Tribes of the Bar Region of the Punjab

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The tribes of the Bar Region of the Punjab in Pakistan reside on agricultural land
that, before being cleared in the nineteenth century for the canal irrigation system,
were thick barren forest areas which covered parts of central Punjab. The soil of
the Bar egion is fertile. The plains have been made by the alluvium driven by
rivers flowing from the !imalayas. The Bar is further divided into four regions"
the #andal Bar $the area between the avi and %henab rivers&, 'irana Bar $the area
between the %henab and avi rivers&, (eeli Bar $the area between
the avi and#utlej rivers& and )anji Bar $the area between the #utlej and dry river
bed of the !akra&.
*ost of the Bar now forms part of the modern Faisalabad, Tob Tek
#ingh, +kara, ,ehari, 'hanewal, Pakpattan and #ahiwal districts.
Tribes of the Bar
The Bar region was inhabited by a number of pastoral tribes, that went by the common name Jat. Captain
Mounstuart Elphinstone, the first British district administrator of the Bar, wrote the following in his district
settlement report:
Starting with the ower Chenab colony, the British administration in the !"#sup$th#%sup$ century began a
process of large scale canal building, the net result of which the loss by the tribes of their pastoral lands.&grarian
Society of the 'un(ab !)*"+!",! by -imadri Baner(ee Manohar..
The Many Dialects of Punjabi
Majhi Punjabi
The Ma(hi dialect is the prestige dialect of 'un(abi.s and spo/en in the heart of 'un(ab where most of the 'un(abi
population li0es. The Ma(hi dialect, the dialect of the historical region of Ma(ha, spans the ahore, Shei/hupura,
1asur, 2/ara, 3u(ranwala, 4a5irabad, Sial/ot, 6arowal, 3u(rat and to some e7tant in Jhelum 8istrict of 'a/istani
'un(ab and &mritsar, Tarn Taran Sahib, and 3urdaspur 8istricts of the 9ndian State of 'un(ab.
Pothowari Punjabi
This 'othowari dialect is spo/en in north area of 'a/istani 'un(ab. 9t e7tends in the north from Mu5affarabad to
as far south as Jhelum, 3u(ar 1han, :awalpindi, Murree -ills ;north of :awalpindi<, and east to Bhimber.
'oonchi is east of :awala/ot. 'otwari is in the plains around :awalpindi.
&lternate names: 'otwari, 'othohari, 'otohari, Chibhali, 8hundi+1airali. 8ialects: 'ahari ;8hundi+1airali<,
'othwari ;'otwari<, Chibhali, 'unchhi ;'oonchi<, Jhelumi, Mirpuri.
'ahari means =hill language. referring to a string of di0ergent dialects, some of which may be separate
languages. 'ahari is a dialect chain with 'an(abi and -ind/o. Closeness to western 'ahari is un/nown. e7ical
similarity >?@ to )A@ among 0arieties called ='ahari., ='otwari., and some called =-ind/o. in Mansehra,
Mu5affarabad, and Jammu.
Hindko Punjabi
Classified under ahnda languages by many linguistsB perhaps differs from 'un(abi. -ind/o dialect is spo/en in
north west 'a/istani 'un(ab and 6orth+4est Crontier 'ro0ince mainly this dialect is spo/en in districts of
'eshawar, &ttoc/, 6owshehra, Mansehra, Bala/ot, &bbottabad and Murree and the lower half of 6eelum 8istrict
and Mu5affarabad.
Jhangochi /Rachnavi/hangvi or henavari Punjabi
Jhangochi dialect is spo/en in 'a/istani 'un(ab. Jhangochi or :achna0i is the oldest and most idiosyncratic
dialect of the 'un(abi.
9t is spo/en throughout a widespread area, starting from 1hanewal and Jhang at both ends of :a0i and Chenab
to 3u(ranwala district. 9t then runs down to Bahawalnagar and Chishtiaa;n< areas, on the ban/s of ri0er Sutle(.
This entire area has almost the same traditions, customs and culture.
The Jhangochi dialect of 'un(abi has se0eral aspects that set it apart from other 'un(abi 0ariants. This area has a
great culture and heritage, especially literary heritage, as it is credited with the creation of the famous epic
romance stories of -eer :an(ha and Mir5a Sahiba.
9t is spo/en in the Bar areas of 'un(ab, i.e., areas whose names are often suffi7ed with =Bar., for e7ample Sandal
Bar, 1irana Bar, 6eeli Bar, 3an(i Bar and also from 1hanewal to Jhang includes Caisalabad and Chiniot.
!hah"uri Punjabi
The Shahpuri dialect has been spo/en by the people of the town Shahpur. This language has been spo/en by
the people of 8istrict Sargodha including 8era Chanpeer Shah, 1hushab, Mianwali, &ttoc/, Cha/wal, Mandi
Bahauddin and Jhang. 'arts of Caisalabad, 8era 9smail 1han, 8era 3ha5i 1han and Bahawalnagar districts.
Dhani Punjabi
The people of 'othohar spea/ 'othohari dialect. -owe0er, the people of Cha/wal or the 8hanni area in particular
do not spea/ 'othohari and are ethnologically not regarded as 'otoharis. They spea/ a distincti0e Cha/wali or
8hanni dialect of 'un(abi, which is closer to Shahpuri, a dialect spo/en in the Shahpur+Salt :ange area and also
has a slight element of Sarai/i and 'othohari.
Multani/ !araiki Punjabi
Multani or Sarai/i is a mi7ture of Jhangochi of 'un(abi and Sindhi. Sarai/i is the new name. Cor centuries,
Multani was in use. 9t is now considered a separate language instead of merely a dialect of 'un(abi.
-istorically, the spea/ers of dialects now recogni5ed as belonging to Sarai/i did not hold the belief that they
constituted a cohesi0e language community or a distinct ethnicity. This consciousness de0eloped among local
elites in the years after the founding of 'a/istan in !"*> in response to the social and political uphea0al caused
by the mass immigration of Drdu spea/ing refugee Muslims from 9ndia.
Sarai/i has 0arious sub+dialects such as 8erewali, Thalochi, Multani and :iasuti. 9t is mostly spo/en in southern
and western districts of 'un(ab, which comprises 8era 3ha5i 1han, Mu5affargarh, Bha//ar, ayyah, Mianwali,
western parts of 1hushab districts, Multan, odhran, southern and western parts of 1hanewal, Bahawalpur,
southern parts of Bahawalnagar and :ahim Ear 1han.
More than Sarai/i waseb, Sarai/i is nati0e language in the districts of Cha/wal, -afi5abad, Mandi Bahuddin,
Caisalabad, 2/ara and Toba Te/ Singh are also Sarai/i.
9t is widely spo/en and understood as a second language in 6orthern and 4estern Sind down to the suburbs of
1arachi and in 1achhi plain of Baluchistan.
9n Sindh, Sarai/i is widely spo/en in 1ashmore, Jacobabad, Shi/arpur, Tando &llahyar, Sobho 1han Mastoi,
1amal 1han Mastoi and 3hot/i.
9n Balochistan, Sarai/i is widely spo/en in Bar/han, 6aseerabad, Jafarabad and Jhal Magsi.
9n 1hyber, 'a/htun/hwa Sarai/i is nati0e language in the districts of 8era 9smail 1han.
9n 9ndia, Sarai/i is spo/en in Sirsa, Catehabad, -isar, Bhiwani, 'anipat districts of -aryana, some area of 8elhi
and 3anganagar district, -anumangarh and Bi/aner districts of :a(asthan.
Malwai Punjabi
Malwi dialect is spo/en in the eastern part of 9ndian 'un(ab. Main areas are udhiana, Moga, Sangrur, Barnala,
Carid/ot, 'atiala, Catehgarh Sahib, Mansa, Mu/tsar, &mbala, Bathinda, 3anganagar, Maler/otla, :opar, and
Cero5epur.
Malwa is the southern and central part of present day 9ndian 'un(ab. 9t also includes the 'un(abi spea/ing
northern areas of -aryana, 0i5. &mbala, -issar, Sirsa, 1uru/shetra etc. 6ot to be confused with the Mal0i
language, this shares its name.
Doabi Punjabi
8oabi dialect is spo/en in 9ndian 'un(ab. The word F8o &abiG means Fthe land between two ri0ersG and this
dialect is spo/en between the ri0ers of Beas and Sutle(. 9t includes Jalandhar, 6awanshahr, 1apurthala and
-oshiarpur districts.
Pwadhi Punjabi
'owadh or 'uadh or 'owadha is a region of 'un(ab and parts of -aryana between the Satlu( and 3haggar
ri0ers. The part lying south, south+east and east of :upnagar ad(acent to &mbala 8istrict ;-aryana< is 'owadhi.
The 'owadh e7tends from that part of the :upnagar 8istrict which lies near Satlu( up to the 3haggar :i0er in the
east, which separates the states of 'un(ab and -aryana. 'arts of Catehgarh Sahib 8istrict, and parts of 'atiala
districts li/e :a(pura are also part of 'owadh.
The 'wadhi dialect is spo/en o0er a large area in present 'un(ab as well as -aryana. 9n 'un(ab, 1harar, 1urali,
:opar, 6urpurbedi, Morinda, 'ail, :a(pura, and Samrala are the areas where the 'uadhi language is spo/en and
the area itself is claimed as including from 'in(ore, 1al/a to Bangar area in -isar district which includes e0en
6abha and 'atiala in it.
Dogri Punjabi
&lthough 8ogri is generally considered a separate language ha0ing its own 0ocabulary, some sources consider it
a dialect of 'un(abi. 9t is spo/en by about A.H million people in the Jammu region of 9ndia.
I years ago
Punjabi

Dialects

Article

Culture

Heritage

Punjab

Traditions

Virsa

This is my Punjab

Eh Mera Punjab

Language

Sea!

Peole

Dogri

Po"adh

Majha

Mal"a

Doaba

Potho"ari
#$ notes
Punjabi dialects
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-ialects of Punjabi are spoken by ./0 of the population in Pakistan, as well as by
a majority in Punjab state, 1ndia.
Punjabi dialects
Contents
2 *ajor dialects
2.2 *ajhi
2.3 #hahpuri
2.4 5hangochi6%hangvi
2.7 5angli6achnavi
2.8 *alwai
2.. -oabi
2.9 Pwadhi
2.: Pothohari6Pahari;Potowari6*odern Panjistani
2.< *ultani
2.2/ 'ohati6Peshaweri6!indko
2.22 -erawali
2.23 )hebi
2.24 iasti
2.27 %hhachi
2.28 5andali
2.2. Thalochi6Thali
2.29 -hani
2.2: 5afri6'hetrani
2.2< %henavari
2.3/ ,idesi $ Barli Boli&
3 Punjabi =niversity classification
4 eferences
Major dialects
1n 1ndia, the major dialects are *ajhi, -oabi, *alwai, and Powadhi. 1n Pakistan,
they are Pothohari, >ahndi, and *ultani.
?2@
*ajhi is the standard in both countries.
Majhi
The *ajhi is PunjabiAs prestige dialect because it is standard of written Punjabi. 1t
is spoken in the heart of Punjab in historical region of *ajha which spans
the >ahore, #heikhupura, 'asur,+kara, (ankana
#ahib, Faisalabad, )ujranwala, WaBirabad, #ialkot, (arowal, )ujrat, 5helum, Pakp
attan, ,ehari, 'hanewal, #ahiwal, !afiBabad, *andi Bahauddin districts of
PakistanAs Punjab Province and also in major cities of Pakistani Punjab.
1n 1ndia Cmritsar, Tarn Taran #ahib, and )urdaspur -istricts of the #tate of Punjab
and siBable population also in major cities of the #tates of Punjab, !aryana, =ttar
Pradesh, -elhi and *umbai 1ndia.
Shahpuri
#hah Puri dialect is mostly spoken in Pakistani Punjab. 1t is one of the oldest
dialect of the Punjabi language spoken in #argodh -ivision
?3@
of Pakistani Punjab.
?4@
1ts name is derived from former #hahpur -istrict $now #hahpur Tehsil, being part
of #argodha -istrict&. 1t can be described as a miDture of *ajhi, Pothohari and
Thalochi dialects. #hahpurias in the 'hushab area speak this dialect in a more
Thalochi tone while those in southern parts of its distribution have color of
5hangochi on their language.
?7@
1t is spoken throughout a widespread area, spoken
in#argodha and 'hushab -istricts and also spoken in
neighbouring *ianwali and Bhakkar -istricts. 1t is mainly spoken on western end
of #indh iver to %hennab river crossing 5ehlam river.
?8@
The #hahpuri dialect of
Punjabi has several aspects that set it apart from other Punjabi variants.
?.@
Jhangochi/Changvi
5hangochi $EFGHI J & dialect is oldest and most idiosyncratic dialect of the Punjabi.
1t is spoken in Pakistani Punjab throughout a widespread area, starting
from 'hanewal and 5hang at both ends of avi and %henab to !afiBabad district.
This entire area has almost the same traditions, customs and culture. The 5hangochi
dialect of Punjabi has several aspects that set it apart from other Punjabi variants.
This area has a great culture and heritage, especially literary heritage, as it is
credited with the creation of the famous epic romance stories of !eer anjha and
*irBa #ahiba. 1t is also called =bhechari dialect
Jangli/Rachnavi
5aangli is a dialect of former nomad tribes of areas whose names are often suffiDed
with ABarA derived from jungle bar before irrigation system arrived in the start of
the 3/th century, for eDample, #andal Bar, 'irana Bar, (eeli Bar, )anji Bar.
Former >ayllpur and western half of *ontgomary district used to speak this
dialect. %urrently area includes Faisalabad, %hiniot,#ahiwal, Toba Tek
#ingh, Bahawalnagar districts in Pakistani Punjab. achnavi is alternate names of
this dialect.
Malwai
1t is spoken in the eastern part of 1ndian Punjab and also
in Bahawalnagar and ,ehari districts of Pakistan. *ain areas
are >udhiana, Cmbala, Bathinda, )anganagar, *alerkotla, FaBilka,FeroBepur. *al
wa is the southern and central part of present day 1ndian Punjab. 1t also includes
the Punjabi speaking northern areas of !aryana,
viB. Cmbala, !issar, #irsa, 'urukshetra etc. (ot to be confused with the *alvi
language, which shares its name.
Doabi
-oabi is spoken in both the 1ndian Punjab as well as parts of Pakistan Punjab
owing to post;2<79 migration of *uslim populace from Kast Punjab. The word
L-o CabiL means Lthe land between two riversL and this dialect was historically
spoken between the rivers of the Beas and the #utlej in the region called -oaba.
egions it is presently spoken includes the 5alandhar and'apurthala districts in
1ndian Punjab, specifically in the areas known as the -ona and *anjki, as well as
the Toba Tek #ingh and Faisalabad districts in Pakistan Punjab where the dialect is
known as Faisalabadi Punjabi.
Pwadhi
Powadh or Puadh or Powadha is a region of Punjab and parts of !aryana between
the #atluj and )haggar rivers. The part lying south, south;east and east of
upnagar adjacent to Cmbala-istrict $!aryana& is Powadhi. The Powadh eDtends
from that part of the upnagar -istrict which lies near #atluj to beyond the
)haggar river in the east up to 'ala Cmb, which is at the border of the states of
!imachal pradesh and !aryana. Parts of Fatehgarh #ahib district, and parts
of Patiala districts like ajpura are also part of Powadh. The language is spoken
over a large area in present Punjab as well as !aryana. 1n Punjab, 'harar, 'urali,
opar, (urpurbedi, *orinda, Pail, ajpura and #amrala are the areas where the
Puadhi is spoken and the dialect area also includes Pinjore, 'alka, 1smailabad,
Pehowa to Bangar area in Fatehabad district.
Pothohari/Pahari-Potowari/Modern Panjistani
#poken in north Pakistani Punjab and CBad 'ashmir. The area where it is spoken
eDtends in the north from *uBaffarabad to as far south as 5helum, )ujar
'han , awat and awalpindi,*urree !ills north of awalpindi, and east
to Bhimber and awalakot. %hibhali and -hundi;'airali dialects may be related. 1t
is in a dialect chain with *ajhi and !indko dialects of Punjabi.
Multani
1t is spoken in *ultan and >odhran districts of Pakistan Punjab. 1t had been
historically classified as a dialect of Punjabi. 1n the 2<3/s )arrison in his >inguist
#urvey of 1ndia classified into #outhern cluster of >ahnda $Western Punjabi&. 1n
2<.7 *ultani was termed as #araiki which is claimed as a separate language.
Kohati/Peshaweri/Hindo
These similar dialects are spoken in 'hyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan in
the districts of Peshawar, (owshera, 'ohat, *ansehra, Cbbottabad, !aripur and
the lower half of the(eelum -istrict of CBad 'ashmir. They had been historically
classified as dialects of Punjabi. 1n the 2<3/s, )arrison in his >inguist #urvey of
1ndia classified them within the Western cluster of >ahnda $Western Punjabi&. The
debate over !indko as a separate language or dialect of Punjabi is an issue which
could not be resolved.
Derawali
1t is mostly spoken in ajanpur, -era )haBi 'han districts in Pakistani Punjab. 1t
is also recently classified as #araiki, which is considered a separate language by
many linguists.
!hebi
This dialect is Muite similar to the Potowari dialect, but differs slightly, for eDample
in the past tense, in which it uses $ahayNprefiD& for AwasA. For eDample L*ea
ahayaanL means L1 wasL. 1t also uses L,injnaL instead of LjaanaL or LgchnaL for
LgoingL. 1t is mostly spoken in Fateh 5ang Tehsil and Pindi )heb Tehsil in
Pakistani Punjab. The Cwaankari dialect spoken in *ianwali is also very close to
)hebi.
Riasti
Clso known as Bhawalpuri6%hoolistaniO spoken
in Bahawalpur, >odhran and ahim Par 'han districts of Punjab $Pakistan&. 1ts
name is derived from iast $#tate& of Bahawalpur. 1t is a miD of ajasthani,
Punjabi and *ultani$#araiki&.1t is spoken throughout a widespread area on the
banks of river #utlej and %hoolistan desert.1t is also recently classified as #araiki
dialect, but #araiki as a separate language or dialect of Punjabi is an issue which
could not be resolved to date because of contrasting views of >ocal linguists.
Chhachi
1t is one of dialect spoken in Pakistani Punjab which is a miDture of Potowari,
!indko dialects of Punjabi.1ts name is derived form %hach region in Cttock
-istrict of Pakistani Punjab where%hhachi clan which is a sub section of the 'ohli
'hokhran clan. 1t is mainly spoken in Cttock -istrict, Parts of !aBara -ivision and
adjacent areas of Pakistani Punjab and 'hyber Pakhtunkha.
Jandali
5andali is a miDture of Potowari, %hachi $!indko sub dialect& and Thalochi
dialects. 1t is also called ohi. 1t is mostly spoken in 5and
Tehsil and *ianwali district in Pakistani Punjab.
"halochi/"hali
#poken in Thal -esert of Pakistani Punjab. 1ts name is derived from Thal -esert.
This dialect has great proDimity with #hah puri -ialect of Punjabi >anguage
spoken in #argodha and 'haushab -istricts. 1t is spoken throughout a widespread
area, starting from Bhakkar, >ayyah to *uBBaffargarh -istricts on eastern end of
#indh iver 1n Punjab Province of Pakistan. 1t is also spoken on western end of
#indh iver from Bannu, Tank runs down to -era 1smail 'han in 'P' Province of
Pakistan.
Dhani
#poken in parts of awalpindi -ivision $Pothohar& of Pakistani Punjab.
?4@
1ts name
is derived from -han valley where its spoken. 1t is spoken in %hakwal,
?9@
parts of
5ehlam -istricts and Cttock -istricts. The people of Pothohar speak Pothohari
dialect. !owever, the people of %hakwal or the -hanni area in particular do not
speak Pothohari and are ethnologically not regarded as Potoharis. They speak a
distinctive %hakwali or -hanni dialect of Punjabi, which is closer to #hahpuri, a
dialect spoken in the #hahpur;#alt ange area.
?8@
Ja#ri/Khetrani
These are a form of -erawali very strongly influenced by baluchi and sindhi
languages, spoken in *usakhel and Barkhan, districts of Pakistani Province
Balochistan respectively.
'hetrani may not actually be a >ahnda language, but -ardic.
Chenavari
West of %henaab river in 5hang district of Pakistani Punjab the dialect of 5hangochi
merges with Thalochi and resultant dialect is %henavari. (ame is derived from
%henaab river.
$idesi % &arli &oli'
There are several dialects all cited in the dialect link. (ote as the language is
spreading with immigration throughout the world variations on the eDported
dialects of the immigrants miDed with local languages are now emerging where
Punjabi has managed to sustain itself. For eDample in the =' and (orth Cmerica
Knglish words and grammar has began infiltrating Punjabi spoken there as has
#wahili in 'enya. The effect of this is a myriad of -iaspora %reole variations that
deviate from the source language somewhat like #panish and French have in >atin
Cmerica and (orth Cmerica
This probably can then be subdivided into Cmerican Punjabi, Bartanvi 6 ,alaiti
$ British Punjabi&, 'enyan Punjabi etc.
Punjabi University classification
The =niversity has issued the following list of dialects of Punjabi.
?:@
Cwankari
Baar di Boli
-hani
-oabi
'achi
>ubanki
Banwali
Bhattiani
Bherochi
%hacchi
%hakwali
%hambiali
%henavri
-ogri
)hebi
)ojri
!indko
5atki
5hangochi
*ultani
'angri
*alwai
Pahari
Pothohari6Pindiwali
Powadhi
Punchi
Peshori6Peshawari
athi
References