The Ancient Water Management System of Teenjos
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My name is Syed Ali Asghar, and my father's name is Syed Qasim Shah. Our roots lie in Teenjos Gamba, Skardu. I completed my PhD in nanophysics in the Modelling and Simulation Lab at the Allama Iqbal Open University in Islamabad. Today, I want to share a tale about our village Teenjos.
Above our village, there is a water course known as Shusha. Within this course, there is a tunnel called Chutik Bahu, which is about the size of a normal room. Water continuously drips from this tunnel, and our village has built a reservoir to collect this water. With donations from villagers living both locally and abroad, we have laid a pipeline from this water source to a mountainous area called Kastiyang. Around 300 years ago, people used to cultivate land in Kastiyang. The water from Shusha reached these lands and irrigated them. Below Kastiyang, there is a flat area where a miracle is said to have occurred. At night, natural light appears in this area for which we have no explanation. It is believed that perhaps a holy person or a devout individual was buried there during the Buddhist era, having been subjected to oppression. Additionally, it is said that wild animals, such as deer, would seek refuge in this place when fleeing from hunters and would remain safe there. Our village, Teenjos, and our neighborhood, Biyangpaya, have enclosed this area with walls and designed it to resemble a mosque, making it very beautiful. For centuries, whenever there was a drought or lack of rain, all the elders of Teenjos gather here after the morning prayers to hold a congregation and pray for rain. This practice invariably results in rainfall. Conversely, if excessive rain threatens to damage the crops, the elders gather in the same manner for three days, and the rain stops, allowing the sun to shine again.
We use the path through Kastiyang to take our livestock to the grazing areas. There is a dangerous slipping area, but we have constructed a safe route through it. The livestock stop at Chutik Bahu to drink water before moving on. Further up, there is a water source called Nangma Longma. In the past, our ancestors divided the water among the villages of Thayor and Teenjos. The people of Thayor were cunning and kept a large hole on their side for water, while placing a small wooden tool with holes, like a bucket, on our side. These small holes would get clogged with dirt over time, creating a barrier. To this day, a glacier, the height of a house, forms above this water source and even in July and August, the glacier remains. Whenever the weather worsens, it snows and a new glacier forms. This glacier melts when the sun shines, causing the watercourse to flow again in the evening, pro-ducing muddy-colored water. I have personally observed this water flow, starting in the evening and continuing until midnight, when the temperature drops, and the water flow stops by early morning. The area of water distri-bution among Teenjos, Tandal, and Thayur is called Nangma Longma, located above our grazing grounds. Our ancestors were wise and divided the water between Tandal, Kharboo, and Karaldo for the day, and reserved the night water for Teenjos. This system ensures that the water reaches Teenjos, as the distance between the water source and our village is about 4 kilometers, and water would evaporate during the day. Thus, our ancestors wisely allocated the night water to Teenjos and the day water to the other villages, a system that continues to this day and will remain forever. In the morning, when the rays of the rising sun hit the eastern mountains, the people of Tandal
direct the water towards their village. And in the evening, when there's just a bit of sunlight left on the western mountains, we, the people of Teenjos, direct the water towards ourselves. This tradition has been in place since the Dogra era, and it is also written down in documents of our irrigation system.
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2.7.12.1
Metadata
Dr.Syed Ali Asghar Mosavi
Andreas Bürkert
Martin Wiehle
Eva Schlecht
Ellen Hoffmann
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