Zhoshi (Chilim Jusht) Spring Festival (May 13-16)

Tour Overview

Kalash is a majestic valley of a small group of people which lies on the flank of the eastern range of Hindu Kush, embodied with three narrow valleys of Bumburet, Rumbur, and Birir and located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is of the view that the people of Kalash are the last living representatives of the region of Kafiristan, which was a region extended across the mountain range of Hindu Kush from the eastern part of the Afghanistan. The number of kalash has decreased so much so that only around 4000 people are residing in the valleys. The Kalashas are polytheistic and according to a renowned linguist Richard strand, is of the view that the people of Kalash practice an ancient form of Hinduism which gradually developed locally and got influenced by the neighboring areas of pre Islamic Nuristan. The inhabitants of the Kalash valley celebrate a number of festivals all year round. The three predominant festivals are as follows

It’s the religious festival of the Kalash which is alternately called as Spring Festival and it is celebrated every year from 13th to 16th May in all the three valleys. The purpose to celebrate this festival is to pray to God for blessing the New Year with prosperity, happiness, good health, better crops production, increase in dairy products, increase in animal herds, increase in fruits, increase in honey production etc. Simply the main theme of this festival to pray the deity for blessing them with economic uplift, better life conditions and prosperity. During this festival all the Kalash women, men, boys and girls perform the rites of dancing, singing followed by sumptuous dinners. All of them wear new dresses; look full of life and happiness. As part of the tradition fresh milk and other dairy product of the goats and cows are served to the guests and to their own families too. Women decorate their houses and collect milk from the cattle. Moreover, one year old babies and their mothers are also purified in this festival.