This site contains previously unpublished material on the linguistics and ethnography of Nuristân and neighboring regions, collected and analyzed by Richard F. Strand since 1967. Funding for the author's field research in Nuristân, Afghânistân, and Pâkistân was provided in part by the following institutions: the Fulbright Foundation (1991-92), the Smithsonian Institution (1980, 1984-85), The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research (1972), Brown University (1971), Cornell University (1966-69, 1970), and Teachers College, Columbia University (1967-69 ).

All contents of this site are Copyright © 1997-2008 by Richard F. Strand. No part of these contents may be reproduced or redistributed by any means without written consent of the author.

Peoples of Nuristân

Nuristânis are today such devout Muslims that they were the first citizens of Afghânistân to successfully revolt against the communist overthrow of their government in 1978. Their success inspired others throughout the country to rise up and bleed the Soviet Union to death through thirteen years of war. The straw that broke the Soviet Union's back sprouted in Nuristân, and we must acknowledge the pivotal historical role that the Nuristânis played in nurturing the seed.

Topics

• Where is Nuristân, and Who Cares?
• Peoples and Languages of Nuristân
  • The vâs'i
    • vâs'i vari, The Language of the Vâsi
    • Topics in Vâsi Ethnography
  • The kât'a, kom, mum'o, kSto, bini'o, jâmc'o, and jâš'i
    • The kât'a
      • kât'a vari, The Language of the Kâta
        • Kâta-vari Lexicon*
    • The kom
      • kâmv'iri, The Language of the Kom
        • The Sound System of Kâmviri
        • The Grammar of Kâmviri
          • A Cognitive Grammar of Kâmviri [under construction]*
          • The Kâmviri Verbal System
          • The Kâmviri Directional System
        • Kâmviri Lexicon*
      • Accounts of Kom History and Culture in Kâmviri
        • The Origin of the Kom
        • The Expansion of the Kom into Pitigal
        • The True Story of Our Jihad: Memoirs of Commander Anvar Amin
        • Essays on Kom Ethnography, by Qâzi Ghulâmullâh
    • The mum'o
  • The âSkuňu, saňu, and gRâmsaňâ
    • saňu vi:ri, The Language of the saňu of sâma (Wâmâ)
      • saňu-vi:ri Lexicon*  (10 October 2008)
  • The kalaSa of kalaSüm
    • kalaSa alâ, The Language of the KalaSa
      • KalaSa-alâ Lexicon*
  • The tregâmi
  • Transcription and Pronunciation of the Nuristâni Languages  (8 December 2007)
  • The Evolution of the Nuristâni Languages  (1 March 2008)
• Neighboring Peoples and Languages
  • Indo-Aryan-Speaking Peoples
    • Southern Neighbors:
      • Pashai-Speaking Peoples
        • Degâno Lexicon [to appear]
      • Enclaves in the Pech and Lower Kunar Valleys
      • The Gahwâr
    • Neighbors in Chitral:
      • The Kh´ow
        • khow'ar, The Language of the Kh´ow
          • The Sound System of Khow'ar
          • The Grammar of Khow'ar
          • Khow'ar Lexicon   (5 July 2004; partially edited, 400K file)
          • An Anectdote in Khow'ar
      • The Kal'aSa
      • Shin Enclaves in Chitral and Kunar
        • The Aćhar'îta of Ashret
          • Genealogy of the Aćhar'îta
          • aćharêtâ', The Language the Aćhar'îta of Ashret
            • The Sound System of Aćharêtâ'
            • The Grammar of Aćharêtâ'
              • The Cognitive Geometry of Nominal Relationships
            • Aćharêtâ' Lexicon*
          • An Account of Aćhar'îta History in Aćharêtâ'
      • The Dåmiâ
    • Neighboring Ethnic Refuge Areas: the Kohistâns of Dir, Swat, and the Indus:
      • The Garvi Speakers of Dir and Swat Kohistan
      • The Torwali of Swat Kohistan
      • The Ushuju Speakers of Swat Kohistan
      • The People of Duber and Kandia in Indus Kohistân
      • The People of Patan in Indus Kohistân
      • The People of Bhatera in Indus Kohistân
        • bhaT'e sa zib, The Language the People of BhaTera
          • The Sound System of BhaT'e sa zib
          • BhaT'e sa zib Lexicon*
      • The People of Koli in Indus Kohistân
      • The Shin People of Indus Kohistân
  • Iranian-Speaking Peoples
    • The Afghâns of Kunar
      • paxt'o (Pashto), The Language the Afghâns
        • Paxt'o Lexicon*
    • The Munji
    • Persian Speakers
• Comparative Studies of the Region's Languages
  • Phylogeny
    • Languages of the Hindu-Kush [map]
    • Phylogenetic Classification of the Region's Languages [table]*
    • An Overview of the Nuristâni Languages
    • The Evolution of the Nuristâni Languages  (1 March 2008)
  • Phonology
    • Phonological Processes on the Indo-Iranian Frontier
  • Lexicon
    • Lexicons of the Hindu-Kush: Kâmviri, Kâta-vari, KalaSa-alâ, saňu-vi:ri, Aćharêtâ', BhaTesa-zib, and Paxt'o*
    • Kinship Terminologies of the Hindu-Kush
• Bibliography
• Links to Other Websites Devoted to the Cultures of the Hindu-Kush Region

* These topics are presented using the HTML 4.0 standard with limited CSS2 style-sheet codes, and they must be viewed with an HTML 4.0 compliant browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or Netscape Communicator 4.5. Right now Internet Explorer provides a better rendition of my originals than Netscape Communicator, which is less compliant. AOL users also will not see the proper rendering of some tables.