 A group of Burusho women in theHunza Valley, Pakistan | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 126,300 (2018)[1] | |
| Languages | |
| L1:Burushaski(native language)[2] L2:Urdu(national language) | |
| Religion | |
| Islam (mostly consisting ofIsmaili andTwelverShia Muslims)[3][4][5] |
TheBurusho (alsoBrusho andBotraj)[6][7][8] are an ethnolinguistic group from theYasin,Hunza,Nagar, and other valleys ofGilgit–Baltistan and a small minority inJammu and Kashmir, India.[9][8][10] Their language,Burushaski, has been classified as alanguage isolate.[11] The region inhabited by the Burusho people is known asBrushal.[12]
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Although their origins are unknown, it is claimed that the Burusho people "were indigenous to northwestern India and were pushed higher into the mountains by themovements of the Indo-Aryans, who traveled southward sometime around 1800 B.C."[4]
Prior to the modern era, the area in which most Burusho now live was part of theprincely state ofHunza under theBritish Raj, until becoming part of Pakistan.[13]
The Burusho are known for their rich music and dance culture, along with progressive views towards education and women.[14]
Medical researchers believe that peace, harmony and less exposure to stress in the lives of the Hunza people is linked to their longer life spans. The lack of urban harms, the healthy way of life, moderate use of fruits and vegetables and other factors contribute to the health and long life of this people.[15]
Independent writers have refuted theselongevity myths,[16] citing a life expectancy of 53 years for men and 52 for women, although with a high standard deviation.[17]
Such ideas also promoted by natural health advocates have been discredited. There is no reliable documentation validating the age of alleged Hunza supercentenarians.[18][19]
Healthy living advocateJ. I. Rodale wrote a book calledThe Healthy Hunzas in 1948 that asserted that the Hunzas, noted for their longevity and manycentenarians, were long-lived because they consumed healthyorganic foods, such as driedapricots andalmonds, and had plenty of fresh air and exercise.[20] He often mentioned them in hisPrevention magazine as exemplary of the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle.
Dr. John Clark stayed among the Hunza people for 20 months and in his 1956 bookHunza - Lost Kingdom of the Himalayas[21] writes: "I wish also to express my regrets to those travelers whose impressions have been contradicted by my experience. On my first trip through Hunza, I acquired almost all the misconceptions they did: The Healthy Hunzas, the Democratic Court, The Land Where There Are No Poor, and the rest—and only long-continued living in Hunza revealed the actual situations". Regarding the misconception about Hunza people's health, Clark also writes that most of his patients hadmalaria,dysentery,worms,trachoma, and other health conditions easily diagnosed and quickly treated. In his first two trips he treated 5,684 patients.
The October 1953 issue ofNational Geographic had an article on the Hunza River Valley that inspiredCarl Barks' storyTralla La.[22]
A group of 350 Burusho people also reside in theIndian union territory ofJammu and Kashmir, being mainly concentrated in Batamalu, as well as in Botraj Mohalla, which is southeast ofHari Parbat.[8] This Burusho community is descended from two former princes of the British Indian princely states ofHunza andNagar, who with their families, migrated to this region in the 19th century A.D.[8] They are known as theBotraj by other ethnic groups in the state,[8] and practiceShiite Islam.[23]Arranged marriages are customary.[24]
Since thepartition of India in 1947, the Indian Burusho community have not been in contact with the Pakistani Burusho.[25] TheGovernment of India has granted the Burusho communityScheduled Tribe status, as well asreservation, and therefore, "most members of the community are in government jobs."[8][23] The Burusho people of India speakBurushashki, also known as Khajuna, and their dialect, known as Jammu & Kashmir Burushashski (JKB), "has undergone several changes which make it systematically different from other dialects of Burushaski spoken in Pakistan".[23] In addition, many Jammu & Kashmiri Burusho are multilingual, also speakingKashmiri andHindustani, as well asBalti andShina to a lesser extent.[23]
Another, more likely origin story, given the uniqueness of their language, proclaims that they were indigenous to northwestern India and were pushed higher into the mountains by the movements of the Indo-Aryans, who traveled southward sometime around 1800 B.C.E.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Among the Burusho of India, the parents supposedly negotiate a marriage without consulting the children, but often prospective brides and grooms have grown up together and know each other well.
The community has no contact with their Burushos of Gilgit-Baltistan since 1947, when partition of India and Pakistan necessitated the division of the erstwhile princely state of Kashmir. No participant was ready to move to Hunza/Nagar if provided a chance.