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| Safi tribe | |
|---|---|
| Name | Safi |
| Region | Afghanistan, Pakistan |
| Languages | Pashto, Dari |
| Religions | Sunni Islam |
| Related | Other Pashtun tribes |
Safi tribe The Safi tribe is a Pashtun tribal group primarily resident in northeastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Historically influential among Pashtun confederations, the Safi have interacted with empires such as the Durrani Empire, Sikh Empire, British Raj, and modern states including the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Their presence has been noted in accounts by travelers like Alexander Burnes, administrators like Mountstuart Elphinstone, and scholars of Pashtunwali tradition.
The ethnonym appears in Persian and Pashto sources with variants found in archives of the Ottoman Empire, Safavid dynasty, and Mughal Empire. Colonial records from the British East India Company and publications by Francis Rawdon Chesney and Henry Walter Bellew use transliterations that differ from modern Afghan census records. Linguists referencing the Indo-Aryan languages and researchers at institutions such as the School of Oriental and African Studies and Institut Français have examined phonetic shifts reflected in accounts by Gertrude Bell and E. R. Atkinson.
Safi lineages are discussed in genealogies related to the Karlani branch of Pashtun ethnogenesis described by historians like R. C. Temple and G. A. Grierson. In the 19th century the Safi featured in military campaigns of the First Anglo-Afghan War and skirmishes during the Anglo-Sikh Wars, appearing in dispatches of commanders such as Major-General Sir Alexander Burnes and observers like James Outram. During the period of the Great Game the tribe negotiated autonomy vis-à-vis the Emirate of Afghanistan under rulers like Abdur Rahman Khan and interacted with missionary and scholarly figures including Rudyard Kipling who referenced tribal structures. In the 20th century the Safi encountered policies enacted by the Government of India and later the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan; researchers such as Louis Dupree and Thomas Barfield have documented these developments.
Safi settlements are concentrated in the Kunar Province, Nangarhar Province, and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including districts bordering the Durand Line. Topography includes proximity to the Hindu Kush range, valleys adjacent to the Kabul River basin, and passes connecting to the Khyber Pass corridor. Census and ethnographic surveys by organizations like the United Nations Development Programme, Afghan Central Statistics Organization, and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics note population movements during conflicts involving the Soviet–Afghan War and the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), as well as influxes along routes documented by agencies such as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Safi social organization follows patrilineal kinship patterns examined in monographs by Fredrik Barth and fieldwork by Akbar S. Ahmed. Tribal councils similar to jirgas are comparable to assemblies described in studies of Pashtunwali codes by Nanette Stahl and Antonio Montes. Cultural practices intersect with regional festivals celebrated across Peshawar, Jalalabad, and rural districts noted in ethnographies by Sanjay Subrahmanyam and E. H. Rawlinson. Notable cultural artifacts have been preserved in collections at institutions like the British Museum, National Museum of Afghanistan, and the Lahore Museum.
Members primarily speak dialects of Pashto and frequently bilingual with Dari and regional Hindko in border areas; linguists at University of Kabul and University of Peshawar reference lexicon studies by Georg Morgenstierne and phonological work by C. E. Barlow. Religious life is predominantly Sunni Islam with jurisprudential affiliations traced in records of Deobandi movement scholars and local madrasas connected historically to institutions like the Darul Uloom Deoband and regional Sufi shrines such as those honored in Kandahar and Peshawar.
Traditional livelihoods include agriculture in irrigated valleys near the Kabul River and Kunar River, livestock herding in upland pastures of the Hindu Kush, and seasonal trade through markets in Charsadda and Mardan. Economic studies by World Bank analysts and reports from Asian Development Bank detail remittance flows linked to labor migration to Gulf Cooperation Council states and internal migration to urban centers like Islamabad and Karachi. Artisanal crafts have been documented in surveys by UNESCO and regional development projects funded by agencies such as the European Union.
The Safi have been actors in regional power struggles including resistance during the Third Anglo-Afghan War and local uprisings recorded during campaigns by the British Indian Army and later during episodes involving the Taliban and Northern Alliance. Political scientists at King's College London and Columbia University have analyzed Safi interactions with state institutions of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as well as their role in negotiations mediated by entities like the United Nations and regional bodies including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Prominent figures originating from Safi areas have engaged with parties such as Jamiat-e Islami and movements tied to tribal leaderships noted in the archives of the Afghan Mujahideen era.