Name
According to the linguist Richard Strand, the people of Chitral apparently adopted the name of the former Kafiristan Kalasha, who at some unknown time extended their influence into Chitral.
A reference for this assumption could be the names kāsv'o respectively kāsi'o, used by the neighboring Nuristani Kata and Kom for the Kalash of Chitral. From these the earlier name kās'ivo (instead Kalasha) could be derived.
Culture
The culture of Kalash people is unique and differs drastically from the various ethnic groups surrounding them. They are polytheists and nature plays a highly significant and spiritual role in their daily life.
As part of their religious tradition, sacrifices are offered and festivals held to give thanks for the abundant resources of their three valleys.
Kalash mythology and folklore has been compared to that of ancient Greece, but they are much closer to Indo-Iranian (Vedic and pre-Zoroastrian) traditions. According to one of their legends, Kalash people are the descendants of Alexander the Greats soldiers who settled and ruled the area after the expedition.
The following statement made by a Kalash named Kazi Khushnawaz indicates Kalash people main belief for the origin of their culture:
"Long long ago, before the days of Islam, Sikander e Aazem came to India.
The Two Horned one whom you British people call Alexander the Great.
He conquered the world, and was a very great man, brave and dauntless and generous to his followers. When he left to go back to Greece, some of his men did not wish to go back with him but preferred to stay here.
Their leader was a general called Shalakash (i.e: Seleucus). With some of his officers and men, he came to these valleys and they settled here and took local women, and here they stayed.
We, the Kalash, the Black Kafir of the Hindu Kush, are the descendants of their children. Still some of our words are the same as theirs, our music and our dances, too; we worship the same gods.
This is why we believe the Greeks are our first ancestors."
Language
Kalash language
The language of the Kalash is a Dardic language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian group; itself part of the larger Indo-European family. It is classified as a member of the Chitral sub-group, the only other member of that group being Khowar. The Norwegian Linguist Georg Morgenstierne who studied both languages wrote that in spite of similarities Kalasha is an independent language in its own right, not a mere dialect of Khowar.
Until the latter 20th century, Kalash was an undocumented language.
More recently, through the work of a Greek NGO and local Kalash elders seeking to preserve their oral traditions, a new Kalasha alphabet has been created.
Taj Khan Kalash has also been influential in the development of the new alphabet. Having moved to Thessaloniki, Greece to study linguistics in the Aristotle University, he and the Greek NGO Mesogaia
took on the task of compiling the script and creating The Alphabet Book, a primer used to teach the alphabet to the Kalash children.
Badshah Munir Bukhari unicoded the Kalasha Language in 2005.