The Storyani ( ps, ستورياني), also called Ustrani or Ustarana, are a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

of Sayyid origin inhabiting the Frontier Region in the outer hills opposite the extreme south of

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakistan ...

district of

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

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 ...

. They have occupied the eastern slope of Suleiman Mountains. To their north lies

Gomal River Gomal River ( ur, , ps, ګومل سیند، ګومل دریاب) is a river in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It rises in the northern part of Afghanistan's Paktika Province. It joins the Indus River 20 miles south of Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakh ...

, which separates

South Waziristan Agency South Waziristan District ( ps, سويلي وزیرستان ولسوالۍ, ur, ) was a district in Dera Ismail Khan Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before splitting in to Lower South Waziristan District and Upper South Waziristan District and t ...

from this region. To their south west across

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

border is Zhob and Dukki, to the east towards Daman plains with the

Gandapurs The Gandapur (Pashto: ګنډہ پور Urdu: گنڈہ پور ) also called Gandapore, is a Pashtun tribe, which is based in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is a Pathan tribe which lives in the Damaan Valley of Dera Ismail Khan District of Pakist ...

Kulachi Kulachi (کلاچی) is a city named after the Kulachi Baloch tribe and is the headquarter of Kulachi Tehsil (an administrative subdivision) of Dera Ismail Khan District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at at an altitud ...

, to the west with

Musa Khel Musakhel can refer to: *the Musakhel tribe of Afghanistan and Pakistan * Musakhel District, Afghanistan, part of the province of Khost, Afghanistan **Musakhel, Khost, the administrative centre of the district of the same name in the province of Khos ...

and

Zmaryani Zimri Tribe is also called Zimri or Mizri, is a Pashtun tribe in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.Qaisrani Qaisrani is a Baloch clan of Rind tribe. They live mostly in Balochistan, 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 an ...

(a Balouch tribe) on the south.

History and origin

Until about the 18th century the Storyani were entirely a pastoral and trading tribe; they were venturesome traders, carrying goods from

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

as far as

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, but the feud with their neighbors the

and the

Bozdar Buzdar () is a clan of Baloch people, Baloch tribe Rind (Baloch tribe), Rind, living in Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab provinces of Pakistan. They mostly live in Sulaiman Mountains, Koh Suleiman. Buzdar peop ...

put a stop to their annual westward immigration, and they were forced to take to agriculture and subsequently acquired a good deal of the country below the hills. Their territory includes the eastern slopes of the Suleiman Mountains, the crest of the range being held by the Musa Khel, and Zmaryani. Storyanis are descended from Syed Gesdudaraz I and his Sherani wife, who had five sons.

References

{{Pashtun tribes Sarbani Pashtun tribes