46-494: [REDACTED] Look up kalash in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Kalash or Kalasha may refer to: Peoples and languages [ edit ] Kalash people , or Kalasha, an ethnic group of Chitral, Pakistan Kalasha-mun , a language of Chitral, Pakistan Kalasha-ala , a language of Nuristan, Afghanistan People with the name [ edit ] Kavi Kalash ,
92-784: A Royal Poet and Confidant of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Kalash (rapper) (Kévin Valleray, born 1988), a French rapper Kalash Criminel (Amira Kiziamina, born 1995), a French rapper from the Democratic Republic of Congo Kalash l'Afro (born 1979), a French rapper of Tunisian origin Places [ edit ] Kalasha Valleys , in Chitral District, Pakistan Kalash, Iran , a village in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran Kalash-e Bozorg ,
138-593: A culture with a large Kam influence from the Bashgul Valley . It was known for its shrines to Waren and Imro, the Urtsun version of Dezau, which were visited and photographed by Georg Morgenstierne in 1929 and were built in the Bashgul Valley style unlike those of other Kalash valleys. The last Shaman was one Azermalik who had been the Dehar when George Scott Robertson visited in the 1890s. His daughter Mranzi who
184-810: A form of animism and ancestor worship with elements of Indo-Aryan ( Vedic Hinduism-like ) religion. The term "Kalash people" is used to refer to several distinct Nuristani speaking people, including the Väi, the Čima-nišei, the Vântä, plus the Ashkun - and Tregami -speakers, and to a small group of Indo-Aryan speaking people. This specific group, the topic of this article, lives in three isolated mountain valleys located in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa , Pakistan : Bumburet (Kalash: Mumuret ), Rumbur ( Rukmu ), and Birir ( Biriu ). These valleys open towards
230-748: A prominent expert on languages of the Hindu Kush, spent three decades in the Hindukush. He noted the following about the pre-Islamic Nuristani religion: Before their conversion to Islâm the Nuristânis practised a form of ancient Hinduism, infused with accretions developed locally. They acknowledged a number of human-like deities who lived in the unseen Deity World (Kâmviri d'e lu ; cf. Sanskrit deva lok'a- )." The historical religious practices of neighbouring Pahāṛi peoples of Nepal , Kashmir , Uttarakhand , and Himachal Pradesh are similar to those of
276-792: A village in Ardabil Province, Iran Other uses [ edit ] Kalasha , or kalash, a pot used in Hindu rituals Kalasha (finial) , the finial of Hindu temples Kalash (footwear) Kalash (TV series) , an Indian soap opera 2001–2003 Kalash - Ek Vishwaas , an Indian soap opera 2015–2017 Kalashnikov rifle , colloquially known as Kalash See also [ edit ] Kalas (disambiguation) Kailash (disambiguation) Kalach (disambiguation) Kalašma Bronze Age polity in Anatolia Kalašma language Kalashnikov (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
322-404: A woman after childbirth which must be performed before a woman can return to her husband. The husband is an active participant in this ritual. Girls are initiated into womanhood at an early age of four or five and married at fourteen or fifteen. If a woman wants to change husbands, she will write a letter to her prospective husband informing him of how much her current husband paid for her. This
368-471: Is 700 to 800 mm (28 to 31 inches). The Kalash people have several traditions regarding their origins. According to one tradition, their ancestors migrated to Chitral Valley from Nuristan or a location further south, called "Tsiyam" in their folk songs and epics. "Tsiyam" is said to be near Jalalabad and Lughman according to Morgenstierne. Another tradition has it that the Kalash descend from
414-527: Is also used to refer to several distinct Nuristani speaking people, including the Väi, the Čima-nišei, the Vântä, plus the Ashkun - and Tregami -speakers. According to one Kalash tradition, their ancestors migrated to Chitral Valley from Nuristan Province, Afghanistan or a location further south, called "Tsiyam" in their folk songs and epics, and possibly located near Jalalabad and Lughman in Afghanistan. Another tradition claims descent from
460-409: Is because the new husband must pay double if he wants her. Marriage by elopement is rather frequent, also involving women who are already married to another man. Indeed, wife-elopement is counted as one of the "great customs" ( ghōna dastūr ) together with the main festivals. Wife-elopement may lead in some rare cases to a quasi-feud between clans until peace is negotiated by mediators, in the form of
506-465: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Language and nationality disambiguation pages Kalash people The Kalash ( Kalasha : کالؕاشؕا, romanised: Kaḷaṣa ), or Kalasha , are a small Indo-Aryan indigenous (minority) people residing in the Chitral District of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan . The term
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#1732772178808552-416: Is made up of two distinct cultural areas, the valleys of Rumbur and Bumburet forming one, and Birir Valley the other; Birir Valley being the more traditional of the two. The Kalasha language, also known as Kalasha-mun, is an Indo-Aryan language whose closest relative is the neighbouring Khowar language . Kalasha was formerly spoken over a larger area in south Chitral, but it is now mostly confined to
598-576: The Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms, which emerged following Alexander's expedition into the region. While these kingdoms exerted influence over parts of modern-day Pakistan, no evidence exists to suggest that they directly controlled or significantly impacted the Chitral Valley. They are considered unique among the people of Pakistan, and form Pakistan's smallest ethnoreligious group , practicing what authors consider as
644-637: The Kunar River , some 20 km south (downstream) of Chitral , The Bumburet and Rumbur valleys join at 35°44′20″N 71°43′40″E / 35.73889°N 71.72778°E / 35.73889; 71.72778 (1,640 m), joining the Kunar at the village of Ayrun ( 35°42′52″N 71°46′40″E / 35.71444°N 71.77778°E / 35.71444; 71.77778 , 1,400 m) and they each rise to passes connecting to Afghanistan's Nuristan Province at about 4,500 m. The Birir Valley opens towards
690-638: The Pakistani military responded by fortifying the security around Kalash villages, the Supreme Court also took judicial intervention to protect the Kalash under both the ethnic minorities clause of the constitution and Pakistan's Sharia law penal code which declares it illegal for Muslims to criticise and attack other religions on grounds of personal belief. The Supreme Court termed the Taliban's threats against Islamic teachings. Imran Khan condemned
736-465: The Yamnaya culture . The researchers thus believe they may be a drifted Ancient Northern Eurasian stock from which some of the modern European and Middle Eastern population also descends. Their mitochondrial lineages are predominantly from western Eurasia. Due to their uniqueness, the researchers believed that they were the earliest group to separate from the ancestral stock of the modern population of
782-657: The "Kafir" people in general; however, the Kalasha of Chitral weren't considered to be "true Kafirs" by the Kati people who were interviewed about the term in 1835. The Kalash were ruled by the Mehtar of Chitral from the 18th century onward. They have enjoyed a cordial relationship with the major ethnic group of Chitral, the Kho who are Sunni and Ismaili Muslims . The multi-ethnic and multi-religious State of Chitral ensured that
828-650: The 1890s and their land was renamed. Prior to that event, the people of Kafiristan had paid tribute to the Mehtar of Chitral and accepted his suzerainty. This came to an end with the Durand Agreement when Kafiristan fell under the Afghan sphere of Influence. Prior to the 1940s the Kalash had five valleys, the current three as well as Jinjeret kuh and Urtsun to the south. The last Kalash person in Jinjeret kuh
874-513: The Bashgul valley, which was worn at times of ritual and dance. George Scott Robertson put forth the view that the dominant Kafir races like the Wai were refugees who fled to the region. The Kafirs are historically recorded for the first time in 1339. Being a very small minority in a Muslim region, the Kalash have increasingly been targeted by some proselytising Muslims. Some Muslims have encouraged
920-610: The Human Genome Diversity Panel, found deep rooted lineages that could be distinguished in the Kalash. The results showed them clustered within the Central / South Asian populations (at K = 7). The study also showed the Kalash to be a separated group, having no membership within European populations. Lazaridis et al. (2016) note that the demographic impact of steppe related populations on South Asia
966-727: The Indian subcontinent estimated around 11,800 years ago. The estimates by Qamar, Ayub, et al . (2002) of 20%–40% Greek admixture in the Kalash has been dismissed by Kivisild , Rootsi, et al . (2003) stating that: The study came to the conclusion that the Kalash population estimate by Qamar, Ayub, et al . is unrealistic and is likely also driven by the low marker resolution that pooled southern and western Asian-specific Y-chromosome Haplogroup H together with European-specific Haplogroup I , into an uninformative polyphyletic cluster 2. Discover magazine genetics blogger R. Khan has repeatedly cited information indicating that
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#17327721788081012-535: The Kalash are part of the South Asian genetic continuum, with no Macedonian ethnic admixture, albeit shifted towards the Iranian people. A study by Firasat, Khaliq, et al . (2006) concluded that the Kalash lack typical Greek Haplogroups such as Haplogroup 21 (E-M35) . Furthermore, autosomal analysis gave no indication that Kalash were genetically related to Greeks. Shah Nadir Rais (1698-1747) formed
1058-524: The Kalash formed one cluster, the others being Africans, Europeans/Middle Easterners, South Asians , East Asians, Melanesians , and Native Americans . Genetic analysis of Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) by Quintana-Murci, Chaix, et al . (2004) stated that "the western Eurasian presence in the Kalash population reaches a frequency of 100%" with the most prevalent mtDNA Haplogroups being U4 (34%), R0 (23%), U2e (16%), and J2 (9%). The study asserted that no East or South Asian lineages were detected and that
1104-641: The Kalash mythology and folklore are closely related to the Vedic mythology , and it's religion has also been compared to that of ancient Greece , due to the hypothesis that the Kalsh are descendants of Alexander the Great's soldiers. Kalash culture and belief system differ from the various ethnic groups surrounding them, but are similar to those practised by the neighbouring Nuristanis in northeast Afghanistan before their forced conversion to Islam. Richard Strand ,
1150-458: The Kalash people in that they "ate meat, drank alcohol, and had shamans". In addition, the Pahāṛi people "had rules of lineage exogamy that produced a segmentary system closely resembling the Kalasha one". The neighbouring Nuristani people of the adjacent Nuristan (historically known as Kafiristan ) province of Afghanistan once had the same culture and practised a faith very similar to that of
1196-456: The Kalash people to read the Koran so that they would convert to Islam. The challenges of modernity and the role of outsiders and NGOs in changing the environment of the Kalash valleys have also been mentioned as real threats for the Kalash. During the 1970s, local Muslims and militants tormented the Kalash because of the difference in religion and multiple Taliban attacks on the tribe lead to
1242-668: The Kalash population is composed of maternal western Eurasian lineages (as the associated lineages are rare or absent in the surrounding populations). The authors concluded that a western Eurasian maternal origin for the Kalash is likely. Genetic analysis of Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) by Firasat, Khaliq, et al . (2007) on Kalash individuals found high and diverse frequencies of these Y-DNA Haplogroups: L3a (22.7%), H1* (20.5%), R1a (18.2%), G (18.2%), J2 (9.1%), R* (6.8%), R1* (2.3%), and L* (2.3%). A study by Li, Absher, et al . (2008) with geneticists using more than 650,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) samples from
1288-580: The Kalash villages and maintain their language and many aspects of their ancient culture. By now, sheikhs , or converts to Islam, make up more than half of the total Kalasha-speaking population. Kalasha women usually wear long black robes, often embroidered with cowrie shells. For this reason, they are known in Chitral as " the Black Kafirs ". Men have adopted the Pakistani shalwar kameez , while children wear small versions of adult clothing after
1334-514: The Kalash were able to live in peace and harmony and practice their culture and religion. The Kalasha were protected by the Chitralis from Afghan Raids, who also generally did not allow missionaries in Kalash. They allowed for the Kalasha to look after their matters themselves. The Nuristani , their neighbours in the region of former Kafiristan west of the border, were converted, on pain of death, to Islam by Amir Abdur-Rahman of Afghanistan in
1380-401: The Kalash were found to possess the highest ANI ancestry among the population samples analysed in the study. A study by Ayub, Mezzavilla, et al . (2015) found no evidence of their claimed descent from soldiers of Alexander. The study, however, found that they shared a significant portion of genetic drift with MA-1 , a 24,000 year-old Paleolithic Siberian hunter-gatherer fossil and
1426-517: The Kunar at the village of Gabhirat ( 35°40′8″N 71°45′15″E / 35.66889°N 71.75417°E / 35.66889; 71.75417 , 1,360 m). A pass connects the Birir and Bumburet valleys at about 3,000 m. The Kalash villages in all three valleys are located at a height of approximately 1,900 to 2,200 m. The region is extremely fertile, covering the mountainside in rich oak forests and allowing for intensive agriculture, although most of
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1472-517: The Rais Dynasty of Chitral. The Rais carried out an invasion of Southern Chitral which was back then under Kalasha rule. Kalasha traditions record severe persecution and massacres at the hands of Rais. They were forced to flee the Chitral valley and those that remained while still practising their faith had to pay tribute in kind or with Corvée labour. The term "Kalasha" was used to denote all
1518-429: The age of four. In contrast to the surrounding Pakistani culture, the Kalasha do not in general separate males and females or frown on contact between the sexes. However, menstruating girls and women are sent to live in the "bashaleni", the village menstrual building, during their periods, until they regain their "purity". They are also required to give birth in the bashaleni. There is also a ritual restoring "purity" to
1564-508: The armies of Alexander who were left behind from his armed campaign, though no evidence exists for him to have passed the area. According to Henry Walter Bellew (1834-1892) the Kalash are the descendants of Gandhari people . A study by Rosenberg, Mahajan, et al . (2006) employing genetic testing among the Kalash population concluded that they are a distinct (and perhaps aboriginal ) population with only minor contributions from outside peoples. In one cluster analysis (with K = 7),
1610-444: The death of many, their numbers shrank to just two thousand. However, protection from the government led to a decrease in violence by locals, a decrease in Taliban attacks, and a great reduction in the child mortality rate. The last two decades saw a rise in numbers. In recent times the Kalash and Ismailis have been threatened with death by the Taliban. The threats caused outrage and horrified citizens throughout Pakistan and
1656-555: The double bride-price paid by the new husband to the ex-husband. Kalash lineages ( kam ) separate as marriageable descendants that have separated by over seven generations. A rite of "breaking agnation" ( tatbře čhin ) marks that previous agnates ( tatbře ) are now permissible affines ( därak "clan partners"). Each kam has a separate shrine in the clan's Jēṣṭak-hān , the temple to lineal or familial goddess Jēṣṭak . Kalasha traditional music mainly consists of flute-like instruments (usually high in pitch), singing, poetry, clapping and
1702-702: The forced conversions threat as un-Islamic. In 2017, Wazir Zada became the first Kalasha man to win a seat in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa . He became the member of the Provincial Assembly (PA) on a minority reserved seat. In November 2019, the Kalash people were visited by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge , as part of their Pakistan tour and they saw a traditional dance performance there. The Kalash have fascinated anthropologists due to their unique culture compared to
1748-399: The livestock. The climate is typical of high elevation regions without large bodies of water to regulate the temperature. The summers are mild and agreeable with average maximum temperatures between 23 and 27 °C (73 and 81 °F). Winters, on the other hand, can be very cold, with average minimum temperatures between 2 and 1 °C (36 and 34 °F). The average yearly precipitation
1794-432: The rest in that region. The culture of the Kalash people differs in many ways from the many contemporary Muslim ethnic groups surrounding them in northwestern Pakistan. Nature plays a highly significant and spiritual role in their daily life. As part of their religious tradition, sacrifices are offered and festivals held to give thanks for the abundant resources of their three valleys. Kalasha Desh (the three Kalash valleys)
1840-450: The rhythmic playing of drums, which include the: While a minority of the Kalash has converted to Islam, the Kalash people are primarily practitioners of the traditional Kalasha religion, which is a form of animism and ancestor worship mixed with elements from ancient Indo-Aryan Vedic Hinduism. According to Witzel, the Kalash religion contains both pre-Vedic and Indo-Iranian elements, but very little post-Vedic influences. Elements of
1886-448: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Kalash . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kalash&oldid=1253322869 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
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1932-532: The western side valleys having lost ground to Khowar. There is some controversy over what defines the ethnic characteristics of the Kalash. Although there was a larger population in the 20th century, the non-Muslim minority has seen its numbers dwindle over the past century. A leader of the Kalash, Saifulla Jan, has stated, "If any Kalash converts to Islam, they cannot live among us anymore. We keep our identity strong." About three thousand have converted to Islam or are descendants of converts, yet still live nearby in
1978-419: The work is done not by machinery, but by hand. The powerful and dangerous rivers that flow through the valleys have been harnessed to power grinding mills and to water the farm fields through the use of ingenious irrigation channels. Wheat , maize , grapes (generally used for wine ), apples , apricots and walnuts are among the many foodstuffs grown in the area, along with surplus fodder used for feeding
2024-427: Was Mukadar, who passing away in the early 1940s found himself with no one to perform the old rites. The people of Birir valley just north of Jinjeret came to the rescue with a moving funeral procession that is still remembered fondly by the valleys now converted Kalash, firing guns and beating drums as they made their way up the valley to celebrate his passing according to the old custom. The Kalash of Urtsun valley had
2070-525: Was still alive into the 1980s was the last Urtsun valley Kalash practising the old religion. She had married into the Birir Valley Kalash and left the valley in the late 1930s when the valley had converted to Islam . Unlike the Kalash of the other valleys the women of Urtsun did not wear the Kup'as headdress but had their own P'acek, a headress worn at casual times, and the famous horned headress of
2116-581: Was substantial. According to the results, the Mala , a south Indian Dalit population with minimal Ancestral North Indian (ANI) along the 'Indian Cline' have nevertheless ~ 18 % steppe-related ancestry, showing the strong influence of ANI ancestry in all populations of India. The Kalash of Pakistan are inferred to have ~ 50 % EMBA steppe-related ancestry, with the rest being of Iranian Neolithic (~29 %), Onge (~16 %) and Han (~5 %). According to Narasimhan, Patterson, et al . (2019),
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