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The last shepherdesses of Pamir in Pakistan

The valley at an altitude over 4,500 metres has seen gradual desertion as youngsters move out for better opportunities.

Underneath 6,000 metre-high mountains sits the Pamir plateau. Shimshal is marked by high-altitude meadow and lakes. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

7 Oct 2017

Shimshal Valley, Pakistan – Nestled in the Karakorum Range in northern Pakistan, the remote Shimshal Valley adapts each year to the rhythm of the mountains, with the transhumance – the seasonal movement of people with their livestock – led by women.

The Wakhi ethnic community who reside here are proud of this unique women-led tradition.

In springtime, a handful of women and a few men settle an ephemeral hamlet at an altitude of over 4,600 metres. They spend five months in harsh, isolated conditions, with only basic comforts and a three-day walk to the nearest village.

The Shimshal Valley – home to 1,750 residents – was only connected by road to the Karakorum Highway in 2003, after 18 years of construction. The road has facilitated better access to major cities, resulting in higher education and employment for the people of this remote valley.

The desire of the Wakhis for better education led young people – both girls and boys – to leave for cities, initially to study, which gave them better employment opportunities.

Faced with these conditions, the end of this singular feminine pastoralism seems inevitable. The shepherdesses of Pamir are conscious of living the last years of a beautifully harsh tradition; of being the custodians of a fading ancestral knowledge.

Two ascending villagers come across a shepherd and his donkeys returning from supplying the summer village with food and other necessities. A strenuous path that cuts into cliff faces connects Shimshal to the Pamir plateau. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

In harsh and inclement weather conditions - subject to the whims of the sun, wind and snow - shepherdesses take care of over 1,000 cattle, sheep, goats and yaks. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

A shepherdess milks her cattle. Days flow by monotonously, punctuated by milking and the tedious making of traditional cheese and butter. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

Yak riders returning quickly to the summer village for Woolio; this annual faith-based festival celebrates yaks, the emblematic animals of the Pamir. It is one of the very few entertainment opportunities for the local people each year. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

During Woolio, a local meal called 'chamurk' is prepared out of shreds of thin wheat bread mixed with yak butter. Rock salt is traditionally added to milk tea to warm oneself up. More recently, refined sugar tends to replace the rock salt. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

Some local villagers gather during Woolio. Even the ominous weather doesn't stop men and women from singing and dancing. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

Several thousand yaks, sheep and goats graze in the Shimshal Pamir, a vast grassland at over 4,500 metres in altitude. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

In the summer of 2016, only 17 out of 40 shepherd's huts were occupied. This gradual desertion is the result of the desire for further education, the aging of the shepherdesses and few replacements. The end of this singular feminine pastoralism seems inevitable. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

Pok Doman, left, and Nar Begum, right, are among the oldest shepherdesses in the region. 'Some of my friends don't have good enough health to come, others are just gone forever. As for me, God knows,' sighs Nar Begum, 65. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

Despite the weather conditions, sheep and goats are milked in the same pen every day. Shepherdesses have to work quickly before the night falls and the severe cold arrives. Only a tiny coloured string run through the animal's ear enables one to differentiate them. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

Inayat Bakht, 21, sits on the roof of her hut. Here, she shapes a thick paste made out of boiled milk, which will become cheese. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

This sun-dried cheese, 'qurut', represents the local way to put the abundant milk to good use. It offers an additional source of income, along with the sale of livestock. Fresh qurut, left, and dry qurut, right. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

Young men playing cricket on an improvised ground at 4,500 metres above sea level during Woolio. The younger generation tends to prefer the comforts of the classroom and social recognition of a future 'office life'. But most of all, through education, they yearn to bring positive changes to their communities. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

Shepherdesses, between the ages of 20 and 65, and a few men, sit outside the Jamaat Khana, the place of gathering and prayer. [Camille Delbos/Hans Lucas/Al Jazeera]

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