Nuristani people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Total population |
|---|
| ca. 150,000–300,000 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Nuristan and Laghman Province |
| Languages |
| Religion |
| Related ethnic groups |
|
Kalash, Pashai and Iranian peoples |
The Nuristani people are an ethnic group found mostly in Nuristan, Laghman and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan and some western valleys of adjacent Chitral district of the NWFP of Pakistan. The Nuristanis are a Muslim people whose ancestors practiced what was apparently an ancient Indo-European polytheistic religion, until they were converted to Islam around the year 1895 by Abdur Rahman Khan. Non-Muslim religious practices endure today to some degree as folk customs.
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[edit] Background
Like certain other groups in the region, they sometimes exhibit European-like physical characteristics of light hair, eyes, and skin. These physical features have variously been held to be a preservation of characteristics from the initial migration of Indo-Iranian peoples into the region (likely in the 2nd Millennium B.C.), or characteristics introduced by later migrations into the region such as the armies of Alexander the Great (4th century B.C.)[citation needed].
The Nuristani were formerly classified into "Siah-Posh (black-robed) Kafirs" and "Safed-Posh (white robed)/Lall-Posh (Red-Robed) Kafirs" (The Gates of India, p 270, Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich). Timur fought with and was humbled by the Siah-Posh Kafirs[1]. Babur advised not to tangle with them. Genghis Khan passed by them. In fourth century B.C., Alexander the Great also encountered them and reduced them after stubborn and prolonged fight.
The Arabic word "Kufr" means not only to disbelieve, but also to blaspheme, and therefore, its derivative "Kafir" means one who commits blasphemy against Allah in the Islamic tradition, and the Nurestan province was known as Kafiristan, before the majority were converted to Islam during Abdur Rahman Khan's rule around 1895. They are now known as Nuristani. However, they have retained some of their old customs and traces of their previous beliefs.
[edit] Nuristanis and the Soviet invasion
General Issa Nuristani was second in command following the King during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Before his assassination, General Issa called the Nuristani people in a "Jihad" against the Soviet Army. The Nuristani people were among the first in Afghanistan to rise against the Soviet invasion. They played an important role in the conquering of some provinces, including Kunar, Nangarhar, Badakhshan, and Panshir. Following the withdrawal of the Soviet troops, the Mawlavy Ghulam Rabani was declared as governor of the Kunar Province.
Most of the former Hindu Kush Kafir people are considered the ancestors of the Nuristanis. Today, the Nuristanis are very devout Muslims after their enforced Islamization in the last decade of the 19th century. Led by the Koms tribe, the Nuristani were the first citizens of Afghanistan to successfully revolt against the communist overthrow of their government in 1978. Thereafter, Nuristanis remained a scene of some of the bloodiest guerrilla fighting with the Soviet forces from 1979 through 1989. The Nuristanis inspired others to fight and contributed to the demise of the Afghan communist regime in 1992 [1].
[edit] Nuristanis in Pakistan
Some Nuristanis venture across the border into the adjacent Chitral District of Pakistan where they have come to dominate the commerce and trade of the district capital and have integrated successfully into the cosmopolitan social dynamics of the district capital, Chitral, alongside Khowar speakers, Kalashas, Tajiks, Pashtuns and Wakhis.
[edit] Nuristani tribes
- Kata
- Kom
- Mumo
- Jench (of Arnce village)
- Kshto
- Dungulio
- Kalasha (of Nuristan) (not to be confused with the Dardic Kalash of Pakistan)
- Tregami
- Vasi
- Askunu
- Sanu
- Gramsana
[edit] See also
- Nuristani languages
- Kalash
- Garhwali
- Demographics of Pakistan
- Indo-Greek Kingdom
- Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
- Demographics of Afghanistan
- Kambojas
[edit] Notes
- ^ Tuzak-i-Timuri, pp 401–08; The History and Culture of the Indian People, Vol VI, 1977, p 117, Dr Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, Achut Dattatraya Pusalker, Asoke Kumar Majumdar
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