with the spirits, and can certainly mediate between thehuman and spirit worlds. A sorcerer’s patron spirit is not a parí, but one of thephút-bilásho spirits. Their ethical goal is much different from a bitan’s.

21. My opinion was influenced by Willson, who had the same conclusion (Willson1999:166).

22. Singular: parí; plural: paríting. “Fairy” is not a perfect translation for this word.Linguists state the word itself comes from a related ancient Indo-European wordthat closely connects with the similar Indo-European word “fairy” in English(Lorimer 1935–38). The idea that the Burushaski word parí can be easily trans-lated to English as fairy, comes from Leitner (1893:9).

23. Sidky described parí as a mountain spirit (Sidky 1994:67, 70–73), which is also nota perfect category, as they are not only the spirits of wild nature, but are also spir-its from the Upper World who rule some of the lands and creations of our world’snature (e.g., ibex, Marco Polo sheep), and are connected to the pure and impureopposition as they have different “pure” and “impure” categories than other peo-ple. One of Sidky’s informants—Bitan Ibrahim—describes them as follows:

They were human-like, but taller than any man I know, with fair skin, redcheeks, golden hair, and clad in green garments. Their mouths were wider than


human mouths, their noses extended high into their foreheads, and their feetwere backwards. [1994:80–81]One of my informants—Mashruf Khan—explained that,

Parí can be tall or very short as well, from two feet to nine feet. Paríting areusually fatter than the humans. Their head is quite big. They wear light coloreddress, with pastel colors such as blue, green, yellow or even pink. Their home isone level above our world. They many times appear to me in a form of a bird.Usually in the form of a pigeon, but they are visible just for me. Their housesare similar to ours, but we cannot see them. Their ruler’s name is Shamzparí.They live much longer than humans, but they can also become old and die.They are dying out nowadays. [Csáji 2004:58–59]

24. This kind of categorization of the spirits is commonly known among Hunzakuts,but we can mention Willson (1999) or Csáji (2004, 2007) who discuss this in fur-ther detail.

25. Impure things are surrounded with taboos (Csáji 2007); Sidky mentions a taboofor the bitans’ dance, told by Bitan Ibrahim: “Bitan must always cleanse them-selves and abstain from sexual intercourse prior to calling on the parí” (Sidky1994:83). There are several other taboos bitans must observe (Csáji 2004:58–65).

26. Only males can become an aqhon.

27. The bitans’s flying activity is called gáartsastsum étas in Burushaski language.The word gáartsastsum in fact means “flying.”

28. Sometimes a whole prophecy can be told in their predictions (Sidky 1994:85–88).I have also heard bitan Mashruf Khan in 2001 telling of the dilemma of Pakistanafter the later Afghan war.

29. In another version, the man who acted against him was a phút-bilásho’s aqhón.See Willson (1999:280–281).

30. One version of the folktale has been taken from Khisrau Khan in 1988, and laterfrom Saeed Alam in 1999 by Willson. See Willson (1999:261).

31. The Dadamel is a drum that is similar in shape to a coconut that has been cutinto two pieces and put beside each other. The open hollow is covered byleather and played by hitting the hollow with two thin sticks.

32. Juniper is believed to be food for the paríting.

33. There are also reports of the use of cedar trees (Lorimer 1979:263–254, Sidky1994:71). Syrian rue (Sepandur and Sepandur harmala) and juniper (Juniperusmacropoda) smoke can be hallucinogenic, but—as I personally examined—thesmall amount inhaled by the bitan would not affect other people except bitans(Csáji 2004:34). Nearly all the sources mention only juniper smoke inhaled bythe bitans (Sidky 1995, Sidky 1996). My experiences and Willson’s work (Willson1999:66, 164) can give us enough basis for mentioning Syrian rue also as a hallu-


cinogen for the shamans’ dance. Inhaling the smoke of the juniper is muchmore common among the present day bitans than cedar or Syrian rue.

34. Cutting off the head of the male goat is a sacrifice for the bitans’ dance calledchato in Burushaski. Sidky wrote: “These practitioners inhale the smoke of burn-ing juniper branches, dance to a special music, drink blood from a freshly sev-ered goat’s head, enter into ecstatic trances, and converse with supernaturalbeings” (Sidky 1994:67–68). He also stressed that:

Centered around practitioners known as bitan, this tradition has certaincharacteristics—such as the shaman inhaling juniper smoke and drinking bloodfrom a freshly severed goat’s head—that seem to be unique among South andCentral Asian peoples. [1990:275–277]

I cannot agree that it would be a unique tradition, as I myself have seen thevery similar custom among the Kham Magars’ shamans—called jankhrí—inNepal, thousand kilometers east from Hunza.

35. According to bitans that I have spoken with, Islam does not have a strong influ-ence on the spirits’ worlds. For example, the color green is quite commonamong the spirits’ dress, yet Muslims avoid that color on their lower body (seeCsáji 2004:56). Even bitans sometimes wear a long green coat as I have seen.

36. Sidky gave a very good example that the bitan is not “possessed” by the spirits ina traditional sense:

Now the parí, said to be inside the drum, begin to speak to the bitan, who, in ahigh-pitched chant, conveys their message to the audience.…Then the bitan risesswiftly, dances in a circle around the clearing and, once again, dashes towardthe musicians, this time lowering his blood-smeared face next to the pipe. Againthe other musicians pause as the oracle commences to chant predictions he issaid to have heard from the parí. Once again, members of the audience repeatthe bitan’s remarks in unison. The oracle alternates between listening to the pipeand to the drum, each time relaying the parí’s messages to the audience.[1994:84–86]

37. Paríting speak Shina language. This is a well-known fact among the Hunzakuts(see also in Sidky 1994:74–75, 88–89, Willson 1999:103, 164, Csáji 2004:53). Wemay conclude a southern, especially Shina, origin for this phenomenon, whichalso aligns with the myth of Girkis and Moglot (Dani 1989:42–45, Csáji 2004:63).

38. This dress, while similar to Central Asian dress (like the kaftan), is different fromthe Pakistani shalvar khamez dress, which has no belt. The coat usually has a widetextile belt but neither the coat nor the belt offers any significant differences fromthe traditional dress of the Hunza except for its color. The shaman typically prefersstrong colors—red and gold, green and gold, white and lemon yellow, or evenlight blue. Many can remember special and spectacular shaman dresses in the


past, but were not able to accurately describe them for me. Bita’ Ibrahim, one ofmy key informants, wore a light blue shirt that was given to him by the thám(king), when he became a bitan. There is no headdress or tiara worn by bitans.The belt sometimes is only a wide, long cloth; at other times it is an old simpleleather belt. Bita’ Ibrahim wears a long shawl and long coat with extra long shirtsleeves. No items (such as scissors, pliers, or bells) hang on the belt or on the coat.Mashruf Khan usually wears red or green colored coat with golden flowers.

39. It depends on how long the argument with the paríting lasts and how difficult isto explain the message or the instruction.

40. This was my experience during my participant-observation, and no other articlesor books contain any conflicting information. The singing of the paríting’s mes-sage is always shortly after the chato, the drinking of the goat’s blood. Bitans tellthat the paríting, not the bitan him- or herself, drink the blood as they are thirstyfor it.

41. This information is based on my informants’ ideas. This is an estimated rate, butWillson also confirmed this data (1999:165), as saying “they were, and still are,frequently women.” Then Willson added: “Nowadays it is not acceptable forfemale bitáyo to dance, but they are still called upon to make tumáring”(1999:187). Tumáring means “amulet” in Burushaski language. I must mentionthat I could record interviews only with male bitans.

42. This information arises from my interviews, and I did not collect more data forfurther studies. According to my two main bitan informants, Mshruf Khan andBita’ Ibrahim, the payment is not fixed, and is varied case by case (see Csáji2004:57). Other written sources do not discuss this topic.

43. While nearly all spirits of the Lower Worlds are considered evil, there are alsomigrating sprits and dead human’s spirits who cannot be categorized so simply asbeing negative or “evil.”

44. This is important data based on my interviews. All of my informants confirmedthis fact, inspiring my book’s title: Fairies Vanishing (Csáji 2004). No othersources have conflicting information. Willson (1999:165) and Lorimer discuss this(Lorimer 1935–38:200–203, 214–217) when they mention the two bitans, ShónGukúr and Húk Gukúr, who lived a long time ago and were the most powerfulshamans.

45. My informants have told many stories about them, but Lorimer (1935–38), Sidky(1994), and Willson (1999) also wrote many anecdotes and folk legends aboutthem, based on the information given by their informants.

46. This work—preparing amulets—is the most important, especially for female bi-tans.

47. The young Hunzakuts—teenagers and those in their twenties—smiled manytimes about the stories and beliefs shared by my informants. They certainly knewabout these notions but they did not unreservedly believe in them. Sometimes


they did not trust in the ideas at all. One of my key informants went to universityin Islamabad, another to a high school in Gilgit. They often use the internet.They also told me stories about fairies, but not as a statement of facts, but asmemorats and well-known tales (fabulats). They did not believe that the storieswere true.

48. Bita’ Ibrahim and Mashruf Khan are famous for their strained relation. Bita Ibra-him many times explained that Mashruf is a charlatan.

49. Willson tells that the sh in dashmán is similar to the sh in the English word“sheep,” “but with the tongue tip curled up and back” (Willson 1999:6).Dashmán can be pronounced as da§man and dah∫amán with the IPA. Willsongives pronunciation as da§mán (Willson 1999:165).

50. Whether the shaman is a full-time or part-time specialist is an important divisionand distinction in Eurasia.

51. According to Sidky: “The predisposition for becoming a bitan seems to run incertain families. Practicing bitan are often the children, grandchildren, or evengreat-grandchildren of other bitan” (1994:78–79). I have not experienced such alineage, and my informants stressed that a new bitan can appear in any of thefamilies, if the baby is chosen by the parí.

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Flying with the Vanishing Fairies: Typology of the Shamanistic Traditions of the Hunza

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