Kalasha Valleys

Kalash
وادی کیلاش
Kalash ; وادی کیلاش
Valley
	The three remote valleys are home to the animist Kalash people
	Kalash ; وادی کیلاش Kalash Valley
	Coordinates: 35°42′2″N 71°41′29″E / 35.70056°N 71.69139°E / 35.70056; 71.69139
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
District	Chitral District
Area
• Total	456.58 km2 (176.29 sq mi)
Elevation	1,670 m (5,480 ft)
Population (2003)
• Total	9,000
• Density	20/km2 (51/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)

The Kalasha Valleys (Kalasha-mondr: Kaĺaśa Desh; Urdu: وادی کیلاش) are valleys in Chitral District in northern Pakistan. The valleys are surrounded by the Hindu Kush mountain range. The inhabitants of the valley are the Kalash people, who have a unique culture, language and follow a form of ancient Hinduism.^[1]^[2] As such, the Kalasha Valleys are a source of attraction for Pakistanis as well as International tourists. There are three main valleys.^[3]^[4]^[5] The largest and most populous valley is Bumburet (Mumuret), reached by a road from Ayun in the Kunar Valley. Rumbur is a side valley north of Bumburet. The third valley, Biriu (Birir), is a side valley of the Kunar Valley south of Bumburet.

Geography and Natural Environment

Kalasha Valley is located at an elevation of over 6,500 feet above sea level, and is characterized by steep slopes, narrow gorges, and rocky terrain. The area is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna, including rare species such as the snow leopard and the Himalayan black bear.

The Three Valleys

The inhabitants of the valleys are the Kalash people, who have a unique culture, language and follow a form of religion that is associated with their surroundings like the mountains and rivers.^[1]^[2]^[6]^[7]^[8] The largest and most populous valley is Bumburet (Mumuret), reached by a road from Ayun in the Kunar Valley. Rumbur (Rukmu) is a side valley north of Bumburet. The third valley, Biriu (Birir), is a side valley of the Kunar Valley south of Bumburet.

Kalash people

The Kalash people are a small religious and ethnic minority of Pakistan. The Kalash religion is polytheist faith similar to paganism and ancient forms of Hinduism and the people offer sacrifices for their gods. Their culture is interlinked with their religion and includes several unique festivals and celebrations. The people generally do not intermarry or cohabit regions with local Muslims but neither are they hostile towards them. The people are under legal and constitutional protection of the State of Pakistan as a scheduled tribe.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

Typical homes in the Kalasha Valleys
A school in the Kalasha Valleys
A Kalasha woman

References

^ a b West, Barbara A. (19 May 2010). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. p. 357. ISBN 9781438119137. The Kalasha are a unique people living in just three valleys near Chitral, Pakistan, the capital of North-West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan. Unlike their neighbors in the Hindu Kush Mountains on both the Afghani and Pakistani sides of the border the Kalasha have not converted to Islam. During the mid-20th century a few Kalasha villages in Pakistan were forcibly converted to this dominant religion, but the people fought the conversion and, once official pressure was removed, the vast majority continued to practice their own religion. Their religion is a form of Hinduism that recognizes many gods and spirits and has been related to the religion of the ancient Greeks, who mythology says are the ancestors of the contemporary Kalash… However, it is much more likely, given their Indo-Aryan language, that the religion of the Kalasha is much more closely aligned to the Hinduism of their Indian neighbors than to the religion of Alexander the Great and his armies.
^ a b Minahan, James B. (10 February 2014). Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 205. ISBN 9781610690188. Living in the high mountain valleys, the Nuristani retained their ancient culture and their religion, a form of ancient Hinduism with many customs and rituals developed locally. Certain deities were revered only by one tribe or community, but one deity was universally worshipped by all Nuristani as the Creator, the Hindu god Yama Raja, called imr'o or imra by the Nuristani tribes.
^ "The Kalasha Valleys". Kalasha Heritage Conservation. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
^ http://www.tourism.gov.pk/kalash_valley_nothern_areas.htm
^ http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472097830-02.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ "The Kalasha Valleys". Kalasha Heritage Conservation. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
^ http://www.tourism.gov.pk/kalash_valley_nothern_areas.htm ^{[dead link]}
^ http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472097830-02.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[West2010-1] West, Barbara A. (19 May 2010). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. p. 357. ISBN 9781438119137. The Kalasha are a unique people living in just three valleys near Chitral, Pakistan, the capital of North-West Frontier Province, which borders Afghanistan. Unlike their neighbors in the Hindu Kush Mountains on both the Afghani and Pakistani sides of the border the Kalasha have not converted to Islam. During the mid-20th century a few Kalasha villages in Pakistan were forcibly converted to this dominant religion, but the people fought the conversion and, once official pressure was removed, the vast majority continued to practice their own religion. Their religion is a form of Hinduism that recognizes many gods and spirits and has been related to the religion of the ancient Greeks, who mythology says are the ancestors of the contemporary Kalash… However, it is much more likely, given their Indo-Aryan language, that the religion of the Kalasha is much more closely aligned to the Hinduism of their Indian neighbors than to the religion of Alexander the Great and his armies.

[Minahan2014-2] Minahan, James B. (10 February 2014). Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 205. ISBN 9781610690188. Living in the high mountain valleys, the Nuristani retained their ancient culture and their religion, a form of ancient Hinduism with many customs and rituals developed locally. Certain deities were revered only by one tribe or community, but one deity was universally worshipped by all Nuristani as the Creator, the Hindu god Yama Raja, called imr'o or imra by the Nuristani tribes.

[3] "The Kalasha Valleys". Kalasha Heritage Conservation. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.

[4] ttp://www.tourism.gov.pk/kalash_valley_nothern_areas.htm

[5] ttp://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472097830-02.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[6] "The Kalasha Valleys". Kalasha Heritage Conservation. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.

[7] ttp://www.tourism.gov.pk/kalash_valley_nothern_areas.htm ^{[dead link]}

[8] ttp://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472097830-02.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}