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Torwali people

Regions with significant populations
Swat
Pakistan	100,000
Languages
Torwali
Religion
Predominantly Islam
Related ethnic groups
other Dardic peoples

The Torwali people are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group located in the Swat district of Pakistan. Until A.D. 1021, the Torwali people mainly practiced Hinduism and Buddhism under the rule of the Hindu Shahi king Raja Gira; at the time of the Islamic invasion of medieval India, many of the Torwali converted from these religions to Islam. The Torwali people have a rich culture, including the telling of folktales and music that is played using the sitar.

History

The Torwali people are native to the region of Swat, located in the northwestern region of Pakistan. The Torwali were originally Hindus and Buddhists; in the 11th century, the Hindu king Raja Gira and his subjects were attacked by Mahmud of Ghazni during that period of the Islamic invasion of India. As such, by the 17th century, most of Swat's population converted from Hinduism and Buddhism to Islam, with the Torwali who remained Hindu and Buddhist fleeing to the mountains of Madyan. The ruins of Raja Gira's fort are still visible today.

Language

The Torwali people speak the Torwali language, an Indo-Aryan language of the Dardic (Kohistani) branch. It has approximately 100,000 native speakers. Until 2007, the Torwali language did not have a written tradition.

Education

By 2017, eight schools with instruction in the Torwali language were established for Torwali students. The number of Torwali pupils participating in these schools are 867.

Culture

Unique to the Torwali people are traditional games, which were abandoned for more than six decades. A festival held in Bahrain known as Simam attempted to revive them in 2011.

The Torwali people have a tradition of telling folktales.

Music

The Torwali people play music using the traditional South Asian instrument known as the sitar.

Modern Torwali songs influenced by Urdu or Pashtu music are known as phal.

References

1. ^ Shah, Danial (30 September 2013). "Torwali is a language". Himal Southasian. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
2. ^ East and West, Volume 33. Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. 1983. p. 27. According to the 13th century Tibetan Buddhist Orgyan pa forms of magic and Tantra Buddhism and Hindu cults still survived in the Swāt area even though Islam had begun to uproot them (G. Tucci, 1971, p. 375) ... The Torwali of upper Swāt would have been converted to Islam during the course of the 17th century (Biddulph, p. 70 ).
3. Baart, Joan L. G.; Sindhi, Ghulam Hyder (2003). Pakistani languages and society problems and prospects. National Institute of Pakistan Studies. ISBN 978-969-8023-17-1. However, the current location of this community is in Swat, where it is surrounded by Torwali-speaking people. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
4. ^ ur-Rahim, Inam; Viaro, Alain M. (2002). Swat: An Afghan society in Pakistan: Urbanisation and Change in a Tribal Environment. Institut universitaire d'études du développement. p. 60-61. The conquest of the Peshawar basin in 1001 marks the beginning of the Muslim invasions into northern India. The Peshawar plain was annexed to the Ghaznavid kingdom, and the Afghan tribesmen in the Bannu area were soon subdued. Swat, Dir and Bajour, cut off from the eastern Hindu Shahi territories succumbed quickly to Mahmud's army (1021?). Two thousand feet above the plain at Udigram in Swat stands a massive ruined fort. The grand staircase leading up to Raja Gira, the last Hindu defender of Swat, who was defeated after a long siege, built the fort. According to local tradition, Mahmud's commander Khushhal Khan died during this siege and is buried where the shrine of Pir Khushhal Khan Baba stands in a grove of trees. After the conquest of Swat, the Ghaznavids strengthened and extended the defences at Udigram. Other local forts and castles were also turned into garrison towns. The Hindu and Buddhist local population had no choice, either to convert to Islam or to be killed. The part of population, which did not convert to Islam, was driven into the mountains north of Madyan. Dilazak Afghans, allied to Mahmud, took over the land and settled there.
5. ^ Adamson, Hilary; Shaw, Isobel (1981). A Traveller's Guide to Pakistan. Asian Study Group. p. 156. The climb up to the Hindu Shahi ruins of Raja Gira's castle, though steep, is rewarding, with fine views of the Swat valley and distant mountains as you get ...
6. ^ Torwali, Zubair (12 February 2016). "Fading songs from the hills". The Friday Times. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
7. Khaliq, Fazal (6 March 2016). "Castle of last Hindu king Raja Gira in Swat crumbling". Dawn. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
8. "Castle of the last Hindu King Raja Gira in Swat". Geo News. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
9. Cheema, Pervaiz Iqbal; Mahmud, Muneer; Billah, Mustansar (2008). Pakistan and Changing Scenario: Regional and Global. Islamabad Policy Research Institute. p. 136. ISBN 978-969-8721-22-0. In 1021 A.D., Mehmood of Ghazani led an expedition in Bajour, Dir and Swat and Hinduism received its death blow in these areas. At that time, Swat was ruled by Raja Gira. Mehmood of Ghazani defeated the army of Raja Gira near ...
10. Wadud, Abdul Wadud; K̲h̲ān̲, Muḥammad Āṣif (1963). The Story of Swat as Told by the Founder Miangul Abdul Wadud Badshah Sahib to Muhammad Asif Khan. p. xv. The last of these, Raja Gira, ruled over Swat till the beginning of the eleventh century A.D. On hill near Udigram, he built a big cantonment, the ruins of which can be seen even today.
11. Grimes, Joseph Evans (1992). Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Summer Institute of Linguistics. p. 697. ISBN 978-0-88312-815-2.
12. ^ Sherris, Ari; Peyton, Joy Kreeft (18 February 2019). Teaching Writing to Children in Indigenous Languages: Instructional Practices from Global Contexts. Routledge. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-351-04966-5.
13. Torwali, Zubair (12 February 2016). "Fading songs from the hills". The Friday Times. Retrieved 25 December 2020. Folktales play a critical role in the oral traditions of a community. These stories tell of the past of the community; its desires, how it deals with natural phenomena, and of course the social dialectics. They can also be good starting-points for further anthropological and linguistic research.

• Ethnic groups in Pakistan