Chitral Kalash Valley History | Kafiristan Ki Haseen Larkiyan | Beautiful Girls of Kalash 2018

The Kalash people, 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.

Festivals

The Kalash are a culture where their festivals form a central point of their lives.

While during the harsh winter there is very little reason to celebrate, once the spring comes in the valleys, people are greeting the new season in a massive celebration.

This is the yearly Joshi Festival that occurs at the end of each May. Milk plays an important role during this festival. But not just any milk, but milk that was saved ten days prior for this very special occasion.

Kalash people use this milk to purify newborns and houses. Newborns are fed the milks, but it is thrown on houses and objects as well. At the end of the festival, leaves are thrown on participants’ heads to show the arrival of the spring.

Another festival of the Kalash is the Uchau and it is celebrated every autumn.

But the most important of all festivals is the Chawmos, celebrated in the middle of the harsh winter, in the month of December.

Chitral Kalash Valley History | Kafiristan Ki Haseen Larkiyan | Beautiful Girls of Kalash 2018