Aimaq

The Aimaq (from Turkic-Mongolic oymaq, 'tribe') are Persian-speaking, largely semi-nomadic tribes of the western highlands of Afghanistan, chiefly Ghor, Badghis and Herat provinces, numbering about 1.6 million (4% of Afghanistan in 2021). The traditional 'Chahar Aimaq' (four Aimaq) are the Jamshidi, Firozkohi, Taimani and Aimaq Hazara (Zainal), with the Timuri sometimes counted as a fifth; smaller groups include the Maleki, Zuri and Mizmast. Their origins are mixed: some lineages claim Mongol or Turkic descent and the Timuri claim descent from Timur, while the Taimani and Firozkohi claim Pashtun ancestry, and their speech, the Aimaq dialects of Persian, is close to Herati Dari with Turkic and Mongolic loanwords. The Timuri, once the most powerful Aimaq tribe, largely moved into Iranian Khorasan in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Jamshidi groups live in Turkmenistan.

Aimaq herders are known for the kherga or yurt-like felt tent, unlike the black goat-hair tents of Pashtun nomads, and for moving flocks of sheep and goats between valley villages and summer pastures. Women weave the carpets, rugs, kilims and felt for which Aimaq and Timuri tribes are famous, including much of what the market calls 'Herat Baluch'. Society is organised by tribe and lineage under khans; marriages are arranged within the tribe, with bride-wealth. Diet is based on bread, dairy products (qurut, yoghurt, butter) and mutton; hospitality and guest protection are central values.

Most Aimaq are Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school, with Sufi orders (Naqshbandi and Chishti, whose founding shrine is at Chisht in Herat) and saint veneration important in rural life. Mullahs and pirs are central figures, and amulets, vows at shrines and healing practices are common. Small Shia minorities exist among the Aimaq Hazara and some Timuri in Iran.

No Scripture, JESUS film or audio recordings exist in Aimaq. Aimaq speakers understand Dari and Persian, in which the full Bible, the JESUS film and extensive media are available, but there is no known outreach directed at the Aimaq in Afghanistan, Iran or Turkmenistan, and all three countries severely restrict evangelism.