Uzbek, Southern

The Southern Uzbeks are the Uzbeks of northern Afghanistan, a Turkic people of Faryab, Jowzjan, Balkh, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Kunduz and Takhar, numbering roughly 3.7-4.4 million. Their ancestors include the Shaybanid Uzbeks who conquered the region in the 16th century and refugees who fled Soviet rule north of the Amu Darya in the 1920s. They speak Southern Uzbek, a Karluk Turkic language written in the Arabic script, and most also speak Dari. After Pashtun rulers subdued the northern khanates in the 19th century, Uzbeks lived under Pashtun dominance; in recent decades General Abdul Rashid Dostum led them as a political and military force. Diaspora communities live in Turkey, Pakistan, Iran and the United States.

Afghan Uzbeks are farmers, herders and traders of the northern plains, known for karakul sheep, carpet and rug weaving, and buzkashi, the mounted goat-carcass game. Families are patrilineal and extended, and marriages are arranged with a bride price. Men wear the striped chapan coat and turban or skullcap. Rice palaw, bread and green tea are staples, and Nowruz is celebrated with special foods.

Southern Uzbeks are Hanafi Sunnis with a strong Sufi heritage, especially the Naqshbandi order, and they visit shrines such as the Blue Mosque of Mazar-e Sharif. Vows, amulets and healers belong to everyday folk practice alongside mosque worship. In Iran they are a Sunni minority with few mosques of their own.

Only Scripture portions exist in Southern Uzbek (2004-2006), while the complete Bible in Northern Uzbek (Cyrillic and Latin script) is hard for Arabic-script readers to use. The JESUS film and audio recordings exist in Southern Uzbek. There are almost no known believers, and Christian broadcasting in the language is minimal.