Paths of Care: Following the Ismaili Right Path through Caring for Roads and Walkers in the Karakoram Mountains, Pakistan

This article explores the correspondence between walking, caring, gaining respectability, and progressing towards Allah among the herders and farmers of the Shimshal Valley in the Karakoram, northeast Pakistan. As Ismailis, the inhabitants are morally obliged to show solidarity in the name of God. This solidarity occurs during their daily circulations as they care for others and the infrastructure in the face of environmental fluxes and hazards. Mutual help contributes to the way people give and receive, and the circulation of gifts is shaped by gendered relations and hierarchy and renews them in return. In doing good, people grow their souls and progress to salvation. This progression is objectified by the greetings they receive on the way and the place they are offered inside homes.