Pdewan: /* Waziri */

2014-04-28T16:43:20Z

‎Waziri

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This article is an extract from
PANJAB CASTES
SIR DENZIL CHARLES JELF IBBETSON, K.C. S.I.
2014-04-28T16:42:40Z

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. <b..."

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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|W]]
[[Category:Communities|W]]

== Waziri==

The whole of the Bannu portion beyond our border is occupied by
the Darvesh Khel Waziri, while south of them, along the Derab Ismail border, behind the
Bitanni country, and as far south as the Gomal pass, he the Mahsud clan of the same tribe.
The Waziri are descended from Suleman, son of Kakai, and are one of the Karlanri tribes.
The original seat of the tribe was in the Birmil bills, west of the Khost range which separates
them from their kinsmen tbe Banmuchi descendants of Shitak. Suleman had two sons, Lalai
and Kbizrai. Lalai had to fly by reason of a blood fend, and settled in !Ningiahar on the
northern slopes of the western Safed Kob, where his descendants the Lalai Waziri are still
settled. Khizai had three sons, Musa, Mah-ird, and Gurbuz. From Mab=ud are descended
the Mahsud Waziri, divided into the Alizai and Eablolzai ; while from Slusa Darvesli are
descended the Utnianzai and Ahmadzai clans, usually joined under the title of Darvesh Khel
Waziri.

About the close of the 14th century the Waziri began to move eastwards. They first crossed
the Khost range and drove tbe Bannuchi out of Shawdl, and occupied the hills of the Bannu
and Kohat border north of the Tochi. Then, crossing that river, they drove the Urmar
Afghans, descendants of Urmar, son of Sharkabun and near kinsmen of the Abdali,out of
the hills south of the Tochi on the lower Bannu and Tank borders to take refuge in the Loghar
valley near Kabul, and dislodging the Bitanni from Kaniguram, drove them back beyond
Garangi to the low hills on our immediate frontier. They thus obtained possession of all that
confused system of mountains which, starting from the Gomal pass which marks the northern
extremity of the Sulemans proper, runs northwards along our border to Thai and the Kurram
river, where it joins the lower ranges of the Safed Koh. Their two main sections are the
Mah=ud and Darvesh Khel, the former holding the hills to the south, and the latter those to the
north of the Tochi river and the Khasor pass ; while of the Darvesh Khel country, the Ahmadzai
occupy the southern and the Utmanzai the northern parts. The Hasan Khel, an important
Utmanzai sept, hold the extreme north-western portion of the tract. The two great sections
are practically independent tribes, owning no common head, and with but little common feeling.
They still nominally hold the Birmil country, though the Suleman Khel and Kharoti Ghilzai
winter there with their flocks, and during their stay the Waziri are confined to their walled
villages. They were till lately wholly nomad and pastoral ; but they have of late years encroached
upon the plain country of the Marwat, Bannuchi, and Khatak, and now hold cultivated lands
in Bannu and Kohat.

The Gurbuz, an unimportant tribe, accompanied the Waziri in their movements, and once
occupied the hills between their Mahsud and Darvesh Khel brethren, where, as already narrated,
they disputed the possession of the Ghabbar peak with the Bitanni. They have now returned
to their original seat west of the Khost range, and north of the Daur who hold the trans-border
banks of the Tcchi river.

The Waziri are one of the most powerful and most troublesome tribes on our border, the
Mahsud being pre-eminent for turbulence and lawlessness. They are exceedingly democratic
and have no recognised headmen, which increases the difficulty of dealing with them. They
are tall, active, muscular, and courageous, and their customs differ in several respects from those
of the Pathans in genci-al. They are still in a state of semi-barbarism. They are well described
in the Haiyat –i- Afghani {page227 of the translation). The large number of Waziris shown
in the Bannu district is partly due to the Census having been held on the night of the weekly
fair. But Mr. Thorburn estimates the Waziri population of the purely Waziri border villages
alone at 13,523, and there are always many members of the tribe scattered about the district
in seareh of work or of opportunities for theft,' especially during the spring months. On the
Bannu border distress owing to failure of rain had probably made the number of such persons
unusually high at the time of the census.

' Dr. Bellew makes them tbe Wairsi sept of the Lodha tribe of Pramara Rajputs , and says
that they crossed from the Indus riverain across the Sham plain into the Birmil hills, then held
by the Khatak whomm they drove northwards, taking the whole of their country Irom the Sham
plain to the Koliat valley. He gives no authority for these statements.

2 This is according to the genealogies. But the Urmar are probably of Hindki origin, and
speak a Panjabi dialect known as Urmari, of which a grammar has just been submitted to
Government for approyal.

@@ Line 74: / Line 74: @@
 are tall, active, muscular, and courageous, and their customs differ in several respects from those
 of the Pathans in genci-al. They are still in a state of semi-barbarism. They are well described
- in the Haiyat –i- Afghani {page227 of the translation). The large number of Waziris shown
+in the Haiyat –i- Afghani {page227 of the translation). The large number of Waziris shown
 in the Bannu district is partly due to the Census having been held on the night of the weekly
 fair. But Mr. Thorburn estimates the Waziri population of the purely Waziri border villages