Sethwi
Encyclopedia
The Sethwi tribe, a Baloch
tribe, is one of numerous tribes believed to have originally migrated from Mesopotamia
to today's Baluchistan
and Dera Ghazi Khan
regions of Pakistan
. Originally, they preferred to live on the Indus River
banks, where they lived for centuries. Many still live there, but they have moved in other areas of Pakistan as well. Members of the tribe are mostly of the Barelwi
group of Sunni Muslim
s with affiliations to the Hanafi
school of thought but with some variation in thoughts and sects.
, Panjabi
and Brahui, depending upon the region in which they live. Some people of this tribe are bilingual, with Saraiki or Brahui as the mother tongue and Punjabi as a secondary language. Sethwis are integrated with the regional traditions and languages wherever they are living. Hundreds of Sethwi families live in Bhakkar
, Dera Ghazi Khan
, Dera Ismail Khan
, Layyah
, Mianwali
and Jhang
in Pakistan.
serving in European countries, Saudi Arabia
, UAE
, Qatar
, Kuwait
and other Middle Eastern regions. A number of Sethwi families are still illiterate and their main source of income is agriculture.
Baloch people
The Baloch or Baluch are an ethnic group that belong to the larger Iranian peoples. Baluch people mainly inhabit the Balochistan region and Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia....
tribe, is one of numerous tribes believed to have originally migrated from Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
to today's Baluchistan
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...
and Dera Ghazi Khan
Dera Ghazi Khan
Dera Ghazi Khan is a city located in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab, Pakistan. Dera Ghazi Khan is one of the most populous cities in Southern Punjab, and it is the largest district in Punjab in terms of area, being approximately in extent....
regions 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...
. Originally, they preferred to live on the Indus River
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
banks, where they lived for centuries. Many still live there, but they have moved in other areas of Pakistan as well. Members of the tribe are mostly of the Barelwi
Barelwi
Barelvi is a term used for the movement of Sufi , Sunni Islam originating in the Indian subcontinent.The Movement is known as Ahle Sunnat movement to its followers....
group of Sunni Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s with affiliations to the Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
school of thought but with some variation in thoughts and sects.
Language of the Sethwis
Sethwis speak SaraikiSaraiki language
Saraiki , transliterated as Sirāikī and sometimes spelled Seraiki and Saraiki, is a standardized written language of Pakistan belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages. It is a language spoken in the heart of Pakistan...
, Panjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
and Brahui, depending upon the region in which they live. Some people of this tribe are bilingual, with Saraiki or Brahui as the mother tongue and Punjabi as a secondary language. Sethwis are integrated with the regional traditions and languages wherever they are living. Hundreds of Sethwi families live in Bhakkar
Bhakkar
Bhakkar is the principal city of Bhakkar District, Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of the Indus river. It has a population of almost 300,000 and was given status of district in 1981.-Administration:...
, Dera Ghazi Khan
Dera Ghazi Khan
Dera Ghazi Khan is a city located in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab, Pakistan. Dera Ghazi Khan is one of the most populous cities in Southern Punjab, and it is the largest district in Punjab in terms of area, being approximately in extent....
, Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan is a city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It is situated on the west bank of the Indus River, west of Lahore and northwest of Multan. The city is the capital of the district and tehsil of the same name. In Pakistan, its name is often abbreviated to D. I...
, Layyah
Layyah
Layyah, also spelt Leiah , is the capital city of the Layyah District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at 30°58'0N 70°56'0E with an altitude of 143 metres .-Old History:...
, Mianwali
Mianwali
Mianwali is the capital city of Mianwali District and situated in the north-west of Punjab province, Pakistan. The city is located on the eastern bank of the Indus River...
and Jhang
Jhang
- Demographics :According to 1981 census of Pakistan population of Jhang was 1,970,944 with the 434,495 housing units in Jhang. In 1998 census, population of Jhang was 2,834,545, whose annually growth rate was 2.16%. Male population was 1,474,099 and female population was 1,360,446...
in Pakistan.
Literacy rate of Sethwis
Most Sethwi people are educated and serving in law enforcement, military, financial institutions, government and private sectors. Many Sethwi people work abroadMigrant worker
The term migrant worker has different official meanings and connotations in different parts of the world. The United Nations' definition is broad, including any people working outside of their home country...
serving in European countries, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, UAE
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
and other Middle Eastern regions. A number of Sethwi families are still illiterate and their main source of income is agriculture.
Traditions of Sithwis
The Sithwi tribe is rich in culture and customs. Their main customs are similar to other Baloch tribes. Most Sethwi families retain their culture and traditional customs such as traditional dance, marriage ceremonies, and dress, but people who have moved away from their relatives toward big cities of Pakistan are slowly forgetting their culture and customs and their children don't even know to which tribe they belong in some cases.Some Significant Members of the Sithwi Tribe in Bhakkar
- AlHaj Punno Khan Baloch: head (Sardar) of Sethwi tribe in BhakkarBhakkarBhakkar is the principal city of Bhakkar District, Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of the Indus river. It has a population of almost 300,000 and was given status of district in 1981.-Administration:...
. Died in 2007. - Haji Fateh Muhammad Khan Baloch: Current head of Sethwi tribe.
- Ghulam Rasool Khan Baloch
- Haji Faiz Muhammad Khan Baloch
- Muhammad Farooq Khan Baloch: Software quality assuranceQuality AssuranceQuality assurance, or QA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production process...
manager, Berlin, Germany - Muhammad Imran Khan: Geophysicist for BGP Petrolium SindhSindhSindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
Pakistan. - Awais Khan Baloch: Mathematician and research scholar, IslamabadIslamabadIslamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
See also
- Baloch tribesBaloch tribesThe Baloch are a tribal society settled in Balochistan in southwestern Asia. The Balochistan region is divided among Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.The following is a partial list of major Baloch tribes.A* Ahmadani...
- GabolGabolGabol is a Baloch tribe settled in the Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan. Gabols are of Rind origin and are mostly settled in Tikko Baran surrounding the Kirthar Mountains Range, Karachi, Ghotki, Alipur, Sibi, and Jacobabad. This tribe is also considered to be present in Iran...
- Brahui peopleBrahui peopleThe 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...
- Balochi DialectsBalochi dialectsThe Balochi language is divided in three major dialects: Western Balochi, Southern Balochi and Eastern Balochi. Each of these dialects are divided in sub-dialects.-Western:# Sarhaddi Rakhshani# Afghan Rakhshani# Turkmen Rakhshani# Panjguri Rakhshani...
- Balochi History
- BalochistanBalochistan (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...
- KhosoKhosaThe Khosa, Khoso, or Khosug are a Baloch tribe of Pakistan and a Gotra found in Yaduvanshi Ahirs. According to Baloch history, Khoso was the grandson of Hooth....
- Demographics of IranDemographics of IranIran's population increased dramatically during the later half of the 20th century, reaching about 75 million by 2011. In recent years, however, Iran's birth rate has dropped significantly. Studies project that Iran's rate of population growth will continue to slow until it stabilizes above 100...
- Demographics of PakistanDemographics of PakistanThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Pakistan, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
- Demographics of AfghanistanDemographics of AfghanistanThe population of Afghanistan is around 29,835,392 as of the year 2011, which is unclear if the refugees living outside the country are included or not. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between...
- Demographics of OmanDemographics of OmanThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Oman, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
- Demographics of United Arab Emirates
- Demographics of KuwaitDemographics of KuwaitThis article is about the demographic features of the population of Kuwait, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
- Rind (tribe)Rind (tribe)Rind are a Baloch tribe settled in the Balochistan province of Iran, and the Balochistan Province of Pakistan, Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan....
, known as Dashti - Mehergarh
- Bashkardi
- KoroshiKoroshiKoroshi can refer to:* Koroshi language, a language of Iran*An episode of the TV series Danger Man, later released as a feature film of that name in some territories...
- ChandioChandioChandio is a Baloch tribe in the Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan.The clans of Chandio, the Guramani, Husnani, Aajbani, Sakhani, Qambrani, Ghaibiani, Marfani, Choliyani, Bangulani, Misrani, Alhiyarzai, Mirwani, Bhundani, mirzani, Sumarani, are known in Sindh and in Punjab...
- Balochi AcademyBalochi AcademyThe Balochi Academy promotes the Balochi culture through the development and promotion of the language and literature; support for literary circles; conducting seminars and conferences; and inviting academics from other parts of Pakistan and abroad as guest speakers...