Origins
The ethnonym "Brahui" is a very old term and a purely Dravidian one.[7] The fact that other Dravidian languages only exist further south in India has led to several speculations about the origins of the Brahui. There are three hypotheses regarding the Brahui that have been proposed by academics. One theory is that the Brahui are a relic population of Dravidians, surrounded by speakers of Indo-Iranian languages, remaining from a time when Dravidian was more widespread. Another theory is that they migrated to Baluchistan from inner India during the early Muslim period of the 13th or 14th centuries.[8] A third theory says the Brahui migrated to Balochistan from South India after 1000 AD. The absence of any older Iranian (Avestan) influence in Brahui supports this hypothesis. The main Iranian contributor to Brahui vocabulary is a northwestern Iranic language, Baluchi, and southeastern Iranic language, Pashto.[9]
The History of the Brahui emerges from total darkness with the displacement of a shadowy Hindu dynasty in Kalat called called Sewa by the Mirwari Brahuis. There is a Mughal interlude and then Brahui ascendancy again.[10]
It is said that a Hindu dynasty, the Sewa by name, ruled over this part of the country prior to the seventh century, Kalat is still known as Kalat-i-Sewa.[11]
Over the centuries, due to their location, the Brahui have mixed with Iranian peoples as well as the Sindhis, among other Indo-Aryan peoples. They culturally resemble their Baloch and Sindhi neighbors, although they still continue to speak their Brahui language. Tribes
Origins
The ethnonym "Brahui" is a very old term and a purely Dravidian one.[7] The fact that other Dravidian languages only exist further south in India has led to several speculations about the origins of the Brahui. Tribes
Brahui tribes include Ababaki ,Mengal, Zagar Mengal, Mirwani, Bangulzai, Banulzai, Bizenjo, Khurasani, Kheazai, Langov, Lehri, Sarparah, Muhammed Hasni, Muhammad Shahi, Raisani,Khurd, Shahwani, Sumulani, Yusufzai (Dehwar) Zarakzai (Zehri), Sasoli, Sataksai, Musiani,,Saya Paadh, Qambarani, Rodeni, Jattak, Badini.[12]
Language
The Brahui language is a language within the Dravidian subgroup of languages.[7] While it does contain many similar words as the Iranic Baloch language, it also has many loan words from Indo-Aryan languages as well as the Dravidian words of its own. It is mainly spoken in the Kalat areas of Balochistan, Pakistan, although there are a considerable number of speakers in Southern Afghanistan and Iranian Balochistan. It includes three dialects including Sarawani (spoken in the north), Jhalawani (spoken in the southeast), and Chaghi (spoken in the northwest and west). According to a survey it has about 2,000,000 speakers in Pakistan (1998), 200,000 speakers in Afghanistan[13] and 20,000 speakers in Iran, which would amount to 2,220,000 in the world. Due to its isolation, Brahui's vocabulary is only 15% Dravidian, while the remainder is dominated by Perso-Arabic, Balochi, and Indo-Aryan, while the grammar and overall morphology still resemble other Dravidian tongues. Brahui is generally written in the Perso-Arabic script and there is even a Latin alphabet that has been developed for use with Brahui.
