Madaik : Offerings to the spirits of deceased relatives. December 15

 

Madaw is the coffin with the body. ¨Madawjaw” is the place of coffins, i.e. the cemetery, and Madaik the funeral feast, the custom of offering food in honor of deceased ancestors. The day is dedicated to the dead. Each family commemorates its ancestors and especially the relatives they lost in the past year. It prepares special foods and participates in the unspoken events of the day such as:

-Preparation of Ja’u, filled breads with walnut kernels, ¨Tasil’i¨ wheat pies, ¨Bilili¨ two tasi’li between which cheese is placed. These specific pastries are made in memory of the dead and offered to the villagers.

-Preparation of kusur’ik, small loaves of bread 3-5 cm in diameter. One of the family places them in the “kuura vat duura”, a special part of the cemetery, as an offering to the dead. The words that make up “kura vat dura”, mean “being-stone-house”. This is a stone structure that is considered the home of the spirits of the ancestors.

-Offering to the kunturik, the statue-guard of the entrance to the settlement, a saveo, a shallow basket in the shape of a disc, with fruits and pieces of boiled pumpkin.

- Offering of fruits to the altar of Jestak, the protector of the family and the generation. Each family that has lost someone of its own in the past year prepares a saveo with various foods and offers them on its altar. The women try to fill and decorate this basket with pomegranates, apples, dried apricots, berries, nuts, boiled pumpkin, Ja’u, bilili, a bottle of wine, a little naswar, a type of nicotine preparation, and whatever other food or drink the deceased desired.

 The Kalash call this basket “Phona” which means pleasure and enjoyment.

- gathering of the villagers at the temple of Jestak. No one should speak loudly. They prepare a calm environment so as not to frighten the souls of the dead who will visit them.

- purification ceremony of “saraz” with an offering of flour to the large altar of the settlement. The purification of the hands of the master of ceremonies is done with wine over the sacred fire. The representatives of the households of the settlement hold a plate of flour. Each one in turn throws a little into the hands of the master of ceremonies, who offers it over the flames.

-  "saras" purification ceremony with an offering of flour on the large altar of the settlement. The purification of the hands of the master of ceremonies is done with wine over the sacred fire. The representatives of the households of the settlement hold a plate with flour. Each one in turn throws a little into the master of ceremonies’ handfuls and he offers it over the flames.

- "saras" purification ceremony with an offering of flour on the roof of the temple of the jestak.

-  Construction of a "kot’ik". Kot means tower and kot’ik is its diminutive, the little tower i.e. Men of the village build it in front of the temple gate from long, narrow pine branches. They place them horizontally one on top of the other, forming a pyramid-shaped structure. The little tower is one meter high. Those facing a problem throw a piece of wood inside and name the issue that concerns them. When the tower is later burned, their problem will burn with it.

- placing on the threshold of the temple, next to the kot’ik, a saveo of selected foods from the "phona", the baskets of the mourners that are in front of the goddess' altar.

- invitation of the dead. At the time of sunset, the village Elder turns in the direction of the cemetery and calls in a loud voice the ancestors to come to the settlement to dine with the offerings, the foods of the "pona", which were placed on the threshold of the temple. “ O gad’a bas’ara ew zhuy zhe pi o para” which means , “ O elders and olders come , eat and drink and then go”. Then he calls his fellow villagers to close themselves in the temple and remain silent throughout the visit of the dead to the settlement.

- burning of the wooden tower. The elder sets fire to the tower and quickly closes himself in the temple with his fellow villagers. Everyone remains silent for a few minutes. They hold a small stick that spreads around it a cheerful light, a resinous smell and a lot of smoke. The atmosphere becomes stifling and at the same time devout. Memory revives moments and images with loved ones who have left for the world of spirits.

- The visit of the dead to the settlement. The spirits of the ancestors, guided by the light of the burning "kot", reach the threshold of the temple and dine on the food of the pone. . After the burning of the “kot”, the elder informs his fellow villagers that their ancestors visited them, ate their share, rejoiced with the offerings of their relatives and departed.

- One of the participants goes near the entrance of the temple and watches from a crack the extinguishing of the “kot”. Then he alerts the others by shouting ¨ "Oh! someone took the food from the basket". This is the signal for all the children to rush to the “phona”, the basket of the dead with the most exquisite food in order to have time to take some of its contents.

- The elders take the “phona” from the altar of the temple and empty the offerings onto a sheet. Then they distribute the food equally to all those present.

- Everyone commemorates the dead and leaves the temple happy that they have done their duty,  they have not forgotten their deceased relatives, that they have given each person their share. Customs such as that of the madaik emphasize the belief of the Kalash in the afterlife and the communication that they must maintain with the spirits of their ancestors.

- The custom is completed with all-night dances on a small plateau in the settlement that has been determined by tradition. In the center of it, fires are lit. The limited space from the surrounding buildings and the bitter cold force those present to huddle together and come closer. They clap their hands to accompany the rhythms of the songs and call the dancers one by one to whirl around the flames with their arms open in ecstasy. The dances of this night are danced individually and not in groups. They highlight the dancer's dancing abilities and preserve the dance tradition. The young people dance raising their chest and face to the sky. The elderly dancers bow their heads to the ground as if conversing with the mortal earth, the final abode of departed loved ones.