The Jaḍgāl (; also known as, Jatgal, Nummaṛ or az-Zighālī) is an Indo-Aryan

ethno-linguistic group An ethnolinguistic group (or ethno-linguistic group) is a group that is unified by both a common ethnicity and language. Most ethnic groups share a first language. However, "ethnolinguistic" is often used to emphasise that language is a major bas ...

which speaks the

Jadgali language Jaḍgālī (also called Jatgali, Jatki, Zadjali, Zidgali) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Jadgal, an ethno-linguistic group of Pakistan and Iran also spoken by few hundreds in Oman. It is a dialect of Sindhi language, Sindhi language mo ...

. Jadgals are present in the

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

region of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, as well as in

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

History

Jadgal people are often connected with the

Jats of Balochistan The Jats of Balochistan are tribes of Jat origin found in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. They are estimated to be around 10% of the total population of Balochistan, being the fourth largest ethnic group of Balochistan. A large proportion ar ...

. They migrated from

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

via

Bela Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal *Bela, Janakpur, ...

Panjgur Panjgur or Pangor ( Balochi and ), transliterated and misspelled in Arabic as Bannajbur or Fannazbur is a city in Panjgur District, Balochistan. It is renowned for its dates. The name drives its origins from blending of two Balochi words i.e "P ...

. Anthropologist Henry Field notes the origin of the Jadgals to be in the western

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

; they subsequently migrated to

Kulanch Kulanch is a sub-tehsil of Pasni, Gwadar District, Balochistan in Pakistan. People living there are known as Kulanchi. After Meds, they are known as primitive population of Gwadar. Kulanch is a large cultivable land beginning 50 km east of Gwad ...

and are still found in

and Balochistan. Regardless of their origins, they are generally seen as Baloch by the society in Balochistan. When the Arabs arrived in modern-day

and Baluchistan, they met the Jadgal at the

coast A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

Makran Makran (), also mentioned in some sources as ''Mecran'' and ''Mokrān'', is the southern coastal region of Balochistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in the Balochistan province in Pakistan and in Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. I ...

where the Arab name of ''az-Zighālī'' comes from. In 1811, Saidi Balochis as well as Jadgal mercenary troops were killed in a battle with the

Wahhabis Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to other ...

against the

Sultanate of Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. The modern-day Jadgals in Oman claim to be descended from

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

, however they also accept the folk etymology of them being from Sindh, in the lower

indus valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the disp ...

Demographics

Around 100,000 Jadgals live in Pakistan according to a 1998 census conducted by Pakistan. In Iran, the

Sardarzahi Sardarzahi or Sardarzāi, previously known as Saddazi Jadgal (Persian: سردارزهی; Balochi: سددازهی) is a Baloch tribe of Indo-Aryan Jadgal origin in the eastern province of Baluchistan in Iran. The Sardarzahi Khans held much power ...

ethnic group is of Jadgal origin, claiming to be from Sindh. The rest of the Jadgals number around 25,000 according to a 2008 census conducted by Iran. All of the Jadgals in Iran live in the Sistan and Baluchistan, Hormozgan and

Kerman Kerman (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kerman County), Central District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. History Kerman was founded as a def ...

provinces.

Language

Jadgal people in

speak

, although they converse with strangers in Balochi. Many linguists believe the Lasi dialect of the

Lasi people The Lasis () are a Sindhi people, Sindhi Ethnicity, ethnic community or group of Sindhi tribes in Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan, Pakistan. They form 4.56% of the total population of the province as of 2017, and are the predominant group in th ...

may be related to Jadgali. The Jadgali tongue in Oman is similar to the language of Al Lawatia.

Tribes

* Baryada *

* Bijjarzai *

Bizenjo Bizenjo () is an ethnic Brahui tribe inhabiting Balochistan province in Pakistan. The tribe belongs to the Jhalawani branch of the Brahui tribes. According to the official list by Mir Ahmad Yar, the last Khan of Kalat, Bizenjo was originally ...

Zehri Zehri () is an ethnic Brahui tribe mainly found in Balochistan, Pakistan. According to the official list by Mir Ahmad Yar, the last Khan of Kalat, Zehri was originally one of the Jaṭṭ tribes inhabiting Balochistan. It belongs to the Jha ...

Sasoli The Sasoli () is an ethnic Brahui tribe in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It is one of the eight nuclear Brahui tribes, and predominantly speaks the Brahui language Brahui ( ; ; also romanised as Brahvi or Brohi) is a Dravidian languag ...

* Sajdi *

Sangur Sangur are a tribe of the Jadgal people that is scattered from the Iranian Makran to Lasbela in Pakistan. They claim affinity with the Jokhio tribe of Sindh. Description According to their tradition, they migrated from Sindh towards Kalat ...

* Rais * Tambarani * Chanal * Motak *

Mengal Mengal () is an ethnic Brahui tribe inhabiting Balochistan, Pakistan. It belongs to the Jhalawani branch of the Brahui tribes, and is bilingual in Brahui and Balochi. Origins According to the official list by Mir Ahmad Yar, the last Khan of ...

* Mir * Hoot * Manjotha * Zardari

References

{{improve categories, date=September 2022 Sindhi tribes Social groups of Balochistan, Pakistan Ethnic groups in Iran Indo-Aryan peoples Indo-Aryan languages Ethnic groups in Sindh Ethnic groups in Oman