121. Sliding of Buddung 73 Hill and Blockage of Hunza River
(Possibly 1841 A.D).
It has been narrated through oral tradition that the "Hunza River" was blocked for almost eight months as a result of a large land slide in which the entire hill/mountain located at a place "Buddung" had slid down into the river Hunza and had formed a natural dam on the river. This had happened during the era of rule of Mir Ghazanfar Khan (Probably in the year 1841 A.D). A lake was formed In the river course which extended upstream up to the bottom of settlement of Khyber in Gojal valley. This place up to which the tall of this lake had extended is therefore, called "Sarrey Mush" (SARE MUSK) meaning the "head or tail of the lake" in Burushaski language. During this period a religious scholar and a preacher called "Pir", by the name of Khawaja Shah Dad. Who was from amongst the "Pirs" of Sariqool, had arrived at Gojal to educate his disciples in Hunza. Hence he was requested to write a "Taweez" or amulet and say some sooth saying prayers to cause the natural dam on Hunza River recede and save them all from its destructive effects. It was feared that the rising water could completely inundate the villages of Fasso and Gulmit and there was a real danger of these villages getting submerged into this ever rising lake. On their this request Pir Khawaja Shah Dad wrote a sooth saying amulet or "Taaweez" and gave them along with a fist full of loose earth on which he had also blown his prayers. The people took this "Taaweez" and the soil and threw them on the slide blocking the river. By the grace of almighty Allah the river water started to overflow over the dam and started to rapidly erode and cut/wash away the natural dam. Soon the dam was busted and washed away and a huge flood was caused. This flood was so large that it completely washed away the lower portion of village Ganish which is called "Shamess" This flood also washed away the upper portion of Village Mayun further downstream. However this flood took such a course at the junction of Mayun Nullah that it added a large chunk of land on river bed to the lower portion of Mayun village by shifting It from the side of village Nilt located opposite in Nagar.
It is narrated that the waters of this flood had completely washed away the entire village of Fasso and it had eroded the whole lands of this village. Prior to this flood, the village of Fasso was said to be a wide and large settlement. It was after this devastating flood that the remaining portions of Fasso village continued to be eroded and washed away by Shimshal floods every year. Hence the area of this whole village kept on reducing and decreasing with every succeeding year and then a time came when a very small portion of this village was left over. During the era of Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan (1892-1938), the barren land located above the original Fasso village was resettled and made habitable with the old name of Fasso.
73: Buddung is actually pronounced a "Buyoung" by the inhabitants of Ganish Khun as this location falls within the limits of their common pasture lands.
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