ABSTRACT
The Dom are a people in Hunza, a valley and administrative division in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, and until 1974 the state of Hunza governed by a local ruler. The Dom’s identity developed out of their work as musicians and blacksmiths. The Dom’s status is low and their opportunities have been constrained because these professions, though essential to the smooth functioning of traditional life for Hunza’s people, were despised by the wider society. And the Dom’s old roles do not fit comfortably in today’s changing society and economy, where musicians and blacksmiths are no longer so necessary. They must remake themselves.
