Brushiski – Language Isolate

This is from Telegraph Blogs, posted by muhanga on 01 Sep 2007

Brushiski – Language Isolate

.Pakistan has had a bad press recently. However, earlier in the year I visited this much-maligned country and found a different Pakistan. We travelled up the very impressive Karakorum Highway (only constructed in 1986) from Islamabad to the Khunjerab Pass and the Chinese border. Along our route, we had to pass through the very beautiful Hunza Valley. This historic area, part of the old Silk Route, was an independent principality until the 70’s but has now been incorporated (not a popular move amongst the locals) into Pakistan. The Hunza are amongst the most friendly and hospitable people I have met anywhere in the world. The valley also boasts 90% literacy (a figure the UK would be hard pushed to emulate). They are Shia Moslems but of the Ismaili sect with the Aga Khan as their spiritual Imam. The Ismailis must be the most benign and peaceful Islamic groups. Some of the Hunza have a striking western European appearance with brown, fair hair and blue, green or grey eyes. They are renowned for their longevity and do not suffer from cancer, obesity or hereditary diseases. They claim to be descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great’s army. The extraordinary thing is that most speak a language known as Burushiski known to the pundits as an ‘language isolate’ or not related to any known language (rather like Glaswegian).

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A Hunza Girl – Burushiski speaker

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Author: ismailimail

Independent, civil society media featuring Ismaili Muslim community, inter and intra faith endeavors, achievements and humanitarian works.

3 thoughts

  1. good information. still we need to do d deep research about the original race of Burusho people. in hunza, there are three major languages are being spoken by people. among them Burushaski is an ancient language. it is said that in gilgit there was a great state, Governed by Burusho. by the time that state was abolished, Burusho became marginalized. there is a small village in Hoper, Nagar(a valley with hunza) is called Burushal. In hunza there is a tribe, called “Dirumiting” it is said that this tribe’s people are real Burusho. there was a time when they were living in “Shishper Valley” they were abolished second time by two of local tribes ” Hamachating and Husainkutch”. these two tribes were bribed by local “Thum the King”.
    because they were afraid of those Burusho that one day they could take his Throne and Crown. but now a days in hunza there are numrous other people living. Burushaski is language of Central Hunza, the capital of past Hunza State. insha Allah i will do a research and it will be shred by Ismaili Mail.

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  2. The theory that these people descend from Alexander was cooked up by the British. Ever since then this theory has gone aorund and the Hunza & Kalash have known to accept it.
    The Hunza language (Burushaski) could be the last of a long dead language family.
    Nothing is yet known about the language of the Indus Valley civilization people. It is possible that they spoke a langage(s) related to Burushaski, before they adopted the Indu-European, but it is hard to say. I think we shoul preserve everything we have to learn about this language, before it dies out for possible future use. It could help us discover the roots of these people and others in the region.

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  3. burushaski=burrash[albanian]
    kamisha[burushaski]=këmisha[albanian]
    the MIR[burushaski]=i mir{albanian]
    rakaposhi=ra ka poshtë
    kamarbunde=ka marr bunde
    na urosh=na urosh
    balta=balta

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