|
Post by grksdied4you on Dec 18, 2007 18:19:04 GMT -5
Really quite amazing!
|
|
|
Post by Kastorianos on Dec 18, 2007 18:34:00 GMT -5
if then very few european look must have remained...they look to 90%+ like Indians....
|
|
|
Post by Niklianos on Dec 18, 2007 19:34:57 GMT -5
There are several villages of Kalash with many of the people looking very European and Greek. The most fascinating part is that they themselves claim to be the descendants of Alexanders men and the language they speak has many GREEK words in it. Not any Slavic or Illyrian or Thracian words. There are also a few other tribes with the same claim.
|
|
|
Post by grksdied4you on Dec 18, 2007 20:14:27 GMT -5
Kastorianos,
I kind of thought that too!!! I think that their style of dress, primitive lifestyle, and the environment that we observe them in probably makes us think that even more. I don't know, but its hard to tell how closely these people resemble Greeks when your looking through a 13 inch computer monitor.
|
|
donnie
Senior Moderator
Nike Leka i Kelmendit
Posts: 3,389
|
Post by donnie on Dec 19, 2007 14:38:40 GMT -5
How do you know that? Are you fluent in Kalash?
The presence of Illyrian/Thracian elements in Kalash speech does not make Alexander automatically non-Greek, so do not worry. But it's a fact that his army was not homogenous; among others, it did number many Illyrians and Thracians. And by the time he entered India with 100,000 men, a vaste majority were non-Greek & non-Balkanian.
|
|
|
Post by meltdown711 on Dec 19, 2007 14:40:41 GMT -5
Donnie is right, by the time Alex entered India, a good portion of his army was made up of Persians and other easterners. Many of his old Macedonians were dying out both due to campaigning and because this was a tactic of Alexander himself: replacing the Macedonians with Persians.
|
|
|
Post by Novi Pazar on Dec 19, 2007 17:40:18 GMT -5
I've seen the documentary a few years ago, its fascinating!.
|
|
|
Post by Kassandros on Dec 20, 2007 19:09:43 GMT -5
The trouth is that Alexanders soldiers were not only Greeks. But what is amazing for those people is that they kept some characteristic Greek trends. Their hats are hats that you can still meet in the traditional Macedonian outfit. "Lykeion Ellinidon" uses them too. Also they have a better place for woman in their society.. something not usual for... that area of the world. And.. finally and most important.... they still have the "circle" dances. Dance in a circle is a pure Greek characteristic.. and quite weird for that place.
|
|
|
Post by Niklianos on Dec 20, 2007 22:50:07 GMT -5
Actually the Kalash do not live in India but in the Hindu Kush between Afghanistan and Pakistan in what used to be known as Bactria(Part of Persia).
Yes it is well known that his army had an admixture of different ethnic groups but it is NOT the other ethnic groups that the Kalash claim ONLY the Greek.
|
|
|
Post by grksdied4you on Dec 21, 2007 0:09:51 GMT -5
So wait a second Niklianos. Do they actually claim themselves that they are descended from the Hellenes? Their is much that can be learned from these people.
|
|
|
Post by Niklianos on Dec 21, 2007 22:48:05 GMT -5
Well lets see? They worship the Olympian Gods, they have many Greek words in their language and many of their months are the same as the Ancient Greeks. I do remember somewhere I read that they do believe they were descendant of the Greeks. I will look for the article and post it!
|
|