The museum highlights the region’s history from the Buddhist era to the Mughal dynasty, along with remnants from the British colonial period in the subcontinent.
The collection includes various antiquities such as farming tools, household items, cultural costumes, wooden ancient slippers, daily-use tools made of wood and iron, musical instruments, a stuffed parrot and baby elephant up to 500 years old, different antiquities from the Buddhist era, and many other items related to Pashtun culture and heritage.
The museum also displays a collection of weapons, including swords, spears, rifles, pistols and historical cartridges, which were used in wars and for self-defense in the past.
Also placed near the wall is a beautifully handcrafted wooden box, made using a hammer and chisel. It holds a historical gramophone that is playing a Pashto song. In Pashto, this type of box is called tonay, and in the past it was used for storing pillows, clothes and other items.
“I believe that Pashtuns, by birth and historically, have been skilled people. Through their craftsmanship, they made various tools and things for daily use from stones, wood and iron by hand — objects that cannot be easily produced in today’s technological era,” Fazal Zaman Shalman narrates while describing the artwork on the wooden tonay box, cultural pieces and the skills of the Pashtun people.
He added that the Pashtuns lived in a region that was invaded by Turkish, Iranian, Mughal and British forces from time to time, which was why they spent much of their lives defending their land instead of further advancing their skills and knowledge.
Shalman’s family members including his father and uncles, were educated and were part of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement, a non-violent resistance movement founded by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known as Bacha Khan, against the British Raj in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), now known as KP.
His father and uncles received and preserved many historical artefacts from their grandparents and forefathers, initially keeping the artefacts at home. Some 20 years ago he decided to display them in the guesthouse for preservation and educational purposes, he added.
“Many people, especially youngsters from far-flung areas, visit the museum daily, spend hours there, and ask questions about the displayed items and their history,” says Shalman. “When they leave, they gain extensive knowledge about the history of this region and the items that were replaced by modern tools and other things.”
Some antiquities and historical objects, including farming tools, kitchenware, a hand mill, old radios, tape recorders, a gramophone and its records, and other items, were donated by friends and villagers, while many others were collected by him from Chitral, Dir, Swat and other parts of the province, he told The Express Tribune.
Situated on the main Mardan–Malakand road, about 80 kilometres north of Peshawar, Sakhakot village is always remembered for the locals’ battles with the British army before Partition.
Historians reveal that from 1857 to 1897, when the British army attacked the area several times, the locals fought fierce battles against them, adding that in 1895 the British government occupied this region and established the Malakand Agency.
Locally made wooden beds and an iron table placed in the guesthouse have legs crafted from artillery cartridges, making them more unique than ordinary ones. Regarding the historical rifles showcased in the museum, Shalman said that most of them were collected from Chitral and many had been used in the 1895 war against the British army.
Like Shalman’s museum, two more cultural museums have also been established in Salempur village and the Matta area of Swat district in KP, where cultural and historical artefacts are displayed for local visitors and tourists.
Fazal Khaliq, a Swat-based cultural researcher and journalist who has visited the museums, told The Express Tribune that traditional Pashtun farming tools, household items and other everyday objects have largely been replaced by modern equipment.
He said that old items — including farming tools, household wares, shoes, jewellery, old sports gear, dresses and other historical objects related to Pashtun culture and history — had been preserved and displayed in those museums so that local people and visitors from other parts of the country could learn about the region’s history.
“Salempur is famous for its handloom industry. Many locals and tourists from other parts of the country visit the village to buy woollen handloom products. When they learn about the cultural museum established by a local resident, they also make sure to visit it. I have even seen some foreigners visiting the museum as well,” he mentioned.
Khaliq said that in the Matta area of Upper Swat, the museum contained so many old archaeological objects that most people could not recognise them. Awed, the visitors — especially young people — took pictures of those items to show others and to keep as mementoes.
“Even in this digital age, when people are growing distant from their culture, private museums in these tourist areas — where Pashtun history and cultural artefacts from 200 to 700 years ago are preserved — continue to reconnect people with their heritage,” he says.
“The preservation of cultivation tools, historical weapons, traditional clothing and other everyday objects is vital for the new generation,” Khaliq adds. “Only a small number of young people have seen these items in use; most have no idea what they were for. These historical objects offer valuable insight into the past and help the youth understand how their ancestors lived.”
According to archaeologists and historians, the history of KP dates back to the Stone Age, and during excavations various tools, pottery and other objects have been uncovered from burial sites in different parts of the province from various periods. These discoveries indicate prehistoric human settlement in this Pashtun region.
According to information obtained from the Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at the University of Peshawar, many antiquities — including stone tools, pottery, terracotta, jewellery, bronze tools and other items from the Bronze Age — have been excavated from Rehman Dheri in D.I. Khan, which are dated from 3300 to 1750 BC. The information also reveals how KP bears witness to the Gandhara Grave Culture, and a number of archaeological objects have been discovered from the graves of the Indo-Aryans in the Swat and Dir areas. These relics, dated from 1600 to 1100 BC, consist of red and grey ware of various shapes, jewellery and bronze objects.
“Peshawar, Mardan, Swabi and the Malakand division of KP are archaeologically very rich. During the British period, large numbers of antiquities were discovered, and many of them are now displayed in the museums of Mardan, Peshawar, Swat, Lahore and other museums of the country. Even today, further work on these sites can uncover more ancient artefacts,” Dr Ghayur Shahab, a faculty member in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Malakand, told The Express Tribune.
He said that the cultural profile of this region is very rich, adding that from the Sanghao Cave in Mardan almost 50,000-year-old stone tools — including crude flakes, hammers, hand axes, blades and choppers — have been excavated.
“After Sanghao Cave, in the Swat, Bajaur and Dargai areas of Malakand division, prehistoric remains exist,” explains Dr Ghayur. “Takht Bhai is one of the most important archaeological sites linked to the Gandhara civilisation and is worldwide famous for its Buddhist structures. So, even in this small part of KP, we can find historical signs and relics ranging from 50,000 years ago to the present era.”
He said that creating awareness among people was very important for the preservation of historical and cultural objects.
“Because of the region’s rich historical background, many people in KP’s villages possess such items,” he says. “But due to a lack of awareness, they do not preserve them and the artefacts often end up as scrap. At the primary level, children should be taught about the importance of ancient and heritage objects and historical sites so they can be protected in a better way.”
“Maybe the museum established in Sakhakot village has antiquities which are either not available or are very few in KP’s museums, in which case this private museum has a lot of importance,” he points out.
He said that, like government-run museums, private museums also play a key role in the dissemination of knowledge and information about the history of Pashtun land where various civilisations once thrived.
“I think it is the state’s responsibility to establish places with historical artefacts at the tehsil level, where people of all educational levels — both literate and illiterate — can gather and learn about the history and significance of the region,” says Shalman. “However, since the state has its own priorities, the local community must take the initiative to collect antiques and create private museums and study centres to promote knowledge regarding the glorious history of Pashtuns and their region.”
Abdur Razzaq is a Peshawar-based multimedia journalist. He tweets @TheAbdurRazzaq
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