The alleyways of Kalash take you back in time to the European medieval time
It seemed as if time had stopped here. As you see the architecture, the buildings, and the alleyways take you back to the medieval times. even the televisions and all the interiors they are from long ago. Since there is no upgrade I don’t know when.
Most people come to the pagan valley to see the valley and the beautiful culture but the settlement and the houses have also attracted people who want to go back in time. The houses are mostly made of timber which echoes the mountains of the Hindu Kush
Kalasha is the only pagan minority residing in the Chitral district of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They form the smallest minority community in the Islamic Republic.
Not much is known of the lives of the pagan people who live here. Most of the so-called travelers only get to visit Kalash during the peak festival days when they are happily dancing with smiles on their faces and when the festival is over so are the smiles of most of the Kalashas tourists are their only source of living but very few people visit the pagan valley in the off seasons but I have been curious and lucky enough to visit during the off-season and I got to know little about what there lives.
I must say it’s a quiet place not so timeless happy place for the people living there you get to know that when you walk in the alleyways of the Krakal there is this quietness it is hard life there for the people, especially for the pagan minority most of it is because of much to their own undoing of things what I have learned from my visit they do not make much effort to make their life change you see the kalashas just walking in alleyways doing not much of work this dependence of tourists have made their living difficult especially in the pandemic it is a whole new different experience for me and why I say its timeless is because people here who live cannot be affected by changes in society or the technology
it’s a unique experience to visit Kalash in the off-season it seems you have gone back 600 years in time and by that feeling you know these people have remained true to their culture and traditions. only in recent times, very few Kalasha people have gone to cities for education or employment
alashas carry a romantic view of being the descendants of Alexander the Great. On the other hand, many historians believe that they are an indigenous tribe of the neighboring area of Nuristan also called Kafiristan (the land of Kafirs).
It is believed that in 1895 Amir Abdul Rahman, the king of Afghanistan, conquered the area of Nursitan and forced the inhabitants of the area to convert to Islam.
It was during that time that many people fled to Chitral to avoid conversion. The third theory claims that the ancestors of Kalashas migrated from a distant place in the South The numerous Gods and Goddesses have shrines and altars all over the valley where goat sacrifices are offered regularly. Crows that are considered to be their ancestors are frequently fed with their left hand at several places including tombs. Asia is called Tsiam. The Tsiam is considered to be the traditional home of these people.
The Kalasha folk songs and fables hint at the existence of Tsiam and that their roots belong in that region.
Like all the other religions, the Kalasha also have different religious rituals and practices. In Kalash, the rituals are the means of generating economic activity and are gift-giving festivals.
Moreover, the people of Kalash do not bury their dead under the ground rather their coffins are left out in the open.
They believe that the soul was excited to leave the human body and reunite with the already departed souls. It is for this reason that they celebrate the funeral of a dead person by singing and dancing rather than mourning over their bodies.
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