Kalash Valley Myths. Kalash Culture

The main purpose of this work is to provide a cartographic representation of the process of Islamization of the vast area of “Kafir” cultures and Indo-European languages here styled “Peristan”. This area once extended from present-day Nuristan to the borders of Kashmir over a surface of some 80.000 square km. The Kalasha of lower Chitral are now the last surviving heirs of this area. Only recently scientific research has produced new elements to reconstruct the history of this process, which had so far remained obscure. After a brief analysis of the different forms of perception of ethnic and religious identities in the area, the paper deals with the relationship between the process of Islamization and that of subjection to the authority of states from ca. 1500 CE to this day. Then the sources on which the cartography is based are discussed. The result is a somewhat unexpected image of what was once “Kafiristan”, perhaps the most remote and tenacious barbaricum of the Asian continent, and one of the largest.

Les Kalash du Pakistan sont un peuple dont la langue, la culture et la religion sont restés préservés au milieu d’un océan d’islamisme où les coutumes et traditions locales ont bien souvent été annihilées au dépend d’une observation stricte des préceptes du Prophète.

This study attempts to explore, investigate and analyse causes and consequences of the pliability of the cultural heritage of Pakistan which is showing the signs of disappearing on the eve of extremism in Pakistan particularly of the Kalasha by focusing on the Kalasha people. The Kalasha were raided by the Muslims in the 14th century. The demarcation of Durand Line (Pak-Afghan border) in 1893 became their lifeline when they fell to the British Indian government while their tribe fellows at the other side of the Pak-Afghan border in Afghanistan were forcefully converted as a whole in 1896. Somehow, the Kalasha of Pakistan were leading their life according to their dastoor (culture & religion) and then military coup of 1977 brought ill-fate for them under pseudo Islamization of military ruler Gen. Zia-ul-Haq. The Talibanization/extremism suppressed the Kalasha indigenous tribe. The event of 9/11 devastatingly hit the tribe for their faith and their strategic location. As reactions and...

This is the famous "Azar manuscript" bought in 1929 by Georg Morgenstierne in the Kati village of Bumburet valley, Chitral. Authored in 1908 by a young Kati, born a Kafir and recently converted to Islam, it contains a precious description of Kati culture, carrying many details on ritual, political, economic and legal aspects, that very usefully integrate, and often correct, the classic narrative by George Robertson. The book, edited by Alberto M. Cacopardo and Ruth Laila Schmidt, provides a full annotated translation of the manuscript, various accompanying texts, including the original introduction by Morgenstierne, fourteen photographs, a map, and a full photostatic reproduction of the original Urdu manuscript.

A synthetic report about a number of findings of historical, ethnographic and archaeological interest recorded by the author in various areas of Chitral District, Pakistan, during ethnographic fieldwork in 2006. The paper features 17 photographs of unexcavated archaeological sites, historical buildings, architectural elements, petroglyphs and artifacts, mostly relating to late pre-Islamic and early Islamic times (16th-18th centuries), but also includes pictures of the only extant Buddhist remains in Chitral, three petroglyphs from the late first millennium A. D. The artifacts recorded include some of the very few surviving material documents of the pre-Islamic ("Kafir") culture of the Kho people, the majority ethnic group in Chitral, which was closely related to that of the well-known Kalasha, still living in the south-western reaches of the district.

The Kalash, the Modern Greeks, and the Islamists
ΑΝΑΔΗΜΟΣΙΕΥΣΗ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΣΗΜΕΡΑ ΑΝΕΝΕΡΓΟ ΜΠΛΟΓΚ “ΟΙ ΡΩΜΙΟΙ ΤΗΣ ΑΝΑΤΟΛΗΣ”
Το κείμενο του κ. Νίκου Μπαϋρακτάρη είχε αρχικά δημοσιευθεί την 24η Απριλίου 2019.
Στο κείμενό του αυτό, ο κ. Μπαϋρακτάρης αναφέρεται σε συζητήσεις του μαζί μου αναφορικά με τους Καλάς, την θρησκεία, και την καταγωγή τους.
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First republished on 19th November 2021 here:
https://medium.com/@megalommatis/οι-καλάς-οι-νεοέλληνες-κι-οι-ισλαμιστές-αναδημοσιευση-5ace4503d872

I Kalasha sono un popolo ancora avvolto da un alone di mistero, che vive in territorio pakistano. Conosciuti in passato soprattutto con il nome di Kafiri (o Cafiri), sono legati ad un immaginario europeo che ancora rispecchia echi delle rappresentazioni coloniali dell’800. Essi vengono spesso associati ad una narrativa ricca di suggestione: la loro origine sarebbe legata al passaggio di Alessandro Magno e al suo esercito durante il percorso fra le montagne verso la conquista dell’India. Si tratta di un caso particolarmente interessante per studiare i miti delle origini non solo come fondamentale aspetto tradizionale di una cultura, ma anche per l’impatto che essi possono avere sia sulle dinamiche interne, che sulle relazioni politiche ed economiche con l’esterno del popolo Kalasha. È interessante anche analizzare i diversi approcci con cui studiosi di vari campi di ricerca si sono cimentati per dirimere la questione e il dibattito riaperto sulla base dei più recenti dati genetici. L’antropologia dovrebbe essere la disciplina ponte attraverso cui queste diverse prospettive e metodi d’indagine vengono confrontati e ricomposti, sempre nella tutela, nel rispetto e nel clima di collaborazione con i popoli che vengono “studiati”.
The Kalasha are a puzzling population that live in Pakistan. This population was frequently referred to in the past as Kafirs. Their origin was supposedly from remnants of the army of Alexander the Great left in the mountains on their way to conquer India. The Kalasha represent a particularly interesting case of how myths of origin are not only a fundamental aspect of traditional culture, but also how they can have an impact on internal cultural dynamics and external relationships. It is instructive to note how different researchers have used various approaches, especially genetic methods, to study the question of Kalasha origins. Anthropology should be the discipline that connects various perspectives and research methods to provide an integrated, holistic view of and in respect and collaboration with the population studied.

The Kalasha dresses are the most conspicuous part of the Kalasha culture.
The dresses are important in many ways:
They are an important element of the Kalasha tribal and religious identity.
They are of Growing economic significance (Tourism).
They have indirectly caused changes in the funeral traditions.
The dresses are products of the Kalasha women's highly developed skills as textile artists. Work of elaborate technique and beauty are done by means of simple toole - sometimes the fingers alone.
The year, the status, the stages of life and death (the rites of passage) and even the relations between the sexes are reflected in the dresses, the hairstyles and other decorations.
The present changes - contacts with the surrounding world - transition into money economy - also influences the dress culture:
Things disappear, other things develop and innovations are made resulting in greater variation.
my studies 1983-1990 have shown that even a 2traditional" culture have changing "fashions created by individual "trend-setters".

This paper was presented and handed out at the Second International Hindukush Cultural Conference held in Chitral September 1990. The part on the women's dresses was published in 1996 by Oxford University Press in "Proceedings from the Second International Hindukush Cultural Conference" edited by Elena Bashir and Israr-ud-din

A landmark study on the now converted Kalasha of southern Chitral, who once lived outside the three well-known valleys of Bumburet, Rumbur and Birir. The survey was published in three Parts, respectively dedicated to the Eastern Area, the valley of Urtsun and Jinjeret Kuh. This first section (Part 1) is concerned with the Kalasha who lived to the east of the Chitral River, in the Shishi Kuh valley, in Kalkatak and around Drosh. These people were converted to Islam during the second half of the 19th century and progressively gave up the use of their ancestral Kalasha language during the second half of the 20th century, in favour of Khowar or Palula, thereby adopting a new, self-imposed ethnic identity. The survey investigated oral traditions and circumstances of conversion and language shift. Readers should take note that some of the conclusions of this paper have been superseded by later research: in particular, the time of conversion of the whole Eastern Area has turned out to have been much later than what was here surmised (cf. Cacopardo, A.M. & Cacopardo A.S., Gates of Peristan, Isiao, Rome, 2001, pp. 75-76).

This study attempts to explore, investigate and analyse causes and consequences of the pliability of the cultural heritage of Pakistan which is showing the signs of disappearing on the eve of extremism in Pakistan particularly of the Kalasha by focusing on the Kalasha people. The Kalasha were raided by the Muslims in the 14th century. The demarcation of Durand Line (Pak-Afghan border) in 1893 became their lifeline when they fell to the British Indian government while their tribe fellows at the other side of the Pak-Afghan border in Afghanistan were forcefully converted as a whole in 1896. Somehow, the Kalasha of Pakistan were leading their life according to their dastoor (culture & religion) and then military coup of 1977 brought ill-fate for them under pseudo Islamization of military ruler Gen. Zia-ul-Haq. The Talibanization/extremism suppressed the Kalasha indigenous tribe. The event of 9/11 devastatingly hit the tribe for their faith and their strategic location. As reactions and chain reactions of War on Terror many extremists and terrorist groups mushroomed, especially in tribal agencies and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan recently threatened the Kalasha to convert their faith or to be ready for genocide. The Kalasha people are seeking their survival through their unique identity. They could earn soft image trait for Pakistan, but unfortunately, extremism, terrorism and ill-governance of the state losing it for decades. If the government failed to protect them, we will lose a unique tribe and culture.

Cette réédition de l'ouvrage éponyme de 19901 paraît à l'occasion de l'exposition « Fêtes himalayennes, les derniers Kalash », organisée après que les auteurs du livre  ont  fait  don  de  leur  fonds  d'archives  au  musée  des  Confluences  de  Lyon. Collectés principalement entre 1976 et 1990 auprès de ce peuple, les objets, films et photographies composant ce fonds ont ainsi été présentés au public durant près d'un an, du 23 octobre 2018 au 1er décembre 2019.

Cette réédition de l’ouvrage éponyme de 19901 paraît à l’occasion de l’exposition « Fêtes himalayennes, les derniers Kalash », organisée après que les auteurs du livre  ont  fait  don  de  leur  fonds  d’archives  au  musée  des  Confluences  de  Lyon. Collectés principalement entre 1976 et 1990 auprès de ce peuple, les objets, films et photographies composant ce fonds ont ainsi été présentés au public durant près d’un an, du 23 octobre 2018 au 1er décembre 2019.