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    Kalash – Miserable Survivors of a Glorious Past – By: Shah Karez,

    Kalash – Miserable Survivors of a Glorious Past – By: Shah Karez,

    Alauddin’s introductory remark in his book,’KALASH- the paradise lost’, captivates one’s imagination while looking at the pathetic condition in which the pagan tribe lives in the 21st century. Well said that they are “miserable survivors of a glorious past.” Once the Kalash Community used to be the strongest and thriving community in the Kafiristan, (now Nuristan Province of Afghanistan). The people who resided there, were forcibly converted to Islam during late 1890s by King Abdur Rehman Khan, the then Amir of Kabul.

    According to Military Report and Gazetteer on Chitral, 1928, Kalash had control over extended parts of southern Chitral until the 11th century when they were defeated by Shah Nadir Rais. A large number of them converted to Islam during their history. Now they remain confined in the three south western valleys of Chitral namely, Bumburet, Rumbur and Birir. If their population does not shrink it does not expand either because of several factors including conversion. Their number is reported as 3-4000 at present. Today they form the smallest ethnic and cultural minority in Pakistan.

    What is more worrying is the indication that one of the oldest and unique cultures on earth is fading out. Many of their old traditions now remain abandoned and the new generation hardly knows about the cultural changes that have taken place over the past. A unique traditional calendar to determine timing of farming and other cultural practices by observing the movement of the Sun called ‘Suri Jagek’, was discontinued for about twelve years following threat from the Taliban from across the border. Similarly, Ratnat festival observed after wheat harvesting, was also stopped for  few years for the same reason. If the Taliban influence had sustained the traditions would have been abandoned and forgotten altogether. Much to the relief of the community UNESCO declared it as a non tangible cultural heritage site in May 2017. Mobile phone with its powerful impact on the young minds may also downplay the traditional cultural values by further loosening the community beliefs.

    Socioeconomic condition:

    The mainstay of the people is subsistence agriculture with average land holding of less than half an acre. Major crops include wheat and maize supplemented with red beans. The shortfall in farm income is made up by goat and cattle rearing. Walnut grows well but these giant trees standing on the cropped lands of Kalash do not belong to them as most of these trees are purchased at sapling stage for nominal price by non Kalash. This is a compounded loss since the crops do not yield well under the constant shade of the giant Walnut trees that snatch the soil nutrients, and the walnuts when ripe are taken away by outsider owners. The forest trees are ruthlessly cut and hauled out by the timber mafia to sell in distant markets.  Due to forest degradation the valleys are frequently flooded that inundate crops, fruits and houses. Many of these assets have been washed away during the past two decades.

     Despite being one of the cherished tourist destinations the income from tourism goes into the pockets of non-locals since most hotels and other allied businesses belong to outsiders. Recently it has been observed that many plain and fertile lands are taken on lease by non-locals and hotel buildings are raised in the middle of villages without keeping in view the privacy and the historical importance of the area. The government itself did not pay any heed to the voice of different social groups and environmental activists to halt the construction of the PTDC Motel in the heart of Bumburet valley several years hence. This speaks for the non seriousness of the government to preserve this culture.

     There are no proper health facilities, hygienic conditions are very poor. Common ailments include diarrhea, bronchitis, eye diseases, pneumonia, etc. Mother and child mortality are reported to be high due to poor hygiene and malnutrition. Among others the Social and Economic poverty are the two main factors contributing to the declining culture.

    In their daily life the Kalash frequently face derogatory remarks and feel degraded during their interaction with the dominant culture. The word ‘Kalash’ is a derogatory jargon used  among non Kalashi or Khowar parlance. Such remarks by school teachers in respect of Kalash students has negative effect on the young minds. What is more, the school syllabus does not include Ethics for the Kalash children. Arabic is alien to them but they are forced to struggle with Islamiat containing verses of Holy Quran or Ahadis in Arabic as compulsory subject. They have no option except to read the books meant for Muslim students. Arabic is totally alien for the Kalash students. Topographic constraints also demotivate parents to send young children to attend schools located far away.

    The village elders are worried about the myriad ways of conversion.  Gul Feroz 60 years of age, from Kalashgram attributes increasing conversion to the production of a liquid distilled from fermented mulberry locally called ‘Tara’. He explains that non locals who know the technique to produce Tara come to stay with Kalash families to teach them the process of production. While staying with the family, they preach about Islam that promises great reward after death. It is tempting for the poor if someone promises a better life for them, the young girls easily get fascinated. However, some of these arrangements end up in tragedies. A Kalash girl converted a few years back in Anizh village, was eventually married off to a Pathan boy from Peshawar. Last year her Pathan husband killed the girl for unknown reasons. On hearing about the sad incident the girl’s father went to Peshawar to seek justice for his daughters’ murder. Reportedly the murderer threatened the father of the girl as well to. The wretched person has no option except to return highly disgusted as he found the criminal roaming free by obtaining bail before arrest from the court.

     Kalash as a minority do not feel secure in their own houses as their belongings are taken away by wayfarers without their permission. Their lands are grabbed by neighbors belonging to different cultures. Their constitutional right ‘to acquire, hold and dispose of property’, is practically denied to them. Years of oppression is writ large on the face of the Kalash minorities.

    The picturesque Kalash valleys and their equally charming culture lure many a tourist. The royals such as late Princess Diana, Prince William and Kate could not resist the temptation to see the cultural performance of the Kalash.

    Sadly where the culture is facing existential threat there the fabulous beauty of the valleys is also at the brink of environmental disaster. Fast depleting forest and ill managed tourism may be the main factors, among other things, for this situation.

    Garbage generated by tourists adds to the miseries of the locals inhabitants. The local tourists who are often ill-informed usually select the stream side for camping thereby generating solid waste which they carelessly throw away along the streams. Such people have been noticed to use the sites near the fresh water streams for open defecation. The stream water is used for all purposes by the communities living further downstream. Such tourists also lack decency and civility in their manners and behavior with the locals especially females. In fact the stream sites are culturally privacy areas for the Kalash females as they usually sit in groups along the banks of streams for private gossips at the same time performing other chores, such as tending kids while engaging in some kind of embroidery or handicraft work.

    Camping of tourists along the streams amounts to direct interference in the privacy of the locals. Some tourists are seen interfering in their privacy, chasing and taking pictures of the females often without their permission. The Kalash girls shy away and reject this unethical behaviour of the visitors. Specially, during the Festivals and Eid holidays days the valleys are overly crowded and it becomes hard for the Kalash women/girls to work in the field.  What could be more vulgar than to chase and harass Kalash girls by an ill-mannered tourist? There is no one to protect them from such a torture. This is what is called unbridled tourism a killer agent for the old cultures.

    What is painful is that no serious effort has so far been made for the preservation of the fast fading Kalash culture. However the UNESCO declaration comes as a silver lining, that acknowledges Suri Jagek as a non tangible cultural heritage to be preserved. Suri Jagek is a highly important tradition in Kalash society thereby the movement of the sun and celestial bodies is observed to predict in advance the time for the occurrence of solstices, equinoxes, determining the time for sowing, harvesting, movement of livestock, and regulating other seasonal activities. Suri Jagek is an age old Kalash concept that contains the importance of timing, environment, conservation, pollution and balancing of anthropogenic activities for the sake of sustainable living. A separate article is needed to explain this concept in detail.

    We believe that the following steps may be helpful in ameliorating the lot of the Kalash and in protecting the threatened culture from extinction.

    1. Tara makers must be hunted out and this practice must be banned while allowing liberty for the Kalash to continue with their old tradition in this respect.
    2. The constitution of the country guarantees to them rights in respect of preservation of culture, right to property and religious education. The relevant agencies must ensure that the constitutional rights are given to them with the force of  the state
    3. The government decision to impose restriction, on the purchase of land by outsiders in Kalash valleys, is a welcome step. However the local community needs to be educated on the negative implications of selling land to non-locals to put a stop to the cheating practices in this regard. 
    4. Establishment of the Kalash Development Authority (KDA) is yet another good step. The board of this authority must be made more effective by sufficient representation from the community. Their say must carry weight through all the stages of identification upto evaluation of any welfare project. All KDA projects must include Community participation as cross cutting theme for creating sense of accountability, ownership and sustainability.
    5. The decision already taken by the government to allocate 5% job quota for minorities must be implemented in letter and spirit.
    6. Ecotourism must be introduced in Kalash valleys. The concerned department must develop SoPs, ratified by the provincial government, to be observed by the tourists while visiting the Kalash valleys. Copies of the protocols must be provided to each visitor. Guided tourism must be introduced and trained tourist guides should be available to conduct the tours. The guides must have full knowledge about the history, culture, significance of festivals, Dos and Don’ts, and above all they should be well versed in making professional verbal presentations to the visitors.
    7. The local police must ensure that ignorant visitors do not encroach upon the privacy of the community and refrain from harassment of females. 
    8. The officials representing the local administration in the Kalash valleys must be well aware of the reservations/cultural attachments of the Kalash communities, learn to respect their sentiments and ensure that all visitors to the valleys behave accordingly.
    9. Kalash community needs full security against the actual or perceived threat to their cultural practices by extremist elements.
    10. The local administration or the KDA must make elaborate arrangement for the collection and safe disposal of solid waste and garbage generated by the locals as well as the tourists. Environmental Awareness campaign should be included as important component of the KDA activities.
    11. The constitutional right to acquire education by minorities must be safeguarded. Separate schools with relevant syllabus need to be opened in all Kalash villages.
    12. Majority of the Kalash cannot afford to continue higher education. The provincial government must provide scholarships and hostel arrangements for Kalash communities in Chitral city so that maximum number can have access to higher education.
    13. Kalash must be protected against the use of derogatory language or phrases that hurt their self-esteem.  This act even if indirect must be treated as a crime and punishable under the law.
    14. Kalash graveyards, Jastakhan, Bashaleni, Kalashadur and places of other cultural importance such as Suri Jagaekein (the designated points for observing the movement of celestial bodies) must be protected from encroachment and desecration.
    15. KDA should make elaborate marketable Skill development programmes with facilitation for the promotion of tourist related businesses owned and operated by the Kalash.
    16. Short and Medium term soft loans must be provided to successful graduates of these programmes to enable them start their own small and medium enterprises. KDA will do well to closely facilitate and monitor these developments.
    17. Well educated youth among the Kalash have been observed to become stronger adherents and protectors of their culture, therefore higher education has an added advantage which cannot be emphasized more.
    18. The KDA must take it upon itself to develop a well thought out environmental curriculum on the topics of Suri Jagek and other important festivals and introduce it in Kalash schools. The education department in collaboration with elders of the Kalash community should be involved in this matter. The elders who still retain the practices of Suri Jagek tradition in their memories must be involved to train the practice to the teachers in Kalash schools who should be encouraged to pass on the knowledge to the future generation.

      It is worth noting that these traditions carry a tacit and powerful message for conservation, information on seasonal variation, topographic considerations, keeping balance by controlling anthropogenic disturbance, pollution, purity and so on. The sooner the knowledge is extracted from the currently available Surijagwaws (observers of the movement of celestial bodies), the better, lest we should lose the sources of this knowledge for ever.

    ………..

    Note: Shamim Bibi from Bumburet (currently ECD teacher in Germany) and Mohammad Iqbal from Rumbur, Lecturer and HoD Botany Department, Govt. College Warai, District Dir also contributed to this article.

    The writer Shah Karez, is a Rural Development Professional belongs to Chitral Upper.

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