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In the 1970s, in his capacity as government representative from the Afghan Institute of Archaeology, Ghulam Rahman Amiri accompanied a joint Afghan-US archaeological mission to the Sistan region of southwest Afghanistan. The results of his work were published in Farsi as a descriptive ethnographic monograph. The Helmand Baluch is the first English translation of Amiri’s extraordinary encounters. This rich ethnography describes the cultural, political, and economic systems of the Baluch people living in the lower Helmand River Valley of Afghanistan. It is an area that has received little study since the early 20th Century, yet is a region with a remarkable history in one of the most volatile territories in the world.
“The Helmand-Sistan region is one of the most inaccessible parts of Afghanistan, a country noted for its remoteness even at the best of times. The Baluch of Afghanistan, furthermore, are one of the least studied ethnic groups in Afghanistan. This makes the work of the late Ghulam Rahman Amiri a major breakthrough. Not only does it make available a wealth of original data otherwise unavailable, it is the first study of an ethnic group in Afghanistan from the perspective of a native of that country. It comes therefore without the intellectual baggage and theories that so many western ethnographers might bring to their subjects. Amiri’s book is all the more valuable therefore, as much for its perspective as for the huge wealth of raw material made available to the scholarly world for the first time.” • Warwick Ball, Independent Scholar, editor of Afghanistan Journal and author of The Archeological Gazetteer of Afghanistan
“Amiri's book is a true gift. Wonderfully comprehensive in its scope and detail, it brings Sistan and its people to life, covering a remarkably broad range of topics. All students and scholars of Afghanistan will need to have it on their shelves.” • Thomas J. Barfield, Boston University and President, American Institute of Afghanistan Studies
List of Illustrations
Editors’ Foreword
William B. Trousdale and Mitchell Allen
Note on Translation and Transliteration
William B. Trousdale
About the Author
Babrak Amiri
About the Editors
Preface
Chapter 1. History of Sistan
Chapter 2. Geography of the Helmand Basin
Chapter 3. Agricultural and Pastoral Production
Chapter 4. Crafts, Trade, and Travel
Chapter 5. Labor and Family Relationships
Chapter 6. Education, Health, Religion, and Cultural Norms
Conclusions
Afterword: The Helmand Baluch and Native Ethnography
Mitchell Allen
Appendix A: Tribes of the Lower Helmand Valley
Appendix B: Climate Data from Zaranj and Deshu Meteorological Station
Appendix C: Monthly Water Flows at Charburjak Station
Glossary
References
Index