 A Wakhi girl photographed near the village of Zood Khun in theChapursan Valley ofGilgit−Baltistan,Pakistan | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 100,000–120,000[1][2] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Pakistan | 25,000-30,000 (2023)[citation needed] |
 Afghanistan | 20,000-25,000 (2023)[citation needed] |
 Tajikistan | 20,000 (2018)[citation needed] |
 China | 14,000 (2018)[citation needed] |
| Languages | |
| Wakhi | |
| Religion | |
| PredominantlyIslam (Isma'ili Shia) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| OtherIranian peoples | |
TheWakhi people,[a] also locally referred to as theWokhik,[3][b] are anIranian sub-ethnic group ofPamiris native toCentral andSouth Asia. They are found inAfghanistan,Tajikistan,Pakistan, andChina—primarily situated in and around Afghanistan'sWakhan Corridor, the northernmost part of Pakistan'sGilgit−Baltistan andChitral, Tajikistan'sGorno−Badakhshan Autonomous Region and the southwestern areas of China'sXinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.[4] The Wakhi people are native speakers of theWakhi language, anEastern Iranian language.
The Wakhi people refer to themselves asKhik and to their language asKhik zik.[3] TheexonymWakhī, which is given to them by their neighbours, is based onWux̌, the local name of the region ofWakhan, deriving from *Waxšu, the old name of theOxus River (Amu Darya), which is a major river formed by the junction of theVakhsh andPanj rivers on the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.[1]
Ethnic Wakhi-speakers have a total population of about 50,000–58,000.[1][2] The population is divided between four countries:Afghanistan,Tajikistan,Pakistan andChina'sXinjiang. The Wakhi people have been settlers of their lands for hundreds if not thousands of years. The machinations ofThe Great Game during the eighteenth and nineteenth century created boundaries which separated the large body of the Wakhis into living in four countries.[citation needed]
InTajikistan, Wakhi are inhabitants ofRoshtqal'a District andIshkoshim District ofGorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.
InAfghanistan, Wakhi primarily live in theWakhan District ofBadakhshan Province.
InGilgit-Baltistan in the north ofPakistan, Wakhi predominantly live in the upper region ofHunza popularly known asGojal. Wakhi speakers also live in Ishkoman Valley of District Ghizer, and some villages of Yasin Valley.[citation needed]
InPakistan, Wakhi also live in Broghal inChitral district ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
InChina, Wakhi are inhabitants ofTaxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County an administrative area withinKashgar Prefecture ofXinjiang, mainly in the township ofDafdar.
InChina, the Wakhi people, together with theSarikoli people, are officially recognized as "Tajiks", with ethnic-minority autonomous status. In Afghanistan, they are officially called "Pamiri". In Tajikistan, they are recognized by the state as "Tajiks", but self-identify as "Pamiri".[citation needed] In Pakistan, they refer to themselves as "Wakhi" or "Pamiri" or "Gujali".[citation needed]
The Wakhi predominantly adhere toNizariIsmailiShia Islam, which is regarded as theirethnic religion and are followers of theAga Khan.[3][5][6]
The Wakhi are primarilynomadic, depending on their herds of yaks and horses.[7] They often have two residences—one for winter and one for summer. Their houses are built of stone andsod.[3]
Activists and researchers have been working to preserve and record the language of the Wakhi people, and have developed Wakhi orthographies using the Arabic, Cyrillic, and Latin scripts.[4]
In 1990, the Gojali Wakhis of Pakistan established the Wakhi Tajik Cultural Association to preserve, document, and publish their local culture. The association introduced a script that was applied into linguistic and literary textbooks, and organized cultural festivals.Radio Pakistan's Radio Gilgit also aired a daily Wakhi-language program namedBam-e Dunya ("Roof of the World").[8][9]
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)| Afghans | |
|---|---|
| Foreigners | |
