The Dards are an Indo-Aryan (the issue as to whether the Dardics are a subgroup of the Indo-Aryans or a separte Indo-European family is not yet settled) ethnic group living in Afghanistan, Pakistan and a few scattered villages in a remote region of Ladakh district, itself a remote region of Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir (Dah Hanu). The term Dard is due to Herodotus who described a land of the Dards in the Hindukush. The Indo-Aryan languages form a subgroup of the Indo-Iranian languages, thus belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. ... Tikse monastery, Ladakh Ladakh is the largest district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, covering more than half the area of the state (of which it is the eastern part). ... Jammu and Kashmir, (often abbreviated as Kashmir), is the northern-most state of Republic of India, lying mostly in the Himalayan mountains. ... Dah Hanu is the main village of the Dards. ... Bust of Herodotus at Naples Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: Ήροδοτος, Herodotos) was a historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. ... The Hindu Kush or Hindukush (هندوکش in Persian) is a mountain range in Afghanistan as well as in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. ...

The people of Northernmost Pakistan are mostly Dards, although this term is not used by any of the groups themselves, and include the people of Chitral, Gilgit, Kohistan and upper Swat. Chitral, or Chitrāl, is the name of a town (35° 53 N; 71° 48 E), valley, river, district, and former princely state in the Malakand Division of the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan. ... Gilgit is a region in the Northern Areas of Pakistan, bordering the Chinese region of Xinjiang. ...

Their are also Dardic groups in Afghanistan such as the Pashai and the Kohistanis. The Nuristanis were previously considered to be Dards but are today calssified as a distinct group. The Nuristani are an ethnic/religious group in the Nurestan Province of Afghanistan. ...

The Kashmiri speaking people of the Kashmir valley are also considered Dards, but they do not consider themslves Dards. For other uses, see Kashmiri (disambiguation) Kashmiri is a Dardic language spoken primarily in Kashmir, an Asian region now split between India, Pakistan and China. ...

The vast majority of Dardic peoples are Muslims (Sunni, Shia and Ismaili) but their are a few who have retained their ancient religions, which are very similar to early Vedic Hinduism. Amongst these groups are the Kalash and the Dards of Ladakh. Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Shiʻa Islam (Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite) makes up the second largest sect of believers in Islam, constituting about 30%–35% of all Muslim. ... The Ismaili (Arabic الإسماعيليون, Persian: اسماعیلیان Esmâiliyân) branch of Islam is the second largest Shia community, after the Twelvers who are dominant in Iran. ... The word kalash or Kalash can mean:- A people of northern Pakistan, the Kalasha In Hindu worship, a Sanskrit word for an empty container used as a symbol of space, which in Hindu belief is one of the 5 elements. ...

The Dards of Dah Hanu are nominally Buddhist but also worship their own Pantheon of gods. They have a Caucasian appearance in contrast to the predominant Tibeto-Mongol inhabitants of most of Ladakh. They live in very primitive conditions even when judged by the standards of Ladakh. Buddhism (more correctly Pali Buddhadhamma or Sanskrit Buddhadharma) is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the ancient Indian sub-continent in the five centuries... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Tikse monastery, Ladakh Ladakh is the largest district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, covering more than half the area of the state (of which it is the eastern part). ... Tikse monastery, Ladakh Ladakh is the largest district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, covering more than half the area of the state (of which it is the eastern part). ...

See also

• Dardic languages

The Dardic languages form a subfamily of the Indo-Iranian languages. ...

References

External links

• http://www.ishipress.com/dardic.htm
• http://www.pugmarks.com/d-india/hanu.htm