My Kalash family have just returned to Birir from Rumbur, where they attended the funeral of Bashra Khan, who died from blood cancer. He is the second famous elder to die in recent months.
The Kalash are worried that with the demise of their elders and famous Karzies of old, their history will die with them.
I share their anxiety.
Until fairly recently, I used to trek up to the high pastures in Birir, where an elderly shepherd used to, on occasion, tell me historical stories.
There are all kinds of stories and legends. Many have to do with the origins of the Kalash.
The Kalash say that many, many years ago, their people came over the mountains from Waigal, Nuristan (the original Kafiristan). When I travelled through Nuristan in the late eighties and in 1990, I visited Waigal. The same legend exists there, but in reverse. A village elder said that many, many years ago, their people travelled over the mountains from the district of Chitral. The town of Chaga Serai in Kunar has also been thought by some to be the original Tsiam – the reputed birthplace of the Kalash. Others put Tsiam in what is now Sinkiang province in western China.
Other stories include religious beliefs, such as the one about Balahmahin a ‘messenger of God’ who rides a horse to visit the valleys at Chaomos, the winter festival celebrating the Solstice.
[quote]The soul of the departed passes into a carved wooden statue, called a Gandou[/quote]
In Rumbur, I was told that the soul of the departed passes into a carved wooden statue, called a Gandou, which is carved especially for this purpose. This custom appears to be in decline. No doubt due to wood becoming a rare and expensive commodity.
Probably one of the most fascinating legends for the tourist is the legend of Baramanu, the equivalent of the yeti or big foot. This huge ape-like figure, with its hairy face and body, also harkens to the legend of Beauty and the Beast. Rumour has it that these ape-like creatures like attractive women. As recently as two or three years ago, the newspapers had a story about Baramanou visiting Rumbur…
I find it interesting that so many of the stories originate from Rumbur. Most anthropologists stay in Rumbur. Which came first – the academics or the stories? It has been joked about many times in Rumbur, that one very famous Karzai makes up stories to please his listeners.
A Gandao of Pilin Beg in Rumbur valley
It’s hard to decipher ‘fairy stories’ from fact. I recently learnt that the mother of the children (now my adopted family) has a wealth of stories, and one evening I was entranced when she started telling her seven-year-old son some fables.
Over the years I have met a number of academics interested in these stories. Some are charming and have at least some moral compass, but most are only interested in the careers they may have after exploiting the Kalash for their information about their culture and historical background. This is especially true of a researcher from a university in the Punjab who bribed a Kalash youth to assist him. He wanted to trace the origins of the Kalash through DNA testing. These days, that is reasonable enough, but it was his method that appalled me. A couple of medical workers were exploited, through bribes again, to take blood from Kalash school children – some as young as five. Apparently, some kids felt ill or weak after the event; others were afraid to return to school. Mothers were furious. The community became enraged. For a few days after my arrival, I had a steady stream of visitors including the clueless young man who, out of poverty, had let himself be set up to assist this nefarious programme. The incident is now under police investigation.
However, the above incident does illustrate how the origins of the Kalash fascinate academics and tourists.
As the Kalash are aware that their history may die out with the passing away of their elders, they asked me if I could find funding for them to write down all these stories with audio assistance. I approached the government, but at that moment in time, it was not understood how valuable such an enterprise would be. Now with many bureaucrats being transferred and new ones in office, perhaps that may change.
Yes, Kalasha is an oral language (Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European languages known as the Dardic Group), but with the help of Europeans, the Kalash have now adopted the Latin script to enable them to write down an alphabet. Their idea is that such a book could be used in their schools to teach the children. They have started this project, and it behoves the government to assist them in fulfilling their dream.
