Kom (people)
Encyclopedia : K : KO : KOM : Kom (people)
The Kom are one of the main present-day Nuristani tribe and were one of the Black-Robed (Siah-Posh) Kafir clans of Kafiristan (present-day Nuristan).
In 1895, following their conquest by Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, the Kom Kafir people in Afghanistan were converted to Islam. Everey former Kafiristan Kafiri were renamed Nuristani (The Enlightened Ones) respectively Nuristan (Land of Light). In present time there are now known Nuristani Kom or simply Kom.
At the end of the 19th century, they were living in the lower part of the Bashgul Valley, known as Kam (George Scott Robertson), Kamdesh in Khowar, and Kamoz in Pashto, and in the adjacent valleys.
The alternative names are Kamozi, Camoze, Caumojee and Camoje. (M. Elphinstone, Richard Strand).
Numerous scholars have connected the names Kom and Kata with ancient Kamboja and identified the Kafirs, especially the Siah-Posh Kafirs, as having descended from ancient Kambojas (H.H. Wilson, M. Elphinstone, Bombay Gazetteer, D. Wilber, M. C. Gillet, W. K. Fraser Tytler, J.R.A.S. 1843, J.A.S.B. 1874, etc, etc).
The Kom were said to be the fiercest and most intractable of all former Kafiristan Kafirs and the most to be dreaded for their military prowess. They held much better together, and it is for this reason that, though not a numerous people, they were greatly respected by the neighboring tribes as well as by Chitralis and the Pashtun people. The Kom control the destiny of Bashgul valley and were said to be its virtual kings (George Roberston).
The political headquarters of the Kom of the Siah-Posh Kafir clan were at Kamdesh or Kombrom. The country of the Koms is also in present-day Nuristan called Komstan.
See also
References
- The Kom. Retrieved July 04, 2006, from Richard F. Strand: Nuristan, Hidden Land of the Hindu-Kush [link].
- The Kafirs of the Hindukush, George Scott Robertson.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.