Kehar

The Kehar (Sindhi: کیهر) is a Sindhi Samma tribe.Kehars are settled in the districts of Karachi, Larkana, Shikarpur,Torband, Jacobabad, Pir Jo Goth and Khairpur in Sindh. The Kehar are also considered a clan of the Abro tribe.

History

Kehar Jams of Kakrala

From about 1470 until 1760, the Kehars ruled the Kakrala State in present-day southern Sindh. They were, commonly known as the Kehar Jams, they maintained close relations with the rulers of Kutch. Their capital was initially at Dera in the Kakrala delta and was later transferred to Gohar Abad. The state met its end at the hand of Ghulam Shah Kalhoro in 1174 AH (September 1760 CE).

Architecture

The Jams of Kakrala built numerous tombs and chhatris for themselves and for their patron saints.

Among their patron saints was Aban Shah, a 16th-century Suhrawardi mystic buried at Aban Shah Ja Takkar, about 2 km south of Chuhar Jamali in present-day Sujawal District. Another was Rajan Shah, also a Suhrawardi mystic from the same family, whose tomb lies about 1 km west of Aban Shah's. Both men and women of the ruling family took part in tomb construction; for example, a woman of the Kakrala ruling family commissioned the tombs at Abro Halani near Jati.

Folklore

Udho Kehar and Hothal Fairy is a Sindhi folktale set in the medieval state of Kakrala. It tells the story of Udho Kehar, a prince of the Kehar ruling family of Kakrala, and Hothal, a fairy who is described as the daughter of the Nagamara chief Sangan. The tale is a popular work of Sindhi literature and continues to be remembered in Sindh, Kutch, and Saurashtra.

References

  1. ↑ N.A Baloch 1984, p. 198.
  2. ↑ Nahyan, Mansoor Bin Tahnoon Al; Hussain, Jamal; Ghafoor, Asad ul (2019-05-09). Tribes of Pakistan. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5275-3439-1.
  3. ↑ Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro (2018-06-08). "Sufi shrines as spiritual clinics". The Friday Times. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  4. ↑ N.A Baloch 1984, p. 42-44.
  5. ↑ Brohī, ʻAlī Aḥmad (1986). History on Tombstones: Sind and Baluchistan. Sindhi Adabi Board.
  6. ↑ "ڪڪرالو 1 پرڳڻو : (Sindhianaسنڌيانا)". www.encyclopediasindhiana.org (in Sindhi). S.L.A, Government of Sindh. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  7. ↑ Bhaṭṭī, Rashīdu (2002). Birth of a Great Poet: Kalhora Period 1700-1784. Institute of Sindhology,Jamshoro,University of Sindh. p. 23. ISBN 978-969-405-052-2. In the year 1759-60 A.D Ghulam Shah marched with his army to admonish Dahesar,the Jam of Kakralo, who had risen in rebel against him during his exile from Sindh. Jam was defeated and retreated to Kutch.
  8. ↑ Bhaṭṭī, Rashīdu (2002). Birth of a Great Poet: Kalhora Period 1700-1784. University Campus, , Jamshoro (Smdh): Institute of Sindhology,Jamshoro,University of Sindh. p. 23. ISBN 978-969-405-052-2. In the year 1759-60 A.D Ghulam Shah marched with his army to admonish Dahesar,the Jam of Kakralo, who had risen in rebel against him during his exile from Sindh. Jam was defeated and retreated to Kutch.
  9. 1 2 Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro (2018-06-08). "Sufi shrines as spiritual clinics". The Friday Times. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  10. ↑ Balocu, Nabī Bak̲h̲shu K̲h̲ānu (2014). Folklore of Sindh: Anthology of Prefaces. Sindhi Adabi Board,Government of Sindh. pp. 229–231.

Bibliography

N.A Baloch (1984). Jangnama (جنگناما) (in Sindhi). Jamshoro/Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan: Sindhi Adabi Board,Government of Sindh.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)