The
Baloch or
Baluch (بلوچ), an
Iranian people, are the majority ethnic inhabitants of the region of
Balochistan in the southeast corner of the
Iranian plateau in
Southwest Asia, including parts of
Iran,
Afghanistan, and
Pakistan.
The Baloch speak
Balochi, an
Iranian language. They mainly inhabit mountainous terrains, which have allowed them to maintain a distinct cultural identity and resist domination by neighbouring rulers. The Baloch are predominantly
Muslim, with most belonging to the
Hanafi school of
Sunni Islam, but there are also a significant number of
Shia in Balochistan. Some 60 percent of the total Baloch population live in
Pakistan. About 25 percent inhabit the contiguous region of southeastern Iran. In Pakistan the Balochi people are divided into two groups, the Sulaimani and the Makrani, separated from each other by a compact block of
Brahui tribes.
Demographics
The Baloch-speaking population worldwide is estimated to be in the range of 10 to 15 million. However, the exact number of Baloch and those who are or claim to be of Baloch ancestry is difficult to determine. In the
Punjab province of Pakistan almost 10% of peoples are Balochi. Most of them speak Saraiki but in the Jhang area of Punjab, the majority of the Baloch population speak Punjabi also.
Balochs make 2% of Iran population (1.5 millions) and live in south eastern provinces. It is possible that there are more Baloch than simply those who claim Balochi as their mother tongue. This, however, raises the question as to who is and is not a Baloch, as many surrounding peoples claim to be of Baloch descent but do not speak Balochi. The
Brahui, having lived in proximity to the Baloch, have absorbed substantial linguistic and genetic admixture from the Baloch and in many cases are indistinguishable. Despite very few cultural differences from the Baloch, the Brahui are still regarded as a separate group on account of language difference.
The higher population figure for the Baloch may only be possible if a large number of "Baloch" are included who speak a different languages, such as
Saraikis,
Sindhi,
Panjabi and
Brahui, and who often claim descent from Baloch ancestors. Many Baloch outside of Balochistan are also
bilingual or of mixed ancestry due to their proximity to other ethnic groups including the
Sindhis,
Brahui,
Persians,
Saraikis and
Pashtuns. A large number of Baloch have been migrating or have been living in adjacent provinces to Balochistan for centuries. In addition, there are many Baloch located in other parts of the world with the bulk living in the
GCC countries of the
Persian Gulf.
There is a significant population of Baloch in western countries such as
Sweden and
Australia. It is known that many Baloch settled in Australia in the 1800s and now fourth generation Baloch still live in
Australia, mainly in Perth.
Major Ethnic Groups in Pakistan,
Afghanistan and surrounding areas, 1980.
The Baloch are shown in pink.
Baloch in Oman
The Southern Baloch of
Oman began migrating from the coastal Balochistan to the
Arab lands some 200 years ago before
oil was discovered there. Baloch in Oman have maintained their ethnic and linguistic distinctions. The Southern Baloch compose approximately 22% of the country's population. The traditional Baloch economy is based on a combination of Trade , farming and
semi-nomadic shepherding.
History of the Baloch People
There are different viewpoints about the origins of the Balochs, including
BaalMaloch,
Turks,
Iranis, and Greek who migrated to Balochistan with Alexander The Great and did not return back. It is very likely that the Baloch are a mixture of all the above races.
L. M. Dames says that Balochs are ancestral Irani, who migrated from the southern
coastline of the
Caspian Sea. L. W. Oshanen, a well-known
anthropologist of the
Soviet Union, has supported Dames' theory. The northern and southern Baloch, however, think of themselves of Arab descent, and
Aleppo their first homeland. There is no doubt that Baloch tribes, particularly Bugti, and Rind, joined the Balochis during wars in Baloch regions, so there were many Arabs in that area at the time. To this
viewpoint that some Balochis were of original Arab blood, Rai Bahadur Hetoraam also agrees and identifies them as
descendants of Hazrat Ameer Hamza, uncle of Hazrat
Muhammad.
Now have an overview on those anecdote that are based upon Balochi
Ancient poetry, reasoning that the Balochis are Qureshi Arabs ( Generation of Hazrat Ibrahim). On the other hand Balochi
curls are
Imitation of
Spiritual Hierarchical. Prayers of
al-Aqsa Mosque never shaved there
poll hair. Baloch also follow the
Practice of Hazrat
Abraham to judge the
Truth and
Falsehood by moving the suspicious person on the live coal (Baloch use Specially wood of "Kaheer" (because its coal does not turns into ash within about 24 hours).
Briefly describing, first of all a channel (about in length, in width and depth) is dug and wood of Kaheer (commonly) is burnt to prepare coal during this time a reciter recites some verses of the
Qu'ran, after that the suspicious person is asked to walk on the blazing coal in the presence of
Above All (Muqadams, white beard men).
If he is true then coal never burns his feet, a blameless Baloch has faith in this fact to that day. It is known by "Patt" in Balochi.
Languages
The national language of the Baloch is
Balochi. In Balochistan, their second-most commonly spoken language is
Brahui, a language of unknown origins with a lot of
Iranic (mainly
Balochi) loanwords. Brahui has been hypothesized to have been a
proto-Dravidian origin.
The Baloch do not only live in Balochistan but also are in Sindh and Southern Punjab of
Pakistan, in
Southern Afghanistan,
Eastern Iran,
Persian Gulf states and
Mari region of
Turkmenistan. There are also Baloch who migrated and still live on the East African coast in towns such as Mombasa and Dar es-Salaam. The Baloch Talpur
Leghari ruled Sindh before the British annexation of Sindh to the
British Raj. The
Baloch in
Sindh, South
Punjab speak
Sindhi,
Panjabi and
Saraiki. Bhurgri tribe
which is branch of Rind speak mostly saraiki in Sindh, balochi in Bhag and Mand area where they are called Barr.
Baloch society is divided in tens of
tribes and Sub-tribes some tribes speak
Brahui and some speak Balochi, and there are many tribes who speaks both and as well as Sindhi and Siraiki. The
MarriBijarani tribe and the
Bugti tribe speak Balochi.
Mengal tribe speak
Brahui and they live in
Chagai,
Khuzdar,
Kharan and in souther parts of
Afghanistan, The
Lango tribe, who live in central
Balochistan in the
Mangochar area, speak Balochi as their first language and Brahui as their second. The
Bizenjo tribe that live in the Khuzdar, Nal and parts of
Makkura, along with the
Muhammadsanis, (
one of the largest Baloch tribes) speak both languages. The
Bangulzai tribe is a Brahui-speaking tribe but a sub-tribe of the Bangulzai, the
Garanis, speak Balochi and are known as Balochi-speaking Bangulzais.
The
Mazari in
Rajanpur speak Balochi, while the
Leghari the largest Baloch tribe living in
Dera Ghazi Khan and
Rahim Yar Khan speak
Saraiki. In Dera Ghazi Khan, their tribal elder is ex-
President of Pakistan Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari. The
Leghari in Sindh speak
Sindhi &
Saraiki both. The
Gopang in
Rajanpur,
Sadiq Abad and
Rahim Yar Khan speak
Saraiki while those living in
Sindh speak
Sindhi.
Ahmedani tribe is the largest in terms of number both in Sindh and Punjab. In Punjab, the tribe is mainly settled in Dera Ghazi Khan division. A village has also been named as
Mana Ahmedani in honour their tribal elder 'Mana Khan'(late). Also exists other Baloch tribe Nizamani living in dera gazi khan(panjab)and also in sanghar (sindh)and other parts of sindh and the majority of nizamani baloch speak seraeki. The Bijarani settled in Sindh speak Balochi.
Kolachi,
Nutkani and
Malghani.
Malghani Baloch living in the tribal areas of the Dera Ghazi Khan and
Sindh province of
Pakistan speak
Saraiki,
Sindhi,
Balochi while those living in Sibi district of
Balochistan speak
Balochi.
Malghani are part of the Nutkani tribe, which is the largest tribe of the Tehsil. The
Talpur,
Mastoi,
Jatoi,
Gabol,
Lashari,
Chandio,
Bozdar,
Samma,
Jiskani and other Baloch tribes settled in Sindh speaks ,
Sindhi and Balochi and Siraiki.
Qaisrani Baloch living near
Taunsa Sharif Koh sulman speak
Saraiki and Balochi, while their clansmen living the Dera Ghazi Khan tribal areas speak
Balochi.
Lund Baloch living the
Shadan Lund they speak Sindhi,Sairaki and Balochi.Some of them are living mountan of Suleiman and Sindh.They are divided into two tumans which are tuman
Soori Lund and Tibbi Lundan Rind Baloch settled in Sindh speak Sindhi and Siraiki.
Tauqi Baloch settled in Khara, Noshki, Chaghi and Washuk Districts of Balochistan and speak both the languages Balochi and Bravi, but their basic language is Balochi.
Notable people
See also
