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Ethnic Origin and
Racial Consciousness
Relying mostly on the
linguistic evidence, many western scholors-such as Richard N. Frye, M.L.
Dames, and Gankovsky-have traced the ethno-linguistic genesis of the
Baluch to the Aryan/ Iranian tribes who migrated from the southern
shores of the Caspian Sea toward Kirman, Seistan, and Baluchistan,(64)
Historians differ as to precisely when, and under what circumstances,
they began to migrate southward. Dames, for example, have suggested that
this migration may have taken place either as a result of the invasion
of northern
Iran by Ephtalites or as a consequence of their wars with Chosroes
An"osarvan, as hinted in the Shah Name. (65) There are historical
conjunctures showing that Baluchi southward migration did not occur at
once, but in several waves involving several migration routes. Richard
N.Frye, Professor of Iranian Studies at Harvard, has, relied on the
similarities and parallels found between Baluchi and the dialects of the
central deserts of Iran to suggest that “the Baluch en route to Kirman
and Makuran settled for a time or passed slowly through the northwest
central desert region,1I thus, concluding, though tentatively, that "the
linguistic support for the historical connection between the Baluchis
and the people of the central desert in the northern Kavir is at
hand.”(66)
However, the Baluch account of their origin and early history,
which is based largely on their classically ballads and traditions
recorded first in the nineteenth century, confirms' the notion of, their
northwest origin, but differs as to their ethnic attribution. Daptal
shair a classical ballad of genealogy popular, among the Baluch,
refers to Allepo (in
Syria)
as the home or place of their origin. This account, however, has not
been substantiated by historical evidence arid is often dismissed as a
legend by most historians. But, as Dames has pointed out, Daptar
Shair; together with other fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Baluchi
classics, forms, the "popular poetry" and" the Iliad of Baloch
race.”(67) They are accepted as the memories of their remote past and
are as popular among the Baluch as the epic of Shah Name is,
among the Persians or the legend of King Arthur among the British.
Hence, as popular beliefs, they influence Baluchi historical and
political perceptions, which are in turn important in the study of
nationalism: In the words of Selig Harrison, "these legends are cited
here not because they' have serious histographic value but because they
are widely believed and are thus politically important. For the most
part, Allepo is a unifying symbol of a coml11on identity in the
historical meliorates shared by' all Baluch." (68)
Moreover, there are some historical accounts
to support the notion of the Baluch's Semitic Arab origin as well.
Writing in 1862, George Rawlinson, professor of ancient history at
Oxford University, in his monumental work The Five Great monarchies
of the Ancient Eastern world has traced the origin of the name of
"Baluch" to "Belus" king of Babylon, known as Nimord, the son of Kush of
the Old Testament. Referring to the Country east of Kirman to have been
known as Kusan throughout the Sassanian period, he asserts that “the
same region is now Beloochistan, the country of the Belooches or Belus,
white adjoining it on the east is Cutch, or Kooch, a term standing to
Cush as Baloch stands to Belus,”(69) thus bringing the names of Cush and
Belus into juxtaposition as mentioned If al-Qufs- va-al-Bulus” by
the Muslim chroniclers of the tenth century A.D.
The degree to which this
belief is held by the Baluch is best illustrated by the extent of its
acceptance by some of the most prominent nationalist historians. M.
Sardar Khan and M.K.B Marri, two prominent Baluchi nationalist
historians, have followed Professor Rawlinson in linking the Baluch to "Belus"
the Semitic ruler of
Babylon. They further contend that the few references made in respect to
the Baluchi ethnic origin in the historical accounts given prior to the
nineteenth century tend to support their case, thus, citing Iban Hawkal,
a renowned Arab geographer of the tenth century; Burhan Qateh
(conv1ncing Logic), a Persian dictionary compiled in 1651-52 A.D; and
several other me_ieval sources to further support their c1aim.(70)
Still, Mir" Gul Khan Nasir, \ another
prominent Baluchi historian, advances the notion that only one group of
Baluchis belonged to old Arabia and Allepo, while a second group came
from Mount Alborz in northern Iran, and still a third group was
originally in Baluchistan.(71)
It remains for the
historians to unravel the mysteries surrounding the origin of the
Baluch. The academic interest in. the issue has become further
complicated by rival ethnic claims to the Baluch and their homeland put
forward by the Persian and some of the Arab nationalists. Almost all the
contemporary Persain authors who have dealt with the issue view the
Baluch as a "Aryan/Iranian race," thus an integral part of
Iran. This phrase is a standard, one repeated by Z. Naseh, Jahanbani,
Askari, and others. It was taught in the school history books during the
previous' regime as well. On the Arab side, the work of Mans-al-Ajli Al-Hakkami,
an Iraqi writer, Baluchistan Dar Al-Arab (Baluchistan I Land of
Arbs) is a good example. He appeals to Baluch to unify Baluchistan by
relying on "their common Arabic heritage," "an awakening of the Arabic
spirit" and using Arabic as the “language of their ancestors. (72)
In spite of the presence of so many points of
opinion on the issue of their origin, there is a general accord .among
the scholars, as to the distinct ethno-linguistic and cultural identity
of the Baluch who are bound together by a common history and territory
as well. They are referred to and identified as such throughout recorded
history. There is also no doubt that some other ethnic elements, who
inhabited some parts of the land prior to and after, the Baluchi arrival
including some Persian and Pashtun tribes, early Arab settlers, and the
remnants of original inhabitants- were absorbed and assimilated into the
Baluchi ethno linguistic community during’ the long course of their
migration and settlement in the country. Although no Baluch nationalist
or nationalist movement has claimed that, the Baluch are of pure racial
stock, the, term "Baluchi race" is widely used in some nationalist
literature, as exemplified by M. Sardar Khan Baluch's History of
Baluchi Race and
Baluchistan.
In this regard, the term is used as an equivalent for the Arabic term
Qoum as the "Baluchi Qoum," which has a less racial connotation,
meaning in Baluchi nation.
A Baluch identifies himself to outsiders as "I'm Baluch." This is
done with such staggering emphasis on the word "Baluch" that it is taken
by most outside observers as implying a belief in a sense of, racial
uniqueness. Lord Curzon, for example, has stated that the Baluch ". . .
are apt to round off every period with the swaggering assertion that
'I'm a Baluch.'.(73) Pottinger, Hughes, and many other European and
non-European travelers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have
also taken note' of this' popular national sentiment. It is, however,
more an emphasis of the Baluch distinct ethnic identity than a belief in
a sense of racial uniqueness. The term Baluch as defined here is applied
to all those who identify themselves as such either through language or
ethnic origin.
<---back to index---
(G3)
Dames, popular poetry of
the baloches,
p. 45.
(64) Frye. ed..
Cambridge HistOlY of Ir8J1, 4; xi; Gankovsky, Peoples oJ"
Pakist8J1.
p. 144; Dames, Ti1e
Balllcl1 Race. p. 52
(65) I?ames,
VIe Balllcl1 Race, p, 29
(66) Frye.
"Remarks on Baluchl History." pp. 49-50.
(67)
Dames, The Baluch Race. p. 44. .
(68)
Harrison, In
Afghanistan’s Shadow,
p. 11.
(69)
George Rawlinson. The five Great
Monarchies of the Ancient
Eastern WorJd(New
York, Dodd, Mead & Mead & Co., 1870). 1. 50.
(70) Sardar Khan, History of
BalTlch Race, pp. 1-27. See, also, Sardar Khan,
VIe Grest Ballich.
p. 10;
Marri, 11IC Baillchis through Centuries, History versus
Legel1d (Quetta, privately published, 1964)! p. 12.
(71) Gul Khan, Nasir. Tarikh-I-Bailichistan (history
of
Baluchistan
(Karachi. n.p.. 1952).1. 17.
(72) Ma'n Shana al-Ajli AI-Hakkami,
Balllchistan Diyar ai-Arab [Baluchistan.
Land of
ArabsJ (Bahrain. privately published. 1979), p. 35, as quoted in
Harrison,
In Afghanistan's Shadow, p. 122
(73)
Curzon, p. 259 |
