“We are the soul, pearl and beauty of Hindu Kush Mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of Kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in Pakistan

The Kalasha are a marginalized ethnic and religious minority group in northern Pakistan. The Kalasha minority is known for their divergent polytheistic beliefs, and represents the outliers of the collectively monotheistic Muslim population of Pakistan. This study aimed to explore the psychologica...

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Main Authors:	Riaz, Fahad, Park, Miriam Sang-Ah, Golden, Karen Jennifer, Bokharey, Iram Zehra
Format:	Article
Language:	English English English
Published:	Taylor and Francis Ltd. 2017
Subjects:	RA790 Public Health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine - Mental Health. Mental Illness Prevention
Online Access:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/1/We%20are%20the%20pearl.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/8/73018_%E2%80%9CWe%20are%20the%20soul%2C%20pearl%20and%20beauty_scopus.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/7/73018_%E2%80%9CWe%20are%20the%20soul%2C%20pearl%20and%20beauty_wos.pdf

id	iium-73018
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-730182019-07-25T07:34:33Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/ “We are the soul, pearl and beauty of Hindu Kush Mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of Kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in Pakistan Riaz, Fahad Park, Miriam Sang-Ah Golden, Karen Jennifer Bokharey, Iram Zehra RA790 Public Health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine - Mental Health. Mental Illness Prevention The Kalasha are a marginalized ethnic and religious minority group in northern Pakistan. The Kalasha minority is known for their divergent polytheistic beliefs, and represents the outliers of the collectively monotheistic Muslim population of Pakistan. This study aimed to explore the psychological resilience beliefs and lived experiences of the Kalasha and to identify cultural protective factors and indigenous beliefs that help them maintain psychological wellbeing and resilience. Seven semi-structured interviews and two focus-group discussions were conducted. The total sample consisted of 6 women and 8 men, aged 20–58 years (Mage = 36.29, SD = 12.58). The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis qualitative method was chosen. Study findings identified that factors contributing to the wellbeing, happiness and resilience enhancement beliefs of Kalasha included five main themes, all influenced by their unique spirituality: contentment, pride in social identity, tolerance, gender collaboration and gratitude. The study also revealed the Kalasha’s perception of their marginalization related to challenges and threats. The Kalasha emphasized bringing these resilience enhancement beliefs into practice, as a mean to buffer against challenges. In conclusion, this study revealed Kalasha’s wellbeing and resilience enhancement factors, which they believed in and practiced as an element of their indigenous culture and religion. Taylor and Francis Ltd. 2017-01-09 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/1/We%20are%20the%20pearl.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/8/73018_%E2%80%9CWe%20are%20the%20soul%2C%20pearl%20and%20beauty_scopus.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/7/73018_%E2%80%9CWe%20are%20the%20soul%2C%20pearl%20and%20beauty_wos.pdf Riaz, Fahad and Park, Miriam Sang-Ah and Golden, Karen Jennifer and Bokharey, Iram Zehra (2017) “We are the soul, pearl and beauty of Hindu Kush Mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of Kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in Pakistan. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 12 (1). ISSN 1748-2623 E-ISSN 1748-2631 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17482631.2016.1267344 10.1080/17482631.2016.1267344
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English English English
topic	RA790 Public Health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine - Mental Health. Mental Illness Prevention
spellingShingle	RA790 Public Health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine - Mental Health. Mental Illness Prevention Riaz, Fahad Park, Miriam Sang-Ah Golden, Karen Jennifer Bokharey, Iram Zehra “We are the soul, pearl and beauty of Hindu Kush Mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of Kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in Pakistan
description	The Kalasha are a marginalized ethnic and religious minority group in northern Pakistan. The Kalasha minority is known for their divergent polytheistic beliefs, and represents the outliers of the collectively monotheistic Muslim population of Pakistan. This study aimed to explore the psychological resilience beliefs and lived experiences of the Kalasha and to identify cultural protective factors and indigenous beliefs that help them maintain psychological wellbeing and resilience. Seven semi-structured interviews and two focus-group discussions were conducted. The total sample consisted of 6 women and 8 men, aged 20–58 years (Mage = 36.29, SD = 12.58). The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis qualitative method was chosen. Study findings identified that factors contributing to the wellbeing, happiness and resilience enhancement beliefs of Kalasha included five main themes, all influenced by their unique spirituality: contentment, pride in social identity, tolerance, gender collaboration and gratitude. The study also revealed the Kalasha’s perception of their marginalization related to challenges and threats. The Kalasha emphasized bringing these resilience enhancement beliefs into practice, as a mean to buffer against challenges. In conclusion, this study revealed Kalasha’s wellbeing and resilience enhancement factors, which they believed in and practiced as an element of their indigenous culture and religion.
format	Article
author	Riaz, Fahad Park, Miriam Sang-Ah Golden, Karen Jennifer Bokharey, Iram Zehra
author_facet	Riaz, Fahad Park, Miriam Sang-Ah Golden, Karen Jennifer Bokharey, Iram Zehra
author_sort	Riaz, Fahad
title	“We are the soul, pearl and beauty of Hindu Kush Mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of Kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in Pakistan
title_short	“We are the soul, pearl and beauty of Hindu Kush Mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of Kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in Pakistan
title_full	“We are the soul, pearl and beauty of Hindu Kush Mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of Kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in Pakistan
title_fullStr	“We are the soul, pearl and beauty of Hindu Kush Mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of Kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in Pakistan
title_full_unstemmed	“We are the soul, pearl and beauty of Hindu Kush Mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of Kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in Pakistan
title_sort	“we are the soul, pearl and beauty of hindu kush mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in pakistan
publisher	Taylor and Francis Ltd.
publishDate	2017
url	http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/1/We%20are%20the%20pearl.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/8/73018_%E2%80%9CWe%20are%20the%20soul%2C%20pearl%20and%20beauty_scopus.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/73018/7/73018_%E2%80%9CWe%20are%20the%20soul%2C%20pearl%20and%20beauty_wos.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T21:43:32Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T21:43:32Z
_version_	1777413298357010432

“We are the soul, pearl and beauty of Hindu Kush Mountains”: exploring resilience and psychological wellbeing of Kalasha, an ethnic and religious minority group in Pakistan

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