Pdewan: /* Caste No. 12 */

2014-05-01T17:02:49Z

‎Caste No. 12

Pdewan: /* Caste No. 12 */

2014-05-01T04:54:11Z

‎Caste No. 12

Pdewan at 04:53, 1 May 2014

2014-05-01T04:53:44Z

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This article is an extract from
PANJAB CASTES
SIR DENZIL CHARLES JELF IBBETSON, K.C. S.I.
2014-05-01T04:51:35Z

Created page with " {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%"> This article is an extract from PANJAB CASTES SIR DENZIL CHARLES JELF IBBETSON, K.C. S.I. <br..."

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|-
|colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%">
This article is an extract from 

PANJAB CASTES 

SIR DENZIL CHARLES JELF IBBETSON, K.C. S.I. 

Being a reprint of the chapter on 
The Races, Castes and Tribes of 
the People in the Report on the 
Census of the Panjab published 
in ''' 1883 ''' by the late Sir Denzil 
Ibbetson, KCSI 

Lahore : 

Printed by the Superintendent, Government Printing, Punjab, 

1916. 
''Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor disagrees '' 
''with the contents of this article.''
</div>
|}
[[Category:India|A]]
[[Category:Communities|A]]

=Caste No. 12=
The Awans, with whom have been
included all who returned themselves as Qutbshahi, are essentially a tribe of
the Salt-rang;', where they once held independent possessions of very con
siderable extent, and in the western and central portions of which they
are still the dominant race. They extend along the whole
length of the range from Jahlam
to the Indus, and are found in
great numbers throughout the
whole country beyond it up to
the foot of the Sulemans and
the Safed Koh ; though in
Trans-Indus Bannu they partly
and in Dehra Ismail almost
wholly disappear from our
tables, being included in the
term Jat which in those parts means not very much more than et catera.
Thus we find among the Jats of our tables no fewer than 30,015 who returned
Awan as their tribe and who should probably be classed as Awan, of whom
the details are given in the margin.

The eastern limits of their position as a dominant tribe coincide approxi
mately with the western border of the Chakwal and Pind Dadan Khan
tahsils. They have also spread eastwards along the foot of the hills as far east
as the Sutlej, and southwards down the river valley into Multan and Jhang.
They formerly held all the plain country at foot of the western Salt-range,
but have been gradually driven up into the hills by Pathans advancing from
the Indus and Tiw.uias from the Jahalm.

Their story is that they are descended from Qutb Shah of Ghazni, him
self a descendant of Ali, the son-in-law of Mahomet, but by a wife other
than the Prophet's daughter, who came from Hirat about 1035 A.D. and
settled in the neighbourhood of Peshawar. Thence they spread along the Salt-range, forming independent clans by whom the Chief of Kalabagh was
acknowledged as the head of the tribe. Mr. Brandreth is of opinion that
they are more probably descendants of the Bactrian Greeks driven south
from Balkh by Tartar hordes, and turning from Hirat to India, and that
they entered the Panjab not more than some 250 years ago as a conquering
army under leaders of their own, and dispossessed the Janjua Rajputs of the
Salt-range country. General Cunningham, on the other hand, is inclined to
identify them with the Jud, whom Babar mentions as being descended from
the same ancestor as the Janjuas and occupying the western Salt-range at
the time of his invasion, and who were so called from the old name of Mount.

Sakesar which is still the tribal centre of the Awan race. He would make
both the Awans and the Janjuas Anuwan or descendants of Anu ; and thinks
it probable that they held the plateaus which he north of the Salt-range at
the time of the Indo-Scythian invasion which drove them southwards to take
refuge in the mountains. [ArehcBological Reports, Vol. II, page 17ff
Babar describes the Jud and Janjuas as having been from of old the lords
of the Salt-range and of the plain country at its foot between the Indus and
the Jahlam, and mentions that their minor Chiefs were called Malik, a title
still used by the headmen of those parts. The Jalandhar Awans state that
they came into that district as followers of one of the early Emperors of Dehli
who brought them with him from the Salt-range ; and it is not impossible
that they may have accompanied the forces of Babar. Many of them
were in former times in the imperial service at Dehli, keeping up at the same
time their connection with their Jalandhar homes. It is almost certain that
Mr. Brandreths theory is incorrect. The Awans have been almost the sole
occupants of the Mianwali Salt-range Tract for the last 600 years. Mr.

Thomson considers the whole question in sections 73-74 of his Jahlam Settle
ment Report, and adduces many strong reasons in support of his conclusion
that the Awans are a Jat race who came through the passes west of Derah
Ismail Khan and spread northwards to the country near Sakesar, a conclusion
towards which some of the traditions of Derah Ismail Khsm also are said to
point. I may add that some of the Awans of Gujrat are said to trace their
origin from Sindh. Major Wace also is inclined to give the Awans a Jat
origin. In the genealogical tree of the Kalabagh family which used to be the
chief family of the tribe, in which tree their descent is traced from .Qutb
Shah, Several Hindu names, such as Rai Harkaran, occur immediately below
the name of Qutb Shah. The Awans still employ Hindu Brahmans as
family priests.

Mr. Thomsoii describes the Awans as frank and pleasing in their
manners, but vindictive, violent, and given to faction ; strong and broad
shouldered, but not tall ; strenuous but slovenly cultivators ; and essentially
a peasant race. Colonel Davies thinks scareely more favourably of them.
He writes : The Awans are a brave high-spirited race but withal exceeding
ly indolent . In point of cliaracter there is little in them to admire ; headstrong
and irascible to an unusual degree, and prone to keeping alive old feuds, they
are constantly in hot water ; their quarrels leading to affrays and their affrays
not unfrequently ending in bloodshed. As a set-off against this it must
be allowed that their manners are frank and engaging, and although they
cannot boast of the truthfulness of other hill tribes, they are remarkably
free from crime. Mr. Steedman says : The Awans hold a high, but
not the highest place among the tribes of the Rawalpindi District. As a rule
they do not give their daughters in marriage to other tribes, and the
children of a low-caste woman by an Awan are not considered true Awans.
In Jahhiin their position would scareely seem to be so high as in Rawalpindi,
as Mr. Thomson describes them as distinctly belonging to the zamindar or
peasant class, as opposed to the Gakkhars and .Tanjuas who are Sahu or gentry.
The history of the Awans is sketched by Sir Lepel Griffin at pages 570// of his

Panjab Chiefs. The Awans have returned
sub-divisions
figures for some
in the margin. few large give the very I of the largest
Of the Khokhar 5,663 are in Rawalpindi,
2,362 in Jahlam, 3,949 in
Shahpur, 2,438 in Bannu, and
3,301 in Hazara ; while of the
Khattar 10,916 are in Rawal
pindi. These men are probably really Khattars and Khokhars rather than
Awans, but have returned themselves thus in pursuance of the tradition of all
the three tribes having a common origin.

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:54, 1 May 2014
Line 133:		Line 133:
	the three tribes having a common origin.		the three tribes having a common origin.

−	[[The Khattar ]]	+	See[[The Khattar ]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:53, 1 May 2014
Line 132:		Line 132:
	Awans, but have returned themselves thus in pursuance of the tradition of all		Awans, but have returned themselves thus in pursuance of the tradition of all
	the three tribes having a common origin.		the three tribes having a common origin.
		+
		+	[[The Khattar ]]

@@ Line 119: / Line 119: @@
 peasant class, as opposed to the Gakkhars and .Tanjuas who are Sahu or gentry.
 The history of the Awans is sketched by Sir Lepel Griffin at pages 570// of his
+''Panjab Chiefs.'' The Awans have returned very few large
-Panjab Chiefs. The Awans have returned
+sub-divisions I give the
-sub-divisions
+figures for some  of the largest
-figures for some
+in the margin.
-in the margin. few large give the very I of the largest
 Of the Khokhar 5,663 are in Rawalpindi,
 ,362 in Jahlam, 3,949 in

The Awan - Revision history

Pdewan: /* Caste No. 12 */

Pdewan: /* Caste No. 12 */

Pdewan at 04:53, 1 May 2014