Swati
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Swati are famous Pashtuns tribe, dwell in the Districts of Batagram and Mansehra of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, a mountanious area that contains the famous historical places likePakhli, Agror, Thakot, Balakot, Kaghan, Black Mountain of Hazara and Allai.
Pashtun tribes occupied the area of Swat before the arrival of the Yusafzai and it is these tribes that the term "Swati" refers to.
The Swati moved from Swat to fight the Sikhs in the Sikh reign in that part of the present Pakistan. But accoriding to some authors they are in believe that when the King of Kabul, Mirza Ulagh beg pushed Yousafzais from Kabul, they took refuge in Swat, Bajawar and Peshawar of Swatis and Dilazaks country, due to conspiracies of Mughals, both the tribes fought against each other for more than two decades of heavily geurilla war. Finally Swatis had to withdraw of their country. King Babar himself took part to conquered their forts.
Abdul Ghani khan, a Pashto poet and philosopher (late) share the opinion. He considers the Pashtuns as a mixture of many races that came through their areas from central Asia. Suddum (mardan) , Khyber (Peshawar) and elum (swat) are the places, which resemble in names those of bani Israel. Mir afzal khan Jadoon is of the opinion that the features as well as the habits of the Pashtuns resemble those of the Jews. Apart from the clans of Karlanr and mati, Swatis, Tanolis and Jadoons are similar to the Jews in their dwelling and clothes.
We heard about the fort of "Gabar" in a book Tabakat-e-Nasiri by Minhajuddin Josjani of 13th century, which is mentioned in the reign of Mahmood Ghaznavi, later on we founded the names of Gabri/Jahangiri Sultans of Swat amongst Swatis of Bajuar and Swat in the 15th and 16th centtury.
In the ancient history, the word ‘Swat’ is not found. The early peoples called this soil with various names, but not by the present name, Swat. For example, some three thousand years ago, it was called Udhyana (Garden). In the writings of Chinese travelers, we can find ‘Soto’, while in the accounts of Greeks, the “Asoconoi” has been mentioned, but Mahmood Ghaznavi has called it ‘Qerat’. So for as the early names are concerned, Soto has much similarity to the present name.
The second base for its nomenclature is of Arabic origin. It is said that the word ‘Swat’ is the distorted shape of Aswad (black). As the hills and mountains of this land are covered with thick forests, which appear in sight as black, therefore, it was called Aswad. Slowly, it became ‘Swad’ but latter on the name changed completely and the present name ‘Swat’ was composed.
Another account states that when Mahmood Ghaznavi conquered Swat, he wanted to settle some of his people to keep the control of the conquered area. So he settled two tribes the Swati and Dalazak here. As the Swati tribe was larger, the zone was called by the name of this tribe, Swat.
Batagram was a tribal area until 1958, when the people of the area themselves wished to be a part of Pakistan. Authors also mentions them, in the times of Mohammad of Ghor they came to conquered Swat from Afghanistan, as the front line soldiers and Chiefs of the Army and showed great bravery, while on the other hand few of the Historians have their different opinion regarding Swatis and Yousafzais, they mentions Swatis as great Assakenois and It's subsection Aspasios as Yousafzais, who fought great wars against Alexander in 326-27 BC. Swati is among few of the biggest land owning tribes of Pashtun in NWFP. They are well spread from Mansehra, Balakot, Kaghan and Batagram and to all the way up to eastern slopes of the Black Mountain of Hazara and further far the mountains of Allai. Politically and economically, they have very strong hold in the region.
Swatis have ruled Swat, Malakand and Dir etc for more than three hundred years and Kashmir from 1339 to 1561 AD. They have also captured Pakhli ( Hazara Division ) against Turks in 1703 AD under the leadership of Syed Jalal Baba.
Sa'adat Khan Swati was the first ruler of Pakhlai from 1762 to 1780 AD during the reign of Durranis. One of his ruler son, Najeebullah Khan Swati, was martyred in the famous War of Mangal against Sikhs.
According to some authors, the Swatis are descendants of Bitan of the Ghilzai section, who was one of the sons of Pashtun, a mythical and whimsical ancestor of the Pashtun people.
Some of the famous khels and subsections of the Swatis are Jahangiri, Malkals, Deeshan, Akhun Khel, Beror, Jadoor, Khan Khel, Kuchelai, Madda Khel, Musa Khel, Narors, Tirimzai, Samkori, Sana Khel, Sumla Khel, Warozai, Khazan khel, Sherkhani, Gabarzai or Gabri, Barkhan khel or Barkhani and Ghoris. Pashto is spoken in the whole region among them. Four other Pashtun tribes of the Hazara division are the Jadoons, Tareens, and Mashwanis.
References:
- Pashtun apni nasal ke ainey mein by Syed Bahadur Shah Zafer Kaka khel.
- History of Hazara by Sher Bahadur Khan Panni.
- Shahadat Gah-e-Balakot by Piyam Shahjahanpuri.
- Pashtun Tribes of the Norht West Frontier of India, a dictionary prepared by the General Staff Army Headquarters (Calcutta 1910).
- Across the border or Pashtun and Biloch by Edward E Oliver, M. (1890).
- Twarikhe Hafiz Rehmat Khani.
- Tazkara by Khan Roshan Khan.
- The memoirs of Kind Babur(Tuzk-e-Baburi).
- Hazara Gazetteer by D.H.Watson.
- Baharista-e-Shahi by an unknown Persian author (A.D 1614).
- Maghza-e-Afghani by Niamatullah Hirvi.(1612 A.D)
- A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of Panjab and NWFP by E.D Magligan/H.A Rose.(First published in 1911).
- An article by Abdul Qayum Balala.