Khowar Folk Stories

Dok Yakhdeez

A little village of Yekhdiz, is situated in Khot on the north of Chitral. This folk lore and song are known as Yekhdiz or “Dok Yekhdiz”. It is the story of a handsome sportsman named as “LAL”, who lived in a Khot Valley and he was eager to keeping hawk, hunting and playing polo. Lal married to his beloved and her name was “KAI”, after sometime of his marriage LAL went to Yasin Valley for keeping watch of the fort of Yasin, according to the custom of the princely state. He loved his hawk, horse and newly married wife, he kept with him his horse and hawk but left behind his wife. Because he was compelled to go far flung area. During his duty in Yasin valley he suffered from a disease called Leprosy, which was an incurable disease in those days. The disease was contagious, so they kept LAL in a cave near Shandur according to the customs. He was craving for food. An old shepherdess saw him in the cave. She was bringing some milk to the LAL and putting on his pot. Once when LAL was sleeping a snake came in the cave and put the poison in the milk. The LAL had become fed up with his life, so he drunk the poisoned milk intentionally, but the baneful milk cured the disease and LAL recovered day by day. At last he starts his journey back to his home Khot. But here in his hometown, it was declared that the LAL was died during his duty in Yasin. His wife was forced to be married with another person by her elders. The wedding ceremony was celebrating and the bride sitting on the house top weeping, and thinking about her first husband, she was imagining coming from Yasin and was singing a folk song with folk tone. Suddenly LAL appeared on Dokshoro, himself riding on his bay house and his beautiful hawk, and KAI was fully surprised and gratified. Finally, the wedding ceremony came to a stop and LAL met with KAI.

-Muhammad Irfan Irfan

For Video Click here: Dokh Yakhdeez

Qoqunus - The Phoenix

An attachment with music is a very old and equally common in the mountains of Karakoram and Hindukush, “Qoqunuso Hang” is one of the finest tunes of Khowar music in the region. “Qoqunus” is the name of a bird called “phoenix”. The legends say Qoqunus lives for 500 years than the bird makes a tower from boughs to sit on and produced melodious music. The mythical bird has 360 holes in its bill and through each hole, it blows a separate note of sound. The combine rhythm of these notes makes “Qoqunuso Hang”.  When the “Phoenix” reaches to its musical climax, it catches fire in the tail and the pile of dry woods begin to burn. The bird goes on singing until burns into ashes. Then beneath the ashes, the bird will be reborn out of the egg left behind by the “Phoenix” and passing through the same cycle once again. During this practice when the sweet melody of the “Qoqunus or Phoenix” echoing through the mountains of Chitral and Yasin, the musicians of the surrounding valleys hiding in nearby caves and learns the different melodies of music produced by the “Qoqunus”. It is a folk lore that each note coming out of each hole of the phoenix bill makes a separate rhythm of Khowar music. It is believed that the tunes of many Khowar songs have been basically derived from the Qoqunus Melodies. Out of these rhythms only four or five tunes left in Chitral which are Berangi, Krui Kumoru, Shah Murad Khan and AliSher Khan. This tune is the rhythm of Ali Sher Khan played and saved by Shawkat Ali in his sitar.

-Muhammad Irfan Irfan

For Video Click here: Qoqunus (The Phoenix)