Kho people

Kho people Pakistan
کھو

Wooden untensil use by kho tribe of Chitral
Total population
229,200 (2011)
Regions with significant populations
Chitral District, Badakhshan Province
 Pakistan 14,700[1][2]
 Afghanistan 214,500[3]
Languages
Khowar
Religion
Hanafi Sunni Islam,[4] Ismaili Islam[4]
Kalash religion (minority)
Related ethnic groups
Kalasha people

The Kho (Khowar: کھو, چترالي), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Dardistan region.[4] They speak Khowar, which is a member of the Dardic subgroup of the Indo-Aryan language family.[4] The majority of the Kho people live in the Chitral District of Pakistan, while others live across the border in the Badakhshan region of Afghanistan.

Geographic distribution

Historically they are living in Dardistan region. They are a Dardic ethnic group located primarily in South Asia. They live primarily in Pakistan, with a small population living in Afghanistan.

History

The Kho people are likely descendents of those who arrived in the region during the Indo-Aryan migration.[5] The Kho people formerly observed a form of ancient Hinduism;[6] during the Mongol invasion of India during the 1200s, many of the northern Kho converted to Islam.[7]

Demographics

The majority of the Kho people live in the Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a smaller number also live in Ghizer District of Gilgit Baltistan (including the Yasin Valley, Phandar Ishkoman and Gupis. They are also found in few numbers in northern Afghanistan, where majority of them live in the northern provinces of Badakhshan.

Genetics

The haplogroup R1a (Y-DNA) is found at a frequency of 80% among the Kho people. Many are in Paragroup M343, also found in some Central Asian and South Asian people.

Culture

Kho culture is one of oldest cultures which places heavy emphasis on poetry, song and dance. Kho people also have a great respect of law and order. Much of this can be attributed to Chitral being a stable kingdom for most of its history,[8] where the rule of law and the will of the ruler came before tribal concepts such as revenge and isolationism.

Because of Chitral's location at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia, the Kho display a wide variety of cultures, largely depending upon their ancestral ethnic group and family history.

Languages

They speak the Dardic Khowar language.

Khowar is Indo-European dardic branch of language spoken by about 247,000 Kho people in northern Pakistan.[9] They also used Pashto and Urdu as second language.

Folk music

Folk singers and reed instrument players have a special respect in the Kho society and are featured in their festivities. The most common instruments are Surnai Shehnai, Sitar, and reed instruments. The Kho sitar is a popular musical instrument in Chitral. It is made out of mulberry wood with five steel strings arranged in three courses, the outer ones have double strings, tuned in unison, while the inner course is single. Popular music of the area includes:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kho". PeopleGroups.org. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  2. ↑ "Khowar language, alphabet and pronunciation". Omniglot.com. 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  3. ↑ Joshua Project. "Chitrali in Pakistan". Joshua Project. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Olson, James Stuart (1998). An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 177. ISBN 9780313288531.
  5. ↑ O'Leary, Clare F.; Rensch, Calvin Ross; Decker, Sandra J. (1992). Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan: Languages of Chitral. National Institute of Pakistan Studies at Quaid-i-Azam University. p. 22.
  6. ↑ Cacopardo, Alberto M.; Cacopardo, Augusto S. (2001). Gates of Peristan: history, religion and society in the Hindu Kush. Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente. p. 48.
  7. ↑ Minahan, James B. (1 August 2016). Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups around the World, 2nd Edition: Ethnic and National Groups around the World. ABC-CLIO. p. 220. ISBN 9781610699549.
  8. ↑ "chitral". Royalark.net. 1937-06-01. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
  9. ↑ https://www.thenewstribe.com/2012/01/25/khowar-language/
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