کھو | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Total population | |
| c. 800,000 (2021)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Chitral andGilgit Baltistan | |
| Languages | |
| Khowar | |
| Religion | |
| PredominantlyHanafiSunniIslam[2] MinorityIsmailiShiaIslam[2] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherIndo-Aryan peoples |
TheKho (/koʊ/,[3]Khowar:کھو), orChitrali people,[4] are anIndo-Aryanethnolinguistic group[5] native to theChitral District inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and theGupis-Yasin andGhizer districts ofGilgit-Baltistan.[6] They speak anIndo-Aryan language calledKhowar.[7]
The Kho people are likely descendants of those who migrated to their present location in Chitral from the south.[8] The Kho people spread throughout Chitral from the northern part of the region, specifically from theMulkhow andTorkhow Valley.[9][10] According toMorgenstierne, the original abode of the Kho wasnorthern Chitral in the valleys aroundMastuj.[9] The Kho started expanding into southern Chitral around the early 14th century under theRaisMehtars.[9] Later on, the Kho expanded eastwards into theYasin andGhizer valleys under theKhushwaqt dynasty in the 17th century.[9]
In ancient times the Kho people practised a faith akin to that observed by theKalash today.[11][12] In the 14th century, many of the Kho converted toIslam though some previous customs continue to persist.[13] With respect to Islam, the Kho are primarilyHanafi Sunni Muslims although there exists a substantial population ofIsmaili Muslims in the Upper Chitral region.[14]
TheKhowar language shares a great number of morphological characteristics with neighbouringIranian languages ofBadakhshan, pointing to a very early location of proto-Khowar in its original abode in Upper Chitral, although from its links with theGandhari language, it likely came from further south in the first millennium BC, possibly through Swat and Dir.[15]
The ethnologistsKarl Jettmar and Lennart Edelberg noted, with respect to the Khowar language, that: "Khowar, in many respects [is] the most archaic of all modern Indian languages, retaining a great part ofSanskrit case inflexion, and retaining many words in a nearly Sanskritic form.”[16]
Khowar is spoken by around 800,000 people in Pakistan.[1] Most of the Kho people also useUrdu as a second language.[17][18][19]
Chitrali folklore lays great emphasis upon supernatural beings, and the area is sometimes called "Peristan" because of the common belief in fairies (peri) inhabiting the high mountains.[20] TheBarmanou is a popular local legend, often referred as the indigenous equivalent of theYeti of the Himalayas.[20]
Polo is a popular sport and pastime for the Kho people. Polo traditionally played by the Kho has little rules or organisation.[21] TheShandur Polo Festival is a sports festival held annually from 7 to 9 July in theShandur Polo Ground. The polo tournament is played between the teams ofGilgit-Baltistan Districts andChitral District, under freestyle rules.[22][23] The tournament is held at Shandur Top which is the world highest polo ground at an altitude of 3,700 meters (the pass itself is at 3,800 meters).[24]
Traditional Chitrali clothing includes theShalwar Kameez and thePakol (Chitrali hat).[21]
According to Azizet al. 2019, the western EurasianmtDNA haplogroups were observed predominantly and mostly shared in Kho samples with overall frequency of 50%. These include HV8, H19, H57, H24, C and, C4a haplogroups. The South Asian haplogroups and its relevant subgroups including U4, U4c, U6, U5a, and W were also found in Kho samples with overall 37.5% frequency. Another South Asian haplogroup, M30 was also identified for Kho samples with frequency of 6.2%. The haplogroups and haplotypes specify the origin and linkages of an individual and population. The mtDNA haplogroup analysis eventually demonstrates the western Eurasian ancestral origin of Kho samples. However, the presence of few South Asian haplogroups with a minor proportion revealed that Kho might be an admixed population of western Eurasian and South Asian genetic component.[25]
Khowar is one of the regional languages of Pakistan. It is spoken in different parts of Pakistan and more than 0.8 million people speak Khowar over in Chitral, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Swat Valley. Meanwhile, in Chitral, Khowar is considered as a lingua franca or the main communicative language of the area.
The Kho people are the most important ethnic group in the Chitral region of northern Pakistan. They are an Indo-Aryan people who are Muslims, primarily Sunnis of the Hanafi tradition.
... the language even today, while the rest are Kho people who have moved in from the south.
Kalasha came from the south, from present day Afghanistan where the Waigal valley is still called Kalashum. It seems that the Kalasha speaking people were expelled from this territory by Nuristani tribes some centuries ago; they left it and pushed up to settle in lower Chitral, which they occupied entirely to be later pushed back in their present location by the Khowar speaking Chitralis or Khos, whose original abode is clearly Northern Chitral.
Before conversion, the Kho people had the same beliefs as the Kalasha have even to this day.
This was a pre-Islamic custom in Kho society which has continued to exist even after the people converted to Islam in the fourteenth century, even though there is not any room for such beliefs in the religion.
In the Upper Chitral region, most Kho are Ismaili Muslims, who the Hanafi Sunnis consider to be an inferior people.
Khowar, in many respects the most archaic of all modern Indian languages, retaining a great part of Sanskrit case inflexion, and retaining many words in a nearly Sanskritic form
Munnings (1990:21) observes that people in Chitral seem to have a general dislike for Pashtoons and their language. Some Chitralis reported that they prefer to use Urdu or Khowar with a Pashtoon unless he is monolingual in Pashto.
Chitralis, however, seem to have a general dislike for Pathans and their language. Several Chitralis have told us that Pashto sounds like a stone rattling around in a tin can. Perhaps more to the point, they regard Pathans as an uncivilized, uncouth, and violent people (blood-feuding, which is endemic in the Pathan tribal territories, has not been a factor in Chitrali society). This view was once graphically illustrated for us when we were discussing the cover design of a booklet with a Chitrali friend. He suggested that the image of a mosque and an open book be superimposed on an outline map of Chitral--with guns juxtaposed to the right and left (east and west)--symbolic of the fact that Chitral is a land of peace and civility and faith surrounded by barbarians.