Kalash

Kalash
Total population
ca. 6,000
Regions with significant populations
Chitral District
Languages
Kalash, Persian,[source?] and Urdu
Religions
Polytheism (ca. 3,000), Islam (ca. 3,000)
Related ethnic groups
Pashai and Nuristani

The Kalash (Nuristani: Kasivo) or Kalasha, are an ethnic group of the Hindu Kush mountain range. They live in the Chitral district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They speak the Kalash language, a member of the Dardic family of Indo-Aryan.

There are only about 3,000 Kalash polytheists and 3000 Kalash Muslims. The Kalash people live in three isolated valleys. They claim to have a Greek origin. The Kalash have a polytheist religion, while neighboring peoples are Muslims. If a Kalash person converts to Islam, that person is kicked out from Kalash society. This is the reason why the Kalash religion still exists and this is the only way to make it exist also in the future. The Kalash are also known for their human features. It can vary from someone with light brown skin, brown eyes, and black hair to someone with white skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair.

Other websites

General Information

• Picturesque Pakistan Extensive, general Kalash information
• Site Shara Forum for Chitral and the Kalasha
• Kalash: The descendants of Alexander's soldiers
• Reaching out to Alexander’s sons The Kalash, Pakistan’s remaining pagans, find unlikely savior in British senior citizen
• The Kalash: The Lost Tribe of Alexander the Great

Resource

• Kalasha People Online A blog used by Kalasha and their New Alphabet to write Kalashamondr (Kalasha language)
• Frontier Language Institute Kalasha dictionary

Media

• Kalash Valleys A plethora of high quality pictures of the Kalash people and their homeland.
• Youtube: Kalash Image and video montage
• The Alphabet Book Trailer Promotional trailer for the feature documentary "The Alphabet Book"