What tribes do I belong to? (help)

[Arachosia]

Could you guys help me find out what tribe I am from?

I will give you some information about my background...

My paternal family, many generations ago, lived in Kunduz/Qunduz. From there they moved to Ghorband which is in Parwan province. After that they moved to Kabul.

Are all the Pasthuns in Parwan Shinwari? Or are there other sub-tribes there that I could belong to?

Also I read somewhere that a few hundred years ago, the Durrani King at the time expelled Ghilzais from Kandahar and Helmand due to some conflict and they fled to northern provinces.

Could my family have been part of those Ghilzais who were expelled?

From my mothers side I am Mohmand. Are the Mohmand part of Sarban/Durrani tribe or the Ghilzai tribe?

As you can see my ancestors have migrated a lot, which explains my lack of knowledge about our tribe affiliation...

[Badlun]

Could you guys help me find out what tribe I am from?

I will give you some information about my background...

My paternal family, many generations ago, lived in Kunduz/Qunduz. From there they moved to Ghorband which is in Parwan province. After that they moved to Kabul.

Are all the Pasthuns in Parwan Shinwari? Or are there other sub-tribes there that I could belong to?

Also I read somewhere that a few hundred years ago, the Durrani King at the time expelled Ghilzais from Kandahar and Helmand due to some conflict and they fled to northern provinces.

Could my family have been part of those Ghilzais who were expelled?

From my mothers side I am Mohmand. Are the Mohmand part of Sarban/Durrani tribe or the Ghilzai tribe?

As you can see my ancestors have migrated a lot, which explains my lack of knowledge about our tribe affiliation...

First be happy that you are searching your Pashtun identity. This is hilarious. At least you are sure that you belong to the beautiful tree of Pasho, Pashtun and Pashtunwali. Now the question is only to which branch of this magnificent tree? You are already sure of your roots and stem but further detail of a branch/tribe has to be found out.

You have to go deeper that in Parwan from which area or district come your family. This way you will reach to your tribe. The Wardak Pashtuns in Parwan live primarily in Surkhi Parsa district. Safis(Sapys) are located primarily in the Kohi Safi district. kuchis are common in the Chaharikar district . While Shinwari have a district called Shinwari district

Mohmands are Ghoryakhel branch of the Sarbani Pashtuns.

Please keep on asking such questions.

[Arachosia]

First be happy that you are searching your Pashtun identity. This is hilarious. At least you are sure that you belong to the beautiful tree of Pasho, Pashtun and Pashtunwali. Now the question is only to which branch of this magnificent tree? You are already sure of your roots and stem but further detail of a branch/tribe has to be found out.

You have to go deeper that in Parwan from which area or district come your family. This way you will reach to your tribe. The Wardak Pashtuns in Parwan live primarily in Surkhi Parsa district. Safis(Sapys) are located primarily in the Kohi Safi district. kuchis are common in the Chaharikar district . While Shinwari have a district called Shinwari district

Mohmands are Ghoryakhel branch of the Sarbani Pashtuns.

Please keep on asking such questions.

Thank you for this post.

Do the Shinwaris live in other parts of Parwan like Ghorband too?

Also, if which surname would be correct; Sarban or Sarbani?

[kanishka]

Thank you for this post.

Do the Shinwaris live in other parts of Parwan like Ghorband too?

Also, if which surname would be correct; Sarban or Sarbani?

Sarbanri is another spelling because the tongue bends backwords when pronouncing the "n". I doubt Pashtuns use Sarban as their last name, everyone will think your a Serb.....

[Kushan Prince]

So lemme get this straight, your fathers side lived in kunduz for a whole good generation and then decided to move from province to province and because of that, they suddenly forgot their tribe? Thats not even a proper excuse to not know your tribe. Even the kuchis who are nomads that move to different places every time know exactly what tribe they belong to.

Besides, Paternal ancestry is much more important than maternal ancestry according to Pashtun culture since its the father's side that counts the most.

Either your father's side of the family is poor in keeping genealogical records of themselves or they just don't care about this stuff. Sorry if i sounded a bit harsh, i'm just trying to understand this better.

[Arachosia]

So lemme get this straight, your fathers side lived in kunduz for a whole good generation and then decided to move from province to province and because of that, they suddenly forgot their tribe? Thats not even a proper excuse to not know your tribe. Even the kuchis who are nomads that move to different places every time know exactly what tribe they belong to.

Besides, Paternal ancestry is much more important than maternal ancestry according to Pashtun culture since its the father's side that counts the most.

Either your father's side of the family is poor in keeping genealogical records of themselves or they just don't care about this stuff. Sorry if i sounded a bit harsh, i'm just trying to understand this better.

My paternal grandfather' parents died when he was very young. He obviously had other relatives like that knew about our tribe but some passed away a long time ago, and due to migrating so much some contact has been lost with the other relatives. But yh I admit that these questions should have been asked when it was possible to get answers.

[Zarim]

It's interesting to know 'your' tribe. I have to admit, I don't know mine either. Just know the village's name in Khost: Ismael Khel. Then again, now that I think about it, I also heard something about Teimur Khel? Just proves that I don't know much lol. Sorry for highjacking your thread, but could someone perhaps elaborate on whether there is a specific tribe which lives in that particular area of Khost province?

[Arachosia]

Guys I'm back with an update!

I asked my relatives from my dad's side, some whom still live in Ghorband about my heritage. My father's unlce/grandafther's brother has possession of a book that recorded the migration of my family and also of other families that lived in Ghorband.

My lineage goes like this: Sarban > Sharkhabun > Zamand

In the 15th century the Zamand families migrated from Pasheen in the Arghistan district of Kandahar to Parwan.

[Afghanfootball]

Guys I'm back with an update!

I asked my relatives from my dad's side, some whom still live in Ghorband about my heritage. My father's unlce/grandafther's brother has possession of a book that recorded the migration of my family and also of other families that lived in Ghorband.

My lineage goes like this: Sarban > Sharkhabun > Zamand

In the 15th century the Zamand families migrated from Pasheen in the Arghistan district of Kandahar to Parwan.

Dude your not Porkistani. Congradulations!!!!

[Samandri]

You people remind me of those Indian Pathans some of whom are curious about their lineage and try to trace their tribe or subtribe. Whats going on in the west there?, simply return back to your ancestral villages and the tribe wont be a matter of quest or tracing.

Arachosia, in homeland, people dont keep books to track down their lineage and family history. It is oral. Strange that your family there is keeping a book to know about themeselves. The lineage tree of Saraban is not a mystery or any thing like that, the stuff is available online. Its your grandfather , great grandfather and his father and so on, whose names and little biography you ought to be searching.

[Arachosia]

You people remind me of those Indian Pathans some of whom are curious about their lineage and try to trace their tribe or subtribe. Whats going on in the west there?, simply return back to your ancestral villages and the tribe wont be a matter of quest or tracing.

Arachosia, in homeland, people dont keep books to track down their lineage and family history. It is oral. Strange that your family there is keeping a book to know about themeselves. The lineage tree of Saraban is not a mystery or any thing like that, the stuff is available online. Its your grandfather , great grandfather and his father and so on, whose names and little biography you ought to be searching.

Keeping records isn't a tradition of my family, as you said, we trace our lineage orally, my father's uncle just wrote down what our family keeps in our brains as he it is one of his hobbies (he is an amateur poet, records events in his life etc..).

You are acting as if it's abnormal for one to be interested in the specifics if their lineage, but I assure you this is completely normal. T
You are on pashtunforums and are surprised someone wants more knowledge about their family history?

Also, its not that easy just to find out the names of my great great great grand parents, as many of my family members live in rural places and I can not come into contact with them directly. That is why my uncle personally went back to Ghorband from Kabul (dangerous trip) to speak to our family.

Unfortunately many Pashtuns in Kabul are not very interested in their culture as they have been Persianised. When I brought up this subject with my family there they were very surprised and told me they never questioned this themselves.

[Arachosia]

Dude your not Porkistani. Congradulations!!!!

Porkistani as in Punjabi? Of course not!

[MohsinKhan]

You people remind me of those Indian Pathans some of whom are curious about their lineage and try to trace their tribe or subtribe. Whats going on in the west there?, simply return back to your ancestral villages and the tribe wont be a matter of quest or tracing.

Arachosia, in homeland, people dont keep books to track down their lineage and family history. It is oral. Strange that your family there is keeping a book to know about themeselves. The lineage tree of Saraban is not a mystery or any thing like that, the stuff is available online. Its your grandfather , great grandfather and his father and so on, whose names and little biography you ought to be searching.

Well, here is one of the Indian Pathans over here
I really want to trace my tribe nd roots
Actually my great grandfather was from Afghanistan, i don't know which province or which tribe he was from
My grandfather usually have told us all in our family that his father was from somewhere in Afghanistan, but he doesn't know about his roots and tribe it might be because his father died when he was a teenager
I know no one can help me out to find my roots
The only thing i know about my roots is that my great grandfather was from somewhere in Afghanistan and his name was Nasib Khan and his father's name was Samsher Khan
That's all i know

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

In Pashto we consider a person as a fellow Pashtun by observing three criteria: Pashto speech, Pashto action and maintenance of Pashto. We say "Pashto wayal, Pashto kawal aw Pashto laral.

One have to be able to speak proper Pashto, act according to Pashto customs and culture and maintain Pashto relations.

These three criteria define a Pashtuns identity. Those who have forgotten how to speak Pashto but still claim to be Pashtuns because their ancestors were Pashtuns are in reality no longer considered as Pashtuns.

Those who speak Pashto but act like non-Pashtuns or do not abide by our customs and mannerisms are no longer considered as genuine Pashtuns.

Those who do not preserve relationships with Pashtuns and have broken ties of kinship with their people are likewise no longer Pashtuns.

Being a Pashtun to being part of a culture and an ethnic group. If you are no longer part of it, then you are part of the people you are surrounded by. In Kabul, it is being Kabuli, parsiwan. In Pakistan and India it is being Pathan or Punjabi or whatever.

One have to come to terms with ones identity based on the reality of ones existence. Ancient tales of ancestry doesn't mean anything and it only promotes identity crisis and false sense of pride and nationalism.

There are many non-Pashtuns who are now considered as Pashtuns even though they are originally Arabs or Turks. The fact that they have adopted Pashto language, customs and traditions is what makes them Pashtuns. Pashto is more than just genes and blood lines. It is the same in other cultures. Look at the Jews in Western societies. They have adopted the culture of their host nation and therefore they are considered as German, French or Dutch. They speak the language, behave like them and marry with them.


Kohandajh (now called Kunduz) is Pashtunified in the last century. Prior to that, it was nothing but a very thinly populated swamp and steppe.

There are no Pashtuns originally from Kunduz. All Pashtuns were forcefully sent there by the fascist secular dirt bags of the Kemalist regime after the independence in 1919.

Most Pashtuns in Kunduz are Ghiljay and they are primarily from the Loy Paktia region.

[MohsinKhan]

If a Punjabi marries a Pashtana, his children speak Pashto, they all behave like Pukhtana
Would you consider them as Pukhtuns ?
It doesn't make any sence
You must have blood line with ethnic Pukhtoons
Just behaving as a Pashtun and speaking Pashto doesn't make anyone Pashtun
You people might consider me as a non Pashtun just because i hav no idea avout my tribe and my roots
We just have forgot our roots and Pashto but still da pukhtano wina zamung pa raguno ki baheegi