Yashkuns
Subgroup of Shina people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Yashkun People or Yashkuns (Shina: یشکن) are a sub-group of the Shina, a Dardic-speaking ethnic group, most of whom reside in the Gilgit division of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral and Kohistan districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[1] They speak a Dardic language called Shina and are scattered throughout northern Pakistan. Most researchers assert that the Yashkun were immigrants to northern Pakistan from Central Asia. However, other authorities maintain that the Yashkuns were indigenous to northern Pakistan.[2][3]
یشکنز | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Kohistan | |
| Languages | |
| Shina, Urdu | |
| Religion | |
 Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Dardic People |
History
The Yashkuns, in terms of mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, have 29.47% H, 13.68% T and 13.68% M; these are most often found, respectively, amongst the modern populations of West Eurasia, South Asia, and Eastern Asia.[4]
The name Yashkun may have an etymological connection to the Ashkunu people of Nuristan.[citation needed] McCrindle claimed that the Yashkuns descended from the mythical Aśvaka (a subgroup of Kambojas).[5]
Some Yashkuns live in the Hindu Kush region where the Kambojas once ruled.[6] As Dardic Shina they are related to other indigenous groups such as the Pashai[7] and Nuristânis (Kafiristanis).[8]
Demography
The Yashkuns form the majority of the population in Gor (Goharabad), Chilas, Tangir District, Darel valley, the Indus Valley below Sazin, the upper Gilgit Valley, Gupis, Yasin, Punial, Astore Valley, Chitral, Nagar, Hunza, Kohistan, Hodur, Khinar, Astore, Gurez, Dras, Talil Soro and district Tangir. A prominent sub-branch of the Yashkun tribe, the Daram Khail, constitutes a major portion of the population residing in the Tangir Valley.