Guy Lochhead, 02/09/10
The Burusho, or Brusho, live in the Hunza valley, in Northern Pakistan (also the Nagar and Yasin valleys, and Srinagar, India). They were almost uncontactable before 1947, when it was shifted form an indentured agricultural economy to a state-driven national economy. Many ‘traditional’ practices have remained unchanged though, and the Burusho are still often called the ‘happiest people on Earth’. They have an unusually high life expectancy, which has been put down to a good diet (wheat-based, with fresh vegetables and lots of yoghurt) and an active lifestyle (women especially work very hard). The Burusho are one of many societies I hope to draw from. I do not want to include them specifically, but rather to create races that are amalgams of communities in similar situations. They will be included, indirectly – probably through some important yoghurt.