Talk:Akhund

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Could this be the source of Edward Lear's mysterious figure, the Akond of Swat? Matthew Platts 21:35, 6 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The title of Edward Lear's famous nonsense poem is most probably derived from the Persian word Akhoond, which he probably picked up in India, but that bears little relationship to the poem and is hardly significant. After all, it is a nonsense poem! No-one really knows who, or perhaps what, the Akond of Swat is alluding to and most are inclined to think nothing of the word's origin. But well-spotted, Mr. Platts. Tanzeel 16:42, 7 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know who has written or overseen this page, but whoever has -- seems to rank low on IQ as well as knowledge of history and culture in this area and about this subject. It may not be of primary historical or cultural importance, but it certainly doesn't rank low by any means. And I am not saying this just because I bear this surname, but because of its intrinsic part in our milieu. If Persian culture matters as a subject, then the understanding of this term certainly matters. I don't have much time - and reference material is scant, but I speak from my own practical cultural experiences, for which there are no references. For one, the the term Akhund (its correct spelling in English) is a pre-Islamic Persian term in its origin, relating to a religious scholar and functionary. It is therefore found all over the Persian speaking world - in "greater" Khorasan and even in Turkic Central Asian areas. At the moment, it is found mostly in Iran, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan - and the Afghan (Pashtun) areas of Pakistan. The contention about "Akhund" as a family name in Indic areas such as Sindh and Seraiki speaking is correct, but the name is mostly found in the form "Akhundzada", to denote a class of "religious aristocracy" as found in Afghan society, who are descended from pious men of repute. (Please see page 101 of Sir Olaf Caroe's seminal work, The Pathans). A former Iranian ambassador to Pakistan was called Mehdi Akhundzada (Akhundzadeh, to use Iranian transliteration). The Russian version is Akhundov and the Tukicised spelling is Ahund.

The State of Swat referred to herein WAS NOT established in 1849 (which was the year the British occupied the Afghan lands later known as The Frontier"). Swat State was established in 1926, with the Wali - an Akhundzada - as its ruler, till 1969.

Finally - yes, Matthew Platts - this IS the source of Lear's "mysterious figure", the "Akond" of Swat. There was only one such character. I think Mr. tanzeel, who ever he is (most likely a Punjabi) - is typically exaggerating in his contention; he seems to be displaying the typically "sucker" subcontinental attitudes - when such people interact with Europeans and especially English speakers -- from what he says here. He should know better. A. Akhundzada — Preceding unsigned comment added by 110.39.148.197 (talk) 12:30, 20 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Akhund/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

Last edited at 05:38, 4 November 2008 (UTC). Substituted at 06:57, 29 April 2016 (UTC)

I wanted to add this fun game Iranians have started playing called amame throw or amame parani. 2406:3400:313:B310:794B:AA2B:B2D:C521 (talk) 04:38, 12 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]