Cultural Commodification in Kalash Valley: A Case Study of Bumburet Village, District Chitral
Author: Saif Uddin

Today’s globalised world of high mass consumption has turned every aspect of culture whether tangible factors like clothes, and intangible factors like customs, rituals and expressions into a commodity.Tourism is one of the key factors due to which cultural artifacts such as customs, rituals, expressions, behaviors and way of life are being commercialised.Cultural commodification is a process in which behaviors and practices of local indigenous people are commodified, marketed, sold and consumed by tourists for money. In the mountains of the Hindu Kush in Pakistan, about 3000 or so people live who look different from their neighboring Muslims. They claim to have lived in the area for thousands of years and they look to all intents and purposes, European. Many of the Kalash people are blond haired and blue eyed, somewhat of an anomaly in Pakistan. The Kalash say that they are descendants of Alexander the Great’s army though their true ethnic origins are still unproven. They have a significantly different outlook on life from the Muslims surrounding them – they are polytheistic and have a completely different folklore (which has been compared to that of ancient Greece). This study aimed to look at the process of cultural commodification of the unique Kalash culture and its impact on the local Kalash community. For the purpose of this study qualitative research strategy was adopted. In-depth, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were taken from 48 respondents who were sampled using different sampling techniques such as purposive, convenient and simple random sampling. The primary data was analysed by thematic approach and various themes were generated. Semiotic analysis of five collections of cultural items accompanied by the two cultural songs and dances were carried out. The study was carried out in Bumburet village Kalash Valley district Chitral. Supervisor:- Dr. Zulfiqar Ali

Meta Data

Keywords : Cultural Commodification, Culture, Intangible Culture, Tangible Culture
Supervisor: Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro

Related Thesis​