Bangash
Encyclopedia
Bangash is the name of a Pashtun
clan. The Bangash clan inhabit regions within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
(FATA), the Kurram Agency, the Miranzai Valley (Hangu, Sarozai, Doaba, Darsamand Jandi and Tall city) bordering the Samana Range
, Naryab
, Tirah, Kohat
and Peshawar
within the Sarhad province. Some Bangash also inhabit the Rudain, Kaimganj
and Farrukhabad
regions in India
, most notable of whom were the Nawab
s of Farrukhabad
who established their own Afghan colony.
), the Kohat
defile in British territory (now North West Pakistan), and the valley of Kurram
river in Afghanistan. They are said to be the descendants of a person named Ismail, who was surnamed Bankash or Bangash (BANGASHis the combination of two ENGLISH worlds "BANG" and "ASH" while bang mean to blast and tear and ash mean into soil according to Oxford dictionary) (meaning "root-destroyer"). The Samilzai Bangash, in particular, are noted for their bravery and could turn 3000 plus fighting men. The Bangash inhabited the Kurram valley for several hundred years. The emperor Babur
(A.D. 1504), the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, mentions the names of the local Pashtun tribes in his biography. Babur describes a population of approximately 5600 Bangash located in Kuramm, which was formerly divided into Bangash-i-Bala and Bangash Payan, Upper and Lower Bangash, and lists Bangash as one of the fourteen provinces then dependent on Kabul. Babur wished to conquer these provinces, but was unable to conquer the territory bounded on the north by the Koh-i-Sufaid down as far as Bannu, where Bangash, Turis, Wazirs live, as is clear from his comments: "Bangash is another tuman [of Kabul]. The area round about is full of Afghan highway robbers such as the Khugiani, Khirilchi, Turi and Landar. Since it is isolated they do not pay the desired revenue. As greater tasks such as the conquest of Qandahar, Balkh, Badakhshan and Hindustan occupied me, there has been no opportunity to subjugate the Bangash".
The three main divisions of the clan are the Miranzai, Baizais
and Samilzai. The Miranzai and the Baizai inhabit the main Kohat valley and the Samilzai inhabit the in the wild Kohat jungle district.
The Kohat Gazetteer of 1883-84 records
s from Kohat, with assistance from Khattak
tribesmen in the surrounding areas, and settle in their stead. The name Baizai originated from that of a tribal chieftain of the Bangashes,Behzad Khan-son of Amirzai chief Daulat Khan-a tribal chieftain and feudal lord. Behzad Khan is said to have been married to a daughter of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Amir of the Pashtuns. Behzad Khan had an older brother Malak Mir who was the chieftain of the Amrizai Bangashes, which encompassed all the existing clans, until he passed. Today all the descendants of Dualat Khan are known as Baizai. The Baizai Bangashes inhabit most of rural Kohat
and parts of the city limits where most government installations, institutions and commercial centers have been built on their lands. All Baizais are Sunni Muslims. They are further divided in to clans or khels. The local Hindko speaking population refer to them as Behzadi.
, where they with assistance from other Bangash and Khattak tribesmen encroached on lands controlled by the Orakzais, in much the same fashion the Baizais of Kohat did so. Miranzai Bangashes include both Shias and Sunnis. The Miranzai are the descendants of Miran, one of the grandchildren of Ismail, the progenitor of the Bangash tribe.
Pashtun warrior poet, Pir Roshan
took place when the division with the main branches of the tribe became visible. Today the Samilzai inhabit parts of the Kohat Valley and Kurram Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
, alongside the Turi
.
s but slightly differing in some lexicographical and phonetic features. Some Bangash in Kohat
area speak the Hindko language as their mother tongue.
. The Bangash are both Sunni
and Shia Muslims. The Shias are concentrated around upper Kurram and Hangu, while the Sunnis are mostly concentrated around lower Kurram and Tall area of Hangu. Both Deobandi and Barelvi are present in the Sunni Bangashes. Mufti Munir Shakir
, founder of Lashkar-e-Islami and a tough Deobandi, stirred up action against the Shias in Hangu and was expelled; he now lives in the Khyber Agency in Baza. Bangashes from both sects lived in relative harmony with each other before the talibanization of tribal areas by then-president of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq
.
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
clan. The Bangash clan inhabit regions within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
(FATA), the Kurram Agency, the Miranzai Valley (Hangu, Sarozai, Doaba, Darsamand Jandi and Tall city) bordering the Samana Range
Samana Range
The Samana Range is a mountain ridge in the Kohat District of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, commanding the southern boundary of Tirah. The ridge lies between the Khanki Valley on the north and the Miranzai Valley on the south, and extends for some 30 m. west from Hangu to the Samana...
, Naryab
Naryab
Naryab is a town and union council of Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Pakistan.This is an old village of the Kohat Division and there is a Small Dam in upper area of Naryab by which the farmers of that village irrigate their farms....
, Tirah, Kohat
Kohat
Kohat is a medium sized town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 33°35'13N 71°26'29E with an altitude of 489 metres and is the capital of Kohat District. The town centres around a British-era fort, various bazaars, and a military cantonment. A British-built narrow gauge...
and Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
within the Sarhad province. Some Bangash also inhabit the Rudain, Kaimganj
Kaimganj
Kaimganj, also rendered as Qaimganj , is a city in Farrukhabad district in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. Qaimganj is connected to all the villages of north India by roads and Railway network...
and Farrukhabad
Farrukhabad
Farrukhābād , is one of the important cities of Central Doab Region in the State of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. The city was founded in 1717 by Mohammed Bangash who named it after the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar. Farrukhabad is situated on the bank of sacred river Ganges.-Demographics: India...
regions in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, most notable of whom were the Nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
s of Farrukhabad
Farrukhabad
Farrukhābād , is one of the important cities of Central Doab Region in the State of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. The city was founded in 1717 by Mohammed Bangash who named it after the Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar. Farrukhabad is situated on the bank of sacred river Ganges.-Demographics: India...
who established their own Afghan colony.
History
The Bangash inhabit the Miranzai valley (HanguHangu
-Places:China*Hangu District, Tianjin, district in Tianjin, China*Hangu Pass, pass in ChinaPakistan*Hangu, Pakistan, town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province*Hangu District , district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province...
), the Kohat
Kohat
Kohat is a medium sized town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 33°35'13N 71°26'29E with an altitude of 489 metres and is the capital of Kohat District. The town centres around a British-era fort, various bazaars, and a military cantonment. A British-built narrow gauge...
defile in British territory (now North West Pakistan), and the valley of Kurram
Kurram
Kurram can refer to either:*Kurram River - a river on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan*Kurram Valley - the valley of the Kurram River which runs from Afghanistan to the Indus River....
river in Afghanistan. They are said to be the descendants of a person named Ismail, who was surnamed Bankash or Bangash (BANGASHis the combination of two ENGLISH worlds "BANG" and "ASH" while bang mean to blast and tear and ash mean into soil according to Oxford dictionary) (meaning "root-destroyer"). The Samilzai Bangash, in particular, are noted for their bravery and could turn 3000 plus fighting men. The Bangash inhabited the Kurram valley for several hundred years. The emperor Babur
Babur
Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
(A.D. 1504), the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, mentions the names of the local Pashtun tribes in his biography. Babur describes a population of approximately 5600 Bangash located in Kuramm, which was formerly divided into Bangash-i-Bala and Bangash Payan, Upper and Lower Bangash, and lists Bangash as one of the fourteen provinces then dependent on Kabul. Babur wished to conquer these provinces, but was unable to conquer the territory bounded on the north by the Koh-i-Sufaid down as far as Bannu, where Bangash, Turis, Wazirs live, as is clear from his comments: "Bangash is another tuman [of Kabul]. The area round about is full of Afghan highway robbers such as the Khugiani, Khirilchi, Turi and Landar. Since it is isolated they do not pay the desired revenue. As greater tasks such as the conquest of Qandahar, Balkh, Badakhshan and Hindustan occupied me, there has been no opportunity to subjugate the Bangash".
The three main divisions of the clan are the Miranzai, Baizais
Baizais
The Baizai are a sub-tribe of the Bangash tribe. Believed to be the first amongst the Bangash tribesmen, along with the Miranzai, to have come down from their traditional home in the Kurram Valley to oust the Orakzais from Kohat, with assistance from Khattak tribesmen in the surrounding areas, and...
and Samilzai. The Miranzai and the Baizai inhabit the main Kohat valley and the Samilzai inhabit the in the wild Kohat jungle district.
The Kohat Gazetteer of 1883-84 records
The Bangash Tribe
| Main Bangash Lineages | Genealogical Descen | Political Affiliation | Religion | ||
| Baizai | Gar | Gar | Sunni | ||
| Miranzai | Gar | Gar + Samel Minority | Sunni + Shia | ||
| Samelzai | Samel | Gar + Samel Minority | Shia + Sunni Minority |
Clans
| Tribe | Division | Subdivision | Section of subdivision(Khel) | |
| Bangash | Gaar | Baizai | Alisher, Gulshah, Landi, Shingi, Biland, Hasan, Mandar, Tapi, Dang, Isa, Mastu, Daulat, Shamshedi, Musa, Darsamand, Kamal, Mysaro, Doda, Kati, Shadi, Makhizai etc. | |
| Miranzai | Aba, Alisher, Azi, Badda, Hasan, Isap, Khoja, Labi, Lodi, Mandar, Mardo, Aaji Khel Shahu etc. | |||
| Samil | Ali, Darbi, Kalesar, Kasi Kasi KASI or Kasi may refer to:* Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, South Korea* Kingdom of Kashi, or Kasi, an ancient kingdom with Varanasi as its capital* 1430KASI, a radio station licensed to serve Ames, Iowa... , Khadi, Khadir, Khoti, Landi, Mama, Mari, Mastori, Mozu, Musa, Naso, Pae, Tana, Tazi, Ustarizai,Kohat, Hangu etc. |
Baizai
The Baizai are a sub-tribe of the Bangash tribe. Believed to be the first amongst the Bangash tribesmen, along with the Miranzai, to have come down from their traditional home in the Kurram Valley to oust the OrakzaiOrakzai
Orakzai is a Pashtun tribe settled in the Orakzai Agency of Pakistan. It consists of eighteen clans. Most of the members are situated in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.-Location:...
s from Kohat, with assistance from Khattak
Khattak
Khattak or Khatak , is the name of an Afghan tribe. speaking a variant of the Kandahari Pashto. They are accorded the status of being one of the original and true Afghans. The tribe is settled along the western bank of the river Indus from as north upwards as Sammah; modern day Lund Khwar & Sher...
tribesmen in the surrounding areas, and settle in their stead. The name Baizai originated from that of a tribal chieftain of the Bangashes,Behzad Khan-son of Amirzai chief Daulat Khan-a tribal chieftain and feudal lord. Behzad Khan is said to have been married to a daughter of Ahmad Shah Abdali, the Amir of the Pashtuns. Behzad Khan had an older brother Malak Mir who was the chieftain of the Amrizai Bangashes, which encompassed all the existing clans, until he passed. Today all the descendants of Dualat Khan are known as Baizai. The Baizai Bangashes inhabit most of rural Kohat
Kohat
Kohat is a medium sized town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 33°35'13N 71°26'29E with an altitude of 489 metres and is the capital of Kohat District. The town centres around a British-era fort, various bazaars, and a military cantonment. A British-built narrow gauge...
and parts of the city limits where most government installations, institutions and commercial centers have been built on their lands. All Baizais are Sunni Muslims. They are further divided in to clans or khels. The local Hindko speaking population refer to them as Behzadi.
Miranzai
The Miranzai occupy a vast territory in Hangu known as the Miranzai ValleyMiranzai Valley
The Miranzai Valley, also Hangu, is a mountainous valley situated in the Kohat and Hangu districts in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. It is made up of two valleys, draining from the southwest into the Kunam and northeast into the Kohat Tai. It is divided into upper and lower...
, where they with assistance from other Bangash and Khattak tribesmen encroached on lands controlled by the Orakzais, in much the same fashion the Baizais of Kohat did so. Miranzai Bangashes include both Shias and Sunnis. The Miranzai are the descendants of Miran, one of the grandchildren of Ismail, the progenitor of the Bangash tribe.
Samilzai
The Samilzai are almost entirely Shia. Unlike the other two main factions, the Samilzai distinction existed from the earliest days of the tribe but it was only until the period during which the rebellion by the BurkiBurki
The Burki are a Pushtun tribe of South Waziristan, Pakistan, whose homeland is Kaniguram...
Pashtun warrior poet, Pir Roshan
Pir Roshan
Bayazid Khan known as Pir Roshan or Pir Rokhan was a Pashtun warrior poet and intellectual of the Barak/Urmar tribe who wrote in Pashto, Persian and Arabic. His mother tongue was Ormuri and he also spoke Pashto...
took place when the division with the main branches of the tribe became visible. Today the Samilzai inhabit parts of the Kohat Valley and Kurram Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
, alongside the Turi
Turi
The Turi or Torai inhabit the Kurram Valley, in Kurram Agency, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan. They speak Pashto and practice the Twelver Shia sect of Islam.-Pre-Imperial history:...
.
Language
The Bangash speak a harder variant of Pashto similar to that of the YousafzaiYousafzai
The Yūsufzai is one of the largest Pashtun tribes...
s but slightly differing in some lexicographical and phonetic features. Some Bangash in Kohat
Kohat
Kohat is a medium sized town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 33°35'13N 71°26'29E with an altitude of 489 metres and is the capital of Kohat District. The town centres around a British-era fort, various bazaars, and a military cantonment. A British-built narrow gauge...
area speak the Hindko language as their mother tongue.
Religion
The Bangash follow the religion of IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. The Bangash are both Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
and Shia Muslims. The Shias are concentrated around upper Kurram and Hangu, while the Sunnis are mostly concentrated around lower Kurram and Tall area of Hangu. Both Deobandi and Barelvi are present in the Sunni Bangashes. Mufti Munir Shakir
Mufti Munir Shakir
Mufti Munir Shakir is a religious figure operating in northwestern Pakistan, and the founder of the militant group Lashkar-e-Islam...
, founder of Lashkar-e-Islami and a tough Deobandi, stirred up action against the Shias in Hangu and was expelled; he now lives in the Khyber Agency in Baza. Bangashes from both sects lived in relative harmony with each other before the talibanization of tribal areas by then-president of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988...
.
See also
- Bangash Hacker
- BeliamenBeliamenBeliamen is a village in Kurram Agency in north west Pakistan, not far from the border with Afghanistan. The closest main town is Parachinar. The village has been home to many Afghan settlers as well as Bangash tribes. It is situated at about 50 km from Parachinar the capital of Kurram. ceased...
- Pashtun tribesPashtun tribesThe Pashtun people are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and the second largest in Pakistan. Pashtun, tribes are divided into four supertribal confederacies: the Arbanee , Betanee , Gharghasht, and Karlanee .Traditionally, according to folklore, all Pashtuns are said to have descended, at...
- PashtunistanPashtunistanPakhtunistan or Pashtunistan, meaning the "land of Pakhtuns" or "land of Pashtuns", is a modern term used for the historical region inhabited by the native Afghans or Pashtun since at least the 1st millennium BC...
- Lodhi Khel
- Marai Balla