Nuristani
Encyclopedia
The Nuristani people are an ethnic group
Aryan-Iranian to the Nuristan region of northeastern Iran and Afghanistan. The Nuristanis are a people whose ancestors practiced what was apparently an ancient Indo-Iranian
polytheistic religion until they were conquered and converted to Islam
in the late 19th century by Emir
Abdur Rahman Khan
. In the mid 1890s, he conducted a campaign in Kafiristan and followed up his conquest with forcible conversions, the region thenceforth being known as Nuristan, the "Land of Light". Non-Muslim religious practices endure today to some degree as folk customs. In their native rural areas, which was referred to by the local Muslims as Kafiristan
before the 19th century, they are often farmers, herders, and dairymen.
The Nuristani are distinguished from the Kalash of Chitral
by their adoption of Islam and territory within Afghanistan.
), Gobor, Buburat, Ayun, Broze and Mastuj
. There is a very popular rock associated with this tribe located in Karimabad (Juwara) called kata bont (Kata is the name of the tribe; bont meaning "stone" in the Chitrali language).
In 4th century BC, Alexander the Great's historians encountered them and reduced them after a stubborn and prolonged fight and described them as being distinct culturally and religiously from other peoples of the region.
The Nuristani were formerly classified into "Siah-Posh (black-robed) Kafirs" and "Safed-Posh (white robed)/Lall-Posh (Red-Robed) Kafirs". Timur
fought with and was humbled by the Siah-Posh Kafirs. Babur
advised not to tangle with them. Genghis Khan
passed by them. In the 19th century, it was typical of the Kafirs to boast about having killed the sons of Ali
.
The region is so called "Kafiristan" as the surrounding populations were converted to Islam
, the people in this region retained themselves, thus known as "Kafirs".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. The "Kafir" here is used to refer to their being non-Muslims and the Nurestan province was hence known as Kafiristan
, before the majority were forcefully 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, which is considered incompatible with the new belief and is disappearing.
"Kafir" has also been traced to Kapiś (= Kapish), the ancient Sanskrit name of the region that included historic Kafiristan; which is also given as "Ki-pin" (or Ke-pin, Ka-pin, Chi-pin) in old Chinese
chronicles. That name, unrelated to the Arabic word, is believed to have mutated at some point into the word Kapir. Kapiś, the name of the people of Kapiś/Kapiśa, is believed to have changed to Kapir and then Kafir, because of the lack of 'p' in Arabic. This is similar to how Parsi
changed to Farsi.
However, it is also certain that the word "Kafiristan" was used much later after occupation of the region by Muslims and was not referred to as "Kafiristan" prior to occupation and local conversions.
Both the Kafirs and Afghans are brigands by instinct and both are careless of human life. Perhaps the Kafirs are the worst of the two in both respects, but a Afghan makes the account more than even by his added perfidy and cunning. All the neighboring Musulman tribes have an intense hatred of the Kafirs because of the injuries the former have received at the hands of the Kafirs through the ages. The Kafirs love to dance to their war god Gish after killing Musulmans.
The Kafirs love to fight. Their inter-tribal hatred, sometimes, goes to the limits of absurdity, thus entirely deadening their political foresight. It is probable that there is no single tribe of Kafirs at the present day Kafirstan which is at peace with all other tribes. Some of their inter-tribal wars have continued for generations, and the one between the Kamoz and Katirs of Ramgulis went over a century .The Kafirs are highly revengeful. For honor's sake, a man of any position in the clan (even the slave) having been killed by an outsider clan must be avenged by blood. No matter what, a murder has to be avenged under all circumstances. Blood-feuds within a tribe do not exist, but if a fight did start, it was the duty of all witness to intervene at once. The slayer of his fellow, even by accident, has to pay a heavy compensation or else become an outcast. The stigma attaches itself to children and their marriage connexions. Kafirs have true conceptions of justice. There is no death penalty since a fighting male is too valuable a property of the whole tribe to be so wasted .
Though in his raids into hostile territories, whether of Kafirs or Musulmans, the Kafir spares neither men, nor women, nor even children and though, he holds human life as of very little account, and though in hunting, he appears to employ brutal methods of getting his game, yet he is not cruel by nature. Though highly passionate and wildly independent, the Kafir can be easily appeased . Though exasperated to such fury by centuries of persecutions by Musulmans, the Kafirs, in general, are harmless, affectionate and kind hearted people. They are indeed a model of politeness. They are merry, playful, fond of laughter and of very social and joyous disposition. The Kafirs are splendidly loyal to their friends and are accustomed to grandest acts of self-sacrifice and bravery. Kafirs are very hospitable. They are kind even to a Musulman when they admit him as their friend or guest .
The Kafirs are remarkable for their cupidity. They can be easily bribed, can do anything for money. But in matters of honor, no Kafir can ever be won by any amount of cash, whatsoever . Kafirs are extremely jealous of one another, no matter how they have intermarried. Kafir hates Kafir more than he hates Musulmans, which sometimes leads to internecine strife .It is as natural for a Kafir to thieve, as it is for him to eat. The children are encouraged to steal. Kafirs are remarkable for their reckless courage, furious bravery and towering love for freedom. Kafirs women are also extraordinarily courageous and dashing .
The war strategy of Kafirs is to wear down the enemy by playing purely defensive tactics. They hold positions, form little ambushes, and seek to cut off stragglers and harass the invaders in every possible way. Then when the enemy, from accumulated losses, begins to retreat, the tiger-footed Kafirs attack him on all sides like a swarm of hornets. At this point, the dogged resistance turns into furious bravery. A Kafir never fights so well as when the advantage is to his side. He plays a winning game splendidly. Each man tries to emulate the traditional heroes of his tribe and will performs some of the grandest deeds of courage and heroism to gain the admiration of his tribal .The Kafir of Bashgul is ever on the raid and on watch for a chance for a Musulman's life. The killing of Musulmans is ranked the chief object of a Kafir's life since his social position is dependent on the number of Musulmans he kills. A robe of honor (a Shawl) is awarded to those who have killed four or more Musulmans .
The Kafirs are chiefly remarkable for their love of cattle. In Kafir opinion, a good man is one who is a successful homicide, ever ready to quarrel, of an amorous disposition, a good dancer, and a good stone-quoit player.The whole of the Kafir race are remarkable for their fairness and beauty of complexion . A Kafir exudes impression of personal dignity, self-respect, self-confidence, strength and gracefulness . Kafir society is essentially democratic and the Kafirs are theoretically all equal.
The Kafirs, as seen above, seem to be as degraded in many respects as it is possible for this type ever to become. If it were not their splendid courage, their domestic affections and their overpowering love of freedom, the Kafirs would indeed be a hateful people. In other respects, they are what they have been made by uncontrollable circumstances. For them, the world has not grown softer as it has grown older. Its youth could not be crueler than its present maturity, but if they had been different, the Kafirs would have been enslaved centuries ago. Their present ideas and all the associations of their history and religion are simply bloodshed, assassinations and blackmailing; yet the Kafirs, though a highly wild people, are not savages. Many of them have the heads of statesmen and philosophers. Their features are Aryans and their mental capabilities are great. Their love of decoration, their carving and their architecture all point to a time when they were higher in human scale than they are at present .
It is also speculated that Nurestani people are of different origin altogether assimilated in the region at at some point of time in history.
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. 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, Nuristan 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.http://users.sedona.net/~strand/.
of British India 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, Kalasha
s, Tajiks, Pashtuns
and Wakhis
.
There is a large number of these people use to live in Chitral, Pakistan the eastern border of Nuristan. Most of these people are from the KATA Family and Janaderi Branch, some of these people are use to live in Ozhor (recent Karimabad), Gobor, Buburat, Ayun, Broze and Mastuj. There is very popular Rock (Stone) associated with this tribe located in Karimabad (Juwara) called KATA BOHT (Kata is the name of the trible normally they associated with the Headtribe and BOHT is stone in Chitrali Language). They are physically strong, brave,light hair, eyes, and skin like other Nuristani. Now they normally use Kuraishi with their names.
The Nuristani do not have a formal tribal structure as the Pashtuns do, however they do designate themselves by the names of the local regions they are from. In total, there are 35 such designations: five from the north-south valleys and 30 from the east-west valley.
Some of these tribes include:
in Rudyard Kipling
's book called The Man Who Would Be King
which was then made into a film
.
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
Aryan-Iranian to the Nuristan region of northeastern Iran and Afghanistan. The Nuristanis are a people whose ancestors practiced what was apparently an ancient Indo-Iranian
Indo-Iranian
Indo-Iranian can refer to:* Indo-Iranian languages* Prehistoric Indo-Iranians * Indo-European languages* Proto-Indo-Iranian religion* Proto-Indo-Iranian language...
polytheistic religion until they were conquered and converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in the late 19th century by Emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901.The third son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan, Abdur Rahman Khan was considered a strong ruler who re-established the writ of the Afghan government in Kabul after the disarray that followed the second...
. In the mid 1890s, he conducted a campaign in Kafiristan and followed up his conquest with forcible conversions, the region thenceforth being known as Nuristan, the "Land of Light". Non-Muslim religious practices endure today to some degree as folk customs. In their native rural areas, which was referred to by the local Muslims as Kafiristan
Kafiristan
Kāfiristān or Kāfirstān was a historic name of Nurestan , a province in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, prior to 1896. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises, basins of the rivers Alingar, Pech , Landai Sin, and Kunar, and the intervening mountain ranges...
before the 19th century, they are often farmers, herders, and dairymen.
The Nuristani are distinguished from the Kalash of Chitral
Chitral
Chitral or Chetrar , translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River , in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, high...
by their adoption of Islam and territory within Afghanistan.
History
Like certain other groups in the region, they sometimes exhibit physical characteristics of light hair, eyes, and skin. There is a large number of these people who use to live in Chitral, Pakistan the eastern border of Nuristan. Most of these people are from the KATA Family and Janaderi Branch, some of these people used to live in Ozhor (now KarimabadKarimabad
Karimabad may refer to:* Karimabad , the main town of Hunza in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan* Karimabad , a neighborhood of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan...
), Gobor, Buburat, Ayun, Broze and Mastuj
Mastuj
Mastuj is a town of Chitral District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 36°17'0N 72°31'0E with an altitude of 2359 metres ....
. There is a very popular rock associated with this tribe located in Karimabad (Juwara) called kata bont (Kata is the name of the tribe; bont meaning "stone" in the Chitrali language).
In 4th century BC, Alexander the Great's historians encountered them and reduced them after a stubborn and prolonged fight and described them as being distinct culturally and religiously from other peoples of the region.
The Nuristani were formerly classified into "Siah-Posh (black-robed) Kafirs" and "Safed-Posh (white robed)/Lall-Posh (Red-Robed) Kafirs". Timur
Timur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
fought with and was humbled by the Siah-Posh Kafirs. 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...
advised not to tangle with them. Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
passed by them. In the 19th century, it was typical of the Kafirs to boast about having killed the sons of Ali
Ali
' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
.
The region is so called "Kafiristan" as the surrounding populations were converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, the people in this region retained themselves, thus known as "Kafirs".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
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
in the Islamic tradition. The "Kafir" here is used to refer to their being non-Muslims and the Nurestan province was hence known as Kafiristan
Kafiristan
Kāfiristān or Kāfirstān was a historic name of Nurestan , a province in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, prior to 1896. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises, basins of the rivers Alingar, Pech , Landai Sin, and Kunar, and the intervening mountain ranges...
, before the majority were forcefully converted to Islam during Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901.The third son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan, Abdur Rahman Khan was considered a strong ruler who re-established the writ of the Afghan government in Kabul after the disarray that followed the second...
'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, which is considered incompatible with the new belief and is disappearing.
"Kafir" has also been traced to Kapiś (= Kapish), the ancient Sanskrit name of the region that included historic Kafiristan; which is also given as "Ki-pin" (or Ke-pin, Ka-pin, Chi-pin) in old Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
chronicles. That name, unrelated to the Arabic word, is believed to have mutated at some point into the word Kapir. Kapiś, the name of the people of Kapiś/Kapiśa, is believed to have changed to Kapir and then Kafir, because of the lack of 'p' in Arabic. This is similar to how Parsi
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
changed to Farsi.
However, it is also certain that the word "Kafiristan" was used much later after occupation of the region by Muslims and was not referred to as "Kafiristan" prior to occupation and local conversions.
Characteristics of Pre-Islamic Nurestani Society (The former Kafirs)
Based on obervations of G. S. Robertson, THomas Holdich, Donald N. Wilber, HW Bellow, and some other noted investigators.Both the Kafirs and Afghans are brigands by instinct and both are careless of human life. Perhaps the Kafirs are the worst of the two in both respects, but a Afghan makes the account more than even by his added perfidy and cunning. All the neighboring Musulman tribes have an intense hatred of the Kafirs because of the injuries the former have received at the hands of the Kafirs through the ages. The Kafirs love to dance to their war god Gish after killing Musulmans.
The Kafirs love to fight. Their inter-tribal hatred, sometimes, goes to the limits of absurdity, thus entirely deadening their political foresight. It is probable that there is no single tribe of Kafirs at the present day Kafirstan which is at peace with all other tribes. Some of their inter-tribal wars have continued for generations, and the one between the Kamoz and Katirs of Ramgulis went over a century .The Kafirs are highly revengeful. For honor's sake, a man of any position in the clan (even the slave) having been killed by an outsider clan must be avenged by blood. No matter what, a murder has to be avenged under all circumstances. Blood-feuds within a tribe do not exist, but if a fight did start, it was the duty of all witness to intervene at once. The slayer of his fellow, even by accident, has to pay a heavy compensation or else become an outcast. The stigma attaches itself to children and their marriage connexions. Kafirs have true conceptions of justice. There is no death penalty since a fighting male is too valuable a property of the whole tribe to be so wasted .
Though in his raids into hostile territories, whether of Kafirs or Musulmans, the Kafir spares neither men, nor women, nor even children and though, he holds human life as of very little account, and though in hunting, he appears to employ brutal methods of getting his game, yet he is not cruel by nature. Though highly passionate and wildly independent, the Kafir can be easily appeased . Though exasperated to such fury by centuries of persecutions by Musulmans, the Kafirs, in general, are harmless, affectionate and kind hearted people. They are indeed a model of politeness. They are merry, playful, fond of laughter and of very social and joyous disposition. The Kafirs are splendidly loyal to their friends and are accustomed to grandest acts of self-sacrifice and bravery. Kafirs are very hospitable. They are kind even to a Musulman when they admit him as their friend or guest .
The Kafirs are remarkable for their cupidity. They can be easily bribed, can do anything for money. But in matters of honor, no Kafir can ever be won by any amount of cash, whatsoever . Kafirs are extremely jealous of one another, no matter how they have intermarried. Kafir hates Kafir more than he hates Musulmans, which sometimes leads to internecine strife .It is as natural for a Kafir to thieve, as it is for him to eat. The children are encouraged to steal. Kafirs are remarkable for their reckless courage, furious bravery and towering love for freedom. Kafirs women are also extraordinarily courageous and dashing .
The war strategy of Kafirs is to wear down the enemy by playing purely defensive tactics. They hold positions, form little ambushes, and seek to cut off stragglers and harass the invaders in every possible way. Then when the enemy, from accumulated losses, begins to retreat, the tiger-footed Kafirs attack him on all sides like a swarm of hornets. At this point, the dogged resistance turns into furious bravery. A Kafir never fights so well as when the advantage is to his side. He plays a winning game splendidly. Each man tries to emulate the traditional heroes of his tribe and will performs some of the grandest deeds of courage and heroism to gain the admiration of his tribal .The Kafir of Bashgul is ever on the raid and on watch for a chance for a Musulman's life. The killing of Musulmans is ranked the chief object of a Kafir's life since his social position is dependent on the number of Musulmans he kills. A robe of honor (a Shawl) is awarded to those who have killed four or more Musulmans .
The Kafirs are chiefly remarkable for their love of cattle. In Kafir opinion, a good man is one who is a successful homicide, ever ready to quarrel, of an amorous disposition, a good dancer, and a good stone-quoit player.The whole of the Kafir race are remarkable for their fairness and beauty of complexion . A Kafir exudes impression of personal dignity, self-respect, self-confidence, strength and gracefulness . Kafir society is essentially democratic and the Kafirs are theoretically all equal.
The Kafirs, as seen above, seem to be as degraded in many respects as it is possible for this type ever to become. If it were not their splendid courage, their domestic affections and their overpowering love of freedom, the Kafirs would indeed be a hateful people. In other respects, they are what they have been made by uncontrollable circumstances. For them, the world has not grown softer as it has grown older. Its youth could not be crueler than its present maturity, but if they had been different, the Kafirs would have been enslaved centuries ago. Their present ideas and all the associations of their history and religion are simply bloodshed, assassinations and blackmailing; yet the Kafirs, though a highly wild people, are not savages. Many of them have the heads of statesmen and philosophers. Their features are Aryans and their mental capabilities are great. Their love of decoration, their carving and their architecture all point to a time when they were higher in human scale than they are at present .
Former religion of Nurestanis
Before their forced conversion by Abdur Rahman, Kafirs , the predecessors of the Nurestanis were practitioners of ancient pre-Islamic Animistic traditions.The Kafiri picturesque ceremonial and good humoured tolerance was replaced by the selfrighteous pride of Islam,Imra became Allah-Moni became mohammed and Dizane became fatima while all the shrines , altars and holy places were destroyed.A whole generation of male youth was kidnapped and taken to Kabul to be islamised(sheikh-convert) There were lingering traces of ancestor-worship and fire-worship. The Kafir religion was a blend of Zoroastrianism rituals, Hindu beliefs, Buddhist tenets and diverse ceremonies as well as paganism reminiscent of the mythology of Greece. Imra(Kati)Mara(Perun valley), (Zoroastrianism Yima) was the supreme god of Kafiristan. He was the god of creation. Every Kafir village had it's Imra shrine(stone altar under sacred -oak-ceder or juniper tree)and in Kstigigrom in the Perun valley was the temple of Mara, the largest in Kafiristan( a place still considered holy to the Kalashi of Pakistan). God Moni was the chief prophet of god Imra/mara. Gish(Kalashi Mahandeo) or Great Gish was the god of war-his shrines were extremely popular among the Bashagul Katir Kafirs. The Goddess Dizane(Kalashi Jeztak) was the mother Goddess of Kafiristan , her shrine above Kamdesh was typical of many Kafiri holy place's( that used to be every were in former Kafiristan)- a small lovely carved house with an effigy of Dizane visible in the door.There was also a holy vineyard-Indrkun(In in Kafiristans Wama valley) that was sacred to Indr.The gods of lesser significance along with local-tribal Gods were many.Bagisht was the God if waters,Sudaram the God of the weather and Arom was the tribal God of the Kati tribe.The religion of Kafiristan(with local twist) is still alive among the Kalashi in Pakistan.Genetics
The Nuristani people's closest relation is to the Kalash people. Furthermore, they have very little genetic relation to neighboring ethnic groups like Pashtuns and Kashmiris. This is because they have always remained isolated in the mountains which has led them to become a genetically isolated population. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Rosenberg2007.png
It is also speculated that Nurestani people are of different origin altogether assimilated in the region at at some point of time in history.
Soviet war in Afghanistan
General Issa NuristaniIssa Nuristani
Issa Nuristani was a community leader among the Safed Posh triube in Nuristan, Afghanistan, who led a group of Nuristani people in rebellion against the Soviets at the start of the Soviet-Afghan War. He was assassinated early in the conflict.-References:...
was second in command following the King during the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
invasion of Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
. 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
Kunar Province
Kunar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. It is one of the four "N2KL" provinces...
, Nangarhar, Badakhshan
Badakhshan
Badakhshan is an historic region comprising parts of what is now northeastern Afghanistan and southeastern Tajikistan. The name is retained in Badakhshan Province which is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, in the far northeast of Afghanistan, and contains the Wakhan Corridor...
, 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
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range that stretches between central Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. The highest point in the Hindu Kush is Tirich Mir in the Chitral region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram Range, and is a...
Kafir people
Kafiristan
Kāfiristān or Kāfirstān was a historic name of Nurestan , a province in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, prior to 1896. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises, basins of the rivers Alingar, Pech , Landai Sin, and Kunar, and the intervening mountain ranges...
are considered the ancestors of the Nuristanis. Led by the Koms
Kom (people)
The Kom or Kam or kamboj are a Nuristani tribe in Afghanistan and Pakistan.Most used alternative names are Kamozi, Kamoz/Camoze, Caumojee/Kaumoji, and Camoje The Kom or Kam or kamboj are a Nuristani tribe in Afghanistan and Pakistan.Most used alternative names are Kamozi, Kamoz/Camoze,...
tribe, the Nuristani were the first citizens of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
to successfully revolt against the communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
overthrow of their government in 1978. Thereafter, Nuristan 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.http://users.sedona.net/~strand/.
Nuristanis in Pakistan
Some Nuristanis venture across the border into the adjacent Chitral DistrictChitral District
Chitral is a district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan that contains the town of Chitral. It has an area of 14,850 km² and a population of 318,689 at the 1998 Census, which had subsequently risen to about 378,000 people by 2004. It has one of the highest mountains of the world,...
of British India 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
Chitral
Chitral or Chetrar , translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River , in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, high...
, alongside Khowar
Khowar language
For the ethnic group, see under Chitrali people.Khowar , also known as Chitrali, is a Dardic language spoken by 400,000 people in Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan , and in parts of Upper Swat...
speakers, Kalasha
Kalasha
Kalasha, also spelled as Kalash and kalasa , is a metal pot with a large base and small mouth, large enough to hold a coconut. Sometimes "Kalasha" also refers to such a pot filled with water and topped with a coronet of mango leaves and a coconut...
s, Tajiks, Pashtuns
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...
and Wakhis
Wakhi people
The Wakhi people, or Khik , are an ethnic group originating in the Wakhan of today's Afghanistan. They also live in adjacent areas of Tajikistan and Xinjiang and in Pakistan . They speak the Wakhi language.-Population and demographics:A very rough estimate puts the population of Wakhis at about...
.
There is a large number of these people use to live in Chitral, Pakistan the eastern border of Nuristan. Most of these people are from the KATA Family and Janaderi Branch, some of these people are use to live in Ozhor (recent Karimabad), Gobor, Buburat, Ayun, Broze and Mastuj. There is very popular Rock (Stone) associated with this tribe located in Karimabad (Juwara) called KATA BOHT (Kata is the name of the trible normally they associated with the Headtribe and BOHT is stone in Chitrali Language). They are physically strong, brave,light hair, eyes, and skin like other Nuristani. Now they normally use Kuraishi with their names.
Tribes
Some of these tribes include:
- KataKata (people)The Katir or Kator/Kata are a Nuristani tribe in Afghanistan and Pakistan.-History:In 1895, following conquest by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, the Katir Kafir people in Afghanistan were forcibly converted to Islam. The former Kafiristan Kafiri were renamed Nuristani from the proper noun Nuristan...
- Kom
- MumoMumoThe Mumo are a tribe in Afghanistan, living primarily in the Bashgal Valley, centered in the village of Bagalgrom. Their language is Mumviri, a dialect of the Kamkata-viri language....
- Jench (of Arnce village)
- Kshto
- Kambojas or kam
- Dungulio
- Kalasha (not to be confused with the Dardic Kalash of Pakistan)
- Tregami
- Vasi
- Askunu
- Sanu
- Gramsana
In popular culture
Nuristanis were depicted as their pre-Islamic past the Kafiristanis, as one of peoples inhabiting KafiristanKafiristan
Kāfiristān or Kāfirstān was a historic name of Nurestan , a province in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, prior to 1896. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises, basins of the rivers Alingar, Pech , Landai Sin, and Kunar, and the intervening mountain ranges...
in Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's book called The Man Who Would Be King
The Man Who Would Be King
For the 1975 film based on this story, see The Man Who Would Be King "The Man Who Would Be King" is a short story by Rudyard Kipling. It is about two British adventurers in British India who become kings of Kafiristan, a remote part of Afghanistan...
which was then made into a film
The Man Who Would Be King (film)
The Man Who Would Be King is a 1975 film adapted from the Rudyard Kipling short story of the same title. It was adapted and directed by John Huston and starred Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Saeed Jaffrey, and Christopher Plummer as Kipling .The film follows two rogue ex-non-commissioned officers of...
.
See also
- Nuristan Province
- Nuristani languagesNuristani languagesThe Nuristani languages are one of the three groups within the Indo-Iranian language family, alongside the much larger Indo-Aryan and Iranian groups. They are spoken primarily in eastern Afghanistan...
- Kalash (disambiguation)
- GarhwaliGarhwaliThe Garhwali language is a Central Pahari language belonging to the Northern Zone of Indo-Aryan languages. It is primarily spoken by the Garhwali people who are from the north-western Garhwal Division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand in the Indian Himalayas.The Central Pahari...
- Demographics of AfghanistanDemographics of AfghanistanThe population of Afghanistan is around 29,835,392 as of the year 2011, which is unclear if the refugees living outside the country are included or not. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between...
- KambojasKambojasThe Kambojas were a kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature.They were an Indo-Iranian tribe situated at the boundary of the Indo-Aryans and the Iranians, and appear to have moved from the Iranian into the Indo-Aryan sphere over time.The Kambojas...
- YuezhiYuezhiThe Yuezhi, or Rouzhi , also known as the Da Yuezhi or Da Rouzhi , were an ancient Central Asian people....