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The Baloch People

Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Regional History or Period History
Forum Name: Ancient Mesopotamia, Near East and Greater Iran
Forum Discription: Babylon, Egypt, Persia and other civilizations of the Near East from ancient times to 600s AD
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4121
Printed Date: 28-Mar-2024 at 08:35
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Topic: The Baloch People
Posted By: Afghanan
Subject: The Baloch People
Date Posted: 22-Jun-2005 at 18:52

Who knows something about them?



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The perceptive man is he who knows about himself, for in self-knowledge and insight lays knowledge of the holiest.
~ Khushal Khan Khattak



Replies:
Posted By: ramin
Date Posted: 22-Jun-2005 at 23:41
"The Baloch (alternative common spelling Baluch, Balouch, Balooch, Balush, Balosh, Baloosh, Baloush, and others not mentioned here) are an ethnic group of disputed origin. There are four popular theories of the origin of the Baloch. The first is that they came from the Caspian Sea region, the second would be that they are Semites from Aleppo (or Halab), a third claim would be Arabs from the Arabian Peninsula, and the fourth is that they are the indigenous people of Balochistan. They speak Baluchi, which is considered to be a north-western Iranian language. Their homeland, Balochistan, is divided between three countries with portions of it in Pakistani Balochistan, Iranian Balochistan, and the Southern parts of Afghanistan. They are also found in large numbers all over the Gulf_Cooperation_Council or GCC countries of the Persian Gulf. Although the Baloch are nearly 100 percent Muslims, with most belonging to the Hanafi school of thought of Sunni Islam, they are very tolerent of other religious beliefs and views." (Wikipedia, Baloch)



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"I won't laugh if a philosophy halves the moon"


Posted By: Afghanan
Date Posted: 23-Jun-2005 at 18:01

I heard that they are actually related to Kurds.  I have seen some Baluch people and they look like Iranian/Turkish appearance.  Near the south, close to the Makran coast, they resemble Negroids.

If they are descendants of the original people of Sistan-Baluchistan, would that make them the inheritors of "the burnt city." ?



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The perceptive man is he who knows about himself, for in self-knowledge and insight lays knowledge of the holiest.
~ Khushal Khan Khattak


Posted By: ramin
Date Posted: 23-Jun-2005 at 21:23
Yes sir. Their language is ought to be related to Kurdish but as ethnicity nobody knows! we may be able to connect their roots by valuing their language which will lead them to be Kurds, but that's just one theory of many.

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"I won't laugh if a philosophy halves the moon"


Posted By: Cyrus Shahmiri
Date Posted: 24-Jun-2005 at 04:25

There were some discussions between Dr.Pal and me in Pothos about the burnt city (Shahr-e Soukhteh) and the original people of Sistan-Baluchistan.

This is a thread which was posted by Dr.Pal: http://pothos.org/forum/showmessage.asp?messageID=18833 - http://pothos.org/forum/showmessage.asp?messageID=18833

The name Shinar in the Bible has been identified with Sumer by all the modern scholars including D.J. Wiseman. This is a linguistic monstrosity and in my opinion a horrible mistake. The nineteenth century dictionaries on the Bible mentioned Shinar as a separate entity. The Buddhist texts refer to an ancient territory named Shineru which I think is the biblical Shinar. This is Seistan where I have placed the ancient garden of Eden. http://www.geocities.com/ranajitda /quote - http://www.geocities.com/ranajitda  

The interesting thing is that archaeologists have recently discovered a 5,000 years old gameboard in Shahr-e Soukhteh (Burnt City) in the south of Zabol in Sistan that in shape it is identical to the gameboards excavated from the Sumerian Royal Tombs of Ur.

http://www.chn.ir/english/eshownews.asp?no=1280 - http://www.chn.ir/english/eshownews.asp?no=1280

"Another fascinating finding is a wooden game board, similar to those found Ur city, which shows three facts: the city had relations with Ur in 2500 to 2300 B.C., people had good lives and could have leisure time and play mind games, third they were familiar with mathematics which helped them in the game which was similar to Iranian chess or European Domino."


Ur Game Board


Shahr-e Soukhteh Game Board

Modern Jebeil has been identified with ancient Byblos. Apart from the Buddhist texts the Mahabharata refers to Sibi(Seistan)and Usinara which again is the biblical Shinar. It is interesting that the remains of so many buried women are being found. The RgVeda refers to Queen Usinarani which is very significant and shows that the Queen of Sheba was from Seistan. When Woolley identified Ur in Sumer with Abraham's homeland Shahr-i Sokhta was unknown. Are you aware of the debate between Woolley and W.F. Albright on this point? I fully agree with Albright.Modern Jebeil has been identified with ancient Byblos. Apart from the Buddhist texts the Mahabharata refers to Sibi(Seistan)and Usinara which again is the biblical Shinar. It is interesting that the remains of so many buried women are being found. The RgVeda refers to Queen Usinarani which is very significant and shows that the Queen of Sheba was from Seistan. When Woolley identified Ur in Sumer with Abraham's homeland Shahr-i Sokhta was unknown. Are you aware of the debate between Woolley and W.F. Albright on this point? I fully agree with Albright.

Sibi is similar to Spi, Spidezh (Spi Citadel) is one of the most important archaeological sites in Sistan, as I said here ( http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1001&PN=1 - http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1001& ; ;PN=1 ) some months ago, archaeologists discovered a design of Sumerian hero Gilgamesh there which is older than the mesopotamian ones.

Another post by Dr.Pal: http://www.pothos.org/archives/showmessage.asp?messageID=6849 - http://www.pothos.org/archives/showmessage.asp?messageID=684 9

Thanks for mentioning Ophir which brings to my mind pictures of quinquiremes and gold. Sadly we now have to make do with only Oil and aircraft-carriers. A. L. Basham of SOAS London located Ophir in the Gujerat coast which has pleased many Indians but in my opinion Ophir was also in Seistan. The name Ophir coresponds to the Abhiras of the Indian texts who were the sons of the Kalakeyas. This may be linked to the ancient place-name Karkuia in Seistan (see the map in the Encyclopedia of Islam) which has echoes in Palestine also.

You also mentioned Solomon in your post whose name is linked with the fabled Queen of Sheba. Where was she from? The name Shibaa is the feminine form of Shiv(god) in the Indian texts and Seistan was probably Shivastan (sthana=abode), as the Sibis are from this area. Queen of Sheba may be a next of kin of Queen Usinarani of the RgVeda. The name Usinara agrees with the references to Shinar in the Bible which is confused with Sumer by all. On the other hand, nineteenth century commentators on the Bible did not mix up Sumer with Shinar. From the Assaka Jataka it appears that Ada, daughter of Pixodarus, who became the wife of Orontobates was from this area. Fascinating isnt it? There is much more in the name Prophthasia than meets the eye. I have great respect for Tarn because I have learnt much from him but he was certainly wrong about the meaning of Prophthasia.

Of course we all know that Sistan was known as Sakastan (Land of Scythians) in Sassanid and early Islamic periods but there also many places in Sistan which are known as Sibi, Sib, Spi, Sabi, Saba, ...

Some pics of the famous Sib Castle in Saravan, Sistan:



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Posted By: Zagros
Date Posted: 24-Jun-2005 at 05:52

Pakistani Baluchis above.

Small picture gallery of Iranian Baluchis:

http://www.masoudsoheili.com/Portrait-Iran/Baluch/MS-Portrait-Baluch-01.html - http://www.masoudsoheili.com/Portrait-Iran/Baluch/MS-Portrai t-Baluch-01.html

Yes some of them seem to have negroid admixture, could it be from teh Chahar Bahar Portuguese slaves?



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Posted By: Afghanan
Date Posted: 24-Jun-2005 at 19:01

Originally posted by Zagros Purya

Pakistani Baluchis above.

Small picture gallery of Iranian Baluchis:

http://www.masoudsoheili.com/Portrait-Iran/Baluch/MS-Portrait-Baluch-01.html - http://www.masoudsoheili.com/Portrait-Iran/Baluch/MS-Portrai t-Baluch-01.html

Yes some of them seem to have negroid admixture, could it be from teh Chahar Bahar Portuguese slaves?

Yeah, they are descendants of slaves, but I'm not sure of which European country, who settled there and became mixed with the local population.  I believe their called Makuranis/Makranis. 

The looks and features of Baluch remind me of Afghans alot, they even wear the traditional Afghan/Nuristani Pakol (wool hat).



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The perceptive man is he who knows about himself, for in self-knowledge and insight lays knowledge of the holiest.
~ Khushal Khan Khattak


Posted By: Afghanan
Date Posted: 24-Jun-2005 at 19:03
Originally posted by Cyrus Shahmiri

There were some discussions between Dr.Pal and me in Pothos about the burnt city (Shahr-e Soukhteh) and the original people of Sistan-Baluchistan.

This is a thread which was posted by Dr.Pal: http://pothos.org/forum/showmessage.asp?messageID=18833 - http://pothos.org/forum/showmessage.asp?messageID=18833

The name Shinar in the Bible has been identified with Sumer by all the modern scholars including D.J. Wiseman. This is a linguistic monstrosity and in my opinion a horrible mistake. The nineteenth century dictionaries on the Bible mentioned Shinar as a separate entity. The Buddhist texts refer to an ancient territory named Shineru which I think is the biblical Shinar. This is Seistan where I have placed the ancient garden of Eden. http://www.geocities.com/ranajitda /quote - http://www.geocities.com/ranajitda  

The interesting thing is that archaeologists have recently discovered a 5,000 years old gameboard in Shahr-e Soukhteh (Burnt City) in the south of Zabol in Sistan that in shape it is identical to the gameboards excavated from the Sumerian Royal Tombs of Ur.

http://www.chn.ir/english/eshownews.asp?no=1280 - http://www.chn.ir/english/eshownews.asp?no=1280

"Another fascinating finding is a wooden game board, similar to those found Ur city, which shows three facts: the city had relations with Ur in 2500 to 2300 B.C., people had good lives and could have leisure time and play mind games, third they were familiar with mathematics which helped them in the game which was similar to Iranian chess or European Domino."


Ur Game Board


Shahr-e Soukhteh Game Board

Modern Jebeil has been identified with ancient Byblos. Apart from the Buddhist texts the Mahabharata refers to Sibi(Seistan)and Usinara which again is the biblical Shinar. It is interesting that the remains of so many buried women are being found. The RgVeda refers to Queen Usinarani which is very significant and shows that the Queen of Sheba was from Seistan. When Woolley identified Ur in Sumer with Abraham's homeland Shahr-i Sokhta was unknown. Are you aware of the debate between Woolley and W.F. Albright on this point? I fully agree with Albright.Modern Jebeil has been identified with ancient Byblos. Apart from the Buddhist texts the Mahabharata refers to Sibi(Seistan)and Usinara which again is the biblical Shinar. It is interesting that the remains of so many buried women are being found. The RgVeda refers to Queen Usinarani which is very significant and shows that the Queen of Sheba was from Seistan. When Woolley identified Ur in Sumer with Abraham's homeland Shahr-i Sokhta was unknown. Are you aware of the debate between Woolley and W.F. Albright on this point? I fully agree with Albright.

Sibi is similar to Spi, Spidezh (Spi Citadel) is one of the most important archaeological sites in Sistan, as I said here ( http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1001&PN=1 - http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1001& ; ; ;PN=1 ) some months ago, archaeologists discovered a design of Sumerian hero Gilgamesh there which is older than the mesopotamian ones.

Another post by Dr.Pal: http://www.pothos.org/archives/showmessage.asp?messageID=6849 - http://www.pothos.org/archives/showmessage.asp?messageID=684 9

Thanks for mentioning Ophir which brings to my mind pictures of quinquiremes and gold. Sadly we now have to make do with only Oil and aircraft-carriers. A. L. Basham of SOAS London located Ophir in the Gujerat coast which has pleased many Indians but in my opinion Ophir was also in Seistan. The name Ophir coresponds to the Abhiras of the Indian texts who were the sons of the Kalakeyas. This may be linked to the ancient place-name Karkuia in Seistan (see the map in the Encyclopedia of Islam) which has echoes in Palestine also.

You also mentioned Solomon in your post whose name is linked with the fabled Queen of Sheba. Where was she from? The name Shibaa is the feminine form of Shiv(god) in the Indian texts and Seistan was probably Shivastan (sthana=abode), as the Sibis are from this area. Queen of Sheba may be a next of kin of Queen Usinarani of the RgVeda. The name Usinara agrees with the references to Shinar in the Bible which is confused with Sumer by all. On the other hand, nineteenth century commentators on the Bible did not mix up Sumer with Shinar. From the Assaka Jataka it appears that Ada, daughter of Pixodarus, who became the wife of Orontobates was from this area. Fascinating isnt it? There is much more in the name Prophthasia than meets the eye. I have great respect for Tarn because I have learnt much from him but he was certainly wrong about the meaning of Prophthasia.

Of course we all know that Sistan was known as Sakastan (Land of Scythians) in Sassanid and early Islamic periods but there also many places in Sistan which are known as Sibi, Sib, Spi, Sabi, Saba, ...

Some pics of the famous Sib Castle in Saravan, Sistan:

Those pictures and the stories behind them are amazing.  It is sad the rest of the civilized world does not even care about this amazing culture and history that played a pivotal crossroads between Mesopotamia and Eastern civilizations.  Amazing information!  Thank you Cyrus.



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The perceptive man is he who knows about himself, for in self-knowledge and insight lays knowledge of the holiest.
~ Khushal Khan Khattak


Posted By: Behi
Date Posted: 25-Jun-2005 at 06:03

@Afghanan

if you need more about Shahre sokhte check this Artikle

http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3268&PN=1 - http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3268& ;PN=1



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Posted By: Afghanan
Date Posted: 02-Jul-2005 at 11:54

Land of Aryan,

Thanks for the link!  So are you Iranian, Kurd, or Baloch?



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The perceptive man is he who knows about himself, for in self-knowledge and insight lays knowledge of the holiest.
~ Khushal Khan Khattak


Posted By: Shahanshah
Date Posted: 24-Jul-2005 at 01:36

Hi, I know this is an old thread but;

does anybody know any famous historical Balooch leader? and does anyone know any famous baloochi in today's world?

I know that their nationalist movement which was motivated by british was crushed by Reza Shah, but what is really their motive today, do they still want separation, or is it just in pakistan?



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King of Kings, The Great King, King of the world.


Posted By: Zagros
Date Posted: 24-Jul-2005 at 09:10
I think there are still elements that want separation because as we all know the IR discriminates against non-Shias, but the situation in Pakistan is much much much worse.

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Posted By: Afghanan
Date Posted: 24-Jul-2005 at 13:42
Originally posted by Shahanshah

Hi, I know this is an old thread but;

does anybody know any famous historical Balooch leader? and does anyone know any famous baloochi in today's world?

I know that their nationalist movement which was motivated by british was crushed by Reza Shah, but what is really their motive today, do they still want separation, or is it just in pakistan?

The situation is pretty tense in Baluchistan between the military and the Baloch Sardars (their tribal chiefs) who feel they are being swindled on the deal to revitialize the Gwadar coast.  Its common knowledge among Baloch  that profit earned from Gwadar will go to the province of Punjab and the pockets of the military.  The Sardars wanted to have a bigger part in the deal, and instead the military has taken over the entire project, and pretty much the entire province.  The Sardars have been labelled as greedy, and the Pakistani military has gone on a campaign to label them as 'terrorists.'

The Baloch Student organization has been very vocal of Musharraf and his military dictatorship.  At the same time some Baloch tribes have taken arms and attacked government troops, and the government has responded by jailing dissenters and students who are opposed to the military occupation. 

Recently the story of a nurse in Baluchistan being raped by military soldiers has caused an upsurge in attacks on gas pipelines and other military installations throughout the province. 



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The perceptive man is he who knows about himself, for in self-knowledge and insight lays knowledge of the holiest.
~ Khushal Khan Khattak


Posted By: Shahanshah
Date Posted: 30-Jul-2005 at 17:37

Here are maps of Baluchistan:

map of Baluchistan districts in Pakistan:



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King of Kings, The Great King, King of the world.


Posted By: Afghanan
Date Posted: 31-Jul-2005 at 01:09

Territories that have belonged to Afghans have also been incorporated by the British as part of Baluchistan. 

Baluchistan's provincial capital Quetta was an Afghan Garrison town prior to the British invasion, the population of Quetta today is actually 50% Afghan.  Add on top of that settled and unsettled refugees, Afghans make a sizeable portion of Quetta, and lots of the northern districts.



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The perceptive man is he who knows about himself, for in self-knowledge and insight lays knowledge of the holiest.
~ Khushal Khan Khattak


Posted By: Shahanshah
Date Posted: 10-Aug-2005 at 11:32

I read somewhere that baluchis also used to live in norther Oman, before arab Omanis came in 18th century there were many baluchi population areas in northern oman.

Is this true, if so do Baluchis still live in Oman?



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King of Kings, The Great King, King of the world.


Posted By: Afghanan
Date Posted: 17-Aug-2005 at 21:59
The Baloch are dispersed throughout the Persian Gulf states.  I'm not sure if its from older migrations, but there is still a considerable population of Baluchis in the oil rich cities.

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The perceptive man is he who knows about himself, for in self-knowledge and insight lays knowledge of the holiest.
~ Khushal Khan Khattak


Posted By: Fizzil
Date Posted: 20-Aug-2005 at 22:06

Shahanshah, these were the Baluchs on the Tip of the gulf of Hormuz (omani part) we call them Omani Baluch.

I'm not sure but here in the UAE there is also a group of negroid baluch who speak a dialect still unkown to even the baluch themselves, they refer to themselves as Shuhooh and claim to be a mix of portugese and baluchi blood also, they live in Ras Al Khaima and they as a minority are fully integrated as part of the local arabic culture.

On a lighter note Abdullah Balkhair is a known emaraty celebrity of balushi origins, his newest song mwsyky sings in the shuhooh dialect, its pretty popular in the UAE atm.



Posted By: Alborz
Date Posted: 11-Dec-2005 at 04:35

A Case Study of Balochi Language:

University of London  By: Azim Shahbakhsh  Date: June 2000

Introduction

Part 1: 
1.1: History
1.2: Geography and Demography 

Part 2:
2.1: Language domains 
2.2: Balochi problems with development in Iran

Conclusion

Bibliography


Introduction: 

Among the many languages spoken in the world, one is Balochi meaning “Language of Baloch”. It is spoken by the Baloch people in Balochistan. For historical reasons the language has become marginalised and even for native speakers, it has become pragmatically a second language. While Balochi is probably not on the danger list of languages facing extinction, it is essential to note that the number of languages in the world is declining at an alarming rate; for instance, Crystal (1997. 286) observes that, in 1962, Trumai, spoken in a single village on the lower Culuene River in Venezuela, was reduced by an influenza epidemic to a population of fewer than 10 speakers. In the 19th century, it was thought that there were over 1,000 Indian languages in Brazil; today, there are only 200. A quarter of the world’s languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers; half have fewer 10,000. It is likely that most of these languages will die out in the next 50 years. Although Balochi is spoken over a vast area of the world, it seems to be in danger because it is decreasingly used by its speakers in official and educational situations. This paper is concerned with the Balochi language in Iran presenting the issues from two perspectives: The first is a descriptive history of this language, its relation to its family languages, its dialects, its development as for its orthography and standardization, and demographical and geographical factors. The second is concerned with the situation of Balochi today, in terms of linguistic domains, the situation of this language in Iran as for its legalization , and a comparison with other languages . A summary of Balochi phonemes and grammar is included in an appendix as well. 



Part 1:
1.1: History
 Balochi is an Iranian language. Iranian languages form a branch of the vast Indo-European family. Linguists believe the ancestral language, proto-Indo-European (PIE), was spoken around 6000 years ago, probably somewhere in western Asia or eastern Europe (Abolghassemi, 1994,5). Over time, PIE split up into several regional varieties. One of these languages, which are called Proto-Indo-Iranian, was spoken about 5000 years ago, and the best guess is that this was spoken in the east and northeast of the Caspian Sea. Then this language itself split up. One large group of people migrated toward India, where their speech eventually gave rise to the Indo-Aryan languages of India, such as the ancient Vedic and Sanskrit and the New Hindi-Urdu and Bengali. Another group migrated southward into the Iranian plateau. These people appear in history for the first time about 1000 BC, when they are mentioned in Assyrian sources (ibid. p.17). 
The Old Iranian language is divided into three periods, first one them started from 1000 BC to 732Ad / 331 BC. This period is called Old Iranian; the important languages of this period are as follows: Old Persian, Medic, Avesta, and Old Saka. The second period started from 331 BC. This period is called Middle Iranian such as Pahlavi, Sogdian, middle Saka, Balkhi. The last period started from 31 HG and continues until today. Among the important languages of this period are New Persian, Pashto, Kurdish, and Balochi. These are relevant to as new Iranian languages.
There is no document of old and middle Balochi. We can only speak about New Balochi because there is much evidence of it available. Some scientists believe that New Balochi rooted from old and Middle Balochi, but no traces of those periods remain. The Balochi language is a northwestern Iranian language, in the same category as Kurdish, Taleshi, Gilaki, Iranian central dialects, Parachi, and Ormuri languages.
Linguists believe that Balochi has a wide variety of dialects. According to Elfenbein (1968,10) Balochi consists of two main groups of dialects: Eastern dialects and Western. These two main dialects are devisable into six smaller dialects as Eastern Hill, Coastal, Rakhshani, Lashari, and Kechi. The socioeconomic division of Iranian Balochistan into a northern versus central and southern part corresponds to the main Bloch dialect divisions within Iran, namely that between the northern (Rakhshani) versus the southern (Makkorani) dialects. There are, however, as noted both by Elfenbein, (1968 pp.19-20, 23) and Spooner, (1967) some dialects, which have their own very distinct features and do not readily fit into one of the two groups mentioned above. One such dialect is that of Sarawani. No Balochi dialect has been standardized, because, it is not used in education and because of racial biases which exist among different Baloch tribes. However, in Germany, Italy, and Sweden, academics are trying to standardize one of the dialects of that language which seems to be an important language in the Middle East.
The script, which is generally used in Balochi, is derived from Arabic script. The Arabic script spread with Islam, and has generally remained fairly uniform, even when has in been used for languages belonging to totally different families, for example, Semitic, Turkish and Indo-European languages, such as Farsi, Pashto, Urdu, Kurdish, and Balochi. Balochi has a very short tradition of writing. Most works written in the 19th and early 20th centuries are by Englishmen in Roman scripts. The orthography used nowadays by the Baloch people is based on the Arabic script with Persian-Urdu conventions. There is no standard written language, and no fixed alphabets. Depending on which dialect you wish to write, the Persian and the Urdu version of the Arabic script is used. The Arabic loan words in Balochi are generally spelled in accordance with their spelling in Arabic. This leads to over representation of consonant phonemes. Vowel phonemes are, on the contrary, not fully represented because there are no symbols to show short vowels. Nowadays some linguist are trying to standardize Balochi orthography, they suggest that it is better to use Roman script in Balochi, because the Roman script is able to show all phonemes correctly whereas the Arabic script is not able to show short vowels; Roman script is able to show short vowels. However, since Baloch are Moslem, it is hard for them to apply the Roman script. In other words, Baloch prefer to use Arabic script, because it is the script of the Quran. In addition, since Baloch have no authority, they cannot legalize there own preferred script.

1.2: Geography and Demography

 The Baloch are a people divided between several different countries. Nowadays Balochi is spoken in the southeastern part of Iranian linguistic area. Today Balochi is spoken in southwestern Pakistan, southeastern Iran, southern Afghanistan, the Gulf States and Turkmenistan. There are also communities of Baloch people in East Africa and India, as well as several countries in the West; e.g. Great Britain and the USA. It is hard to estimate the total number of speakers of Balochi, especially since central governments such as Iranian government and Pakestanian regime do not generally stress ethnic identity in census reports. According to Jahani statistics available estimate that at least five to eight million Baloch speak the language (2000, 11). The majority live in Pakistan and Iran. It is impossible to obtain exact statistics of Baloch living in Iran. In 1998 Britannica Book of the Year the figure for Balochi speakers in Iran is given at 1 420 000. (Britannica Book of the Year 1998,772) In view of the difficulties of gathering exact statistics in a remote region like Balochistan, where rural life still predominates, and of the general tendency for a central government not to overestimate the size of minority groups, a figure of slightly more than 1.5 million Baloch in Iran probably comes close to the truth. There are also a certain number of persons who identify as Baloch, but without being able to speak Balochi.
Geographically, Iranian Balochistan is divided into the northern Sarhadd area, the central/southern parts comprising the Iranshahr-Bampur region, the Sarawan district, the Makkoran Mountains down almost to the coast, and a southern strip along the coast of the Sea of Oman. 
Economically this region is also divided into mainly pastoralism in the Sarhadd, where agricultural production specializes in dates and fruit, as well as pastoralism in the central/southern areas, and fishing combined with some agriculture on the coast. In the north where nomadism is the traditional basis of economy the social organization is tribal. 
Some of the major tribes in this area are the Regi, Mirbalochzahi, Somalzahi (shahbakhsh), yarmohammadzhi (shahnawazi), and Naruyi. In the central and southern parts of Iranian Balochistan, the social structure is also to a certain degree tribal, though some of the agricultural population belong to low status tribes or are non-tribal gulam “slaves”. With the introduction of education and a certain degree of urbanization in Iranian Balochistan, it is but natural that age-old socioeconomic structures are likely to undergo considerable change, a process already underway to a certain extent.


Part 2:
2.1: Language domains
One of the ways that we can see how healthy or strong a language is, is to look at where in society the language is used. So if a language is used at home, at work, in education, in business, in administration, in religion, in entertainment and in the mass media, then that language has a usage in many social domains that shows that it will continue to thrive as a language. Conversely, if we find, for instance, that elderly members of family only use a language at home, and for all other purposes a second language is used, then we can conclude that the language is weak and may even die out within a generation.
The Balochi language, which is spoken over such a vast territory, has different levels of use. In central Balochistan, it is used in almost all domains, whereas in the cities a second language-Persian- is used in a lot of areas, educational and media domains, and Balochi exists mainly as the language of home and local community. At present, it is partly lack of education that is ensuring the strength of Balochi because there are a large number of Baloch who are uneducated and have little to do with business, offices or literary activities, and thus have few domains where second language would be used. But it is good neither for the Baloch people nor the long-term health of their language. In situations of contact with major trades and official languages, people will tend towards bilingualism. In the religious domain, Balochi is used for devotional exposition in many communities, but the language of sacred text and worship is Arabic.
Woodard (1989.pp.359-360) observes that studies of minority languages have shown that for bilingual speakers where topic/domain determines which language they talk, the minority language is showing signs of weakness and decline, but where the language to speak on a particular occasion is chosen according to the participants in the exchange the minority language is not showing signs of shift to the other language. So, for example, if a Baloch feels compelled to write letters in Persian to other Bloch’s, this is a sign of retrenchment of Balochi. But if a Baloch writes letters in Persian to non-Baloch, but in Balochi to Balochs, this is a type of bilingual performance that is not a sign of language weakening.
This presents a challenge to the Baloch community, since trade, television, newspapers, and education will increasingly be a factor in the lives of more and more Baloch, bringing ever more domains in which they function in languages other than Balochi. The way to meet this challenge is clearly to extend the use of Balochi to as many of these domains as possible, and perhaps the single most powerful instrument in achieving this is mother tongue education, since mother tongue education would be a means of extending Balochi usage to many academic domains. Even if mother tongue education did not extend through the entire school curriculum, the effect of literacy and use of mother tongue in formal situations would increase greatly its domain of use.
Mother tongue education has traditionally been seen as the great hope for reversing language shift, so much so that Fishman has warned against seeing it “as a way of reviving a language unless active home use of the language is also established”(1996.p.368). So, for example, in Ireland Gaelic is taught at school and used in many government contexts, but it is still not widely used in the home or community. As a result mother tongue education cannot be expected to revive the language on its own. But Balochi is very widely spoken in the home and society. What is needed for Balochi is not so much increased use in the home, but increased use out of the home, especially in formal situations. Thus, it is hoped that with mother tongue education and literacy. Baloch will increasingly write letters, post signs, notices and bulletins, read newspapers and magazines in Balochi, as well as doing business and government administration in it. 

2.2: Balochi problems with development in Iran

Minority languages often suffer from certain political restrictions, which limit their development. A suitable example to illustrate this issue is the situation of the Kurdish language in Iran, Iraq, and certain other countries. The constitution of Persia (Iran) enacted in 1906, which was powerful during the reign of the Pahlavi monarchy, had no mention about language whatsoever. (Iran, pp.51-76) . The language policy prevalent between 1925 and 1979 was, however, that of strict uniformity. There was to be one nation with one language, namely Persian. Other Iranian languages spoken within the borders of Iran were regarded as local dialects of Persian. Under such circumstances there was, of course, no provision made by the government for mother tongue education or even cultural activities or publication in the minority language.

According to the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, chapter 1, article 15, in addition to the official language Persian, “the use of the local and ethnic languages in the press and mass media is allowed. The teaching of the ethnic literature in the schools, together with Persian language instruction is also permitted”. (Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran, 1979, pp.8-10). This means that it is in principle permitted to publish books and newspapers in Balochi, but at present there is no such publication-taking place in Iran. When it comes to teaching Balochi literature in the school, there is of course no provision being made for such a subject due to the almost total lack of Balochi literature. As for radio programmers, the situation is different, and Radio Zahedan has daily broadcasts in Balochi. In fact, these broadcasts date back at least to the 1960s, thus to the time of the Pahlavi monarchy. Although the government propagandizes that it tries to help the improvement of the Balochi language and other minority languages, it has not gone further than propagation. The fact is that it has remained as a written act and not an executed article.

All the limitations that were made by Iranian governments show that the government and Iranian nationalists are worried about the fact that the Balochi language can become a symbol of the Baloch people’s national identity. A very clear example of this is seen in the history of the Basque (euskera), and the attitude towards it by the Spanish government under Franco, from 1937 until the mid 1950s. The teaching of the language in schools was forbidden, as was its use in the media, church ceremonies, and all public places. Books in the language were publicly burnt. Basque names were no longer allowed in baptism, and all names in the language on official documents were translated into Spanish. Inscriptions on public buildings and tombstones were removed. By the early 1960s, official policy changed. Nowadays Basque is permitted in all linguistic, cultural, and political activities (Crystal, 1997.34). But the Iranian authorities appear to have learned lessons from the situation in Spain, particularly that the success of the Basque language was seen to be linked with the nationalist aspirations of the Basque people, a situation they were keen to avoid in Iran. Consequently, they are going to so pressurize the Balochs that this minority cannot ask for separation. However, this reaction is not beneficial for the Iranian government because if a culture and its people are suppressed, it will change into a dangerous nationalism, and this is why some Baloch literate are acting secretly to develop their language and culture.

In the history of the world, languages have always come and gone, but in the present time there are some factors which have never existed previously, and which threaten many of the world’s languages in a way they have never been threatened before. The first is that, with the growing world population and with ever increasing mobility, there are getting to be very few people who have had no contact with speakers of other languages, and the vast majority of people have regular contact with speakers of other languages. The second is that the spread and use of electronic media and communications are growing exponentially. At times it appears that Balochi, spoken largely by semi-nomadic shepherds or rural farmers and fishermen in the huge open expanses of Balochistan, would be unaffected by the developments in urban business and leisure communications. But it is necessary to note that among the Baloch in Iran within a single generation storytelling has been replaced by radio, then by television, then video, then satellite as a means of family entertainment. In other words, a language will not develop, according to Crystal (1998. 82) unless it is used by mass media, and also he adds that, “When we investigate why so many nations have in recent years made English an official language or chosen it as their chief foreign language in school, one of the most important reasons is that, always educational- in the broadest sense”(ibid.101). As a result, the application of a language in education is also very important in the development of that language.


Conclusion:

As I have tried to show in the previous section, the Balochi language is one of the new Iranian languages used in Iran and has different dialects. However, due to current restricting laws, which have not allowed the Balochi language to be used in education and official contexts, this language has not developed, and the Baloch people have to use Persian, which is their second language as the official language. Practically, the Balochi language is going to be their second language. To develop this language, the laws should be changed so that it can be used in education, and mass media. Meanwhile, to standardize this language, one of its dialects should be given prior and prominent salience.

Although a great many restrictions have been imposed on this language. It has been the center of a lot of research in countries other than Iran. For instance, in Pakistan, Italy, Sweden, and Germany, academics work on it and there are even some departments giving degrees on research about the Balochi language. Hence, while in Iran this language is ignored, elsewhere there exits great interest in it. This is an unsettling situation which must change. The fear is that, Blochi will otherwise join that growing list of languages, which have died and now exist only as museum pieces. 

Bibliography

Abolghassemi, M, 1994, A history of the Persian language, Tehran.

Britannica Book of the Year_1998, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc, Chicago 1998.

Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, transl. From Persian by Hamid . Alggar, Berkeley1980.

Crystal, D, 1997,The Cambridge encyclopedia of language, Cambridge University Press 1997.

-------------, 1998, English As A Global language, Cambridge University Press 1998.

Elfenbein, 1968, The Balochi Language, A Dialectology with Texts, London.

Farrell, T, 1990 Basic Balochi ,Naples. Institute of Oriental Studies

Fishman, J, 1989, Language and Ethnicity in Minority Sociolinguistic Perspective, Clevedon-Philadelphia.

Iran, 1969, Published by the Ministry of Information, Tehran.

Jahani,C, 1989, Standardization And Orthography in the Balochi Language, Uppsala.

Language in Society-Eight Sociolinguistic Essays on Balochi2000,ed by Carina Jahani , Uppsala.

Mahmoodzahi,M, 1998 Comparative study between Balochi and Old Iranian Languages, Tehran.

Spooner, B, Notes on the Baluchi Spoken in Persian Baluchisa,pp.51-71in,Iran Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies,5(1967).

Woolard,K, Language Convergence and Language Death as Social Processes , pp.355-367 in Investigating obsolescence: Studies in Language Contraction and Death ,ed.by N.Dorian, Cambridge 1989.

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"Who so shall worship Ahura Mazda, divine blessing will be upon him, both while living and when dead" Darius The Great


Posted By: Alborz
Date Posted: 11-Dec-2005 at 04:37

Baloch and Baloch Culture

Baloch culture is rich, varied and deep-rooted. Balochistan held one of the earliest human settlements in the World in Mehrgarh around 7,000 - 3,000 B.C. There are plenty of evidence and artifacts concerning the richness of Balochi culture throughout centuries. Balochistan is one of the ancient inhibited land. The history goes back to around 15,000 years ago.  During the last century French archaeologists discovered a new site in Balochistan at Mehergarh (Mehregan), which is believed to be the earliest civilization in the world. It pre-dates the civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The site was occupied from 7,000 B.C. to 2,000 B.C. and it is the earliest Neolithic site  where "we have first evidence of domestication of animals and cereal cultivation - wheat and barely - and also the centre for craftsmanship as early as 7.000 B.C.There are many historical sites across Eastern Balochistan (politically part of Pakistan), Western Balochistan (politically part of Iran), and Northern Balochistan (politically part of Afghanistan). The Burn City in northern Balochistan is a unique archeological site and a prime proof of sophistication, engineering and planning. Evidence from these sites show a very clear deep rooted history of civilisation, craftsmanship and exploitation. Amir Tavakol Kambozia wrote that Cupper was first discovered in Balochistan. It was transported from Balochistan to present day Iraq by water-born vessels. The names Baloch and Balochistan appears in literatures as old as 2000 years ago.

The Baloch had a very successful methodology in irrigation and agriculture as well as in cultivation and husbandry. You can read a great deal in the history section. Despite the brutal political oppressions in Balochistan, the Balochi literature has emerged strong and vibrant. Baloch poetry is one of the most beautiful poetry and one of the oldest in the World. In Baloch culture poetry has always been combined with music. Balochi music and folklore has been passed from generation to generation as a valuable art. Baloch handicraft are world-renowned - be it Baloch carpets and rugs or embroidery. The Baloch are very hospitable, nice and friendly. They are generally intelligent, learned, well-informed, initiated, cultivated, socially accomplished  and politically attentive. Culturally, they are rich and self-dependent. The deliberate deprivation is a political tool used by the central governments of Iran and Pakistan in order to ensure Balochistan and particularly the Baloch people are kept back-ward.

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"Who so shall worship Ahura Mazda, divine blessing will be upon him, both while living and when dead" Darius The Great


Posted By: Alborz
Date Posted: 11-Dec-2005 at 07:30

Baloch Traditions

Birth of a child
The occasion of the birth of either a male or a female child was marked with much music and singing. The women folk attended the mother for seven nights and sang sipatt or nazink , literally meaning songs of praise. Food and sweets were prepared and distributed. The birth of a boy was greeted with greater rejoicing than the birth of a girl. Among some tribes no ceremonies were performed on the birth of a girl, while among other tribes usual ceremonies were performed from birth to death. They included birth, sasigan (selecting name on sixth day), burruk (circumcision), padgami (child's beginning to walk) and salwar (wearing of trousers) etc.
 

Marriage
 Marriages which generally took place after puberty were performed with ceremonies which included music, dancing and distribution of food. The girl was usually a few years junior to the boy. Marriage was arranged to a closely knit family. Expenses of food prepared on either side was borne by the bridegroom. To meet the expenses and amount of labb, bride price, relatives of the bridegroom collected bijjari, subscriptions from friends and relative. Traditionally, everyone who was asked gave according to his means. Sheeps, cows, goats or camels were also presented as bijjar. Relatives of the bride also collected bijjar called giwari on the marriage evening. The general characteristics of a wedding included negotiations by parents and other relatives. All details were agreed upon and the wedding was formalized later on. Labb was fixed before hand. Sang or harbarsindi, betrothal, was the first step. The expenses, pardach, was incurred by the bridegroom. Pardach was paid in cash and kind before by the marriage date. It also included embroidered clothes and other essential articles for the bride. Sang was almost as absolute as the marriage itself. After engagement, the parents of the girl were bound to give the hand of the lady to the person to whom she was betrothed. There was no backing-out from either side save in exceptional circumstances. Only in rare cases, could the man forego his fiancée, distar.
Sahbadal or system of exchange of girls between families without stipulations paid was also prevalent. Sometimes conditions were made that a daughter born of a marriage would be given to relations of bride's parents. However, if there was a marked difference in the ages or personal attractions of would-be-bride and bridegroom, it would then be compensated in money by either side. Betrothal in childhood among close relatives was also common.

The date of marriage was usually announced well in advance and all the relatives and friends were duly informed. In former times, the invitation for participation was sent to the entire clan which then selected the individuals for taking part in the ceremonies on their behalf. However, at a much latter stage, the invitations were sent to individuals and family heads. The persons sent for inviting the people, Lotuki, included singers and dancers who started singing and dancing before entering a village. The party would then be feasted by the village headman before their return.

A few days before the event, a kapar or a large wooden tent was built, a few yards from the home of the bridegroom. In coastal areas this temporary tent was called mangeer where more than on marriage ceremonies were performed. This was built for the occasion by the people under supervision of the village headman. All ceremonies including dancing and singing were performed there. This would also serve as a guest house for visitors from the nearby villages. Among peculiar customs, korag, was most prominent. The bridegroom was taken a few furlongs outside the settlement, as the word connotes, most probably to the riverside, in the evening, where arrangements were made for his bath and make-up. He would then mount no horseback or camel and was brought to diwanjah or mangeer amid much singing and dancing.
Another peculiar custom was that a week before the marriage, the girl was secluded from the rest of the family. Only the closest female relatives and friends could visit her. During this period she was also briefed regarding her duties and responsibilities after marriage. After sun-set the bridegroom profusely arrayed, accompanied by close friends and relatives moved to the bride's house where proper arrangements were made. Formal wedding was performed after the guests were feasted.

HAL
Hal was giving and receiving news when one chanced to meet another. It was an obligation, and always reciprocal. A person must communicate the latest happenings which may include the prices of essential goods in a nearby market or some political events o a more serious nature. This helped in conveying the latest happening in remote areas. When travelling in groups, the hal was given by the elderly person of noble birth. This was called chehabar. To reveal or receive hal was a mark of distinction.

MESTAGI
Mestagi was the reward for giving good news as birth of a son, news of the arrival of a lost relative or report of a victory in the battle. It was appropriate and according to the good news conveyed.

Diwan
The Baloch had an open society with its unique charachteristic of equality and freedom, which is now deep-rooted. Every Baloch was expected to be active member of the tribe. He took part in discussion in diwan which was open to everyone, at the house of the Sardar or the elder. Sometimes there were separate place, diwanjah, for such getherings. Social, political and economic peoblems concerning the tribe were debated in these assemblies. Diwan literally means gathering or assembly. Diwan in it formal nature was to be participated in by the elders and elected personalities. In all informal get-togethers everybody felt his presence. This spirt had made the Baloch into a close knit tribal structure based on mutual benefit and loss.
The house of the leader, or diwanjah was the place where history, legends, ballads, drama, lyrics and tales of love were told and sung. Every one wished that he could exert himself and attract others by his knowledge and manners during such discussions.

The Baloch Names and Titles
Traditionally the name of a child was chosen a few days after birth, mostly on the sixth. The child was given a name of some worthy forefather who was not alive. But at the first instance, he was given an alternate name. As the Baloch had great respect for their departed elders, they gave names to the children formally, but in the meantime alternate names were chosen because the children by those would be receiving rebukes, which was considered an insult even to those names and alway avoided.
The Baloch borrowed names from animals, trees, plants, colours and even parts of the body. Names were also derived from the name of week days.
Father's name was sometimes added to the actual name, as Chakar-e-Saihakk (Chakar son of Saihakk) or Haibitan Murad (Haibitan son of Murad). This practice most probably has crept into Baloch culture through Arabic influences at a much later stage.

Shahi Darbar
When the British Government took over the area completely they exploited the occasion for their political motives. They gave it a proper shapes, in order to attract greater attention of the people of different areas. The first British agent of the Governor General and Chief Commissioner in Balochistan, Captain Sir Robert Sandeman introduced the Shahi Darbar during the year 1882 held on the occasion of the Horse and Cattle Show. They used to grant Sanads, Khil'ats and other awards in the Shahi Darbar. Contented with the settled life, most of Sardars used to express their loyalties on this occasion.
The significance of the occasion can not be denied. Now it is at times small assembly of people to come together, sit together and discuss together their problems and find out ways and means to solve them. The system was reformed with the advent of independence and the people started, hinking in different terms The name of the Shahi Darbar was, therefore, changed to the Shahi Jirga, ultimately the word of "shah" was done away with and it was named as Divisional Jirga. Its importance could be well realised from the fact that since inception of Pakistan. The Heads of the State, the Prime Minister and other dignitaries have graced the occasion by attending this function. They included Father of the Nation, Ouaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who visited Sibi in his capacity as the first governor-general.
Now councillors' convention is arranged on the occasion, which is attended by the government officials notables and people's representatives. The tribal Sardars attend the Jirga in their traditional robes consisting mostly of very loose shirts. Showers and 'Patches' all in white, and locally made chapels.The Chief Executive of the Province gives a resume of the Governmental activities in different fields.
The Annual Sibi Week has now taken shape of more or less of a national festival. It begins with the Horse and Cattle show in which almost all domestic animals of the area. Specially horses and cattle take part. The Show plays an important part in improving economy of the people of the area; they make transactions to the tune of lakhs of rupees on this occasion. Besides Horse and Cattle Show, a number of items have been added in order to make the week more attractive.

Cultural Anthropology of Baluchis in Iran Summary: The Baluchis are the ancient genuine Iranians who have their exclusive and special celebrations and feats.

Pir Mohammad Mulla Zehi who is an expert in the Baluchi culture has studied selected examples of such ceremonies and has classified them into two categories of cooperation and feats.

Beggari, Hashar, Bagi, Divan, Mayar, Karch-va-Kapon, Patardeyag, Mangir and Sepat are among the said ceremonies that are discussed in the following article.

Text: For a curious visitor who arrives in Baluchistan, the first interesting issue that attracts the attention most is the way Baluchis are dressed up. Baluchi people have preserved their way of clothing with a slight change.

Men wear long shirts, loose pants and a turban around their heads while women put on loose dress and pants with needle works that are special of the people of the area and is not common in other parts of the country. The upper part of the dress and sleeves are decorated with needle works, an artistic work that is specific of the clothing of the women Baluchis. They cover their hair with a scarf that is called `Sarig' in the local dialect and wear `chador' over it.

Baluchi women usually put on gold ornaments such as necklace and bracelet but their special jewelry is `Dorr' or heavy earrings that are fastened to the head with gold chains so that their heavy weight will not cause the tearing of the ear. They usually wear a gold brooch called `Tasni' that are made by local jewelers in various shapes and are used to fasten the two parts of the dress over the chest.

Apart from the dressing style of the Baluchis, there are interesting points in the way they live and in their traditions and customs that this article tries to illustrate in parts. Indigenous and local traditions and customs were of greater importance to the Baluchis in the past as apparently up to about half a century ago when the central government established its control over Baluchistan, local governments of the chieftains were imposed as the individual dictatorships. Therefore, it can be concluded that there were no formulated laws and regulations in order to regulate social behaviors. Only the rules of the religion were valid and practicable. Under such circumstances, traditions and customs in fact filled the vacuum caused by the absence of laws which were used in the regulation of many social relations and therefore enjoyed special credit among the Baluchi tribal people.

Abdolghaffar Nadim in his book `Gashin' that is written in Baluchi language says: "The Baluchi folklore is being inspired by the Baluchi way of life and, therefore, could have addressed many needs of the tribal people who were forced to settle their disputes on the basis of their traditions and customs in the absence of a powerful central government."

Here, it is only enough to review the Baluchi traditions within the two categories of cooperation and feasts:

A. COOPERATION

1. Beggari or Bejaari: This is a custom specific of the time when the Baluchi youth reaches the age of marriage but apparently his family cannot afford the marriage expenses due to their economic condition. Under such circumstances, the youth would go to his relatives and friends and would discuss with them his decision about marriage and would ask for their `Beggari', or in other words, their contribution.

Such a tradition is so strongly respected that even the poorest member of the family cannot remain indifferent towards such a demand and feels obliged to pay a certain amount of money in cash or offer material aid. Lack of participation in such a benevolent affair will cause humiliation and disgrace for the Baluch who would be rejected in the Baluchi community. Therefore, although Beggari is a voluntary contribution, however, a social compulsion can be traced in it somehow. Even in the case of those who have no children and cannot benefit from the advantages of Beggari in future, participation in this benevolent act guarantees further social credit. As a result of this, marriage is being made more easily among Baluchis as the community is meeting the cost.

2. Hashar: This is a custom that is applied when an individual cannot perform a task alone and needs help of the others. As working for money is not customary among Baluchis, those who need help would go to their relatives and friends and would inform them of their decision to do a special job on a specific day and for that purpose they need a certain number of work force. Under such circumstances, as many volunteers may join the collective work without being paid.

If the work is accomplished within a day, the only thing that the employer has to do is to prepare lunch and dinner for the workers by usually slaughtering a sheep for making the required food. If the work takes longer, more preparations will be made and new volunteers will substitute the previous ones. However, there would be enough volunteers to complete the work through collective cooperation, as it is not customary to give a negative response to the call for contribution.

Such a habit is mostly customary in rural areas where people are mainly engaged in agriculture where Hashar is being practiced in various stages of the work from cultivation to harvest. It is also widely practiced in building rural houses and bridges and in collecting dates. Such a habit is still practiced given its positive social effects despite the fact that working for money is gradually established among the Baluchis.

3. Bagi: This habit was widely practiced in the past while these days it is losing importance in areas going through the trend of urbanization. In the practice of such a habit, people are used to cook extra food and would distribute it among needy people in their neighborhood. Those who were well off and could have better nutrition would carefully observe this. The positive social impact of such a tradition has removed the negative feeling of humiliation as receiving Bagi is not tantamount to receiving donations but rather is some sort of contribution among neighbors and is not limited to a specific person or a specific family. Bagi is not merely confined to foodstuffs but is performed in a wider dimension that forges greater convergence among neighbors and minimizes probable disputes. At the meantime, it helps fair distribution of limited facilities.

4. Divan: Among Baluchi people, settlement of disputes in their everyday life is of great importance. In order to solve problems, people would gather in a place and while studying various aspects of disputes, they try to find the best possible solution in an effort to secure satisfaction of the parties involved. The place in the local dialect is called `Divan' and is normally a house that belongs to the eldest member of the community.

Of course Divan is not merely exclusive for the settlement of disputes but is also used for exchange of information and consultations for the coordination of affairs. However, the significance of Divan at the time of the settlement of disputes lies in the fact that although decision-making at Divan is not legally valid, however, it is applicable and is rarely ignored by the parties to the dispute. The reason is that presence of the gathering at the place is to some extent the executive and moral guarantee for the parties to the dispute and if one party for any reason ignores the agreement reached at Divan, in fact it would damage its own social credibility. If Divan fails to settle the dispute, the case will be solved on the basis of the rules of the religion.

The two parties to the dispute will be brought to the clergy in the area who will judge between the two. The religious ruling will be usually issued at the mosque in order to secure a stronger guarantee for its application. But, this is not necessarily essential as the ruling can be also issue in Divan or at any other places.

The habit of Divan is being gradually forgotten in both rural and urban areas but it is still being enforced among tribal Baluchis. Laws in fact have substituted Divan and the elderly people are still settling regulations in rural and urban areas but not completely as in primary stages attempts are made to resolve the disputes through local traditions and at the Divans of the elderly.

5. Mayar: The habit is inspired by a social reality and need for the support of the oppressed against the oppressor. When a powerful individual is oppressing a powerless person for any reason, the former can seek help from a stronger person who has enough power to defend his right. Given the undertakings that the host feels towards the person who seeks help as `Mayar', he is free either to accept the demand or deny it.

But, as soon as he accepts, the social tradition puts the responsibility of the Mayar's defense on the shoulder of the host. Of course, the importance of the habit becomes further evident when the person who seeks help is not guilty and whose rights have been trampled upon. However, when the person seeks help according to the tradition of Mayar, he becomes a member of the family and tribe of the host and can enjoy his support until his problem is solved.

Sometimes the situation will remain unchanged forever and the person who seeks help will remain in the new condition. Therefore, it will become part of the responsibility of the host to find a job for the person who seeks help and puts enough capital at his disposal. This will help enable the powerless people to defend themselves against the oppressors.

6. Karch-va-Kapon: This tradition is practiced when a person for any reason kills someone else, either intentionally or unintentionally. Under such circumstances an unreasonable feeling of revenge will afflict the Baluchi tribes to the extent that no matter to what tribe the murderer belonged, if he is out of reach, a member of his family or one of his relatives can be killed in his place or, in other words, take revenge.

Under these circumstances many innocent people will become victim of such a revenge merely for belonging to a certain family or tribe. At this moment, in an effort to prevent further bloodshed, the elderly members of the family resort to the custom of `shroud and knife.' They send the murderer together with a knife and a piece of white cloth to the family of the person who has been killed and they are free either to punish him or forgive him. However, punishment of the murderer is not a proven act from social and scientific points of view while forgiveness is the manifestation of generosity.

For this reason, the murderer will be forgiven and returned to his family. Sometimes it may happen that in order to remove all the hostilities and misunderstandings, the two families prepare marriages as a means to put aside differences. Of course, sometimes ransom would be demanded. In that case the family of the murderer or the tribe to which he belongs will pay the money. Although prosecution of the murderer falls within the authority of the law, however, there are still evidences indicating that tribal people are willing to safeguard the tradition of `shroud and knife'.

7. Patardeyag: This habit is practiced when there is a quarrel between two or more members of a tribe. The side that is guilty of fomenting the quarrel accepts to apologize but not verbally rather through a mediator who is usually an elderly of the tribe. No matter how deep the difference, the other party usually accepts the apology, as its rejection will cause criticism of others.

Following the acceptance of the apology, the side that had fomented the quarrel will invite the other party to a dinner party through the mediator and a sheep is slaughtered on the occasion. There is no need for verbal apology and normally no word would be said about issues causing the dispute. Holding the Patardeyag ceremony implies acceptance of the apology and removal of all differences.

B. FEATS
 

1. Mangir: The important Baluchi traditions are mainly in connection with their ceremonies and feats. The marriage ceremony stands prominently among such festivities as it goes through different stages starting from engagement to the wedding ceremony. Public participation in the wedding ceremony is normal as in other parts of the country but with slight differences. But there is one exclusive difference in the Baluchi wedding ceremony and that is the Mangir ceremony. It seems that the ceremony is a habit acquired by the Baluchi tribes from other people such as African slaves who have been probably brought from Africa to Baluchistan. Mangir is the ceremony for the simultaneous mass marriage of several couples for various reasons, notably economic considerations. What further supports the idea is the holding of mass wedding ceremony among lower class people of the society. This would not only reduce the costs but would also economize in time as in the past wedding ceremonies used to last for seven days.


2. Sepat: Festivities that are held in Baluchistan at the time of the birth of new babies are called Sepat. Some parts of the ceremonies are influenced by superstitious presumptions believing that both the baby and the mother are threatened by a genie called Aal as it awaits the opportunity to seize and swallow the liver of the baby and the mother. Therefore, in order to prevent such a happening the relatives of the mother and the baby stay awake for several nights and pray to God and seek His help in order to protect the mother and the baby against the genie. However, there are good and bad habits among the Baluchi tribes that demand more research works and studies. The Baluchis are known for their cultural specifications such as hospitality, faithfulness, and moral commitment as well as deep-rooted religious beliefs and attachment to their homeland.

CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

In Baloch society an offence against the individual such as theft or robbery was a corporate against the entire tribe.  Any contravention was punished according to the nature of the crime committed.  But if the offence was committed outside the tribe, it was considered an offence against that tribe.  The individual acts consequently would become the responsibility of the tribes concerned.  His family and the entire people suffered.  The opposing tribesmen could revenge the guilt in an appropriate manner, not necessarily against that particular individual but against any person belonging to the tribe of the offender.

Sentence for misdemeanor was the payment of appropriate fine or compensating the loss of property in case of theft or robbery.   Sometimes robbery was also punished with death.  Punishment of corporate crime was outlawry of person, that is, disowning the individual and declaring him isolated from the tribe.  This was one of the major punishments and rarely awarded.  In that case he was also banished from the area.

There is least evidence of awarding punishment of dore kassag, tearing to pieces by horses; pahao, hanging, which was awarded to traitors and the enemy agents.  These forms of punishment nevertheless were clearly a later addition and not the original Baloch practices.  Beheading was the common mode of inflicting the sentence.  There is, however, no evidence of any permanent hangman or jallad among the Baloch for the purposes of executing criminals.  In Kalat State, there was no permanent post of a hangman.  Death sentence, however, was always awarded in public.

There is no evidence of punishment of death by drowning, throwing from rock, burning or burying alive, pouring molten lead on the criminal, starvation in the dungeons, tearing to death by red hot pincers, cutting asunder and stoning to death, or the Persian and Mughal practices of blinding and maiming.   Most of these forms of punishment were prevalent in Semitic societies and sanctioned by Mosaic Law , (Jews used these forms of punishments against the conquered peoples in Palestine in the Biblical times), and later on crept into many cultures through Islam.

In case of murder the relatives of the deceased had the inalienable right to claim blood for blood; and this claim had the tribal code of conduct, the deceased family and the entire tribal strength behind it.  The murderer could be forgiven only by the nearest kin.  Among a few tribes blood compensation was given by the offender or his family.  Relatives of the offender had to accept the punishment and were obliged to agree to the award if no settlement was reached.  Extreme torture or dishonouring was against the tribal norms.  Torture to low-castes involving serious crimes was sometimes perpetrated.  The Baloch thought it more honourable to be beheaded than hanged.  Other modes of capital punishment were insulating.

The only crime which could invoke death penalty or banishment besides treason was adultery.  Sometimes mere suspicion of unfaithfulness by wife was sufficient to put her to death.  The man would also get the same punishment.  But among some tribes who were alleged to be inferior in caste, the adulterous woman was divorced and the adulterer was obliged to marry her.  In case of adultery there was no need for the aggrieved husband to resort to any tribal council to get a decision.  He himself inflicted the sentence.  The unmarried women or widows get punishment from their near relatives.

A very peculiar cultural trait was that even the criminal or offender, if apprehended, would never tell a lie even in the face of instant punishment.  This was against his sense of honour and pride.  he was always truthful.  This made torture to extract information or confession of guilt quite unnecessary.

Among the ancient Baloch, like other Aryan groups, trial by ordeal was perhaps in vogue.  The culprit had to prove his innocence by walking through the fire or putting his hands on a hot rod.  In Balochi folk stories there are numerous instances when the innocence of the offender had to be proved by putting his hands on the hot stones, tapag. This practice was perhaps discarded early in the Christian era.

In most cultures any child of less than ten years was usually considered incapable or guilt on the ground that he or she was too young to differentiate between right and wrong.  The practice was completely reversed among the Baloch.  The Baloch child had a penetrating sense regarding his enemies and friends.  Old blood accounts sometimes were settled by persons of less than ten years.  A Baloch child took part in battles.  Therefore, the case of guilt or criminal responsibility for the minor was always judged according to circumstances and merit of the case.  The members of the family of the minor would have to bear the responsibility of his guilt if the crime was provoked by them.  The home of any Baloch elder was a safe refuge and place of protection for all the offenders of law till the decision of the dispute through the Jirga or med.

http://www.balochonline.com/Culture/Traditions.asp - http://www.balochonline.com/Culture/Traditions.asp

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want to Know more, I dont want to post everything, check out this site, it also has alot of links to other Baloch related materials.

http://www.balochonline.com



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"Who so shall worship Ahura Mazda, divine blessing will be upon him, both while living and when dead" Darius The Great


Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 12-Dec-2005 at 18:43
Clarifying what has ben said above, while Sistan and Baluchestan is one province today, they are culturally separated. So a sistani of the past and presense is not the same as a baluch of the past and presense.



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