The Kho people are likely descendants of those who migrated to their present location in Chitral from the south. In ancient times the Kho people followed a culture that is described to be of the Peristani-type, and practiced a faith akin to that observed by the Kalash today. During the Hindu Shahi rule over Chitral an ancient Sanskrit inscription near Barenis mentions that the inhabitants of Chitral were Buddhists. After the arrival of Muslim rule in India, many of the Kho converted to Islam though some previous customs continue to persist. With respect to Islam, the Kho are primarily Sunni Muslims although there exists a substantial population of Ismaili Muslims in the North.
Demographics
Historically the Kho people reside in the Dardistan region. As such, they are a Dardic ethnic group located primarily in South Asia. Many of the Kho people live in the Chitral District of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a smaller number also live in Ghizer District of Gilgit Baltistan. They are also found in few numbers in northern Afghanistan, where the majority of them live in the northern provinces of Badakhshan.
Culture
Kho culture places heavy emphasis on poetry, song and dance. Kho people also have a great respect of law and order. Much of this can be attributed to Chitral being a stable kingdom for most of its history, where the rule of law and the will of the ruler came before tribal concepts such as revenge and isolationism. Many Kho believe that their customs and language is much more rich, polite, and sophisticated in comparison to their neighbours. Polo is a popular sport and pastime for the Kho people. The polo traditionally played by the Kho has little rules or organisation. Dance and music play a large role in Kho society. Common clothing include the salwar kameez and headwear includes the pakol. Because of Chitral's location at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia, the Kho display a wide variety of cultures, largely depending upon their ancestral ethnic group and family history.
Languages
The Kho people speak the Khowar language, a member of the Dardic subgroup of the Indo-Aryan language family. The ethnologists :de:Karl Jettmar|Karl Jettmar and Lennart Edelberg noted, with respect to the Khowar language, that: "Khowar, in many respects the most archaic of all modern Indian languages, retaining a great part of Sanskrit case inflexion, and retaining many words in a nearly Sanskritic form.” Khowar is spoken by about 247,000 Kho people in northern Pakistan, Some of the Kho people use Urdu as a second language.
Genetics
The western Eurasian haplogroups were observed predominantly and mostly shared in Kho samples with overall frequency of 50%. These include HV8, H19, H57, H24, C and, C4a haplogroups. The South Asian haplogroups and its relevant subgroups including U4, U4c, U6, U5a, and W were also found in Kho samples with overall 37.5% frequency. The haplogroups and haplotypes specify the origin and linkages of an individual and population. The haplogroup analysis eventually demonstrates the western Eurasian ancestral origin of Kho samples. Another South Asian haplogroup, M30 was also identified for Kho samples with frequency of 6.2%. This indicates the genetic affiliation of Kho with the South Asian populations.
Folk music
Folk singers and reed instrument players have a special respect in the Kho society and are featured in their festivities. The most common instruments are Surnai Shehnai, Sitar, and reed instruments. The Kho sitar is a popular musical instrument in Chitral. It is made out of mulberry wood with five steel strings arranged in three courses, the outer ones have double strings, tuned in unison, while the inner course is single. Popular music of the area includes:
Shishtoo-war , a popular folk music played with shehnai on happy occasions, mostly at marriages.
Shab-daraaz is a sad tone based on heartbroken love poems.
Ghalhwar is a combination of Dani and Sauz. This is a mixture of fast and classical music played at the starting of a polo match.
