Kalash's Choimos Festival In Progress, Last Rituals To Be Offered On Thursday

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Dec, 2022 ) :The two-week long winter festival of Kalash community of Chitral district is in progress and the last ritual of the annual event will be performed on Thursday (December 22), involving an activity of fox chasing considered as a good omen.

The festival started on December 8, 2022 with a ritual of Chutyak Sarazari consisting of smoke making and visiting villages and household by boys and girls who sing songs in each house for their good health and luck and are served with food and fruits.

The Choimos, means winter in Kalash language, festival symbolizes a prosper year for the locality and its inhabitants.

During the festival, people search of foxes which is considered a good omen if found. Torch parades travel from neighbouring villages to Charsue area, the main traditional dance venue.

The festival also have rite, Khuta Mru, during which day fresh wheat flour is grinding then at night time they make walnut breads. The next morning the bread is distributed among the relatives and neighbours.

During Chui Nari ritual, boys and girls go to a higher slope of the sacred place and there they do a purification and rituals and come down by holding each other, they enter the Jes'tak Hans and they dance around the fire place of the temple and the boys and girls make pastes out of the firewood of pine and dehar leafs.

Next morning very early they make paintings of the ceremonial Hall, they decorate with different paintings of the animals.

An event, Sawelik Hari is for the public which takes place at Bumburet, Krakal village. Mostly officials and tourists come and participate in this event.

On this day, the boys and girls, they change their costumes (dresses) and cover their faces, so that no one recognize them. They dance and compete with each other and sing songs all day and continue till late night.

On the last day of festival officials and tourists come and participate in the event. At this event, the boys go into the higher mountain slopes and beat the drums and chase the fox. After chasing if the fox moves towards the sun, they believe that it will be a good year ahead and if the fox goes towards the snow bound areas, then it means, it will not be a good year ahead.