Brahui people: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:55, 17 November 2006

Latest revision as of 03:09, 9 July 2025

Line 1:

{{Short description|Ethnic group primarily concentrated in Balochistan, Pakistan}}

The '''Brahui people''' or '''Brohi people''' ([[Urdu]]: بروہی) are an [[ethnic]] group of about 2.2 million people with the majority found in [[Kalat]], [[Pakistan]], but also found in smaller numbers in neighboring [[Afghanistan]] and [[Iran]]. They are closely linked to the [[Baloch]] with whom they have substantially intermingled and whose cultural traits they have absorbed. Linguistically, they speak the [[Brahui language]], which is a North [[Dravidian language]], but due to its isolation from the other Dravidian tongues it has considerable Balochi vocabulary and even counting begins with Balochi numbers. There is no distinct indigenous script for Brahui; like Balochi it is written in [[Perso-Arabic alphabet]]. Brahui is spoken in the following areas: [[Merv]] area of [[Turkmenistan]], [[Sindh]], [[Zahedan]] and [[Zabol]] in Iranian [[Balochistan (Iran)|Balochistan]], southern parts of [[Afghanistan]], Pakistani [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]] and with the bulk in the Jhalawan region.

{{pp-semi|small=yes}}

{{Use Pakistani English|date=June 2025}}

==Origins, geography, and demographics==

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}

{{Infobox ethnic group

| group = Brahui

| native_name = {{nq|براہوئی}}

| native_name_lang = brh

| image = File:Portrait of three unknown men of Brahui descent with weapons Brahooees. Inhabitants of Khelat state. Soonnee Mahome Dance. Sind.jpg

| caption = A group of Brahui tribesmen

| popplace = [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Iran]]

| pop = {{circa|'''3 million'''}}

| region1 = {{flagcountry|Pakistan}}

| pop1 = 2,778,670 ([[2023 Pakistani census|2023 census]]) [only includes those who speak Brahui as mother tongue]

| ref1 = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/national/table_11.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005130123/https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/national/table_11.pdf|archive-date=5 October 2024|title=TABLE 11 : POPULATION BY MOTHER TONGUE, SEX, and RURAL/URBAN - 2023 Census}}</ref>

| langs = [[Brahui language|Brahui]], [[Balochi language|Balochi]]

| rels = [[Islam]]

| related = [[Dravidian people]]

}}

The '''Brahui''' ({{langx|brh|{{nq|براہوئی}}}}), '''Brahvi''', or '''Brohi''' are an [[ethnolinguistic group]] of [[pastoralists]] principally found in [[Pakistan]], and to a smaller extent in [[Afghanistan]] and [[Iran]]. They speak [[Brahui language|Brahui]], which belongs to the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] language family.

There are two main theories regarding the Brahui that have been proposed by academics. One theory is that they are an ancient hold-over of some sort of indeterminate [[Elamo-Dravidian]] origin that descended from the people of the [[Indus Valley civilization]]. Another theory is that they are migrants from northern [[India]] who arrived in the region either before the [[Aryan invasion]], but probably before the Baloch. Over the centuries, due to their ___location, the Brahui have mixed with [[Iranian peoples]] as well as the [[Sindhi people|Sindhis]] and other groups and physically and culturally more closely resemble their Persian neighbors rather than the Dravidian peoples of India. In addition, they are almost entirely [[Muslim]], usually of the [[Sunni]] sect.

[[File:Pakistan ethnic map.svg|thumb|The main ethnic group of Pakistan.]]

==Etymology==

Generally dominated by various invaders during their history, including the Baloch, the Khans of Kalat, who were of Brahui origin, became rulers in their own right and dominated Balochistan for decades, while holding off the [[Persians]] until the coming of the British in the 19th century.

The origin of the word "Brahui" is uncertain.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" /> Mikhail Andronov hypothesised a derivation from Dravidian (lit. Northern hillmen). However, Josef Elfenbein found it unconvincing and hypothesised a derivation from [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]] (Jaṭki) ''brāhō'', referring to the prophet ''[[Abraham in Islam|Abraham]]''; the term perhaps served to distinguish the neo-Muslim nomadic pastoralists — who had migrated into [[Sindh]] from the Western Deccan {{circa|a millennium}} ago and adopted Islam.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" />

==Brahui languageOrigins==

[[File:Brahui people of Quetta.jpg|thumb|Brahui people near [[Quetta]] in 1910]]

The Brahui language is mainly spoken in the Kalat areas of [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]], Pakistan, although there is a considerable amount of speakers in Southern [[Afghanistan]] and Iranian [[Balochistan (Iran)|Balochistan]]. It includes three dialects including Sarawani (spoken in the north), Jhalawani (spoken in the southeast), and Chaghi (spoken in the northwest and west). According to a survey it has about 2,000,000 speakers in Pakistan (1998), 200,000 speakers in Afghanistan and 10,000 speakers in Iran, which would amount to 2,210,000 in the world. Due to its isolation, Brahui's vocabulary is only 15% Dravidian, while the remainder is dominated by Perso-Arabic, [[Balochi language|Balochi]], and [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]], while the grammar and overall morphology still resemble other Dravidian tongues. Brahui is generally written in the Perso-Arabic script and there is even a Roman alphabet that has been developed for use with Brahui. In Pakistan when doing a BA (bachelor of Arts) program, the Brahui Language can be taken as a compulsory subject.

The origins of the Brahuis remain unclear.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" /> Brahui lore, which speaks of a migration from [[Syria]] to [[Kalat, Pakistan|Kalat]] followed by the overthrow of one Sewa dynasty, is a piecemeal borrowing from Baloch traditions; historical ballads, etc., are nonexistent in the language.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" /> Thus, says Elfenbein, reconstructions of Brahui pre-history can only depend on linguistics and genetics.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" />

==Tribal dialects==

Baloch society is divided in tens of tribes, some tribes speak Brahui and some speak Balochi, and there are many that speak both. For instance, the Langov tribe, inhabiting central Balochistan in the Mangochar area, speak Balochi as their first language and Brahui as second. The [[Bizenjo]] tribe that inhabit [[Khuzdar]], [[Nal]] and regions of [[Makran]], along with the Muhammadsanis, one of the largest Baloch tribes, speak both languages. Another example is the Bangulzai tribe which is a Brahui-speaking tribe but the sub-tribe of the Bangulzai, the Garanis, speak Balochi and are known as Balochi speaking Bangulzais. Presently Brahui is spoken in [[Balochistan (Iran)]], [[Pakistan]], [[Afghanistan]], northern [[Iran]], Turkmanistan, [[Sindh]] and Gulf [[Arab]] states. Historically, most Khans of Balochistan were Brahui speakers but their court language was Balochi.

The fact that other Dravidian languages only exist further south in India has led to two hypotheses — either the Brahuis are a relict population of Dravidians remaining from a time when Dravidians were more widespread or they migrated to Baluchistan from South India sometime in the last two millennia.<ref name=":1">P. 32–34 Ideology and status of Sanskrit : contributions to the history of the Sanskrit language by Jan E M Houben</ref> Noting extensive phonological similarities with [[Malto language|Malto]] and [[Kurukh language|Kurukh]], Dravidian languages spoken as geographical isolates across central and eastern India, most linguists speculate the three groups to have shared a common stage before migrating along different directions.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" /> Sound changes shared with Kurukh and Malto also suggest that Brahui was originally spoken near them.<ref>{{citation | quote = This sound change is also shared by Brahui and is one of the arguments to say that Brahui had not separated from Kurux and Malto until around the eighth century CE.| last = Krishnamurti | first = Bhadriraju | title = The Dravidian Languages | author-link = Bhadriraju Krishnamurti | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2003 | isbn = 0-521-77111-0|pages=27, 142 }}</ref> The absence of any [[Old Iranian]] ([[Avestan]]) loanwords in Brahui suggests that the Brahui migrated to Balochistan from central India less than 1,000 years ago. The main Iranian contributor to Brahui vocabulary, [[Balochi language|Balochi]], is a western [[Iranian language]] like [[Kurdish languages|Kurdish]], and arrived in the area from the west only around 1000 CE.<ref>{{cite book|quote=However, the absence of any old Iranian loanwords in Brahui works against his proposal. The main Iranian contributor to Brahui vocabulary is Balochi, coming from the west (Kurdistan area) only around 1000 CE.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSFBDAAAQBAJ|title=The Languages and Linguistics of South Asia|page=105|date=2016| publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG | isbn=978-3-11-042330-3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | first = Josef | last = Elfenbein | title = A periplus of the 'Brahui problem' | journal = Studia Iranica | volume = 16 | issue = 2 | year = 1987 | pages = 215–233 | doi=10.2143/SI.16.2.2014604}}</ref> Additionally, both Kurukhs and Maltos speak of an eastward migration from [[Karnataka]] in their lore, and Brahuis' self-identification as migrants from Syria can be interpreted as a distorted version of the same event.<ref name=":1" />

The Brahui do not display a higher genetic affinity to the Dravidian-speaking groups of India, instead their ancestry is more comparable to that of the neighbouring Indo-European-speaking populations. Further more, the "ancient Dravidian genetic substrate" shared by all Pakistani populations (as well as other South Asians) does not signify a preferential link between Brahui and the other Dravidian-speaking populations, thereby supporting the relict hypothesis.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Pagani |first1=Luca |last2=Colonna |first2=Vincenza |last3=Tyler-Smith |first3=Chris |last4=Ayub |first4=Qasim |date=2017 |title=An Ethnolinguistic and Genetic Perspective on the Origins of the Dravidian-Speaking Brahui in Pakista n|journal=Man in India |volume=97 |issue=1 |pages=267–278 |issn=0025-1569 |pmc=5378296 |pmid=28381901}}</ref>

[[Asko Parpola]] states in his book ''Deciphering the Indus Script'' that the Brahui people are remnants of the [[Indus Valley Civilisation|Harappan culture]], the language of which he concludes as "likely to have belonged to the Dravidian family".<ref>Asko Parpola (1994), ''Deciphering the Indus script'', Cambridge University Press</ref>

==History==

The Brahuis have traditionally been nomads; the state-formation — in the form of a confederacy, the [[Khanate of Kalat]] — appears to have been a response to the increasing penetration of Mughal governance, especially under [[Shah Jahan]], into their traditional grazing lands and migratory routes.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" /> The Khanate was established by Ahmad Khan I, a Brahui chieftain, in the 1660s and derived its power from a complex system of inter-tribal alliances with the [[Baloch people|Balochs]] and [[Dehwar|Dehwaris]]; notwithstanding nominal suzerainties to [[Iran|Persia]] and [[Afghanistan]] at times, the kingdom gained in size and reached its zenith under [[Nasir Khan I Ahmadzai|Nasir Khan I]] in the late eighteenth century.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" /> However, British incursion into the subcontinent coupled with territorial losses to Persia compelled [[Kalat, Pakistan|Kalat]] to accept a protectorate status; in the aftermath of the Partition, the Khanate was absorbed into [[Pakistan]] notwithstanding popular protests.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" />

==Language and literature==

According to Elfenbein, only about 15% of the Brahui tribesmen are primary speakers of the [[Brahui language]]; only two nuclear tribes speak Brahui as a primary language.<ref name="Elfenbein" /> Half of the rest may be secondary speakers of Brahui with [[Balochi language|Balochi]] as the primary language, while the other half are estimated to speak no Brahui "at all".<ref name="Elfenbein" /> The language belongs to the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian language family]] and is, hence, a geographical isolate.<ref name="Elfenbein" /> It has extensively borrowed from Balochi and other languages of the area; linguist [[David W. McAlpin]] characterised it as an "etymological nightmare".<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=McAlpin |first=David W. |date=2015 |title=Brahui and the Zagrosian Hypothesis |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.3.551 |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=135 |issue=3 |pages=551–586 |doi=10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.3.551 |jstor=10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.3.551 |issn=0003-0279|url-access=subscription }}</ref> There are three dialects with no significant variation: Sarawani (spoken in the north), Jhalawani (spoken in the southeast), and Chaghi (spoken in the northwest and west).<ref name=":2" />

No significant corpus of Brahui literature exists; the earliest extant work is ''Tuḥfat al-aja īb'' (lit. Gift of Wonders), a translation from Persian by Malikdad Gharsin Qalati, {{circa|1759–1760}}, a court poet of Nasir Khan I.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" /><ref name="Elfenbein" /> The Perso-Arabic script currently in use was developed {{circa|1900}} out of the efforts of Mulla Nabo-Jan and Maulana Fazl Mohammed Khan Darkhani for spreading Islamic revivalist ideas.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" /><ref name="Elfenbein" /> Literacy rates among Brahuis remained very low as the late as 1990s.<ref name=":2" />

==Geographic distribution==

===Pakistan===

The Brahuis predominantly inhabit a narrow belt in Pakistan, also known as [[Brahuistan (region)|Brahuistan]], stretching from [[Bolan Pass]] near [[Quetta]] through the [[Central Brahui Range|Brāhui Hills]] to [[Ras Muari]] in the [[Arabian Sea]],<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Brahui |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahui |date=5 February 2016 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> mainly the [[Mastung District|Mastung]], [[Kalat District|Kalat]], [[Nushki District|Nushki]] and [[Lasbela District|Las Bela]] districts.<ref name="Elfenbein">{{cite book |last1=Elfenbein |first1=Josef |title=The Dravidian Languages |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1138853768 |editor1-last=Seever |editor1-first=Sanford B. |edition=2 |page=495}}</ref> Kalat separates the area into a northern part, known as [[Sarawan]], and a southern part, known as [[Jhalawan]].<ref name="IranicaNoQuote">{{cite encyclopedia |year=1989 |title=BRAHUI |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 4 |publisher= |___location= |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/brahui |last=Elfenbein |first=Josef |editor-last= |editor-first= |editor-link= |pages=433–443 |isbn= |authorlink=}}</ref>

===Other countries===

Large numbers of nomadic and semi-nomadic Brahui speakers are found in [[Afghanistan]], primarily in the [[Shorabak District|Shorawak]] desert, in an area extending west of Nushki along the [[Helmand river]] into [[Iran]]ian [[Sistan]].<ref name="Elfenbein" /> In Iran, Brahui are restricted to the north of [[Sistan]]; in 1909, G. P. Tate did come across a few Brahui as far south as [[Khash, Iran|Khash]], but they appear to have assimilated into the neighbouring Baloch.<ref name="Elfenbein" /><ref name="IranicaNoQuote" /> Some Brahui are also found in [[Turkmenistan]], mainly in the [[Merv]] oasis, where their ancestors migrated from [[British Raj|British India]] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in search of employment.<ref name="Elfenbein" />

===Tribes and population===

The number of Brahui tribes have fluctuated across the centuries.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" /> At the time of Nasir Khan I, when the Khanate of Kalat was at its zenith, the Brahuis had eight nuclear tribes and seven peripheral tribes; by the time of the last Khan, twelve peripheral tribes had been added.<ref name="IranicaNoQuote" />{{Efn|{{url|https://iranicaonline.org/uploads/files/Brahui/brahui_tab13.jpg|List of Brahui tribes}}.}} The 1911 census was the only attempt to enumerate the Brahui as an ethnic group. However, since most Brahui describe themselves as Baloch to outsiders, the recorded count is an underestimate.<ref name="Elfenbein" /> Elfenbein, referencing estimations from 1996, speculates that there are {{circa|700,000}} Brahui tribesmen.<ref name="Elfenbein" /> The [[2023 Census of Pakistan]] enumerated 2.78 million Brahui-speakers across Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan Census 2023 |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/national/table_11.pdf}}</ref>

==See also==

* ''[[Stocksia (plant)|Stocksia brahuica]]'' {{small|Benth.}}, a flowering plant belonging to the family [[Sapindaceae]], named after the Brahui people.

{{Dravidian}}

*[[Baloch]]

==Notes==

*[[Balochistan (Iran)]]

{{notelist}}

==References==

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Brahui}}

{{EB1911 poster|Brahui}}

{{Brahui tribes}}

==External links==

[[Category:{{Ethnic groups in India]]Afghanistan}}

*[http://www.brahui.tk/ A website related to Brahuis by Shafique-Ur-Rehman]

[[Category:{{Ethnic groups in Iran]]Pakistan}}

*[http://salrc.uchicago.edu/workshops/ South Asia Language Resource Center]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brahui People}}

[[Category:Brahui people| ]]

[[Category:Ethnic groups in Afghanistan]]

[[Category:Ethnic groups in India]]

[[Category:Ethnic groups in Iran]]

[[Category:Ethnic groups in Pakistan]]

[[Category:DravidianIndigenous peoplepeoples of South Asia]]

[[Category:BrahuiSocial peoplegroups of Balochistan, Pakistan]]

[[Category:Dravidian peoples|*]]

[[sh:Brahui]]