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Kanyal
The Kanyal or sometimes spelt Kanial, are tribe of both Jats and Rajputs status, found in the Punjab province of Pakistan, and also in Azad Kashmir. In the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, the Kanial are a Hindu Rajput clan.

History and origin
According to their tradition, the Kanyal originate from Jammu, India and trace their descent to Jambu Loachon, the founder of the city of Jammu. He had a son named Raja Puran Karan, from whom the tribe claims descent. The word aal means of the lineage in several South Asian languages, thus the tribe are Karanyaal, or the descendants of Karan. Over time this was corrupted to Kanyal. They are thus a branch of the Manhas Rajput tribe. At sometime in the distant past, the Kanyal of the Pothohar region converted to Islam.

In the Kumaon region of India, the Kanials have various stories about the emergence of the tribe. According to the traditions of the Kanyal, they originated from the town of Kanyalichina in Pithoragarh district, and established settlements in Kanda in Bageshwar district, and Didihat in Pithoragarh district of Uttrakhand. They are a clan of Hindu Pahari Rajputs.

Further Kanyal or Kanial tribes in the Rawalpindi District have always been considered as a high ranking clan of the Rajput tribe. They have been settled for hundreds of years in the Rawalpindi District, and have gained a reputation as being one of the major tribes in the whole of the eastern part of the Pothohar region. Kanyals like other Rajput clans originally gained a degree of infamy for brutally murdering neighbouring tribes on several occasions. Although there has been no trouble for a while now, they are still considered as a martial tribe. The area surrounding Gujar Khan holds the main villages of the Kanyal tribe, such as Dhera Kanyal and Mohra Kanyal.

Generally in Rawalpindi, the tribe is considered Rajput, while in the other districts such Gujrat they are considered Jats, and have historically intermarried with neighbouring tribes such as the Thathaal and Bangial.

Distribution
They are found mainly in Gujrat, Jhelum and Rawalpindi Districts of Punjab, basically throughout the eastern half of the Pothohar region. They are also a few settlements across the Salt Range in Bhakkar District. In Azad Kashmir, they are found in southern districts of Mirpur and Bhimber.

Villages
The Kanyal are found as far south as the Thal Desert, where the village of Kanyal in Bhakkar District is an important centre of the tribe. Villages Eastern and Western kanyalanwala near Harnoli in district Mianwali and Jal near Douaba are also Kanyal tribe population areas. In the Kumaon region of uttrakhand in India,they are found in kanyalichina in Pithoragarh district.

In Punjab, they are found mainly in Gujar Khan Tehsil and Jhelum District.

Dhera Kanial and Mohra Kanial are important villages in Rawalpindi Tehsil.

Habib Kanial, Kanial, Dhera Kanial, Mohra Kanial, Sahot Kanyal, Dhok Kanyal, Atit Kanial, Dhaia Kanial and Dhok Manna are part of a cluster of Kanial villages in Gujar Khan Tehsil. It is Gujar Khan and neighbouring Dadyal, which has the highest concentration of the tribe.

Mohra Kanial, Dhok Kanial and Pail Bangial are important villages in Jhelum District.

village in Dadyal Tehsil of Mirpur District, is an important centre of the tribe in Azad Kashmir.