These ritual feasts are common throughout the region. They have religious connotations and clear parallels in Barelvi religious tradition with sufi 'langar' (the open kitchens associated with pirs. These photographs were taken at the largest dég ever held in the village of Bhalot, Punjab. The host was my good friend Malik Asif Nawaz. Click here to read Chapter Seven of my thesis in which I discuss some issues surrounding the dég ritual.