If the Kalash were a huge and numerous diaspora with a separate territory and statehood, then their existence would hardly surprise anyone, but today there are several thousand Kalash survivors - the smallest and most mysterious ethnic group in the Asian region.
Kalash (self-name: kasivo; the name "Kalash" comes from the name of the area) - a people in Pakistan living in the high mountainous regions of the Hindu Kush (Nuristan or Kafirstan). Population - about 6 thousand people. They were almost completely exterminated as a result of the Muslim genocide by the beginning of the 20th century, as they profess paganism. They lead a secluded life. They speak the Kalash language of the Dardic group of Indo-European languages (however, about half of the words of their language have no analogues in other Dardic languages, as well as in the languages of neighboring peoples). It is widely believed in Pakistan that the Kalash are descendants of the warriors of Alexander the Great (in connection with which the Macedonian government built a "house of culture" in this area, see, for example, "Macedonian ќe grad kulturen centar kaј hunzite to Pakistan"). The appearance of some Kalash is characteristic of the Northern European peoples,among them blue-eyed and blondness are often found. At the same time, some of the Kalash also have an Asian appearance that is quite typical for the region.
The names of the gods worshiped by Kalash will amaze you even more. They call Apollo the god of the gods and the lord of the sun. Aphrodite is worshiped as the goddess of beauty and love. Zeus evokes mute and ecstatic awe in them, etc.
Familiar names? And where does the half-savage tribe, whose members have never descended from the mountains, can not read and write, know and worship the Greek gods? However, their religious rituals are strikingly similar to the Hellenic. For example, oracles are mediators between believers and gods, and on Kalash holidays they do not skimp on sacrifices and alms to the gods. By the way, the language spoken by fellow tribesmen resembles ancient Greek.
The most inexplicable secret of the Kalash tribe is their origin. This is a mystery over which ethnographers around the world are puzzling. However, the mountain pagans themselves explain their appearance in Asia simply. Another thing is that it is not so easy to separate truth from myths.
At the same time, about 3 thousand Kalash are Muslims. Conversion to Islam is not welcomed by Kalash people who are trying to preserve their ancestral identity. The super-European appearance of some of them is explained by the more or less preserved Indo-European gene pool as a result of refusal to mix with the surrounding population. Along with the Kalash, representatives of the Khunza people and some ethnic groups of the Pamirians, Persians, and others also have similar anthropological characteristics.
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Kalash claim that their people formed as a single conclave 4 thousand years ago, but not in the mountains of Pakistan, but far beyond the seas, where the inhabitants of Olympus ruled the world. But the day came when some of the Kalash went on a military campaign under the leadership of the legendary Alexander the Great. This happened in 400 BC. Already in Asia, the Macedonian left several barrage detachments of Kalash in local settlements, strictly ordering them to wait for his return.
Alas, Alexander the Great never returned for his loyal fighters, many of whom went on a campaign with their families. And the Kalash were forced to settle in new territories, waiting for their master, who either forgot about them, or deliberately left them on new lands as the first settlers from distant Hellas. Kalash are still waiting for Alexander.
There is something in this legend. Kalash faces are purely European. The skin is significantly lighter than that of Pakistanis and Afghans. And the eyes are the passport of an unfaithful foreigner. Kalash's eyes are blue, gray, green and very rarely brown. But there is one more touch that does not fit into the common culture and life of these places. Kalash have always been made for themselves and used furniture. They eat at the table, sitting on chairs - excesses that were never inherent in the local "aborigines" and appeared in Afghanistan and Pakistan only with the arrival of the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, but never caught on. And the Kalash from time immemorial used tables and chairs. Have you come up with it yourself? And there are many such questions …
So the Kalash survived. They have preserved their language, traditions, religion. However, later Islam came to Asia, and with it the troubles of the Kalash people, who did not want to change their religion. Adapting to Pakistan by preaching paganism is a hopeless endeavor. Local Muslim communities persistently tried to force the Kalash to convert to Islam. And many Kalash were forced to submit: either live, adopting a new religion, or die. In the 18th-19th centuries, the Islamists slaughtered the Kalash in hundreds and thousands. Under such conditions, it is problematic to survive and preserve the traditions of your ancestors. Those who did not obey and even secretly sent pagan cults, the authorities, at best, drove from fertile lands, driving them into the mountains, and more often - destroyed.
Today, the last Kalash settlement is in the mountains at an altitude of 7000 meters - not the best conditions for agriculture, livestock breeding and life in general!
The brutal genocide of the Kalash people continued until the middle of the 19th century, until the tiny territory that the Muslims called Kafirtan (the land of the infidels), where the Kalash lived, fell under the protection of Great Britain. This saved them from complete destruction. But even now the Kalash are on the verge of extinction. Many are forced to assimilate (through marriage) with Pakistanis and Afghans, adopting Islam - this makes it easier to survive and get a job, education, position.
The life of modern Kalash can be called Spartan. Kalash live in communities - it's easier to survive. They huddle in tiny huts, which are built of stone, wood and clay in narrow mountain gorges. The back wall of the Kalasha house is the plane of a rock or mountain. So building materials are saved, and the dwelling becomes more stable, because hammering the foundation in the mountain soil is Sisyphean labor.
The roof of the lower house (floor) is also the floor or veranda of the other family's house. Of all the amenities in the hut: table, chairs, benches and pottery. Kalash know about electricity and television only by hearsay. A shovel, a hoe and a pick are clearer and more familiar to them. They derive their vital resources from agriculture. Kalash manage to grow wheat and other grain crops on the lands cleared of stones. But the main role in their life support is played by livestock, mainly goats, which give the descendants of the Hellenes milk and dairy products, wool and meat. Having such a meager choice, the Kalash manage not to lose their own pride and not stoop to begging and theft. But their life is a struggle for survival. They work from dawn to dawn and do not murmur at fate. Their way of life and its way of life have changed little over 2 thousand years, but this does not upset anyone.
And yet there is something mountainous in the Kalash. A clear and unshakable division of responsibilities is striking: men are the first in labor and hunting, women only help them in the least labor-intensive operations (weeding, milking, housekeeping). In the house, men sit at the head of the table and make all significant decisions in the family (in the community).
Towers are being built for women in each settlement - a separate house where the women of the community give birth to children and spend time on "critical days".
A Kalash woman is obliged to give birth to a child only in the tower, and therefore pregnant women settle in the "maternity hospital" ahead of time. Where this tradition came from, no one knows, but Kalash do not observe any other segregation and discriminatory tendencies towards women, which infuriates and amuses Muslims, who treat Kalash people as out of this world.
Marriage. This sensitive issue is decided exclusively by the parents of young people. They can also consult with the young, they can talk to the parents of the bride (groom), or they can solve the problem without asking the opinion of their child. And yet no one here tells the tragic stories of Romeo and Juliet. Young people trust their elders, and elders treat their own children and youth with love and understanding.
Kalash do not know days off, but they cheerfully and hospitably celebrate 3 holidays: Yoshi - the sowing holiday, Uchao - the harvest festival, and Choimus - the winter holiday of the gods of nature, when the Kalash ask the "Olympians" to send them a mild winter and good spring and summer.
During Choimus, each family slaughters a goat as a sacrifice, the meat of which is served to everyone who comes to visit or meets on the street.
And Bacchus Kalash do not forget: they know how to walk. Wine flows like a river on holidays, however, religious holidays do not turn into drunkenness.
The main object of worship was fire. In addition to fire, infidels worshiped wooden idols that were carved by skilled craftsmen and exhibited in sanctuaries. The pantheon consisted of many gods and goddesses. The god Imra was considered the main one. The god of war, Guiche, was also highly revered. Each village had its own petty patron god. The world, according to legends, was inhabited by many good and evil spirits fighting with each other.
A generic pillar with a swastika rosette.
For comparison - a traditional pattern typical of the Slavs and Germans.
Whether the Kalash are descendants of the soldiers of the army of Alexander the Great is not known for certain. The only indisputable thing is that they are clearly different from the peoples around them. Moreover, in a recent study - a joint effort of the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, the University of Southern California and Stanford University - to collect and process a huge amount of information on the genetic relationships of the planet's population, a separate paragraph is devoted to the Kalash, which says that their genes are truly unique. and belong to the European group.