The Shina or shin (
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
* ...
: ݜݨیاٗ, ) are an
Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group
An ethnolinguistic group (or ethno-linguistic group) is a group that is unified by both a common ethnicity and language. Most ethnic groups share a first language. However, "ethnolinguistic" is often used to emphasise that language is a major bas ...
primarily residing in
Gilgit–Baltistan
Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute be ...
and
Indus Kohistan in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, as well as in the
Dras Valley and
Kishenganga Valley (
Gurez
Gurez, or Gurais (''Guráai'' in the local Shina language), is a valley located in the high Himalayas, about from Bandipore and from Srinagar, to the north of the Kashmir valley. At about above sea level, the valley is surrounded by snow-c ...
) in the northern region of
Jammu and Kashmir and
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
in India. They speak an
Indo-Aryan language
The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, Pa ...
, called
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
* ...
and their geographic area of predominance is referred to as Shenaki.
Geography
In Pakistan, the Shina, who are also known as Gilgitis there, is the major ethnic group of Gilgit-Baltistan and the Shina language is spoken by an estimated 600,000 people living mainly in
Gilgit-Baltistan
Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...
and
Kohistan
Kohistan ( fa, کوہستان, ), also transliterated Kuhistan, Kuhiston, Quhistan, may refer to:
In Afghanistan
*Kohistan District, Kapisa, Kapisa Province
** Kohistan Hesa Awal District, a district in Kapisa Province, created within the form ...
.
People belonging to the Shina community people are also settled in the upper
Neelum Valley in Pakistan, as well as in
Dras, in the far north of the
Kargil district of
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Outliers of Shina such as
Brokskat
Brokskat (), or Minaro is an Indo-Aryan language mainly spoken in the Aryan valley of Ladakh, India and its surrounding areas. It is an endangered language spoken by only 2858 people in Ladakh, India and 400 people in Ganokh, Baltistan, Paki ...
speakers are found in
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
,
Palula and
Sawi speakers in
Chitral,
Ushojo speakers in the
Swat Valley
Swat District (, ps, سوات ولسوالۍ, ) is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. With a population of 2,309,570 per the 2017 national census, Swat is the 15th-largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prov ...
, and
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 ...
speakers in
Dir.
Many Shina people have also migrated to
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
and
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...
for employment, carrying out business, and education purposes, and many of them have permanently settled in these cities.
History
The Shina expanded to the Gilgit region from their homeland in
Shinkari, in the
Kohistan
Kohistan ( fa, کوہستان, ), also transliterated Kuhistan, Kuhiston, Quhistan, may refer to:
In Afghanistan
*Kohistan District, Kapisa, Kapisa Province
** Kohistan Hesa Awal District, a district in Kapisa Province, created within the form ...
region on the
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
sometime around the 9th or 10th century.
Soon after the Shina began settling in
Chitral, parts of the
Nagar Valley
Nagar (Nagar) is a former princely state and one of the ten districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The valley is along the Karakoram Highway on the way north from the city of Gilgit. The valley is home to many high mountain peaks including Ra ...
, and as far as
Baltistan
Baltistan ( ur, ; bft, སྦལ་ཏི་སྟཱན, script=Tibt), also known as Baltiyul or Little Tibet ( bft, སྦལ་ཏི་ཡུལ་།, script=Tibt), is a mountainous region in the Pakistani-administered territory of Gilg ...
and
Kargil
Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in Jam ...
.
The Shina people historically practised
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
,
as well as
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
.
However, both Hinduism and Buddhism were regulated to being the religion of the ruling and upper class although Hinduism had more success among the masses.
Their chief peculiarity was their feeling towards the cow, which they held in abhorrence and was considered by them as unclean. Even after the majority of the ethnic group's conversion to Islam, orthodox Shins would continue to neither eat beef, drink cow's milk nor touch any vessel containing it, because a dead cow or a suckling calf is considered especially unclean, so that purification was necessary even if the garments touched it. In Gilgit, Hunza and Nagar, the Hindu Shins formerly practised sati, which ceased before A.D. 1740.
1877, in that region, marked the last year that Shina men underwent Hindu
cremation rites.
The Shina were exposed to Islam around the 12th century. Waves of conversions occurred during the 14th, 16th and 17th centuries. By the late 19th century, most Shina were adherents of Islam.
Many castes of the Shina people, such as the Açar'îta caste, converted to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
in the 19th century and this faith is now observed by the majority of the ethnic group.
A small minority of related ethnic groups, chiefly the
Brokpa
The Brokpa (), sometimes referred to as Minaro, are a small ethnic group mostly found in the union territory of Ladakh, India around the villages of Dha and Hanu. Some of the community are also located across the Line of Control in Baltista ...
community, continue to practice Buddhism and Hinduism, though the majority of them are adherents to Islam.
Genetics
Mah Noor ''et al.'' (2019) found west Eurasian
mtDNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...
in 89% (8/9) of Shina samples, which included 11.1% (one sample each) from the following
haplogroup
A haplotype is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent, and a haplogroup (haploid from the el, ἁπλοῦς, ''haploûs'', "onefold, simple" and en, group) is a group of similar haplotypes that share ...
s, H14a, T1a, H2a, T2, U7, U5b and HV2. Besides, 11.1% (1/9) of the samples belonged to haplogroup M54, which is of South Asian origin. The obtained mtDNA sequences of Shina were compared with surrounding north-western Pakistani population groups. The haplogroups frequencies, phylogenetic tree and network analysis identified the west Eurasian ancestral origin of Shina group with nearby maternal ancestral relationships with the
Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
population. However, no close genetic relationship of Shina was depicted with nearby residing
Kho population group.
Festivals
The Shina festival of ''Chili'' marks the commencement of wheat sowing, as with other celebrations in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, including
Lohri
''Lohri'' is a popular winter Punjabi folk festival celebrated primarily in Northern India. The significance and legends about the Lohri festival are many and these link the festival to the Punjab region. It is believed by many that the festiva ...
and
Makar Sakranti. ''Chilli'' also formerly had a connection with the worship of the
cedar
Cedar may refer to:
Trees and plants
*''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae
*Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar
Places United States
* Cedar, Arizona
* ...
. Cedar worship is prevalent among historic the Hindu communities of
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
, from the Hindu Kush region to
Himachal
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
and
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
. It is known as
Deodar, which is derived from the
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
word ''Devadaru'', which means "wood of the gods" and is a compound of the words ''deva'' (god) and ''dāru'' (wood, etym. tree). The Cedar is also sacred in
Kafiristan
Kāfiristān, or Kāfirstān ( ps, کاپیرستان, prs, کافرستان), is a historical region that covered present-day Nuristan Province in Afghanistan and Chitral District of Pakistan. This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises ...
.
[The making of a frontier Five years' experiences and adventures in Gilgit By Algernon George Arnold Durand Page 209]
See also
*
Shina language
Shina ( ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Shina people. In Pakistan, Shina is the major language in Gilgit-Baltistan spoken by an estimated 1,146,000 people living mainly in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kohistan.{{Cite book , last1=Saxena , f ...
*
Gilgit Scouts
The Gilgit Scouts constituted a paramilitary force of the Gilgit Agency in northern Jammu and Kashmir. They were raised by the government of British India in 1913, on behalf of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, to police the northern front ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shina People
Ethnic groups in Pakistan
Social groups of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Social groups of Jammu and Kashmir
Social groups of Gilgit Baltistan
Dardic peoples
Ethnic groups in India