Kalasha culture and belief system differs from the various ethnic groups surrounding them but is similar to that of the neighboring Nuristani

Nuristani

The Nuristani people are an ethnic group Aryan-Iranian to the Nuristan region of northeastern Iran and Afghanistan. The Nuristanis are a people whose ancestors practiced what was apparently an ancient Indo-Iranian polytheistic religion until they were conquered and converted to Islam in the late...

s in northeast Afghanistan. The Kalash people are unique in their customs and religion. In the 1970s there were a number of forced conversions. However, during the last two decades, protection by the Pakistani government has seen the Kalash double in number.

Dezau

There is a creator deity called Dezau (ḍezáw) whose name is derived from Indo-European *dheig'h 'to form' (cf. Vedic dih, Kati Nuristani dez 'to create', CDIAL 14621); he is also called by the Pashto

Pashto language

Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...

 term Khodai

Khuda

Khuda or Khoda is the Pashto word for "guide" and has come to be used as "Lord" or " God" in both Pashto and Persian. Formerly used for Ahura Mazda, today mostly of God in Islam by not just Pashto and Persian speakers, but also by Urdu speakers as well...

. There are a number of other deities, semi-gods and spirits.

Varendr

There is the prominent Varendr (Warín, Werín from *aparendr) and goes back to Indo-Iranian deity Vṛtrahan the 'slayer of vṛtra' (resistance).

Varendr appears in various form, such as Sajigor (Sajigōr), also called Shura Verin (Šúra Werín from *śūra *aparendra 'the hero, the unrivaled Indra'). Warén(dr-) or In Warīn is the mightiest and most dangerous god. The location of his shrine was assigned by bow shot . Another one of his forms is the recently popular Balumain (Baḷimaín). Riding on a horse, comes to the Kalash valleys from the outside at winter solstice. Balumain is a culture hero who taught how to celebrate the Kalash winter festival (Chaumos). He is connected with Tsyam, the mythological homeland of the Kalash. Varendr has a demon-like counterpart, Jeṣṭan (from *jyeṣṭha? 'the best'), who appears on earth as a dog; the gods are his enemies and throw stones at him, the shooting stars.

Munjem Malik

Another god, Munjem Malik (munjem from *madhyama 'middle'; malék from Arab. malik 'king'), is the Lord of Middle Earth and killed, like the Varendr, his father. Mahandeo (mahandéo, cf. the Nuristani Mon/Māndi), is the god of crops, and also the god of war and a negotiator with the highest deity.

Jestak

Jestak (jéṣṭak, from *jyeṣṭhā, or *deṣṭrī?) is the goddess of domestic life, family and marriage. Her lodge is the women's house (Jeṣṭak Han).

Dezalik

Dezalik (ḍizálik), the sister of "Dezau" is the goddess of childbirth, the hearth and of life force; she protects children and women. She is similar to the Kafiri Nirmali (Indo-Iranian *nirmalikā). She is also responsible for the Bashaleni lodge.

Mountain fairies

There also is a general pattern of belief in mountain fairies, Suchi (súči, now often called Peri), who help in hunting and killing enemies, and the Varōti , their violent male partners . They live in the high mountains, such as Tirich Mir , but in late autumn they descend to the mountain meadows. The Jach (j.ac. from *yakṣ(inī), are a separate category of female spirits of the soil or of special places, fields and mountain pastures.

Conversions

During the seventies, when local Muslims forced a number of conversions upon the Kalash, their numbers shrank to just two thousand. However, with protection from the government, a decrease in voluntary conversion and a great reduction in the child mortality rate, the last two decades have seen their numbers double. Recently two Kalash girls converted to Islam. An evidence of Islamic influence is visible by the fact that in recent years many Kalash have begun calling their god Khodai which is the Pashto word for "God".