Bet / Bettani (The Second son of Qais Abdur Rashid)

Bettani (The Second son of Qais Abdur Rashid)

Beṭ (بٹ) / Bettani is said to be the second son of Qais Abdur Rashid who is said to be the founding father of Pashtoon people. The Bettani or Bēṭanī (بٹنی‎) (also spelled Bhittani in older British sources) is a Pashtun tribal confederacy located mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan with a small number dwelling in India. The Bettani are named after Shaykh Beṭ, their legendary ancestor who is said to be the second son of Qais Abdur Rashid. The Bettani's are Sunni Muslims of Hanafi sect. The Bettani confederacy includes the supertribes of Lohani , Ghilji and Lodi, as well as the tribe of Shirani.

The Ghilji reside in east-central Afghanistan, most concentrated in the region from Zabul to Kabul province. The Bettani proper in Pakistan reside in Frontier Region Tank, a territory that is a buffer zone separating Tank District from the Mahsud tribe of South Waziristan Region in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The Bettani tribe live in the Frontier Region of District Tank and in FR Lakki Marwat of Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Pakistan. Jandola is considered the capital of the Bettani tribes in FR Tank.

The Betani are said to be named after their ancestor Betṭ Baba (claimed to be First Pashtu Poet), who lived in the Altamur range which is located between Logar and Zurmant and he was buried in Ghazni according to the legend. The Betani are known to have lived in the Logar, Zurmat and Ghazni area until the 15th century, but then they came into conflict with the Ghilji (Gharzai) and the Bettanis were expelled from the area towards the east. Some lineages succeeded to take control of Gabarḡar, which is located between the BannuBasin and Dēra, while other Bettani lineages migrated further northeastwards.

Sheikh Bett Nekah was considered Jad-e-Amjad (elder) of mostly Pashtun families. Abul Fazal confirmed it in his book 'Ayein-e-Akbari'. Naimatullah Harvi and Khan Jahan Khan Lodhi also mentioned it in his book 'Majmaul Ansab'. While Akhon Darvenza Nangarhari also used same words for Sheikh Bett Bhittani. In 'Tazkarul Aulya' 612 hijri Suleman Mako wrote about Sheikh Bett Nikah that he was popular saint of his time. The analyst saying that 'Bett Nikah was live in 300 hijri to 400 hijri'. He was Pashtu poet. One of his popular poem mentioned by Suleman Mako in his book. Loya Khudaya Loya Khudaya, Sta Pa Meney Pa Har Zaya, Ghar Walar De Darnaway K, Tola Zhawi Pa Zari k, Dalta de da Ghru Lameny, Zamung Kegdai pakey plany, Da Waghari Dair kre Khudaya, Loya Khudaya Loya Khudaya

The Bettani speak various Pashto dialects. The Ghilji or (Gharzai) of the central region around Paktika speak Central Pashto, a dialect with unique phonetic features, transitional between the southern and the northern dialects of Pashto. The Lohani (Rohani,Nohani) Marwat, as well as some other minor Lodi tribes and the Bettani proper, speak the Marwat Lodi Bettani dialect, which is a southern Pashto variety, however, its phonetics are different from the southern Kandahari Pashto. The Sheerani tribe of the Bettani confederacy speaks another southern dialect. The northern Bettani clans speak the northern or "hard" Pashto variety. Some of the Bettani lineages, including some (but not all) clans of the Tanoli, Niazi, and Swati tribes, have abandoned Pashto. Today they speak other languages, like Urdu, Hindko, Saraiki, Punjabi, Dari.

Lohani, Rohani, Nohani

The Lohan, sometimes called Nuhani is a Pashtun tribe the renowned personality and spiritual leader of Bettani tribe is Sheikh Mohammad Rohani(1220-1305 AD) also known as Shah Mohammad Rohani and Rohani Ba was a Sufi cleric born around 1220 AD. The cleric, whose shrine in southern Afghanistan attracts thousands of Sufi visitors every year The Lohani, sometimes called Nuhani is a Pashtun tribe found in Pakistan especially in the region of Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Lakki Marwat, Shakargarh, Afghanistan and India (Bassi Dulat Khan).

They were a mostly pastoral and migratory tribe engaged in Commerce and Trade but nowadays most of them have settled down in the plains of DI Khan, Tank and Lakki Marwat. Lohanis have four branches, Marwat, Daulat Khel, Miya Khel and Tatoor. The Tatoor tribe was crushed by Nadir shah and Daulat khel (Nawab of Tank) who brought them near to extinction. Therefore, nowadays Tatoor tribe is generally dispersed in the region of Tank, Dera Ismail khan and FR Tank and especially found in village Tatoor near Tank city.

District Tank, FR Tank & FR DI Khan & FR Lakki

The area is mainly inhabited by the Bhittanis who have three sub-sections namely Tatta, Waraspon and Dhanna. The Bhittanis, as evident from their name, claim descent from Baitan, the third son of Qais, the founder, according to one doctrine, of the Pukhtoon race. They also inhabit F.R. D.I. Khan and F.R. Bannu, mostly the mountainous area on the borders of Tank and Bannu from the Gabbar mountain in the north to the Gomal valley in the south.

According to traditions, they were first living in Koh-i-Sulaiman, but the Ghiljis drove them out of their homeland and they settled where they are now. During the reign of Pashtun Sultans of Delhi they enjoyed prestigious positions, and a large number of them used to serve in the Sultanate’s army.

Bhittanis tribe is divided in three sections: Tattao- at Jandola and Siraghar in the Dera Ismail Khan and some adjoining areas; Dhanna- on the Gabbar mountain and in the Bannu F.R.; Waraspun- inhibinting the F.R. Dera Ismail Khan and some adjoining valleys. Frontier Region Lakki is inhabited by the Boba, Bobak and Wargara clans of the Bhittanis. Most of Danni- inahibinting in F.R. Tank and some adjoining valleys.

Organisation of the tribe

The Bettani tribe has three sub-castes, which are called Tattha, Wraspoon and Dhana. The Tattha is further subdivided into three clans: the Umarkhail, Aba Khel, Naimat Khel and Khaishi. The Dhana tribe is divided into Ali khail, Bobi, Waroki and Dadi Khel subclans. The Wraspoon subdivides into Mazyani, Tari, Chapli and Shakhi. The Betani have always been few in numbers: From 8-9,000 in about 1884 (Gazetteer... Dera Ismail Khan, p. 69) they are said to have increased to more than 43,000 by about 1960 (Spain, p. 53). The current numbers of Bettani tribe around 200,000 and 250,000 individuals according to an estimates (need fresh survey).

A large number of Bettani are also living in Balochistan province especially in Quetta Cantt (required research). They have been there for last 70 or 80 years. Nowadays they have mixed themselves with the Nasuran. They had built strong family relation with them. Although they have arranged marriages in between them, yet they still remain two different Pashtun tribes.

Members of Bettani tribe (approximately 18,000 individuals) are also living in France for nearly a century (Need research). They are now totally mixed in French culture. They basically migrated there during British rule in sub-continent in 1897. Members of Bettani tribe are also living in West Indies but they now call themselves Indians (Need research)

*************

Posted in: History