Desert Dwellers’ Meaning and Existence of Spirituality: A Gendered Case Study of Cholistan, Pakistan

Abstract

Cholistan is the second largest desert of Pakistan, which is locally known as Rohi (Mughal, 1994). This paper is an ethnographic endeavour that sketches living in the desert and is about the traditional way in which people handle desolateness and powerlessness in that severely parched earth. Men and women seem to appear primordially linked to and in agreement with their environment. Their contentment is heartfelt, an aspect that seems to emerge from their belief that there is a spiritual solution for every problem. This indication forms the crux of this paper and as authors, we make a humble attempt to collate their narrative and how they make meaning of components of their living, and the importance they accord to spirituality in their lives. Deeply ingrained human and ecological values in life include contentment and presence of spirituality within their life surrounds that allows them to sing an ode of gratification to nature. This article presents evidence of adoption of spirituality as resilience and its effect on the emotional wellbeing of the desert dwellers. In our discussion, we present the evidence to suggest that spirituality has strengthened and enhanced resilience of the people for coping with the adversities of the lifecycle in a rather hostile environment of Cholistan.

Indigenous or Blended Model for South Asian Social Work?

“…There are, however emerging social work research in Pakistan applying for both borrowed and local scholarship. For instance, in 2017 Aisha Shoukat and Venkat Rao Pulla, in their article titled Desert Dwellers' Meaning and Existence of Spirituality: A Gendered Case Study of Cholistan, Pakistan demonstrated how the desert dwellers of Cholistan use spirituality as a form of resilience to lead an eco-friendly life (Shoukat & Pulla, 2017).…”