ABSTRACT
The high mountains of Indus Kohistan are part of KohistanDistrict in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistanon the western side of the river Indus. The author conducted field research in the area between 1997-2001 on Indus Kohistani, the major language of this area, and on the regional folk traditions. Indus Kohistani belongs to the small but archaic and therefore very interesting Dardic branch of Indo-Aryan. The majority of the people of Kohistan depends largely on livestock and agriculture, and still follows seasonal migrations to the alpine pastures (transhumance). The whole population follows the Sunni creed of Islam. Still, various pre-Islamic elements have survived to this day, notably the belief in fairies, giants and supernatural snakes. However, for the past few decades the area has come under the influence of Pashtun culture and way of life. Among the many consequences of this has been a ban on the worship of local saints (all shrines or darg¡h have been destroyed) and the suppression of regional performance traditions.
