Bendigo Community Health Services Cultural Awareness The Hazara People of the World.

Bendigo Community Health ServicesBendigo Community Health Services

Cultural Awareness

The Hazara People of the World

Bendigo Community Health Services

Afghans arrival in Australia

Hazara’s are mainly form Afghanistan. Afghans arrived in Australia before 1901. They came with their camels and named as Afghan Cameleers. The first Afghan cameleers arrived in Melbourne in June

1860. The camels were used as a good source of transport at the

time. The Ghan railway is named after Afghan. We can find the full story on,http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/afghan-

cameleers


In excess of 70% of Afghan Refugees to Australia are Hazara…

Did you know?


Demography of Afghanisation

Afghanistan is a mosaic of ethnicities like Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras then Uzbek.

Hazaras are the country’s third largest ethnicity, comprising about 20 percent of the population.

They have faced centuries of persecution from both Pashtuns and other groups.


The Hazara are Turko-Mongol.

Some scholars speculate that the Hazara are descendants of the warriors that flooded into Central Asia under the command of the infamous and brilliant leader, Genghis Khan.

The Hazara speak a Hazaragi language, a variant of the more widely used trade language, Dari.

Origins of the Hazara People


The History of the Hazara:

Hazaras are often considered outsiders by other Afghans.

The Hazara are visually, linguistically and religiously different from all the other peoples around them. Because of these differences, they have long been despised and persecuted by majority groups.

Around 60% of Hazara people were victims of genocide by Afghan King Abdur Rehman in the late 1800s. Persecution of the Hazara continues today.


Despite centuries of persecution and the denial of basic civil rights, Hazaras have become leaders in today’s newly emerging Afghanistan.

Education is especially important to them, and it shows. Hazara literacy rates are higher than the national average and nearly all Hazara children—both boys and girls—attend school and go on to university.

Continued…..


Hazara and Religion

The Hazara are Shia Muslim. They are surrounded by Muslim

peoples in every direction. Geographically, they are almost in the very center of the Muslim world.

While 85% of all Muslims, and virtually all the other major people groups of Afghanistan, are Sunni,


Religion Continued…

Shia Muslims believe in Allah, meaning God, the Prophet Mohammad the last prophet of God, The Quran, The Ka’bah, the 12 imams.

They also believe in Joseph, Jesus and Moses to be Prophets of God. They prays three times a day and fasting in the Islamic month of Ramazan.


Homeland

The Hazara are from the mountains of central Afghanistan.

These mountains are among the most rugged, least traveled mountains in the world.

Hazara also live in Herat, Mazar e sharif and Oruzgan provinces.


Homeland continued… Today, most Hazaras live in the mountainous central

highlands, called Hazarajat, an undeveloped rural area that includes four provinces.

The most famous is Bamian province, home to the Bamian Buddha statues, which the Taliban destroyed in 2001.

Historically Hazaras settled deeper into the valleys, but decades of conflict drove them up into the rugged mountains.

Hoping for a better life, many have also moved to Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, where, today, they make up nearly half of the city’s population.

Bendigo Community Health ServicesHazara Culture:

Traditions

There are two main events in the Islamic calendar each year. They are Eid ul Fitar and Eid ul Azha, which the Hazara people celebrate by visiting each other and exchanging gifts. There is also Now Roz, which means New Year. This is on the 20th to the 21st March each year.

When a Hazara person dies, they bury the dead body and mourn for 3 days by reading Prayers, Fatiha and Holy Quran and they also celebrate the 3rd, 7th, 40th day and 1 year anniversary of their passed loved one.


Relationship

The Hazara people are very hospitable and friendly to guests.

They prepare special food for their guests, who are honored with the best seats at mealtime.

Some Hazaras eat with their hands, rarely using utensils such as forks and knives


Clothing Hazara men wear Shalwar Pirahan.

Shalwar is similar to loose trousers. Pirahan is long shirt to the knee; it has long sleeves and is sometimes hand embroidered on the front.

Women wear a Hijab; this is a scarf that covers the head, except the face.

They also wear very colourful dresses with jewelry and embroideries. They are comfortable with other women of the community but not with strange men, they cannot shake hands with strange men and usually do not make eye contact while talking to them, due to cultural and religious reasons.

The Hazara women always wear their scarf in the presence of men outside of the family.


Food

Hazara only eat Halal food. It means they cannot eat meat that is not slaughtered according to Islamic law.

They do not eat any food that contains pork or pork products.

. Naan and bread is very essential in their meals. Hazaras specialty dishes are Qabliy (rice and meat cooked together with some vegetables), Sheikh Kebab, Sharwa, Curry, Soup and Dahl

There are lots of Hazara cultural foods like Qabili, Manto, biryani, Pirki and ash etc..


Family Hazaras live together with their

extended family. They respect their elders and

parents. They are also famous for their hospitality.

They often invite friends, relatives and their neighbours for lunch or dinner..

They invite 300 to 1000 people for their wedding party. Girls and boys dance separately and they share a very big meal together.


Work and Education Work:Hazara men work and women usually carry out home duties and house work. Hazara men are very hard working and they are very keen to educate their children. Education is very important for both male and female Hazara people.


Discrimination

Hazaras are facing continuing discrimination persecution in the hand of religious extremist and terrorist groups like the Taliban and al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is why lots of Hazara refugees seek asylum to Europe, America and Australia.

Although they find the new country a safe haven, settling into a new country like Australia can be very challenging. They must learn to adapt to many new things such as; different systems, including school, foreign foods, unusual clothing, using western bathrooms, a new language, a drastically different lifestyle which includes new roles and laws.


References

www.hazaranet.com/who.html en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazara_people www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-22248500 hazaranewspakistan.wordpress.com/.../conference-in-

london-on-genocide-of- hazaras/


Questions?

Bendigo Community Health Services Cultural Awareness The Hazara People of the World.

Documents

Transcript of Bendigo Community Health Services Cultural Awareness The Hazara People of the World.