Culture & Heritage

Distribution of Wakhi Ethnic Group

The exact number of Wakhies living in different countries are not known. Captain Barrow, the author of the first Gazetteer of the Afghan Provinces of the Upper Oxus, reports that before Wakhan was taken over by the Afghan Government, "The population in 1883 was about 6,000, i.e., 300 houses (Barrow 1888:124). It is said that during 1883 the Wakhies migrated to surrounding areas and settled there. However, historical events confirms that before 1883 the Wakhies were  living in Gojal and Chinese Turkistan. According to some reports the Wakhies in Aghanistan during 1939 were 4,500 people. According to rough estimates and projections on the basis of last census it is estimated that  the Total population of Wakhi ethnic group in all four courtiers ranges from 40,000 to 50,000. Among them about 10,000 Wakhi live in Afghanistan, 13,000 in the ex-Soviet Union states Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, 5,000 in Xinjiang China and 15,000 in Northern Areas of Pakistan.

A large number of Wakhi after migration from Wakhan inhibited among other strong cultural and language groups and lost its identity and language. Presently, there are a large number of Wakhi origin people settled in Central Hunza but they are not speaking Wakhi. The best examples are the Quli kuts (Karimabad, Murtazabad), Chiliw kuts (Karimabad) and Muyu kuts (Altit). Similarly, most of the Wakhi settled in Yasin are now not speaking Wakhi and many Wakhi families in Ishkoman are now using Kwar as primary language. There are also reports that some of the mountain people, including the Wakhi, have been resettled in the cotton-growing plains of Uzbekistan, in disregard of the socio-cultural and climatic problems they faced in the lowlands. These Wakhies may also lost its original identity.

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