Page 11 - The Majestic Balochistan

THE BALOCH CULTURE
HISTORY OF THE BALOCH:
According to some beliefs, the Baloch are the descendants of Hazrat Ameer Hamza, who was an uncle of the
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). They were initially settled in Halab, which is the present-day Aleppo. From there
they migrated to the Sistan region of Persian Gulf where they remained for 500 years before further migrating
to the Balochistan and its surrounding region in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. Another theory is that the Baloch
tribes were most likely to be from the eastern or southeastern Caspian area and they moved towards the east in
the late Sasanian period over a span of many centuries.

BALOCHI LANGUAGE
• Balochi Language is one of the oldest languages of the Indo-Iranian division of Indo-European family of
languages. It is spoken by around seven million people as their first or second language in the Baloch settle-
ment areas like Balochistan province of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Oman, and India.
• There are many dialects of Balochi language. It has been influenced by the Sindhi language in the East and
Persian in the west.
• It also has traces of Sanskrit, Avesta, and Phalavi languages.

BALOCHI DRESS
The Baloch men usually wear loose, and long shirts with loose shalwars called Balochi Gher Shalwar having
many pleats.
• They also wear traditional turbans, and shoes called Balochi Chabbay.
• The Baloch women wear headscarves called Dupatta, long and colorful dresses known as Pashk with
shalwars.
• The dress is mostly intricately embroidered with their traditional embroidery embedded with round mirrors
and has a large pocket on the front.
They also wear Balochi jewellery such as rings, earrings, and necklaces called Tawk and carry embroidered
bags called Jamagdan.
Kapuk, Chandanohar, Thaltookh, Panch, Jallar, Mehrab, Kantolo, Mirchoko chamok, Morg-o-paanch,
Gad-o-band, Jadok. Chamkall, Arif-e-chadar, and Dillobitab are some of types of embroideries done by Baloch
women.
• A single embroidered dress takes about three to nine months to make
BALOCH TRIBES
Most of the Baloch people are divided into the following tribes:
• Rind •Lashari • Marri • Bugti .Buledi • Ahmedzal • Sanjrani . Magsi
Jamot • Domki • Khosa • Rakhshani • Dashti
Umrani • Mengal • Zehri . Tangwani • Qalsrani • Raisani • Bangulzai • Ahmedzal
• Nosherwani • Gichki • Khidai . Hoth . Mohammad hassni • Leghari • Shahwani • Mazari
• Buzdar Jatoi • Zardari • Talpur Khosa . Malghani • Khetran • Lehri • Badini • Qalandrani
• Mirwani • Domki
Each tribe has its own Sardar who is basically the leader. They are usually members of local and district councils
called Jirgas.