Celebrations Of Kalash Chitirmas Festival In Full Swing

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Dec, 2018 ) :The people of Kalash valley in Chitral district are in a state of euphoria with the Chitirmas festival celebrations in full swing. The Kalash men, women and children in Ramboor, Bamburet and Birrir valleys on Sunday marked various events including Mandahek and sharaberayak festivals, besides making distributing various items and toy animals of wheat flour.

They made toy animals like cows, mrakhor and symbols of their ancestors from the flour, baked them in the fire and then placed them in the the sun.

Mandahek festival was marked during which tree branches were set on fire and kept one minute silence by the people.

A number of foreign tourists have thronged the Kalash valley to enjoy the celebrations.

Beginning on December 7 and to be continued till 22th, the phase of bonfire competitions in the festival had already been completed.

Earlier, the children gathered at their sacred place, collected twigs and branches of pine trees and made bonfire to show skills in making high flames and smoke.

Making high flames and smoke is meant to welcome peace, prosperity, minerals, green grass and love among the people of the indigenous tribe in the ensuing winter and spring seasons.

The children while holding green leaves and branches of trees also sang songs and performed chorus to enjoy the festival.

Kalash is a small non-Muslim ethnic community in Chitral. The Kalash people are also found in Nuristan province of Afghanistan.

Some 3,500 Kalash people, who live in Ramboor, Bamburet and Birrir valleys enjoying religious freedom, celebrate the Chawmoss and other festivals regularly.

The Kalash people during the Chitirmas festival, which marks the end of the fieldwork and harvest, make their wishes for the New Year while dancing in chorus, dressed in colourful robes.

They sacrifice cattle mostly goats by pinning arrows in their necks. They neither meet nor shake hands with any visitors during that time.

After three days, they come out dancing and drinking wines together. Young Kalash boys and girls express their feelings for each other and announce their marriage.

French, Belgian and other foreign tourists, who are in valley to enjoy the Kalash festival, were ginen a briefing by the Tourist Information Centre incharge Zarin Khan about the religious, cultural, tourism and historical perspective of the Kalash valley and its inhabitants.

The Tourism Department has also installed lighting system and made arrangements for transport and other facilities so that local community and tourists could celebrate the festival in a befitting manner.

Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Senior Minister for sports, Tourism, Archaeology, Museums, Culture and Youth Affairs Muhammad Atif Khan has issued directives to the quarters concerned to provide every facility to the locals and foreign tourists. He has also announced Rs560 million for highlighting the Kalash culture to the world.