Forum Pakistan

Brahui (also Braui)
Total population (People) approximately 1.5 million. Brahui are settled in central *Balochistan, southwestern *Punjab, and northern *Sindh. Brahui-Balochi mixed settlements can be found in south-east Iran and south-west Afghanistan. The tribal systems among Brahui have been preserved well. The largest tribes are the following: Mambarani, Samalari, Mengal, Bizenjo, Sasoli, Shahwani, Lehri, Langar, Raisani, and the Nichari. Brahui are Sunni Muslims. Their main occupation is agriculture with elements of nomadic cattle-breeding.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: M.G. Pikulin, 'Brahui', Moscow, 1967 (in Russian), Yuri Gankovsky, 'National-Ethnic Movements Pakistan', Moscow 1989 (in Russian); A. Rooman, 'the Brahuis of Quetta-Kalat Region', Karachi, 1960; N. Brohi, 'Studies in Brahui History', Karachi, 1977.

Brahui (Language)
Brahui belongs to the north-western group of *Dravidian languages. It is used in Pakistan in the provinces of *Balochistan and *Sindh, southern Afghanistan, and eastern Iran.
Two primary dialects are distinguished: the Jhalawan (north of Kalat) and the Sarawan (south of Kalat).
Regional influences such as Iranian (of *Balochi, *Pashtu and Farsi) and *Indo-Aryan (of *Sindhi and *Lahnda) are especially strong in syntax (the absence of absolute participial and adverbial-participial constructions and the use of postpositive particles in attributive groups). Brahui vocabulary also borrows heavily from Arabic as well as from Iranian and IndoAryan languages.
The writing system is based on the Arabic alphabet.
The earliest known literary works date back to the eighteenth century (Malik-Dad Gharshin's treatise Tohfat-ul-Ajaib ).
BIBLIOGRAPHY: M.G. Pikulin, 'Brahui', Moscow, 1967 (in Russian); D. Bray, 'The Brahui Language', Pts 1-3, CalcuttaDelhi, 1903-34 M.B. Emeneau, 'Brahui and Dravidian Comparative Grammar', Berkeley-Los Angeles, 1962; S.M. Kamil-al-Qadri, 'All about Brahui', IJDL, 1972, Vol. I, No.1; D. McAlpin, 'Linguistic Prehistory. The Dravidian Situation', in: Aryan and Non-Aryan in India, Alln Arbor, 1979; M.S. Andronov, 'The Brahui Language', Moscow, 1980.

Brahui (Literature)
The first extant manuscripts of Brahui are of a didactic nature and date back to the late seventeenth century. At the end of the eighteenth century, the first *diwan of Muhammad Kalati's religious poetry was compiled. Kalati traditions were developed by Maulana Nabujan. In the first half of the nineteenth century Muhammad Husain Bangalzai introduced *ghazals into Brahui literature. Abdul Majid Chotwai turned to the genres of qissa and *dastan and enriched the essentially religious poetry with secular motifs.

Ballu Sahir and Shahwar made an important contribution into the formation of Brahui poetry. Faqir Tajal (d. 1945) was another prominent poet who followed *Sufi traditions while at the same time turning to themes from everyday life. His Sufi-spirited verse bears a clear mark of Persian influence, while his poetry on everyday themes is rooted in the folk tradition. In the 1830s the rich Brahui folklore began to be recorded and published. Later, Brahui folk poetry appeared in various collections in English and *Urdu. In the 1940s a group of religious activists in Dadu (*Sindh) started publishing religious literature in Brahui. After independence studies into Brahui folklore appearedsongs, tales, heroic epics, poetry, and stories of a didactic and educational nature.

In 1951 a group of writers established' Brahui Adabi Diwan' (Brahui Literary Society). The year 1954 was a turning point in the history of Brahui literature, when a clear change could be seen from the traditional poetry, largely imitating Persian and *Balochi verse, to the poetry which was contemporary in style and subject matter. The major poets of that period include the famous journalist Pir Muhammad Zubairani (b. 1932), who translated into Brahui A.H. *Hali's Musaddas; the author of several collections of lyric poetry on nature, Muhammad Ishaq Soz (b. 1948); and Nadir Kambarani, who made an important contribution to the progress of patriotic poetry in Brahui. Ghulam Nabi Rahi is a leading prose writer and dramatist.
In 1966 a group of lecturers from the State College in Quetta founded the Brahui Academy to promote *Brahui language and literature. Its president is Muhammad Khan Raisani and Vice President is Mahmud Aziz Kird. Among the authors who published their work in periodicals and in book form, mention must be made of Nur Muhammad Parwana Brahui (b. 1918). He launched the first newspaper in Brabui and wrote a number of essays on Brahui literature. The critic and novelist Abdur Rahman Brabui (b. 1940)

writes in Brabui, Urdu and English. The poet and literary scholar Zafar Ali Mirza (b. 1935) translated Muhammad Iqbal's poetry into Brahui, and Kamal al Qadiri (b. 1932) is a poet and literary critic.

In the Brahui Adabi Society, founded in the 1970s in Quetta, and in the journal published by the Television Centre in Quetta, as well as other literary organisations and periodicals, active members include Afzal Miran, Arif Ziya, Jawrab Brahui, Wabid Zubair, Aziz Mengal, Amir-ul-Mulk Mengal, Ali Ahmad Shad, Malik Tahir Shamim and Tabira Ehsan. The first weekly magazine in Brabui, Eelum (Brother), has been published since 1960. The Quetta-based magazine Ulus (People) carries poetry and short stories in Brabui. Illiteracy and poor printing facilities stand in the way of further development of Brabui literature, particularly prose genres.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Kamal al-Qadiri, 'Abdur Rahman Brahui', Balochi, Brahui: Metaaruf-i-Musanifin (Balochi and Brahui:
Introducing Writers), Karachi, 1973; Abdur Razzaq Sabir, 'Brahui Adab Men Jadid Rujhanat' (Contemporary Trends in Brahui Literature), Irtiqa (Progress) magazine, Karachi, September 1989.