Kalash Valley

Kalash Valley:

The Kalasha or Kalash are indigenous people who live in the Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They speak the Kalasha language and practice polytheistic religion (Belief in many gods). They are related to the Nuristani people of the adjacent Nuristan (Previously known as Kafiristan) province of Afghanistan. However, most of Nuristani people had embraced Islam by the end of 19th century.
Kalash people live in three remote mountain valleys: Bumburet, Rumbur, and Birir. 

Kalash Girls in Their Traditional Dress Making Victory Sign

A Beautiful Kalash Girl, Wearing Colourful Headdress. Photo by manalahmadkhan.

FC (Frontier Corps) Mess at Bamuret, Kalash. Photo by Tahir Khan Kayani.

Traditional Black Dress of Kalash Women. Kalash women usually wear long black robes, often embroidered with cowrie shells. For this reason, they are known in Chitral as “The Black Kafirs”. In this photo, a Kalash woman is helping her daughter cross a stream on a bamboo pole, both dressed in black traditional dress.

Two Kalasha Girls Taking a Walk in Their Village

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Kalash people are the smallest religious as well as the ethnic minority of Pakistan. Their customs and traditions are contradictory to the Islamic and Pakistani culture. The Kalash religion is polytheist faith and the people offer sacrifices for their gods. Their culture is interlinked with their religion and based upon several festivals and celebrations. The people generally do not mix up with the local Muslims but neither are they hostile towards them. The people are although under legal and constitutional protection of the State of Pakistan but face a serious threat from the Islamic Extremist militants in neighboring Afghanistan. Some people of the Kalash community have also been forcibly converted to Islam. Many local and foreign human rights activists as well as many primary politicians such as Imran Khan have called on the government for protection of the community. The Council of Islamic Ideology have also condemned the violence declaring forcible conversions and honor killings of non-Muslims as UnIslamic.