The Kalasha (Pakistan) Winter Solstice Festival

Abstract

In three narrow and secluded valleys cutting deeply into the Hindu Kush ridges of north western Pakistan, dwells a small population of about 3,000 souls: the Kalasha. They are called Kafirs (Arab pagan) by their Muslim neighbors for their stubborn refusal to convert to Islam. This group is unique in being the only IndoEuropean culture that was not absorbed by any of the great religious systems centered on urban civilization that inspire the philosophy and social organization of all other IndoEuropean people: Christianity, Islam, Bhuddism, Hinduism and, to a lesser extent, Zoroastrianism and Jainism. As Kalasha culture is described elsewhere (Alberto Cacopardo 1974, 1985; Augusto Cacopardo 1974; Borriello 1974) this article introduces a ritual rich in suggestive implications: the great festival of the winter solstice called Chaumos. The survival of Kalasha culture into the present is due in part to a historic accident. When, on November 12th, 1893, the Durand line defined the border between Afghanistan and the British empire (Caroe 1973:381), the Kalasha became British subjects and thus avoided forced conversion to Islam by the Amir of Kabul. On the other side of the border dwelt a large group of Kafir tribes who spoke five different languages and shared a common culture and a polytheistic religion (Robertson 1896; Budruss 1960; Jones 1967, 1974; Jettmar 1986). Kalasha culture, although not identical, was undoubtedly similar despite marked language differences (Fussman 1972:391; Morgenstierne 1961, 1965, 1973; Strand 1973). The Kafir tribes in Afghanistan were soon after 1893 forcibly converted despite their fierce resistance (Jones 1974), while the less numerous Kalasha, under British rule were allowed to continue practicing the religion of their forefathers. Their Muslim neighbors continually exerted protelytizing pressures, and succeeded in converting a percentage of the Kalasha to Islam. This gradual process of conversion is still going on. The three Kalasha valleys, at an altitude of about 2,500 meters, have been recently joined to the main Chitral valley by jeep roads, but until about ten years ago they were only accessible on foot. Kalasha economy is largely a subsistence economy based on animal husbandry and agriculture. Some items, like tea, sugar, or cotton cloth, are bought or traded at the main Chitral bazaar. Money has started to play a significant role only in the last few years. Kalasha agriculture is poor and the variety of products extremely limited (wheat, maize, millet, barley, and a few vegetables and fruits). Although men participate by taking upon themselves some of the heaviest duties like plowing and harvesting, the everyday tending of the fields, involving irrigation, and the manipulation of crops is left entirely to the women. Animal husbandry centers on goat herding which is entirely the work of men. Women are not allowed in the goat sheds, usually located above the