Peshawar – The annual historic Chawmos Festival concluded with much splendour and festivity in the picturesque Kalash Valley in Lower Chitral district on Monday.
During the Chawmos festival, which began on December 7, the Kalashi people celebrated a number of events, including bonfire competitions, Mandahek, Sharaberayak, Savilakehari, Sheshao, Gonsik, Jastak, and Ghonachanjarat, all enjoyed with religious zeal and zest.
On the final day, Kalash men and women from the three valleys of Rambur and Birir gathered in Bamburet Valley to celebrate with traditional dances and expressions of joy.
In accordance with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA) Director General’s directives, the tourism facilitation centres in Chitral City and Upper Dir remained operational throughout the event to ensure the provision of all kinds of information and facilities to tourists.
Tourism Police personnel were also deployed in the valley for the convenience of visitors, while enforcement inspectors from the Tourist Services Wing inspected various hotels and guesthouses to ensure tourists faced no difficulties during the festival.
The 15-day long festival held in the Kalash Valley featured a festive atmosphere across the three valleys. Celebrations included welcoming the New Year, chasing a fox for predictions about the coming year, and the traditional Chuinari ritual.
In the Chuinari ritual, boys and girls ascend a sacred high slope, where they light fires. The boys and girls then separately create smoke spirals from the fire and compete against each other. Other rituals celebrated during the festival included Mandahek and Sharaberayak.
In the Sharaberayak ritual, the Kalash people prepare various items from dough, including representations of markhor, grazers, cows, ancestral symbols, and other objects.
These items are then baked and later distributed as gifts among relatives and neighbours, symbolizing prosperity and marking anniversaries, as well as the significance of the Chawmos Festival. Participants sing traditional songs and melodies to express joy during this time.
In the Mandahek ritual, members of the Kalash tribe hold pieces of pinewood, set them on fire, and observe five minutes of silence in memory of their deceased loved ones.
The festival is celebrated for the divine, for living and deceased relatives, for the safeguarding of crops and goats, and to purify the community, the village, and the valley before the coming year. Sighting a fox is considered a good omen, and great efforts are made in this regard.
Young Kalash girls wear boys’ dresses, and boys dress in girls’ clothes, dancing in chorus. They express their feelings for each other and announce their marriages.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of local and international tourists visit the Kalash valleys to witness and enjoy this remarkable celebration.
