Wakhi people

Wakhi

Portrait of a Wakhi man
Total population
Est. 70,000-100,000
Regions with significant populations
Pakistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, China, Russia
Languages
Wakhi
Religion
Ismaili Islam, Ethnic religion

The Wakhi people, or Khik (called Guhjali in upper Hunza, Pakistan), are an ethnic group in the Wakhan of today's Badakhshan region located in northeastern Afghanistan and southeastern Tajikistan. They also live in adjacent areas of Tajikistan, Xinjiang and in Pakistan, both in the Chitral District and in Gojal).[1][2] They speak the Wakhi language.

Population and demographics

The Wakhan Corridor under light snow, with a Wakhi man collecting firewood

A very rough estimate puts the population of Wakhis between 70,000-100,000.[3][4] The population is divided among four different countries: Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Xinjiang in north-western China. In China the Wakhi are officially recognized as "Tajiks", in Afghanistan they are officially called "Pamiris", while in Tajikistan Wakhi are recognized by the state as Tajiks but also self-identify as Pamiris and in Pakistan they refer to themselves as "Pamiris" and Guhjali. The major religion of Wakhis is Nizari Ismaili Shia Islam, being followers of the Aga Khan and ethnic religions.[4][5]

Economy

The Wakhi are primarily nomadic depending on their herds of yaks and horses.[6] They often have two residences one for winter and one for summer. Their houses are built of stone and sod.[6]

Organizations

Wakhi Cultural Association

In Pakistan, the central organization of Wakhis is the Wakhi Tajik Culture Association Pakistan (WCA), an organization that is working with the Pakistani Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Lok Virsa Pakistan. The WCA aims to preserve the Wakhi language and culture and to record its poetry and music. The WCA has arranged more than twenty programmes since 1984, including cultural shows, musical nights, large-scale musical festivals with the collaboration of Lok Virsa Pakistan, Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan (AKCSP), and Pakistan Television. In 2000, the WCA won a "Best Programme" organizer award in the Silk Road Festival from the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf.

Media

Radio Pakistan's Gilgit station broadcasts the Wakhi radio programme "Sadoyah Boom-e Dunyo" (the Voice of the Roof of the World).

A computerized codification of Wakhi script has been released. It is hoped that this will help researchers record and document Wakhi poetry, literature and history.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Distribution of Wakhi Ethnic Group". Gojal.net.
  2. ↑ Phillips, David J. (2001) Peoples on the Move: introducing the nomads of the world Piquant, Carlisle, p. 271, ISBN 1-903689-05-8
  3. ↑ Coates, Ken (2004). A global history of indigenous peoples: Struggle and survival. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, ISBN 1403939292
  4. 1 2 West, Barbara (2008). Encyclopedia of the peoples of asia and oceania. Facts on File, ISBN 0816071098
  5. ↑ Shahrani, M. Nazif Mohib (2002) The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan University of Washington Press, Seattle, p. 216, ISBN 0-295-98262-4
  6. 1 2 "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: People and Tribes". Government of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015.

Bibliography

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/24/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.