Maliar
| Languages | |
|---|---|
| Pashto, Pahari languages/regional forms (Potohari, (Dardic) Pahari of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Hindko), Dari | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Pashtun |
The Maliar/Malyar is a Pashtun tribe found in Afghanistan, and in Pakistan's Punjab (Potohar Plateau) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provinces, especially in Peshawar. The Malyar tribe is also residing in Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Origin, Name, and Language
The Maliar/Malyar tribe originated in Afghanistan. Malyar means gardener in Pashto and hence, the Malyar/Malyarzai/Malyarzoi tribe's profession is gardening. Also, Malyar is a first name for males in Afghanistan. However, when it is used as a surname it denotes the Malyar tribe.
Maliars/Malyars have been incorrectly associated with the Arain tribe which is predominantly found in Pakistan's Central and Southern Punjab. The Maliars/Malyars are Iranic people, and Pashtun. The Arain are Indic people, and not Pashtun.
The Malyar or Maliar tribe is the same Pashtun tribe. There are two reasons which explain the different spelling.
Firstly, the term "Malyar" or "Maliar" is Iranic and used in Pashto, where the last part "yar" means friend in Persian/Parsi/Farsi. Hence, the term is not from English and it can be spelt slightly different using English transliteration. Secondly, there can be slight variations in pronunciation of a term. For example, as correctly stated by Turner in his Comparative Indo-Aryan Dictionary the term for "love" in Indo-Aryan languages is "piara" in Prakrit, "piyar" in Hindi, "pear" in Punjabi, and "pyar" in Kashmiri.
The Malyar/Maliar tribe speak Pashto and Dari in Afghanistan. They speak Pashto and Hindko in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They speak Potohari in the Potohar Plateau of Pakistan's Northern Punjab. They speak (Dardic) Pahari in Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The name "Dardic Pahari" is used for the Pahari spoken in Azad Jammu and Kashmir because the Pahari of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is influenced by Dardic languages. Hence, it is a Pahari language with many Dardic characteristics.
References
- Shahid Khan-Malyarzoi, The Origin of the South Asian Malyar Tribe, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Origin-South-Asian-Malyar-Tribe-ebook/dp/B00MKCWJQO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452340081&sr=8-1&keywords=malyar
- Shahid Khan-Malyarzoi, The Origin of the South Asian Malyar Tribe, http://www.amazon.com/Origin-South-Asian-Malyar-Tribe-ebook/dp/B00MKCWJQO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1452680208&sr=8-2&keywords=malyar
[[Category:Social groups of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]