´¡³Û²ÑÄ€²Ï (Turk. OYMAQ), a term designating tribal peoples in Khorasan and Afghanistan, mostly semi-nomadic or semi-sedentary, in contrast to the fully sedentary, non-tribal population of the area. The local dialects of the AymÄq are very close either to the FÄrsÄ« of east Khorasan province or to the HerÄtÄ« idiom of FÄrsÄ« DarÄ«. The ÄŒÄr AymÄq in western Afghanistan live in contiguous areas from BÄdḡīs, north of Herat, to the south of Ḡūr. Their habitat is drained by the headwaters of the ḴoškÄb, HarÄ«-rÅ«d, MorḡÄb, and FarÄh-rÅ«d. From northwest to southwest they comprise 40,000 JamšÄ«dÄ«, 60,000 AymÄq-HazÄra, 100,000 FÄ«rÅ«zkÅ«hÄ«, and 180,000 TaymanÄ«.
These tribes are ethnic formations of the 10th/16th and 11th/17th centuries; their grouping as four is in consequence a more recent administrative measure. There is consensus as to the composition of this grouping, among its members as well as among the other AymÄq. Ethnic groups of Iranian, ÄŒaḡatÄy, Uzbek, QepÄÄq, Eastern Turkic, Arab, and other origins have been unified by chiefs who originated outside their area. Among the JamšÄ«dÄ« it was a branch of the KayÄnÄ« from SÄ«stÄn (tracing descent to the legendary hero JamšÄ«d, whence the tribal name has been derived), who had been invested as “Wardens of the Marches” in BÄdḡīs by Shah Ê¿AbbÄs II (Taá¸kerat al-molÅ«k, tr. V. Minorsky, p. 16). A KÄkaá¹› Pashtun from Baluchistan, Tayman, formed a coalition in Ḡūr around 1650 (Historical and Political Gazetteer of Afghanistan III, Graz, 1975, p. 260; Baluchistan District Gazetteer I, Bombay, 1907, p. 69). The traditional chiefs of the northern FÄ«rÅ«zkÅ«hÄ«, Zay ḤÄkem, claim descent from AÄakzay Pashtun ancestors, whereas the tribe takes its name from FÄ«rÅ«zkÅ«h, the capital of the Ghurid dynasty. After the downfall of the Safavid power and during the struggle for Herat in the 12th/18th and 13th/19th centuries, BÄdḡīs was haunted by marauding Turkmen; and all AymÄq at one time or another were involved in these international affairs. Changing intra-tribal coalitions and opportunistic siding with either of the contending powers resulted in intertribal feuds which facilitated the centralizing efforts of AmÄ«r Ê¿Abd-al-RaḥmÄn at the end of the 13th/19th century and led to the breakdown of the power of tribal aristocracies. A new type of charismatic leader arose whose descendants still are of paramount importance in local politics. Members of the former aristocracy are still high ranking in prestige, holding government positions at various levels.
The events of the past 200 years forced the northern AymÄq to lead a nomadic life. The JamšÄ«dÄ«, forcibly moved from one exile to the other, became indistinguishable from Turkmen in their way of life (Yate, Northern Afghanistan, p. 122). During this period, small groups of AymÄq-HazÄra and JamšÄ«dÄ« settled in Persian Khorasan and Turkmenistan. (They now number about 2,000.) At the base of social organization, the extended family is still intact, functioning as a patriarchal household and also as a minimal economic unit. The tribes are segmented patrilineally into á¹Äʾe´Ú²¹s, the larger ones subdivided into ²¹·É±ôÄå»å, most frequently bearing the name of the fictitious founder or of the place of origin. There are 68 JamšÄ«dÄ« á¹Äʾe´Ú²¹s, 39 AymÄq-HazÄra, 44 FÄ«rÅ«zkÅ«hÄ«, and 101 TaymanÄ«. As far as their history can be traced, tribal unity never existed. Political power at the local level was maintained by coalitions based on marriage allegiances of the á¹Äʾe´Ú²¹ chiefs. This pattern still prevails. JamšÄ«dÄ« and AymÄq-HazÄra may be classed as semi-sedentary whereas FÄ«rÅ«zkÅ«hÄ« and TaymanÄ« are semi-nomadic. All the tribes use temporary housing during the summer season at varying degrees. In BÄdḡīs water and appropriate soil for irrigated agriculture are plentiful, and dry farming is also practiced. Conditions for herding are optimal, since the cattle can be kept grazing all year round (de Planhol, “La frontière,” pp. 1-16). Together with carpet weaving, these activities permit the production of a considerable surplus that can be sold at the markets of Herat and Qaḷʿa-ye Now. The narrow defiles of Ḡūr provide only limited space for irrigated agriculture, and, due to scarce and irregular rainfalls, yields from dry-farming are poor. Severe winters with heavy snows limit the number of cattle.
Other semi-sedentary, semi-nomadic or nomadic AymÄq in western Afghanistan, chiefly in Herat province, are the ḠalmanÄ« (600), MalekÄ« (12,000), MÄ«šmast (5,000), SÄ«ÄmÅ«sÄ (300), ṬÄherÄ« (17,000), TÄ«mÅ«rÄ« (33,000), and ZÅ«rÄ« (15,000). Another 25,000 TÄ«mÅ«rÄ«, descendants of nineteenth-century immigrants, live in Iranian Khorasan. They have incorporated small groups of JamšÄ«dÄ« and ZÅ«rÄ«. Some now fully sedentary ethnic groups consider themselves, and are classified by the HerÄtÄ«, as AymÄq: BÄdḡīsÄ« (1,000), ÄŒengÄ«zÄ« (6,000), ÄŒaḡatÄy (2,000), DÄmanregÄ« (200), ḠÅrÄ« (1,000), KÄkerÄ« (1,000), MaraydÄr (200), MobarÄ« (1,500), QepÄÄq (17,000), and ḴamedÄ« (200). All of them have preserved their ethnic identity; but linguistically, economically, and in social structure and religion, they are fully assimilated to the Sunnite population of western Afghanistan. The TÄ«mÅ«rÄ«, once the most powerful of the “lesser” AymÄq, had their original homeland in western BÄdḡīs. Besides those still living there or in Khorasan, there are settled TÄ«mÅ«rÄ« south of Herat and near Šendand, as well as to the north of ḠaznÄ« in ShiÊ¿ite HazÄra country. A group of Pashtunized nomadic TÄ«mÅ«rÄ« has its winter quarters near BaḡlÄn in northeastern Afghanistan. Some of the best qualities of “Herat Baluch” carpets are woven by TÄ«mÅ«rÄ« in BÄdḡīs, classified by the name of the respective á¹Äʾe´Ú²¹ such as KawdanÄ«, ŠÄ“rḵÄnÄ«, YaÊ¿qÅ«bḵÄnÄ«, or ZakanÄ«.
See also AFGHANISTAN IV: ETHNOGRAPHY; V: LANGUAGES.
Bibliography:
C. E. Yate, Northern Afghanistan, or Letters from the Afghan Boundary Commission, Edinburgh and London, 1888.
A. A. Semenov, Dzhemshidy i ikh strana, Izvestiya turkestanskogo otdela russkogo geograficheskogo obshchestva 16, 1923.
W. Ivanov “Notes on the Ethnology of Khurasan,” The Geographical Journal 67, 1926, pp. 143-58.
E. G. Gafferberg, “Formy braka i svadebnye obryady u Dzhemshidov i Khazare,” Sovetskaya Etnografiya 1, 1936.
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M. Kuhn, A Report on Village Society in the Chakhcharan District of Afghanistan, M.A. thesis, London University, SOAS, 1970.
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G. Mandersloot and J. Powell, Firozkohi, een afghaans reisjournaal, Rotterdam, 1971.
M. Barry, Western Afghanistan’s Outback, USAID, Afghanistan, 1972.
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X. de Planhol, “Sur la frontière turkmène de l’Afghanistan,” Revue géographique de l’est, 1973, 1-2, pp. 1-16.
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(A. Janata)
Originally Published: December 15, 1987
Last Updated: August 18, 2011
This article is available in print.
Vol. III, Fasc. 2, pp. 136-137
