KALASH PEOPLE~ THE DESCENDANTS OF ALEXANDER

The Kalash, the tribe that inspired Kipling, live their daily lives deep in the valleys of the Hindu Kush, the unforgiving mountain range at the border of Pakistan with Afghanistan.

How they got there is a mystery. How they manage to survive is another. The Kalash are a people who have links with Greece in almost everything but proximity. They dance around night-time fires; they make wine and indulge in ancient Olympic sports such as wrestling and shot-put. With their piercing blue-green eyes, strong features and olive skins, even Alexander the Great was convinced of the Hellenic connection.

Why, then, are they found tucked deep in the valleys of Brumboret, Rumbur and Birir ?

Whatever the answer, the Kalash are one of the most remarkable cultures on the planet. With a population of just over 3,000, the largest minority group in Pakistan, they are an oasis of color and warmth in contrast to the seemingly inhospitable land that surrounds them. Despite their isolation, or perhaps because of it, the Kalash people are welcoming to Western visitors.

There are two ways to enter the valleys: by foot or, landslides permitting, by road. Understandably, most people prefer the 90-minute jeep ride from the trading centre of Chitral, just 32 kilometres north-east. 


It is here, deep within the Hindu Kush, that travelers come for a taste of another life, another time. Villages are little more than a scattering of wooden homes, and although there has been a recent blot on the Brumboret landscape in the form of a three-star hotel, most travellers prefer the simple charm of a 250-rupees-a-night ($10) guesthouse with twin rooms, meals on request and gardens at the rear.

In the smaller valleys of Birir and Rumbur, it’s also possible to stay in family homes, and with comparatively few visitors there’s never a shortage of invitations, no matter how hot or sweaty you appear.

 If the first thing that strikes you about the Kalash is their disarming hospitality, then the second is their appearance. The word “Kalash” means “black” and refers to the clothing worn by the women and girls. It’s quite a misleading label, and while the men have definitely drawn the short straw in the clothing stakes, the women tend to dress in very colorful and elaborate clothes -in stark contrast with the rest of Pakistan. 

Not everyone who makes the trip is so warmly received. Because the Kalash are pagans and worship a pantheon of gods including Dezao, the creator, or Jastak, the goddess of family, love, marriage and birth, rather than Muhammad, they are free from the restraints of Purdah. 

The Kalash have always been proud of their way of life and recently, so is the rest of Pakistan. Traditionally, the Kalash were ostracized by their majority neighbors and forced deep into the mountains for their religious beliefs, they have been tolerated through gritted teeth. It is only recently, once communications improved and the tourist interest soared, that the Pakistani authorities have tried to understand this wonderful culture.


SOURCE : Kalashpeople.com