esearching memorial stones in Tharparkar has been one of the most enriching experiences of my academic life. When I began this work, I reached out to several people with basic questions about the stones and their locations. Only the late Nawaz Ali Khoso, whom I met in 2000, was able to guide me towards a few sites. He also accompanied me on visits to several hero stone and sati stone sites. The journey that began in 2000 continues today. Over the years, I have documented numerous memorial stones across Tharparkar. On revisiting some of these sites, I found that several stones had been stolen. Others had deteriorated. Despite these losses, a significant number of memorial stones remain intact.

Many commemorate warriors who died in acts of heroism. Others honour women who immolated themselves after learning of their husbands’ deaths. In several cases, these acts were not only expressions of personal grief but also protests against the loss of property. Memorial stones commemorating heroes and sati women are found across several villages in Nagarparkar taluka of Tharparkar district. Typically, hero stones depict the deceased riding a horse if he belonged to the Rajput community. In rarer instances, a hero is shown riding a camel, indicating membership of the Rabari community. The horse-rider motif, however, is not exclusive to Rajputs; it also appears on hero stones commemorating members of the Kolhi community and other non-Rajput groups.

Nagarparkar has several villages and sites where memorial stones can be found. One of the most notable is Old Kasbo, about three kilometres north of New Kasbo and eight kilometres south of Nagarparkar town, at the foothills of Karoonjhar. The village was abandoned after repeated robberies and attacks by raiders who looted property. Most older villages in Nagarparkar were established at the foothills of Karoonjhar for protection against such raids. Their remains are scattered across the Karoonjhar Hills.

Old Kasbo contains seven decorated memorial stones and several undecorated ones belonging to the Rajput and Kolhi communities. The decorated stones are carved from sandstone. The undecorated ones are made of granite. They were erected between the 16th and 20th Centuries. Some commemorate members of the Kolhi community and others the Rajputs. The Kolhis played an important role in the socio-political history of Nagarparkar during the rule of the Parmars, Seendhals, Sodhas and the British.

Hero stones are locally known as pariya in Nagarparkar; the sati stones are called khambhi. At Old Kasbo, pariyas commemorate Mado Kolhi and his nephew, Arjun Kolhi. Mado Kolhi was a jhujhar (headless hero) who died fighting the British troops. He was celebrated for his chivalry and gallantry and, like Ruplo Kolhi, became a symbol of resistance to colonial rule. Yet few people outside Nagarparkar know of his exploits, of which accounts survive in the oral tradition of the Kolhi community in Rarkuo and neighbouring villages.

Another Kolhi remembered for resisting the British was Ruplo, who was arrested by Colonel Tyrwhitt and sentenced to death. Mado refused to surrender and was killed fighting. His descendants commemorated him with a memorial stone. The Madani, Mado’s descendants, still live in Rarkuo village. The memorial stone is now half broken. Its upper section, which bore an image of Mado, was stolen several years ago. Only the lower portion, bearing an inscription, survives.

Near Mado’s hero stone stands the memorial stone of his nephew, Arjun Kolhi. The hero stone of Arjun Kolhi bears an inscription on its lower section and the image of a horseman on the upper. The rider is depicted holding a bridle in one hand and a gun in the other, and wearing a turban. At the top of the pariya (hero stone) is a sunflower motif. Both stones stand on a common platform and are worshipped by the Kolhi community of Rarkuo village. They are also venerated on family occasions, including marriages and the birth of a child.

Apart from the hero stones of Mado and his nephew, Arjun, there is a khambhi (sati memorial) to the northwest. During my fieldwork, I interviewed members of the local community about the memorials at Old Kasbo. In 2006, I also spoke to Channo Bhagat of Rarkuo village, a descendant of Mado Kolhi. According to him, the sati stone commemorates Mado’s wife, who became sati after hearing of her husband’s death.

On revisiting some of these sites, I found that several stones had been stolen. Others had deteriorated. Despite these losses,a significant number of memorial stones remain intact.

The stone stands on a low platform and is divided into two sections. The lower section bears an inscription; the upper features a carved arm adorned with bangles. On some sati memorials in Nagarparkar, only the raised arm of the sati is depicted. Others portray the sati holding her husband in her arms. A third iconographic type shows her in the namaskar pose.

The uppermost section of the sati memorial to Mado Kolhi’s wife is carved with the sun and moon, symbols of eternity that appear on memorial stones across Nagarparkar. The Kolhi community also venerates her memorial.

Adjacent to it stands another sati stone, which likewise depicts a raised arm adorned with bangles. Its upper section is also carved with the sun and moon; the lower bears a badly weathered inscription. It appears to be the earliest sati stone at Old Kasbo.

South of the sati stones stand two more memorials. The stone on the right depicts the deceased hero standing and holding a pot in his left hand. It is an inscribed hero stone, although the inscription is no longer legible. The memorial on the left depicts a sati holding her husband in her arms. She cradles him in one arm while raising the other in the abhaya mudra, a gesture of blessing. This, too, is an inscribed khambhi (sati stone), but the inscription on its lower section has been badly eroded. The uppermost section is carved with the sun and moon.

Another memorial stone lies to the south-west of the hero stones of Arjun and Mado Kolhi. It is a small, undecorated granite memorial to an unidentified hero. Even members of the Kolhi community, who venerate all the hero and sati stones at the site, know nothing about it. It appears to predate the Kolhi community’s memorials.

West of the Kolhi community’s hero and sati stones stands another sati memorial. Nearby are several thesa (unhewn and undecorated) memorials. About eight thesa stones survive at the site, all erected on platforms. Three stand on the northern platform, while a single theso lies to its south. Nearby, a cluster of three thesa stones stands on a common platform, with another theso beside the engraved khambhi.

The khambhi stands on a raised rectangular platform and consists of a small sandstone tablet. It depicts a standing sati holding a pot in each hand. Both arms are adorned with bangles and she is shown wearing anklets. The carved niche is framed by a chevron pattern, a distinctive feature not found on any other memorial stone in Nagarparkar.

The memorial stones of Nagarparkar embody the region’s funerary traditions and are scattered across the landscape. Whether beside ponds, along hill torrents, at the foothills of Karoonjhar or marking the boundaries between villages or communal pastures (gowchar), they command the attention of visitors. Many continue to be honoured and revered by local communities. The memorials at Old Kasbo, for example, are venerated by the residents of Rarkuo and neighbouring villages.

Rarkuo is a picturesque Kolhi village overlooking the Karoonjhar hills. It is home to a memorial stone dedicated to a thakur, erected on a raised rectangular platform overlooking agricultural land. The inscribed hero stone depicts the deceased riding a caparisoned horse, holding a spear in one hand and a bow in the other. The horse’s trappings are intricately carved, as are the hero’s turban and shoes.

The Kolhi community worships the hero stone and visits it regularly. They perform dhup, lighting lamps and burning incense, at the memorial of the thakur.

Far more than commemorative monuments, these memorial stones are invaluable anthropological records. They preserve information about the deceased, including their social identity, status and acts of heroism, while offering insights into the socio-economic and socio-religious life of the communities that erected them. Their inscriptions and carved imagery reveal details about caste groups, kinship networks, beliefs, customs and cultural practices. Collectively, the hero and sati stones of Nagarparkar provide a remarkable window into the region’s past, helping us reconstruct aspects of its social organisation, economy, religion and cultural traditions that might otherwise have been lost.

The writer is an associate professor at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad. He has authored 19 books on Pakistan’s cultural heritage and anthropology. He tweets @kalhorozulfiqar.He may be contacted at [email protected]