Lasi
Encyclopedia
Lasi is a tribe settled in Lasbela District
of Balochistan
, Pakistan
.
The term Lasi is a geographical name, which is even applied to all the tribes other than Baloch and Brahvi
, Med, Khoja
and Hindus who are settled in Lasbela.
The population of Lasbela presents many features of special interest to the ethnologist. The first historical reference to the ancient population of Lasbela and Makran is to be found in Arrian, who divides the population into two distinct classes. The people of the coast whom he names the Ichthyophagoi or fish-eaters and the population of the interior, the Arabi, the Oreitai and the Gadrosia of Gadrosia or Gedrosia. Several other authors have described the strange race of the Ichthyophagoi who are undoubtedly identifiable with the present fishermen of the coast.
Afterwards, the district appears to have come under the influence of the Sammas, who asserted their independence when the power of the Abbaside caliphs declined. The Sumras gained a position of supremacy in the middle of the eleventh century. They were eventually overthrown by the Sammas under Jam Umar in 1333. The Sammas reigned till 1523 when they were defeated and their power was completely broken by Shah Hussain Argon. The succeeding period is again obscure. The chiefs of the Gujar, Ranjha, Gunga and Burfat tribes, who are still to be found in Lasbela, are said to have exercised a semi-independent power previous to the rise of the Aliani family of the Jamoot tribe, to which the present Jam of Lasbela belongs.
The principal Lasi tribes are only five in number, namely Jamot, Moondra, Roonjha, Sheikh, Angaria and Burraf. These are called the Panjraj or the five tribal confederacies. Under each Raj are a large number of heterogeneous groups.
Lasbela District
Lasbela is a coastal district of Balochistan province of Pakistan. It became a separate district in Kalat Division on 30 June 1954. The name is derived from the words Las which in Sanskrit signifies a settlement or lived in or lively and Bela which means "A Sea's Shore" in Sanskrit and is also the...
of Balochistan
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
The term Lasi is a geographical name, which is even applied to all the tribes other than Baloch and Brahvi
Brahui people
The Brahui or Brohi are ethnic Baloch group of about 2.2 million people with the majority found in Kalat, Baluchistan, Pakistan, but they are also found in smaller numbers in neighboring Afghanistan and Iran. The Brahuis are almost entirely Sunni Muslims.-Origins:The ethnonym "Brahui" is a very...
, Med, Khoja
Khoja
The Khojas are ethnic group of Shia Muslims. The word Khoja derives from Khwaja, a Persian title .In Pakistan, many Khojas migrated to and settled in the province of Sindh and especially in the city of Karachi. While in India, most Khojas live in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and...
and Hindus who are settled in Lasbela.
The population of Lasbela presents many features of special interest to the ethnologist. The first historical reference to the ancient population of Lasbela and Makran is to be found in Arrian, who divides the population into two distinct classes. The people of the coast whom he names the Ichthyophagoi or fish-eaters and the population of the interior, the Arabi, the Oreitai and the Gadrosia of Gadrosia or Gedrosia. Several other authors have described the strange race of the Ichthyophagoi who are undoubtedly identifiable with the present fishermen of the coast.
Afterwards, the district appears to have come under the influence of the Sammas, who asserted their independence when the power of the Abbaside caliphs declined. The Sumras gained a position of supremacy in the middle of the eleventh century. They were eventually overthrown by the Sammas under Jam Umar in 1333. The Sammas reigned till 1523 when they were defeated and their power was completely broken by Shah Hussain Argon. The succeeding period is again obscure. The chiefs of the Gujar, Ranjha, Gunga and Burfat tribes, who are still to be found in Lasbela, are said to have exercised a semi-independent power previous to the rise of the Aliani family of the Jamoot tribe, to which the present Jam of Lasbela belongs.
The principal Lasi tribes are only five in number, namely Jamot, Moondra, Roonjha, Sheikh, Angaria and Burraf. These are called the Panjraj or the five tribal confederacies. Under each Raj are a large number of heterogeneous groups.