Draft:Khird Tribe
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Khird historically recorded as Kird or Kurd is a tribal group associated with the Mazari Baloch. Historical writings describe the earlier Kird or Kurd group as a Brahui tribe which later became part of the Mazari tribal organisation and formed one of its sections.[1][2]
After becoming part of the Mazaris the tribe continued to appear as a separate clan or section within the larger Mazari structure. Members of the tribe are mentioned in Balochi historical ballads as warriors clan leaders, advisers and poets. Important persons named in these sources include Mangan Kird Khado Kird Drehan Kird and Jiwa Kird.[3][4]
Name
[edit]The name appears in older English sources as Kird and Kurd. The form Khird is used as the later or local name of the same tribal group.
M. Longworth Dames used the combined form “Kirds or Kurds”. He described them as a Brahui group which also formed a section of the Mazaris.[1]
H. A. Rose also used the forms “Kirds or Kurds”. He described them as a powerful Brahui tribe which supplied a clan to the Mazari tribe.[2]
The historical sources therefore show that the Khirds were not only connected with the Mazaris as allies. They became part of the Mazari tribal organisation and were recognised as one of its sections.
Historical identity
[edit]The Khird tribe developed from the Kird or Kurd Brahui group mentioned in older sources. After joining the Mazaris the group became closely connected with Mazari political and military life.
The Mazari tribe was organised as a tuman or tribal confederacy. Such confederacies often included different clans and groups under one chief. The Kirds became one of the clans included within the Mazari organisation.
Their earlier Brahui identity was still remembered by historical writers. At the same time their leaders and fighters were described as members of the Mazari forces.
This shows a process of tribal amalgamation. The earlier Kird or Kurd group became part of the Mazaris but kept a separate clan identity within the tribe.
Traditional account
[edit]The Kirds are mentioned in an old Balochi ballad connected with Mir Chakur and his sister Bhanari. The poem also names the Gabols Gadahis Talburs(Talpur) Marris and other groups.[1]
Two versions of the ballad were recorded by Dames. In the first version, Chakur presented these tribes to Bhanari after her marriage. The poem states that Bhanari later set them free.
In the second version Bhanari refused to accept the tribes as a gift.
The account is part of Balochi oral tradition. The two versions are different and the story should not be treated as confirmed historical fact. It is important mainly because it gives an early traditional reference to the Kird or Kurd tribal name.
Historical sources describe the Kirds or Kurds as a Brahui group that became a clan of the Mazaris.[1][2]
This amalgamation placed the Khirds within the Mazari tribal system. They took part in Mazari wars, political decisions and relations with neighbouring tribes.
The continued use of the Kird name in Mazari ballads shows that the group kept its clan identity after joining the Mazaris. Its members were called Kird even when they fought under Mazari chiefs.
Several Kird leaders are named in the historical poems. Their position in the ballads shows that the Khird section was an active part of Mazari society and was not only a small dependent group.
Khado Kird
[edit]Khado Kird is mentioned in a ballad about a conflict between the Mazaris and the Jamali Brahuis during the time of Sardar Bahram Khan Mazari.[3]
According to the account, Mazari horsemen and a troop of Khado Kird's men took a herd of camels belonging to Gul Muhammad Brahui.
The reference to “Khado Kird's men” shows that Khado commanded his own troop within the larger Mazari force. This suggests that he was an important military figure of the Kird clan.
Gul Muhammad sent a Sayyid named Musan Shah to Bahram Khan and demanded the return of the camels. The dispute later developed into open fighting.
Drehan Kird
[edit]Drehan Kird appears in the same account as an adviser to Sardar Bahram Khan Mazari.[3]
When Musan Shah demanded the return of the camels Bahram Khan discussed the matter with Drehan Kird. They decided to return twenty-four female camels as a peace settlement.
Gul Muhammad was not satisfied with the offer. He later attacked Mazari herds, and the conflict continued.
The reference to Drehan shows that a leader of the Kird clan took part in important Mazari political and tribal decisions.
The account later describes a battle at Jatro-phusht. According to the Mazari version recorded by Dames Gul Muhammad and many of his men were killed while the Mazaris suffered only two wounded men.
These numbers come from a Mazari ballad and represent the account of one side in the conflict.
Mangan Kird
[edit]Mangan Kird was a major leader of the Kird clan within the Mazari tribe. He is mentioned in a Balochi ballad about a conflict between the Mazaris and the Gurchanis.[4]
Dames directly described Mangan as the leader of the Kird clan. He estimated that the conflict probably took place around 1700, during the time of Hamal Khan Mazari.
The conflict began after the Lunds of Tibbi suffered attacks by Gurchani forces. The Lunds went to Hamal Khan Mazari and asked him for protection.
The Mazaris gathered at Kin and Rojhan. According to the ballad, Mangan rode at the front of the Mazari army on a young mare.
During the fighting, Mangan met Khan Muhammad a Gurchani leader. The ballad states that Mangan struck him with a sword. The blow passed through his helmet and turban, and Khan Muhammad fell to the ground.
Mangan later helped other Mazari fighters during the battle. The poem states that several men were killed and that the Mazaris took cattle before returning.
The ballad later sends greetings to Mangan Kird and praises him as a strong warrior. It calls him a protector of refugees and a trusted person among the Baloches.
Mangan's position in the ballad shows that the Kird or Khird section had an important military role within the Mazari tribe.
Jiwa Kird
[edit]Jiwa Kird was a poet connected with the Mazaris. M. Longworth Dames recorded one of his poems in 1895.[5]
Dames described Jiwa as a young Mazari and stated that he had a local reputation as a poet. At the time, Jiwa was in charge of a small police post.
His known poem is titled Youth and Age. The poem discusses youth, old age, religion, bravery, horses and travel.
Dames was unable to record any other poems by Jiwa.
Jiwa Kird shows that members of the Khird clan were known not only as fighters and leaders but also as poets.
The historical ballads show that the Khirds were fully involved in Mazari tribal life.
Khado Kird commanded a troop of men during a Mazari raid. Drehan Kird took part in political discussions with the Mazari chief. Mangan Kird led fighters during a major war with the Gurchanis. Jiwa Kird became known as a poet among the Mazaris.
These references show that the Khird section had military, political and cultural importance.
The ballads also show that members of the clan continued to use the Kird name after becoming part of the Mazari tribe.
In Balochi poetry
[edit]Most early information about the Khird tribe comes from Balochi poetry collected by M. Longworth Dames.
The traditional ballad about Mir Chakur gives an early reference to the Kirds or Kurds.
Later war ballads describe Khado, Drehan and Mangan Kird as members of the Mazari tribal organisation.
The poem of Jiwa Kird provides evidence of the literary role of the clan in the late nineteenth century.
The poems are important historical sources, but they also contain praise, exaggeration and the viewpoint of particular tribes. Their accounts should therefore be attributed to the ballads rather than presented as fully confirmed history.
Historical sources
[edit]The main written sources about the tribe are the works of M. Longworth Dames and H. A. Rose.
Dames collected Balochi poems, stories and oral accounts in the nineteenth century. His work records the names of several Kird leaders and describes the Kirds or Kurds as Brahuis who also formed a section of the Mazaris.
Rose used census reports and earlier historical writings. He described the Kirds or Kurds as a powerful Brahui tribe which provided a clan to the Mazari tribe.
These sources support the view that the Khird tribe developed from the earlier Kird or Kurd group and became part of the Mazari tribal organisation.
The available sources do not provide a full genealogy, modern population figures or a complete list of present-day Khird settlements.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Dames, M. Longworth (1906). Popular Poetry of the Baloches. Vol. 1. London: David Nutt. pp. 52–53.
- 1 2 3 Rose, H. A. (1911). A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province. Vol. 2. Lahore: Civil and Military Gazette Press. p. 45.
- 1 2 3 Dames, M. Longworth (1906). Popular Poetry of the Baloches. Vol. 1. London: David Nutt. pp. 60–61.
- 1 2 Dames, M. Longworth (1906). Popular Poetry of the Baloches. Vol. 1. London: David Nutt. pp. 69–73.
- ↑ Dames, M. Longworth (1906). Popular Poetry of the Baloches. Vol. 1. London: David Nutt. pp. 165–166.
Further reading
[edit]- Dames, M. Longworth (1906). Popular Poetry of the Baloches. Vol. 1. London: David Nutt.
- Rose, H. A. (1911). A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province. Vol. 2. Lahore: Civil and Military Gazette Press.
Category:Brahui tribes Category:Baloch tribes