White people of Pakistan

The people who speak the Dardic language also live in Pakistan - in the highlands of the Hindu Kush, in three small isolated mountain valleys: Bumburet, Rumbur And Birir, in an area called Chitral (Chitral), on the border with Afghanistan. They are called Kalash – white tribe Pakistan. They are indeed very similar in appearance to the peoples of northern Europe. Among them there are very often people with fair skin, hair and eyes, and often - blue-eyed blondes. With all this, there are also Kalash with an Asian appearance characteristic of the region.

The number of Kalash today is no more than 6 thousand people. They live carefully preserving their culture and the faith of their ancestors. They managed to survive and maintain their religious and ethnic identity in the Islamic world, despite forced Islamization which was started in 1320 when Shah Nadir Rais (Shah Nadir Rais ( or Raees)), the ruler of Gilit, the most important city on the Great Silk Road, conquered the Kalash and began to forcibly convert them to Islam. By the way, the ancient rulers of this city and the territory of Gilit-Baltistan had the title Ra, then they began to be called HinduRas (Hindu Ras), which perhaps suggests that they were Hindus, and in the 13th century they converted to Islam and changed their dynastic name Ra-Ras-Rais (Ra-Ras-Rais) to Trakhan (Trakhan). The vigorous Islamization of the Kalash lasted until the beginning of the 20th century and brought them to the brink of extermination. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Muslims turned against the Kalash real genocide– slaughtered by the thousands. Anyone who refused to convert to Islam or secretly continued to practice their religion, at best, was expelled from the fertile lands to the mountains, but more often than not, they were physically destroyed.

However, they managed to survive and preserve their culture. How? Kalash leader Sayaullah Jan answers this question (Saifulla Jan): “If one of the Kalash converts to Islam, he can no longer live among us. We hold our identity sacred." However, Islam is not going to give up on them. Today, three thousand Kalash are converts to Islam (Shikhs ( sheikhs)) or their descendants, which constitutes more than half of the Kalash-speaking population. They live near Kalash villages and preserve their language and many traditions of their ancient culture.

What kind of culture is this?, which a handful of white people, driven into the high plateaus of the Hindu Kush, are trying so carefully and selflessly to preserve? First of all, this is the religion of the Kalash, which, along with the pantheon of gods, religious buildings and religious rituals, is very reminiscent of, as is now commonly said, pagan. One of the researchers who left evidence of the life of white tribes lost in the Hindu Kush mountains was an English doctor George Scott Robertson (Sir George Scott Robertson (1852-1916)), who served in Afghanistan during the second Anglo-Afghan War of 1878-1880. In 1888 he was seconded to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (the Indian Foreign Office) as a surgeon at Gilit in northern Pakistan. Then, setting off from Chitral, he undertook a journey that lasted about a year through Kafiristan - as Muslims called Nuristan (now a province of Afghanistan) (from kafir - infidel) - the territory where white people lived. He described his impressions in the book “Kafirs of the Hindu Kush” (The Kafirs of Hindu-Kush), which was published in 1896.

Robertson was not the first researcher to take an interest in the pagans of Kafiristan. Before him, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary visited there Bento de Goes, who traveled from Lahore to China, as well as the British traveler Colonel Alexander Gardner. All of them were still able to find a unique ancient culture located on an area of ​​10-20 thousand square kilometers in the heart of Asia, surrounded and pressed on all sides by Muslim peoples and defending the right to its existence for several hundred years.

From Robertson’s observations of the religious and ritual life of the Nuristans and Kalash, it was concluded that their religion is a modified Zoroastrianism and resembles the cults of the ancient Aryans from the times of the Rig Veda. The reason for this conclusion was their worship of fire and funeral rites. They did not bury their dead in the ground, but left them in wooden coffins in the open air, because in Zoroastrianism a corpse is considered unclean. Death is the “work” of an evil spirit Ahriman(Angra-Manyi), therefore, in a dead person there is a large concentration of evil forces. And, in order not to desecrate the elements that the Zoroasters revere - fire, earth and water, they leave their dead in open coffins until only white bones remained, which were then buried in the ground.

In addition to fire, infidels worship wooden idols. The Kalash have many gods and goddesses. The main one is the creator god, who has several names - Imra, Mara (death) and Desau (Dezau (dezaw)). The god of war, Gisha, is also highly revered. In addition to them, there are other gods - the god of the middle earth - Munhem Malik, the harvest god Mandi, the goddess of the hearth Jestak, the goddess of childbirth Desalik and others. In addition, each village had its own patron god. The Kalash also revere various anthropomorphic spirits who live in the invisible World of Spirits. For example, mountain spirits - peri and varoti (the first are female, the second are male), who live high in the mountains and descend on mountain meadows in the spring. The Kalash believe that they help in hunting and killing enemies.

The Kalash perform their rituals in specially built temples. Famous Soviet and Russian archaeologist, Doctor of Historical Sciences IN AND. Sarianidi(1929-2013) describes the Kalash temple as follows: “... the main temple of Imra was located in one of the villages and was a large structure with a square portico, the roof of which was supported by carved wooden columns. Some of the columns were entirely decorated with sculpted heads of rams, others had only at the base one head of an animal carved in a round relief, the horns of which, wrapping around the trunk of the column and crossing each other, rose upward, forming a kind of openwork mesh. In its empty cells there were sculptural figures of funny little people.

It was here, under the portico, on a special stone, blackened with dried blood, that numerous animal sacrifices were performed. The front facade of the temple had seven doors, famous for the fact that each of them had another small door. The large doors were tightly closed, only the two side doors were opened, and then only on special occasions. But the main interest was the door leaves, decorated with fine carvings and huge relief figures depicting the seated god Imru. Particularly striking is the face of the god with a huge square chin reaching almost to the knees! In addition to the figures of the god Imra, the façade of the temple was decorated with images of huge heads of cows and rams. On the opposite side of the temple, five colossal figures were installed supporting its roof.

Having walked around the temple and admired its carved “shirt,” we will look inside through a small hole, which, however, must be done furtively so as not to offend the religious feelings of the infidels. In the middle of the room, in the cool twilight, you can see a square hearth right on the floor, at the corners of which there are pillars, also covered with amazingly fine carvings representing human faces. On the wall opposite the entrance there is an altar framed with images of animals; in the corner under a special canopy stands a wooden statue of the god Imra himself. The remaining walls of the temple are decorated with carved hats of irregular hemispherical shape, placed on the ends of poles... Separate temples were built only for the main gods, and for the minor ones, one sanctuary was built for several gods. Thus, there were small temples with carved windows from which the faces of various wooden idols looked out...”

Kalash are excellent wood carvers. They always made all their furniture themselves - beds, chairs, tables, and decorated them with symbols that are so familiar to Russian people. They decorated them with different types, including swastikas. The same Vedic symbols were used by Russian craftsmen for decoration, for example. Researchers note that chairs and tables were not in use by local Muslim aborigines. They appeared in Afghanistan and Pakistan only with the arrival of the British in the 18th and 19th centuries, but they never took root, and Kalash have used tables and chairs from time immemorial.

Currently, Kalash are like Dards. they live hard and meagerly. They live in houses of several floors, which they themselves build from stone, wood and clay. The roof of the lower house is the floor or veranda of another family's house. The entire furnishings of the house consist of a table, chairs, benches and pottery. The Kalash have no electricity or television. They are engaged agriculture, growing wheat and other grains on land cleared of stones, but main role Their livelihoods include livestock, mainly goats, which provide them with milk and dairy products, wool and meat. When distributing household responsibilities, the Kalash have a clear division between men and women. Men do the main work and hunting, women only help them by doing less labor-intensive work (weeding, milking, housekeeping). The man is the head of the family and makes all significant decisions, both in the family and in the community. The Kalash live in communities - it’s easier to survive that way.

Kalash work all week, seven days a week, but regularly celebrate 3 main holidays: Yoshi (Joshi)– sowing festival at the end of May, Uchao (Uchau)– harvest festival in autumn, and Komus (Caumus)- a winter holiday of the gods of nature, when the Kalash ask the gods to send them a mild winter and good spring and summer in the middle of winter. During Comus, each family slaughters a goat as a sacrifice, the meat of which is treated to everyone who comes to visit or meets on the street.

The question of the origin of the Kalash still remains open. In Pakistan, it is believed that the Kalash are the descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great, and in connection with this, the Macedonian government built a “house of culture” there. However, this is just beautiful legend, which is not confirmed by genetic analysis. Another version says that the Kalash are an autochthonous population of Nuristan, in Afghanistan. Some say that the Kalash migrated to Afghanistan from a distant place in South Asia called Tsiam (Tsiyam), which is sung about in folk songs Kalash.

However, it has been established that the Kalash migrated to Chitral from Afghanistan in the 2nd century BC. and by 10th century AD. The Kalash ruled most of today's Chitral. And yet their origin continues to be a mystery, just like the origin of the Nuristanis, the Hunza people and some ethnic groups of the Pamiris and Persians, who also have Northern European appearance.

White people of Afghanistan

In June 1985, the American magazine National Geographic (National geographic) published on its cover a photograph of an Afghan girl, who surprised readers with the piercing gaze of her amazing sea-green eyes and Caucasian facial features. In 1984, photographer Steve McCurry (Steve McCurry) collected materials about the Afghan-Soviet war and visited refugee camps on the Afghan-Pakistan border. At Nasir Bagh camp (Nasir Bagh) he photographed several children in primary school, including this girl.

Later, while developing the negatives, Steve saw how extraordinary the picture turned out. However, he did not ask her name or the place where she had previously lived; only her approximate age was known - 12 years. That’s why the photo on the cover was called “Afghan girl.” Steve looked for her and 17 years later, in 2002, he found her in a remote village in Afghanistan. She was already about 30 years old. Why "about"? She herself did not know the year of her birth. Her name was Sharbat Gula (Sharbat Gula). She was married and had three daughters. She came from Pashtuns, who are considered descendants of the ancient Cambodians from the royal tribe of the eastern Scythians– the Saks, who invaded Bactria (the territory of modern Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan between the Hindu Kush mountain range in the south and the Fergana Valley in the north), Sogdiana and northeastern India in the 2nd century BC, organized an Indo-Scythian state and ruled there are six centuries - until the 4th century. AD By the way, they got to, in fact, Cambodia- a country that previously, in Soviet times, was known to us as Kampuchea. This is where white-skinned, light-eyed “Caucasians” ended up among the modern Pashtuns of Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the heart of the Islamic world.

There are no images of women, as all adult women wear the burqa. And Gula, whom Steve photographed after he found her, asked her husband for permission to reveal her face. In the video Pashtun Beauty You can see a few more images of Pashtuns.

Descendants of the ancient Cambodians, that is Scythians(Saks) are also considered to be some tribes in the Afghan province of Nuristan. And indeed, there, in the northeast of Afghanistan, they live white-skinned, light-eyed people- Nuristanis, whose fate is closely connected with the Kalash.

Nuristan translated as Country of Light, and earlier the place where these people lived was called Kafiristan (from kafir - infidel). Both names, apparently, were given by Muslims, but what the inhabitants themselves called it is unknown. The Nuristanis, who now number 120-140 thousand people, are settled in the inaccessible valleys of the southern slope of the Hindu Kush. Nuristanis have resisted Islamization since the Ghazni ruler (Ghazni is a city in Afghanistan) Mahmud Ghaznavi began to carry out conquests under the banner of jihad, including 17 campaigns in Northern India from 1001 to 1026, until the end of the 19th century. The Muslims gradually squeezed them into the mountains, some of them went to Chitral in the 15th century and formed the Kalash people, mixing with the Dards. The remaining kafirs not only climbed into the mountains in retreat, but also raided and plundered Muslim lands below, thus responding to violent attempts at Islamization.

The Nuristanis were finally conquered in 1896. The Afghan emir Abdur-Rahman undertook a winter campaign against Kafristan, which had previously been considered inaccessible in winter. The campaign turned out to be successful for the Muslims, the mountaineers lost both their political independence, which they had enjoyed until that time, and their religious independence - they were converted to Islam, and their land from Kafiristan - the country of the infidels - has since become Nuristan- the land of light, meaning the true Muslim faith. It is not difficult to imagine by what bloody methods this transformation was accomplished. At first, in Nuristan, the faith of the ancestors was secretly preserved in the hope that the old life would return, but the generations that grew up in paganism passed away, and the number of people who converted to Islam became more and more, and the original religion of the infidels faded into oblivion. At the end of the 20th century, Nuristanis were subjected to genocide once again - now from the side Taliban who captured Afghanistan.

However, ethnographers still managed to write down some myths, describe and even sketch some rituals and religious buildings with solar signs, the same as those Kalash. The drawings show the entrance to the Bashgul valley, the grave of a Kafirist tribe leader in the Vaigul valley, the shutters of a Kafir house, the dance of Kafirist women dedicated to the gods while the men are on a campaign. It is noteworthy that the women wore a horned headdress, with horns made from human hair. The Nuristans believed that the birth of a four-horned goat was God’s providence and brought good luck. Robertson wrote that as soon as the men set out on the march, the women left their business in the field, gathered in the village and began a dance that lasted most of the day and all night. We are familiar with another horned headdress, which is also amulet- This .

In addition to the above-mentioned George S. Robertson, who wrote the book “The Kafirs of the Hindu Kush,” the Norwegian ethnographer Georg Morgenstjerne also made his contribution to preserving the rituals of the Kafirs for history. In 1929, he photographed and filmed the ritual of fire sacrifice among the Nuristanis, which was very similar to that described in the Rig Veda.

And the cosmology of the Nuristans was similar to the Aryan one. They divided the universe into three worlds: Urdesh - the world of the gods, Michdesh - the world of living people, Yurdesh - the world of the dead. They also confessed horse cult, which was not used on the farm. There were many gods in the Nuristan pantheon. God Imra-Yamra-Mara- the supreme god of all Nuristan infidels, the creator who revived other gods with his breath, the lord of life and death. He is also the god of the sky and clouds. He placed the sun and the moon in the sky. It was he who gave the infidels cattle and dogs, wheat and tools for cultivating the soil and taught them economic activity. Another god was called Munjem Malik- King of the Middle World. He was periodically killed, and he was reborn in his son, who had the same name. Winter is dedicated to this god. God Mon(Mandi) – demon fighter. He also sent rain to the earth and acted as a mediator between people and gods. God Indr(Inder) - patron of viticulture and wine production, which replaced soma among the infidels. God Gish(Givish) – god of war. God Vushum- god of justice and wealth. Goddess Disani- the main female deity.

The Nuristans also had many minor gods: the goddess Sanju, responsible for the storage of wheat and supplies of baked milk, the goddess Nirmali, who represented the “unclean” side of femininity, was in charge of childbirth and menstruation, the god Bagisht - the patron of waters, the god Nong - the ruler of the winter cold, the goddess Kshumai is the mistress of alpine meadows and wild goats and the patroness of grain and fruit harvests. However, all this is long gone, and now the Nuristans have “no god but Allah...”.

The lifestyle of the Nuristans has changed little. Men continue to do what they have been doing for centuries - graze small livestock and goats, while women grow barley and millet, prepare feed and firewood. Gardening (apples, apricots), viticulture, beekeeping, collecting wild fruits and berries, and crafts are also common. They continue to live in clans and tribes.

“Among the Nuristanis, at least two types of social gradation are known. There are ranks of elders: the top of the social hierarchy is justs(elders, they could become both men and women), and Kaneashi(a kind of candidate for eldership). Initiation into jasty was accompanied by a special ritual treat. Social gradation of male heroes: a kafir who killed at least one enemy received the name noisy. When he returned to the village, the neighbors greeted him with welcoming cries: “E shuro-shurei-shuro!” Relatives and neighbors honored him, showered him with grains of wheat, tied a ribbon with four shells over his shoulder, and crowned his head with a pheasant plume.

The man who killed seven enemies received the title leimoch. The highest title was pyrymoch- a man perfect in everything, brave, rich, hospitable. The Nuristans had two strata of slaves - bari And lanee(lavyns), elements of the first of which have survived to the present day. Bari are hereditary slaves - artisans, their status is unchangeable. Free Nuristanis did not enter into marriage relations with them and did not eat food. The Bari usually settled on the outskirts of the village, engaged in blacksmithing, and made weapons, metal and stone utensils. They did not attend the mosque or perform Muslim rituals; There are suggestions that they are descendants of the ancient pre-Kafir population of Nuristan. Slaves - lanee - existed exclusively among the Kantos tribe; these were free people who were enslaved for debt. By paying the ransom, they could regain their former status. Free Nuristanis could sell slaves – bari and lanee – and give them as a dowry.

Family. Women gave birth outside the village, in a special place. We returned seven days after giving birth. Children were given a name only when they turned 12 years old (name after their father or grandfather), at which time they put on pants (until a special ceremony was performed, they could not wear pants within Nuristan). Marriage was an agreement between the groom or the groom's parents and the bride's father. For the bride, a ransom was paid to her father. Before the bride entered the groom's house, she also received a sum of money. At the wedding there were competitions in running, tug of war, stone pushing and wrestling. Women and men were kept separately during the holiday. The wife was understood as the property of the husband; he could sell her at any time to anyone.

Funeral. If a leimoch or pyrymach died, then a rough statue of the deceased was made from wood or straw and one of his slaves (or one of the neighbors, a free person) took it on his back and for some time jumped (danced?) along the streets of the village. Then the corpse was placed in a high place, it was available for public viewing. After seven days and nights, he was buried in a coffin along with weapons (if he was a man) or jewelry (if he was a woman). The entrails were taken out and placed in clay vessels and buried separately. A wooden statue of the deceased was placed on the grave. The funeral was accompanied by a ritual meal, which included symri - barley cakes crumbled into melted butter. The women placed a pot of samri in the grave...” L.M. Mints"Races and Peoples".

Pieces of the Aryan heritage can also be found in Baluchistan– an area that is located at the junction of the Middle East and Hindustan regions. It includes provinces that are part of the neighboring states: Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. Baluchistan is famous for its embroidery and carpet weaving, in the ornaments of which we can easily recognize the elements used by embroiderers Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

However, people with signs of the white race live not only in the north of Afghanistan. There is a province in this country Herat, one of the largest provinces of the country, which is located in the west and borders Iran.

Most likely, these are representatives of the Uzbek community of Herat, which is very large and has lived there for a long time. From what time? For example, the highly revered Uzbek poet, philosopher and statesman Alisher Navoi lived there in the 15th century (1444-1501), who lived there all his life, however, then it was Timurid Khorasan. The last photo is of children from Jalalabad, in western Afghanistan.

There is another people in Afghanistan, among which people of Caucasian appearance are not uncommon. This - Khazars or Hazaras.

Are these the descendants of the Khazars that Prophetic Oleg wanted to deal with? Remember from Pushkin: “How is the Prophetic Oleg now planning to take revenge on the unreasonable Khazars”? Or the descendants of those whom Prince Svyatoslav defeated? It is unknown, but scientists insist that the Khazars are a people of Mongolian origin and they are considered the descendants of Genghis Khan. The latter, by the way, explains the “Caucasoid” nature of the Khazars. After all, it is already known that Genghis Khan was not a Mongoloid, which was reflected by Western authors in their works. For example, shown in "Book about the diversity of the world" Italian merchant Marco Polo(1254-1324) and was also painted by the French engraver Pierre Duflo. Despite the impressive time difference between the works, in both cases there are no Mongoloid features in the appearance of Genghis Khan.

Among the inhabitants inhabiting modern Iran, the overwhelming majority of whom are quite oriental in appearance, light-skinned people with European features, with blue or green eyes, are very noticeable.

Quite often among ordinary Iranians there are people of the most Slavic appearance, and even with brown hair.

There are many bright-eyed people among Iranian actresses, actors, models, musicians and media personalities. For example, Claudia Lynx (Claudia Lynx) which is called "Goddess of Persia"– singer, actress, model and, at the same time, a certified translator. Mohamed Reza Golzar (Mohammad Reza Golzar) actor and musician. Parsa Piruzfar (Parsa Pirouzfar)- actor. Leila Milani (Leyla Milani Khoshbin)- model, actress and TV presenter. Mohamed Reza Ghafari (Mohammad Reza Ghaffari)- actor.

Also, white people make up a significant share of the highest political elite of Iran: Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ardashir Lariddani (Ardashir Larijani), Mayor of Tehran Mohamed Baher Ghalibaf (Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf), Chief Advisor to the President Mohamed Ramin (Mohammad Ramin), Deputy Chairman of the Guardian Council of the Constitution, Ayatollah Mohamed Yazdi (Mohammad Yazdi), grandson of the leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, Hassan Khomeini (Hassan Khomeini).

Although, it must be admitted that about the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in 1979, this cannot be said. However, given his pedigree, this could not have happened. The fact is that the Persian Pahlavi dynasty consisted of only two people, father and son, and ruled for only 54 years (from 1925 to 1979), while the previous Qajar dynasty ruled for more than a century and a quarter (1796-1925), but was overthrown by the father of the last Shah, Reza Pahlavi. He came from a modest military family - his grandfather and father served in the Persian army. After the death of his father, quarrels began in the family over inheritance. Reza's mother was the youngest of the wives and therefore the most powerless. She had to take her son, leave her husband's house and go to Tehran. There, a boy at the age of 14 was enlisted as a private in Persian Cossack Brigade, which was created on the model of Russian Cossack regiments, armed and trained under the leadership of Russian officers, and rose to the rank of general. By the way, the Persian Cossack brigade was commanded by a Russian officer who reported directly to the Shah. And in 1916, Reza became the commander of the Kuzvinsky detachment of the Cossack brigade. For the rest of his life he walked in Russian Cossack uniform.

The history of the creation of the Persian regiment is interesting. Since the end of the 19th century, Russia and England competed for influence over Persia, which led the country's leadership to the decision to modernize the army. At first, the British volunteered to modernize the Persian Armed Forces, but they were in no hurry to raise the combat capability of the Persians, because they did not want to create problems for themselves, wanting to take the country under their “protectorate.” They were very attracted to Persian oil. Seeing that the British were of little use, Shah Nasser-ed-din in 1879 asked Russia to help create a combat-ready military formation capable of actually carrying out the tasks assigned to it. What was done by the lieutenant colonel of the Russian general staff Domantovich.

However, Great Britain did not give up its attempts to take control of Persia. For example, in 1919, diplomats of the British crown handed over a multi-thousand-dollar bribe to the Persian government, which entered into an agreement. As a result, Persia almost completely turned into an English protectorate. A scandal broke out and the pro-British government resigned. The next government also fell. The reason was the categorical refusal to transfer the Persian Cossack brigade to English officers. In general, there was only one way out.

In February 1921, Reza Pahlavi led a campaign of 2 thousand Cossacks against Tehran, organized a military coup, removed the Qajar dynasty from power, freed Persia from political dependence on England and forced British troops to leave the country. Subsequently, he carries out a series of radical reforms aimed at making the country strong and independent. His relationship with Soviet Russia did not work out. He did not like the Bolsheviks just like his fellow Cossacks. Although he invariably treated Russia and Russians with great sympathy. By the way, The Shah knew Russian very well, and his military and state views were significantly influenced by the Russian military school that he went through. It was he who in 1935 demanded that foreign states begin to officially use self-name states - Iran, instead of the previously used name Persia. This was the father of the last Shah of Iran.

As you can clearly see, it is difficult to call the last Shah a Caucasian; he inherited neither light eyes nor fair hair from his ancestors. However, he tried to select wives of European appearance. He married three times. Shah's first wife Fawzia, was an Egyptian princess, the daughter of King Fuad I of Egypt. She was a woman of incredible beauty, a dazzling blue-eyed brunette. They got married in 1939, but life with her did not work out. A daughter was born in the marriage, the Shah needed an heir, and after 6 years they divorced.

Rumor has it that in 1949 the Shah proposed famous actress Grace Kelly, but she rejected it, fearing that the Shah would ban her from filming and force her to convert to Islam. By the way, having married Prince Rainier of Monaco, she had to do what she feared in the case of the Shah - leave her cinematic career at the insistence of her husband.

She became the second wife of Shah Mohammad Reza in 1951 (of half-German origin). She was the daughter of a representative of the noble Bakhtiyari tribe (Bakhtiari) from southern Iran, who in the 1950s was Iran's ambassador to Germany and his German wife Eva Karl, who lived in Russia. Shah Mohammed was madly in love with the green-eyed beauty Soraya, but, unfortunately, they had no children, and the Shah needed an heir. He thought about taking a second wife, who would bear him a son, and also proposed changing the Iranian constitution so that after his death his brother would inherit the throne. Soraya was against the first option, and the Majlis was against the second. They divorced in 1958.

The Shah's third wife was Farah Diba, an Azerbaijani from a noble and wealthy family of Tabriz. Her paternal grandfather was the Iranian ambassador to the Romanov court at the end of the 19th century. She bore the Shah four children. But this is not the only thing that made him go down in Iranian history. The Dowager Empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi, was a very highly educated woman; in addition to Persian, she was fluent in Azerbaijani, English and French. She always dressed fashionably and elegantly. Together with her husband, she actively participated in the modernization of the country, fought for women's rights, which caused discontent among the Shiite clergy. Thanks to her activity, many museums were opened in Iran. In addition, she returned to the country the creations of national artists that had once been exported.

In addition to the fact that the Shah tried to increase Iran's production by modern level, not limiting himself only to the sale of oil, launched a huge construction project in Iran - they built factories, roads, bridges, tried to carry out reforms in agriculture, allocating land to peasants practically at the expense of the state, he tried to make Iran as secular a state as possible. In addition, he even briefly introduced chronology not from the Hijri (the year of the migration of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, from which Muslims base their chronology), but from the beginning of the Achaemenid dynasty (1976 AD was declared by him instead of 1355 AH as 2595 as the year of the Shahinshah authorities). However, he was forced to cancel this unpopular innovation.

This and other reforms caused discontent among the clerics, and in 1979 the Shah was overthrown in the wake of the Islamic Revolution. Islamic fundamentalists led by Ayatollah Khomeini came to power, and the Shah was forced into exile and died in exile in Cairo the following year. It is noteworthy that the British, who together with the Americans, however, had 50% of the profits in Iran's oil business, privately asked the Shah not to ask them for political asylum, otherwise this would have a negative impact on British relations with the new Islamic republic. The Shah was bitterly disappointed by the behavior of the Western “partners”, but did not ask for asylum...

He had to wander around the world in search of refuge: Morocco, Bahamas, Mexico, USA, Panama. His other “partners,” the United States, treated the deposed Shah no less disgustingly. They allowed him to stay in the Bahamas for 3 months, on the condition that he would not make any statements or take any steps. The Carter administration was also reluctant to grant him permission to visit New York.

Shah urgently needed surgery for advanced lymphoma, discovered in 1977. After treatment, the Shah was quickly sent out of the country. The United States did not want friction with the new government of Iran. Oil revenues, you know. Unfortunately, the Shah needed a second operation. Two American officials flew to Panama, where he was staying, and demanded his abdication for the operation. The Shah refused and, at the urgent invitation of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, flew to Cairo. He died in hospital and was buried with military and national honors. His body rests in the Al-Refai Mosque in Cairo. The widow of Shah Mohammed Pahlavi, Empress Farah, became regent under her eldest son, and when he turned 20, he became Reza Shah II. However, as time passed, the mother advised her son to forget about the throne of Iran and lead the life of a private citizen. Thus ended the history of the last Persian dynasty, which 2500 years The existence of the country was at least 20.

In this whole story, the efforts of the last shahs to return to the very ancient roots of Iranian statehood are of undoubted interest to us. The first Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty changed the name of the country. In 1935, he appealed to the League of Nations with a request to name the country Iran (Eran), but not Persia. He justified this by the fact that the inhabitants themselves call their country “Irani” (the country of the Aryans), and the Persians are one of the ethnic groups. The region they come from, Pars (Fars), was the center of political power during the Achaemenid and Sassanid empires. They called the country of the Aryans Persia after the name of one region Greeks after the empire was conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.

Indeed, the state of the Achaemenid dynasty (550-330 BC) was called Aryanam Xsahram(ancient Pers. Aryan state), and during the era of the Zoroastrian Sassanid dynasty (224-651 AD) before the Arab conquest, Persia was officially called Eransahr(Eranshahr) – kingdom of the aryans. Some researchers ( Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Sarah Stewart, for example, in his book Birth of the Persian empire) believe that the conquerors of Iran tried to remove the name of the country as a kingdom or country from official circulation Ariev. For example, Greek rulers tried to remove from circulation - Aryanam Xsahram, and the Muslim conquerors tried to take away Eransahr.

However, completely destroy the name "arias" still failed, although the names of the Aryan empires were consigned to oblivion. Instead, the names of territories appeared on Greek maps - Ariana, Aria. For example, the Greek mathematician, astronomer, geographer, philologist and poet, head of the Library of Alexandria Eratosthenes of Cyrene (276-194 BC) on the site of Persia showed a territory called Ariana (Ariana). To be fair, this map was reconstructed in the 19th century by Sir Edward Banberry (Edward Herbert Bunbury (1811-1895)). He wrote a two-volume history book with a long title "A History of Ancient Geography among the Greeks and Romans from the Earliest Ages till the Fall of the Roman Empire"(History of ancient geography of the Greeks and Romans from early centuries before the fall of the Roman Empire) and published it in 1879. And the Greek astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, mechanic, optician, music theorist and geographer Claudius Ptolemy (c. 100-c. 170), who, like Eratosthenes at one time worked in Alexandria, also indicated the region on his maps Aria in Persia. His maps were published by Sebastian Munster in 1540 in Ptolemy's Geography.

Strabo (64/63 BC - c. 23/24 AD), the Greek historian and geographer, also wrote about Arian: “The name Arian extends to part of Persia and Media, as well as to the Bactrians and Sogdians in the north ; for they speak almost the same language, but with slight differences... the inhabitants were called Ariani».

Another interesting fact is that "Ariaramne" (Ariyaramna) was an old Persian name and came from arya(Aryans) and raman(joy, peace) and meant “one who brings peace to the Aryans.” The name Ariaramnes was borne according to various historical sources: the great-grandfather of Darius the Great, the commander of Darius the Great, a nobleman at the court of Xexus, three Cappadocian (modern Turkey) kings, a priest of the cult of Mithra, whose grave stone was also found on the territory of modern Turkey. In Crimea, in Kerch, gravestones were found, on one of which a rider and an inscription were engraved "Daiskos son of Ariaramnes", and on the other "Ariaramnes son of Ariarat".

We can only guess why the last dynasty wanted to become the legal successor to the first founders of the Persian Empire - Aryans. A possible reason may be the fact that, wanting to build from a provincial state of the Middle East, stuck in the Middle Ages, a progressive and strong one, which could become not an object of world politics, a political and economic toy in the hands of the main players, but an equal subject, the Shah understood that the example should be appropriate. And a better and inspiring example than the Persian Empire two and a half thousand years ago during the reign of the Aryan dynasty Achaemenid(705-330 BC), was difficult to find. Declaring the country as the successor to the state that has carried the greatness of Iran in world history for hundreds of years, while affirming that the country has more than two thousand years of statehood experience, was a very strong move in terms of reviving the country.

If this is so, then we must pay tribute to the man who was born in the village and began his career as a private in the Persian Cossack brigade, and gossips and they even claim that at first he was an orderly for a Russian officer. The picture shows the future Shah of Iran and the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, Reza Khan with his colleague in the Persian Cossack Brigade, 1910s. Researchers claim that on the neck of the future ruler of Iran - Russian award, namely the Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd degree, although the biography of the Shah does not indicate the fact that he was awarded any Russian awards.

And the pace of revival was impressive. Iran experienced a special rise from 1963 to 1978. A real economic boom has begun. The people got the opportunity to breathe more freely, women took off their veils (an example was set by the sisters of the last Shah - Princesses Ashraf and Shams, who took off their burqas back in 1934). Here are the successes that the last Shah achieved:

1. Growth rate of industrial production (per year). According to this indicator, Iran under Pahlavi ranked 2nd in Asia after Japan:

1962-1968 – 8,8%

1968-1972 – 11,5%

1973-1978 – 26%

2. GDP growth rate (per year):

1961-1966 – 6,7%

1967-1977 – 10,8%

3. The growth rate of GNP was more than 10% per year. From 1960 to 1970 it increased 4 times and reached $15 billion. GNP (per capita) grew from 1963 to 1978 from 100$/year before 1521$/year.

4. GDP (per capita) increased from $174 in 1953 to $2,400 in 1979.

5. Iran's population increased from 1966 to 1977. by 7.9 million people – from 25.8 to 33.7 million.

6. Revenues from oil production and sales for 2 years (from 1972 to 1974) increased 8 times: from $2.4 billion in 1972 to $20 billion in 1974. From 1973 to 1978. The treasury received over $100 billion from oil sales.

7. By 1970, 1.5 million peasant families (about 9 million people or half of the total peasant population of Iran) received land plots as a result of land reform, during which the state bought plots of land from landowners and sold them to land-poor peasants at a price 30% below the market price (in installments).

8. The Agricultural Development Fund increased its budget from 1968 to 1974. 4 times: from 1 to 4 billion rials.

9. Thanks to the “reconstruction and development corps”, agricultural production in the period from 1964 to 1970. increased its volume by 80% , and also increased in cost by 67%.

10. The area of ​​irrigated land increased from 2 million acres in 1968 to 5.6 million in 1977, thanks to the construction of many dams and the nationalization of all water resources.

11. The number of higher education institutions has increased from 16 in 1960 to 148 in 1974. The number of private kindergartens increased from 202 in 1966 to 366 in 1973. The number of technical educational institutions increased from 1960 to 1975 from 64 before 508 . From 1964 to 1972, the “education corps” taught 1.5 million people to read and write.

12. Free and compulsory 8-year education was introduced for all children under the age of 14, as well as free distribution of milk to schoolchildren. In 1974, a system of free higher education was introduced. By 1975 over 60% population were literate (in 1964 - only 30% ).

13. 100 thousand students were sent to study abroad. They were given sums of money on loan, with the condition of returning only 25% of the total amount.

14. From 1973 to 1975, the volume of bank investments increased 5 times.

15. Iran now has the strongest army in the entire Near and Middle East (400 thousand people + 40 thousand Shah’s guards). The world's most powerful hovercraft fleet, the most advanced air defense missile system in the Third World countries. In terms of air force and helicopter fleet, Iran surpassed all NATO countries except the United States.

16. The urbanization of the country was in full swing. If in 1966 I lived in cities 31% population, then by 1978 - more 50% .

17. 15 automobile factories were built, producing a wide variety of Western and Eastern car models (“Lincolns” and “Toyotas”), as well as cars of their own production (“Peykans”).

18. Several large highways were built in Tehran, similar to Western highways - “shahways”.

19. From 1974 to 1978 built 9 nuclear reactors, more 2 were under construction.

20. Iran's external debt at that time was 0$ .

21. The unemployment rate was less than 1% .

22. In terms of population health, Iran ranked 9th in the world. For 3 years, the “health corps” cured about 10 million people.

23. 6 million people were included in the social security program adopted in 1975, which provides up to 100% of the total amount wages during retirement. By the early 1980s, the program should have included the entire population Iran.

24. Free food has been introduced for needy mothers and all newborns under 2 years of age.

25. Subsidies were allocated to maintain stable prices on the food market.

26. In 1963, women received the right to vote.

27. The country has planted more than 9 million trees and created 70 thousand acres (280 km) of “green belts” around cities and along major highways.

28. An Iranian passport allowed you to visit more 100 countries, incl. all European, without a visa (currently only 14 )…»

When Islamic fundamentalists came to power, secular rights and freedoms were ended, and completely different orders were established in the country. Ayatollah Khomeini, who came to power in the wake of the Islamic Revolution, abandoned the course of technological modernization of the country and planned to return to the economic and social norms of a “true Islamic society.” In Iran, in his opinion, “neither the West nor the East, but Islam” should have been established. Such politics led to the fact that in 10 years (from 1979 to 1989) Iran lost everything that the Shah had so persistently built. Then, however, they came to their senses - the war with Iraq brought them to their senses, and they focused on an export-oriented economy. And the people had to forget about the secularism of the state.

– In 2001, there were 575 forced “honor” suicides, 375 of which were by fire. (Let us explain that this kind of suicide serves to ensure that the guilty party atones for an immoral act, most often for adultery).

– Iranian women who refuse to wear the hijab are subject to imprisonment for 2 months.

– Punishment for adultery: a woman is buried up to her neck in sand and stoned to death.

– In Tehran alone, 4,000 prostitutes aged 10 to 17 years are subjected to physical and sexual violence every day.

Children's executions:

– Iranian law allows the death penalty for boys from the age of 15, and for girls from the age of 9.

– Since 1990, at least 46 children under 18 have been executed in Iran.

– Iran is the only country in the world that executed teenagers in 2008.

– During Ahmadinejad’s reign, the rate of child executions increased by approximately 300%.

– Today, more than 100 juvenile criminals are awaiting execution.

It was not for nothing that the last Shah tried so hard to distance himself from Islamic “traditions” that he even introduced a different calendar, which, by the way, extended (and rightfully) the history of the country by almost 1300 years, but religious fanatics had no use for such trifles. Islam took root in Iran since the 15th century, despite the fact that the Arabs tried to conquer the country starting from the 7th century, but the Persians stubbornly carried out their reconquista. So, 30 years of reforms by the Shah, of course, could not outweigh 400 years of Muslim ideology ruling the country, and the old calendar was returned.

Yes, the Shah did not succeed with the calendar from the Achaemenid rule. But it worked with state symbols. In 1925, Shah Reza Khan ordered the production of a new crown to replace the so-called “Kiani crown”, which had been used by the Shahs of the previous dynasty for a long time.

The basis was taken from one of the crowns of the Sasanian dynasty, which ruled in Iran for more than 400 years (224 to 651 AD). Why one from crowns? Because Iranian archaeologists have counted more than 100 types of crowns of this period among 32 Sasanian rulers, judging by the images on coins, bas-reliefs, silver items, etc. Crowns, they believe, not only showed the cultural, economic, social and historical realities of the time of each reign, but also the characteristic features of each monarch. The main motif of the crown is the sun, which was revered by the Aryans. The Sassanians were Zoroastrians. As you know, Zoroastrians worshiped fire, but not only. Around 1st century AD. in Zoroastrianism, the cult of Mithra, one of the closest assistants of Ahura Mazda, gradually came to the fore. And Mithra, among other things, was the god of the sun and light, and he was often depicted as the sun god driving a chariot. So, in the crown of the new Iranian Pahlavi dynasty Sun in the form of a huge 60-carat yellow diamond and rays of white diamonds was located in the center. In general, a lot of jewelry from the treasury of the previous Shah went into the new crown weighing 2 kilograms: 3,380 diamonds (1,144 carats), 5 emeralds (200 carats) and 368 pearls. This crown was used only twice - during the coronation of Reza Pahlavi on April 25, 1926 and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi on October 26, 1967.

Aryan symbols are also present on the coat of arms of Iran, the personal coat of arms of the Shah and his wife, the Shahban (the so-called Empress of Iran), as well as the prince. In addition, the full title of the Shah, or rather Shahinshah (king of kings), and this is the ancient Iranian title of the supreme ruler, which was used by the Achaemenids (705-330 BC), was this: His Imperial Majesty Shahinshah Aryamehr (last word means "Sun of the Aryans").

So, when creating the new Imperial coat of arms of Iran in the late 1940s, the young Pahlavi dynasty set itself the goal of enclosing in it 2,500 years of continuous statehood of Iran.

In the center of the coat of arms is a round shield divided into four parts. In the first quarter there is a walking Lion, carrying a golden Sun on his back and holding a silver sword in his right paw. a lion And Sun were one of the main symbols of Iran, in the period from 1846 to 1980, and in general it became a famous symbol in Iran from the 12th century.

In the second quarter there is the so-called Faravahar- a winged disk, the main symbol of Zoroastrianism, which originally represented the “winged sun” (a symbol of power and divine origin), and the human image was added to it later. Faravahar was adopted by the Persian Achaemenid dynasty (648-330 BC) from the Babylonians as a symbol of the Supreme God - Ahura Mazda. Thus, in the Pahlavi coat of arms, Faravahar symbolizes the Achaemenid era. Also in the upper corner of this quarter is Sun.

In the third quarter of the coat of arms is located Zulfiqar- a sword with a forked blade at the end. It was taken away by the Prophet Muhammad, who received it during the division of spoils after the Muslims defeated the army of Mecca in battle. According to legend, the sword Zulfiqar has magical powers and magical properties. The Zulfiqar sword symbolizes the Arab-Muslim conquest of Iran and the Islamic (Shiite) history of Iran's statehood (651 - to this day). On top of the sword is a gold five-pointed star.

Located in the fourth quarter Simurgh- a mythical bird of justice and happiness (according to other sources - winged dog, whose body is covered with fish scales and whose tail is peacock). Symbolizes the era of two dynasties - the Parthian Arsacid kings (250 BC - 224 AD) and the Persian Sassanid kings (224-651). It is noteworthy that the Scythians, Saks and Sarmatians had a similar deity with a similar name - Semargl - heavenly dog.

And in the center of the large shield of the Imperial coat of arms is a small one with the image of a mountain Damavand(the highest point in Iran), from behind which the sun rises. Yes, the young Pahlavi dynasty made it clear that they were on the side the sun, not the moon. A large shield is held by two golden lions. In heraldry, the lion is a symbol of strength, courage and generosity. However, this is not the only reason why the Pahlavi dynasty placed it on its coat of arms.

The lion is also a symbol of the Aryans and is presented as their protector, a source of strength, wisdom and power. It is noteworthy that when decorating the Achaemenid palace in Persepolis, various and multiple images of lions were also used. For example, on the main staircase there is a lion clinging to a bull, which some researchers attribute to the symbolic scene of the spring equinox and that the city itself was built exclusively for the main Zoroastrian holiday - Navruz - the New Year.

U shahbanu (empress) had his own personal coat of arms, which also referred to the Achaemenid era with its symbols. Its main element was the image of the famous gold bracelet from the Amu Darya treasure (otherwise the treasure of Oxus) (5th century BC). Like the cylinder of Cyrus the Great, which is now kept in the British Museum, this bracelet is known throughout the world and is business card Achaemenid culture. By the way, the British were generous and sent Cyrus’s cylinder to celebrate the 2500th anniversary of the Persian state, which the Shah organized in 1971. The cylinder is truly an amazing artifact. It itself is made of clay and has a decree carved on it in cuneiform, which can be considered the world's first known declaration of human rights. This decree established religious and ethnic freedom, the prohibition of slavery and any oppression, seizure of property by force or without compensation. And the conquered lands themselves decided whether to submit to the authority of Cyrus. This is the document that was used as the main element of the official emblem of the holiday.

Coat of Arms of the Empress she is crowned with the crown with which she was crowned in 1967. And the bracelet in the Scythian animal style is made in the form of two griffins, although not quite ordinary ones. Instead of a cross between a lion and an eagle, the bracelet features a cross between a mountain goat, a lion and a bird. There is another one interesting point. On the bas-reliefs of Persepolis you can find images of people bringing offerings to the king in the form of similar bracelets from the Amu Darya treasure. The coat of arms of the Crown Prince of Iran shows a two-headed bird - an eagle or a falcon - with a solar symbol on the chest.

Currently, the coat of arms of Iran is a stylized inscription “Allah” in Arabic-Persian script and consists of four crescents and a sword, which symbolize the Islamic creed - “There is no God but Allah” and the 5 pillars of Islam - the main prescriptions of Sharia law, mandatory for all Muslims .

The five pillars of Islam are: shahada (declaration of faith: “I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the servant and messenger of Allah”), namaz (five daily prayers), eid (fasting during the month of Ramadan), zakat (religious tax for the benefit of those in need) and hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).

As we see, instead of lions, the sun and other Aryan solar signs, some nondescript sticks of the lunar cult of the sect of the second level of Judaism were imposed on the Iranians, and, in addition, Muslim orthodoxies decisively suppressed the very memory of the existence of the great Aryan empires on the territory of Iran.

Median Empire

What kind of empires were these? The very first Aryan empire was the Median. Since 2 thousand BC. Aryan tribes came from the north in waves, including fleeing unfavorable climatic conditions, to the Iranian Plateau - a huge territory that is currently occupied by Iran and Afghanistan. They came from different places, from lands from the Dnieper to the Urals. They gave this land their name - Ariana. Time has passed. Some tribes settled in the west and created a state Mitanni, some went to the south of the Iranian Plateau, some turned to Northern India.

Historical science can tell little about them. For example, there was such a tribe Kassites. They are also called Cossei, Kissi or porridge(Akkadian). They lived in the mountains of the huge mountain range of the Iranian Zagros plateau in the 2-1 thousand BC. In the middle of the 18th century. BC. The Kassites invaded Babylonia, and by the 16th century. BC. took possession of the entire country and ruled it from 1518 to 1204. BC, forming its own dynasty, the so-called Kassite dynasty). Scientists find it difficult to name their ethnicity, as well as what language they spoke. Although there are some limited archaeological finds that suggest that The Kassites were also Aryans. For example, a Kassite cylinder seal with a Kolovrat.

In addition, some scientists, for example, the German racologist Hans Friedrich Karl Gunther, defined their language as Indo-European (“Raciology of the Jewish People”). The Kassites used chariots and were engaged in horse breeding (which is a kind of “calling card” of the Aryans, who in those distant times were called chariot conquerors). The names of the Kassite rulers were also Aryan: Suryas, Indas, Maruttas, as the British historian and archaeologist writes Vir Gordon Child in his book “The Aryans - the Founders of European Civilization.”

At the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. a second wave of Aryans arrived, much more numerous. Some of the Aryan tribes - Sogdians, Scythians, Sakas, Parthians and Bactrians - continued to lead a nomadic lifestyle, but two tribes - Medes And Persians chose sedentary and settled in the Zagros valleys. The Medes settled in the north and the Persians in the south. More precisely, the Persians first settled northwest of the Medes, but the Assyrians pushed them out to the south and southwest. In general, the Medes and Persians often fought with Assyria in the 9th and 8th centuries. BC, which sought to conquer them. The Median tribes were conquered by Assyria at the beginning of the 8th century BC, but in 673 BC. e. they rebelled, defeated Assyria and created their own state with its capital in Ecbatana (modern Hamadan in western Iran). A leader named Dayok(pers. Dayukku). His son Fraort(Persian Fravartish), according to Herodotus, was not satisfied with Media alone, but conquered the Persians and other peoples of Asia and even went to war against Assyria. So the empire gradually included Urartu, Northern Mesopotamia, Parthia, Persia and part of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The Median kingdom extended almost to the Indus River. From a small tributary state, Media turned into the strongest power in the Middle East.

His successor Cyaxares(Persian Khvakhshatra) finally defeated the Assyrian state. Cyaxares died in 584 BC. His son Astyages(Persian Ishtuvegu) was forced to defend his kingdom from the Persians. After a long reign (about 30 years), Astyages was defeated in the fight against Kir(Kurush) - the founder of the Persian state, who on his mother’s side belonged to the Median royal family (he was the grandson of Astyages). Media became one of the satrapies and paid tribute to the Persians, like other conquered peoples. Media paid 500 talents in gold, and also in horses. After all, the Medes were considered the best horsemen and have long been involved in horse breeding. They were famous for their “Nisei” horses, which were bred on the Nisei Plain and Khorassan. It was in Media that they began to cultivate the fodder grass alfalfa, which was called “horse food”. In addition, 50,000 royal horses grazed on the Median pastures on the way from Babylon to the Caspian Gates. By the way, they paid horses as tribute to the Assyrians. The capital of Media, Ecbatana continued to be considered one of the capitals of first the Persian and then the Parthian kings, where they preferred to spend the hot summer months. The Median Empire did not last long - from 678 to 559. BC. Strabo (64/63 BC – 23/24 AD), Greek geographer and historian, called it Great Media:

“The Great Media in ancient times, after destroying the power of the Syrians, dominated all of Asia. Subsequently, however, under Astyages, Cyrus and the Persians deprived her of such great power, nevertheless, she continued to largely retain her great-grandfather's glory. Ecbatana was the winter capital of the Persian kings, as well as the Macedonians, who, after the subjugation of the Persians, owned Syria; and even in our time this city provides the same conveniences and security to the Parthian kings.” (Strabo. ed. A. Meineke, Geographica. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877). He also pointed to similarity of language Medes and Scythians. (Strabo X 2, 8, 14).

According to Herodotus(484-425 BC) the Medes included 6 tribes: Buza (the Busae), paretacena (the Paretaceni), struchata (the Strukhat), Arizants (the Arizanti), wake up (the Budii) and magicians (the Magi). Of these, only one tribe does not raise questions regarding belonging to the Aryans. This - Arizants, whose name came from Arya – noble and Zantum- tribe, clan.

The “Aryanism” of the others is more difficult to prove, although most of them are consonant with the names of the Scythian tribes. For example, the Median tribe wake up consonant with the name of the Budins - the Black Sea Scythians. The Paretakenes were the name given to the nomadic tribes that settled in Paretakene, a mountainous region between Persia and Media. Some researchers associate them with the Paralats, whom Herodotus called “royal Scythians,” who lived between the Dnieper and Seversky Donets and in the steppe Crimea.

By the way, Iranian "paradata" denotes the heroes of archaic myths about the first dynasty of civilizing kings that existed on earth and denotes "first lawyers", “the founders of the first social norms.” Who were they booze, It's not clear yet. The name is believed to come from Persian buza, which means aboriginal, autochthonous, that is, it turns out that they were not Aryans, although what their self-name was and what it really was like there is unknown. But here the Slavic Buzhans, and the Bosnians, and the Bosporans, and the leader of the Antes, Bus Beloyar, and Vasily Buslaev, who were much later than the Medes, come to mind.

Another mystery - struchata. Their name is consonant with the Sarmatian tribe that appeared later Satarchs, who lived in Crimea in the 2nd century AD. And the last Median tribe - magicians. They were a caste of Zurvanist priests, a movement that emerged from Zoroastrianism, and were supposedly from Sumer.

That the Medes were Aryans, archaeological finds indicate. First is the use solar symbols and including swastikas. In addition, in the decoration of many things, the main motif is the so-called “Scythian images” - a deer, a panther, a vulture’s head, a hare, a ram, made in the Scythian style. The photo shows: a necklace from the 1st millennium BC, found during excavations in the province of Gilan, in northwestern Iran. Golden Cup. From the Kalardasht region. X century BC. Archaeological Museum. Tehran. Gold decorative pendant 8-7 century BC. Northwestern Iran. Tomb of the Median king Cyaxares with a carved sun above the entrance. Golden cup from Hasanlu (Hasanlu)– archaeological excavations in northwestern Iran. Museum of Bastam. There is a swastika on it, but all the available photographs of this bowl on the Internet are taken so that it is not visible. Only in one old and not very high-quality photograph, probably a scan from a book, can you see a swastika on the lion’s thigh.

But what did the Medes themselves look like? On the wall of the Apadana palace in Persepolis there are relief images of the Medes (as historians have determined), but all of them are made in the so-called “Assyrian style” - with curled hair and beard and in profile, and in drawings with black hair and beards. They seem to resemble some kind of “Eastern Mediterranean” race.

“However, the Bactrians, Medes and Persians themselves remembered that their Aryan ancestors looked different. So, according to legend, the famous Zarathustra bore a family name Spitama, which meant “whitish.” Actually, the ancient custom of the Persians to dye their beards and hair with henna in a fiery color (which is why the Turks called the Iranians “Kizilbashi” - red-headed) is nothing more than an appeal to the red-haired prototype.

The above is confirmed by paleogenetics: thus, according to a study of the remains of proto-Iranians - carriers of the Andronovo culture of Southern Siberia, carried out by a group of researchers from the Strasbourg Institute of Forensic Medicine, most of them had blue or green eyes, pale skin and blond or red hair (Newspaper, 05/13/2009).” (Alexey Vinogradov. “Russian secret. Where did Prince Rurik come from?”).

Achaemenid Empire

Aryan-Medes rose up for a short time. The vast territory remained under their control for just over 80 years. They were replaced by the Aryan tribe Persians, who came with them to Iran. The Persians are also mentioned in Assyrian inscriptions of the 9th century. BC. For example, the inscription of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, which historians date back to 843 BC, speaks of the Parsua region - the Assyrians received tribute from 27 of its kings. Most likely, these were tribal leaders. This area was approximately equal to the modern Iranian province of Fars, the name of which is an Arabized form of the word Parsa, which meant both the country and people of the Persians, as well as their capital Persepolis. The same Assyrian sources of the late 8th century BC. mention the country of Parsumash, and in 714 BC. the records of the Assyrian king Sargon II include the Persians as subjects of this king.

By the way, in Akkadian the name of this king means “ true king" and sounds like Sharrukin (Sar.ru.ki.in), that is, in Akkadian the king was pronounced like that - sar (although in place of the africative “ts” there is a hissing “sh”). For example, the title “king of Sumer and Akkad” in Akkadian was pronounced sar Sumeri u Akkadi. However, not only the title of the Assyrian rulers is similar in sound to the Russian " tsar" The main deity of the ancient Assyrians was the god of war Ashur– Vedic Asura, and in the ancient texts of the Luwians Assyria was called Asuryavana, part of the territories of which much later began to be called Surya and further Syria.

It is known that Surya- This is the Vedic god of the Sun. In addition, according to the Greek historian Kefalion, the fourth king of the Assyrians was a king named Arius. So the Assyrian empire was not Semitic, as many oriental scholars want to present it. For the Semitic king would hardly have bore the name Aryan, and the name of the country and the supreme gods are Vedic; if the Semites had originally created Assyria, they would have given both the country and the supreme gods their names. It’s just that in Assyria it was the same as in other countries around the world - to the autochthonous population, in this case the Semites, white people came, brought them statehood and knowledge, became their rulers, formed a caste of warriors, clergy and senior managers.

But we digress. Let's return to the Persians. In 553 BC. the ruler of Parsa, Cyrus II (Persian Kurush), later called the Great, carried out a coup d'etat and sat on the Median throne. Cyrus was from the Achaemenid clan, named after the ancestor - Achaemene, leading family in the Persian tribe called Pasargadae. At the same time he was the grandson of the Median ruler Astyages(Ishtuvegu), whose daughter named Mandana was married to a noble Persian named Cambyses (Cambuja). Herodotus talks about this, and also that Astyages ordered the death of the child after a prophetic dream. He dreamed that a grapevine grew from the womb of his daughter and that this vine then grew throughout Asia. The dream interpreters explained the dream to him in such a way that his daughter’s son would be king in his place. He ordered his steward Harpagus to kill the newborn, but it turned out that the boy was raised by a shepherd, and then, when he reached adolescence, everything was revealed. Harpagus paid for his failure to fulfill his son's life. The cruel king ordered to kill the boy and prepare a dish from him for his father, which he did not suspect and ate his son. When everything was revealed, he decided to take revenge and helped Cyrus win the Median throne.

It is amazing how popular the legend of the Persian king Cyrus and the dream of the Median king Astyages was in medieval Europe. On the Internet you can find many miniatures from the 14th and 15th centuries illustrating it. The pictures show: miniature “The Dream of Astyages”, 1420-1440, Madrid, National Library of Spain; miniature “The Dream of Astyages” 1330-1340, Vienna, National Library of Austria; miniature “Cyrus, grandson of Astyages, King of the Media, fed by an animal”, master Boucicault (Boucicaut Master), France 1410-1430; miniature “The Dream of Astyages”, France, 15th century; miniature "The Dream of Astyages", 1482, Brixen Cathedral, South Tyrol, northern Italy. What is noteworthy about these miniatures is that the heroes depicted on them are Caucasians, and the women all have light brown, even golden, hair.

Cyrus was very popular in medieval Europe; he was depicted not only in medieval miniatures, but also in engravings. The picture shows an engraving "Cyrus, King of Persia" from a set of four engravings "The Greatest Rulers of Antiquity" 1590s, by a Flemish artist and engraver Adriana Colarta (Adriaen Collaert(1560-1618)). They depict Ninus, King of Nineveh, Cyrus, King of Persia, Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar (Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY). Cyrus was even depicted on the stained glass windows of Christian churches. The picture shows a stained glass window in a Protestant church Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune in Alsace, France. Long novels were also written about the Persian king, such as Artamene or Cyrus the Great (1649-1653) by Georges and Madeleine de Scudéry. This 17th century love adventure novel is generally considered the longest novel ever published, which is not surprising. It took 1,954,300 words to write it, and 13,095 pages fit into 10 volumes.

Cyrus, along with other Persian kings Cambyses, Darius and Smerdis, ended up in the Nuremberg Chronicle - a rare book published in 1493, which contained a chronicle biblical history from the creation of the world, which was illustrated by 1809 hand-colored drawings. These books were an example for other books - in other words, everyone else copied from them - that's why they were called a tricky Latin word incunabula, What means "beginning, cradle". The book was published in Latin and German a rather large circulation - Latin books were, according to various estimates, from 1400 to 1500 copies, and German books - up to 1000.

The creator of this chronicle is considered Hartman Schedel(1440-1514) - a man of very broad interests - a doctor, humanist and historian, and he also loved books. His library, which served as the basis for the Nuremberg Chronicle, consisted of 370 manuscripts and 670 printed books - a huge amount of “information media” for a private person at that time. Or was he not a private person? Unfortunately, who Mr. Schedel really was, and why he undertook to write a sample of biblical history for the peoples of Europe, we will most likely never know. And yes, in the Nuremberg Chronicle all the Persian kings are depicted with European appearance, as are the rest of the characters on page 69 of the Chronicle, including Mordecai, Ezra and Judith. Nehemiah alone, for some reason, got a Semitic appearance.

Another interesting image of Cyrus is in a collection of engravings published by Guillaume Rouyer, a French humanist and major book publisher in Lyon, in 1553. The collection has a long and intricate title: “Collections of images of remarkable people in the world, with the addition of their biographies, taken in abridged form from the best selected authors” (lat. Promptuarii iconum insigniorum a seculo hominum, subiectis eorum vitis, per compendium ex probatissimis autoribus desumptis). The collection contains about 950 portraits of historical figures, made using woodcut printing in the form of medals. Among them are characters from the Bible, ancient and medieval history, starting with Adam and Eve.

However, there is one oddity with the image of Cyrus. Usually on the medals the full name and some other letters were written - either titles, or ranks and “positions”. Moreover, on all the medals that can be found on the Internet, the names of individuals were written entirely on one side, even such long ones as Artaxerxes. Moreover, the “position” of a historical person, such as a king, rex, priest/saint, and sometimes even his “nationality,” was placed on another. So the strange thing is that the short name "Cirus", and written through i , not through y , for some reason divided into two parts. Happened CI RUS . So, maybe his real name was Kira Rus (he also pronounces it Ku-rush in Persian), and Ci means some position, belonging to something or something else. The same can be seen in the engraving by Adrian Colart. If you look closely at the inscription at the top "CY RVS MAIOR" , then you can notice that the space between C.Y. And RVS much more than interletter, that is, it is two different words. Suffice it to recall the image of the cross from the grave of the well-known King Arthur- the main knight of all Britain, which was cited by William Camden in his book “Britain” (1586). On this cross it is clearly readable REX ARTU RIUS , that is KING OF THE RUSSIAN HORDE.

The plot of the beheading of Cyrus by the Massagetae (Scythian) queen Tomiris was especially popular. Everyone knows this story told by Herodotus. “Cyrus, having crossed the Araks River and deepened into the territory of the Massagetae for one day’s march, on the advice of the Lydian Croesus, set a trap for the Massagetae. The Persians left the camp with a supply of wine, which was defended by an ineffective unit, and the main troops retreated back to the river. The Massagetae, as soon as they had defeated the enemy, lay down and began to feast, and having had their fill of food and wine, they fell asleep. The Persians, having arrived, killed many of them, and captured even more, among others, the son of Queen Tomiris, who commanded the Massagetae, whose name was Spargalis. Having learned about this, Tomiris sent a message to Cyrus: “Blood-hungry Cyrus, ... give me my son and leave this country with impunity ... If you do not do this, then I swear to you by the sun, the lord of the Massagetae, I will feed you blood, although you are insatiable.”. The captive Spargapis persuades Cyrus to remove his shackles, and when he was freed and as soon as he could control his hands, he took his own life.

Tomyris, when Cyrus did not listen to her, gathered her entire army and entered into battle with Cyrus. Most of the Persian army was destroyed right there on the spot, and Tomiris put his head in a wine bag filled with human blood and said: “You destroyed me, alive and victorious over you in battle, by capturing my son by cunning. I, as I threatened, will give you blood to drink..."(Dovatur A.I., Kallistov D.P., Shishova I.A. “The peoples of our country in the “History” of Herodotus.” - M., 1982).

The pictures show: miniature “Tamaris, Queen of the Massagetae kills Cyrus the Great, founder of the Persian Empire”, master Boucicaut (Boucicaut Master), France 1390-1430 Miniature from a theological work in Latin in poetic form “Mirror of Human Salvation” (Speculum Humanae Salvationis), 1324, in which the events of the Old Testament serve as a form, a prototype, for the events of the New Testament. Painting by Rubens (1577-1640) “Queen Tomyris before the head of Cyrus.” Note that Rubens painted the Masaget queen in kokoshnik, and her courtiers are more like Russian boyars. Painting by Victor Wolfoet Jr. ( Victor Wolfvoet the Younger(1612-1652)). "The head of Cyrus was brought to Queen Tomyris." Painting "Queen Tomyris with the Head of Cyrus" by Michiel Coxey (1499-1592), a Flemish artist of the late Renaissance.

Although there is evidence opposite to what Herodotus tells. It was the Persians who entered the camp specially left by the Massagetae, where they got drunk and fell asleep, and the warriors of Tomyris killed the sleeping warriors, including Cyrus. Talks about this Polyene, Greek writer of Macedonian origin 2nd century. AD, author of the work “Stratagems” (8.28).

Actually, in the biography of the Persian king Kira There are many mythological stories that may cast doubt on the very existence of such a person. His grandfather Astyages had the same dream as Prince Gostomysl and the companion of his father William the Conqueror about a plant growing from a woman’s womb, which covers all of Asia/City Great/England with its crown. Astyages cooked the son of Harpagus in the same way as Tantalum of his son Pelops, to check whether Zeus was omniscient. Animals like Romulus and Remus fed him with their milk. However, he wrote about Cyrus not only Herodotus, but also an ancient Greek historian Ctesias, who lived in the 5th century BC. and spent 17 years at the court of Artaxerxes II. He wrote a voluminous work, “Peach,” consisting of 23 books, in which he described not only the history of Persia, but also of Assyria and Media. There are actually few original sources about Cyrus, but they exist. This is the so-called "Kira cylinder", which lists his victories, his merciful deeds and ancestors, and several private Babylonian documents.

To the question: why? Persian king Cyrus (Persian Kurus) was so popular in the Middle Ages in Europe, the answer is simple. In the 14-15 centuries, and this is almost the middle of the last night of Svarog, Europe already reigned with might and main. Christianity- lunar cult (cult of Osiris, Dionysus, etc.), which finally defeated the solar cult of life, the last stronghold of which - - the church destroyed by the Crusades in 1209-1215. Everything that was connected with them, with Vedic knowledge and knowledge in general. carefully destroyed and replaced with “correct” information, for example, the biblical creation of the world and other primitive folklore, as well as substitution real story humanity - biblical, that is, the history of one single tribe - the Jews. It so happened that the reign of the Persian king Cyrus was squeezed into the “great” history of this tribe.

Kalash - heirs of the ancient Aryans
High in the mountains of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan, in the Nuristan province, are several tiny plateaus scattered. Locals This area is called Chintal. A unique and mysterious people live here - the Kalash. Their uniqueness lies in the fact that this people of Indo-European origin managed to survive almost in the very heart of the Islamic world.

Meanwhile, the Kalash do not profess Islam at all, but polytheism (polytheism), that is, they are pagans. If Kalash were numerous people with a separate territory and statehood, their existence would hardly surprise anyone, but no more than 6 thousand people have survived the Kalash today - they are the smallest and most mysterious ethnic group in the Asian region.

Kalash (self-name: kasivo; the name “Kalash” comes from the name of the area) is a people in Pakistan living in the highlands of the Hindu Kush (Nuristan or Kafirstan). Number of people: about 6 thousand people. They were almost completely exterminated as a result of the Muslim genocide by the beginning of the 20th century, as they profess paganism. They lead a secluded lifestyle. They speak the Kalash language of the Dardic group of Indo-European languages ​​(however, about half of the words of their language have no analogues in other Dardic languages, as well as in the languages neighboring peoples).

In Pakistan, there is a widespread belief that the Kalash are the descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great (due to which the Macedonian government built a center of culture in this area, see, for example, “Macedonia is a cultural center in Pakistan”). The appearance of some Kalash is characteristic of Northern European peoples; blue-eyedness and blondness are common among them. At the same time, some Kalash have an Asian appearance that is quite characteristic of the region.

The religion of most Kalash is paganism; their pantheon has many common features with the reconstructed ancient Aryan pantheon. Claims by some journalists that the Kalash worship the “ancient Greek gods", are groundless. At the same time, about 3 thousand Kalash are Muslims. The transition to Islam is not welcomed by the Kalash, who are trying to preserve their tribal identity. The Kalash are not descendants of the warriors of Alexander the Great, and the Northern European appearance of some of them is explained by the preservation of the original Indo-European gene pool as a result refusal to mix with the alien non-Aryan population, along with the Kalash, representatives of the Hunza people and some also have similar anthropological characteristics. ethnic groups Pamirs, Persians, etc.

Scientists classify the Kalash as a white race - this is a fact. The faces of many Kalash are purely European. The skin is white, unlike Pakistanis and Afghans. And the light and often blue eyes are like the passport of an infidel-kafir. Kalash eyes are blue, gray, green and very rarely brown. There is one more touch that does not fit into the culture and way of life common to Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Kalash were always made for themselves and used as furniture. They eat at the table, sitting on chairs - excesses that were never inherent to the local “natives” and appeared in Afghanistan and Pakistan only with the arrival of the British in the 18th-19th centuries, but never took root. And from time immemorial, the Kalash have used tables and chairs...

At the end of the first millennium, Islam came to Asia, and with it the troubles of the Indo-Europeans and in particular the Kalash people, who did not want to change the faith of their ancestors to the Abrahamic “teachings of the book.” Surviving in Pakistan professing paganism is almost hopeless. Local Muslim communities persistently tried to force the Kalash to convert to Islam. And many Kalash were forced to submit: either live by adopting a new religion, or die. In the 18th-19th centuries, Muslims slaughtered thousands of Kalash. Those who did not obey and even secretly practiced pagan cults were, at best, driven from the fertile lands by the authorities, driven into the mountains, and more often - destroyed.
The brutal genocide of the Kalash people continued until mid-19th century, until the tiny territory that Muslims called Kafirstan (land of the infidels), where the Kalash lived, came under the jurisdiction of the British Empire. This saved them from complete extermination. But even now the Kalash are on the verge of extinction. Many are forced to assimilate (through marriage) with Pakistanis and Afghans, converting to Islam - this makes it easier to survive and get a job, education, or position.

The life of modern Kalash can be called Spartan. The Kalash live in communities - it’s easier to survive. They live in houses that they build from stone, wood and clay. The roof of the lower house (floor) is also the floor or veranda of another family's house. Of all the amenities in the hut: table, chairs, benches and pottery. The Kalash know only by hearsay about electricity and television. A shovel, a hoe and a pick are more understandable and familiar to them. They draw their vital resources from agriculture. The Kalash manage to grow wheat and other grain crops on lands cleared of stone. But the main role in their livelihood is played by livestock, mainly goats, which provide the descendants of the ancient Aryans with milk and dairy products, wool and meat.

In everyday life, a clear and unshakable division of responsibilities is striking: men are the first in labor and hunting, women only help them in the least labor-intensive operations (weeding, milking, housekeeping). In the house, men sit at the head of the table and make all important decisions in the family (in the community). For women in each settlement, towers are built - a separate house where the women of the community give birth to children and spend time on “critical days”. A Kalashi woman is obliged to give birth to a child only in the tower, and therefore pregnant women settle in the “maternity hospital” in advance. Nobody knows where this tradition came from, but the Kalash do not observe other segregation and discriminatory tendencies towards women, which infuriates and makes Muslims laugh, who because of this treat the Kalash as people not of this world...

Marriage. This sensitive issue is decided exclusively by the parents of the young. They can consult with the newlyweds, they can talk with the parents of the bride (groom), or they can solve the problem without asking the opinion of their child.

The Kalash do not know days off, but they cheerfully and hospitably celebrate 3 holidays: Yoshi - the sowing festival, Uchao - the harvest festival, and Choimus - the winter festival of the gods of nature, when the Kalash ask the gods to send them a mild winter and a good spring and summer.
During Choimus, each family slaughters a goat as a sacrifice, the meat of which is treated to everyone who comes to visit or meets on the street.

In the 1980s, the development of writing for the Kalash language began in two versions - based on Latin and Persian graphics. The Persian version turned out to be preferable and in 1994, for the first time, an illustrated alphabet and a book for reading in the Kalash language based on Persian graphics were published. In the 2000s, an active transition to the Latin font began. In 2003, the alphabet “Kal" as "a Alibe" was published.

The first explorers and missionaries began to penetrate Kafiristan after the colonization of India, but truly extensive information about its inhabitants was provided by the English doctor George Scott Robertson, who visited Kafiristan in 1889 and lived there for a year. The uniqueness of Robertson's expedition is that he collected material on the rituals and traditions of the infidels before the Islamic invasion. Unfortunately, a number of collected materials were lost while crossing the Indus during his return to India. However, the surviving materials and personal memories allowed him to publish the book “The Kafirs of Hindu-Kush” in 1896.

Based on observations of the religious and ritual side of the life of infidels made by Robertson, one can quite reasonably assert that their religion is reminiscent of transformed Zoroastrianism and the cults of the ancient Aryans. The main arguments in favor of this statement can be the attitude towards fire and funeral rites. Below we will describe some of the traditions, religious foundations, religious buildings and rituals of the infidels.


For comparison - traditional pattern ancient Germans and Slavs.

The main, “capital” village of the infidels was a village called “Kamdesh”. The houses of Kamdesh were arranged in steps along the mountain slopes, so the roof of one house was the yard of another. The houses were richly decorated with intricate wood carvings. It was women, not men, who did the field work, although the men first cleared the field of stones and fallen logs. At this time, men were engaged in sewing clothes, ritual dances in the village square and solving public affairs.

The main object of worship was fire. In addition to fire, the infidels worshiped wooden idols, which were carved by skilled craftsmen and displayed in sanctuaries. The Pantheon consisted of many gods and goddesses. The god Imra was considered the main one. The god of war, Gisha, was also highly revered. Each village had its own small patron god. The world, according to beliefs, was populated by many good and evil spirits fighting with each other.

V. Sarianidi, based on the testimony of Robertson, describes religious buildings as follows:

"...the main temple of Imra was located in one of the villages and was a large structure with a square portico, the roof of which was supported by carved wooden columns. Some of the columns were entirely decorated with sculpted heads of rams, others had only one animal head and horns carved at the base which, wrapping around the trunk of the column and crossing each other, rose up, forming a kind of openwork grid. In its empty cells there were sculptural figures of funny little men.

It was here, under the portico, on a special stone, blackened with dried blood, that numerous animal sacrifices were performed. The front facade of the temple had seven doors, famous for the fact that on each of them there was another small door. The large doors were tightly closed, only the two side doors were opened, and then only on special occasions. But the main interest was the door leaves, decorated with fine carvings and huge relief figures depicting the seated god Imru. Particularly striking is the face of the god with a huge square chin reaching almost to the knees! In addition to the figures of the god Imra, the façade of the temple was decorated with images of huge heads of cows and rams. On the opposite side of the temple, five colossal figures were installed supporting its roof.

Having walked around the temple and admired its carved “shirt,” we will look inside through a small hole, which, however, must be done furtively so as not to offend the religious feelings of the infidels. In the middle of the room, in the cool twilight, you can see a square hearth right on the floor, at the corners of which there are pillars, also covered with amazingly fine carvings representing human faces. On the wall opposite the entrance there is an altar framed with images of animals; in the corner under a special canopy stands a wooden statue of the god Imra himself. The remaining walls of the temple are decorated with carved caps of irregular hemispherical shape, placed on the ends of poles. ... Separate temples were built only for the main gods, and for minor ones, one sanctuary was built for several gods. Thus, there were small temples with carved windows from which the faces of various wooden idols looked out."

The most important rituals included the selection of elders, the preparation of wine, sacrifices to the gods and burial. Like most rituals, the selection of elders was accompanied by mass sacrifices of goats and abundant food. The election of the chief elder (jasta) was carried out by the elders from among the elders. These elections were also accompanied by the recitation of sacred hymns dedicated to the gods, sacrifices and refreshments for the assembled elders in the candidate's house:
“...the priest present at the feast is seated in the center of the room, a lush turban is wrapped around his head, richly decorated with shells, red glass beads, and juniper branches in front. His ears are adorned with earrings, a massive necklace is worn around his neck, and bracelets are placed on his hands. A long shirt, reaching to the knees, hangs loosely over embroidered trousers, tucked into boots with long tops. A bright silk Badakhshan robe is thrown over this clothing, and a dance ritual hatchet is clutched in the hand.

Here one of the sitting elders slowly stands up and, tying his head with a white cloth, steps forward. He takes off his boots, washes his hands thoroughly and begins the sacrifices. Having slaughtered two huge mountain goats with his own hands, he deftly places a vessel under the stream of blood, and then, approaching the initiate, draws some signs on his forehead with blood. The door to the room opens, and the servants bring in huge loaves of bread with sprigs of burning juniper stuck into them. These loaves are solemnly carried around the initiate three times. Then, after another hearty meal, the hour of ritual dancing begins. Several guests are given dance boots and special scarves, which they use to wrap around their lower backs. Pine torches are lit and ritual dances and chants begin in honor of the many gods."

Another important ritual of the infidels was the ritual of preparing grape wine. To prepare the wine, a man was chosen, who, after thoroughly washing his feet, began to crush the grapes brought by the women. Bunches of grapes were presented in wicker baskets. After careful crushing, the grape juice was poured into huge jugs and left to ferment.

The festive ritual in honor of the god Gish proceeded as follows:

“... early in the morning, the villagers are awakened by the thunder of many drums, and soon a priest with madly ringing metal bells appears in the narrow crooked streets. Following the priest, a crowd of boys moves, to whom he throws handfuls of nuts from time to time, and then rushes to drive them away with feigned ferocity. Accompanying him, the children imitate the bleating of goats. The priest's face is whitened with flour and smeared with oil, he holds bells in one hand, and an ax in the other. Writhing and writhing, he shakes the bells and ax, performing almost acrobatic performances and accompanying them with terrible screams. The procession approaches the sanctuary of the god Guiche, and the adult participants solemnly position themselves in a semicircle near the priest and those accompanying him. Dust swirls to the side, and a herd of fifteen bleating goats appears, driven by the boys. Having completed their task, they immediately run away from the adults to get busy. children's pranks and games...

The priest approaches a burning fire made of cedar branches producing thick white smoke. Nearby there are four pre-prepared wooden vessels with flour, melted butter, wine and water. The priest thoroughly washes his hands, takes off his shoes, pours a few drops of oil into the fire, then sprinkles the sacrificial goats with water three times, saying: “Be clean.” Approaching closed door sanctuary, he pours out the contents of wooden vessels, pronouncing ritual spells. The young boys serving the priest quickly cut the throat of the kid, collect the splashed blood into vessels, and the priest then splashes it into the burning fire. Throughout this entire procedure, a special person, illuminated by the reflections of the fire, sings sacred songs all the time, which gives this scene a touch of special solemnity.

Suddenly another priest rips off his hat and, rushing forward, begins to twitch, screaming loudly and waving his arms wildly. The chief priest tries to calm down the angry “colleague”; finally he calms down and, waving his hands a few more times, puts on his hat and sits down in his place. The ceremony ends with the recitation of poetry, after which the priests and all those present touch their foreheads with the tips of their fingers and make a kiss with their lips, signifying a religious greeting to the sanctuary.

In the evening, completely exhausted, the priest enters the first house he comes across and gives his bells for safekeeping to the owner, which is a great honor for the latter, and he immediately orders the slaughter of several goats and a feast in honor of the priest and his entourage. So, for two weeks, with slight variations, celebrations in honor of the god Guiche continue."

Finally, one of the most important was the burial rite. The funeral procession was initially accompanied by loud women's crying and lamentations, and then by ritual dancing to the beat of drums and the accompaniment of reed pipes. Men wore goat skins over their clothes as a sign of mourning. The procession ended at the cemetery, where only women and slaves were allowed to enter. The infidels, as it should be according to the canons of Zoroastrianism, did not bury the deceased in the ground, but left them in wooden coffins in the open air.

These, according to Robertson's colorful descriptions, were the rituals of one of the lost branches of an ancient, powerful and influential religion. Unfortunately, it is now difficult to verify where this is a scrupulous statement of reality, and where fiction. In any case, today we have no reason to doubt Robertson's story.

An article about Kalash is published here: http://www.yarga.ru/foto_arhiv/foto/kalash.htm,
Photos from this article and others open sources networks.

There is a lot of information about dards on the Internet and it is contradictory. Kalash are one of the nationalities that belong to a large group of peoples with common name"Dards" due to the fact that they all speak the same language - Dardin.

For reference:

Dardic languages

a group of languages ​​spoken in adjacent areas of northeastern Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Number of speakers of D. i. about 3 million people (1967, assessment). D. i. They are part of the Indo-Iranian group, being intermediate between Iranian and Indian. Divided into 3 subgroups. The most famous languages ​​are: Kashmiri, Shina, the Kohistani group of languages ​​(eastern subgroup); Khowar, Kalasha, Pashai, Tirah, Gavar, Votapuri, etc. (central subgroup); Ashkur, Prasun, Vaigali, Kati, Dameli (Western subgroup, often called Kafir). Written language is only in Kashmiri. In phonetics there is a rich consonantism: there are a number of aspirated (except for 4 languages ​​of the Western subgroup), cerebral, and in some languages ​​also palatalized and labialized. The morphology is characteristic a large number of postpositions with a generally poor system of cases (from zero to 4). A system of enclitic pronouns has been developed, used in some languages ​​only with names, in others - also with verbs. Numerals are characterized by vigesimal (20th) counting. In syntax there is the presence of ergative constructions of various types.

Lit.: Edelman D.I., Dardic languages, M., 1965; Grierson G. A., Linguistic survey of India, v. 8, pt 2, Calc., 1919; Morgenstjerne G., Indo-lranian frontier languages, v. 3, pt 1, Oslo, 1967, pt 2. Oslo, 1944, pt 3, Oslo, 1956.

They were almost completely exterminated as a result of the Muslim genocide by the beginning of the 20th century, as they profess paganism. They lead a secluded lifestyle. They speak the Kalash language of the Dardic group of Indo-European languages ​​(however, about half of the words of their language have no analogues in other Dardic languages, as well as in the languages ​​of neighboring peoples). According to the most common version, the Kalash are the descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great. On the way to India, he left barrage detachments in the rear, which, in the end, did not wait for their master, and remained settled in these places. If the Kalash have their roots in the conquests of Alexander the Great, then the legend seems more plausible, according to which Alexander specially selected 400 of the healthiest Greek men and women and settled them in these inaccessible places with the aim of creating a colony on this territory.

According to another version, the Kalash are the descendants of the people who settled in the mountains of Tibet during the great migration of peoples during the Aryan invasion of Hindustan. The Kalash themselves do not have a consensus on their origin, but when talking about this issue with foreigners, they often prefer the version of Macedonian origin.

A more accurate explanation of the origin of this people could be provided by a detailed study of the Kalash language, which, unfortunately, is still poorly studied. It is believed that it belongs to the Dardic language group, but on what basis this attribution was made is not entirely clear, because more than half of the words from the vocabulary of the Kalash language have no analogues in the languages ​​of the Dardic group and the languages ​​of surrounding peoples. There are publications that directly say that the Kalash speak ancient Greek, but whether this is true is unknown. The fact is that the only people today who help the Kalash survive in extreme high-mountain conditions are modern Greeks, with whose money a school, a hospital, a kindergarten were built, and several wells were dug.

A study of the Kalash genes did not reveal anything concrete. Everything is very unclear and unsteady - they say that the Greek influence can be from 20 to 40%. (Why carry out research if the similarities with the ancient Greeks are already visible?)

The religion of most Kalash is paganism; their pantheon has many common features with the reconstructed ancient Aryan pantheon. Along with the Kalash, representatives of the Hunza people and some ethnic groups of the Pamiris, Persians, and others also have similar anthropological characteristics.
The faces of many Kalash are purely European. The skin is white, unlike Pakistanis and Afghans. And the light and often blue eyes are like the passport of an infidel-kafir. Kalash eyes are blue, gray, green and very rarely brown. There is one more touch that does not fit into the culture and way of life common to Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Kalash were always made for themselves and used as furniture. They eat at the table, sitting on chairs - excesses that were never inherent to the local “natives” and appeared in Afghanistan and Pakistan only with the arrival of the British in the 18th-19th centuries, but never took root. And from time immemorial, the Kalash have used tables and chairs...

Kalash horse warriors. museum in Islamabad. Pakistan.

In the 18th-19th centuries, Muslims slaughtered thousands of Kalash. Those who did not obey and even secretly practiced pagan cults were, at best, driven from the fertile lands by the authorities, driven into the mountains, and more often - destroyed.
The brutal genocide of the Kalash people continued until the middle of the 19th century, until the tiny territory that Muslims called Kafirstan (land of the infidels), where the Kalash lived, came under the jurisdiction of the British Empire. This saved them from complete extermination. But even now the Kalash are on the verge of extinction. Many are forced to assimilate (through marriage) with Pakistanis and Afghans, converting to Islam - this makes it easier to survive and get a job, education, or position.

The Kalash do not know days off, but they cheerfully and hospitably celebrate 3 holidays: Yoshi - the sowing festival, Uchao - the harvest festival, and Choimus - the winter festival of the gods of nature, when the Kalash ask the gods to send them a mild winter and a good spring and summer.
During Choimus, each family slaughters a goat as a sacrifice, the meat of which is treated to everyone who comes to visit or meets on the street.

The Kalash language, or Kalasha, is the language of the Dardic group of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family.
The Kalash language has very well preserved the basic vocabulary of Sanskrit, for example:

Russian Kalasha Sanskrit
head shish shish
bone athi asthi
urine mutra mutra
village grom gram
loop rajuk rajju
smoke thum dhum
oil tel tel
meat mos mas
dog shua shva
ant pililak pipilika
son putr putr
long driga dirgha
eight asht ashta
broken chhina chhinna
kill nash nash

The most impressive thing, according to everyone who visited the Kalash villages, is the dances of the Kalash women that hypnotize the audience.

And a little more video with Kalash guns. Pay attention to the eight-pointed stars on the outfits of Kalash beauties.

The feathers on the men's hats are funny - they look like medieval nobles from Europe.

Clickable 2000 px

If the Kalash were a huge and numerous diaspora with a separate territory and statehood, then their existence would hardly surprise anyone, but today there are several thousand Kalash left - the smallest and most mysterious ethnic group in the Asian region.

(self-name: kasivo; the name "Kalash" comes from the name of the area) - a nationality in Pakistan, living in the highlands of the Hindu Kush (Nuristan or Kafirstan). Number of people: about 6 thousand people. They were almost completely exterminated as a result of the Muslim genocide by the beginning of the 20th century, as they profess paganism. They lead a secluded lifestyle. They speak the Kalash language of the Dardic group of Indo-European languages ​​(however, about half of the words of their language have no analogues in other Dardic languages, as well as in the languages ​​of neighboring peoples). In Pakistan, there is a widespread belief that the Kalash are the descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great (in connection with which the Macedonian government built a “house of culture” in this area, see, for example, “Macedonia is a city of cultural centers in Pakistan”). The appearance of some Kalash is characteristic of Northern European peoples, among them blue-eyedness and blondeness are often found. At the same time, some Kalash have an Asian appearance that is quite characteristic of the region.

The names of the gods that the Kalash worship will amaze you even more. They call Apollo the god of gods and lord of the sun. Aphrodite is revered as the goddess of beauty and love. Zeus evokes mute and enthusiastic reverence in them, etc.

Familiar names? And where does a semi-wild tribe, whose members have never descended from the mountains, cannot read and write, know and worship the Greek gods? Moreover, their religious rituals are strikingly similar to Hellenic ones. For example, oracles are mediators between believers and the gods, and on holidays the Kalash do not skimp on sacrifices and alms to the gods. By the way, the language in which the tribesmen communicate is reminiscent of ancient Greek.

The most inexplicable mystery of the Kalash tribe is their origin. This is a mystery that ethnographers around the world are scratching their heads over. However, the mountain pagans themselves explain their appearance in Asia simply. Another thing is that it is not so easy to separate truth from myths.

At the same time, about 3 thousand Kalash are Muslims. Conversion to Islam is not welcomed by the Kalash, who are trying to preserve their tribal identity. WITH the Vero-European appearance of some of them is explained by the more or less preserved Indo-European gene pool as a result of refusal to mix with the surrounding population. Along with the Kalash, representatives of the Hunza people and some ethnic groups of the Pamiris, Persians, and others also have similar anthropological characteristics.

The Kalash claim that their people formed as a single conclave 4 thousand years ago, but not in the mountains of Pakistan, but far beyond the seas, where the inhabitants of Olympus ruled the world. But the day came when some of the Kalash went on a military campaign under the leadership of the legendary Alexander the Great. This happened in 400 BC. Already in Asia, Macedonsky left several Kalash barrage detachments in local settlements, strictly ordering them to wait for his return.

Alas, Alexander the Great never returned for his faithful soldiers, many of whom went on a campaign with their families. And the Kalash were forced to settle in new territories, waiting for their master, who either forgot about them, or deliberately left them on new lands as the first settlers from distant Hellas. The Kalash are still waiting for Alexander to this day.

There is something in this legend. The faces of the Kalash are purely European. The skin is much lighter than that of Pakistanis and Afghans. And the eyes are the passport of an unfaithful foreigner. Kalash eyes are blue, gray, green and very rarely brown. But there is one more touch that does not fit into the common culture and way of life of these places. Kalash were always made for themselves and used as furniture. They eat at the table, sitting on chairs - excesses that were never inherent to the local “natives” and appeared in Afghanistan and Pakistan only with the arrival of the British in the 18th-19th centuries, but never took root. And from time immemorial, the Kalash have used tables and chairs. Did you come up with it yourself? And there are many such questions...
So, the Kalash survived. They preserved their language, traditions, and religion. However, later Islam came to Asia, and with it the troubles of the Kalash people, who did not want to change their religion. Adapting to Pakistan by preaching paganism is a hopeless undertaking. Local Muslim communities persistently tried to force the Kalash to convert to Islam. And many Kalash were forced to submit: either live by adopting a new religion, or die. In the 18th-19th centuries, Islamists massacred hundreds and thousands of Kalash. Under such conditions, surviving and preserving the traditions of your ancestors, you see, is problematic. Those who did not obey and even secretly practiced pagan cults were, at best, driven from the fertile lands by the authorities, driven into the mountains, and more often - destroyed.

Today, the last Kalash settlement is located in the mountains at an altitude of 7000 meters - not the best conditions for agriculture, livestock breeding and life in general!
The brutal genocide of the Kalash people continued until the middle of the 19th century, until the tiny territory that Muslims called Kafirstan (land of the infidels), where the Kalash lived, came under the protection of Great Britain. This saved them from complete extermination. But even now the Kalash are on the verge of extinction. Many are forced to assimilate (through marriage) with Pakistanis and Afghans, converting to Islam - this makes it easier to survive and get a job, education, or position.

The life of modern Kalash can be called Spartan. The Kalash live in communities - it’s easier to survive. They huddle in tiny huts, which they build from stone, wood and clay in narrow mountain gorges. The back wall of a Kalash house is a plane of rock or mountain. This saves building materials, and the home becomes more stable, because digging a foundation in mountain soil is a Sisyphean task.

The roof of the lower house (floor) is also the floor or veranda of another family's house. Of all the amenities in the hut: table, chairs, benches and pottery. The Kalash know only by hearsay about electricity and television. A shovel, a hoe and a pick are more understandable and familiar to them. They draw their vital resources from agriculture. The Kalash manage to grow wheat and other grain crops on lands cleared of stone. But the main role in their livelihood is played by livestock, mainly goats, which provide the descendants of the Hellenes with milk and dairy products, wool and meat. Having such a meager choice, the Kalash manage not to lose their own pride and not descend to begging and theft. But their life is a struggle for survival. They work from dawn to dusk and do not complain about fate. Their way of life and its way of life have changed little over 2 thousand years, but this does not upset anyone.

And yet there is something mountainous in Kalash. A clear and unshakable division of responsibilities is striking: men are the first in labor and hunting, women only help them in the least labor-intensive operations (weeding, milking, housekeeping). In the house, men sit at the head of the table and make all important decisions in the family (in the community).
For women in each settlement, towers are built - a separate house where the women of the community give birth to children and spend time on “critical days”.

A Kalashi woman is obliged to give birth to a child only in the tower, and therefore pregnant women settle in the “maternity hospital” in advance. No one knows where this tradition came from, but the Kalash do not observe other segregation and discriminatory tendencies towards women, which infuriates and makes Muslims laugh, who treat the Kalash as people not of this world.

Marriage. This sensitive issue is decided exclusively by the parents of the young. They can consult with the newlyweds, they can talk with the parents of the bride (groom), or they can solve the problem without asking the opinion of their child. And yet no one here tells the tragic stories about Romeo and Juliet. Young people trust their elders, and elders treat their own children and youth with love and understanding.

The Kalash do not know days off, but they cheerfully and hospitably celebrate 3 holidays: Yoshi - the sowing festival, Uchao - the harvest festival, and Choimus - the winter festival of the gods of nature, when the Kalash ask the “Olympians” to send them a mild winter and a good spring and summer.
During Choimus, each family slaughters a goat as a sacrifice, the meat of which is treated to everyone who comes to visit or meets on the street.
And the Kalash don’t forget Bacchus: they know how to walk. Wine flows like a river during the holidays, however, religious holidays do not turn into booze.

The main object of worship was fire. In addition to fire, the infidels worshiped wooden idols, which were carved by skilled craftsmen and displayed in sanctuaries. The Pantheon consisted of many gods and goddesses. The god Imra was considered the main one. The god of war, Gisha, was also highly revered. Each village had its own small patron god. The world, according to beliefs, was populated by many good and evil spirits fighting with each other.

Family pole with swastika rosette

For comparison - a traditional pattern characteristic of the Slavs and Germans

It is not known for certain whether the Kalash are descendants of the soldiers of the army of Alexander the Great. What is undeniable is that they are clearly different from the peoples around them. Moreover, in a recent study - a joint effort of the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, the University of Southern California and Stanford University - on the collection and processing of a huge amount of information on the genetic relationships of the planet's population, a separate paragraph is devoted to the Kalash, which states that their genes are truly unique and belong to the European group.

The article uses materials from Wikipedia, Igor Naumov, V. Sarianidi, site http://orei.livejournal.com

Read more about and where it came from The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -

Everything in the life of the Kalash living in the north of Pakistan in the Hindu Kush mountains is different from their neighbors: their faith, their way of life, and even the color of their eyes and hair. These people are a mystery. They themselves consider themselves descendants of Alexander the Great.

Who are your ancestors?

The ancestors of the Kalash are discussed again and again. There is an opinion that the Kalash are local aborigines who once inhabited vast areas of the southern valley of the Chitral River. And today numerous Kalash toponyms have been preserved there. Over time, the Kalash were forced out (or assimilated?) from their ancestral territories.

There is another point of view: the Kalash are not local aborigines, but came to the north of Pakistan many centuries ago. These could be, for example, tribes of North Indians living around the 13th century BC. in the south of the Urals and in the north of the Kazakh steppes. Their appearance was reminiscent of the appearance of modern Kalash - blue or green eyes and light skin.

It should be noted that external features are not characteristic of all, but only of some representatives mysterious people However, this often does not prevent one from mentioning their proximity to Europeans and calling the Kalash the heirs of the “Nordic Aryans.” However, scientists believe that if you look at other peoples who have lived in isolated conditions for thousands of years and are not too willing to register strangers as relatives, then you can find “homozygous inbreeding (related) depigmentation among the Nuristans, Darts or Badakhshans.” Prove that the Kalash belong to to the European peoples they tried at the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, as well as at the University of Southern California and Stanford University. Verdict - the Kalash genes are truly unique, but the question of their ancestors remains open.

Beautiful legend

The Kalash themselves willingly adhere to a more romantic version of their origin, calling themselves the descendants of warriors who came to the mountains of Pakistan after Alexander the Great. As befits a legend, it has several variations. According to one, Makedonsky ordered the Kalash to remain and wait for his return, but for some reason he never returned for them. The loyal soldiers had no choice but to explore new lands.

According to another, several soldiers, due to injuries, were unable to continue moving with Alexander’s army, and were forced to remain in the mountains. Faithful women, naturally, did not leave their husbands. The legend is very popular among explorer travelers who come to visit the Kalash, and numerous tourists.

Pagans

Everyone who comes to this amazing region must first sign papers prohibiting any attempts to influence the identity of a unique people. First of all, we are talking about religion. Among the Kalash there are many who continue to adhere to the old pagan faith, despite numerous attempts to convert them to Islam. You can find numerous posts on this topic online, although the Kalash themselves avoid questions and say that they “don’t remember any tough measures.”

Sometimes, the elders assure, a change of faith occurs when a local girl decides to marry a Muslim, but this happens, according to them, infrequently. However, researchers are confident that the Kalash managed to avoid the fate of their Nuristani neighbors, who were forcibly converted to Islam at the end of the 19th century, only due to the fact that they inhabited the territory that came under the jurisdiction of the British.

The origin of Kalash polytheism is no less controversial. Most scientists consider attempts to draw analogies with the Greek pantheon of gods to be unfounded: it is unlikely that the Kalash supreme god Dezau is Zeus, and the patroness of women Desalika is Aphrodite. The Kalash have no priests, and everyone prays independently. True, it is not recommended to contact the gods directly; for this there is a dehar - a special person who brings a sacrifice (usually a goat) in front of a juniper or oak altar decorated with two pairs of horse skulls. It is quite difficult to list all the Kalash gods: every village has its own, and besides this there are also many demon spirits, mostly female.

About shamans, meetings and farewells

Kalash shamans can predict the future and punish sins. The most famous of them is considered Nanga Dhar - legends were made about his abilities, telling how in one second he disappeared from one place, passing through the rocks, and appeared with a friend. Shamans are trusted to administer justice: their prayer can supposedly punish the offender. Using the humerus of a sacrificial goat, a shaman-ashzhiau (“who looks at the bone”), who specializes in predictions, can see the fate of not only an individual person, but also entire states.

The life of the Kalash is unthinkable without numerous feasts. Visiting tourists are unlikely to be able to immediately understand what event they are attending: a birth or a funeral. The Kalash are confident that these moments are equally significant, and therefore it is necessary in any case to organize a grand celebration - not so much for themselves, but for the gods. You need to rejoice when a new person comes into this world so that his life is happy, and have fun at the funeral - even if the afterlife is serene. Ritual dances in sacred place- Jeshtake, chants, bright clothes and tables bursting with food - all these are constant attributes of two main events in the life of an amazing people.

This is the table - they eat at it

Another special feature of the Kalash is that, unlike their neighbors, they always used tables and chairs for meals. They build houses according to the Macedonian custom - from stones and logs. They don’t forget about the balcony, while the roof of one house is the floor for another - the result is a kind of “Kalash-style high-rise building.” On the facade there is stucco with Greek motifs: rosettes, radial stars, intricate convolutions.

Most Kalash are engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. There are only a few examples when one of them managed to change their usual way of life. The legendary Lakshan Bibi is widely known, who became an airline pilot and created a fund to support the Kalash. The unique people are of genuine interest: the Greek authorities are building schools and hospitals for them, and the Japanese are developing projects for additional energy sources. By the way, the Kalash learned about electricity relatively recently.

In vino veritas

Production and consumption of wine is another distinctive feature Kalash. Prohibition throughout Pakistan is not yet a reason to abandon traditions. And after preparing the wine, you can play your favorite game - something between rounders, golf and baseball. The ball is hit with a stick, and then everyone searches for it together. Whoever found it twelve times and returned first “to base” won. Often, residents of the same village come to visit their neighbors to fight in a gala, and then have fun celebrating - and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a victory or a defeat.

Search a woman

Kalash women are in secondary roles, doing the most “thankless work.” But this is where the similarities with their neighbors probably end. They decide for themselves who to marry, and if the marriage turns out to be unhappy, then divorce. True, the new chosen one must pay the ex-husband a “penalty” - a dowry of double size. Kalash girls can not only get an education, but also, for example, get a job as a guide. The Kalash have long had their own kind of maternity homes - “bashali”, where “dirty” women spend several days before the onset of childbirth and about a week after.

Relatives and curious people are not only prohibited from visiting expectant mothers, they are not even allowed to touch the walls of the tower.
And what beautiful and elegant Kalashkas! The sleeves and hems of their black dresses, for which Muslims, by the way, call the Kalash “black infidels,” are embroidered with multi-colored beads. On the head is the same bright headdress, reminiscent of a Baltic corolla, decorated with ribbons and intricate beadwork. Around her neck there are many strings of beads, by which you can determine the woman’s age (if you can count, of course). The elders cryptically remark that the Kalash are alive only as long as their women wear their dresses. And finally, one more “rebus”: why is the hairstyle of even the smallest girls five braids that begin to be woven from the forehead?