CHITRAL, Aug 23: The Kalash people have abandoned their centuries-old ritual of putting their dead in an open yard for the first time recently owing to fear of terrorist attack as they buried the body of one Ebaduddin, who was kidnapped and slaughtered to death by Afghan desperados.
The Kalash elders of Bumburate said that as per their established ritual, they did not bury their dead, but put the coffin in an open yard called 'madukzhal' after singing and dancing with it for three days.
They said that the valley was filled with fear due to fear of intrusion of Afghan gangsters into their valley as they did twice during Ramazan and last time they took away 700 goats and one of the shepherds, identified as Ebaduddin.
The slaughtered body of the shepherd was found on Pak-Afghan border two days before Eidul Fitr and taken to his native village in Krakal in Bumburate valley. However, they said that the body was buried with zeal and fervour amid drumbeats and dancing.