Historical relics confirm social life in existence in present day Afghanistan
more than twenty thousand years ago. The people belonging to the Aryan
race who according to the legend spread down south from their northern
abode near the North Pole lived in the vast plains of central Asia and
later on both sides of the River Oxus. History has also recorded that
these Aryans were among the first who tamed animals and planted food.
Around 5000 years ago history tells us about a city just south of the
Oxus in northern Afghanistan which was built by the Aryans and was the
first ever in this part of the world. The city was called Bakhdi and
it had tall towers and flew colorful flags on its high walls. Much later,
the Arab historians called it the mother of cities.
The dwellers of Bakhdi or Balkh which is the contemporary name for
that city, flourished within the haven of their high walled bastion
and urban comforts let them cherish cultural achievements in the form
of a religion founded by one of its sons, Zoroaster of Balkh. Long before
the advent of Islam, Zoroaster's religion preached faith in a single
God, Ahura Muzda the creator of the universe, and belief in the eternity
of the soul. Its slogans: good thought, good deed and good speech were
the very first social rules for its followers.
This religion believed in joy and happiness and tended to forget and
ignore sorrow. It also preached the belief that once a year the souls
of the ancestors came down to visit those left on earth and thus it
wanted the people to prepare for the occasion and let the visitors find
joy, happiness and cleanliness everywhere. According to this religion
fire and light were sacred and since the source of the light, the sun,
was the origin of time, their solar calendar began with the first day
of spring. The solar year which has 365 days and six hours was divided
in twelve thirty day months and there were five days left at the end
of the year and before the advent of the new year which were allotted
to preparation for its celebration. During these days, the Aryans cleaned
their homes, prepared new clothes and gathered the best of food and
fruits. These were also to be offered to the visiting souls of the ancestors.
A special drink brewed from the purest herb roots and called Soma was
also prepared for the occasion. The Aryans were well versed in music
and dance and thus they would come out from the winter to meet the spring,
and the New Year with joy, happiness, songs and dances. So it was for
centuries and generations.
The advent of Islam and its expansion eastward into Afghanistan and
beyond deeply affected every aspect of life in conquered lands. Military
domination was replaced by cultural influence. Arab culture, language
and ways of life struggled to replace those in the conquered countries.
But the tradition of Now Roze, the new day, continued to exist. In recent
history a new trend was adopted through which Now Roze was given a religious
touch in Afghanistan. This mixed the celebration of Now Roze at least
at two cities in Afghanistan namely Kabul and Mazar with the hoisting
of the banner at Hazrat Ali's shrines. Even then, the ancient tradition
of Now Roze and the upholding of the status of the farmer overshadowed
the religious significance attached belatedly to this day. This had
many reasons. For one thing the Afghans valued their age-old traditions
throughout history so much so that many of the invaders and conquerors
were forced to adapt to the country's culture rather than purely imposing
their own. On the other hand, the 21st of March, the first day of spring
in northern hemisphere, speaks for itself. On this day you can feel,
smell, hear, see and touch the spring in many parts of Afghanistan.
The vast pastures of northern Afghanistan seem to be covered by a colorful
carpet of wild flowers. Wild tulips and poppies and daisies and violets
sprout out among the green grass to proudly and colorfully announce
the advent of spring. The whitest of snows melts down from the mountains
forming rivulets of crystal clear water flowing down toward the valleys.
And at times, refreshing soft rain comes down from amidst white clouds
that dot the bluest of skies from valleys and foothills, so high and
so close to the heavens, that you get the feeling of living in it. These
were some of the things that existed before Islam came into Afghanistan
and thus could not be turned into a religious event.
In the city of Kabul, where I was born and grew up, Now Roze was observed
with tremendous amount of jubilation. Two majestic mountains namely
Asa-Mayee and Shair Darwaza subdivide the Kabul valley, which is like
a bowl surrounded by the branches of the mighty Hindu Kush. In olden
days, most of Kabul was located at the foothills of these mountains
and thus the mountain ridges and slopes constituted the playgrounds
of Kabuli children. In Now Roze, picnics were held around these two
landmarks: Juba on the east slope of Shair Darwaza and Sakhi Jan on
the southwest of Asa Mayee. Kabulis would wear new or clean and colorful
garbs and with a high spirit of jubilation, accompanied by their families
and friends go to these picnic areas, choose a natural step on the slope,
kindle the charcoal in their samovars, cook meals on charcoal stoves
and eat sweets and dried fruits and from the heights watch the city
of Kabul as she awoke from under a blanket of snow to look into the
spring. The picnic area thoroughfares were lined with makeshift food
stores, where, in huge pans on burning wood, fish were being fried and
sweets prepared afresh for sale to the jubilant customers. There were
also the sellers who sold from large trays, cheese and raisins and or
boiled eggs, boiled and specially prepared peas and potatoes sauced
with special formula vinegar and spices. In flat areas downhill, merry-go-rounds,
wooden horses and tens of toy shops selling wooden and metal toys were
located and the untiring children would frequent rounds of the plays
and buy the noisiest of toys including the wooden rattlers the sounds
of which mixed with the joyous sonority of the day. And there was kite
flying contests where some of the most beautifully constructed kites
would be flown by expert flyers who used special formulas over a period
of weeks to treat the string with which they flew their kites and would
entangle the strings of the flying kites with that of their rival until
such a time that one string broke. The kite that remained flying was
the winner.
On the night of Now Roze, the Kabulis ate Sabzi Chalau with the meat
of the white rooster. They also prepared another special dish, Samanak,
made from the sprouts of very young wheat germs grown on special trays.
Samanak was prepared overnight by groups of young maidens who cooked
it over burning wood fire in big pans and sang songs of Now Roze.
Also many of the believers went to the shrine of Hazrath Ali, the fourth
caliph of Islam at the foothill of Asa Mayee paying homage to his memory.
Many, including some grownups would try to pass through the split rock
located near the shrine. Those who passed easily were considered innocent
and those who experienced difficulty in passing through were called
sinners.
In the northern city of
Mazar-Sharif where one of the most beautiful buildings, a masterpiece of
Islamic architecture houses the mythically believed grave of Hazrat Ali,
too, thousands of Afghans gathered to watch the banner hoisting
ceremonies. But the traditional attraction of the observation of Now Roze
there was the festival of the Red Flower Picnic. In Now Roze and
following into the month of April, the wide plains of northern
Afghanistan bloom with hundreds of thousands of wild flowers including
the red tulip and poppies and thus the name of the Red Flower Festival.
The majestic view of these wide open areas in the prairie in northern
Afghanistan covered with a carpet of flowers was out of this world.