
Kochis also spelt as Kuchis (
Pashto
Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
: کوچۍ Kuchis) are pastoral nomads belonging primarily to the
Ghilji
The Ghiljī (, ; ) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai and Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtuns, Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settled in other regions throu ...
Pashtuns
Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...
. It is a social rather than ethnic grouping, although they have some of the characteristics of a distinct ethnic group. They live in southern and eastern Afghanistan, the largest population of Kuchis is probably in the
Registan Desert
The Registan Desert ( or ), also known as Sistan Desert, is an extremely arid plateau region located between Helmand and Kandahar provinces in the south-eastern Afghanistan. It is a sandy desert consisting of small, red sand hills about high, ...
in southern Afghanistan. In the southern, western and northern regions of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
they are also referred to at times as maldar (
Pashto
Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
: مالدار maldar, "herd-owner"), or Powindah.
[ Some of the most notable ]Ghilji
The Ghiljī (, ; ) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai and Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtuns, Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settled in other regions throu ...
Kochi tribes include the Kharoti
The Kharoti (Pashto:خروٹی) خروټی) are a Pashtun tribe of Ghilji origin, originating in the central part of Paktika Province, Afghanistan, but can be also found in other parts of the country. The Kharoti settled in Kharotabad in Quett ...
, Niazi
Niazi (; , ), Niazai or Niyazai is one of the largest Pashtun tribes which resides in Afghanistan and northwestern part of Pakistan.
Origin
The earliest work which provides the details about origin of Niazis is '' Makhzani-i-Afghani'' (1610 A ...
, Andar, Akakhel
The Akakhel, pronounced Akaa Khel or Akakhail (Pashto and Urdu: اکاخیل,آقاخیل), are a Pashtun sub-tribe of the Ghilji/Ghilzais confederation. Their mother language is Pashto. In the early 20th century, the tribe was generally pastora ...
, and nasar Ahmadzai. In the Pashto language
Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
, the terms are کوچۍ Kochai (singular) and کوچیان Kochian (plural). In the Persian language
Persian ( ), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...
, کوچی "Kochi" and "Kochiha" are the singular and plural forms (respectively).
Description
The National Multi-sectoral Assessment of Kochi in 2004 estimated that there are about 2.4 million Kochis in Afghanistan, with around 1.5 million (60%) remaining fully nomadic; over 100,000 have been displaced due to natural disasters such as flood and drought in the past few years.
The nomads and semi-nomads, generally called ''Kuchi'' in Afghanistan, mostly keep sheep and goats. The produce of the animals (meat, dairy products, hair and wool) is exchanged or sold in order to purchase grain, vegetables, fruit and other products of settled life. In this way an extensive network of exchange has developed along the main routes annually followed by the nomads. The merchant ''Powindah'' (Ghilji) r GhilzaiPashtuns used to move annually from the Afghanistan mountains to the valley of the Indus. These long-distance migrations were stopped in the early 1960s when the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan were closed, but many Kuchis are still allowed to cross as border officials recognize the Kuchi migrations which occur seasonally and allow them to pass even in times of political turmoil. In recent decades, migrations inside Afghanistan continue, although trucks are now often being used to transport livestock and family from one place to another.Willem Vogelsang
Willem Vogelsang (born 1956 in Medemblik) was the deputy director of the International Institute for Asian Studies at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He was also lieutenant colonel in the Dutch armed forces as Project Coordinator fo ...
(2002), p. 15.
History
Kochis historically abstained from politics, because they are nomadic, but under Afghanistan's constitution, they were given ten seats in parliament. Provisions are written into the Afghanistan Constitution (Article 14) aimed at improving the welfare of Kochis, including provisions for housing, representation, and education. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...
, before the 30 years of war, Kochis owned 30 per cent of the country's goats and sheep and most of the camels for years, and they were largely responsible for the supply of slaughter animals, wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...
, ghee
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from South Asia. It is commonly used for cooking, as a Traditional medicine of India, traditional medicine, and for Hinduism, Hindu religious rituals.
Description
Ghee is typically prepared by ...
and quroot to the national economy.[UNHCR, Formation of 4 Kuchi sheep/goat breeders’ service centres]
Durable solutions for Kuchi IDP's in the south of Afghanistan: Options and opportunities, Asia Consultants International
pg. 15
Kochis were also favored by the Kings of Afghanistan, who were themselves ethnic Pashtuns, since the late 1880s. They were awarded "firman
A firman (; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods such firmans were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The English word ''firman'' co ...
," or royal proclamations, granting them use of summer pastures all over Afghanistan including the northern parts of the country. During the Taliban era, Kochis were a main factor and supporter of the Taliban
, leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders
, leader1_name = {{indented plainlist,
* Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013)
* Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016)
* Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
and their leader Mullah Omar
Muhammad Umar Mujahid (196023 April 2013), commonly known as Mullah Omar or Muhammad Omar, was an Afghan militant leader and founder and the first leader of the Taliban from 1994 until his death in 2013. During the Third Afghan Civil War, the T ...
. As a result, the northern ethnic groups ( Hazara, Tajiks
Tajiks (; ; also spelled ''Tadzhiks'' or ''Tadjiks'') is the name of various Persian-speaking Eastern Iranian groups of people native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Even though the term ''Tajik'' ...
, Uzbeks
The Uzbeks () are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, being among the largest Turkic ethnic groups in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakhs, Kazakh and Karakalpaks, Karakalpak ...
and Turkmens
Turkmens (, , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, ...
) have a long-standing distrust of the Kochi. This political dispute has been deepened over the decades of Kochi transhumance
Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or Nomad, nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and low ...
, whereby some Kochis became absentee landlords in their summer areas in the north through customary seizure procedures to attach debtors' land. However, the Kochis themselves see the northern minority groups as a non-Afghan race, and claims the Kochis were natives of northern Afghan region, and that during many years of invasion such as Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...
and Timur
Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...
, they escaped south.
In 2010 in western Kabul, when Kuchi refugees attempted to resettle on their ancestral lands, they clashed with local Hazara residents. The fighting continued for several days and resulted in casualties among both communities.
Kochis have been identified by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan ('UNAMA'') is a UN Special Political Mission tasked with assisting the people of Afghanistan.
UNAMA was established on 28 March 2002 by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1401.
Revi ...
as one of the largest vulnerable populations in the country. As Afghanistan's population grows, competing claims over summer pastures, both for rainfed cultivation and for grazing of the settled communities' livestock, have created conflict over land across central and northern Afghanistan. Paying head-count fees for each animal crossing someone else's property is exacting a harsh economic toll on the Kochi way of life, one that is already having to contend with recurrent droughts that are now occurring with increasing frequency. There are communities of Pashtun Kochi origin in other parts of the world as well, including in the Caribbean, Africa and Europe. In Pakistan, some Kochis are found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In Popular Culture
James A. Michener
James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations, set in particular geographic locales ...
describes Kochi life in his 1963 novel Caravans, set in 1946 Afghanistan.
Gallery
File:A_kuchie_Afghanistan.JPG, Kochis near Tarinkot
Tarinkot (), also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is a city in south-central Afghanistan, serving as the capital of Uruzgan Province. It sits at above sea level, and is connected by a road network with Kandahar to the south, Nili in Daykundi Province ...
, Urozgan Province
Uruzgan (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot ...
of Afghanistan
File:Kuchis near Kabul-Jalalabad road.jpg, Kochi tent near the Kabul-Jalalabad Road
File:Afghan Kuchi girl.jpg, A young Kochi girl
Footnotes
References
* Vogelsang, Willem. 2002. ''The Afghans''. Blackwell Publishers, Oxford.
External links
Lifestyle of Kuchi community
AFGHANISTAN: Threat of ethnic clashes over grazing land
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit
{{Pashtun tribes
Pashtun nomadic tribes
Nomads
Iranian nomads
Nomadic groups in Eurasia
Modern nomads
Immigration to Afghanistan
Pashtun diaspora
Pashtun tribes
Tribes of Afghanistan
Ethnic groups in Kandahar Province