Chitral’s Kalash winter solstice

Photo: AFP

In three narrow and cut-off valleys in the Hindu Kush mountains live about 4,000 people called the Kalasha. They are unique because they are the only IndoEuropean culture that was not absorbed by any of the great religious systems. They celebrate the winter solstice of Chaumos.

The three Kalasha valleys were recently joined to the main Chitral valley by jeep roads but up until 10 years ago were only accessible by foot. The Kalasha rely on farming and rearing animals.

They sing:

Kia mai bata hin dai,

Amo tai bata dem

(What I receive, that I give to you)

The winter solstice festival of the Kalasha is a complex ritual based on three themes: regeneration, fertility and unification.

The beginning of the festival is marked by the sun setting behind a certain tree located on one of the ridges closing the valley to the west. The kazi or guardian of the ancestral tradition observes this and declares Chausmos time has come. The Rumbur valley is where this is taking place.

On the first of 12 days of the festival, (sarazari to bring juniper), they make offerings of juniper smoke in sacred places. Juniper is burned on the second day (goshtsaraz) and offerings are made in goat sheds, that have been cleaned. Each day ends with a dance in which dried fruits are collected and redistributed. They can only sing as drums are not permitted.

The third day (Chuin ari) is marked by a ritual clash of insults between two groups of girls. This is related to their traditions of marriage between the groups of the valleys. The other festival days focus on the ritual of wheat and flour-making and making bread. The men bake small animals of dough on round iron plates. The animals usually are the markhor, cow and sheep. At the end, they are given to the children.

On the sixth day, the supernatural becomes part of the festival. The Kalasha gather at a temple lit by a fire and pile food beneath the symbols of a deity. They believe that the ghosts of the dead come to take the offerings of bread and dried fruits.

The remaining days involve rituals of purification in which houses are cleaned and sacrifice of goats.

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/culture/2018/12/chitrals-kalash-winter-solstice/