CHITRAL: The Chilim Jusht spring festival concluded here on Thursday in the Kalash valleys after five days of high-pitched jubilation featuring singing and dancing.

As per the tradition of the festival, the concluding ceremony was held in the central dancing place (charsu) of Bumburate valley in which hundreds of Kalash girls and boys danced in groups for hours performing the last ritual.

The Kalash people reached charsu in a ceremonial procession which was taken out from a nearby courtyard. The participants were carrying freshly plucked twigs of apricot which they constantly waved during their course of walk.

The Kalash people from the other two valleys of Rumbur and Birir had assembled in Bumburate valley to participate in the concluding ceremony.

This time, the arrangements of the festival had been taken over by the Kalash Valleys Development Authority (KVDA) with the support of the district administration of Lower Chitral.

The managing director of KVDA, Minhasuddin, told Dawn that this time more than 600 foreign tourists had turned up from eleven different countries who evinced keen interest in each and every ritual of the festival.

He said Lower Chitral DC Mohammad Imran Khan accorded full support to KVDA in proper arrangements while commandant Chitral Scouts Colonel Bilal Javed and District Police Officer Iftikhar Shah made a fool-proof security arrangement to ensure that the Kalash people as well as the tourists felt secure during the festival.

Twenty-one Kalash people entered into matrimony on the occasion, which is yet another important highlight of Chilim Jusht for which the boys and girls intending to propose to each other wait for the whole year.

Highlighting the importance of the festival, Shaira Kalash said that Chilim Jusht had special significance for the Kalash people’s belief system and soon after this festival, they started farming activities in the fields and many left for the pastures and to tend to their cattle during the coming four months.

She said the women folk in the pastures returned by the end of September while Uchhal festival is held to accord them welcome back to the valleys while the ban on the harvesting of grapes is also withdrawn with the festival.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2024