Learning Survival: The Ibex and its Kid

Arab Khan

Research Data

Learning Survival: The Ibex and its Kid

Description

I am Arab Khan from Shimshal, a village in the Hunza district approximately 55 km from the Karakoram High-way. Our ancestors have been living here for around 550 years, spanning about 15 generations. Life in Shimshal is not easy. Since we all descend from a common ancestor, the entire community works together. Arab Khan reported as follows: In our childhood, we used to listen to folk stories in Wakhi language, and one of them was particularly heart-touching. Our parents taught us various things, like not to pollute water as the water flowing through the channels might be drinking water for the next neighbour. They used to warn us that if we pollute the water, bad things could happen to us, instilling a certain kind of fear in us. I would like to also share about how courage can be derived from being an orphan. It is a God [given] challenge that when children face the test of losing their parents, they have to learn to survive on their own. [Along this line in our childhood] we were told a song, which was about an ibex and its kid. The story goes like this: A hunter arrives, and the ibex mother realizes that the chances of survival are slim. She tells her kid to leave and join another herd of ibexes. The kid says: “Mother, I can't go without you. When the hunter arrives and shoots the mother, the kid says again: Mother, I can't go without you. The [dying] mother replies: Now you have to learn to live on your own, go and join a group of other ibexes. The kid insists: If I go there, the ibexes with big horns will hurt me. The mother says: Son, you have to live with them. Slowly, you will grow up and develop your own horns, so you have to live with them and not stay here, go now.” Since the mother had been hunted and was [deadly] injured, she was teaching her kid the lesson of survival. The mother explained that the ibexes with their big horns would surely hurt the kid, but he must not lose courage and instead learn to live by observing them. It was a thrilling story that touched my heart. Thank you very much.

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