This study focuses the traditional wedding system and marriage by elopement conducted in Kalasha tribe of
district Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The tribe (community) under study has
segmentary system based on patrilineal descent. In such a system, linage is defined through strict rules in
the form of exogamy and prohibits intermarriages among agnates (Muslims and Kalash) and continues for
generations i.e. from a common ancestor. The study is framed under qualitative approach of research
whereas the data has been taken from a PhD research survey conducted in 2008-09 from 825 households
through anthropological techniques including participant observation and in-depth interviews from 75
respondents (both male and female of age 15 and above in Anish and Brun Village of Bomburet Valley
Kalash).The ethnographic details and field information indicate that marriage system was very stable in the
past where it was guided by centuries old customs and traditions but with the invent of modern trends like
education, influence of mass media and cultural contacts, a shift in the form of marriage and girls’
elopement practices have been occurred among the members of research community. The practice of
arranged marriages has been replaced by love marriages and marriage by elopement. The incidents of
wives’ elopements have created antagonism and feuds between lineages of ex-husband and abductor.
Resultantly, compensations are paid to regulate the marital stability and to resolve socio-cultural and
religious complications created by intermarriages between Muslims and Kalasha. In such a scenario, the
second suitor must pay compensation in double as a bride price to the previous husband.
Arab Naz, Irum Sheikh, Waseem Khan, Gohar Saeed. (2015) Traditional Wedding System and Marriage by Elopement among Kalasha Tribe of District Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, , Volume-09, Issue-1.
