By Jove!

The Kalash live in the Hindu Kush in northwest Pakistan. They claim to be direct descendents of Alexander the Great:

The Kalash are a polytheistic people, meaning that they believe in many gods. The gods that they believe in are the twelve gods of Ancient Greece which makes them the only people who continue this worship! Gods such as Zeus, the god of gods, Apollo, the god of the sun, and Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, are such gods that they pay homage to.  Shrines which are found in every Kalash village remind us of the religious sanctuaries we would stumble across in Ancient Greece. They serve as houses of worship where prayers and sacrifices are offered. Oracles who played  a major role in  acting as mediators and spokespeople between the gods and the mortals still hold a position of importance in the social structure of the Kalash.  Every question or prayer towards the gods is usually followed by a sacrifice of an animal. It is reminiscent of the sacrifices the Hellenes gave to the gods to assure them a victory over the city of Troy.

Before its forced Islamicization at the end of  the nineteenth century, the land they inhabited was known as Kafiristan, the Land of the Infidel. It's where Peachy and Daniel went to become kings in Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King, pursuant to their contract signed at the office of the North Star and witnessed by one Rudyard Kipling:

This Contract between me and you persuing witnesseth in the name of God--Amen and so forth.

(One) That me and you will settle this matter together; i.e. to be Kings of Kafiristan.

(Two) That you and me will not, while this matter is being settled, look at any Liquor, nor any Woman black, white, or brown, so as to get mixed up with one or the other harmful.

(Three) That we conduct ourselves with Dignity and Discretion, and if one of us gets into trouble the other will stay by him.

 

Signed by you and me this day,

Peachey Taliaferro Carnehan
Daniel Dravot
Both Gentlemen at Large

If you haven't read the story or seen the wonderful John Huston film, with Sean Connery and Michael Caine, do both IMMEDIATELY!

Comments

[CraigC]

Great flick. I love the contrast between Connery's brogue and Caine's so-thick-you-could-cut-it-with-a-knife Cockney accent.

[gail]

Remember Billy Fish, the Gurkha, played by Saeed Jaffrey? Great characterization.

[Major John]

I has a Sergeant Major come by one day and tell me had been up the Salang Valley and whilst there, had a "Kipling moment". Heh.