Palula

Palula (also spelled Phalura, Palola, Phalulo, and also known as Ashreti (Aćharêtâʹ) or Dangarikwar, the name used by Khowar speakers), is a Dardic language spoken by approximately 10,000 people in the valleys of Ashret and Biori, as well as in the village Puri (also Purigal) in the Shishi valley, and at least by a portion of the population in the village Kalkatak, in the Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. A related variety of this language is spoken in the village Sau in Afghanistan, and another closely related variety in the village Khalkot in Dir District. Palula is pronounced as /paaluulaá/, with three long vowels and a rising pitch on the final syllable.

The people of Ashret are important because they are strategically located at the main gate to Chitral. All persons entering Chitral through Lowari Top, the 10,230 feet (3,120 m) high pass which connects Chitral to Dir and the rest of Pakistan, must pass the customs checkpost at Ashret.

The area where Palula is spoken includes 35°28′N 71°53′E / 35.467°N 71.883°E / 35.467; 71.883

Tradition has it that the people of Ashret are originally from Chilas in the Indus River Valley in Pakistan. The Mehtar or ruler of Chitral appointed them as the guardians of the gate to Chitral at Ashret. The tradition that the people of Ashret originally come from Chilas is supported by locally recorded genealogies as well as independent historical records, from Chitral as well as the Indus valley. There is an unknown date to this story, but it appears to have happened 250–500 years ago. The present people of Chilas speak the related Shina language. Any connection they may have with the people of Ashret has been lost.