Swati tribe

Swatis (سواتی) are people inhabiting the Hazara division in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Today Swatis usually speak Hindko or Pashto as their primary languages and identify themselves with Hindkowans and Pashtuns. Of Dardic origins, Swatis originally spoke Dardic languages such as Gibri and Yadri and were native inhabitants of Swat valley. They were Pashtunized after Yousafzai occupation of Swat in the 16th century and were displaced to Kohistan. In historic accounts Pashtuns referred to Swatis as "Dehgan"; this was not an ethnic designation but simply referred to the fact that they were villagers. They are also sometimes called Tajiks, a common ethnonym used by Pashtuns to describe their Dardic neighbours. Hemphil (2009) rejects Ibbetson's (1916:95-6) assertion of Swatis as a "race of Hindu origin" from peninsular India, suggesting, instead, that Swatis show a higher affinity to their neighbours in the northwest and with people in the Indus valley, to the south. Khan Khel Swati is a sub-section in various sections of all three branches of the Swati.