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The Land of Light Nooristan (the Land of Light) is one of the impassable regions of eastern Afghanistan, lost among the steep spurs of the Eastern Hindukush. It is almost locked by sheer cliffs and only in the extreme south and south-east the mountainous terrain goes down towards the Kabul River basin. Now its territory is part of two administrative units, the provinces of Kunar and Laghman. Unlike the majority of the regions of Afghanistan, whose landscapes are mostly mountainous terrains devoid of any vegetation or with a scarce one, in Nooristan one gets astonished at the abundance and the untouched thickness of its forests. In this region with an area of 2,500 square kilometres, almost all large forest massives are concentrated. In these places of rare beauty live several tribes of Nooristanis, all in all numbering around 60,000 people. Mast of the territory of Nooristan does not have modern means of communication, and the valleys are linked with passes situated at an altitude of over 5,000 metres and available for communication for only three—four months a year. Snowfalls continuing from November up to mid-April lock the inhabitants of these valleys in isolation, confined only to their own valleys or even villages which are located at distances of 2 to 4 hours of walk (any other means of communication is impossible). The geographical isolation helped these tribes, whose origin is still in question, to preserve their way of life, customs and traditions of their ancestors. Due to the peculiarities of its history Nooristan is a kind of sanctuary the study of which will bring a lot of new discoveries for geographers, ethnographers, linguists and historians. History The history of the Indian campaign of Iskander (Alexander of Macedonia) mentions that in 327 B.C., on the approaches to India, nearby the Kunar River, his legionaries managed to defeat unknown belligerent tribes, only at the cost of heavy losses. Astonished at the militancy of the mountaineers, the Macedonian General ordered to recruit .a thousand of local youths into his army. But soon Alexander died, his army dissolved, and history remained silent about the tribes of the Eastern Hindukush. Invincible cliffs had been a natural obstacle in establishing Islam in this part of Afghanistan for a long time. In an unsuccessful struggle with the tribes of the Hindukush Tamerlane's army was doomed to defeat. Though he had been told to marry a local girl, even then he could not subdue the tribes. These tribes kept preserving their ancient religion for which they received a spiteful nickname of Kafirs (infidels) and their land for a long time had been called Kafiristan (the Land of Infidels). Only in 1895, when Amir (king) Abdur Rahman forcibly converted them into Moslems, Kafiristan was renamed into Nooristan (the Land of Light, which means the light of true belief), and the Kafirs got the name of Nooristanis. Origin.... Still in Question The ragged information collected at different times about the Kafirs resulted in the appearance of two main versions about their origin. Once they were considered the descendants of Alexander of Macedonia, who settled in these areas after the death of their General and the collapse of his army. However, this hypothesis, based mainly on some outward peculiarities (larger percentage than in the rest of Afghanistan of fair-haired people with fairer complexion and eyes; some habits and spoils games resembling European ones), still remains a riddle. According to another version, they were ascribed Arabic origin. However, this was based on mostly political reasons and very soon was rejected by those who had introduced it. (Though among the Kati tribes of Nooristan a legend of their Arabic origin is still persisting). The first European that reached Kafiristan may be considered Marco Polo. At the end of the 13th century on his way to China, he passed through the lands of the tribes of the Eastern Hindukush. Language The languages of Nooristan, which are known in linguistics as "Kafiri", G. Morgenstierne, a famous Norwegian linguist, classified as an independent branch of the Indo-lranian (Aryan) language group. This branch occupies an intermediary position between the Iranian and Indian languages, being somewhat closer to the latter. Kali, Prasun, Ashkun-Wamai and Waigali are the four main languages of Nooristan. The most prevalent one among them according to the number of speakers is the Kati language. The language of the Prasun Kafirs, inhabiting the Parun River Valley in Central Nooristan, occupies a separate position. G. Morgenstierne considered it to be nearly one of the most peculiar among all known Indo-European languages. In this language the presence of non-Indo-European substratum can be supposed with a great probability. Prasun is so different from the rest of the Kafiri languages that the Katis, Waigalis and Ashkuns comprehending the closeness of their languages and common origin, oppose themselves to the Prasuns. Morgenstierne put forward a hypothesis that the common Aryan language, probably, was not homogeneous and the Kafiri languages may represent a dialect which did not ascend directly either to Indo-Aryan or Iranian. The notable archaisms of the Kafiri languages and their geographical position permit us to suppose that this is the relict of the language of the tribes that had penetrated into these areas prior to the main masses of the Indo-Aryans (3rd — 2nd millennium B. C.). The latter partly assimilated the Kafirs and partly made them retreat to the invincible mountainous regions of Kafiristan. Here they were living relatively isolated that let them preserve up to the present their languages and some other peculiarities. Cultural Features Production Today, like centuries ago, the main occupations of the Nooristanis are agriculture and sheep and cattle-breeding. Mostly they cultivate maize, wheat, millet and pulses. For tilling the land, still very primitive implements are used. In Nooristan all agricultural lands, except narrow strips along river banks, are the result of meticulous work of man. Seeing these artificial plots of land one cannot help appreciating laboriousness of the inhabitants of the Land of Light. Their herds consist mostly of cows, small zebu-like oxen and goats as well as sheep. Nowadays, agriculture in Nooristan is characterized by the same division of labour that existed in the pre-Islamic Kafiristan. Agriculture, including the most hard work on land, is women's business, while cattle-breeding is the occupation of Nooristani men. Dwellings Having quite a lot of common constructional elements (which pertains to the wide usage of timber as a construction material, in particular), Nooristani houses at the same time, differ in details of construction and planning which depend upon the tradition existing in that very valley, as well as upon the natural conditions (the character of relief and the availability of timber for building). Here we describe one of the most common types. It is a two or three-storey building with a flat roof, fenceless, which is incredible in any other Afghan village. The building is erected on a stone foundation of about half-a metre height. The house's facade is decorated with wooden carved bars. Staircases are made of huge trunks with large notches that serve as stairs. Usually the house has two windows facing east and west, very often unprotected from winds. The Nooristanis say that most of all they would like to see the sunrise and the sunset. The doors are often situated higher than the ground level and as such resemble windows very much. The house usually has at least three rooms, i.e., a sitting room, a wood store-house and a grain-store. The ceilings are supported by four-to-six wooden columns which are regularly situated in the middle of the room. In the centre of the room there is a square hearth over which a stone cauldron is fixed on a metal tripod. In the ceiling there is a hole for smoke, which, during the day time, serves as a source of light for the room. Chairs are put around the hearth and beds are a bit away from the chairs. On the walls, wooden racks are fixed to keep utensils. A special place is built in one of the corners of the room on the ground floor for washing and taking bath. In the evening they use stone, copper or clay lamps as well as torches which they carry even while visiting friends. A Nooristani guest fixes his torch at the entrance when he conies and takes it when he leaves. Besides wooden utensils, Nooristanis also widely use stone ones. Their scoops and cups are usually of an oblong form with carved ornament. Nooristanis started using carpets only in the beginning of the 20th century, though rugs of goat wool and shawls of sheep wool had been used for centuries. A stranger in Nooristan, while visiting a house there, is very much attracted by the wooden furniture the Nooristanis use in their homes. Usually they use stools with stripped leather seats, while low chairs with carved and sometimes painted in different colours backs are mostly used in quite rich families. Their tables are wide and short-legged. Another type, used mostly when guests come, consists of a huge ornamented flat plate on -a metal tripod. Food The food of the Nooristanis is characterized by simplicity. It includes baked wheat bread which also contains millet and maize, milk products, homemade 'cheese and butter. Meat of domestic animals is widely used but never poultry. There is a belief that eating it may bring down the wrath of heaven, because in myths and legends birds symbolize the souls of the dead. Clothes By their clothes the Nooristanis are very often divided into siahpush (dressed in black) and safidpush (dressed in white). However, this division neither coincides with ethnographical division nor reflects all the types of their clothing. In general, it may be divided into three main types—Waigali-Ashkun, Prasun and Kati, the Prasuns' clothings being the most special ones. The clothing of Western Katis, for example, is characterized by some elements of the Afghan clothes, due to the fact that after their conversion into Islam, for 25 years they had been living in exile in the neighbouring territories inhabited by Afghans. Social Structure, Ranks In the pre-Islamic times, every clan and tribe was being headed and guided by a wure (the council of tribal chiefs). This tradition is still in power in Nooristani society. But the most peculiar feature of this tradition was a special system of election to the wure. In addition to being a popular figure in his village, the candidate had to be rich because his prestige in the society depended on the number of feasts he gave for the villagers. The wure supervised both social and productive spheres of life in the village. Since all the clans of the village were represented in the wure it enjoyed a great authority in the community and its decisions had to be implicitly implemented. In addition to social hierarchy, there was a system of military ranks and each healthy Kafir considered it to be a matter of his honour to get promoted along the military scale of ranks. The main way for this was the participation in raids. From such raids the warriors brought as their trophies heads and ears of the killed enemies. The person who had killed at least one enemy was called shurmoch, the one who had killed seven enemies was called leimoch and the one who was perfect both in military activities and in social sphere was called prymoch. The victorious warriors on their return home were honoured with grand festivals and feasts as well as religious ceremonies (luring which their kinsfolk expressed I heir gratitude to the gods for the sale return of the warriors. And still another peculiarity about the Kafiri society was the caste division and the existence of slaves up to the end of the 191h century. The social position of the slaves directly corresponded to their labour division in the community. If the free Kafirs were engaged in agriculture. the baris (slaves) were busy with handicrafts. They produced metal agricultural implements as well as metal, stone or wooden utensils. But as to their social status, they were considered interior. For example, their girls could not marry a free Kafiri man and vice versa. In the olden times free Kafirs did not share food with the baris and did not pay visits to their homes. Baris did not have their own land, and they did not go to the mosque. And according to some sources, up to the mid-sixties the caste division in Nooristan persisted and what is more, the ban caste was referred to by the Nooristanis not only as social but also as a kind of ethnic inferiors. It is supposed that the baris are the descendants of the ancient, pre-Kafiri inhabitants of Nooristan. And the persisting comprehension of the ethnic differences between the baris and the free Kafirs once again proves the probability of such a supposition. Marriage Customs Travellers who visited Nooristan at different limes noted a comparatively greater degree of equality between men and women than in other regions of the country in spite of the centuries-old tradition of polygamy. Marriages were concluded not only inside one village but also outside it; that is why, in many Nooristani villages there live a lot of families having close relationship. Nooristani women never wore chadari (veil). The most appropriate age for marriage for girls is considered to be 20, for men - 25 years. Marriage of the underaged has always been considered as breaking ancient laws. As a rule, the Nooristanis do not marry their first cousins. In the present customs of the Nooristanis, one can find a lot of remnants of their past as well as features borrowed from the Moslem Afghan people. For example, brideprice is given, as before, in cattle but is counted in money. If the bride-groom's parents cannot give all the brideprice at once, it is possible for the groom to work in the bride's house. Childbirth and Choosing Name for the New-Born In contrast to other regions of the country, Nooristani women do not give birth to children at home, but in a specially arranged place called sharta, which is usually constructed at some distance from the village and is common property of the villagers. (In the Kafiri times, sharta was under the patronage of Goddess Nirmali). A sharta is a large wooden building of several rooms; there women spend several last days before delivery and a short period of time after it, all in all not more than a week. In the olden times, if the baby was a boy they sacrificed two goats, if a girl — one goat. After that the baby's head was shaven and he received his name. The name was given after the name of his Father or Grandfather. In this regard another interesting custom can be cited. A newly born child was put to his Mother's breast and names of the ancestors were enumerated. The baby received the name of that ancestor which was uttered at the moment the baby started sucking the breast. It was believed that this very ancestor would be personified in the baby. Maturity Time passed and when a child reached the age of twelve, he was allowed to put on trousers. Before twelve neither boys nor girls wore trousers. On the child's twelfth birthday villagers were invited and after having slaughtered two cows or an ox, or a goat, or a sheep they celebrated the child's maturity. Funeral Ceremonies In the olden times, when a person died they cut a wooden figure of the dead person's height. His servants carried the wooden figure on their backs and danced with it. Seven days and nights the bereaved relatives gave food and symri (barley bread crumbled into ghee) to the villagers. The intestines of the dead were extracted and put into a separate pot, the pot was put into the coffin together with the body, after which the coffin was hurried. If the dead person was a prestigious figure (leimoch or prymoch), weapons and regalia he possessed when alive, were hurried with him. Besides, they put in the coffin a pot of symri and one of the hands of the dead was sunk in it and thus he was hurried. In a year's period after the death of any grown-up Kafir, it was necessary to erect a wooden statue in his memory. These sculptures for a long time remained objects of respect, and on particular festive occasions sacrifices were made in their honour. If a woman died, she was hurried together with her ornaments and a pot of symri was also put in the coffin. Kafirs' Gods Since the religion of Northern Kafiristan (that includes the Katis and the Prasuns) is better studied than that of Southern Kafiristan, we describe here just the most interesting features of the former. The supreme deity of the Katis was Imra, in Prasun he was called Mara. Imra was held sacred by all Kafiri tribes, first of all, as creator. He had enlivened with his breath all the other gods, that is why all of them were submissive to him. Only Goddess Disani occupied somehow a specific position: she had come out of the right half of Imra's bosom. However, Imra had created fairies and demons. Mara had created seven of his daughters to take care of agriculture, because he, as a male, could not get engaged in it. (It is interesting to mention that the labour division acted also in the Kafiri pantheon of gods). The Katis believed that he had created people while churning butter in a goat wineskin. Imra was considered a full-right master of life and death. He appointed Maramalik the master of the nether world as well as Goddess of Childbirth Nirmali. It was Imra who had put the sun and the moon in the sky. He, undoubtedly, was the god of the sky, because he was said to live in clouds and in mist. The Prasuns considered that Mara had given to people domestic animals, taught them to milk cattle and churn butter. He had created dogs to awaken people with their barking. He had distributed wheat. Together with another man he had taught people to plough and for this had given them draught cattle. The main temple of Imra/Mara was the one in the village of Kushteki. The building was unique in its size and architecture. This almost square construction was 50—60 feet long and 20 feet high. Besides horses, cattle were sacrificed to Imra/Mara. From one of the texts in the Prasun languages it has become known that these cattle were kept in a special cattle-shed. Goats, flour and butter were also sacrificed to Imra. Usually Imra was asked for wealth, health and good weather. Among other Kafiri gods we can name Mon/Mandi, who was considered the first creation of Imra and his Courtier. He was imagined either as a man with a gold quiver, or as an ox grazing in golden mountainous meadows. The Katis say that Mon collected clouds; it was he who sent moisture and rain. But, first of all. he was the fighter against demons and their victor, like in a Prasun myth about the origin of lunar eclipses. The myth goes as follows: Giant Guro lives in a cliff between the sky and the earth. From there, having turned himself into a snake, he creeps down to the valley. Mandi and Giwish start war against him. Pegaileamund, who helps them, turns himself into a snake and creeps into the Giant's dwelling. There he sees the demon making love to his mother. When the gods who cannot capture the Giant start gibing at him for incest, Guro thinks that it was the Moon who had betrayed him. He comes out of his cave, and all his enemies, even Giwish, take to flight. Only Mandi stays to fight. With his dagger he cuts the Giant in two, into the upper and the lower halves. The Giant's upper half rises onto the sky and is in wait for the Moon in order to take revenge. Finally, the demon manages to swallow the Moon. However, she comes out of the Giant's cut body and gives light again, and the eclipses have ended for ever. Another Kafiri god Gish/Giwish is a very brave killer and hero, and is all the time accompanied with success: he is Mars of the Kafirs. Gish was especially praised and honoured before a military campaign, during it, and. finally, after its victorious end. Disani's son, God Bagisht is known as the god of fertility and the patron of cattle, as well as the god of water. We have already mentioned that among the Kafiri gods Disani occupied a special position. About this goddess we shall speak in more detail. Her character is so multi-faceted, that it is quite possible to suppose that it is the amalgamation of several images, i.e. it has become personification of several separate ideas. Disani personified the female principle in its full volume.* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *To better understand not only the religion of the Kafirs but the present life of the Nooristanis, it must be mentioned that for the Kafirs the world was divided into two spheres — male and female ones. The male origin was something that we might have called a spiritual sphere, while the female sphere was something dangerous for males that attracted men sexually and manifested itself in childbirth and other female physiological peculiarities. Among the peculiarities of the Kafiri philosophy was the idea of the biological community "people" as of a huge tree that at the same time was a being of female gender. That is why it is not accidental that Disani was considered mother of all gods: and sometimes she was called the most powerful deity among all existing ones. Still remaining pure, she was in charge of fertility and childbirth. Shedding milk (probably she gave maternal milk to women) she brought up big and strong not only one child but the entire humanity. As far as agriculture was women's occupation it was in Disani's domain. Besides, she was the patroness of cattle and in charge of dairy products. To Goddess Disani both bloody and bloodless sacrifices were made, such as goals and milk, dairy products, grain and nuts. In her honour wrestling competitions were organized, and dances accompanied with flute and clappings were performed. Women also took part in such dances, however, not nearby the temple but in meeting squares. The hymns performed on the occasion narrated stories about the goddess. She was described as a fair woman decorated with gold garland. Among other Kafiri female deities, the image of Goddess Lunang is quite interesting. Lunang is tile goddess of the Parun River, and appears as a young beautiful girl, naughty, capricious and dangerous like the Hows she rules. Goddess Kshumai was honoured by the Kafirs last of all. This goddess personified nature who lavishly showered gifts on people, but still resisted complete subjugation. Very often Kshumai appeared as a wild she-goat. Her dwelling was situated on the highest mountain of the Hindukush—Tirich Mir. However, she might also appear in the lake situated nearby the mountain. She gave goats to the people, and she herded these animals herself as well as could milk them having tossed her long breasts behind her shoulders. She possessed the first verdure of the meadows and ripening fruits, especially grapes. While harvesting, people made sacrifices to her, maybe because she ruled rains so necessary for fruits to ripen. Ancient gods of the Kafirs fell into oblivion but beliefs in evil and kind spirits are still alive among the Nooristanis. In order to drive away evil spirits and to attract kind ones, sacrifices are being made, which does not contradict with the regulations of Islam that also prescribes sacrifices in this regard.   Holidays, Art, Folklore The Kafirs celebrated their holidays according to a specific calendar, which differed in different valleys. Priests looked after the observance of the calendar and were the very persons who knew all the laws according to which the calendar was compiled. Though many Kafiri holidays are still celebrated in Nooristan, at present it seems very difficult to restore their heathen calendar. However, traces of old rites can be found in traditional festivals of Nooristanis. One of them is the ceremony held to mark the end of harvesting, which is participated in by both the young and the old. Reflecting ancient customs and devoted to praising ancestors, dances are the most favourite entertainment of the inhabitants of the Nooristani valleys. They consider that dancing evokes in a human being joy, refreshes him emotionally and physically. The dances are usually performed in groups and accompanied by rhythmical clappings and music. The most popular musical instruments here are tambourines (dot, bambuk), flute (shpa), a large drum and a six-stringed harp of half a metre height and around forty centimetres'width which is called waj. The origin of this harp is not definite. It is supposed to be at least a thousand years old. Songs (lalu) are usually performed in chorus, accompanied by the traditional instruments. Songs are sung on behalf of men and women, some of them present a kind of a dialogue between a guy and a girl. The Nooristani folklore is still little studied. One can judge of its originality and peculiarities only by scattered samples. Among valuable materials collected in Nooristan, the most interesting are the myths of the Prasun Kafirs written down by G. Buddruss, though the largest part of his collections is still to be published. Sports No Nooristani festival takes place without sports and games. Greatly differing from the folk games of the rest of Afghanistan, these games, to a great extent, resemble those of ancient Greeks. Who knows, may be that very thousand of youths recruited by Iskander into his legions brought to their villages the elements of Greek sports and games?! Sports and games are popular in all seasons, but especially in spring, when competitions in throwing flat, dessert-plate-sized polished stones, shot-put and javelin throws are held. The Nooristanis have also a game resembling hockey. Children most of all like to play ball. Sports competitions are held in every village. Once a year, the final competition is held. It takes place in the village whose representative became the winner in previous season. The champion's trophies can be observed in his house till the next competitions. Summing up we may say that, in general, pre-Islamic vestiges in the every-day life of the Nooristanis are quite numerous. For example, pre-Islamic customs, rites. games, dances, original folklore, agricultural calendar, utilization of specific objects of material culture, such as stone utensils, as well as the caste division still remain. Only Recently and in the Future Again After the victory of the April Revolution 1978, sound grounds have been provided for the development of the customs and traditions of all nationalities. The Nooristani nationality was also among the seven nationalities that were recongnized for the first time in history of the country. The first step in this regard was the beginning of broadcasting in the Nooristani languages. The work was conducted to compile their alphabet on the basis of Arabic-Persian script, after which teaching in their languages would be introduced at schools. It goes without saying that all this stopped after the temporary victory of counter-revolutionaries and is to be renewed. In spite of the fact that considerable data obtained have shed light on history of the inhabitants of these regions, still greater discoveries are likely to be made in the future, which, we hope, is not far distant. By Zarina Majid Note: Among the books used while writing the article were works by G. B. Robertson, C. Buddruss, L. Edelberg, S. Jones, G. Morgenslierne, A. Gruenberg, K. Jettmar, A. Motamidi and others.