The Kalash tribe, the white tribe in Pakistan
It is a tribe living in the heights of the Hindu Kush Mountains in Pakistan, with an estimated number of six thousand people, and it is believed that they are descendants of Alexander the Great.
What distinguishes this tribe from the rest of the tribes in Pakistan is the color of their white skin, blond hair, and blue eyes.
This language includes ancient Persian, Indian and European words. This language is also known as the Kalash language, in relation to their ethnicity.
Also, this tribe differs in its habits, as they depend on drinking alcohol to cope with the cold.
Their women's dress is completely different from the women's dress in Pakistan, and they depend on dried fruits, honey, corn, ghee, and nuts for their food.
Also, their tombs are considered one of the strangest cemeteries in the world, where the deceased is left in an open-air box in the middle of the cemetery, even if it is a female, she is adorned like a bride, and the dead family is forced to sell half of their possessions to complete the mourning ceremony, which lasts for seven days, in which special meals are provided to the mourners who do not attend Except in funeral ceremonies.
They also have a different outlook on life compared to other Pakistanis, and they are famous for different folk dances similar to ancient Greek folklore, but the "DNA" analyzes have proven that they do not descend from Greece, not even from Asian countries, neither eastern nor southern.
And taking into account the genetic tendencies of the Kalash people, scientists believed that they may be descended from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, or the Caucasus. But once again, the analyzes failed their assumptions, while more analyzes conducted in the region suggested that the Kalash people may, in fact, be the indigenous inhabitants of the region.
The Kalash people live in the Kalash Valley, a group of three valleys, and speak the Kalash language.
Since their number is very small, they were influenced by the peoples around them and most of them converted to Islam, but that did not prevent them from clinging to their traditional way of living.
The Kalash are a very poor people. Most of them are farmers. Their houses are made of wood, but their base is solid of stone. Their lives are very hard and difficult, especially with the outbreak of cholera in this remote area.
Contrary to the conservative culture of the Pakistani people, the Kalash tribe is not separated by gender.
The Kalash earn their livelihood from goat herding and farming. Tourism does not play a major role in their economy, although their Pakistani neighbors from major cities flock to visit what is known to them as the "colored countryside".
Source: websites