The Discursive Construction of Hunza, Pakistan, in Travel Writing: 1889-1999
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THE DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF HUNZA, PAKISTAN, IN TRAVEL WRITING: 1889-1999 by TANlA DOLPHIN, H.B.A. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario January 2000 O copyright 2000, Tania Dolphin National Library Bibliothèque nationale l*l of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Weilington Street 395. rue Wellington Onawa ON K1A ON4 Oltawa~ONKlA ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or seil reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfom, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/filrn, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Figure 1. Shimshal Ruer Valley, on the way ftom tu ShimJirl. f aksn Jum 1988. Travel writing has remained mainly untouched by careful textual analysis until recently. Following in the footsteps of academics, who have begun to focus on concerns of authority and representation in travel writing, this thesis examines travel texts, written by Westerners over the past one hundred years, about Hunza, an area in northern Pakistan. 1 employ a deconstructive method to examine how language has been used to give travel statements their naturalizing power. Using a variety of narrative and semantic techniques, the authon of the narratives have constructed several dominant representations of Hunza and its inhabitants, some of which have been developed into naturalized discourses of Hunza. In texts that range from eyewitness reports to narratives of self- discovery, the authors have constnicted an inferior 'other' in opposition to a superior Westerner. By following the ernergence and development of these discourses over a century, I describe how they were constructed, and how they became naturalized over time. Acknowledgernents A project of this size cannot be accomplished alone. I would not have been able to complete this project without the help of several people and organizations. Firçt and foremost, I would like to thank David Butz, my co- advisor at Brock University for giving me the opportunity to even think of such a project. His guidance and patience, support and encouragement have helped me face new theoretical challenges, and grow intellectuaily. Second, I would also like to thank my CO-advisorat Carleton University, David Bennett, for taking on the responsibility of my work, and accepting the challenge with an open mind. His support allowed me to do what I really wanted to do. The Ina Hutchinson Award allowed me to continue with my research, and I thank the Department of Geography at Carleton University for that opportunity. In addition, I would not have been able to finish my project without the help of the Graduate Student Association - thank you Diane Berezowski. I would Iike to thank Loris Gasparotto in the Cartographie Office of the Department of Geography at Brock University for the excellent map. Thanks go out once again to David Butz for taking the beautiful photographs, and allowing me to reproduce them here. For al1 sorts of aid - technical. administrative and theoretical - thanks go to Nigel and Tina, and to Ruth. And to Arek, of course, for everything. iii Contents A bstract ii Acknowledgements iii Contents iv List of Tables vii Illustrations viii PART I Chapter One 2 1 ntroduction Is It Geography? ûeconst~ctionof a Method; Deconstruction as a Method Chapter Two. Theoretical Background 33 l ntroduction 1 Travel.. 2 .. writing Discourse Colonial and Travel Theory 1 Colonial Discourse i Orientalism ii The power of classification 2 Representation i Fiction and Truth ii A Question of Authority iii Ethnography vs. travel writing iv Positionality and Plurality 'Othering' Writing Strategies 1 Narratives i Narrative Types ii Creating Value iii The Modem Unhero 2 Language i Portraits ii Timelessness iii The 'Primitive' iv 'Other' Landscapes v Remoteness and Idealization iv Reader Reception 98 Chapter Three. Historical Context 100 l ntroduction 1O0 Before Modem European Contact 104 Eady European Contact 106 British-Dogra Annexation of Hunza 112 Independence 117 Abolition of the Princely States and the Opening of the Karakoram Highwayl21 PART II Chapter Four. Information Gathering l ntroduction Drew and Biddulph Durand and Knight Reader Reception Chapter Five. Exploration and Adventure 155 lntroduction Etherton Neve Reader Reception Chapter Six. Gender and Imperialism lntroduction Lorimer 1 Ethnography or Travel Text? 2 Writing Within Discourses of Femininity 3 Writing Within Colonial Discourse Reader Response PART III Chapter Seven. Happy Hunza / Developing Hunza 208 Introduction Tobe Happy Hunza continued Clark, 'capitalist vanguard' Reader Response Chapter Eight Ecotourism and New Age Travel 242 Introduction Jamie - lndependent Woman Schaller - lndependent Activist Lonely Planet - lndependent Traveller Reader Response Chapter Nine. Hunza On-line Introduction Travel brochures Health and Happiness in Hunza Travelogues CONCLUSION Final Remarlcs 291 Sources Consulted 301 List of Tables Table Page 1. Partial History of Hunza 101 Illustrations Figure Page 1. Shimshal River Valley, on the way from Passu to Shimshal. i 2. Central Hunza and Nagar, taken from the roof of Baltit Fort. 77 3. Map of Hunza and surrounding areas. 1O3 4. Truck stop at Jaglot on the Karakoram Highway, just south of Gilgit. 120 5. Tourist rest stop beside the Karakoram Highway. Nagar. 124 6. Ultar Restaurant, Karimabad (Baltit), Hunza. 125 7. Raja Bazaar, Gilgit. 126 8. Central Hunza and Nagar, taken frorn the roof of Baltit Fort. 137 9. Upper Gilgit River Valley, in Punial, near Yasin. 138 10. Altit Fort and Altit village, taken from Karimabad (Baltit), showing 148 terracing and settlement patterns. 1 1. The Upper Gitgit River Valley, taken from the Government Rest 149 House at Phander. 12. Karima bad (Baltit). 166 13. Aliabad, featuring the Karakoram Highway, and some of the Aliabad 181 bazaar. 14. Rooftops in old Altit village, taken from Altit Fort. 190 viii 15. Gilgit bazaar. showing used clothing vendor. and signs for tourism- 240 oriented establishment. 16. Residential area. Kashgrote, Gilgit. 17. Shirnshal River Valley. on the way from Passu to Shimshal. 18. Altit Fort with Aitit village in foreground, from Karimabad. 19. Trail near village of Minapin in Nagar. PART I Chapter One If's up to you, who are directly involved with what goes on in geography, faced with al1 the conflicts of power which traverse it, to confront them and constmct the instruments which will enabie you to fght on that terrain - Michel ~oucault' Introduction Travel writing is one of the most widely read literary genres today. Although its reception is varied, one thing is certain - it has remained mainly untouched by harsh criticism2. Recently, however, academics have begun to take an interest in this genre, using it to focus on concerns of authority, knowledge, and representation. For example, Mary Louise Pratt's studies in travel writing3 have focused on the way it has produced the 'rest of the world' for a European readership at certain points throughout history: how it is that these processes and practices legitimate notions of expansion and Empire; and, how travel writing and the Enlightenment worked together to produce a Eurocentric consciousness. Travel writing cannot be seen as one single entity, however. It takes many different forms and can be used to present information in various 1 Michel Foucault. PowerKnowledge: Seiected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972- 1977 (London: Harvester Press Limited, 1980). 65. Patrick Holland and Graham Huggan. Tourists with Typewriters: Critical Reflections on Conternporary Travel Wnting (Ann Arbor, Ml: University of Michigan Press, 1998). Mary Louise Pratt. Imperia1 Eyes: Travel Wnting and Transculturation (New York: Routledge, 1992). 2 3 ways. The following list shows a few examples: (1) narratives that have autobiographical or personal commentary, (2) joumeys of life and self-discovery, where the physical joumey represents a psychological journey, (3) observations l information, which is more a collection of descriptions of 'other' people and lands than direct information about the author, (4) informational narrative, much like a guidebook which 'explains' the landscape and people to readers, or (5) a combination of al1 the above. Alison Blunt notes that travel writing is a very particular kind of writing as it combines both 'fact' and 'fiction', transcending distinctions between scientific and literary wnting, through the practices and statements of an author who produces information that is not easily confirmed4. Sara Mills sees travel writing as an instrument of colonial expansion, which was used to serve and emphasize colonial nile5. A great deal of travel writing is seen as escapist or as mere entertainment. ~odd~is one of rnany writers on the subject who is concerned about this non- critical praise, arguing that it ignores the fact that the author/traveller's attempts to make observations about the visited places or peoples, or, his or her endeavours to 'capture' the peoples and places may simply confirrn and reinforce the labels that have already been established. Alison Blunt, Travel. Gender and lmperialism: Mary Kingsley and West Africa (London: The Guilford Press. 1994). 21. Sara Mills, Discourses of Difference: An analysis of women's travel wnting and colonialism (London: Routledge. 7 991 ), 2. Philip Dodd, 'The Views of Travellers: Travel Writing in the 1930s.' in The Afl of Travel: Essays on Travel Wnting, ed.