What is the origin of Pashtuns?
Pashtuns (/ ˈpʌʃˌtʊn /, / ˈpɑːʃˌtʊn / or / ˈpæʃˌtuːn /; Pashto: پښتانه , Pəx̌tānə́; or Pathans), historically known as Afghans, are an Iranic ethnic group native to Central and South Asia. The ethnic group's native language is Pashto, an Iranian language.
Are the Pashtuns The Lost Tribes?
Some leading Israeli anthropologists believe that, of all the many groups in the world who claim a connection to the 10 lost tribes, the Pashtuns, or Pathans, have the most compelling case. Paradoxically it is from the Pashtuns that the ultra-conservative Islamic Taliban movement in Afghanistan emerged.
What is the difference between Afghan Pashtun and Pakistani Pashtuns?
We Pakistani Pashtuns consider ourselves Pakistanis and are influenced by Urdu while the Afghan Pashtun are influenced by Persian in Afghanistan. Pakistani Pashtuns are well represented in government, armed forces and business in Pakistan. The Afghan Pashtun refug Was this worth your time? This helps us sort answers on the page.
How many Pashtuns are there?
Pashtuns are the 26th-largest ethnic group in the world, and the largest segmentary lineage group. There are an estimated 350–400 Pashtun tribes and clans.
Whats the difference between Pathan and Pashtun?
There is no difference between Pakistani Pashtuns and Afghan Pashtuns. The name Pakhtuns, Pashtuns, Pathans and Afghans are the alternative name of the same group of people. Even in today's Afghanistan the non Pashtun people call pashtuns “Afghans”.
Who are called Pathans?
Pathans in India are citizens or residents of India who are of ethnic Pashtun ancestry. "Pathan" is the local Hindi-Urdu term for an individual who belongs to the Pashtun ethnic group, or descends from it. The term additionally finds mention among Western sources, mainly in the colonial-era literature of British India.
Are Pashtuns Pakistani or Afghan?
The Pashtun constitute the largest ethnic group of the population of Afghanistan and bore the exclusive name of Afghan before that name came to denote any native of the present land area of Afghanistan. The Pashtun are united primarily by a common language, Pashto.
How many types of Pathans are there?
The Pathan are divided into sixteen groupings, who generally take their name from the ancestral Pashtun tribes.
What race is Pathan?
Pashtuns (/ˈpʌʃˌtʊn/, /ˈpɑːʃˌtʊn/, /ˈpæʃˌtuːn/; Pashto: پښتانه, Pəx̌tānə́), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Why Pathans are called Lala?
Initially, they used to lend money as hence they were called “Lala” the generic term for moneylenders and since they were Pathans the name “Lala Pathan”.
Why do Afghans have Coloured eyes?
Green eyes In afghanistan Green eyes most likely developed because of the migration of people over time, those from northern latitudes with light coloring traveled south and people of dark coloring traveling north intermixed, leading to a variation of melanin produced.
Are Pashtuns the lost tribe of Israel?
Bani Israel theory. There is a tradition among the Pashtuns of being descended from the exiled lost tribes of Israel. This tradition was referenced in 19th-century Western scholarship and was also incorporated in the "Lost Tribes" literature popular at the time (notably George Moore's The Lost Tribes of 1861).
Who was the first Pathan in history?
The first historical reference to the Pathan (AD. 982) refers to Afghans living in the Sulaiman Mountains. The first significant impact they had outside of that area was as troops in the armies of Mahmud of Ghazni, a Muslim Turk, who led a number of invasions against the Hindu kings in north India around the year 1000.
What are Pathans known for?
Pathans are Muslims and speak Pashto (or Pushtu). They are also known as Pashtuns, Pushtuns, Pakhtuns, and Pakhtoons. Historically, Pathans have been noted as fierce fighters, and throughout history they have offered strong resistance to invaders.
Who is the father of Pathan?
Qais Abdur RashīdQais Abdur Rashīd or Qais Abdul Rasheed (Pashto: قيس عبد الرشيد) is said to be, in post-Islamic lore, the legendary founding father of the Pashtuns.
Are Pashtuns Sunni or Shia?
Pashtuns are Sunni Muslims and can also be found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan (about 14 million). They are seen as the historic founders of the Afghan Kingdom, with an apparent predominance in administration power until recently.
What are Pathans known for?
Pathans are Muslims and speak Pashto (or Pushtu). They are also known as Pashtuns, Pushtuns, Pakhtuns, and Pakhtoons. Historically, Pathans have been noted as fierce fighters, and throughout history they have offered strong resistance to invaders.
What Pathan means?
Pathan in British English (pəˈtɑːn ) noun. a member of the Pashto-speaking people of Afghanistan, NW Pakistan, and elsewhere, most of whom are Muslim in religion.
Who was the first Pathan?
The first historical reference to the Pathan (AD. 982) refers to Afghans living in the Sulaiman Mountains. The first significant impact they had outside of that area was as troops in the armies of Mahmud of Ghazni, a Muslim Turk, who led a number of invasions against the Hindu kings in north India around the year 1000.
Who gave the name Pathan?
The Prophet also gave him the ominous and truly prophetic title of Batan from which the word Pathan (modern day usage) has descended. It is also important to note here that Pathan is also the name of one of the progenitors of Qais (Kish) and a a grandson of Abraham (Hazrat Ibrahim A.S.) mentioned in the bible.
Where do Pashtuns live?
Now an Indian researcher has collected blood samples from members of the Afridi tribe of Pashtuns who today live in Malihabad, near Lucknow, in northern India.
What tribes were the Pashtuns from?
The Pashtuns have a proud oral history that talks of descending from the Israelites. Their tribal groupings have similar names, including Yusufzai, which means sons of Joseph; and Afridi, thought by some to come from Ephraim.
What are some traditions similar to Jewish traditions?
Some customs and practices are said to be similar to Jewish traditions: lighting candles on the sabbath, refraining from eating certain foods, using a canopy during a wedding ceremony and some similarities in garments. Weil cautioned, however, that this is not proof of any genetic connection.
What are some of the Jewish traditions similar to Yusufzai?
Their tribal groupings have similar names, including Yusufzai, which means sons of Joseph; and Afridi, thought by some to come from Ephraim. Some customs and practices are said to be similar to Jewish traditions: lighting candles on the sabbath, refraining from eating certain foods, using a canopy during a wedding ceremony and some similarities in garments.
Where were the Pathans dispersed?
But it is believed that the tribes were dispersed in an area around modern-day northern Iraq and Afghanistan, which makes the Pashtun connection the strongest. "Of all the groups, there is more convincing evidence about the Pathans than anybody else, but the Pathans are the ones who would reject Israel most ferociously.
Where is Shahnaz Ali studying?
Shahnaz Ali, from the National Institute of Immunohaematology in Mumbai, is to spend several months studying her findings at Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa. A previous genetic study in the same area did not provide proof one way or the other.
Is there genetic link between Jewish people and Pashtuns?
DNA might be able to determine which area of the world the Pashtuns originated from, but it is not at all certain that it could identify a specific genetic link to the Jewish people. So far Shahnaz Ali has been cautious.
What are the Pashtuns called?
Pashtuns of the Indian subcontinent, outside the traditional homeland, are referred to as Pathans (the Hindustani word for Pashtun) both by themselves and other ethnic groups of the subcontinent.
Where did the Pashtuns come from?
For example, according to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, the theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites is traced to Nimat Allah al-Harawi, who compiled a history for Khan-e-Jehan Lodhi in the reign of Mughal Emperor Jehangir in the 17th century. The 13th century Tabaqat-i Nasiri discusses the settlement of immigrant Bani Israel at the end of the 8th century CE in the Ghor region of Afghanistan, settlement attested by Jewish inscriptions in Ghor. Historian André Wink suggests that the story "may contain a clue to the remarkable theory of the Jewish origin of some of the Afghan tribes which is persistently advocated in the Persian-Afghan chronicles." These references to Bani Israel agree with the commonly held view by Pashtuns that when the twelve tribes of Israel were dispersed, the tribe of Joseph, among other Hebrew tribes, settled in the Afghanistan region. This oral tradition is widespread among the Pashtun tribes. There have been many legends over the centuries of descent from the Ten Lost Tribes after groups converted to Christianity and Islam. Hence the tribal name Yusufzai in Pashto translates to the "son of Joseph". A similar story is told by many historians, including the 14th century Ibn Battuta and 16th century Ferishta. However, the similarity of names can also be traced to the presence of Arabic through Islam.
What is patrilineal in Pashtun?
The patrilineal definition is based on an important orthodox law of Pashtunwali which mainly requires that only those who have a Pashtun father are Pashtun . This law has maintained the tradition of exclusively patriarchal tribal lineage. This definition places less emphasis on what language one speaks, such as Pashto, Dari, Hindko, Urdu, Hindi or English. There are various communities who claim Pashtun origin but are largely found among other ethnic groups in the region who generally do not speak the Pashto language. These communities are often considered overlapping groups or are simply assigned to the ethno-linguistic group that corresponds to their geographic location and mother tongue. The Niazi is one of these groups.
What were the Pashtuns called in the Middle Ages?
In the Middle Ages until the advent of modern Afghanistan in the 18th century and the division of Pashtun territory by the 1893 Durand Line, Pashtuns were often referred to as ethnic "Afghans".
What is the most important institution of the Pashtun people?
A prominent institution of the Pashtun people is the intricate system of tribes. The Pashtuns remain a predominantly tribal people, but the trend of urbanisation has begun to alter Pashtun society as cities such as Kandahar, Peshawar, Quetta and Kabul have grown rapidly due to the influx of rural Pashtuns. Despite this, many people still identify themselves with various clans .
What is the definition of Pashtun?
Generally, this most common view holds that Pashtuns are defined within the parameters of having mainly eastern Iranian ethnic origins, sharing a common language, culture and history, living in relatively close geographic proximity to each other, and acknowledging each other as kinsmen. Pashto is a "one of the primary markers of ethnic identity" amongst Pashtuns. Tribes that speak disparate yet mutually intelligible dialects of Pashto acknowledge each other as ethnic Pashtuns, such as the Pukhto spoken by the Yusufzai, Gigyani tribe, Ghilji and other tribes in Eastern Afghanistan and the Pashto spoken by the Kakar, Wazir, Khilji and Durranis in Southern Afghanistan. These criteria tend to be used by most Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
What is the mtDNA of Afghan Pashtuns?
Afghan Pashtun mtDNA: According to a Mitochondrial DNA analysis of four ethnic groups of Afghanistan, the majority of mtDNA among Afghan Pashtuns belongs to West Eurasian lineages, and share a greater affinity with West Eurasian and Central Asian populations rather than to populations of South Asia or East Asia.
