Chitral's Kalash Valleys added to Unesco's World Heritage Tentative List

PESHAWAR: The Kalash valleys of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chitral district have been inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Culture Organisation’s (Unesco) ‘World Heritage Tentative List’, it emerged on Tuesday.

According to Unesco’s website, a country must make an inventory of important natural and cultural heritage sites located within its boundaries, which is known as the Tentative List.

“It is an important step since the World Heritage Committee cannot consider a nomination for inscription on the World Heritage List unless the property has already been included on the state party’s Tentative List,” it says.

Kalash, an enclave of three remote and inaccessible valleys of Bumburate, Birir and Ramboor, is located in Chitral district and inhabited by over 4,000 indigenous people who profess a polytheistic religion and unique cultural practices.

KP Director General of Archaeology and Museums Dr Abdul Samad told Dawn that the development was a significant achievement towards the preservation of Kalash culture.

“It is the first time an entire community and its cultural practices have been listed by the Unesco World Heritage Tentative List,” he said.

He said that his department has been working to get the Kalash culture landscape on the UN agency’s heritage list for more than a decade. Dr Samad said that the enlistment would contribute to the preservation of both the tangible and intangible aspects of Kalash’s culture.

He said that in the first step, a submission needed to be accepted by the World Heritage Centre on its tentative list, followed by a formal notification by the UN body.

However, he said that after tentative enlistment, a dossier needed to be submitted to the UN body, incorporating bylaws and other necessary steps.

Dr Samad said that inscription on the tentative list had put the Kalash culture on the national and international cultural map, providing for bylaws, community development and preservation of tangible and intangible heritage; therefore, it was a major achievement.

KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, in a post on X, welcomed the development, terming it a “major milestone”.

He noted that KP was “home to some of the world’s most breathtaking landscapes and unique cultural traditions, and this recognition is long overdue”.

“A well-deserved moment that brings global attention to the beauty and heritage of our region,” Kundi added.

According to Unesco’s website, “The Kalasha Valley cultural landscape possesses outstanding universal value (OUV) as an extremely rare and exceptionally well-preserved example of a living indigenous cultural system”.

It said that this system has continued without interruption for centuries within its original geographic and cultural setting. Despite historical changes, outside influences, and social pressures, the Kalasha community has successfully maintained its distinct identity, Unesco said.

It continued: “These features are not abstract ideas or symbolic references to the past, as these are actively practised and clearly connected to the physical landscape, where specific places serve as designated locations for particular ceremonies and ritual activities. The landscape itself is directly involved in sustaining and expressing cultural life.”

It said that the tangible heritage includes more than 140 recorded ceremonial structures, ritual platforms, ancestral graveyards featuring distinctive wooden carvings, and traditional villages. Each of these places has its own name, purpose, and meaning within the memory and identity of the community.

The intangible heritage, on the other hand, was equally extensive and well-organised, it said.

“It includes a complete and structured system of religious rituals and seasonal festivals. It also includes a strong tradition of oral storytelling, unique musical forms, traditional dances, distinctive clothing, and customary laws overseen by a council of elders. These elements do not exist separately from one another. Instead, they form a unified and working system that continues to regulate daily life, land management, social relationships, spiritual practices, and community decision-making in a fully integrated way,” it said.