Ep909 "There Is No Cake" Pashto Folklore with Komal Salman & Shaherzaad Laila

This week on Witchcast, Emily and Kate sit down with writer-translator duo Komal Salman and Shaherzaad Laila, the creators of Heartstrings of the Khyber, a wondrous collection of Pashto folktales translated for a modern audience. Together, we discuss the origins of Folkloristan, where the preservation collection began, and how they've strived to "un-whitewash" Pakistan's oral storytelling traditions, revealing how colonialism, feminism, and myth intertwine across centuries. We talk djinns, fairies, and romance gone wrong (turns out, "don't fall in love" is a recurring moral), the challenges of working with Western publishers, and why translating "cake" for "chapati" says everything about cultural context. Then Kate pulls a card from her Korean Four Seasons Hwatu Oracle deck! It's a lively, funny, and eye-opening conversation about magic, myth, and the women keeping their stories alive. Follow @witchcastpodcast or check out our website witchcastpodcast.com for more magick.