CHITRAL: The winter festival Chitramas (also called Chowmos) of the Kalash people concluded on Sunday in the Bumburate valleys, where it had been celebrated for two fortnights. A grand ceremony was held, attended by Kalash elites from the other two valleys, marking the first day of the Kalash calendar.

An important event of the day involved predicting prosperity and peace in the valley based on the orientation of a fox’s movement, set free in the nearby forest. Good omens were forecasted for the year.

Kalash councillor Saifullah Jan stated that a panel of bitans (Kalash religious leaders) from all three valleys concluded that the year would be pleasant and bring prosperity and peace.

Groups of men and women, who had gone into seclusion at the start of the second week of the festival as part of their religious duties, emerged on this occasion. These individuals had volunteered to remain in seclusion in the cattle houses to please their gods and goddesses.

From a religious perspective, the Chitramas festival attracts very few tourists to the valleys, partly due to the ban on non-Kalash people entering their homes and partly because of the harsh weather.

District Police Officer Lower Chitral, Iftikhar Shah, told Dawn that the festival was celebrated in an ideally peaceful atmosphere, with hundreds of tourists, including foreigners from different countries, in attendance. He added that extraordinary security measures had been taken to allow the minorities to celebrate their religious and cultural festival without fear, ensuring that tourists had a memorable experience in the dream-come-true valley.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2024