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Tell us about your tribe! Who are you? Where are you from? What's your history?
As salaamu aleikoum wa rahmatullahi wa baraktuhu,
I want to see how much each and everyone of us knows about his or her tribe.
This thread can benefit all of us and help us to learn more about our culture and heritage. Plus we see how much knowledge we already have and if we have any misconceptions, people can correct us in any respect.
I will start of telling something about my tribe.
I am actually half Pashtun half tajik. Briefly about my half Tajik identity. My mother is from the old city of Kabul. Her family have always lived in Kabul and they are by profession watch- and clock makers.
From my fathers side I am a Ghiljay Pashtun. We belong to the Abu Bakr/Babaker Khel( بابکرخيل) branch of Ahmadzai (احمدزی ).
Ahmadzai is one of the largest semi-nomadic tribes in Afghanistan. It consists of at least 13 heads. Ahmad baba is said to be burried somewhere in Wana, South Waziristan. He was a very religious Kochay. He named all his sons with very religious names. His oldest two sons from his first wife were Abu Bakr and Allahdeen. I belong to the Abu Bakr lineage. His second wife bare him many sons. Among them were Isa, Musa, Maruf, Yahya and many more.
Ahmazai are one of the last classical Kochi Pashtuns. Some branches of our tribes still live as Kochyan across Afghanistan & Pakistan. Our tribe is dispersed all across Afghanistan. Our core areas are West Paktia, East Ghazni, Logar, North Paktika, North Khost. other areas where we are settled are: Kabul, North West Nangarhar, South Laghman, West Kunar, South Kapisa, South Parwan, central Baghlan, entire Kunduz and some parts of Takhar.
Our tribe is known to be experts in Pashtunwali. And practically everywhere where our tribes are settled, Pashtuns of other tribes involve our elder tribes men to settle their Jirgas. As of lately, many Ahmadzai tribesmen have become lawyers. There have been many judges in Afghanistan who belonged to Ahmadzai tribe. Aside from playing the role of lawyers and judges, many Ahmadzai have been employed as public servants and public officials. Usually people elect Ahmadzai as representatives of regions because of our status as experts in pashtunwali.
All though we are considered as a prestigious tribe in Afghanistan, we are still one of the poorest tribes. Ahmadzai are not very rich people.
The sub branch of Ahmadzai to which I belong, the Babaker khel are by origin from Khost provinces Baak region. There are Babaker Khel settlements in East Kabul. Particularly in Sarubi and Deh Sabz districts.
Some of our tribes have settled in Kabul during the great Ghalji uprising against the royal family during the Anglo Afghan wars.
Leaders of our tribes were involved in the battle against the British and Abdurrahman Khan tried to crush the Ghalji rebellion by offering our tribal leaders fertile land else where to disperse our tribe from Loy Paktia and weaken the rebellion.
This is how some Ahmadzai tribes moved away from Loy Paktia and settled in the outskirts of Kabul.
In the central Kabul is a place called Deh Afghanan. Deh Afghanan was originally the first settlement of my great great grandfather, Lakhkar Khan Babaker Khel. After living close to Kabul for a while, he decided to move eastwards and settled in Deh Sabz.
During the Anglo Afghan war, our tribes in East Kabul massacred the British in Gandumak.
And a famous figure was known to be the one who killed McNaughton. His name was Ghazi Mohammad Shah Khan Babaker Khel (غازي محمدشاه خان بابکرخيل )
Currently, there is a large community of Babaker Khel in Haripur & Faisal Abad in Pakistan who are all distant relatives of mine who have fled the war in Afghanistan.
In recent years there were several military campains in our area in east Kabul and many of our tribesmen have been killed or arrested by NATO troops after the killing of 10 French soldiers in Uzbin area of Sarubi in east Kabul.
That's pretty much it.
---- one more addition: During the Anglo Afghan war, when the British troops were passing the narrow passages between Kabul & Nangarhar, our tribesmen use to attack them. On one occassion, when McNaughton's army was butchered by the Ghalji tribes in east Kabul, the women and servants of the British werecaptured and safed from death by Abu Baker Khel tribe of Sarubi & Khord Kabul. Other Ahmadzai tribes, the Jabbar khel and Musa Khel demanded to have the women of Angrez divided among people as war-booty. But our tribesmen refused to hand them over. It even led to a conflict and a tribal infighting was about to occur which was settled at the last minute. The English women were treated as guests and our women gave them new Afghan clothes and they were fed and taken care of. Eventually they were safely handed over to the British administration in India. And one of those women wrote a book about her experience with the women of our tribe. I am still looking for this book. I am curious to know what she says in that book.
I want to see how much each and everyone of us knows about his or her tribe.
This thread can benefit all of us and help us to learn more about our culture and heritage. Plus we see how much knowledge we already have and if we have any misconceptions, people can correct us in any respect.
I will start of telling something about my tribe.
I am actually half Pashtun half tajik. Briefly about my half Tajik identity. My mother is from the old city of Kabul. Her family have always lived in Kabul and they are by profession watch- and clock makers.
From my fathers side I am a Ghiljay Pashtun. We belong to the Abu Bakr/Babaker Khel( بابکرخيل) branch of Ahmadzai (احمدزی ).
Ahmadzai is one of the largest semi-nomadic tribes in Afghanistan. It consists of at least 13 heads. Ahmad baba is said to be burried somewhere in Wana, South Waziristan. He was a very religious Kochay. He named all his sons with very religious names. His oldest two sons from his first wife were Abu Bakr and Allahdeen. I belong to the Abu Bakr lineage. His second wife bare him many sons. Among them were Isa, Musa, Maruf, Yahya and many more.
Ahmazai are one of the last classical Kochi Pashtuns. Some branches of our tribes still live as Kochyan across Afghanistan & Pakistan. Our tribe is dispersed all across Afghanistan. Our core areas are West Paktia, East Ghazni, Logar, North Paktika, North Khost. other areas where we are settled are: Kabul, North West Nangarhar, South Laghman, West Kunar, South Kapisa, South Parwan, central Baghlan, entire Kunduz and some parts of Takhar.
Our tribe is known to be experts in Pashtunwali. And practically everywhere where our tribes are settled, Pashtuns of other tribes involve our elder tribes men to settle their Jirgas. As of lately, many Ahmadzai tribesmen have become lawyers. There have been many judges in Afghanistan who belonged to Ahmadzai tribe. Aside from playing the role of lawyers and judges, many Ahmadzai have been employed as public servants and public officials. Usually people elect Ahmadzai as representatives of regions because of our status as experts in pashtunwali.
All though we are considered as a prestigious tribe in Afghanistan, we are still one of the poorest tribes. Ahmadzai are not very rich people.
The sub branch of Ahmadzai to which I belong, the Babaker khel are by origin from Khost provinces Baak region. There are Babaker Khel settlements in East Kabul. Particularly in Sarubi and Deh Sabz districts.
Some of our tribes have settled in Kabul during the great Ghalji uprising against the royal family during the Anglo Afghan wars.
Leaders of our tribes were involved in the battle against the British and Abdurrahman Khan tried to crush the Ghalji rebellion by offering our tribal leaders fertile land else where to disperse our tribe from Loy Paktia and weaken the rebellion.
This is how some Ahmadzai tribes moved away from Loy Paktia and settled in the outskirts of Kabul.
In the central Kabul is a place called Deh Afghanan. Deh Afghanan was originally the first settlement of my great great grandfather, Lakhkar Khan Babaker Khel. After living close to Kabul for a while, he decided to move eastwards and settled in Deh Sabz.
During the Anglo Afghan war, our tribes in East Kabul massacred the British in Gandumak.
And a famous figure was known to be the one who killed McNaughton. His name was Ghazi Mohammad Shah Khan Babaker Khel (غازي محمدشاه خان بابکرخيل )
Currently, there is a large community of Babaker Khel in Haripur & Faisal Abad in Pakistan who are all distant relatives of mine who have fled the war in Afghanistan.
In recent years there were several military campains in our area in east Kabul and many of our tribesmen have been killed or arrested by NATO troops after the killing of 10 French soldiers in Uzbin area of Sarubi in east Kabul.
That's pretty much it.
---- one more addition: During the Anglo Afghan war, when the British troops were passing the narrow passages between Kabul & Nangarhar, our tribesmen use to attack them. On one occassion, when McNaughton's army was butchered by the Ghalji tribes in east Kabul, the women and servants of the British werecaptured and safed from death by Abu Baker Khel tribe of Sarubi & Khord Kabul. Other Ahmadzai tribes, the Jabbar khel and Musa Khel demanded to have the women of Angrez divided among people as war-booty. But our tribesmen refused to hand them over. It even led to a conflict and a tribal infighting was about to occur which was settled at the last minute. The English women were treated as guests and our women gave them new Afghan clothes and they were fed and taken care of. Eventually they were safely handed over to the British administration in India. And one of those women wrote a book about her experience with the women of our tribe. I am still looking for this book. I am curious to know what she says in that book.
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