The Aimaq ( fa, ایماق, Aimāq) or Chahar Aimaq (), also transliterated as Aimagh, Aimak and Aymaq, are a collection of Sunni and mostly

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

-speaking

nomadic A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the pop ...

and semi-nomadic tribes. They live mostly in the central and western highlands of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, especially in Ghor, Badghis. Aimaqs were originally known as ''chahar'' ("four") Aymaqs: the ''

Taymani The Taymani ( prs, تایمنی) are an Aimaq people in Ghor Province in central Afghanistan. They speak the Aimaq dialect of Persian, but some southern groups of Taymanis speak the Pashto language and feel an affinity with the Pashtuns P ...

'' (the main element in the population of Ghor), the ''

Firozkohi The Firozkohi ( prs, فیروزکوهی) are a sub-tribe of the Chahar Aimaq ethnic group in Afghanistan, one of the four major Aimaq tribes, which also include the Jamshidi, Taymani, and Taimuri. In 1987, the Firozkohi were the second-largest ...

'' (mostly in Badghis), the '' Jamshidi'' and the ''

Timuri The Timuri, or Taimuri ( fa, تیموری), are a sub-tribe of the Aimaq people of Afghanistan and Iran, one of the four major Aimaq tribes, which also include the Firozkohi, Taymani, and Jamshidi. The Timuri originated in western Badghis Prov ...

''. Other sources state that the

Aimaq Hazara The Aimaq Hazara (Hazara-e qala-e naw); ( prs, ایماق هزاره, Aimāq Hazāra) are the Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin, however, they are Sunni Muslims while most other Hazaras are Shia Muslims. The Aimaq Hazara consists of 38 subtrib ...

are one of the ''Chahar'', with the Timuri instead being of the "lesser Aimaqs" or ''Aimaq-e digar'' ("other Aimaqs"). The Aimaq speak several subdialects of the

Aimaq dialect Aimaq or Aimaqi ( fa, ایماقی, Aimāqi) is the dominant eastern Persian ethnolect spoken by the Aimaq people in central northwest Afghanistan (west of the Hazarajat) and eastern Iran. It is close to the Dari varieties of Persian. The Aimaq pe ...

of the Persian language, but some southern groups of Taymani, Firozkohi, and northeastern Timuri Aimaqs have adopted the

Pashto language Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

Origin and culture

The Aimaqs claim different origins based on their tribal background. Some claim to be descended from the troops of Genghis Khan. Other tribes such as the

and

claim descent from other

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...

tribes. Aimaq is a Mongolic word that means "tribe" or "grazing territory". Of all Aimaqs,

and

are closest to the Turco-Mongol tradition since they are semi-nomadic tribes and some of them live in yurts, whereas other Aimaqs live in traditional Afghan black tents. The Aimaq are largely nomadic to semi-nomadic goat and sheep herders. They also trade with villages and farmers during migrations for pastures for their livestock. The material culture and foodstuffs of the Aimaq include skins, carpets, milk, dairy products and more. They trade these products to settled peoples in return for vegetables, grains, fruits, nuts, and other types of foods and goods.

Classification of tribes

Aimaq tribes

Demographics

Estimates of the Aimaq population vary between 250,000 and 500,000. They are largely Sunni Muslims except for the Jamshidi who are mainly Ismaili Shia in the main and in contrast to the

Hazaras The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an ethnic group and the principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scat ...

, who are mostly Shia Muslims."Afghanistan". Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.

Notes

References

External links

Aimaq Man with Children, Pal-Kotal-I-Guk, Ghor Province

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aimaq Aymaq Ethnic groups in Afghanistan Modern nomads