Are the ormuri/Burki tribe Pashtun?

[Kushan Prince]

I read that that ormuri are classed as an ethnic group and sometimes they are not considered Pashtun. Pir Roshan, a Pashtun poet was from this tribe. Can someone shed some light on this help me clear this misconception?

[Bannuchi]

Yes, Barki are a small Pashtun tribe from South Waziristan which speaks a different language, but Barki are culturally very similar to Masid and Wazir. They are fluent in Waziri Pashto too.

Pir Roshan was a Pashtun, he invented the Pashto alphabet and wrote the first ever Pashto book.

[Kushan Prince]

^ but if they speak a different language than why are they considerd Pashtun? Do their tribe come qais Abdur rashid himself?

[Bannuchi]

^ but if they speak a different language than why are they considerd Pashtun?

Most Barki/Ormur have already switched to Pashto after after settling in Bannu, Peshawar and other districts. Only the few thousand Barki who still live in Kaniguram, South Waziristan speak their own language which is itself distantly related to Pashto, and is heavily mixed with borrowings from Waziri Pashto. But even those Barki have to regularly use Pashto to communicate with the surrounding Pashto-speaking tribes.

Do their tribe come qais Abdur rashid himself?

Yes, traditional family trees classify Barki/Ormur under Sarbani Pashtuns, and they are considered descendants of Qais Abdur Rashid through his grandson Shrakhboon. Barki/Ormur are a cousin tribe of Durrani/Abdali and Yusufzai.

[Kushan Prince]

I'm starting to think that before Pashtuns came as one, they were all different people speaking a different language but were from the same race who had a similar culture. But even this theory as holes in it since all Pashtuns descend from Qais and alot pashtuns look similar in looks from different tribes. The Pashais also claim to be pashtuns speaking a different language so who knows.

[Bannuchi]

I'm starting to think that before Pashtuns came as one, they were all different people speaking a different language but were from the same race who had a similar culture. But even this theory as holes in it since all Pashtuns descend from Qais and alot pashtuns look similar in looks from different tribes. The Pashais also claim to be pashtuns speaking a different language so who knows.

Correct, during the Middle Ages, many Aryan tribes became united under the umbrella terms of Pashtun/Afghan. These Aryans were a diverse ethnic group but most languages spoken by them were from the Eastern Iranian language family.

Initially, Eastern Iranian first started to dominate in the Hindukush mountain range during the Kushan Empire, when King Kanishka banned the usage of Greek as the language of administration and local languages were promoted. The language used for official purpose was Bactrian which was locally called "αρια" (Aryan language) as recorded in the Rabatak inscription.

In the early Middle Ages, Pashto had started to be spoken as a common language by some of the tribes in the southern Hindukush mountain range. Soon after the end of the Hephthalite Empire, the term "Afghan" was first recorded in the 6th century CE by an Indian scholar. As Hudud al-Alam records, by the 10 century CE, there were already (non-Hindu, non-Muslim) tribes identified as "Afghan" in Paktia and Nangarhar.

[Kushan Prince]

Correct, during the Middle Ages, many Aryan tribes became united under the umbrella terms of Pashtun/Afghan. These Aryans were a diverse ethnic group but most languages spoken by them were from the Eastern Iranian language family.

Initially, Eastern Iranian first started to dominate in the Hindukush mountain range during the Kushan Empire, when King Kanishka banned the usage of Greek as the language of administration and local languages were promoted. The language used for official purpose was Bactrian which was locally called "αρια" (Aryan language) as recorded in the Rabatak inscription.

In the early Middle Ages, Pashto had started to be spoken as a common language by some of the tribes in the southern Hindukush mountain range. Soon after the end of the Hephthalite Empire, the term "Afghan" was first recorded in the 6th century CE by an Indian scholar. As Hudud al-Alam records, by the 10 century CE, there were already (non-Hindu, non-Muslim) tribes identified as "Afghan" in Paktia and Nangarhar.

Interesting. I heard somewhere that Pashto came from Bactrian and became widespread all over Afghanistan. Other people say pashto was the language of the Pactyans in which the name "Pakhtun" was derived from. Didn't the term "Afghan" come into usage in the 3rd century by the Persians referring to Pashtuns living near the Oxus all the way to the Indus? But still, a lot of Pashtuns who are from diffrent tribes look very much like each other.

[Bannuchi]

Interesting. I heard somewhere that Pashto came from Bactrian and became widespread all over Afghanistan.

Bactrian language itself became extinct. Pashto originated in a fusion of several closely related Eastern Iranian/Scythian dialects. Bactrian may have contributed to its vocabulary and grammar to an extent but Bactrian is not the only ancestor language of it.

Other people say pashto was the language of the Pactyans in which the name "Pakhtun" was derived from.

Some linguists say "Pashtun" derives from "Parsawā-", the same root from which "Farsi/Parsi" also derives. Academics disagree. But whatever is the origin of the word, it's possible that "Pashtuns" may initially be only one of the small tribes that spoke one of the dialects of Old Pashto. Nevertheless, "Pashtuns" eventually gave their name to the whole ethnic group.

Didn't the term "Afghan" come into usage in the 3rd century by the Persians referring to Pashtuns living near the Oxus

Maybe. But Indians (since the 6th century CE) and Arabs (since the 10th century CE) have also used the same term "Afghan". Pashtuns themselves have also been using the same term "Afghan" in traditional Pashto poetry.

But still, a lot of Pashtuns who are from diffrent tribes look very much like each other.

Because we are one ethnic group.

[Kushan Prince]

Interesting thanks!