Shughni people
xuǧnůni, хуг̌ну̊нӣ, خُږنۈنے | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Tajikistan (Shughnon District) | 50,000 (1990)[1] |
 Afghanistan (Shighnan District) | 40,000 (2009)[1] |
 Pakistan (Chitral District) | 855[2] |
 China (Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County) | 171[3] |
| Languages | |
| Shughni, Tajik, Dari, Khowar | |
| Religion | |
| Nizari Isma'ili Shia Islam[4] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Pamiris, especially Wakhis, Oroshoris, Bartangis, Khufis, Rushanis, Sarikolis, and Wanjis | |
The Shughni (also known as the Shughnan) (Shughni: xuǧnůni, хуг̌ну̊нӣ, خُږنۈنے) are an Iranian sub-ethnic group of Pamiris, who reside in the Pamir Mountains of the Badakhshan region of Central Asia. They mostly live in the country of Tajikistan, while a minority lives in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and China.[5] They speak the Shughni language, an Eastern Iranian language of the Pamiri subgroup.
History
[edit]The region of Shughnan was mentioned in Chinese books during the 6th and 7th centuries. The ancient Shughnis kept the Shughnan region under their control.[6] Proof had been found about the Shughni people's oral traditions in Ghoron.[7] The Shughni tribes had also collaborated with the Mongols during the conquest of Afghanistan.[8] During Soviet times, especially during the Stalin era, Soviet and Tajik authrorities tried their best to assimilate the Shughni with the Tajik population.[9] Even after Soviet times, the Shughni, Ishkashim, Rushani, and Wakhi tribes still fought over territory near the borders of Afghanistan and Tajikistan.[10]
Lifestyle
[edit]Due to political reasons the Shughni and Rushani go by the name "Tajik" unlike other Pamiri groups.[11] The Shughani are engaged in mountain agriculture and have succeeded in a greater agriculture basis from the Rabbani government.[12] The Shughni were formerly raiders, but are now seen as servants and pedlars in big cities in Central Asia such as Kabul and Farghana.[13] They have also supplemented to 'scanty' resources in Shughnan.[14] The Shughani have also gone to Chitral in Pakistan to find jobs recently.
Language
[edit]The Shughni language is an Eastern Iranian language of the Pamiri subgroup spoken in Tajikistan and Afghanistan, primarily in Gorno-Badakhshan and Sheghnan. Shughani is the largest of the Pamiri languages and contains many dialects including Rushani, Bartangri, and Oroshori.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Shughni at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Windfuhr, Gernot (2013). Iranian Languages. Routledge. p. 868. ISBN 978-1135797041.
- ^ Windfuhr, Gernot (2013). Iranian Languages. Routledge. p. 558. ISBN 978-1135797041.
- ^ Steinburg, Jonah (2011). Isma'ili Modern: Globalization and Identity in a Muslim Community. Univ of North Carolina Press. p. 234. ISBN 9780807834077.
- ^ "The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire".
- ^ "The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire".
- ^ Elnazarov, Hakim; Ostler, Nicholas (2009). Endangered Languages and History: Proceedings of the Conference (XIII ed.). Khorog, Tajikistan: Institute of Humanities. p. 57. ISBN 9780956021014.
- ^ Prokhorov, Aleksandr Mikhaĭlovich (1973). Great Soviet Encyclopedia (24 ed.). p. 154.
- ^ Zarubin, Ivan Ivanovich (1960). Shughnan Text & Dictionary (in Russian). House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. p. 385.
- ^ Levi-Sanchez, Suzanne (2016). The Afghan-Central Asia Borderland: The State and Local Leaders. Routledge. ISBN 9781317430957.
- ^ Schoeberlein-Engel, John Samuel (1994). Identity in Central Asia: Construction and Contention in the Conceptions of "Özbek," "Tâjik, " "Muslim, " "Samarqandi" and Other Groups. Central Asia: Harvard University. p. 113.
- ^ Kreutzmann, Hermann (2012). Pastoral practices in High Asia: Agency of 'development' effected by modernisation, resettlement and transformation. Afghanistan. ISBN 9789400738454.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Gore, Kensington (1916). The Geographical Journal (38 ed.). London: Authority of the Council.
- ^ Stein, Sir Aurel (1981). Innermost Asia: Text (2 ed.). Central Asia: Cosmo. p. 881.
- ^ SSSR, Akademi︠i︡a nauk (1980). Social Sciences (2 ed.). USSR Academy of Sciences. p. 80.
