Farman Khona in Shimshal
Religious Education was the first education system that traveled throughout the region in Wuk̃han, Parmer’s, and the surrounding area of Shimshal. In the case of Shimshal Islam was the religion that brought education to the village. The Ismaili preachers traveled from Yarkand to Badakhshan using the Shimshal valley so it remained a travel road of education. Among those travelers were Pir Sham, Khwaja Shahdad, Khuaja Hambẽrdi, Shahi Charagh, Shahi Sayed, and Shah Arif who converted Mir Hunza Salim Khan to Ismaili faith. These were some of the famous religious preachers and explorers who traveled through this region. Though their oral materials have been passed to generations any written material is not found in the village.
Previously the religious leaders kept the sacred documents on Mara a room on the roof of their house. It is believed that in Shimshal when the religious leadership shifted from Mẽlo Buk to Khalifa Rahman Big (Ramun Big) he constructed the Farman Khana a separate room away from his house to keep the Holy Quran and other sacred books safe and use the structure for meditation as well. Due to sacred materials, he named the structure Farman Khana because it was a common word for Farmani Illahi, Hadise Mubarika, and the sayings of the Imams and other religious scholars.
In the beginning Khalifa Rahman Baig also used to keep those documents in his Mara (a portion of the house) but when he visited Pir Khana in Wẽche to meet the Pir, (the religious leader of the region) he got the idea of a separate room. During his stay in Wẽche, he observed Pir is keeping all the books in a separate room and uses the room for study as well. He came back with the idea and constructed a room with the help of the community in Shimshal. Before the construction of the first Jamaat Khana, the room was also used for prayers, and the garden where the Farman Khana is constructed used to celebrate religious events. When the first Jamaat Khana was constructed people started using Jamaat Khana for prayer but the family continued lighting in the Farman Khana at the time of prayer.
This unique structure has two layers of rooms. The ground floor was used as a storeroom, which was constructed with stone and mud while the upper part was used as Farman Khana/ library and prayer place, which was constructed with mud bricks. Both the rooms have small doors and a very small window is fixed to the upper room. The door of the upper room is carved with different shapes which are not visible now and a very beautiful wooden leader was fixed to the door of the upper room. Both rooms were locked with a wooden lock called kẽlit. After the construction of the first Jamaat Khana, the Farman Khana lost its value due to little use both the rooms also lost their strength, and the books were shifted to the Khalifa’s house to keep them safe.
As the books were shifted from Farman Khana children started to go in for observation so instead of locking the rooms the leader was removed to avoid any casualty of children. Today, we are demolishing and modernizing all kinds of buildings including our houses, community buildings, schools, prayers places, meeting halls, bridges, pathways, and Musafir Khanas, which results that we are gradually forgetting the historical facts, background knowledge, and significance of such an extraordinary structure. Farman Khana is not a huge building but has left a huge impact on the community’s spiritual and contemporary life. On the way to modernization, we have almost dismantled most of our previous structures as discussed above. Farman Khanna the unique room is now endangered and it needs care and preservation.
For about eight generations the structure is still telling the story of the time to the artists, educationists, researchers, religious leaders, community members, skilled men, and the relevant people who are the owner of the building. Though it is now very weak still stands very proud of its services provided to the community when little knowledge was there and Jamaat Khans were yet not constructed.
Unfortunately, no one understands its language and just passes through communicating to younger that the building is called Farman Khana where the sacred books Quran, Hadith, Farman, and other sacred documents were kept by the previous religious leaders. One of the previous leader Khalifa Aliyar narrated, “This building was used for two purposes, one, as a prayer room and another as a library”. Now most of the villagers are aware of the building but not of its importance to the community and to upcoming generations.
This old unique structure needs the attention of the community, the Khalifa Kẽtor/ family of Khalifa, and the leaders in the community along with concerned authorities before it gets to the end of its life like other structures discussed above. The cracks on the walls are visible and inviting to think over it before losing and keeping only the picture and story. I do not need to explain the situation, it itself explicates its story and condition today and waiting for safeguarding. It is not the only structure but there are a few old houses, among them one is standing for almost 700 years and telling its story along with other old houses including this Farman Khana. I hope someone will come forward and preserve the structures for the next generations.
Farman Kona in Shimshal By: Aman Ullah Aman Maad
