Wardak tribe

[toughpashtun]

The Wardak is a Pashtun Karlani tribe, settled in Wardak province of Afghanistan and some people of this tribe also live in Dir region of Pakistan.
I read various posts about this tribe which caused me to have some doubts and confusion.I will list these questions number wise, and then more knowledgable members can clarify and say whether they are true or not.

1- The Wardak tribe is actually not a Pashtun tribe, rather they are a mix of Tajiks,Hazara etc and due to neighbouring Pashtun influence they started adopting Pashtun culture and language and classified themselves as Pashtun.And that before 1800 there was no such name as "Wardak" tribe.

2- The Wardak tribe has a lot of Tajik/Farsi/Persian influence on them in terms of language and culture.In other words, they are Persianized Pashtuns.

3- The Wardak tribe is bilingual in Pashto and Farsi/Dari.(does this apply even to the villagers?)

4- The Wardak pashto dialect has a lot of Dari words in it , more so than the Pashtuns in other areas of Afghanistan.

[Shapur]

1: Not true, Wardaks look like typical Pashtuns. There are new tribes branching out all the time so not important if no tribe by name of Wardak before 1800 existed.

2: Not true. Wardaks have their own unique dialect but they definitely speak Pashto, similar to Wazirs. They do Attan, hold Jirgas, follow pashtunwali like the rest.

3: Could be as they live close to non Pashtuns and in Kabul city you need to know Dari to get by.

4: Due to their proximity to Kabul and closeness to Hazara areas, there is some influence of Dari but not more so than Kandaharis who use Dari words. Wardaks are also known to be one of the most educated tribes due to proximity to Kabul where they have more access to education and urban culture.

Here is a programme where you can see Wardak Pashtuns, watch from 1:40 onwards. Do they look or seem non Pashtun?

On The Road / Hai Maidan Tai Maidan - SE-2 - Ep-1 - Maidan Wardak Province - YouTube

[toughpashtun]

1: Not true, Wardaks look like typical Pashtuns. There are new tribes branching out all the time so not important if no tribe by name of Wardak before 1800 existed.

2: Not true. Wardaks have their own unique dialect but they definitely speak Pashto, similar to Wazirs. They do Attan, hold Jirgas, follow pashtunwali like the rest.

3: Could be as they live close to non Pashtuns and in Kabul city you need to know Dari to get by.

4: Due to their proximity to Kabul and closeness to Hazara areas, there is some influence of Dari but not more so than Kandaharis who use Dari words. Wardaks are also known to be one of the most educated tribes due to proximity to Kabul where they have more access to education and urban culture.



Here is a programme where you can see Wardak Pashtuns, watch from 1:40 onwards. Do they look or seem non Pashtun?

Thanks brother.
I skimmed through the video.You are right, they speak proper Pashto.It is not like the Wazir(like you mentioned) , but somewhat similar to that of other Karlani tribes.
One more thing,we just debunked the myth of the Wardaks being Persianized.But do you of any other Pashtun tribe that is actually Persianized?

[Iblis_Efreetzai]

Thanks brother.
I skimmed through the video.You are right, they speak proper Pashto.It is not like the Wazir(like you mentioned) , but somewhat similar to that of other Karlani tribes.
One more thing,we just debunked the myth of the Wardaks being Persianized.But do you of any other Pashtun tribe that is actually Persianized?

Nurzi in Farah/Nimroz and Herat

[toughpashtun]

Im from Maidan we call Wardaks Polish Pashtuns because apparently they are dumb

Polish? What does that mean?

[Samandri]

You are very incorrect in saying that no tribe by name of Wardak existed before 1800. Ain-i-Akbari (completed in 1588 AD) tells us that Wardaks lived in toman of Bangash and their fighting strength amounted to 500 horsmen and 5500 foot in 16th century. They are also mentioned in other sources. They are among those Pashtun tribes who migrated from east to west and displaced Hazaras and Tajiks of present day Wardak province. Their closest kin are Honis and both of them claim to be Sayyidzadas i.e their progenitor was a saint Syed Gesu Daraz from father side , who married Afghan woman. They are not Karlanries, but they are associated with Karlanries.

[Samandri]

They have always been considered Pashtuns and Pashto has been their language from the begining. Other tribes who claim to be descendants from Afghan wives of Gesu Daraz are ; Ustaranis (including Gandapurs), Bakhtiaris and Mashwanis. The first known Pashto poet , Shaikh Isa Mashwani, was from this class of tribes and lived in India during the reign of Sher Shah Sur.

[toughpashtun]

You are very incorrect in saying that no tribe by name of Wardak existed before 1800. Ain-i-Akbari (completed in 1588 AD) tells us that Wardaks lived in toman of Bangash and their fighting strength amounted to 500 horsmen and 5500 foot in 16th century. They are also mentioned in other sources. They are among those Pashtun tribes who migrated from east to west and displaced Hazaras and Tajiks of present day Wardak province. Their closest kin are Honis and both of them claim to be Sayyidzadas i.e their progenitor was a saint Syed Gesu Daraz from father side , who married Afghan woman. They are not Karlanries, but they are associated with Karlanries.

Thanks,
Wikipedia says they are Karlani. But then Wikipedia is wrong in many other instances also.
For example, Wikipedia lists the Utman Khels(of Dir and Bajaur) as Sarbani whereas they are actually Karlani.
In fact, I am planning to do a thread in near future about this. I will post a table from Wikipedia which lists the Pashtun tribal confederacies and their respected tribes and then take feedback from members as to how accurate it is.
Lastly, where did you find all this info about Wardak tribe?

[Samandri]

Lastly, where did you find all this info about Wardak tribe?

From Wikipedia.

Have you find the information about the Khattaks in the book i shared with you?

[toughpashtun]

From Wikipedia.

Have you find the information about the Khattaks in the book i shared with you?

Yes I did.
The Khattaks in Nowshera including Cherat/Saleh Khana/Kotli Kalan/Nizampur area are Akor Khel/Akora. They speak the Khattak dialect as do the Khattaks in Karak and Kohat. But if some of them speak similar to the Northern Yusufzai/Peshawar dialect it is because of the influence of neighbouring tribes. However as a whole they do speak the original Khattak dialect.

[Win Butler]

Im from Maidan we call Wardaks Polish Pashtuns because apparently they are dumb

LOL that is a myth that some Kabulis started. Wardaks are actually one of the most educated Pashtun tribes.

And that's rich coming from you. You've been banned from multiple forums for being a close-minded pseudo-historian. Multiple users here have exposed you as an overall dunce.

A prominent Afghan surgeon who died recently, from Wardak:

Musa Wardak, prominent Afghan orthopaedic surgeon, dies

[Shapur]

Thanks brother.
I skimmed through the video.You are right, they speak proper Pashto.It is not like the Wazir(like you mentioned) , but somewhat similar to that of other Karlani tribes.
One more thing,we just debunked the myth of the Wardaks being Persianized.But do you of any other Pashtun tribe that is actually Persianized?

Not whole tribes but some parts of the tribe who have moved predominantely non Pashtun areas such as Durrani tribes of Herat and Kabul and some Ghilzai tribes in the the north. I am myself a Ghilzai from from northern Afghanistan which is mostly Tajik/Uzbek and we speak Pashto at home, back home and also abroad. We don't marry non Pashtuns mostly except in a few cases. Most of the people from our area can read and write Pashto whi are educated. We do have some influence from non Pashtuns mainly in terms of cuisine, some religious and cultural practices as well such as Ayna musaf during wedding cermonies, ocassionally celebrating Nowruz etc. I would say Ghilzai Pashtuns in the north are much better at preserving their Pashtun heritage than Durranis of Herat and Kabul.

[Samandri]

Thanks,
Wikipedia says they are Karlani. But then Wikipedia is wrong in many other instances also.
For example, Wikipedia lists the Utman Khels(of Dir and Bajaur) as Sarbani whereas they are actually Karlani.
In fact, I am planning to do a thread in near future about this. I will post a table from Wikipedia which lists the Pashtun tribal confederacies and their respected tribes and then take feedback from members as to how accurate it is.
Lastly, where did you find all this info about Wardak tribe?

Don't rely on Wikipedia and on some random posts on forums. For accurate list and details on Pashtun tribes, refer to the ebook by Dr.Latif Yad uploaded on Khyber.org. There are plenty of printed books on Pashtun tribes in Pashto, Urdu and English langauges that I only recommend for serious book readers.

[toughpashtun]

Don't rely on Wikipedia and on some random posts on forums. For accurate list and details on Pashtun tribes, refer to the ebook by Dr.Latif Yad uploaded on Khyber.org. There are plenty of printed books on Pashtun tribes in Pashto, Urdu and English langauges that I only recommend for serious book readers.

I searched the book by Dr Latif Yad. It is in Pashto, and I unfortunately cannot read Pashto.I did try reading some of it and somehow i did manage to figure it out.I hope someone will make the effort to translate it into English or Urdu.

Are there any other English or Urdu books available online about this subject?If yes please do tell me a few names.

[Samandri]

I posted information about Wardags on my site eight months ago History of Pashtuns د پښتنو تاريخ: Wardag or Wardak tribe

This is not the stuff you find in Wikipedia