To view this page in another language, please click here:

Kalash Literature

Kalash [Google search]

Portal: Kalash Valleys

in Urdu

Main Menu - Old Articles

Art Gallery

UN Petition



"Brargini, doy tazim"
(Brothers, he will give thanks.)

History of the Kalash

"I dedicate this page to my good friend, M. Bugi, his family, and to the
Kalash people ('mountain people'), located in a beautiful valley
high up in the Himalaya Mountains."

The Uchhal Festival is celebrated in the Rumbur valley.
This video was shot on August 22, 2014



Only Chitrali scholar invited to Cultural conference of the Hindukush, 1973


Lakshan Bibi Kalash meets PM Gilani


Benazir Bhutto with Kalash 1989


Lakshan Bibi speaking at the UN

Kalash Blog

First Pakistani woman to climb Mount Everest

The Kalash or Kalasha, are an ethnic group found in the Hindu Kush mountain range in the Chitral district of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Although quite numerous before the twentieth century, this non-Muslim group has been partially assimilated by the larger Muslim majority of Pakistan and seen its numbers dwindle over the past century. Today, sheikhs, or converts to Islam, make up more than half of the total Kalasha-speaking population.

Major Geoffery Langlands

M. Bugi - it took me 40 Long Years to Compile Work as well as Collect These Images, and Syed Wajid Based in Dubai Chose and Gave structure to My Ideas, as Great Master and His association with Mughals was Attributed, Most Of the Western Press Hides his Copies for it Brings Prejudice against Him,, Copying Masters,I also Got a Cold Shoulder from Rembrandt Museum In Amsterdam---I carried On Regardless, RESULT is Here, Specially The last Letter from National College Of Arts Now we will Try to work On *FAIZ AMAN MELA*

Homage to Faiz Aman Mela Lahore

Faiz: man who stirred human conscience

Those who contributed a lot in spreading knowledge in far flung area of Chitral district.

Please contact M. Bugi at:

bugiandassociates@gmail.com

to do all we can to prevent this cultural loss.

The Kalash people will be forever grateful for all of your support!

Vintage Fifty Three Year Old Article on Kalash by Stephen Halliday



The Kafirs of the Hindukush 1

The Kafirs of the Hindukush 2


A Tribe Lost and Found pg. 1

A Tribe Lost and Found pg. 2

A Tribe Lost and Found pg. 3


Biggest Exhibition In History of Art, by a single artist


Prince Siddhartha

Chitral from 15th Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica published in 1985 Chitral, town, district, and former princely state, Malakand Division, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. The town and district headquarters of Chitral (Chitrar, or Qashqar) is on the Kunar River in a valley two miles (three kilometers) wide. At an elevation of about 4,900 ft (1,490 m) above sea level, the town has a government woolen and agriculture center, the Maghor (the fort of the former mehtar [chief]), a polo ground, and fruit gardens in the neighborhood. It is accessible via Dir and the Lowarai Pass (10.230 ft; and via Gilgit and the Shandur Pass (12,251 ft), and it is linked with Peshawar by air.

The valley was conquered by the Chinese in the 1st century ac and ruled by them for several centuries. The people, converted to Islam in the 11th century, are members of the Isma'ili sect. The Mehtar (Prince) house. claiming descent from the Mughal emperor Babur, was founded in the 11th century. The practice of deriving income from the sale of Chitrali women, known for their beauty, in Peshawar and Afghanistan made Chitral a center for slave traders. In 1889 the British established a subsidiary agency at Mastuj for Chitral and maintained a garrison there until Pakistani independence in 1947. Khowari, the language of the Khos, the dominant tribe, is the lingua franca. The Chitralis are fine horsemen, and polo is the national game.

Chiral District, occupying an area of 5,'134 sq mi ( 14,85 I sq km), is bounded on the north and west by Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush mountain range, on the south by Dir and Kilam in the Swat Kohistan, and on the east by the Gilgit Agency. The Wakhan corridor separates it from the Tadzhik Soviet Socialist Republic. A scenic region of lofty ranges (Tirich Mir; 25,229 ft [7,690 ml.]), fertile valleys, and rich pine forests, it is drained by the Kunar River, which rises in the Hindu Kush, flows southwestward into Afghanistan (there called the Daryd-ye Konar), and joins the Kabul River just east of Jalalabad, after a 300-mi (480-km) course. Wheat, barley, corn (maize), and rice are the chief crops; walnuts, grapes, apricots, and mulberries are also grown. Minerals (iron ore, lead, copper, manganese, and antimony) are abundant but considered too remote to exploit. Daggers, sword hilts, and embroidered cloth are exported. Pop. (1972) town, 13,376; (1981 prelim.) district, 208,000.

The writing on the wall

UNESCO and Norwegian delegation visited Kalasha valleys

Special report on the visit of country director Vibeke Jesen and Deputy ambassador of Norway to Kalasha valley.
Meanwhile breaking news accident occurred in Kalasha valley where a young boy Sher Balang died and two others reported injured.
The report will take you inside the heart of Kalasha culture center. And Kalasha Dur Museum. Watch and do share with your friends.

I Kafiri- gli ultimi pagani (1954)

Documentary shot in 1954 by the archaeologist Paolo Graziosi (University of Florence).

The Kalash or Kalasha are an ancient and particularly radically different population of Pakistan, both in culture and in religion, from other populations of these countries. The members of this population now with less than 1,500 people - including many with amber skin and light eyes - reside in a limited and almost inaccessible part of the country, in three small valleys Birir, Rumboor and Bumburate. Among the many peculiarities of this ethnic group, there is the have preserved due to their absolute isolation, a religion part pagan and polytheistic type.

Indigenous Peoples'
                        Literature Return to Indigenous Peoples' Literature

Compiled by: Glenn Welker
ghwelker@gmx.com

Copyright @ 1993-2016

This site has been accessed 10,000,000 times since February 8, 1996.