History Versus Folklore: Origin of the Parhar Tribe of Cholistan

Abstract

The Origin of every family/tribe, whether of east or west, is involved in fable. Sherring, Denzil lbbetson and particularly James Tod tried their level best to provide some information about Tribes and Castes of different areas of the united India. However, this information is insufficient as James Tod himself acknowledged the fact while writing on Parhar Tribe of Rajasthan that he has “no more to say”. Parhar who once ruled over Kashmir and some parts of Rajasthan, for centuries, is an important Tribe of Rajasthan/Cholistan whose written history is not available. Thus present article is based upon oral history and an attempt has been made to present the origin of Parhar Tribe of Cholistan in the light of History and Folklore.