culture
The SHAHI sport
An insight into the sport of kabuturbazi
By Aoun Sahi
"Nobody in my family appreciates my passion for Kabutarbazi or Kabutur parwazi (pigeon-flying)," says Shoaib Ali, while releasing ten of his champion pigeons in the air. The pigeons circle higher and higher in the sky. "They think it is a waste of time and money. But I derive a strange kind of satisfaction when my pigeons fly high in the sky -- and win races."

Endangered Kalash
Whatever is left of the Kalash community in Chitral is in danger of extinction -- at the hands of religious fanatics
By Moeed ur Rehman
Chitral is likely to lose the Kalash, one of world's most endangered minority communities. The people belonging to one of the oldest civilisations, known to be the most peaceful and loving, are now living under fear of loss of their lives and culture. They are, reportedly, facing threats from religious fanatics. Some of the Kalash families have recently either gone underground or planned to leave the area. This may be a great blow to Chitral which earns a huge foreign exchange from tourism every year.

 

The SHAHI sport

An insight into the sport of kabuturbazi

By Aoun Sahi

"Nobody in my family appreciates my passion for Kabutarbazi or Kabutur parwazi (pigeon-flying)," says Shoaib Ali, while releasing ten of his champion pigeons in the air. The pigeons circle higher and higher in the sky. "They think it is a waste of time and money. But I derive a strange kind of satisfaction when my pigeons fly high in the sky -- and win races."

The 22-year-old agriculturist, Shoaib Ali, keeps some 300 pigeons on his land, which is one and half kilometres from Mandranwala village in district Sialkot. His knowledge on different breeds of pigeons is remarkable. "To be a successful kabutarbaz or pigeon flyer, the first step is familiarity with the different breeds of pigeons."

Kabutarbazi is common in his village. Some 50 people in his village keep pigeons and hold regular competitions, more so between May and July. "Pigeon-flying has often caused many disputes, but we are still passionate about the sport," he says.

This kind of gaming entails a lot of caring -- three months before the competition the birds' wings are plucked and served a protein-rich diet to ensure that the new wings grow strong. The keeper prefers his birds to fly in the competition with an empty stomach.

The pivotal role in the competition is played by the local ustad who prescribes many formula diets to enhance the flying time of the pigeons. He selects the pigeons for the competition and prescribes medications during the training sessions.

Raising pigeons used to be a famous pastime of the Mughals. Many believe they brought this sport to the subcontinent. The pigeon pens were an integral part of the palaces and havelis during the Mughal era. Even the Mughal emperor Zahiruddin Muhammad Babar mentioned the sport of pigeon-keeping in his biography, Tuzk-e-Babri. Historians say Akbar was crazy about this sport.

Centuries later, the sport has retained its popularity, especially in the towns of Punjab -- Kasur, Sialkot, Faislabad, Gujrat and Rawalpindi. In Lahore, pigeons are kept on the rooftops in cages made of iron frames and mesh on rooftops in the posh areas such as Defence Housing Authority, Gulberg, Garden Town, Model Town and Allama Iqbal Town. In fact, in the last five years or so, pigeon-keeping has become popular in Lahore. After the ban on kite flying, many people have taken to pigeon flying," he says.

Agha Shahid Muhammad, an expert pigeon racer in Lahore, says that normally breeding pairs are kept segregated. "Also male and female pairs in the competition should be kept separately," he says. Good breeding seasons are between mid-October and mid-May. From June to September males and females are kept apart.

The normal feed of the pigeons consists of grains like wheat, pulses, rice, millet and corn. "Besides grains, the birds are fed on almonds and milk to keep them healthy. Some are nuskhas are prescribed too," says Agha Shahid. He admits that the pigeon flyers also intoxicate the birds with drugs to enhance their flight. "These medicines are harmful for birds and many of them die. But the practice continues because there is no body in Pakistan that regulates the sport. "Kamagar, Ferozepuri and Tadi are the breeds of pigeons known for their long flight duration. They can cost between Rs 50,000 and Rs 70,000. "We prefer flying pure breeds instead of mixed ones in the competitions. Sometimes many birds get lost, a loss no bird flyers can endure easily," he says.

Chaudhry Muddassar Rashid, a German-educated civil engineer, is one of the most enthusiastic pigeon keepers in Lahore. He has about 100 pairs and 300 flyer birds. Rashid's team won the famous Bahrain Cup this year. "I own breeds like Dayyer, Kamagar, Tadi, Ali Walay, Ferozpuri, Missay, Shikra, Golden and Motian Walay."

The Bahrain Cup is the most prestigious pigeon racing competition in Pakistan. Ministry of Sports Bahrain sponsors this every year. The first prize this year was Rs 300,000.

According to Rashid, most of the enthusiastic pigeon keepers try to live in the outskirts of Lahore. "Noise and pollution disturbs the flying of pigeons. I know many pigeon lovers in the city who have shifted many houses only because of their pigeons. They want to keep their birds in a peaceful area. My ustad has changed three houses already," he elaborates.

He admits that it is a very time consuming exercise, especially in our weather when temperature is above 45°C in the month of May, June and July -- "Par Shouq Ka Koi Moll Nahin Hota' (Passion knows no bounds)", he says, adding the future of this sport is very bright in Pakistan. "Last year, 65 teams participated in the Bahrain Cup, this year the number of teams has raised to 92, and we hope that the next year the number will reach 150. However, no Pakistani government department has come forward to sponsor this sport.

"Learning is an integral part of the sport, you learn new things everyday," says Rashid.

 

 

Endangered Kalash

Whatever is left of the Kalash community in Chitral is in danger of extinction -- at the hands of religious fanatics

By Moeed ur Rehman

Chitral is likely to lose the Kalash, one of world's most endangered minority communities. The people belonging to one of the oldest civilisations, known to be the most peaceful and loving, are now living under fear of loss of their lives and culture. They are, reportedly, facing threats from religious fanatics. Some of the Kalash families have recently either gone underground or planned to leave the area. This may be a great blow to Chitral which earns a huge foreign exchange from tourism every year.

"We don't want to leave this soil but we are afraid of people who give us threats of dire consequences if we do not bow down before their wishes," said Yaqib Dor, a well-known social figure in Kalash valley village Bamorait. "We have curtailed our religious and other social festivals and gatherings due to the fear."

However, courageous young Kalash are hopeful to overcome this sorry state of affairs. "We will never leave this soil which has given us so much honour and respect," said nineteen year old Saira Shuman from the same village.

A five day visit of lush green Chitral in April 2009 reveals that the area shares a 380-km border with Afghanistan in the north and west, and the Central Asian states of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are easily accessible from the area. To the east lies Gilgit, from where one can reach China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region along the legendary Karakoram Highway. A lot of mixed communities live in the Chitral district in a very peaceful and friendly environment. The most attractive and old community is Kalash which lives in the outskirts of Chitral. Kalash are living in adjacent villages namely Bamborait, Batrik, Kalash Grom, Balaguru, Achilga, Aspara, Sheikhandeh and Karakalin where about 3500 Kalash people are living. All the villages are inside the lush green fertile valleys which have been termed as paradise on the earth.

The Kalash living in Chitral can be reached from Peshawar and Gilgit over the Lawari Pass (3118m) and Shandur Pass (3735m). Chitral is about 365 kilometres from Peshawar and 385 kilometres from Gilgit, 12-hour journey in either case. However due to ongoing tension in NWFP, tourists prefer to travel by air; Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) operates daily flights, subject to weather. From Chitral town, it takes one hour of jeep drive to access any of the three main Kalash valleys located at a distance of 25 kilometres.

According to a survey, the Kalash population decreased from 10,000 in 1951 to 3,700 in 1998, motivating conservation experts, development workers and anthropologists to work to preserve and protect the Kalash culture.

There are a lot of theories about the origin of the Kalash. Some historians believe they are descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great. Others say the Kalash are indigenous to Asia and come from what is now the Nuristan area of Afghanistan. Still others say the Kalash ancestors migrated to Afghanistan from a distant place in South Asia, which the Kalash call "Tsiyam" in their folk songs and epics. However, some reports suggest that the Kalash migrated to Chitral from Afghanistan in the 2nd century B.C.

By the 10th century A.D. the Kalash ruled a large part of present-day Chitral. Razhawai, Cheo, Bala Sing and Nagar Chao were famous Kalash rulers from the 12th-14th centuries. Their fellow tribesmen in Afghanistan were known as Red Kafirs. The thriving Kalash culture began to fall in 1320 A.D. when Shah Nadir Raees subjugated and converted the people to Islam. The villages of Drosh, Sweer, Kalkatak, Beori, Ashurate, Shishi, Jinjirate and adjacent valleys in southern Chitral were the last Kalash villages subjected to mass conversion in the 14th century. The Kalash were living in just three Chitral valleys, Bambourate, Rumbur and Birir, by the time the Amir of Afghanistan forcefully converted to Islam the Red Kafirs on the other side of the border in 1893. Villages of the converted Red Kafirs in Chitral are known as Sheikhanandeh -- the village of converted ones. The Kalash, as well as the Sheikh community, are popular with domestic and foreign tourists because of their unique culture.

The Greeks have recently shown great interest in the area and one of the NGOs, reportedly funded by the government of Greece, is doing a great job in protecting the old civilization. They claim that Kalash people are their old community and are descendents of Alexander the Great. The said NGO has built a great wooden museum and after collecting valuable old pieces of the cultures of the Kalash have placed them inside the museums. "This has protected the old traditional articles of the Kalash," said Faham, a tourism official and a famous social worker of Chitral.

"However despite all these efforts, the present wave of fanaticism is likely to enter in the most peaceful hill station of NWFP. We are already victims of misconceived general information spread by the international media," said Ayyub Gorani, a tourist guide in Chitral. "Our tourism has already suffered and now the latest threats to Kalash people will create more blows."

A senior official of District Management confirmed that they have received information regarding "alleged threats to Kalash people" and management was taking all possible measures to safeguard their interests.

Tourism observers are of the view that government should take all possible measures to save this oldest civilisation of the world which has become the main source of income through tourism in the area.


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