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Broghil Festival 2010

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 14:25:47 -0500

The three-day Broghil festival 2010 is set to be organized from July 28 to 30, 2010 at Teri Dast, the scenic venue near the Chiantar glacier in the Eastern Pamir region. The objective of the event is to create income earning opportunities for the Wakhi communities by attracting tourists in addition to protect the indigenous culture of the unique community along the Wakhan Corridor.

The festival will be categorized in to two broader segments i.e. indigenous sporting events and traditional Wakhi music. The sporting events will be:

1. Wakhi free style polo

2. Central Asian buzkashi on sturdy Badakhshi ponies

3. Horse race

4. Yak polo

5. Yak race

6. Tug of war

7. Mountain marathon

The cultural events including:

1. Traditional Wakhi folksongs such as ‘bilbilik’ etc

2. Wakhi folkdances

3. Central Asian violin [ghirzhak]

4. Playing ‘gharba’ with religious songs

5. Food festival

6. Exhibition of Wakhi handicrafts

Broghil is recognized for the colorful culture of the Wakhi community in addition to enormous trekking/ photographic opportunities and horseback/ yak riding.

Contact:

Email: camatchitral@yahoo.com

Cell: +92 302 5975059

Office: +92 943 413540

Qaqlasht Festival 2010 Concluded

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:08:41 -0500

Jashan-e-Qaqlasht, the calendar spring festival of the people of northern Chitral was concluded yesterday after continuing from April 15 to 18. The festival has a history of about two thousand years, but was abandoned after Chitral’s status as a separate princedom came to an end in 1969, to be revived in 2003 through the intervention of a range of civil society organizations including Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT). The festival consisted of sporting events and cultural music i.e. folksongs, folkdances, music of reed instrument and that of pure Chitrali sitar.

The objective of the festival was to protect the indigenous Kho culture and to highlight and market it as tourism product so that maximum national and international tourists would be attracted to the region that could help reduce poverty by providing tourism-related job opportunities to the locals apart from promoting cross-cultural understanding and harmony.

To begin with, the inauguration ceremony on April 15 was performed by Sikander-ul-Mulk, who is Chairman of CAMAT as well as Jashan-e-Qaqalsht Committee, and Rehmatullah Wazir, DCO Chitral, who opened the polo match in the afternoon. Talking to the gathering, he reaffirmed the commitment and support of district administration in organizing Jashan-e-Qaqlasht on regular basis in future.

This year Jashan-e-Qaqlasht was effectively advertised in major national newspapers and generously sponsored by Sarhad Tourism Corporation (STC), which went a long way in attracting visitors and organizing the event in a befitting manner for which the people of northern Chitral and organizers of the festival thanked STC through repeated announcements and banners. It would be pertinent to mention that CAMAT facilitated Jashan-e-Qaqlasht Committee in implementing the mega cultural event.

The sporting activities consisted of free style polo, football, volley ball, cricket, putt shot, bodi dik, and marathon race and so on. There were seven polo teams of which Kosht clenched the polo trophy, whereas Kosht B stood runner-up. In football contest, Kushum secured victory out of the total twelve football teams. Likewise, Chitral Scouts won volley ball cup and Reshun won cricket trophy with Booni as runner-up. The cup of bodi dik went to Shahgram with Raeen as runner-up. Shooting contest with ‘chikit’, and falconry were two other interesting sports that attracted large number of crowd and media personnel. Similarly trophy of marathon race, participated by six youngster teams, went to Kosht team.

All the sporting events were organized in a congenial atmosphere with a display of high sportsmanship spirit to be witnessed by a crowd of as large as 12000 people from all over the Chitral district as well as tourists from Peshawar and Islamabad. But there were no foreign tourists participating in the event.

The sporting activities were intermittently disturbed by rain, but it also added color and beauty to the occasion. Full arrangements for tourists’ food and stay were made with tent hotels serving in local cuisines.

The cultural music, folkdances and folksongs were the most interesting phenomenon of the mega event. There was big bonfire for night music program which the participants fully enjoyed. The music of pure Chitral sitar was played by experts of the art. The poets of Anjuman-e-Taraqi Khowar, seventeen of them, came to participate in the poetry session to be organized in the festival venue with the lovely Booni village as a backdrop scene. They recited beautiful poems in appreciation of natural beauty and highlighted the topics of love and friendship with an insight of a poet. Folksongs and folkdances were presented throughout the day with a variety of performers from different regions.

The final day of the festival, during polo interval, Mohyuddin, MNA Chitral and Ghulam Muhammad, MPA Sub-division Mastuj in their public address congratulated the people for organizing the festival. They assured their support for the festival in future. The final day somehow, was marred by rain resulting in the postponement of prize distribution ceremony for the next day at PTDC Booni. The function here was attended by large number of dignitaries from different localities, who distributed trophies and medals amongst the winner teams and individual players. Sikander-ul-Mulk, in his address as chief guest highlighted the importance of the festival and pledged that Jashan-e-Qaqlasht would be organized with great pomp and show by next year, where Gilgit polo team will be invited and the event would be telecast live from Qaqlasht.

There was a large crowd of local tourists to be estimated at more than 12000 people besides visitors from Peshawar and Islamabad. But the participation of foreign tourists was nil.

The newly constructed access road to the festival venue, which has been diverted through a suitable place to mitigate transporters’ troubles, is far improved one. It helped reduce the travel time and provided safe journey.

Thus Jashan-e-Qaqlasht was concluded by inculcating the message of love, peace and friendship from the mountainous communities of Chitral, northern Pakistan

Climate Vigil Rally Chitral, Pakistan

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:25:50 -0600

A vigil rally in Booni, northern Chitral, Pakistan was organized through the facilitation of CAMAT [Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism]. The objectives of the placard bearing rally was to showcase solidarity and show support to the climate change SOS Copenhagen and to highlight the issues of climate change in the Hindu Kush mountains that has already posed a serious challenge to the communities living here.

The participants were mostly students of Government High School Booni and Pamir Public School apart from business community, political leadership, social workers and people from different walk of life. The rally walked for a kilometer before concentrating at the main Booni square where teachers, political leadership and business community representatives addressed them. It was maintained that for the last three decades there has been a considerable degradation to the natural environment is inevitably linked to global warming. The destruction of the village Sonoghor and Brep three years ago resulting from glacier bursting and the devastation of village Washeej from the snow avalanches are the eye opener in this regard.

The melting glaciers high up in the Eastern Pamir region—which are vital source of cultivation in the entire northern Pakistan for centuries—are melting very rapidly. If these natural water reservoirs get lost, then the people here do not have any other option except to migrate to other places the way some of the valuable bird species have already done.

Likewise climate change has also severely threatened the habitat of the valuable natural biodiversity including some of the rare bird species like the black throated thrush, finches, magpie, grey tit and golden eagle that almost disappeared as their ecological needs were no longer fulfilled in the given ecological system. The population of wolf and fox has drastically shrunk and they are about to disappear. The degradation of the substantial vegetative covering has caused migration to markhor and wild goat that has disturbed the food chain for the elusive snow leopard forcing him to migrate to some other habitats. Now one can have very rare glimpses of the snow leopard in northern Pakistan. It must have migrated to some other places better suiting his ecological needs.

The speakers at the rally emphasized that students, being young and energetic agents of positive social change and silent revolution, have to be focused whilst addressing the issues of natural environment. Moreover, they recorded their apprehension with regard to the damages to the natural climate as a matter of real concerns for the mountainous communities as it is affects their social, political, communal and economic needs and create a range of health related issues. If land resources are eroded and natural biodiversity degraded, then it will surely threatened our own very existence. It is, therefore, for the protection of natural environment and forming combined front against global warming must be the priority no one for the mountainous communities.

At the end of the rally, the following resolution was unanimously passed with an aim to protect the healthy natural environment of the Hindu Kush region:

• That today on Dec 11, 2009, a vigil climate rally supporting the conference in Copenhagen firmly pledges to continue efforts for the protection of natural environment by supporting the cause worldwide. To this end, the strength of school, places of worships and other social centre will be harnessed, awareness will be raised and a workable plan will be prepared at grassroots.

• That developed and industrial nations are appealed to curtail the emission of carbon into the atmosphere so that the prospect of global warming would automatically be reduced and its negative impacts on the remote and less developed mountainous regions would be minimized.

• That there must be authentic research initiatives on the part of developed nations to measure the continuing damages to the natural environment of the mountainous communities in northern Pakistan. Based on such researches, awareness campaign will be mounted in the target communities and improved and coordinated strategy aimed at tackling the menace of global warming would be undertaken.

• That courses on environment must necessarily be included in the curriculum of schools, both in the government and private sectors so that they will have proper knowledge and be equipped in handling the problems of natural environment based on their indigenous knowledge.

• That to fight against climate change; it is of paramount importance to put a halt to deforestation in the southern Chitral and to increase forest everywhere else in the district. Only with much greenery can we assure the health of our natural environment. To reduce pressure on the existing forest belt, the rally maintained, provision of an alternative source of fuel to the energy starved Hindu Kush region either in respect of natural gas from Central Asia or by generating electricity from its numerous rivers and streams could be helpful.

Kalash Celebrate International Climate Day of Action

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:42:18 -0500

CAMAT [Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism] celebrated International Climate Day of Action, Oct 24, 2009 in the Kalash valley of Rumbor, district Chitral with a philosophy of ‘think globally, act locally’ in mind. The theme of the day was “The Impacts of Global Warming on the Kalash Communities”. Kalash ECOCLUB, school students, local leadership and woman representatives participated.

The day was observed in about 170 countries around the world aimed at awareness raising regarding the impacts of global warming on the natural environment and ecology that has already cast negative impacts on organisms living on the planet earth. The participants felt proud in being part of the noble cause being celebrated around the world on Oct 24.

In the meantime, they recorded their apprehension that the natural environment of the Kalash valleys—Rumbor, Burmborate and Birir—is certainly threatened due to climatic changes leading to longer summers, short autumns and short winters characterized by comparatively less snowfall and its early melting.

Mr Saifullah, the Kalash community leader and social activist, discussed the significance of natural environment, forest belt and alpine meadow for the traditional culture of the communities in the valleys. It was pointed out that the population of goat—the religious animal of Kalash—is declining over the years, largely because of the shrinking forest belts, degrading alpine meadows and disappearance of vegetative covers resultant of climatic changes stemming from what we know ‘global warming’. In part, the session raised concerns; the illegal trade by the timber mafia has done great damages to the environment of the valley. It is worth noting that during festival and funeral feast, as part of religious obligation, the Kalash people kill goats ranging from 30 to 100 according the strength of goat raised within the family concerned. Thus one of the core values of the Kalash culture that largely depends on healthy biodiversity and intact ecology has been potentially threatened because of global warming.

The frequency with which floods destroy cultivable lands, orchards, irrigational channels and the Kalash cemeteries have never been experienced in the past, which means ‘global warming’ has had started tightening its relentless grip on the otherwise pristine natural environment in the Kalash valleys as well as the entire Hindukush region.

To reduce the negative impacts of global warming on the Kalash valleys, the session passed the environmental-friendly agenda as follows:

1. That government and NGOs in Chitral mandated with the protection of environment and natural forest belt must focus on the degrading environment conditions in the Kalash valleys. Afforestation need to be redoubled to this end.

2. Tourists have to be sensitized towards the fragility of the valleys, the spring, streams and nullahs there. Pollution of non-biodegradable plastic bags have already had reduced the productivity of cultivable lands. Here the responsibilities lie with tour companies and guides, who have to make arrangement for this.

3. The mafia involved in illegal smuggling of timbers from three Kalash valleys, have to be strictly monitored by the law enforcement agencies and forest department in particular at different exit points.

4. Check dams need to be constructed in steep places where flooding is likely to erode the landscape. Plantation in such places has to be carried out on war footing.

5. Local communities have to be the real owner and guardian of their resources. They should not look for the support of the so-called departments. Rather their life is inalienably linked to the valleys to where they are primary stakeholders and thus have major responsibility to look after forests, pastures and alpine meadows.

6. Last, but not least, the less developed regions e.g. Kalash valleys, are quite neutral so far as carbon emission into the atmosphere matters but they still bear the brunt of pollution caused by the leading industrial cities at national and international level. Thus, big industries should have it as their moral responsibility to initiate green projects in places such as the Kalash valleys so that damages to the natural environment would be compensated.

At the end of the session, waste disposal campaign through the participants of the meeting was undertaken.

Heavy Snowfall in Chitral

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:00:15 -0600

Heavy snofall for the last more than a week has almost disrupted infrastructure creating unbearable communication, transportation and power shortage in the entire region of the Chitral district. Roads branching off to different valleys from Chitral town are hazard-prone and in some places snow avalanches has just blocked the the approach road. Transporters are less likely to run the risk to move in the face of heavy stones lingering high above on the precipitous slop through which they have to drive. In the meanstime electricity shotdown has caused enormous problems both at household level and in the offices. Normal transaction of the day to day activities has alsmost come to a halt.

Patients, students and business communities have long stranded due to the cancelation of PIA flights linking the isolated district to the rest of the country.

Rafting in the Chitral River, Northern Pakistan

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:13:50 -0600

The Chitral River originates from Chiantar glacier at Broghil and runs through the Chitral valley. In different places the river is diverted to irrigate fields and orchards besides generating electricity and turning water mills. The water is icy cold in even in the grilling hot summer days. In the olden days, when there were no bridges connecting villages on both side of the river, the young and old people used to learn swimming as a necessary practice for their normal social contact and the ultimate survival. Even at present, some young people very much like swimming on the crest of the rising tides of the Chitral River. Realizing the social and historic importance of the sport and sensing the eagerness of the young generation, CAMAT [Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism] has resurrected swimming as a vital water sport of the region. Now this forgotten sport has become part of Jashan-e-Chitral or the Chitral festival.

In the meantime, during the mega festival right from 2002, river rafting, which is not Chitral's traditional sport though, has also been included. This sport has enormous potential given the unusually rising tides and faster speed of the Chitral River that provides thrilling and zest and zeal for the rafter and the onlookers.

Let's look forward with a great hope along with the many of our traditional sports.

Nooristani Archery--the famous sports to be revived during Jashan-e-Chitral

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:35:39 -0600

Nooristani archery is one of the famous sports, which CAMAT [Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism] has revived during Jashan-e-Chitral since 2002. In the olden times the Nooristani people used to go on prey with these as effective armament. They also fought with each other with it. The locally made arrow and bow is used in the sport and people have high appreciation for it. The sport is one of the vital components of Jashan-e-Chitral or Chitral festival, which has been revived by CAMAT through the help of UNESCO after discontinuation for 25 years.

Cultural traditions and sports contain vital values of culture for every society. Indigenous communities related to their respective cultures commit actions spontaneously the way ducklet swims from day first. Traditional cultural practices around the world needs to be protected not only to know about the traditional ancient history but also to fill the world with colors and variety

Chitrali Sitar--The Mystic Musical Instrument

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:09:13 -0600

Plato [c.427-347 BC] considered music to be an integral part of human life. The relevance and importance of the great Greek philosopher has not diminished but has increased in our age.

Man invented various form of musical instruments in response to the artistry of music that reflected the abstract feelings of romanticism besides casting a spotlight on the values and history of the culture concerned. In the face of numerous instruments, the sitar is the most popular in Chitral, northern Pakistan, the invention of which is attributed to Amir Khisro, a 14th century mystic poet, scholar and sage. Khisro, in order to better express his mystic poems infused with messages of love for God and creation, used a sitar as his instrument of predilection. Later on, his disciples and followers regarded it as an appropriate medium for preaching and spreading their doctrine of love and mysticism. The Chitrali sitar has become a popular instrument among locals and is regarded as a token of honor and highly esteemed decoration in many households and is also a precious souvenir for friends.

Chitrali sitar is approximately four feet long and features an oval sound box at the bottom. The body and sound box are made from two different pieces of wood delicately fixed so the joints are almost imperceptible. Another feature in the fabrication of a Chitrali sitar is that the wood used for the sound box must be of the mulberry variety due to fact it contains no oil which suits the mechanism of the instrument. Mulberry wood has long visible streaks made up of small pores that facilitate the process of vibration—the key as to why a sitar produces sound. When the strings are strummed, the vacuum in the sound-box takes air in through the pores, blowing it out to stabilize the process. The thin wooden body or ‘ghazdar’ contains 13 sweet sounding parda or frets fixed at appropriate places by skilled sitar makers. There are 5 wooden pegs for tuning the strings.

The basic element in Chitrali sitar is its ‘middle string’ that goes under the fourth parda from above; it is known as ‘parda-e-saaz’ in local music terminology. So how is this particular instrument played? Sitar playing is, above all, an intuitive apprenticeship, closer to the realm of art. It does not possess fixed musicology criteria that document, catalogue and treat the specifics of the subject.

Most expert sitar players of older time were not educated—they merely learned, played and enjoyed the instrument. However, they did collectively work towards its systematic development. Keen novices are recommended to seek tutor to learn the basics, including a) how to tune the strings and the various ways of tuning them b) how the fingers of the left hand should move up and down in rhythm to the strumming finger. The sitar is placed on the lap with the body face up and neck pointed up. The forefinger of the right hand is used to strum the string of the sound-box. The index and middle fingers of the left hand are placed on the parda [frets] moving up and down in harmony with the strumming of the strings.

An accomplished sitar player possesses perfect coordination and timing between the running fingers and strumming one. The better the coordination, the sweeter the melody, and vice versa. Furthermore, a good sitar player will play the first two ‘rudimentary strings’ with delicate touches followed by the elementary ‘middle string’ and the ‘supplementary strings’ to produce the background percussion required to harmonize the sitar melody with the drum beats. The late Ali Zuhoor Khan [1920-1982] is a good example of such a playing style. Some sitar players wear a ring on the strumming finger which tends to reduce the softness and sweetness of the melody.

Classical sitar players contradict the option of wearing rings, preferring an unadorned finger. Full commitment and devotion is the key in learning to play this instrument. Those who start from scratch have to learn about the tones of the songs they intend to play. When a beginner learns to produce tone, observer may see strange expressions on the face of the novice as every organ in his/her body, including the face, move in rhythm.

Eathquake Jolted Chitral and Northern Areas

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:46:42 -0600

Sever earthquake tremors jolted Chitral and Northern Areas for the last two consecutive nights—Jan 4 and 5—at midnight, but no causalities have been reported yet. The epicenter of the earthquake is believed to be in the Hindu Kush. The jolts of the earthquake were also felt in the district of Dir, Swat and in Gilgit and Baltistan in Northern Areas. In Chitral people panicked in the midnight and fled their houses for the open spaces for their life. People now seems to spend sleepless nights thinking about the recurrence of the earthquake.

‘Gandau’—Immortalizing the Departed Soul

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 04:24:51 -0600

‘Gandau’ installation on the graves of the prominent figures by the living generation has been the hallmark of the Kalash culture. Ganadu—the wooden image aimed at immortalizing the departed sould of the family member—is also the name of the 3 days celebration designed to installing the wooden image. Nevertheless, this invaluable cultural heritage of the Kalash community has almost had disappeared only to be resurrected by Mr Faiz, 54, from village Bron, Bumborate valley, in early December 2008.

Through the ‘Gandau’ celebration, Mr Faizi not only immortalized the memory of his father Mr Gush and grandfather Mr Mirza Shah nicknamed Comel but also revived one of the forgotten Kalash cultural heritage in recent history. “The ‘Gandau’ celebration cost me Rs 1100000/”, maintained Mr Faizi. “I slaughtered 50 goats and made new dresses for all the nephews, nieces and other blood relations”, he added. Kalash community from the three valleys—Birir, Bumborate and Rumbor—were invited and a big feast was arranged.

“The purpose of the celebration”, maintained Mr Faizi, “is to immortalize the memory of my father, who used to be the leader of the Kalash community. Besides as a blessed and obedient son, it gives me a sense of accomplishment towards the duties of my father”. The ‘Gandau’ celebration is believed to have increased the social standing of the family and the profile of the departed soul in the eyes of those who live. It is strictly a matter of honor amongst the primitive Kalash community in the Hindu Kush region. Furthermore, Mr Faizi followed in the foot steps of his father who had also had the honor to install ‘Gandau’ and organized the related celebration for his father.

3 days earlier the kiths and kin were invited to participate, perhaps to enlist their moral support and physical help and share with them the pride of the family. Afterward the family members proceeded to the forest to select the best possible tree for carpentering into ‘Gandau’. The name of Mr ‘Gush’ and Mr ‘Mirza Shah’ was repeatedly called whilst chopping down the tree. “The best carpenters of the locality took pride in volunteering to structure my father's wooden image", says Mr Faizi with an aura of pride. They are not paid with money for the labor-intensive task they undertake. Nor did they expect it as tradition goes here. Nevertheless the neighbors and blood relations served food and nephew and nieces presented dresses to the carpenters, all is voluntary.

The procession carried the ‘Gaundau’ at first hand to the Jastakhan, where it was made dance for 24 hours before being removed to the ancestral cemetery. The movement is remarkable when ‘ishperi’ is served and the wooden image is carried on shoulders with crackle of gunfire so characteristic of the celebration. Close blood relations garland the ‘Gandau’ with chihari [the embroidered handmade strip], ‘shiman’, ‘khomoon’ [dry fruits] and flowers.

‘Gandau’ celebration is aimed at immortalizing the departed soul of the family members in the Kalash community. However, it is disheartening that that this valuable cultural tradition has declined so precipitously and is almost on the verge of disappearance. Two reasons are believed to be responsible for this—that the event is very expensive and is unaffordable for normal people in the valley, second, and most important, the many ‘Gandaus’ have been stolen from the graveyards in the past in view of the high market value of the commodity--Rs 300000/-. This is going to discourage other people to organize the ‘Gandau’ celebration. “I have taken effective measures to protect the newly installed 'Gandau' of my father and grandfather” says Mr Faizi.

Undoubtedly Mr Faizi has generously contributed to the revival the most important forgotten Kalash tradition. In the meantime he immortalized the departed soul of his father/ grandfather and proved himself as a worthy son.