Thread by @LykosPagan

Since this is in the news, I think it’s time for a brief introduction to Kalasha history.

Thread

https://twitter.com/Nazranausufzai/status/1699413330878947406

The Kalasha are the last polytheistic people of the Hindu Kush and are are the last shred of a vast and multifarious polytheistic world. They number not more than 4000 souls, and are only spread among 3 valleys of Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa - Rumbur, Bumburet and Birir.

They inhabit a region called Peristan, which means the land of Fairies in Persian.

The name Peristan was coined by the Cacopardo brothers with reference to the belief in the mountain spirits, called with a Persian term pari, that still in recent times – and to some extent even today – was shared by all the inhabitants of the Hindu Kush, whether Muslims or not.

They speak Kalashamon, an eastern Indo-European language of the Indo-Aryan branch belonging to the Dardic group, and they practice a religion with roots harking back to pre-Vedic times, i.e., to the earliest stages of the Indo-European world.

The speakers of these Nuristani and Indo-Aryan (Dardic) branches of the Indo-Iranian group were likely proto Indo-Iranians who halted in these isolated mountain chains of the Hindu Kush without ever reaching the flat plains of the Indus or Ganges valleys.

Although Hinduism and Buddhism never formally spread into Peristan, it is highly likely that the Rig Vedic religion and the pre-Islamic cultures of Peristan had their roots in the Indian world, and even had a common origin, once reaching as far back as Nuristan.

In pre-Islamic times the population of the region was formed mainly by the Kho and the Kalasha, who speak closely related Dardic languages.

In those days the Kho, who subsequently became the dominant group, were settled only in the northernmost tip of the long valley, while the Kalasha occupied a territory much larger than the one they hold at present, including the town of Chitral, the true centre of the region.

The various incursions into Chitral, which led to the gradual conversion of the Kho and the Kalasha people.

The Khowar speakers initially inhabited the Northern portion of the valley and were converted to Ismaili sect of Shia Islam, which may have allowed them to save tenets of their Pagan faith, likely very similar to those of the Kalashas.

In fact, it is possible that the last Khowar speakers converted as late as the 19th century.

The Kalashas of today are poverty stricken, but this was not so in the past, when they inhabited the entirety of Southern and Central Chitral, as opposed to just 3 valleys today.

The headgear of the Kalasha women bears testimony to their former prosperity, adorned with cowrie shells which were once used as a currency in India.

The female headgear (kup'as) worn by a little girl (Birir, 12.09.2006).

Kalasha persecution at the hands of Rai dynasty, which hunted these ‘infidels’ and drove them into the mountains. Conversions to Islam, however were not immediate, and the Kalashas of the plains still persisted in the practice of their polytheistic faith.

The Rai dynasty was replaced by the Kators, whose rulers took the title of Mehtar, a Turkish title, in line with the Central-Asian origins of the kingdom.

The Mehtars of Chitral were comparatively tolerant of the Kalasha as compared to the Sunni Pashtuns as we shall see further.

However, they were prone to sell their own subjects as slaves in Central Asian markets, and the infidel status of the Kalashas particularly made them a soft target as such.

This practice however, ironic as it may sound, saved the Kalasha faith from complete extinction.

Chitral was also very important for the British in their Great Game, hence they handsomely provided the Mehtars with an allowed, which amply made up for the abolition of slavery, which is why their faith exists till date.

Sunni pressure and the conversion of a majority of the Kalashas to the Islamic faith.

Kalasha converts completely abandoned not only the religion and the customs, but also the language of their ancestors since they were considered a defeated and docile people under subjugation by the Muslims.

Contrast this with the Nuristanis, who maintained their customs and upheld their language and maintained their ‘superior status’.

However, these depredations ended with the formation of the nation state of Pakistan.

The princely state of Chitral was abolished in 1969, for the Kalasha, who, as a protected minority, were freed from having to give tribute, there then began an era of unprecedented affluence, as witnessed by a steady increase in the population.

They started to enjoy effective protection from the central government who included them among the minorities represented in parliament. Pakistan must be commended for this.

The possibility of the spiralling of the Afghan jihad into Chitral, although Chitralis have resisted these attempts and the kidnapping of a Greek guy named Athanasios Lerounis.

A documentary which testifies the above in film.

The coming weeks will be dedicated to these people and their religion. Expect more threads.