For the 5th Islamabad Literature Festival 2017 Goethe-Institut Pakistan brings renowned German scholar Jürgen Wasim Frembgen, who will present his new book
‘The Arts and Crafts of the Hunza Valley in Pakistan’, an outcome of twenty years of research.
Jürgen Wasim Frembgen is senior curator of the oriental department of the Museum of Ethnology in Munich and associate professor of Islamic studies at the University of Munich. He is author of the book, Journey to God: “Sufis and Dervishes in Islam”, and himself a devotee of Sufi saints.
The Arts and Crafts of the Hunza Valley in Pakistan is a thorough ethnographic field research conducted over a period of twenty years. It is augmented by the author’s selection of photographs which add depth to the study by providing a frame of reference for the wide array of crafts and lifestyles that existed and continue to flourish in the area. He delves into the variations of art fostered in the Valley, from woodwork to embroidery, by taking into account the geographical and historical links to Central Asia and Kashmir, hence, exploring the amalgamation of cultures that enrich the work. The author has systematically carried out studies of locals from all walks of life. His interviews of master craftspeople, which are on the verge of disappearing along with the correct indigenous terminology, help enhance the distinct cultures of that region. This book is an important reference material for those who are interested in understanding the Hunza region, its people, and its arts and crafts.
Author Description
Dr Jürgen Wasim Frembgen is an Adjunct Professor at the Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. He has taught Anthropology and Islamic Studies at various universities in Germany and Austria. Since 1981 he has been conducting ethnographic fieldwork in Pakistan on an annual basis—including working in the Karakoram, Indus Kohistan, Punjab, and Sindh. In addition, he has been a visiting professor at the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad (National Institute of Pakistan Studies), National College of Arts in Lahore, and Ohio State University in Columbus, USA.
Dr Frembgen has more than 130 English and German language publications to his credit. He has written extensively on the cultures of the Eastern Muslim world between Iran and India, focusing particularly on Pakistan. Many of his books and articles deal with Islam, the Sufi tradition, the veneration of Muslim saints, art and material culture, the anthropology of the body, social outsiders, and facets of popular culture. He has also curated numerous exhibitions dealing with cultures of the Muslim world. In 2011, he was awarded the Tamgha-i Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan for his distinguished merits in the field of science and literature.
Session details in ILF 2017:
Date: Saturday, 15 April 2017
Time: 12.15 p.m. – 1.15 p.m.
Session: The Arts and Crafts of Hunza Valley in Pakistan by Jurgen Wasim Frembgen
Moderator: Samar Minallah Khan
Venue: Sangam Hall-Hotel Margala
Date: Saturday, 15 April 2017
Time: 5.30 p.m. – 6.30 p.m.
Session: Sufism: Legacies of Assimilation in our Times
Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro, Jurgen Wasim Frembgen, and Sarwat Mohiuddin
Moderator: Reema Abbasi
Venue: Sangam Hall-Hotel Margala
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