VISUAL artist and art critic Mohsen Keiany, in his book Balochistan: Architecture, Craft, and Religious Symbolism, looks into how symbols originate, get associated with contextual connotations, and eventually come to define a people through interaction within their surroundings. In the case of Balochistan, the symbols are few and very simple, conveying basic meaning and emotion, and reflecting the minimalism of a transient, nomadic lifestyle. The architecture and crafts of Balochistan include relics from some of the earliest examples of Islamic arts and architecture, based on a harmonious fusion of simplicity and functionality.

Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan, with a low literacy rate and minimal infrastructure development. Balochistan: Architecture, Craft, and Religious Symbolism gives a refreshing perspective of a region we know little about. The province remains relatively isolated from the rest of the country, and in fact the world. Its cultural and aesthetic styles have developed over the centuries, independent of the broader Islamic arts and architecture arena, and free from nationalistic values and ideals.

The book is the outcome of independent research undertaken by Keiany on site over a number of years. It is systematically organised, and progresses in a logical sequence to build up on the author’s hypothesis. The author discusses relevant literature on the subject, including parallel references from Islamic architecture, contemporary ideas on the relevance and scope of symbolism in today’s world, and Western philosophy and interpretation of Oriental cultures. He recounts his own visits to the sites and documents his observations, including in the form of sketches.

Balochistan has been invaded by many outsiders over the centuries. The Macedonians raided it as part of Alexander’s greater conquest plans. Multiple waves of Persians, Arabs, and Afghans invaded and settled here temporarily. Finally the Mughals and the British fought over Balochistan, which served as an integral link between India and Persia, and through Persia to the trans-Asian trade routes.

In order to analyse the people and their practices, the author gives a comprehensive background of information about the various ethnic groups that make up the population of Balochistan — namely Baloch, Pakhtun and Brahui. He speculates about their possible origins, citing equally credible historic research and existing oral traditions within the communities. He researches the origins of the major languages across the province, and shows that they contain influences of Sanskrit, Aryan, and Greco-Roman syntax and vocabulary.

The larger percentage of Balochistan’s population leads a wandering, nomadic lifestyle, practicing limited subsistence agriculture and relying largely on livestock for food and transport. Life in the stark nomadic environs of Balochistan shifts in tune to the shifting dunes of the great Kharan Desert. Perhaps it is the nomadic, ephemeral lifestyle of the locals scattered across the endlessness of the monochromatic desert that lends a mystic quality to the overall physical ambience of the province. Unlike the major cities or even smaller villages scattered across Pakistan, Balochistan is defined not by the permanence and durability of urban lifestyles or civic values but by continuous movement, migration, and improvisation within the desert-scape.

An interesting architectural feature of the rugged landscape is the workplace shelter. These are structures for shepherds or farmers that seat just one or two people. They present a point of visual focus in the monotonous sprawl of the desert. It is often the occupational or migratory patterns of the wanderers that dictate the degree of impermanence in their settled domestic lives. Some people decide to settle down more permanently due to economic reasons. As education levels increase, younger generations choose to situate closer to the cities semi-permanently, acquiring basic administrative or government jobs and constructing crude winter homes. Other nomads upgrade their ancestral trade practices from camels to trucks and vans, and hence prefer to relocate nearer to the cities.

The daily prayers also define an important aspect of Baloch communal life — intertribal unity, and the pooling together of scant resources for the construction of tribal mosques. The minaret is a focal element of the desert mosque. The Baloch attach great cultural value to minarets. Symbolism attached to the minaret, as recorded by the author during interviews with common locals, includes holiness, religious stature, a means of reaching God, and a link between the earth and the heavens. These are apart from its obvious function.

The exterior detailing and interior layouts of individual homes is shaped as much by cultural and religious beliefs as the climatic and spatial requirements of its residents. The clear segregation of spaces used by males and females in the house reflects a traditional value system. But Keiany also rightly points out the evident dichotomy between belief systems when it comes to maintaining social order within a tribe.

Despite the tedium of a rustic lifestyle, the Baloch do not have a life devoid of aesthetics. Their use of colour and design in their homes, clothes, and handicrafts, however rudimentary, is the manifestation of the artistic expression they take pride in. One of the outlets for this artistic expression is the design of rugs and carpets. The rugs depict scenes from everyday life and the general desert environment. The subject is shown two-dimensionally, with little need for abstraction. Some Baloch rugs also portray animals and people — evidence of the pride they have for their lifestyle over staunch adherence to religious edicts.

The domestic and public architecture and arts of a community are collective social endeavours, conscious expressions of the richness and diversity within a society, and of the pride they take in their values. These spring largely from inherent tradition, unlike the physical or socio-economic nature of urban transformations in architecture or the arts. Whereas urban artistic expression is driven by motives of display, the art of the desert area is pure and indifferent to acknowledgement beyond its own intimate circle of observers.

That said, the tribal culture of Balochistan, despite having several overlapping practices, is not homogenous. Within the ethnic and linguistic divisions of each tribe exists a collage of several subcultures, colloquial variations, and individual value systems. Keiany analyses the basic, everyday objects in the lives of the Baloch people to examine the deeper values associated with these objects and their stylistic themes.

Balochistan: Architecture, Craft, and Religious Symbolism

(HISTORY/ART)

By Mohsen Keiany

Oxford University Press, Karachi

ISBN 978-0199067848

368pp.