The Palula, or Dangerik (in Khowar), also known as the Ashreti or Biori (, ) are an Indo-Aryan

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

who inhabit

Ashret Ashirate ( ur, اَشْريٹ), sometimes written Ashiret or Asherate, is a settlement and an administrative unit, known as a Union Council, of Chitral District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It lies in the south of the district, ...

and parts of the former

Chitral district Chitral District ( ur, ) was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km², before splitting into Upper Chitral District and Lower Chitral District in 2018. Part of the Malakand Divis ...

, primarily in the south.

History

The Palula people claim to be from

Chilas Chilas ( ur, ) is a city and is the divisional capital of Diamer District located in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, on the Indus River. It is part of the Silk Road connected by the Karakoram Highway and N-90 National Highway, which link it to Islam ...

, though this cannot be confirmed. They migrated over 500 years ago to Ashret, and brought their language, which at the time was the Chilas variety of

Shina Shina may refer to: * Shina language, an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan * Shina people, a Dardic ethnic group in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan People named Shina * Shina Matsudo (born 1973), Japanese freestyle swimmer * ...

, which later diverged into Palula. It was said that the ''

Mitar Mitar (Cyrillic: Митар) is a masculine given name. It is a Serbian variant of a Greek name Demetrius. Notable people with the name include: *Mitar Lukić (born 1957), former Bosnian Serb footballer and current manager of FK Sloga Doboj * Mit ...

'' of

Chitral Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...

had let them buy land in Ashret in which they agreed to the offer. Many Palulas left Ashret to Dir to fight in their armies. Many of the Palula's in

Biori Valley Beori ( ur, ) is a valley located in Upper Chitral District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It meets the Kunar River and there are three villages located in the valley, including Drosh. It is located at according to Henrik Liljegren, a linguist. ...

are tribal. The Palulas have been historically known by the

Khos The Kho (, khw, ) or Chitrali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the Chitral and Ghizer Districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. They speak an Indo-Aryan language called Khowar. History The Kho people are likely descendant ...

as the ''Dangarik'', with the Ashreti Palulas despising the name and the Biori Palulas accepting the name, some even adopting themselves as ''Dangarik''. Ashreti Palulas also live isolated unlike the Biori who welcome the Kho and other

Dards The Dardic languages (also Dardu or Pisaca) or Hindu-Kush Indo-Aryan languages, are a group of several Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern Pakistan, northwestern India and parts of northeastern Afghanistan. The term "Dardic" is stated to b ...

Language

The Palula speak Palula, which in Ashret is known as Ashreti. Palula is a

Dardic language The Dardic languages (also Dardu or Pisaca) or Hindu-Kush Indo-Aryan languages, are a group of several Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern Pakistan, northwestern India and parts of northeastern Afghanistan. The term "Dardic" is stated to b ...

of the Shina branch and is closely related

Kalkoti Kalkoti, also known as Goedijaa, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Kalkot Tehsil, in the Upper Dir district in Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asi ...

, primarily the Biori variety.

References

{{reflist Social groups of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ethnic groups in Pakistan Indigenous peoples of South Asia Chitral District Indo-Aryan peoples Dardic peoples