page_title: Nuristanis
section_title: Tribes
hierarchical_section_title: Nuristanis / Tribes
context_page_description: The Nuristanis are an ethnic group native to the Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan and Nuristan Province of northeastern Afghanistan, who speak Indo-Iranian languages, chiefly Nuristani. In the mid-1890s, after the establishment of the Durand Line when Afghanistan reached an agreement on various frontier areas to the British Empire for period of time, Emir Abdur Rahman Khan conducted a military campaign in Nuristan and followed up his conquest with forced conversion of the Nuristanis to Islam; the region thenceforth being known as Nuristan, the "Land of Light". Before their conversion, the Nuristanis practised a form of ancient Hinduism. Non-Muslim religious practices endure in Nuristan today to some degree as folk customs. In their native rural areas, they are often farmers, herders, and dairymen.
  The Nuristanis are distinguished from the Kalash and a segment of the Kho people of Chitral by their adoption of Islam, territory within Afghanistan, and consolidation with other Afghans. The Nuristan region has been a prominent location for war scenes that have led to the death of many indigenous Nuristanis.
context_section_description: Most Nuristanis are from the Kata Family and Janaderi Branch. However, there are other Nuristani tribes as well, some of the Kata of Janaderi people live in Ozhor (now Karimabad), Gobor, Buburat, Ayun, Broze and Mastuj. There is a very popular rock associated with this tribe located in Karimabad (Juwara) called kata bont (Kata is the name of the tribe; bont meaning "stone" in the Chitrali language).
  The Nuristani do not have a formal tribal structure as the Pashtuns do, however they do designate themselves by the names of the local regions they are from. In total, there are 35 such designations: five from the north-south valleys and 30 from the east-west valley.
  Some of these tribes include:
  Askunu
  Dungulio
  Gramsana
  Jench (of Arnce village)
  Kalasha
  Kata
  Kom
  Kshto
  Mumo
  Sanu
  Tregami
  Vasi
caption: Nuristan, in light green
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