Everything in the life of Kalash people living in the north of Pakistan in the Hindu Kush mountains is different from that of their neighbors: their faith, their way of life, and even the color of their eyes and hair. These people are a mystery. They themselves consider themselves descendants of Alexander the Great.
Who are your ancestors?
They argue over and over again about the ancestors of the Kalash. There is an opinion that the Kalash are local aborigines who once inhabited the vast territories of the southern valley of the Chitral River. And today, numerous Kalash place names have been preserved there. Over time, the Kalash were driven out (or assimilated?) From the ancestral territories.
There is another point of view: Kalash are not local aborigines, but came to the north of Pakistan many centuries ago. These could be, for example, the tribes of the North Indians living in about the XIII century BC. in the south of the Urals and in the north of the Kazakh steppes. Their appearance resembled the appearance of modern Kalash - blue or green eyes and fair skin.
It should be noted that external features are not peculiar to everyone, but only to a part of the representatives of the mysterious people, however, this often does not interfere with mentioning their proximity to the Europeans and calling the Kalash the heirs of the "Nordic Aryans". However, scientists believe that if you look at other peoples who have lived in isolated conditions for millennia and are not too willing to write strangers as relatives, then you can find "homozygous inbreeding (related) depigmentation" among Nuristanis, Darts or Badakhshans. They also tried to prove that the Kalash belonged to European peoples at the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, as well as at Southern California and Stanford Universities. Verdict - Kalash genes are really unique, but the question of ancestors is still open.
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Beautiful legend
The Kalash themselves willingly adhere to a more romantic version of their origin, calling themselves the descendants of the warriors who came to the mountains of Pakistan after Alexander the Great. As befits a legend, it has several variations. One by one - the Macedonian ordered the Kalash to stay await their return, but for some reason never returned for them. Loyal soldiers had no choice but to develop new lands.
According to the other, several soldiers, who, due to their wounds, were unable to continue moving with Alexander's army, were forced to stay in the mountains. Faithful women, naturally, did not leave their husbands. The legend is very popular with travelers-explorers, visiting Kalash people, and numerous tourists.
Pagans
Everyone who comes to this amazing land is obliged to pre-sign papers prohibiting any attempts to influence the identity of the unique people. First of all, we are talking about religion. Among the Kalash, there are many who continue to adhere to the old pagan faith, despite numerous attempts to convert them to Islam. On the Internet, you can find numerous posts on this topic, although the Kalash themselves shy away from questions and say that they "do not remember any tough measures."
Sometimes, the elders say, a change of faith occurs when a local girl decides to marry a Muslim, but this, they say, does not happen often. However, the researchers are confident that the Kalash managed to avoid the fate of the Nuristani neighbors, who were forcibly converted to Islam at the end of the 19th century, only because they inhabited the territory that came under the jurisdiction of the British.
No less controversial is the origin of Kalash polytheism. Attempts to draw analogies with the Greek pantheon of gods are considered by most scientists to be unfounded: it is unlikely that the Kalash supreme god Desau is Zeus, and the patroness of women Desalica is Aphrodite. Kalash have no priests, and everyone prays independently. True, it is not recommended to go directly to the gods, for this there is a dehar - a special person who, in front of a juniper or oak altar, decorated with two pairs of horse skulls, makes a sacrifice (usually a goat). It is quite difficult to list all the Kalash gods: each village has its own, and besides this there are still many demon spirits, mainly of the female gender.
About shamans, meetings and wires
Kalash shamans can predict the future and punish for sins. The most famous of them is Nanga Dhar - legends were made about his abilities, telling how in one second he disappeared from one place, passing through the rocks, and appeared with a friend. Shamans are trusted to administer justice: their prayer is capable of, allegedly, punishing the offender. By the humerus of the sacrificial goat, a shaman-ashzhiau ("looking at the bone") specializing in predictions can see the fate of not only an individual person, but also entire states.
Kalash's life is unthinkable without numerous feasts. Visiting tourists will hardly be able to immediately understand what event they are attending: a birth or a funeral. Kalash are sure that these moments are equally significant, and therefore it is necessary in any case to arrange a grandiose holiday - not so much for themselves as for the gods. You need to rejoice when a new person comes into this world so that his life is happy, and to have fun at the funeral - even if the afterlife will be serene. Ritual dances in a sacred place - Jashtak, chants, bright clothes and tables bursting with food - all these are invariable attributes of two main events in the life of an amazing people.
This is the table - they eat at it
A special feature of the Kalash is that, unlike their neighbors, they always used tables and chairs for meals. They build houses according to the Macedonian custom - from stones and logs. Do not forget about the balcony, while the roof of one house is the floor for another - a kind of "Kalash-style skyscrapers" are obtained. On the facade, there is stucco molding with Greek motives: rosettes, radial stars, intricate convolutions.
Most of the Kalash are engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. There are only a few examples when some of them managed to change their usual way of life. The legendary Lakshan Bibi is widely known, who became an air pilot and created a fund to support Kalash. The unique people are of great interest: the Greek authorities are building schools and hospitals for them, and the Japanese are developing projects for additional energy sources. By the way, the Kalash learned about electricity relatively recently.
In vino veritas
The production and consumption of wine is another distinctive feature of Kalash. Prohibition throughout Pakistan is not a reason to abandon tradition. And after making the wine, you can play your favorite gal - a cross between rounders, golf and baseball. The ball is beaten off with a club, and then they are looking together. Whoever found him twelve times and returned to the base first won. Often, residents of one village come to visit their neighbors to fight in gal, and then celebrate cheerfully - and it doesn't matter if it is a victory or a defeat.
Search a woman
Kalash women are on the sidelines, doing the most "thankless job." But this is where the similarities with neighbors, perhaps, end. They decide for themselves whom to marry, and if the marriage turns out to be unhappy, then divorce. True, the new elect must pay the ex-husband a "penalty" - a double dowry. Kalash girls can not only get an education, but, for example, get a job as a guide. For a long time, the Kalash also have a kind of parentage house - "basali", where "dirty" women spend several days before the onset of childbirth and about a week after.
Relatives and curious people are not just forbidden to visit expectant mothers, they cannot even touch the walls of the bashali.
And what kalashki are beautiful and elegant! The sleeves and hems of their black dresses, for which Muslims, by the way, call Kalash “black infidels”, are embroidered with multi-colored beads. On the head is the same bright headdress, reminiscent of a Baltic corolla, decorated with ribbons and intricate bead embroidery. On the neck there are many strands of beads, which can be used to determine the woman's age (if you can count it, of course). The elders mysteriously notice that the Kalash are alive only as long as their women are wearing their dresses. And finally, one more "rebus": why the hairstyle of even the smallest girls is five braids that begin to weave from the forehead?
