PukhtunWomen

The following post was sent to Khana Bibi at orkut by Unholy and we thought it best to share it with all of you

Shalom!

I write this and am referring to your article at http://www.pukhtunwomen.org/node/90#comment whereas you penned a synopsis of the Book "History of the Yousafzay in Swat".

Though I never did read this particular book, I am done with reading your post. & thus would like to criticise it.

"The Yusufzai Pathans, who speak Pashto."
my critique - Never use the word 'Pathan' for its' a curse word. Always mention yourself and us with our authentic and veritable distinguish id est Pakhtuns or Pashtuns.

"the land lying between Landakai and Kalam was named Swat in the eleventh century"
my critique - eleventh century or the twentyfirst century, Swat or Swad of old times, was the name of the land that stretched from Kalam in the north to Totakaan-Eesaar Baba (Present day Malakand Agency - opp to Adinzai Tahsil of Dir - with the river sawt flowing in between) at its southern-most end. Landakai lies almost 30 miles north-east to Totakaan-Eesaar Baba.

"Geneologically the Pathans belong to the same race as Khalid Bin Valid"

my critique - its spelled genealogically and..
my critique - Khalid ibnay Walid ibnay Al-Mughira, a chief of Banu Makhzum kindred of the Quraish. Genealogically splicing him with my race is a blunder. I repeat a blunder - a big boo-boo!!

"The other son of Mand (son of Khakhey, son of Kand, son of Kharshbun, son of Sorbon, son of Qais Abdur Rashid) is the ancestor of Mandanr tribe which, has always fought side by side with the Yusufzais, being their blood cousins."

my critique - Another major flub and a big boo-boo!! A very serious one. Now looky look Missy, I really felt offended when I read this because, Mandanr in specific, was the son Malak Yousuf's younger borther (Im sorry I forgot his name) who died very young. Mandanr was brought up by Malik Yousuf himself and later became his son-in-law too - and thus Mandanr Yousufzai, began to be formally referred to and known as Yousufzai, after Malik Yousuf, Mandanr's Uncle...

Asay zama khaista khor-bibi, zama na khafa na shay, this work in particualr was talking about my tribe so had to straighten up the facts. Keep up the good work. Alot of scholars have repeated the same mistakes over and over again but zamoong khalaq tole Jahilaan di.

There are other errors too but I am not mentioning them for I cannot recall my notes. Pity me! I am an old dog and do not have access to my papers that lay buried somwhere in my mountains.. in my hometown dir/swat. I live very far away from them.

I do not consider myself an expert or blah, kho I am Khadagzai, Akuzai, Yousufzai Bani Israelay. a great (multiplied by dont know what) grand son of Malik Ahmad.. yes the very same Malak Ahmad who helped Yousufzai's plan their escape and ended up conquering all these areas.

I have a family tree too.. not anything official but one that has been in my family since generations, it takes my shajarah from Malak Ahamad to Malak Yousuf, to Qais Baba to Noah of the flood himself.

... a recollection - bacha sahib (Miangul Abdul Wadud Badshah Sahib) didnt mention the domain of Swat till Totakaan Eeesar-Baba for that specific area was annexed by the state of Dir from the State of Swat in the late eighteenth century. Lets say, he was political when he wrote that.

FUI in case you didnt know, bacha sahib wasnt a Pashtun but a descendant of Pir Baba, Bunair. The Yousufzai tribes upon gaining complete independence after the demise of Moghuls would not let any one amongst them lay a claim to leadership. Every tribe considered itself fit and the other not fit - not suitable to lead Swat and Dir. At a later stage, after constant fighting amongst eachother and with that of Malaizai Yousufzai's of Dir, yhey brought a Mian/Sayyid and placed him on the throne of Swat.. and all the tribes accepted this deal.. for he was a Bacha, a Mian/Mulla, who always had a neutral role in the Pakhtun Tribal hierarchy...

and oh yessssss... just remembered another thing.. Sheikh Mali didnt wrote the land reform act during Malak Ahmad's tenure but rather during that of Khan Kajju. And neither did he help Malak Ahmad to escape Kabul along with his tribe for that was Sheikh Usman of the Yousufzai's, whose kindred uptil this day are known as the Astanadars of Yousufzai and live in a secluded picturesque village called Mayar in Adinzai Tehsil, Dir Lower.

hey! khana bibi!! I will carry on tomorrow for I am hungry and want to go out for a bite. There are some things that I need to tell you about Babar's campaign against my tribe in depth. Its much more than your article mentions. (I have an arrow at my hujra, that is supposed to be personally shot by Babar at a place called Talash, Dir at a Cedar Tree)..

and also about the massacre of Yousufzai's in Kabul.!! I will tell you about the Gwara Margha (The Battlefield of Blood!! Old women in my mountains still brag of the fact that their fathers came from Gwara Margha!! In Kabul!!

*Aku was the eldest son of Malik Yousuf and a cousin of Madarn**. His tribe within the Yousufzai kindred is known as Akuzai and setteled in Dir.

*Aku had two wives called Gohara and Rani. From Gohara he had five sons, **Khadak (Khadagzai), ***Aba (Abazai), ****Adin (Adinzai), and two others, the names that I cannot recall.

**Khadagzai are settled in the village 'Khadagzai' (also known as Brangola) alongsides another village 'Mayar' that is occupied by Astanadars of Yousufzais. It lies in the lower Swat Valley, besides river swat on its western banks (opposite the villages of Khar, Deray and Jolagram) and was always a part of the now defunct State of Dir. It borders Swat, Malakand Agency and the Uthmankhel Country of Bajaur Agency.

***Abazai are setteled in a village called Badwan opposite Batkhela again with the river swat between them. and Badwaan and Khadagzai lie together but with a small village called Mian Brangola between them. This is in fact the Serai (free gifts) given to Mians and Mullahs by Khadagzai and Abazai in order not to have a common boundary and spilt into fighting on de pato breedona.

(Note:This was a game Sheikh Malli played so that Pakhtun tribes dont get into fight on land matters. He always made sure that there was a mian mulla or a river or a mountain stream between two tribes to play the role of a natural boundary.)

****Adinzai, named after *Adin (son of Aku) live in Ooch, Kotigram, Chakdarra and the areas in between. All these places including the above mentioned lie in Tehsil Adinzai, or Tehsil Chakdarra, of Distt Dir Lower.

Now coming to the children of Aku, from his second wife Rani. They are collectively called Ranizai. There are two main parts of the Ranizai clan.

One are called Samay Ranizai (they inhabit the plains lying south to Malakand Mountains, those of Dargai, Skhakot, Takhtbhai etc.

The other is called Swat Ranizai, which I afore mentioned. They inhabit the eastern banks of river Swat starting from Totakaan-Eesaar Baba, Khar, Derai, Batkhela, Aladand Derai, Thana, Landakay, Barikot, going upto Manglore (Mingora).

*********************** (Correction)
(from the third last post under this one)!!!
Aku was the eldest son of Malik Yousuf and a cousin of Madarn**. His tribe within the Yousufzai kindred is known as Akuzai and setteled in *****************Dir Lower***** and Swat.

Malik Ahmad was a Swat Ranizai** too.
And I am not very sure about the name of the Yousufzai Astanadaar Sheikh Usman who was in Kabul with Malik Ahamd. Though am a hundred and twenty percent sure and know for a fact that it wasnt Sheikh Malli.

Either it was Sheikh Usman, or Sheikh Usman was one amongst the kindred of Swat Ranizai, who is a direct decendent of that Buzurg Yousufzai Astanadaar present in Kabul with Malik Ahmad.. (this I am very sure off.. zama books ow notes zama saray nishta de zaka i forget stuff..) I have email my dad and asked him to remind me of that name - and will let you know!