The far-flung Greeks
From Dr D.R.C. Kempe Sir: Following Matthew Leeming's fascinating article on the blond, blue-eyed Afghans descended from Alexander the Great's soldiers (`The lost tribe', 6 July), it might be of interest to mention a possibly similar colony in Chitral.
When he left Alexandria-on-the-Oxus (Ai Khanoum) Alexander entered the state of Chitral, in north-west Pakistan, something under 200 miles further on, before forcing onwards to Mount Pir Sar (Alexander's Rock of Aornos) on the River Indus, where he finally halted. In the south-east corner of Chitral a 'pagan' tribe, the Kafir-Kalash or 'Wearers of the Black Robes', inhabit three valleys: Bumburet (the largest and most picturesque, 25 miles from Chitral town), Birir and Rambur. The women wear black or sometimes purplish-brown gowns, with skirts, and highly decorated head-dresses resembling those worn today in some parts of Greece. The Kalash love music and dancing and — uniquely in Pakistan — the girls allow themselves to be photographed, albeit for a small fee.
Their ancestry is a controversial mystery, but legend has it that the 4,000 KafirKalash are the descendants of five soldiers of Alexander's army who settled in Chitral. Would a DNA test be worthwhile here?
David Kempe
West Bay, Dorset
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