Wakhi people
Total population | |
---|---|
c. 100,000–120,000[1][2] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Pakistan | 64,000 (2018)[citation needed] |
Afghanistan | 21,000 (2018)[citation needed] |
Tajikistan | 20,000 (2018)[citation needed] |
China | 14,000 (2018)[citation needed] |
Languages | |
Wakhi | |
Religion | |
Predominantly Islam (Isma'ili Shia) | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Iranian peoples Especially Ossetians and Yaghnobis |
The Wakhi people (
Name
The Wakhi people refer to themselves as Khik and to their language as Khik zik.
Demographics
Ethnic Wakhi-speakers have a total population of about 50,000–58,000.
In
In Afghanistan, Wakhi primarily live in the Wakhan District of Badakhshan Province.
In Gilgit-Baltistan in the north of Pakistan, Wakhi predominantly live in the upper region of Hunza popularly known as Gojal. Wakhi speakers also live in Ishkoman Valley of District Ghizer, and some villages of Yasin Valley.[citation needed]
In Pakistan, Wakhi also live in Broghal in Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
In
In China, the Wakhi people, together with the Sarikoli people, are officially recognized as "Tajiks", with ethnic-minority autonomous status. In Afghanistan, they are officially called "Pamiri". In Tajikistan, they are recognized by the state as "Tajiks", but self-identify as "Pamiri".[citation needed] In Pakistan, they refer to themselves as "Wakhi" or "Pamiri" or "Gujali".[citation needed]
The Wakhi predominantly adhere to
Economy
The Wakhi are primarily nomadic, depending on their herds of yaks and horses.[7] They often have two residences—one for winter and one for summer. Their houses are built of stone and sod.[3]
Cultural preservation
Activists and researchers have been working to preserve and record the language of the Wakhi people, and have developed Wakhi orthographies using the Arabic, Cyrillic, and Latin scripts.[4]
In 1990, the Gojali Wakhis of Pakistan established the Wakhi Tajik Cultural Association to preserve, document, and publish their local culture. The association introduced a script that was applied into linguistic and literary textbooks, and organized cultural festivals. Radio Pakistan's Radio Gilgit also aired a daily Wakhi-language program named Bam-e Dunya ("Roof of the World").[8][9]
See also
Notes and references
- ^ a b c "Iranian languages". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Wakhi". Ethnologue. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ^ .
- ^ a b "Wakhi". Endangered Language Alliance. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
- ISBN 978-0816071098.
- ISBN 0-295-98262-4.
- ^ "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: People and Tribes". Government of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015.
- ISBN 9781315430393.
- ISBN 9781135797034.
Bibliography
- Felmy, Sabine (1996). The Voice of the Nightingale: A Personal Account of the Wakhi Culture in Hunza. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-577599-6.
- Shahrani, M. Nazif (1979). The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan: Adaptation to Closed Frontiers and War. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-98262-4.
Further reading
- Gri︠u︡nberg, Aleksandr Leonovich; Steblin-Kamenskiĭ, I. M. (1988). La langue wakhi (in French). Vol. 1. Corpus de littérature orale. Les Editions de la MSH. ISBN 9782735102884.
External links
- "Photos From Afghanistan: Natural Beauty, Not War". NPR. 29 September 2010. (slideshow)
- "A small village in Gilgit-Baltistan is making big efforts to keep its music alive". Scroll.in. 8 November 2016.
- "About the Website – Fazal Amin Beg".
- "Gojal Hunza : diverse & tribal domains / Zafar Iqbal". upenn.edu.