Hafyal Rajputs

In this post, I will look at the Hafyal tribe of the Potohar region of Pakistan. The Hafyal claim ancestry from the Panwar Rajputs, and I will start off with a brief note of the Panwar, or sometimes pronounced as Parmar or Puar. In the Pothohar region, however the correct pronunciation is Panwar. The Hafyal claim descent from the semi-mythical Raja Jagdev, who is also the claimed ancestor of the Bangyal and Hon tribes.

Rajah Jagdev and the Panwar Rajputs

The Panwar were dynasty that in early medieval India ruled over the Malwa region in central India. Like the Chauhans, the Panwar are from the fire born or Agnivansh branch of the Rajputs. Quite a number of tribes in Pothohar and neighbouring Chibhal region claim descent from the Panwars, all having some tradition of migration from central India, followed by conversion to Islam at the hands of a particular Sufi saint. Many of these tribes also have traditions of initially settling in the region known as Chibhal. The key figure that appears in the origin story of Chibhali Panwar is Raja Jagdev Panwar, who has an almost semi-mythical status. According to tribal myths of, he became the ruler of Malwa after death of his father Udayaditya, but he handed over the throne to his brother owing to family-dispute and settled at Jarg, somewhere in present day Okara District. He is said to have slain a demon who used to eat a human-being daily in a fort near Dipalpur, also in Okara. The local king Raja Kankhar bestowed upon him half his kingdom and gave his daughter in marriage. He is said to have struck off his own head on the demand of a witch-wife of the court-bard of Raja Jai Chand of Lambargaon but this was miraculously restored. Jagdev then migrated to the Chibhal territory, where he founded Akhnoor State, ruled by Panwar Dynasty of his descendants for over six centuries. Many of the local Dogra clans claim descent from the Raja such as the Ambarai.

Akhnoor lies in the heart of Chibhal located on the banks of the Chenab River. The territory of Chibhal lies between Tawi River and Jhelum rivers, with the Pir Panjal Mountains forming its northern boundary and gets its name from the Chib tribe. Presently, Chibhal is divided by the line of control, with Mirpur and Bhimber districts within Pakistani Kashmir, and districts of Rajauri, Reasi, and parts of Jammu (including Akhnur) west of the Manawar Tawi in Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir. The Bangial, who the Hafyal connect themselves with, have traditions of leaving the region and settling in plains territory of northern Punjab in Gujarkhan, Jhelum, and Kharian. Rajah Jagdev Panwar is also seen as a common ancester of the Panwars of this region, such as the Hon and Sahnsral.

Tribal History

The only mention of the Hafyal in British sources is by Frederick Robertson in the Customary Law of Rawalpindi District, where he lists them as one of the Rajput tribes of the district. While the 1901 Census listed 197 Hafyal, all in Rawalpindi District.

The family tree below is that of the Hafyal of the village of Mohra Hafyal.

Raja Jagdev Panwar or Parmar

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Haafi

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Mahlu

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Gohar

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Bahu

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Kokla

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Lodhi

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Abdullah (the Mohra Hafyal ancestor) + Neematullah

Rajah Jagdev appears both in the family trees of the Bangyal and Hon, and generally all the clans that connect themselves to Panwar claim him as their ancestor. The Hafyal tribe gets its name from their ancestor Hafi. In the Pothohar region, the various tribes in the region get their name from an ancestor, with the names often ending in al. This is patronymic, for example, the sons of Kals, are the Kalyal and so on, very similar to the Arabic bin or Slavic ovich or ov. The aals start off as clans of a larger tribe, so as Hafyal are an aal of the Panwar tribe.

Distribution

The Hafyal are found mainly in the Gujarkhan Tehsil of Rawalpindi, in the villages of Bhagpur, Dhok Mohammad Hafyal near the town of Bewal, Gura Hafyal, Kauntrilla and Mohra Hafyal

Aura Jats

In this post I will look at the Aura, sometime written as Aurah, who are a Jat tribe, found mainly in Chiniot, Sargodha, Jhelum and Gujar Khan Tehsil of Rawalpindi District. Very little is known about them, although they have consistently registered themselves as Jats in all the Census carried out by the British in the early 20th Century. The Aura claim to be by origin Chadhar Jats, and with an eventual ancestry connecting them to Tomara dynasty of medieval north India. Like most posts, I will first look at British sources, then look at tribal origin stories.

British Sources

So who exactly are the Aura. Horace Arthur Rose was an early 20th Century British colonial official who co-authored A Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province, which is one of the most comprehensive glossary on the tribes of Punjab, and a good source on many Punjabi tribes. However, on the Aura he simply has the following lines:

an agricultural clan in Shahpur

Shahpur District roughly covers modern Sargodha and Khushab districts, but according to the 1911 census, they numbered 610, and were found mainly in Rawalpindi District. Another British source is Frederick Robertson author 1895 Rawalpindi Gazetteer. He only makes a cursory reference to the Aura:

Classed as Jats are the Aura

British sources simply reference the Aura as being settled in Rawalpindi, with other groups in Sargodha.

Tribal Traditions

According to the Aura of Chiniot District, they are a branch of the Chadhar tribe. They give the following family tree:

Raja Toor

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Raja Ravillan

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Chadhar

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Idris

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Mandlik

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Moosa

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Hamid

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Qadir

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Aura

It is worth mentioning here that in the family tree given by H. A Rose, Raja Ravillan is the father of the Chadhar, but Tunwar or Toor is Ravillan’s grandfather and not father.

According to Chadhar traditions, in 1193 AD, when Mohammad Shahabuddin Ghauri invaded India, the clan moved from Rajasthan to the Punjab. Some went to Bahawalpur, where they were converted to Islam by Pir Shershah (Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari) of Uchch Sharif. They settled on the banks of the River Chenab. It was in one such village along the banks of the Chenab, that Aura was born into a Chadhar family. After a falling out with his brothers, he left his village on Chenab and settled along the banks of the Jhelum river near the town of Pind Dadan Khan, in what is now Jhelum District. The settlement was eventually called Abdullahpur, named after a descendent of Aura. The Aura of Gujarkhan are said to have migrated from Abdullahpur.

Distribution

Although several Aura families are found in Ukhli Mohla village in Khushab District, the most important Aura villages include Balakhar in Rawalpindi District and Abdullahpur in Jhelum District. Outside the core area, a colony of Aura is found in Chak 21 S.B, which is the largest settlement of the Aura in Sargodha District. These Aura are immigrants from Gujar Khan Tehsil who were settled in the Sargodha region in the 19th century.