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NURISTANIS 571
south-central Nuristan. The Ashkunu occupy the three valleys of Kolata, Titin
and Badzaygal, which drain westward into the Alishang River.
To the east of these peoples live the Kalash of the Vaygal Valley, a major
basin that drains southward into the Pech some 20 miles upriver from Chagha
Saray. They speak an independent language that they call Kalasha-ala. A major
dialect division of Kalasha-ala separates the Varjan ("Upper People"), who
occupy the upper Vaygal basin and the Velagil and Tsuki valleys to the east,
from the Chima-Nishey, who occupy the lower Vaygal basin. These two groups
have separate historical origins, the Varjan coming from the east and the Chima-
Nishey coming from Gramsana territory to the west.
East of the Vaygal Valley live the Tregami, who occupy three villages in the
upper reaches of a small valley system that drains into the Pech about six miles
upriver from Chagha Saray. They speak an independent language that is closely
related to Kalasha-ala.
The second group includes the Kati, Mumo, Kshto and Kom peoples, each
speaking dialects of a single language. The Kati are the most numerous Nuristani
people. From their center in the Ktivi Valley in central Nuristan, they extend
westward into numerous villages throughout the entire upper Landay Sin basin,
overflowing into a few high valleys in Pakistan. The eastern Kati are separated
from their western kinsmen by the intervening territory of the Vasi and Kalasha
of Vaygal. The Mumo occupy two villages in a small territory to the south of
the eastern Kati, in the central Landay Sin basin. The Kshto occupy two villages
separated by Kom territory: one in the Nichingal Valley near its confluence with
the Landay Sin and the other in the Dungal Valley on the Kunar side of the
watershed. The remainder of the lower Landay Sin basin, along with some upland
territory on both sides of the Kunar, belongs to the Kom.
The final group consists only of the Vasi, who occupy five villages in the
Parun Valley. Their language is divided into dialects according to village. Culturally
and linguistically the Vasi are the most distinctive of the Nuristani peoples.
Although the Nuristani peoples regard themselves to be as distinct from each
other as they are from neighboring non-Nuristani peoples, comparative studies
of their languages and cultures reveal a unity that transcends the cultural variation.
The Nuristani languages share a common phylogeny. Oral traditions of the
Nuristani peoples indicate a long mutual interaction and a common belief that
the Nuristanis formerly inhabited the lower Kunar basin, whence they were driven
to their present location by the expansion of the Pushtun. Although historical
details are lacking, the Nuristanis apparently have coexisted for millenia.
Before Islam, the Nuristanis shared a common Aryan religion. Their belief
divided the world into pure and impure, corresponding to the division between
divinities and mortals. The divinities determined one's destiny in accordance
with the generosity with which one sacrificed to them and the purity with which
one maintained himself and his dependents. The wills and wishes of the divinities
were mediated to mortals by shamans. Sacrifices and purification rites were
performed by hereditary specialists. The ideal of generosity in sacrifice was