This Unusual Cultural Festival In The Himalayas Will Make You Want To Visit Pakistan

One must have heard once in his/her life from people around " Have you ever been to Chillam Joshi " , Isnt it ?

so have you been ?

have you ever been to land of majestic people and rich culture ?

Have you ever been to a land where you can feel yourself to be out of this world ?

Situated in the central Hindukash region of Pakistan, Kalash is said to be the oldest culture still alive in world, three main festivals of the Kalash are the Chilam Joshi in middle of May, the Uchau in autumn, and the Caumus in midwinter.

During Chilam Joshi festival, people wear new dress and women decorate themselves, During the festival, men and women meet with the aim of finding a partner. This festival gives an excellent opportunity to celebrate the beginning of summer and to give a message of peace to the world.

Photo of Chillam Joshi 1/1 by Ahsan Bilal

Day 1

Bumburet Dancing Place

This is considered as the capital valley of all the three adjacent villages and the main and ending day of festival is held here, in this valley the two man attraction points are present one the Dancing Place and other is the Graveyard, the graveyard is full of boxes and in these boxes there lies the bones of dead people ,The dead are buried above ground in ornamented wooden coffins. Wooden effigies are erected at the graves of wealthy or honoured people, this place also has an ancient museum along the bank of river Kunar,

The Kalasha (Urdu: کالاش‎), or Kalash, are a Dardic indigenous people .They speak the Kalasha language, from the Dardic family of the Indo-Aryan branch. They are considered unique among the peoples of Pakistan.They are also considered to be Pakistan's smallest ethnoreligious community, practising a religion which some scholars characterise as a form of animism, and other academics as "a form of ancient Hinduism".

Day 2

Rumbur Valley Raod

This Valley held the second Day of the chilam joshi in its own dancing Courtyard situated at the top of mountain ,

some of the shots of the event are shared as

Some Facts

Music:

Kalasha traditional music mainly consists of flute-like instruments (usually high in pitch), singing, poetry, clapping and the rhythmic playing of drums.

Rituals:

Horses, cows, goats and sheep are sacrificed. Wine is a sacred drink of Indr, who owns a vineyard- (Indruakun in the Kafiristani wama valley contained both sacred vineyard and shrine (Idol and altar below a great juniper tree) along with 4 large vates carved out of rocks) - that he defends against invaders. Kalash ritual is of potlatch type; by organizing rituals and festivals (up to 12; the highest called biramōr) one gains fame and status. As in the Veda, the former local artisan class was excluded from public religious functions.

Language:

The language of the Kalash is a sub-branch of the Indo-Aryan group, itself part of the larger Indo-European family also known as the Dardic group. It is classified as a member of the Chitral sub-group, the only other member of that group being Khowar.

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