Brahui
Brahui is the name of a group of tribes that live in Pakistan, eastern Iran, and Afghanistan. Scholars puzzle over their origin because they speak a Dravidian-based language, such as is commonly found in the south of India, despite their northern location. The largest concentration of Brahui lives in Baluchistan Province in Pakistan. Their numbers are estimated between just under a million to a million and a half.
The Brahui homeland is on the Kalat plateau, in Pakistan. It was in Kalat that the Brahui succeeded in mobilizing and attaining power. In 1666, Mir Ahmed Khan I rose to power as the leader of a group of Brahui tribes. From then on, the khanate of Kalat remained in the hands of Brahui leaders for almost three hundred years. That succession was broken when the British took control of Kalat as part of their expansion efforts in the region. The British retained control until Pakistan achieved its independence in 1948.
The Brahui observe the teachings of Islam, following the Sunni sect. However, some of their traditions originate in India. It is a patriarchal society, where a son's birth is more valued than a daughter's. The societal unit is the tribe, which is governed by a sadar (hereditary chief). Blood ties are not the only indicator of membership in a tribe; other factors, such as loyalty and stature, are taken into account as well. In the past, the Brahui were mostly nomadic shepherds. Although some still follow that lifestyle, now others have largely settled into agricultural activities. Their standard of living is low as a result of Pakistan's depressed economic conditions and their own inefficiency in agricultural operations. Government aid has been unable to alter their living conditions. The Brahui are diminishing in numbers as fewer speak Brahui and more become integrated with the Baluchi.
Further Reading
Gall, Timothy L., ed. (1998). Asia and Oceania. Vol 3 of Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group.
Norton, Augustus Richard, ed. (1996) Civil Society in the Middle East. Leiden, Netherlands, and New York: Brill.
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