Young members of a family displaced from Tirah stand at the entrance of their cave house in Jamrud. — Dawn
Young members of a family displaced from Tirah stand at the entrance of their cave house in Jamrud. — Dawn

PESHAWAR: Haji Hanif Afridi, 68, was busy digging a home in a steep rock located on the edge of the main Torkham Highway near historic Shagai fort.

He was happy that he would be able to make a six-chamber home inside the rock to avoid harsh summer for three months. Taking a short break, he revealed to the curiosity of this scribe that around 3,000 to 4,500 people of Lala Cheena, Shagai, Katta Kushta and Ali Masjid areas had been living in caves since long.

Mr Afridi said that life in caves had been rather comfortable and easier than life in normal concrete block-homes. The caves homes served as natural air coolers and heaters in summer and winter seasons to avoid their severity, he added.

Mr Afridi said that living in caves had been an ancient way of life of the locals since many still could not afford to construct concrete homes. He said that earlier, people of the area had been living in ‘Smasas’ (natural caves) but then due to limited space, the dwellers had dug homes in rocks to accommodate their families.


Tribesman says cave homes serve as natural air coolers and heaters


“Every modern facility is available inside cave homes through the blessing of solar panels. It is just at a distance of three kilometres from main Jamrud Bazaar where thousands of Kukikhel tribal people are still living in caves at Gudar village and surrounding areas called ‘Gara’ in local dialect,” said Mr Afridi.

According to local residents, extreme poverty and an ancient way of living were the main reasons behind it.

Rahmat Lehaz Afridi, a local schoolteacher, told this scribe that people of Gudar, Lashura and Ghundi areas in Jamrud tehsil though had built concrete homes yet they still had been using dungeons as storage or basement for their animals and household luggage. He said that thousands of people had re-established their ancient caves owing to excessive power loadshedding.

“People still use caves as homes, hujras and mosques in our village. Main reasons are poverty and an ancient living style. Also our fellow tribesmen in Tirah valley, fled from wrath of militancy, are now residing in caves as they don’t have homes. Some have made caves their permanent abodes,” said Rahmat Lehaz. He said that in the past, people used to live along with their animals in caves but then animals were kept in separate places and also latrines and kitchenettes were built outside the cave to make it more safe and clean.

Sada Gul Afridi, 45, a resident of Tirah, had been residing in Gudar village for the last four years. He had staked his walls of Gara with beautiful world maps. “I have determined to spend rest of my life in cave with my six family members. It is safe and peaceful,” he said. He added that living in caves was far better than living in brick made homes in cities.

Mohammad Tahir Khattak, principal of architect of Wadaan consultants in Peshawar, said that cave was the most primitive but indigenous human architecture. He said that living in cave had its own merits and demerits.

“It is energy efficient and environment friendly. The cave topology is one of the earliest human architectural forms. There are caves even in France and Spain. People are still living in caves in India. In china, around 30 million people are residing in caves. In recent years, architects have been reappraising cave in environmental terms,” he said.

Mr Khattak said that its demerits could be disastrous for cave dwellers. He said that mudslide, rainstorm and earthquake could make caves collapse anytime. “There should be proper ventilation and an alternative exit which in most cases not possible in such dwellings. People still with its limited local resources, distinctive cliffs of yellow, porous soil, makes digging easy and cave dwelling a reasonable option,” he said.

Mr Khattak said that sometimes it was a nostalgia and taste for indigenous culture that people wanted to maintain.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2017

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