PESHAWAR: The foreign and domestic tourists and the local people are impatiently waiting for the three-day Uchao, or Uchal Festival to be held in Bamburet of Kalash valley in Chitral district from August 20 to 22.
The Uchao Festival is one of the cultural festivals celebrated by Kalasha tribe like many other festivals around the year.
Before Uchao, the Kalash tribe also performs Ranat dance in the month of July after the harvesting the maize crop.
The Uchao Festival continues for many more days moving on to different locations within the valley.
However, the mega event of Uchao festival is organised in Bamburet besides Anish and Broon Karakul and other small villages in Kalash valley.
It is celebrated in annual harvesting with singing, dancing and paying homage to the nature for blessing them with good food and fruits. It is marked in the barley and wheat harvest season every year in August.
The people of Kalasha tribe prepare cornbread, buttermilk and cheese to celebrate the festival and rejoice Uchao.
In the festival, Kalash women and girls decorate their houses and the ceremony is accompanied by dancing and rhythmical chant to the drumbeat. They wear their traditional black robes, ornate cowries shelled head dresses and adorned with coloured necklaces and dance in a circle.
During the festival, prayers and processions are held at a high plateau outside the village in Balangkuru where the long night of dancing begins.
