Afridi (Pashto: اپريدي, Urdu: آفریدی, Hindi: आफ़रीदी, classically called the Abaörteans ( /ˌæbə.ɔrˈtiːənz/; Latin: Abaortae), is the name of a Pashtun or Pathan tribe from present day Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Afridis inhabit about 1,000 square miles (3,000 km²) of rough hilly area in the eastern Safed Koh range, west of the Peshawar Valley and east of Torkham, and Maidan in Tirah, which can be accessed by the Kajurhi plains and the valleys of Bara and Churah in Pakistan. Some Afridi clans also inhabit India, namely in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir.[1][2]
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The great Sanskrit grammarian and historian Pāṇini, who himself hailed from Shalatur, a village located near the confluence of the Kabul and Indus rivers, mentioned the names of tribes such as the Madhumants and Aprits (identified with the modern Mohmand and Afridis) who inhabited the northwestern areas of ancient India in his Ashtadhyayi in the 5th century BC.[3]
The famous historian Herodotus mentions a region bordering on the banks of the Indus occupied by a people called the Pactyans[4] who were divided into four tribes, one which were the Aparthea or Aparutai, likely to be the Aprit mentioned by Panini. They laid claim to an inaccessible upland area and forced passing invaders to pay toll tax for passage towards India through the Khyber Pass.
Some writers [5] theorize that tribes like the Afridis and Khattaks are indigenous and that the Afridis inhabited this terrain even during pre-historic times, before the recorded movement of other notable Pashtun tribes to their present abodes. Olaf Caroe and Aurel Stein are reported to have suggested that the Afridis may originally have been inhabitants of the Gandhara area in ancient India. According to Pashtun folklore, the Afridi tribe can trace its origin back to the eponymous ancestor of all Pashtuns, Qais Abdur Rashid, through his youngest son, Karlan. Thus, the Afridi tribe may be one of the infamous Karlani tribes, who had a formidable reputation as warriors.
The Afridis have been known for their strategy and tenacity in the mountains. The Afridis once destroyed two large Mughal army of Emperor Aurangzeb: in 1672 in a surprise attack between Peshawar and kabul, and in the winter of 1673 in an ambush in the mountain passes.[6] The emperor himself had to lead an army into the mountains to suffocate the revolt and liberate the mountain passes, and even then another large army was "badly mauled" in Bajaur.[6][7] Allegedly, only five Mughals made it out of the battle alive. [8] .[9][10]
The Afridis and other Pashtuns of Afghanistan and Pakistan have also been theorized to be the descendants of the lost Jewish tribes such as the Efraim. However, research towards validating such claims has been inconclusive.[11][12][13][14]
The British classified the Afridi in 8 different clans, with many subtribes in a hierarchical structure:[15]
All of the Afridi clans have their own areas in the Tirah, and most of them extend down into the Khyber Pass over which they have always exercised the right of toll. The Malikdin Khel live in the center of the Tirah and hold Bagh, the traditional meeting place of Afridi jirgas or assemblies. The Aka Khel are scattered in the hills south of Jamrud. All of this area is included in the Khyber Agency. The Adam Khel live in the hills between Peshawar and Kohat. Their preserve is the Kohat Pass. In which several of the most important Afridi gun factories are located. The Adam khel Afridis are further divided into seven clans.
All modern Afridis follow Islam. Their conversion to Islam is attributed to Sultan (Emperor) Mahmud of Ghazni by sources such as Ibbetson[16] and Haroon Rashid.[17]
Meat is an important part of their diet which they eat in the form of kabab (minced meat fried in oil), lamb curry, chicken curry, goat curry and much more. The hotels in Peshawar Namak Mandi Bazar represent the traditional food of Afridis, especially Lamb Karahi. In vegetable cuisine bindi (okra), rajma (kidney beans), dal (lentils) and sag (spinach) are notable. Their desserts include kheer (rice pudding), meenchai (sugared noodles).