ISLAMABAD – Wearing traditional headgear and clapping to music, Britain’sPrince William and his wife Kate met a tiny animist tribe in northernPakistan on Wednesday, after flying by helicopter to a remote Hindu Kushglacier near the Afghan border.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent the afternoon witnessing theeffects of climate change on the Kalash, Pakistan’s smallest religiousminority — an ancient, polytheistic tribe who live in three valleys.
Believed to be descended from Alexander the Great, they worship their godswith music and dance.
Men and women mingle freely, and women can choose their husbands but alsomove on to new loves, setting them apart from much of patriarchal Pakistan.
But their way of life they have practiced for centuries is under threat,both by global warming and the gradual absorption of their people intoIslam.
Before visiting the Kalash, the royal couple travelled by helicopter to amelting glacier in Broghil Valley National Park, near the border withAfghanistan.
They walked around the northern tip of the glacier and saw how far it hasretreated in recent years, a statement from Kensington Palace said.
Pakistan’s north is one of the most glaciated regions in the world, andexperts say its vast, hoary rivers of ice serve as a water store for 250million people.
But rising temperatures have alarmed residents who watch helplessly as theglaciers melt so quickly that they have unleashed devastating floods.
In Chitral district — where the Kalash live — floods in 2015 leftthousands of families camping in the open just as the cold winterapproached.
The couple met with environmental experts to discuss the melting, and laterspoke with residents who have suffered in the floods.
Emergency response teams demonstrated first aid and a river crossing, thenposed for selfies with William and Kate.
The Duke of Cambridge called the glacial melt an “impending catastrophe” ina speech delivered at a glittering reception in Islamabad late Tuesday.
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– Feathers and dancing –
Earlier Wednesday, during a refuelling stop on the way to the glacier, theDuke and Duchess tried on a Chitrali cap given a touch of luxury with apeacock feather, which local media said was a gift to them from residents.
The flat, woollen hats, also known as “pakols”, are popular in northernPakistan and throughout Afghanistan, though feather decorations are usuallyreserved for special occasions.
They also tried on chapans, long bulky embroidered coats popular in CentralAsia; as well as a lush woollen shawl for Kate, who snapped her own shareof pictures during the trip.
The verdant, plunging valleys of Chitral have long attracted tourists fortheir natural beauty and their brush with legend as the home of the Kalash.
But the diminishing tribe — who now number only around 3,000 people –fear that their unique culture will not endure.
Not only are their young people increasingly converting to Islam, but themodern world beckons for many eager to see beyond the valleys, whereinternet and mobile access can be patchy at best.
Even the peace of those valleys is being eroded as tourists from otherareas of Pakistan arrive in droves, eager to see the colourful tribe.
An AFP reporter said Prince William listened eagerly as a local guideexplained the steps to the dance performed by the Kalash for the royalcouple.
Kensington Palace has called the Cambridges’ five-day trip, which endsFriday, their “most complex” tour to date.
Security is extremely tight for the trip, during which the couple is alsoset to visit Pakistan’s second-largest city Lahore, once the capital of theMughal Empire. -APP/AFP
