Kalasha Peoples Call for Cultural Survival

Snow leopard kills livestock

Dawn

CHITRAL, 03 May 07: A snow leopard has killed several goats in the Kalash valley of Bumburait during the last couple of days.

Bumburait is the buffer zone of the Chitral Gol National Park, which is home of the snow leopard, one of the most endangered species.

Local resident Gul Mohammad said the leopard had attacked 19 goats on the pastures of the valley. He said local people could not shoot the animal because of prohibitions under the wildlife laws, although their own lives were at risk.

Seminar on Kalash culture and history

(Daily Times report)ISLAMABAD: The Alliance Française will hold a seminar on Kalash culture and history by Georges Lefeuvre today. The Kalash valley has invoked the interest of historians, sociologists and anthropologists as it concerns the British interaction with this tribe in the northwest of the sub-continent.

The Kalash people’s history and origin is unknown, though a number of myths, such as their Macedonian origin, prevail even today. The isolated Kalash tribe has managed to preserve its unique life-style in the middle of a Muslim-dominated area. Though the men dress similar to other Pakistanis, the women embellish their black robes with coloured spangles and often have tattooed faces.

These people once controlled a large area and inhabited both sides of the Durand Line that now divides Pakistan and Afghanistan. European Union representative and former Alliance Francaise Director Georges Lefeuvre is a historian and a social anthropologist and has spent over a year with the Kalash people during the 1980s, studying and documenting their socio-cultural norms.

Kirik Dyai Shiau-Avalanche hits village of birir

Kal’as’a deshuna kirik bo ziat praw. Biriu srast ita dur zhe gos’ hada. PuraC’hatraw asta kirik dyai shiau. E’he’~ asta ek jis’t’ kirik dyai shiau. Mut’asta bo chi shian Kal’as’a deshuna zhe bo awata.
Kalasha valleys have been hit by heavy snowfall in spring as well in chitral. According to Talim Bazik in kalash valley birir an avalanche has damaged houses and goat stables.

AMMAL PRAW-spring

Homa tal’ay ammal dyita.
according to the sun watchers in the kalash valleys the spring has started…

Wazir Mutimere as Kay S’abas’ta

Homa Ghenaw Wazir Mutimire KCCS as Sadar as kay Tasa M.A(political science) Karikas Bati Bo S’abas’ta.Wazir Hawelo Kalasha kura Shala Talim araw.Homa Omet shiaw ki se tan se soc zhe krom an thara Kalashon Behi as bati raw nyhiw.
Kalashapeople.org Congratulates Wazir Mutimera first kalashamen on earning Masters degree in Political Science.We hope that with his knowledge and commitment he will continue to support his people of Kalasha Valleys.

Kalash Elder Passes away

Mumuret ay homa eg garderak “Attalek” d’um hol’a. Homa hatya bo apsus as mondr.se kal’s’on dastur zhe karun as tharik barik bo prus’t’ kay joniman ais.

Congress Passes Native American Language Bill

The effort to preserve vanishing Native American languages received a significant boost on December 6, when the Senate unanimously passed the Esther Martinez Native American Language Preservation Act (H.R. 4766). The legislation had earlier passed the House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support, and it now is on the desk of President Bush, who is expected to sign it into law.

The bill, named for a 94-year-old Tewa language teacher who died in September, would provide a competitive grant system for native language immersion programs throughout the country. The grants would support “language nests” for children under the age of seven and their families, and it would also support language survival schools for elementary and secondary school students. Tribes would receive funds both to create new programs and to support and expand existing ones.

The immersion approach raised objections from “English-only” advocates, most notably Senator Charles Coburn of Oklahoma, who was the final holdout in the Senate. But Indian groups, including the National Indian Education Association (NIEA), worked to reassure legislators that the program posed no threat to students’ learning English. Advocates also won over senators by inviting Navajo “code-talkers” to speak to the Congress. These native soldiers during World War II provided an unbreakable code—their unique and unwritten language—that played a significant role in winning the Pacific campaign.

“It’s been a lot of work this past year,” said Lillian Sparks, executive director of NIEA, “but we’re incredibly excited to have these new grant programs to protect native languages.”

The program will be administered through the Administration for Native Americans within the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill provides appropriations through the year 2012, but it does not specify an exact amount, so the next step for language advocates is to press for increased funding for the ANA.

Kalasha stable caught fire.

A Kalasha goat stable caught fire in Rumboor Valley buring down 340 goats,an ox ,three cows and tones of grains to ashes.
The live-stock belonged to Khan Bahdur from Grom village Rukmu.Its believed that the stable came under fire over the night when the herdsmen was not present.
Its is a huge blow to indeginous economy as Kalasha solemnly depend on animal husbandry and argiculture.
Animals are used as means of trade,scarifice,festivites and funerals. The estimated price of this loss is millions of Rupees.
Its a hard labour of life time for herds men to bring up a live stock in one of the most harsh climate and terrians of Hindukush mountains (home land of kalasha).
The ruined subject has appealed to the Govt for immediate help and compensation.The incident
remains unreported by local police in Ayon as access to the valleys remains blocked due to snowfall.

Mumuret Kirik dyita

Onja may hatya telephun una pishahur mondr pra e , pata hawau kiki mumuret 2 foot kirik dyita,Laware tap asta band thi shik goan.

Jeep eksident hul’a

“7 tarikuna Chatrawani Mumuret parikwew eg jeep Bakarabad tada sarak ani
palil¹a. Mot’eras mocay Mumuretay bo moc asta. Kraka¹ gromani homa khosh
baya Merek d¹um hul¹a. Warek o kas barauna homa hatya khabar ne shiau. Kura
tal¹el¹a site jagaaw pe haw, homa hatya pata kara. Shukria.”