Research question:

How to preserve main headdress of kaupas which is the identity of kalash valley?

Citation:

Pakistan kalash minority at risk of extinction (Gul, 2019).

Author:

Mahwish Gul is from Islamabad and studies development management at Ruhr University
Bochum and the University of Western Cape in Cape Town. Her mastersʹ program belongs to
AGEP, the German Association of Post-Graduate Programs with Special Relevance to
Developing Countries.

Summary:

Kalash is located in the northern area of Pakistan, under the district of chitral. The people of
kalash are known to be the descendants of Greek army troop that was a part of alexander’s army.
Kalash tribe has its own religion and worship number of gods. The lifestyle trails of kalash
people set them apart in predominant Muslim Pakistan. Their unique cloth, accessories and
celebrations attract number of tourist, but their culture is under threat it is due to number of
reasons. Illegal tree logging and land encroachment are one of the reasons also they are severely
marginalized economically and in addition to this they are pretty few in numbers which
ultimately lead to their culture extinction.

Critical comment/analysis:

Kalash culture is very rich in its self, their clothing, accessories, their celebration, their way of
living is unique their celebration which attract number of people from the world but these people
are less in numbers and their culture is in danger due to deforestation, lack of resources and
that’s a threat that with the passage of time their culture will extinct.

Relevance:

This article brief that the culture of kalash is in danger and with the passage of time it will
extinct. So the action is needed to preserve the culture which is the identity of kalash valley and
as a nation we should know about its value that how the craft of kalash are produce under a
limited resources.
Citation:

Kalsah dress adornment as space for identity (Mohuddin, Sheikh, & Rehman, 2015)

Author:

A case study of bumuret valley in district chitral, Pakistan

Summary:

Kupas are the main headdress of kalash people which is integral part of kalash identity. It is
highly rich in art and is made with cowries, seashells, buttons and decorative stitches.
Traditionally girls receive her kupas age of four to learn the importance of kupas and to insure
that this is not a thing to play. Kupas is utmost important for the peoples of kalash as it show the
rank of a person in the tribe. The highest ranked person has highly embellished kupas with a
large number of buttons on it which shows their authority and power.

Critical comment/analysis:

According to their believes, kupas seems to be the identity of people living in kalash. They use
ornamentation and amount of buttons to represent their status and authority. No commoner is
allowed to wear kupas filled with more than two lines of buttons because it indicates from which
family they belongs to and what powers they do have. Just like in many countries it is illegal and
a punishable act for commoners to wear the army uniform or using their batches even as fashion
accessories.

Relevance:

To preserve this craft it is important to know the value of headdress. Therefor this provides the
information that kupas is the symbolic representation of their status and authority. The
ornamentation on it defines the ranks of a person in their tribe.
The Kalash people, also called Waigal or Wai are the residents of the Kalash valley which is

located in chitral district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhuwa province of Pakistan. These people are

believed to be the descendants of Greek troop that was part of Alexander’s army. The have their

own religion and worship numerous gods. The Kaash tribe highly regards their elders and the

rank of their elders is represented by a unique head dress called Kupas.

Kupas is the integral part of kallash identity. As per their tradition women receive her Kupas at

the age of four in a religious event. Kupas is made by hands and it consists of cowrie’s seashells

fancy buttons and decorative stiches. Number of rows of buttons shows the ranks of a person.

Kupas contains such importance that no commoner is allowed to wear more than 2 rows of

buttons (Anwar Mohyuddin, Irum Sheikh, Hafeez ur Rehman, 2015). This indicate that the kupas

have a great importance in their life

Unfortunately the Kupas culture is moving towards extinction due to numbers of reasons. Area

of kalash in underdeveloped therefore they are economically pretty weak. Illegal deforestation

and land encroachment is taking their homes away from them and most important factor is that

they are pretty low in numbers this affects them in a way that only few of them are left to

preserve their culture (Gul, 2019) This depicts that the culture of kalsh is in danger due to

various reason and some action is needed preserve it.

The study provides information regarding the importance of kupas in kalash valley and it also

highlights the fact that attention is required for preserving the culture of kalash.