This is a short article that should be read with caution and an open mind.
*NO DISRESPECT IS INTENDED TO THE DECEASED OR TO THE KALASH PEOPLE*
Interaction between generations; young girls returning from a school function stop to talk to a village elder along the way, in Karimabad, Hunza.
In the Kalashi village of Krakhal, Bamboret, a short wooden bridge leads to their ancestral graveyard – a raised area sheltered under trees, away from the main community. Piled up amongst the tree roots are old wooden coffins in complete disarray, all of which have been forcibly opened and the contents scattered. The Kalash traditionally laid their dead to rest in sturdy wooden coffins placed above the ground – perhaps due to difficulties encountered digging through the frozen topsoil which used to exist here throughout much of the winter season. The utter devastation of the graves, however, was wrought by outside forces – some say it was floods, other say non-Kalash locals and visitors prised open the coffins to retrieve the expensive jewellery buried with the dead, or to take ghoulish souvenirs. It may also be the result of deliberate vandalism.
The open coffins and scattered bones are a popular (if somewhat macabre) tourist attraction, and whilst I was there, I ended up having a brief conversation with a group of medical students about determining the age and gender of the deceased. Naively, I pointed out a place where the top of a cranium was visible in the centre of a footpath, and suggested that it may be complete, having been protected under the ground from the elements and tourists. After I moved on, I was horrified to realise that a group of local non-Kalash boys had overheard the conversation, had dug out the indeed almost complete skull and proceeded to kick it around like a football. Some non-Kalash locals and visitors vehemently disrespect the Kalash purely on the grounds of their beliefs, and treating the skull in such a way is just one example of site desecration and demeaning the Kalash community. I asked the boys to leave and took this photo of the skull, with the intention of posting this story. After talking with some local elders, I returned the same evening and hid it in a safe place within the graveyard, where hopefully it will not be found or disturbed again.