Bis zu ihrer Islamisierung im Jahre 1896 wurden Menschen aus Nuristan von der islamischen Bevölkerung als
sauze káfir („grünäugiger Ungläubiger“) beschimpft, da sie eigenen
animistischen Glaubensvorstellungen anhingen
Nuristani Tribes:
The Nuristani in Afghanistan primarily live in high elevations in northeast Afghanistan. They trace their genealogy back
to either the Greek forces of Alexander the great or to the tribes of Mecca which rejected Islam
many Nuristanis claim is
Greek blood left over from the mighty armies of Alexander, many Nuristanis have
distinctly European features, blue and green eyes, and blond or red hair. Since being conquered by the “Iron Amir” (Abdul Rahman Khan) in 1893, there has been some intermingling with Pashtuns, forced or otherwise
They believe that their
ancestors are the tired and wounded soldiers of Alexander, who settled down there and married with local women. They remember in details the expedition of
Sikander Mahdouni (Alexander Macedon) in their area and it is remarkable that their stories match with the records of the ancient historians.
Griechische einflüsse :
There are some Greek elements in their language and their greeting is very characteristic.
They say: Haero, Haere! A very common greeting in
Greece today: Greetings, I'm glad, be glad, are you strong (healthy), very strong?
The recordings we have here are from the village of Zanchigal in the Waigal valley (Central Nuristan).
The song in the Waigali dialect is called "Alol" probably deriving from the Greek verb "Leo"(I speak-sing). In Nuristan and the Kalash, songs very often start and end with the words: "Leo" . This occurs mainly in historical and devotional songs. The people here usually sing in groups, sometimes men and women together, but more often separately. The songs are accompanied by the Nuristani Lyra, drums and clapping and the heroic and historical ones, are very common.
The Way, t
he Nuristani Lyra with the four strings, is the only instrument of its kind in Asia, it looks like an ancient Greek instrument and is very rarely played on its own. Usually it accompanies the singing and dancing. The flute is also a very popular instrument here, normally used to play dance tunes.
The dances of Nuristan and the Kalash as well, are very similar to those of Thrace and Pontos in Greece.
The principle Gods of the Kalash though, comes from the West.
The father of Gods and people is Di-Zau, probably Dias-Zeus. Ballumain is the second in importance God
after Di-Zau. He always comes from the west during Chawmos, his winter solstice festival held in December and then he returns back to the west informing Di-Zau about the local deities and people. A very special deity in the Pantheon of the Kalash is the Goddess
Jestak (in Greek "Estia" = Hearth, the ancient goddess of home and family. Estiaki&deity=home-family deity).. He always comes from the west during Chawmos, his winter solstice festival held in December and then he returns back to the west informing Di-Zau about the local deities and people.
In the district of Mandi there is a hill called
Sikander (Alexander), and in Lahoul a river called
Yunan (Ion-Greek)
Program for Culture and Conflict Studies at NPS - Homehttp://www.nps.edu/programs/ccs/Nuristan.html
