In the valleys of Gawri and
Kalkoti, the musk deer is known as “Ronze.” This beautiful
animal possesses a small pouch-like gland near its navel that produces a
natural fragrance — a substance so precious that it has been sought after for
centuries.
Not long ago, musk deer, like
the Markhor and Ibex, were found in abundance across our
region. According to our elders, before the invention of firearms, the forests
of Upper Panjkora echoed with the presence of large herds of Markhor, Ibex,
and Ronze. Back then, people hunted with bows and arrows, only at
specific times and out of necessity — mostly before the harsh winter months, to
preserve meat for the cold season.
Everything changed with the
arrival of the gun. The balance between man and nature was broken. Hunting
turned from necessity to greed. Once only a few people hunted, but soon
everyone became a hunter. The situation worsened when hunting turned into a
business. The Markhor and Ibex were targeted for their
majestic horns, while the Ronze became a victim of its own fragrance —
the musk.
Commercial hunters began killing
indiscriminately — in and out of season, old and young, male and female alike.
Within just a few years, herds that had roamed freely for generations
disappeared as if they had never existed. The mountains of Kalkot were once
known for Ronze, but a few years ago, only one musk deer was spotted
at the foot of a peak near the village. No one knows whether that was the last Ronze
of Panjkora, or if it too fell prey to the same fate as its kind. Today, it is
almost impossible to find a musk deer anywhere in the mountains of Swat or Dir.
Panjkora was once a shared home
— for us and for these creatures. But we, the so-called Ashraf-ul-Makhluqat
(the noblest of all creations), devoured them out of greed and vanity. And so,
the Ronze — the gentle, fragrant soul of our mountains — faded away,
leaving behind silence where once the wild heart of nature used to beat.
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