Marri (tribe)

The Marri are a Balochi-speaking tribe of the Baloch people, who inhabit a large arid region in northeastern Balochistan, Pakistan. The Marri area is bounded to the west by the plains of Sibi. To the north are the Kakar and Loni tribes of the Pashtuns; to the east lie the lands of the Khetrans, speakers of an Indo-Aryan language, Khetrani; to the south the Bugti tribe.[1]

Traditionally, the Marri people, like other Baloch tribes, were nomads and earned their livelihood from grazing animals.[2] Today, the Marri tribe is modernized, and only a few groups are left with a distinct cultural identity. Many of them hold key high positions in Pakistan both in Provincial and Federal levels of Government.

Early history and folklore

The early history of the Marri centers around the Mir Chakar Khan, the folk hero of many Baloch romances and leader of the Rind tribe. After his quarrels with the Lasharies, and after he had been driven out of Sibi by the Arghuns, Mir Chakar took refuge in what is now the present Marri country near the Manjara River.

Shortly after raids, the main body of the Rinds migrated to the country east of the Indus. However, a small section of the Puzh Rinds detached itself from Mir Chakar and elected to remain behind in the Sewistan Hills. The leader of this section was Bijar Khan, accompanied by Ali Khan, Mando Khan and Kalu Khan, a blacksmith (Lohar), a gardener called Kangra, and a negro (Sedi) named Shaheja. These men were the founders of the Marri tribe, which consolidated in the first quarter of the sixteenth century.[3]

The particular spot where Bijar Khan parted ranks from Mir Chakar is known as Bijar Wad into the present day. [4]

Constituent groups

The Marri tribe consists of the following sections (as of 1940):[5]

  • Ghazeni (which in turn is made up of the Bahawalanzai, Nozbandagani, Murgiani, Samwani, Lodhiani, Aliani, Ispani and Langhani, possibly others)
  • Bijarani (with subsections Tingiani, Mazarani, Kalandrani, Kaisrani, Rahmkani, Piradani-Marri, Salarani, Somrani, Kalwani, Shaheja, Powadhi and Kungrani)
  • Loharani (with the three subsections of the eponymous Loharani, Mohamadani and Sherani).

See also

References
  1. Pehrson & Barth 1966, pp. 1–2.
  2. "Lifestyle of a Nomad", An Element of Luck, The Radcliffe Press, 1993, ISBN 978-1-85043-739-0, retrieved 2021-07-10
  3. The Gazetteer of Baluchistan SIBI. Quetta: Government of Balochistan. 1906. p. 271.
  4. D’Accone, Frank A. (2001), "Marri, Ascanio", Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, retrieved 2021-07-10
  5. Pehrson & Barth 1966, pp. 110–13.

Further reading
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