Indigenous Peoples of Pakistan

In this blog series, we are providing a small glimpse of the many vibrant indigenous cultures in countries around the world. This article focuses on indigenous peoples of Pakistan.

The government of Pakistan refers to indigenous peoples of Pakistan as “tribal.” According to the last census (2008), the national population is comprised of several main ethnic groups: Punjabis, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Seraikis, Muhajirs, Balochis, and others. Tribes are included within “others‟, along with the Jhabels, Kihals, Mores and Kutanas. The main groups of tribal peoples in Pakistan are the tribal fishing peoples, the pastoral groups of the Middle Indus Valley, the Baloch tribes, fisherfolk of coastal areas, tribal peoples of Sindh, tribal peoples of Gilgit-Baltistan, tribal peoples of Chitral Valley, tribal peoples of Pothohar Region, and the tribal peoples of North-west Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Below are some characteristics of these tribal cultures.

Tribal Peoples of River Indus

The tribal fishing peoples, Kihals and Mors, inhabit the Middle Indus Basin between two barrages, the Chashma Barrage and the Taunsa Barrage. They were never counted by the census organization of the country; thus, there is no exact information about their population size. They estimate their own population to be between 40,000 and 45,000 families in the two barrages. The territory and livelihoods of these tribal peoples lie within the Indus Basin — an area 170 km long and 15 km wide — between latitudes 30-32˚ N and longitude 71-72˚ E in the districts of Dera Ismail Khan (NWFP), Layaah, and Dera Ghazi Khan (South Punjab). Kihals and Mors live by weaving baskets and birdcages from kanb, fishing and providing seasonal harvesting labour. Fishing has been a source of food and livelihoods for the tribal peoples of the River Indus.

Instead of strictly following one single religion, the Kihals and Mors have a flexible system of beliefs. However, when they had to adapt to Islam because of their increasing dependence on the neighboring Muslim communities, they chose a comparatively secular interpretation of Islam – the Shaafi sect, founded by Hazrat Imam Shaafi (one of four imams – the interpreters of Islamic Sharia). Contrary to the other three imams, Hazrat Imam Shaafi consented that in times of prolonged hunger, Muslims may eat the seafood otherwise abominable and prohibited in Islam. Many Kihal and Mor men are quickly adapting to Muslim practices and are now called Sheikhs (new Muslims). 

Tribal Pastoral Groups of the Middle Indus Valley

The tribal pastoral groups of the Middle Indus Valley are spread in the urban areas of Punjab. Although they are registered citizens, they are not registered as distinct right-holding groups.

Ode:

Before settling in Pakistan during the partition in 1947, the Ode used to live a pastoral life rearing livestock over a large area that was later divided between two countries. They introduce themselves as Ode Rajpoot and mostly live in the Thal desert, to the east of river Indus. Most of them have bought lands and learned cultivation. They speak a unique coded language which is now in danger of dying out.

Musali:

The Musali originally lived in the Thal; however, they were later displaced because of settlements of Indian immigrants after the construction of Thal Development Authority (TDA) Canal in 1956. They used to make their livelihoods by making toys and household items like chhaj (which are used to blow away dust and straws from wheat before sending it for grinding) from special straw-likebush, Sar (Saccharum munja Saccharum) and Kanh forests on river banks. After being displaced, the community has struggled wtih issues with poverty and job security.

The Baloch Tribes:

Although most of the Baloch tribes live in Balochistan province, a large area and many tribes were administratively included in Punjab province, namely the Ligharis, Mazaris, Khosas, Qaisranis, Nutkanis, Khitrans and Buzdars.  

Tribal peoples of Sindh

The original inhabitants of ancient Sindh are believed to be aboriginal tribes speaking languages of the Indus valley civilization since around 3,000 BC. At the partition in 1947, millions of Urdu-speaking Muslim refugees arrived from India and settled in the urban areas of Sindh, where they enjoyed a strong hold on the economy and business.  

Tribal Peoples of Pothohar Region 

The natives of the Pothohar region also claim their separate socio-cultural and language identity and hence a province separate from Punjab. The Pothohar is a plateau in Punjab, lying between river Jhelum on the east, River Indus on the west, Kala Chitta mountain range and Margalla Hills on the north and Salt range in the south. River Swan is an important river in Pothohar region which starts from the nearby Muree hills. The Pothohar area falls mainly in five districts of Punjab. These are Rawalpindi, Attock, Jehlum, Chakwal and the capital district Islamabad, which is also carved out of district Rawalpindi.

The original residents of the present day Pothohar are the Gakhar clan, who now live all over the region. The economy in the area is changing rapidly from agrarian to industrial. Because of low rainfall, extensive deforestation, coal mining and oil and gas exploration, the valley is becoming devoid of vegetation. The two main sources of work are low-paid labour in the oil sector in Arab countries and employment in the army as soldiers. The completion of a motorway through the region is also rapidly changing its socio-development scenario. 

Tribal Peoples of the North-Western Frontier Province (NWFP) 

The people of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) are overwhelmingly Pashtun with a total population of around 38-40 million. Pashtuns are immigrants from Afghanistan. There are approximately 60 Pashtun tribes but the figure rises above 400 if all subclans are counted. The largest and most influential tribes are the Afridi, Achakzais, Bangash, Durrani, Khattak, Mehsuds, Mohammadzai, Mohmand, Orakzai, Shinwari, Yusufzai and Waziri. Around 68 per cent of the households in NWFP speak Pashtu, 18 per cent speak Hindko and 4 per cent speak Seraiki. Only 2 per cent are migrants who speak Urdu and Punjabi. Nearly one-third of the population of NWFP is non-Pashtunes. In the border areas of Hazara and Derajat, social norms more closely resemble that of Punjab and Kashmir. Around 8 percent of households speak local languages such as Kohwar in Chitral district. Most of the them are the tribal Kalash, whose traditions are rapidly becoming extinct because of their conversions to Islam.