THE KALASH PEOPLE: LASTKAFIRS OF THE HINDU KUSH

Abstract

The Kalash are the last polytheistic pagan group of people in the predominately Islamic Hindu Kush area. They are also known as Kafir (non-believer) and Siyah Posh (Black Robed) approximating to be around 3,000 claims to be the descendants of Alexander?s army (Ishaq et.al. 2020: 2396). At one time their ancestors ruled all the way from the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, to Swat and Chitral. They are the last polytheists and non-Islamic group of the Hindu Kush range living among a predominantly Muslim population in their social and geographical vicinity (Ishaq et.al. 2020: 2396). However, their origin story is shrouded in mystery and research is still going on at various levels to identify their historical and biological ancestry. Many Kalash people believe their ancestors came to the area from a distant place known as Tsiyam, which Kalash priests and bards invoke in songs about their ancestors during festivals. Nevertheless, no one knows precisely where it was or is (Khattak, 2019).