WHILE travelling in the western plains of Shahdadkot taluka in Larkana, one comes across many tombs that belong to the Jamali tribe. The Jamalis are one of the sub-clans of Rind tribe and claimed their descent from Mir Jamal Khan. Like other Baloch tribes, they also played a very important role in the socio- political history of Sindh during the rule of Kalhoras and Talpurs.
There are at least five tombs of Jamali tribe that exist in the Shahdadkot taluka. Some 18 kilometres northwest of Shahdadkot is a small village, named after its founder, Imam Bakhsh Jamali well nigh close to the border of Balochistan. Imam Bakhsh Jamali, once a very prosperous and flourishing town, is now reduced to a few households of Jamalis. One of the residents and descendants of Mir Sobdar Jamali, Ihsanullah Jamali, a professor in Government Degree College Shahdadkot told that Imam Baksh Jamali was a very important town when Mir Sobdar was the chief of the tribe. At that time, the country was under the rule of the British.
There was instability, unrest, turmoil and chaos in the country during the British rule and local chiefs ruled the roost. Tribal rivalry was everywhere. Kalpur tribe, an offshoot of Bugti tribe was at loggerheads with the Magsi tribe for a long time. Kalpur Bugtis were notorious for cattle lifting and one night as they were taking the wag (a herd of camels) away of the Magsis, some people from the Jamali tribe intercepted them and after taking the wag back from the Kalpur Bugtis, they returned the herd of camels back to the Magsi tribe. All this got the Kalpurs offended and they developed enmity with Jamalis. Being ferocious, one night, all of a sudden, they attacked the town of Imam Bakhsh Jamali and set it on fire. dozens of people, including the chief of the tribe, Mir Sobdar Jamali, were killed.
Shaho Khan, who was son of Mir Sobadar Jamali, later built the tombs. Originally, there existed four tombs of which now, two have survived. The tomb that is plastered with lime belongs to Mir Sobdar. Other than Mir Sobdar’s grave, it contains two other graves as well, though not much is known about them. The nearby tomb, that is at a height, and built of burnt bricks, has not as yet been identified.
Twelve kilometres northwest of Shahdadkot on same road that leads to Imam Bakhash Jamali, is a tomb of Shakal Jamali, which is visible from a distance. It is built on square plane and plastered with lime, though much of its plaster is peeling off. It is in a very pathetic condition and is entirely surrounded by water that has played havoc with the structure. Local traditions hold that Shakal Jamali was the head of his village. The other version is that he was shepherd and he had built the tomb himself during his lifetime. There is still another version that holds that he was a very pious person and worshipped in the forests and haunted places. His descendants later erected the tomb. From inside it is adorned with paintings.
Twenty-kilometres north of Shahdadkot, lies a tomb of Saeed Khan Jamali in village named after him and locally known as Qubo Saeed Khan. The tomb is very simply built and is decorated with paintings from within. It is believed to have been built by Saeed Khan Jamali himself during his lifetime. He was famous for his generosity in the far-flung areas. According to local accounts, he provided food to every needy passer-by, irrespective of caste and creed and even arranged for their accommodation. saeed Khan Jamali is still greatly venerated by a large number of people.
About 12-kilometres west of Shahdadkot, on road leading to Ghari Khairo near the village of Noor Nabi Junejo, is situated a tomb belonging to Rehan Khan Jamali. It was built in the nineteenth century. It is a huge building resting on square plane. It is a deserted tomb and is abode of the birds. From a distance it looks like a Kalhora tomb, due to its ambulatory gallery. However, there aren’t any stairs in it that is a particular characteristic of Kalhora funeraries.
One of the distinctive features of the tombs of the Jamalis is the painting. Except the tomb of Saeed Khan Jamali, all other tombs bear animal impressions and human figures. Especially, equestrian and dancing scenes are the common features of the Jamali tombs. The tomb of Sobdar Jamali is replete with the depictions of dancing scenes and popular folk tales, principally of Sassui Punhoon, Momal Rano, Sohni Mahiwal and Umar Marvi. The scenes are immaculately painted and perfectly imparted real look to the depictions. Similar scenes can also be found on the tomb of Rehan Khan Jamali. The tomb of Shakal also bears dancing scenes, but these are in the early stage of decay. The shepherds, who take shelter in the tomb during the harsh summer days, have defaced much of the paintings.
On one of the panels of the tomb of Mir Sobdar, two men appear to be engaged in playing flutes in front of the snake. On the same panel are the other depictions of a woman having a chat with a man who appears to sit under the shade of the tree. On still another panel, there are some depictions of sailing boats and some people appear to be waiting on the bank of river.
A closer look at the paintings reveals that the majority of the paintings comprise the dancing scenes. The depictions of dancing scenes confirm the fact that the practice of dancing in Sindh goes back to time immemorial. The discovery of dancing girl from the Moen-Jo-Daro is a testimony to the fact.
Dancing in Sindh has been witnessed since the Vedic age. It is presumed that dancing is the overall effect of music on mind, manifesting itself in the visible motion of the body. Dancing like music was associated with religious rites in Sindh in the pre-Muslim period. The emotional effect of the movement, the rhythm and music heightened the religious excitement and enriched the pattern of the ritual. One could reasonably feel that dancing in Sindh eventually became a part of folk music for the purpose of intensive expression of sentiments of joy experienced in every day life. In course of time from ritual dance to its developed into a real public dance. Showing of dancing scenes on several tombs in Larkana bear evidence to the fact that the inhabitants of this area were unparalleled in producing music and performing dance.
WHILE travelling in the western plains of Shahdadkot taluka in Larkana, one comes across many tombs that belong to the Jamali tribe. The Jamalis are one of the sub-clans of Rind tribe and claimed their descent from Mir Jamal Khan. Like other Baloch tribes, they also played a very important role in the socio- political history of Sindh during the rule of Kalhoras and Talpurs.
