By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: The Kalash community will not benefit from the Prime Minister’s recently announced ‘chicken formula’ to mitigate poverty by augmenting the household income because the primitive people tabooed chicken strongly and they take it a bad omen to keep poultry in their homes.
Dubar Khan Kalash of Birir valley told Chitral Times that the Kalash people kept away themselves from the poultry, take it a sign of impurity and did not consume its flesh and egg in the recent past but with the advent of modern time, departure from this self-imposed ban is witnessed to a certain degree.
He said that with the socialization of Kalash people as a result of the influx of tourists to the Kalash valleys after the construction of roads and the travelling of Kalash people to the other parts of the country, they have greatly changed their lifestyle and ways of thinking.
“They are no more hesitant to eat the chicken meat and eggs in hotel or outside the valleys but neither they bring it to their homes for cooking nor they keep it in their homes for breeding.
However, in Bumburate valley, many Kalash families have started to keep hen in their homes for commercial purpose but generally it is still prohibited in their homes to keep it clean”, he said adding that it will take many decades more for the Kalash community to accept it like beef and mutton.
He said that some years ago, when a non-governmental organization started distributing poultry in the valleys for augmenting household income, most of them did not accept it and the organizers had to arrange goats for them.
