Pakistani E
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Now before anyone gets triggered, the purpose of this thread is not to conclusively prove the theory propagated by Dr Henry Bellow in his book, "An Inquiry Into the Ethnography of Afghanistan", but rather to explore the possible origins of the "Awan" tribe of Pakistan Punjab, KPK and small numbers in South Eastern Afghanistan.
As many of you will know, the origins of this tribe are in some sense a bit of a mystery since there has been a concentrated effort by the elders to pass themselves off as Arabs.
For a bit of a background:
"The Awan deserve close attention, because of their historical importance and, above all, because they settled in the west, right up to the edge of Baluchi and Pashtun territory. [Tribal] Legend has it that their origins go back to Imam Ali and his second wife, Hanafiya. Historians describe them as valiant warriors and farmers who imposed their supremacy on their close kin the Janjuas in part of the Salt Range, and established large colonies all along the Indus to Sind, and a densely populated centre not far from Lahore."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awan_(tribe)#cite_note-4
I hope this will be the beginning of many posts where I will post different theories on the origins of Awans and hope to discuss them. Since out of all the major "Punjabi" tribes of Pakistan, they seem to have the least scholarly work done on their origins. Awans in the Punjab area are mostly situated in Mianwali, Khushab and other western most districts of Punjab where they are mostly indistinguishable in culture and physical attributes from the Niazis and Khattaks.
I also believe @Braith opened a thread not too long ago with a similar theory of Awans having Afghan* origins.
The source for this is the book mentioned above, if anyone is interested.
*Please note, I don't attribute the modern nationality of Afghan to its historical meaning.
Again, this is a work in progress. I am quite busy with other commitments so will try and keep this thread regularly updated.
@Kambojaric @Kaptaan @save_ghenda @friendly_troll96 @Zibago @Musafir117 @Jaanbaz @haviZsultan and anyone else interested!
All in put and suggestions are welcome. I am still only a beginner at this, so please excuse my ignorance if I make a silly mistake.
As many of you will know, the origins of this tribe are in some sense a bit of a mystery since there has been a concentrated effort by the elders to pass themselves off as Arabs.
For a bit of a background:
"The Awan deserve close attention, because of their historical importance and, above all, because they settled in the west, right up to the edge of Baluchi and Pashtun territory. [Tribal] Legend has it that their origins go back to Imam Ali and his second wife, Hanafiya. Historians describe them as valiant warriors and farmers who imposed their supremacy on their close kin the Janjuas in part of the Salt Range, and established large colonies all along the Indus to Sind, and a densely populated centre not far from Lahore."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awan_(tribe)#cite_note-4
I hope this will be the beginning of many posts where I will post different theories on the origins of Awans and hope to discuss them. Since out of all the major "Punjabi" tribes of Pakistan, they seem to have the least scholarly work done on their origins. Awans in the Punjab area are mostly situated in Mianwali, Khushab and other western most districts of Punjab where they are mostly indistinguishable in culture and physical attributes from the Niazis and Khattaks.
I also believe @Braith opened a thread not too long ago with a similar theory of Awans having Afghan* origins.
The source for this is the book mentioned above, if anyone is interested.
*Please note, I don't attribute the modern nationality of Afghan to its historical meaning.
Again, this is a work in progress. I am quite busy with other commitments so will try and keep this thread regularly updated.
@Kambojaric @Kaptaan @save_ghenda @friendly_troll96 @Zibago @Musafir117 @Jaanbaz @haviZsultan and anyone else interested!
All in put and suggestions are welcome. I am still only a beginner at this, so please excuse my ignorance if I make a silly mistake.
