The festival starts with women and children waving juniper twigs above their heads as they process to the temple Women and children start to move in an exuberant procession, waving the twigs above their heads, towards the temple. In wild groups of three or four, children and adults dance in the temple square. Then, all enter the temple and lay the twigs next to the wooden, richly carved entrance gate.

Beans cooking in huge iron pots to be used for internal cleaning Inside, beans have already been cooking for hours in three huge iron pots placed on a log fire. More and more people are pouring into the sacred space. At the end of the temple ceremony, everyone’s bowl is filled with beans and walnuts. There is a crush, as if there would not be enough for everyone. The beans are carried home and eaten with salt and onions for internal purification.

During the festival whenever there is a possibility, people are dancing – day and night In the temple the women begin to dance, sing, and beat rhythmically on the tin bowls brought along for the beans. The warm light of the fire reflects off the polished metal.

To commemorate the deceased, the villagers gather in the temple The temple is illuminated by a small fire in the middle, directly under the roof opening. Suddenly there is an agitation among the attendants: outside, the wooden pyramid is lit. It is a call to the deceased and a request to accept their offerings. All of a sudden, the temple gate is closed and the whole temple falls silent. Even the children become reverent.

Everybody lights three scales of wood, which creates a poignant atmosphere in the temple. All commemorate their deceased loved ones.

Men making walnut bread for the purification ritual The women's purification day starts with men baking dozens of walnut breads for their families. Most men go to the temple early in the morning, mix freshly ground flour with water into a dough and fill the fast-formed cones with salt and minced walnuts. Then the flatbreads are placed on a stone plate over the fire and are baked on both sides to be finally placed directly in the embers, where they continue to rise. The finished breads are stored on juniper branches. Throughout the process, the man must not touch anything else, his hands must remain pure.

At the women's purification ritual their heads are circled with burning juniper branches After dark, all female family members, freshly washed and dressed, place themselves in a semicircle around the bread baker. From a small water kettle, he pours water onto the hands of each woman, who holds them out as if in prayer. From now on she must not touch anything that is impure. Then every female is given five walnut breads. Finally, the woman's head, slightly bent forward, is circled by the man with burning juniper branches. After the ceremony, the consecrated breads are carried home in a basket.

Girl at the women's purification ritual The purification ceremonies begin with the washing of the body and the wearing of fresh clothes. Couples are required to sleep in separate beds for one week. Unlike goats and sheep, chickens and cows are considered unclean. Any objects that are impure should not be touched, such as all vehicles, and houses belonging to Muslims.

The purification ritual of the men takes place the following day. In bright weather, the men from all parts of the village come together with 15 goats to the Sajigor cult site. It is located half an hour upstream surrounded by a wall, amidst a grove. In the centre, near a large tree, is a stone altar, on which long twigs are piled up. 15 young men undergo the ritual. They stand behind the altar with their hands washed and lifted to heaven. One goat after another is led to the sacrificial site by older men that stand opposite the young men. One of the elder men sits on a stone and takes the animal on his lap. It stays calm until the shaman severs the carotid with a sharp knife. The blood gushing from the neck is caught by hand and sprayed alternately to the altar and into the fire. Then the young men bless the walnut breads they brought with them in the smoke over the fire. The ceremony ends with all attendants kneeling down for prayer, asking for health, well-being of man and beast, a good harvest, and protection from the elements and enemies.

The 2 to 5 meter long torches are lit One of the highlights of Chaumos is the nocturnal torchlight. Across the village and in surrounding villages torchbearers gather with 2 to 5-meter-long, wire-bound wooden torches.

The torchbearers set out for the procession with their torches The processions to the temple create strings of lights from all sides of the valley. On the upper path walk the men and on the lower one, a little better developed, the women. At the end, everyone gathers in the square in front of the temple, where a big fire is already burning, which is further fuelled by the remains of the torches.

Dancing and singing around the fire During the festival, young people dance every night around a fire in the middle of the village, sometimes until early in the morning. The repetitive songs are accompanied by rhythmic clapping. The women dance close together in their colourful dresses and slowly circle round to the right. The younger men, also part of the circle, sing louder and move more energetically. Individual male and female dancers also twirl and spin around inside the circle. A song lasts between 10 and 15 minutes and due to a certain monotony of the melody, and despite occasional crescendos, it leads to physical and mental relaxation. The break-up of the dance group comes all of a sudden, and all immediately flock to the warming fire. After a short break, one group starts another song and everyone joins in once more. The later the evening, the more exuberant the dancers who twirl around inside the circle.

Dancing and singing during daytime Only during the Chaumos do the men and women tease each other with provocative songs, and try to outdo each other. Soon, the square is filled, and the children and other spectators withdraw to the surrounding flat roofs serving as grandstands.

From all three valleys the Kalashi people get together to celebrate the last day of the festival by dancing The final day of celebrations is the day after the winter solstice. For the Kalashi, this is the first day of the new solar year. It is celebrated only in Bumburet, which means that all day long the residents from the other two valleys, Rumbur and Birir, arrive here to celebrate. Today, Muslims are allowed as spectators for the first time. They also come in masses, often from Peshawar or Islamabad, and populate the roof terraces surrounding the dancing ground. Today, the parade of dancers is enormous, in some cases men disguised as women and vice versa, and for the last time people dance until dawn.