Pitafi

Pitafi is a Baloch tribe which resides throughout various regions of Pakistan. The name appears to mean "southern".[1]

Pitafi was noted as a sub-tribe or branch in 1883.[2] They are said to be Rinds that joined the Gurchani,[3] conversely the Gurchani are said to be Rind Balochs by paternal descent, but descended from Doda, a member of the Deh, who married a Rind girl, and became a follower of Chakur Rind (or Rhind). Doda's son Ghorish returned to the area and founded the tribe, four septs being founded by his sons.[4]

The Pitafi were present in the Dera Ghazi Khan district in the nineteenth century,[4] in the vicinity of Harand.[5] The Pitafi together with the Lisharees were considered the cause of most robberies in Mithunkot sub-division, especially in the dense jungle near Fazulpoor. Around the 1860s there was a feud with the Doorkani, the mokkudum of the Doorkani, Tajossh Khan was killed in a border fight by Wuzeer Pitafi.[4] Tajossh's son, Sorab succeeding him, attempted to avenge his father but was captured by Dewan Moolraj's troops and held captive for nine years in Mooltan. During this period his uncle, Mitta Khan managed the tribe, and, on Sorab's return, Sorab resigned in his uncle's favour. Wuzeer Pitafi healed the breach in the traditional Baloch manner, by giving his daughter's hand in marriage to Sorab, who he also took in to his household.[4]

In 1867 the [art of the tribe still living in the hills was drawn to the plains by land grants.[6]

According to the census of 1891 there were 2186 members of the tribe.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Horace Arthur Rose. A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province: A.-K 2. p. 47.
  2. ↑ Gazetteer of the Dera Ghazi Khan District: 1883. Gazetteer of India. 1883. p. 66.
  3. ↑ Extracts from the District & State Gazetteers of the Punjab, Pakistan 1. Punjab, Pakistan: Research Society of Pakistan, University of the Punjab. 1976. p. 106.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Captain C. Minchin (1869). "Memorandum on Beloch Tribes in the Dera Ghazi Khan district".(written 1866)
  5. ↑ Edward Balfour. The Cyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia 2. p. 213.
  6. ↑ Gazetteer of the Dera Ghazi Khan District: 1883. Gazetteer of India: Punjab district gazetteers. 1883. p. 66.
  7. ↑ B.S. Nijjar (2008). Origins and History of Jats and Other Allied Nomadic Tribes of India: 900 B.C.-1947 A.D. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 354. ISBN 9788126909087.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 30, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.