Brahui people

The Brahui (Brahui: براہوئی), Brahvi, or Brohi are a subset of the Baloch people, historically organized as a tribal confederacy of pastoralists. They are principally found in Pakistan, and to a smaller extent in Afghanistan and Iran. They speak Brahui, which belongs to the Dravidian language family. Although linguistically distinct, the Brahui are ethnically Baloch and not a separate ethnic group.^[2]

The main ethnic groups of Pakistan

Brahui (a Baloch tribal confederacy)

براہوئی بلوچ
A group of Brahui tribesmen
Total population
c. 3 million
Regions with significant populations
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran
Pakistan	2,778,670 (2023 census) [only includes those who speak Brahui as mother tongue][1]
Languages
Brahui, Balochi
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Baloch people, Dravidian people

Etymology

The origin of the word "Brahui" remains uncertain and has been subject to multiple hypotheses. Mikhail Andronov proposed a derivation from Dravidian, meaning "northern hillmen." However, Josef Elfenbein found this unconvincing and suggested a derivation from the Saraiki (Jaṭki) term brāhō, referring to the prophet Abraham — possibly used to distinguish neo-Muslim nomadic pastoralists who migrated into Sindh from the Western Deccan around a millennium ago and adopted Islam.^[3]

Regional historical narratives, as cited by Baloch historians and oral traditions, propose that the Brahui identity may have emerged through tribal confederacies formed by returning Baloch migrants. These groups, including Mengal, Langove, Mohammad Hassani, Zehri, Raisani, Shahwani, and others, were united under Mir Ibrahim Khan Qambrani, who is regarded as the founder of the Brahui Confederacy. In this context, the name "Brahui" is believed to have originated from the name of this confederacy, which itself was named in honor of Mir Ibrahim Khan. The term "Brahui" thus functioned initially as a sociolinguistic and political label, rather than an original ethnic designation.^[4]

Origins

Brahui people near Quetta in 1910

The origins of the Brahuis have often been debated, with some linguistic theories linking them to Dravidian-speaking populations of central and eastern India. However, such hypotheses rely solely on phonological similarities and lack historical continuity or cultural evidence.^[3]

According to Naseer Dashti, the Brahuis are descendants of Barezui Baloch tribes who migrated from the Barez Mountains of Kerman following Buyid persecution. Upon settling in Sarawan and Jhalawan, they referred to themselves as Brahui Baloch, a name derived from Ibrahim Khan Qambarani, an early leader of the confederacy.^[5] Their identity has always been Baloch, and the Brahui designation reflects regional and political consolidation—not ethnic separation.

While some speculative reconstructions rely on genetics or linguistic isolates, the historical record and tribal memory consistently place the Brahuis within the broader Baloch ethnos. As Kokaislová and Kokaisl affirm, Brahui-speaking communities—even outside Pakistan—continue to identify as Baloch of the Brahui tribe.^[6]

Linguistic and genetic origins

The linguistic and genetic origins of the Brahui people have been the subject of scholarly and regional debate. The absence of Old Iranian (Avestan) loanwords in Brahui challenges the hypothesis of its ancient presence in the Iranian plateau. The main Iranian contributor to Brahui vocabulary is Balochi, a Western Iranian language that entered the region from the west (Kurdistan area) around 1000 CE. ^[7][8]

Genetic studies show that Brahui-speaking populations do not exhibit a distinct genetic affinity to Dravidian-speaking groups of India. Instead, their genetic profile closely matches neighboring Indo-European-speaking populations of Balochistan. The "ancient Dravidian genetic substrate" found across Pakistani and South Asian populations does not indicate a direct link between Brahui and other Dravidian groups, thereby supporting the relict hypothesis — that Brahui is a linguistic remnant rather than a marker of separate ethnic origin.^[9]

Multiple sources confirm that Brahui speakers are ethnically Baloch and consistently self-identify as such. Historically, the term "Brahui" referred to a tribal confederacy composed of several Baloch tribes, including Mengal, Langove, Mohammad Hassani, Zehri, Raisani, Shahwani, and others. This confederacy was founded by Mir Ibrahim Khan Qambrani, and the name "Brahui" is believed to have originated from this political union. The Brahui language became the medium of communication within the confederacy, while the ethnic identity of its members remained Baloch.^[10]

Linguist Asko Parpola has proposed that the Brahui people may be remnants of the Harappan culture of the Indus Valley Civilization, whose language was likely Dravidian.^[11]

History

The Brahui Balochs have traditionally been nomadic agro-pastoralists. The formation of a tribal confederacy—later known as the Khanate of Kalat—was a political response to increasing Mughal encroachment, especially under Shah Jahan, into the grazing lands and migratory routes of Baloch tribes in Sarawan and Jhalawan.^[3]

According to Dashti (2012), the confederacy was led by the Mirwari tribe and composed primarily of Barezui-origin Baloch tribes who had migrated from the Barez Mountains of Kerman following Buyid persecution. In these regions, they referred to themselves as Brahui Baloch, a designation rooted in the name of Ibrahim Khan Qambarani, an early leader of the confederacy.

The Khanate was formally established by Ahmad Khan I, a chieftain of the Mirwari tribe, in the 1660s. It derived its strength from a complex system of inter-tribal alliances with other Baloch tribes and Dehwaris. Despite nominal suzerainty to Persia and Afghanistan at times, the Khanate expanded significantly and reached its zenith under Nasir Khan I in the late eighteenth century.^[3]

British expansion into the subcontinent and territorial pressures from Persia eventually compelled Kalat to accept protectorate status. Following the Partition of India in 1947, the Khanate was annexed into Pakistan, despite widespread opposition among the Baloch population.^[3]

Language and literature

According to Elfenbein, only about 15% of the Brahui tribesmen are primary speakers of the Brahui language; only two nuclear tribes speak Brahui as a primary language.^[12] Half of the rest may be secondary speakers of Brahui with Balochi as the primary language, while the other half are estimated to speak no Brahui "at all".^[12] The language belongs to the Dravidian language family and is, hence, a geographical isolate.^[12] It has extensively borrowed from Balochi and other languages of the area; linguist David W. McAlpin characterised it as an "etymological nightmare".^[13] There are three dialects with no significant variation: Sarawani (spoken in the north), Jhalawani (spoken in the southeast), and Chaghi (spoken in the northwest and west).^[13]

No significant corpus of Brahui literature exists; the earliest extant work is Tuḥfat al-aja īb (lit. Gift of Wonders), a translation from Persian by Malikdad Gharsin Qalati, c. 1759–1760, a court poet of Nasir Khan I.^[3][12] The Perso-Arabic script currently in use was developed c. 1900 out of the efforts of Mulla Nabo-Jan and Maulana Fazl Mohammed Khan Darkhani for spreading Islamic revivalist ideas.^[3][12] Literacy rates among Brahuis remained very low as the late as 1990s.^[13]

Geographic distribution

Pakistan

The Brahuis predominantly inhabit a narrow belt known as Brahuistan, stretching from Bolan Pass near Quetta through the Brāhui Hills to Ras Muari in the Arabian Sea,^[14] mainly the Mastung, Kalat, Nushki and Las Bela districts.^[12] Kalat separates the area into a northern part, known as Sarawan, and a southern part, known as Jhalawan.^[3]

Other countries

Large numbers of nomadic and semi-nomadic Brahui speakers are found in Afghanistan, primarily in the Shorawak desert, in an area extending west of Nushki along the Helmand river into Iranian Sistan.^[12] In Iran, Brahui are restricted to the north of Sistan; in 1909, G. P. Tate did come across a few Brahui as far south as Khash.^[12][3]

Some Brahui are also found in Turkmenistan, mainly in the Merv oasis, where their ancestors migrated from British India in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in search of employment.^[12] According to Kokaislová and Kokaisl (2012), the Brahuis in Turkmenistan arrived alongside Balochi-speaking nomads from Iran and Afghanistan and became fully assimilated by the 1960s. While older generations retained elements of their native Dravidian language, most Brahuis in Turkmenistan now speak Balochi and identify as Baloch. They consider themselves Baloch from the Brahui tribe—Baloch who speak the Brahui language and belong to the Brahui clan structure.^[6]

Tribes and population

The number of Brahui tribes has varied over time, reflecting the political dynamics of the Brahui-led Baloch Confederacy. During the reign of Nasir Khan I, when the Khanate of Kalat reached its peak, the confederacy included eight core tribes and seven peripheral ones. By the time of the last Khan, twelve additional peripheral tribes had joined the confederacy. These additions were not the result of ethnic divergence, but rather the integration of other Baloch tribes into the Brahui-led political structure.

The 1911 census was the only formal attempt to enumerate the Brahui as a distinct ethnic group. However, this classification was externally imposed. Most Brahui tribesmen have always identified themselves as Baloch, and continue to do so today. As Elfenbein notes, this self-identification has led to undercounting in official records. His 1996 estimate suggested around 700,000 Brahui tribesmen, while the 2023 Census of Pakistan recorded 2.78 million Brahui-language speakers across the country. As noted by Kokaislová and Kokaisl (2012), even Brahui-speaking communities outside Pakistan, such as in Turkmenistan, consistently describe themselves as Baloch of the Brahui tribe.

See also

• Stocksia brahuica Benth., a flowering plant belonging to the family Sapindaceae, named after the Brahui people.

Notes