The Marri are a Balochi-speaking tribe of the

Baloch people The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian peoples, Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afgh ...

, who inhabit a large arid region in northeastern

Balochistan, Pakistan Balochistan (; bal, بلۏچستان; ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It shares land ...

. The Marri area is bounded to the west by the plains of

Sibi Sibi ( Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hindu la ...

. To the north are the

Kakar The Kakar (Pashto: کاکړ) is a Gharghashti Pashtun tribe, based mostly in Northern Balochistan, Pakistan and Loy Kandahar in Afghanistan. Legendary origin Kakars are sons of Gharghashti who was the son of Qais Abdul Rashid. In Herat, the Ka ...

and

Loni Loni is a somewhat popular female name related to the given names Leonie, Lonna (or Lona) and Lonnie. It may refer to: People * Loni (Pashtun tribe), a branch of the Durrani tribe in Pakistan and Afghanistan ** Arman Loni (1983-2019), Pashtun ...

tribes of the

Pashtuns 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 ...

; to the east lie the lands of the

Khetrans The Khetran are a Baloch tribe found primarily in the northeast of the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Their area is a large hilly tract in the Sulaiman Mountains comprising the whole of Barkhan District as well as small parts of neighbouring ...

, speakers of an Indo-Aryan language, Khetrani; to the south the

Bugti Bugti ( bal, بُگٹی ) is a Baloch tribe found in eastern Balochistan, Pakistan. , it was estimated to comprise over 180,000 people, mostly living in the Dera Bugti region of Pakistan. They are in turn divided into the Rahija,Marhita, Perozani, ...

tribe. Traditionally, the Marri people, like other Baloch tribes, were

nomads A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

and earned their livelihood from grazing animals. Today, the Marri

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 ...

is modernized, and only a few groups are left with a distinct cultural identity.

Early history and folklore

The early history of the Marri centers around the Mir Chakar Khan, the folk hero of many Baloch romances and leader of the Rind tribe. After his quarrels with the Lasharies, and after he had been driven out of

by the Arghuns, Mir Chakar took refuge in what is now the present Marri country near the Manjara River. Shortly after raids, the main body of the Rinds migrated to the country east of the Indus. However, a small section of the Puzh Rinds detached itself from Mir Chakar and elected to remain behind in the Sewistan Hills. The leader of this section was Bijar Khan, accompanied by Ali Khan, Mando Khan and Kalu Khan, a blacksmith (Lohar), a gardener called Kangra, and a negro (Sedi) named Shaheja. These men were the founders of the Marri tribe, which consolidated in the first quarter of the sixteenth century. The particular spot where Bijar Khan parted ranks from Mir Chakar is known as Bijar Wad into the present day.

Constituent groups

The Marri tribe consists of the following subtribes (as recorded in 1940): *Ghaznni (which, in turn, is made up of the Thingiani, Badani, Mandani, Chhalgari, Zhing, Langani, Aliani, Mazarani, Nozbandgani, Lori Kush, Bahwalanzai, Murgiani, Isfani and Jarwar) *Bijarani (with subsections Pawadi, Kungrani, Shaheja, Kalwani, Kalandrani, Salarani, Somrani, Pirdadani, and Ramkani) * Loharani (with the three subsections of the Mohamadani, Sherani, and the eponymous Loharani) The Marri are a Balochi-speaking tribe of the Baloch people, who inhabit a large, arid region in northeastern Balochistan, Pakistan. The Marri area is bounded to the west by the plains of Sibi, to the north are the Kakar and Loni tribes of the Pashtuns, to the east lie the lands of the Indo-Aryan speaking Khetrans, while to the south are found the Marri's traditional enemies, the Bugti Baloch. The Marri tribe consists of the following sections (as of 1940): Ghazeni (which in turn is made up of the Bahawalanzai, Nozbandagani, Murgiani, Samwani, Lodhiani, Aliani, Ispani and Langhani, possibly others), Bijarani (with subsections Tingiani, Mazarani, Kalandrani, Kaisrani, Rahmkani, Piradani-Marri, Salarani, Somrani, Kalwani, Shaheja, Powadhi and Kungrani, Loharani (with the four subsections of the Mohamadani, hijbani, Sherani, and the eponymous Loharani, ).

Early history and folklore

Constituent groups

See also

References

Further reading