Wakhi people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Total population |
|---|
| 50,000 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, China |
| Languages |
| Religion |
|
Ismaili Islam |
| Related ethnic groups |
The Wakhi people, or Khik (called Guhjali in upper Hunza), are an ethnic group originating in the Wakhan of today's Afghanistan. They also live in adjacent areas of Tajikistan and Xinjiang and in Pakistan (in Chitral District and Gojal)[1][2]. They speak the Wakhi language. They are distinct from other Pamiri people.
Contents |
[edit] Population and Demographics
A very rough estimate puts the population of Wakhis at about 50,000. The population is divided among four different countries: Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Xinjiang in western China. The religion of Wakhis is Nizari Ismaili Shia Muslim, being followers of the Aga Khan.[3] Other sources suggest that they are Sunni.[2] The literacy rate among Wakhi in the northern areas of Pakistan is about 60%.[citation needed]
[edit] Organizations
[edit] Wakhi Cultural Association
In Pakistan, the central organization of Wakhis is the Wakhi Cultural Association Pakistan (WCA), an organization that is working with the Pakistani Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Lok Virsa Pakistan. The WCA aims to preserve the Wakhi language and culture and to record its poetry and music. The WCA has arranged more than twenty programmes since 1984, including cultural shows, musical nights, large-scale musical festivals with the collaboration of Lok Virsa Pakistan, Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan (AKCSP), and Pakistan Television. In 2000, the WCA won a "Best Programme" organizer award in the Silk Road Festival from the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf.
[edit] Media
Radio Pakistan's Gilgit station broadcasts the Wakhi radio programme "Sadoyah Boom-e Dunyo" (the Voice of the Roof of the World).
A computerized codification of Wakhi script has been released. It is hoped that this will help researchers record and document Wakhi poetry, literature and history.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Distribution of Wakhi Ethnic Group on Gojal.net
- ^ a b Phillips, David J. (2001) Peoples on the Move: introducing the nomads of the world Piquant, Carlisle, p. 271, ISBN 1-903689-05-8
- ^ Shahrani, M. Nazif Mohib (2002) The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan University of Washington Press, Seattle, p. 216, ISBN 0-295-98262-4
[edit] References
- Felmy, Sabine (1996) The Voice of the Nightingale: A Personal Account of the Wakhi Culture in Hunza Oxford University Press, New York, ISBN 0-19-577599-6.
- Shahrani, M. Nazif. (1979) The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan: Adaptation to Closed Frontiers and War University of Washington Press, Seattle, ISBN 0-295-95669-0; 1st paperback edition with new preface and epilogue (2002), ISBN 0-295-98262-4.
