ethnic group
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
found in
North India
North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
and Pakistan. They are also known as Qalander Faqir.Why Bulbuls bark: conflict, continuity, and identity among professional strangers / Joseph C. Berland pages 235 to 255 in Customary strangers: new perspectives on peripatetic peoples in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia / edited by Joseph C. Berland and Aparna Rao. Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2004. A few Qalandar are also found in the
Terai
The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
This lowland belt is characterised by ...
region of Nepal.''Peripatetic peoples and Lifestyles by Aparna Rao'' in Disappearing peoples?: indigenous groups and ethnic minorities in South and Central Asia / edited by Barbara A. Brower, Barbara Rose Johnston pages 53 to 72
History and origins
In Pakistan, the Qalandar are found mainly in
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
. According to their traditions, they are descended from ancestors that arrived from
Balkh
Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...
and
Bukhara
Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
in Central Asia in the distant past. They were said to be devotees of the
Sufi
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
Panipat
Panipat () is an industrial , located 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-44 in Panipat district, Haryana, India. It is famous for three major battles fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761. The city is also known as ...
. Unlike the
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
Qalandar, who moved east, the Qalandar of what became Pakistan began a slow migration westward, with small groups arriving in Punjab by the mid-15th century. At the time of the
partition of India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
in 1947, the Muslim Qalandar of
east Punjab
East Punjab was a state of Dominion of India from 1947 until 1950. It consisted parts of the Punjab Province of British India that remained in India following the partition of the state between the new dominions of Pakistan and India by the ...
, which included Panipat and
Karnal
Karnal () is a city located in the state of Haryana, India and is the administrative headquarters of Karnal District. The city is well connected as it lies on National Highway 01, in the south of the city lies the cities of Panipat and Sonipa ...
, moved to Pakistan, joining groups who were already settled there.
Present circumstances
In India
In
North India
North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
, some Qalandar began leading bears, monkeys, and other performing animals with which they wandered, announcing their presence with an hourglass-shaped drum called a ''damru'', which was used in their performances for emphasis, while a larger group settled in Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
, and
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
and began a sedentary life while continuing to hold their traditional mystic religious beliefs. Some of them became connected to different
khanqah
A Sufi lodge is a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood or ''tariqa'' and is a place for spiritual practice and religious education. They include structures also known as ''khānaqāh'', ''zāwiya'', ''ribāṭ'' ...
in Bihar, especially in
Bihar Sharif
Bihar Sharif is the headquarters of Nalanda district and the fifth-largest sub-metropolitan area in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Its name is a combination of two words: ''Bihar'', derived from '' vihara'' (meaning monastery), also the nam ...
and
Danapur
Danapur Nizamat or Danapur is an Indian satellite town and one of six subdivisions (tehsil) in the Patna district of Bihar state.
In Pakistan
The basic unit of the Qalandar society is the tent, or ''puki''. Each puki represents a
commensal
Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction (symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit f ...
group, comprising a female, her spouse, and unmarried children. A collection of ''puki'' forms a ''dera'', or camp. Most members of the ''dera'' are related to each other. Marriages are formed with close kin, and the Qalandar practice both cross-cousin and parallel-cousin marriages.Why Bulbuls bark: conflict, continuity, and identity among professional strangers / Joseph C. Berland pages 235 to 255 in Customary strangers: new perspectives on peripatetic peoples in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia / edited by Joseph C. Berland and Aparna Rao. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2004.
Unlike their Indian counterparts, the Pakistan Qalandar are still nomadic, with most involved in their traditional occupations of entertainment routines involving trained bears, monkeys, dogs, and goats. In addition, they are often jugglers, acrobats, magicians, impersonators, and beggars. The Qalandar travel from community to community, setting up camp in
fallow
Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store Organic compound, organic matter while retaining moisture and disrupting ...
fields. In Pakistan, bears are trapped by members of the Kohistani ethnic group and then sold to the Qalandar in markets in
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
and
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...
. The Qalandar are an extremely marginalized group, suffering from discrimination, and often victims of abuse by state officials such as the police or municipal staff.