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{{Short description|Sindhi community}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=April 2026}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
The '''Sammat''' ({{Langx|sd|سنڌي سماٽ}}; ''sammāṭ'', ''samāṭr'', ''sammāṭh'') is the indigenous community of [[Sindhis|Sindhi]] people, comprising a number of native [[tribes]] and forming a substantial portion of the [[Sindhis|Sindhi Muslim]] population.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Allen Keith |title=Politics in Sindh, 1907–1940: Muslim Identity and the Demand for Pakistan |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780195795936 |page=4 |quote=The vast majority of the Sindhi Muslim population—roughly 70 per cent—{{sic|comprised |hide=y|of}} Pukka Sindhis, persons belonging to the Jat, Sammat....}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shah |first1=Nafisa |title=Introduction. Honour Violence, Law and Power in Upper Sindh |journal=Honour and Violence: Gender, Power and Law in Southern Pakistan |date=31 December 2022 |page=16 |doi=10.1515/9781785330827-006 |publisher=[[Berghahn Books]] |isbn=978-1-78533-082-7 |url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9781785330827-006 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Hindu Sammats are also extant.{{sfn|Hussain|2022|page=476}}

The term ''Sammat'' refers to Sindhis of indigenous origin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Weekes |first1=Richard V. |title=Muslim Peoples: A World Ethnographic Survey |date=1984 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=Westport, Connecticut |isbn=0-313-23392-6 |page=685 |edition=Second, Revised and Expanded |quote=Sammat to refer to those Sindhis with indigenous origins}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Abdulla |first1=Ahmed |title=The Historical Background of Pakistan and Its People |date=1973 |publisher=Tanzeem Publishers |page=96 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pfQLAAAAIAAJ |language=en |quote=Among others are the Bhuttos, Bhattis, Lakha, Sahetas, Lohanas, Mohano, Dahars, Indhar, Chachar, Dhareja, Rathors, Dakhan, Langah etc. ... All these old Sindhi tribes are known under the common nomenclature of Sammat.}}</ref> Scholarship dates the presence of Sammat tribes in the region to ancient times.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Talbot |first1=Ian |title=Provincial Politics and the Pakistan Movement: The Growth of the Muslim League in North-West and North-East India 1937–47 |date=1990 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195773873 |page=37 |edition=2nd}}</ref> The Sammats are regarded as a traditionally privileged group within [[Sindhis|Sindhi]] society.{{sfn|Hussain|2022|page=469}} Sammat rulers feature prominently in the verse of [[Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai]], the eighteenth-century [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] poet.{{sfn|Hussain|2022|page=476}} In contemporary [[Sindh]], the Sammat castes are conventionally ranked second to [[Sayed]]s and other castes claiming Arab descent.{{sfn|Hussain|2022|page=487}}

==Subgroups==
===Sindhi Jats===
{{further|Sindhi Jats|Zutt}}
[[File:Abbasid_Dinar_-_al-Ma'mun_-_208_AH_(823_AD).jpg|right|thumb|250x250px|A gold dinar minted in [[Egypt]], displaying the names of the caliph and the Zutt emir [[Ubaydallah ibn al-Sari]]]]
Originating in the lower [[Indus Valley]], many Sindhi Jats migrated to [[Lower Mesopotamia|lower Iraq]] between the fifth and eleventh centuries, where they formed the [[Zuṭṭ]] ({{Langx|ar|الزُّطِّ}}) community.<ref name="Wink-2002a">{{cite book |last=Wink |first=André |title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam, 7th–11th Centuries |date=2002 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-0-391-04173-8 |pages=48, 157, 160 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Maclean |first=Derryl N. |title=Religion and Society in Arab Sind |date=1984 |publisher=McGill University |page=45 |isbn=978-0-315-20821-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kGxqygAACAAJ}}</ref> In the eighth century, [[Umayyad conquest of Sindh|Arab conquerors]] recorded several agglomerations of Jats and [[Med people|Meds]] across lower and central Sindh.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mayaram |first=Shail |date=2003 |title=Against History, Against State: Counterperspectives from the Margins |publisher=Columbia University Press |page=19 |isbn=978-0-231-12730-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yi6QpFCZBy8C&pg=PA19}}</ref> A further migration into the [[Punjab]] occurred between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries, during which Sindhi Jat groups settled on cultivable land and gradually adopted [[Agriculture in Pakistan|sedentary agriculture]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ansari |first=Sarah F. D. |date=1992 |title=Sufi Saints and State Power: The Pirs of Sind, 1843–1947 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=27 |isbn=978-0-521-40530-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j8wrDHqwEFIC&pg=PA27}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Grewal |first=J. S. |date=1998 |title=The Sikhs of the Punjab |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=5 |isbn=978-0-521-63764-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_nryFANsoYC&pg=PA5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Asher |first1=Catherine B. |last2=Talbot |first2=Cynthia |date=16 March 2006 |title=India Before Europe |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-80904-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZvaGuaJIJgoC&pg=PA269}}</ref>

Some Sindhi Jat communities, together with other [[Sindhis|Sindhi]] groups such as the [[Jadgals]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Illustrated Weekly of Pakistan |date=1964 |publisher=Pakistan Herald Publications |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TgIdAQAAMAAJ |quote=Jadgals who migrated from Sind via Bela to Panjgur.}}</ref> and [[Jamote people|Jamotes]],<ref>{{cite book |title=1998 District Census Report of Malir |date=1999 |publisher=Population Census Organisation, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=biUFE3_JQywC |quote=Among Sindhis the tribes are Syed, Jokhia, Khaskheli, Palari, Bareja, Bhabra, Dhars, Sirhindi, Jamot and Mohanas.}}</ref> are present in modern [[Balochistan]], particularly across the [[Kacchi Plain]], [[Las Bela (princely state)|Las Bela]], and [[Makran]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Nicolini |first=Beatrice |date=1 January 2004 |title=Makran, Oman, and Zanzibar: Three-Terminal Cultural Corridor in the Western Indian Ocean, 1799–1856 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-13780-6}}</ref> They are collectively referred to as the [[Jats of Balochistan]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Peterson |first=J. E. |title=Oman's Diverse Society: Northern Oman |url=http://www.jepeterson.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/oman_diverse_society_northern_oman.pdf |website=JE Peterson |access-date=29 April 2026}}</ref>

===Soomros===
{{further|Soomro|Soomro dynasty}}
The Soomros are a tribe of local origin<ref>{{cite book |last=Dani |first=Ahmad Hasan |date=2007 |title=History of Pakistan: Pakistan through Ages |publisher=Sang-e-Meel Publications |isbn=978-969-35-2020-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D_xtAAAAMAAJ |quote=But as many kings of the dynasty bore local names, it is almost certain that the Soomras were of local origin.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Panhwar |first1=M. H. |author2=Soomra National Council (Pakistan) |date=2003 |title=An Illustrated Historical Atlas of Soomra Kingdom of Sindh: 1011–1351 AD |publisher=Soomra National Council |page=26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-BtuAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> who founded the [[Soomro dynasty|Soomro Sultanate]] (1026–1351), restoring native rule in Sindh after the period of [[Umayyad conquest of Sindh|Arab governance]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Arab Conquest |journal=International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics |date=2007 |volume=36 |issue=1 |page=91}}</ref> Modern historians, including [[André Wink]], describe the Soomras as a dynasty of local origin who later claimed Rajput and, in some cases, Arab descent.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wink |first=André |date=2002 |title=Al-Hind: The Slavic Kings and the Islamic Conquest, 11th–13th Centuries |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-0-391-04174-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3p-czgEACAAJ}}</ref> Members of the Soomro tribe were among the earliest converts to [[Islam]] in [[Sindh]] from [[Hinduism]], although early Soomro practice has been characterised as [[syncretic]], retaining a number of pre-Islamic customs.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Siddiqui |first=Habibullah |title=The Soomras of Sindh: Their Origin, Main Characteristics and Rule – an Overview (General Survey) (1025–1351 AD) |journal=Literary Conference on Soomra Period in Sindh |url=http://www.uok.edu.pk/faculties/sindhi/docs/soomroEng.pdf}}</ref>

===Sammas===
{{further|Samma (tribe)|Samma dynasty}}
The Sammas originated in Sindh. Early Samma communities are recorded as concentrated in [[Brahmanabad]] and its surrounding areas.<ref name="Wink-2002b">{{cite book |last=Wink |first=André |date=2002 |title=Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World. Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam, 7th–11th Centuries |volume=1 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-0-391-04125-7 |pages=158–159 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3p-czgEACAAJ |quote=}}</ref> They subsequently displaced the Soomros and established the [[Samma dynasty|Samma Sultanate]] (1351–1524).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rapson |first1=Edward James |last2=Haig |first2=Wolseley |last3=Burn |first3=Richard |last4=Dodwell |first4=Henry |date=1965 |title=The Cambridge History of India: Turks and Afghans |publisher=Chand |page=518 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mBNZAAAAYAAJ}}</ref> The Sultanate maintained close relations with the [[Sultanate of Gujarat]],<ref name="Desai-2007">{{cite book |last=Desai |first=Anjali H. |date=2007 |title=India Guide Gujarat |publisher=India Guide Publications |pages=311– |isbn=978-0-9789517-0-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZRLGZNZEoEC&pg=PA311}}</ref> and offshoots of the Samma — including the [[Jadeja]]s and [[Chudasama dynasty|Chudasamas]] — established themselves in [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] and [[Kutch]].<ref name="Desai-2007"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Sheikh |first=Samira |date=2009 |chapter=Pastoralism, Trade, and Settlement in Saurashtra and Kachchh |title=Forging a Region: Sultans, Traders, and Pilgrims in Gujarat, 1200–1500 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=101–128 |isbn=9780198060192 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198060192.003.0004}}</ref>

The [[Sandhai Muslims]] are also identified as a Samma-related community.<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=K. S. |date=1996 |title=Communities, Segments, Synonyms, Surnames and Titles |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India |page=1747 |isbn=978-0-19-563357-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bfAMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1747}}</ref>

===Kalhoras===
{{further|Kalhora|Kalhora dynasty}}
The Kalhoras are a Sammat group of native origin.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hussain |first1=Ghulam |title='Dalits are in India, not in Pakistan': Exploring the Discursive Bases of the Denial of Dalitness under the Ashrafia Hegemony |journal=Journal of Asian and African Studies |date=1 February 2020 |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=17–43 |doi=10.1177/0021909619863455 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021909619863455 |url-access=subscription |access-date=29 April 2026 |language=en |issn=0021-9096}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |title=Pakistan's Sindh Province |publisher=Congressional Research Service |page=3 |url=https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/sindh.pdf}}</ref> They founded the [[Kalhora dynasty]], which exercised authority over Sindh and parts of [[Kutch]] in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sindhi Adabi Board Online Library (Stories) |url=http://www.sindhiadabiboard.org/Catalogue/mehran/Book2/Book_page9.html |website=[[Sindhi Adabi Board]] |access-date=29 April 2026}}</ref>

===Daudpotras===
{{further|Daudpotra|Bahawalpur (princely state)}}
[[File:Noor mahal.jpg|right|thumb|[[Noor Mahal]], built in 1872 by [[Sadeq Mohammad Khan IV]]]]
The Daudpotras were a prominent tribe of lower Sindh, closely related to the Kalhoras and regarded as a Kalhora offshoot.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ansari |first1=A.S. Bazmee |title=Dāwūdpōtrās |journal=Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English) |date=24 April 2012 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912 |url=https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EIEO/SIM-1762.xml?ebody=Article%20details |access-date=29 April 2026 |url-access=subscription |publisher=Brill |language=en |issn=1573-3912}}</ref> The Daudpotras migrated northwards and were granted [[jagir]]s by the [[Nawabs of Multan]] and the [[Sheikh]]s of [[Uch]], laying the foundations for the [[Bahawalpur (princely state)|Bahawalpur State]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Naeem |first=Anila |date=5 April 2017 |chapter=Shikarpoor Historic Town. Introduction, Background and Development |title=Urban Traditions and Historic Environments in Sindh |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |pages=28–29 |isbn=9789048531257 |doi=10.1515/9789048531257-005}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Khalid |first=Samia |date=1 June 2017 |title=Women of Bahawalpur State during the Nineteenth Century: A Socio-Economic Study |journal=Pakistan Journal of Women's Studies: Alam-e-Niswan |volume=24 |issue=1 |page=2 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A512868803/AONE}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Khan |first1=Ansar Zahid |title=S̲h̲ikārpūr |journal=Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English) |date=24 April 2012 |url=https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EIEO/SIM-6940.xml?rskey=LGWPIq&result=1&ebody=Article%20details |access-date=29 April 2026 |url-access=subscription |publisher=Brill |language=en |issn=1573-3912}}</ref> The state subsequently became a [[princely state]] of the [[British Raj]] and was the first to accede to the [[Dominion of Pakistan]] in 1947.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Long |first1=Roger D. |last2=Singh |first2=Gurharpal |last3=Samad |first3=Yunas |last4=Talbot |first4=Ian |date=8 October 2015 |title=State and Nation-Building in Pakistan: Beyond Islam and Security |publisher=Routledge |page=81 |isbn=978-1-317-44820-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzivCgAAQBAJ}}</ref>

===Sindhi Lohanas===
{{further|Lohana|Sindhi Memon|Khoja}}
The Sindhi Lohanas are identified in older sources as a Sammat group of indigenous origin.<ref name="Wink-2002b"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Jalal |first=Hamid |date=1977 |title=Pakistan: Past and Present – A Comprehensive Study Published in Commemoration of the Centenary of the Birth of the Founder of Pakistan |publisher=Stacey International |isbn=978-0-9503304-9-5 |url=https://www.google.com.pk/books/edition/Pakistan/aIPiAAAAMAAJ |quote=Sammat, by race descended from the Samma, Rajput, Lakha, Lohana and Jat inhabitants of the country at the time of its conquest by Muhammad bin Qasim.}}</ref> Sindhi Lohanas and their offshoot communities have historically been associated with urban trade and commerce in Sindh.<ref name="Boivin-2024">{{cite book |last=Boivin |first=Michel |date=18 March 2024 |title=Devotion, Religious Authority, and Social Structures in Sindh: Khojas, Vanyos, and Faqirs |publisher=Brill |pages=29, 122 |isbn=978-90-04-69529-0 |url=https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=utH7EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA29}}</ref>

The [[Sindhi Memon]] and [[Khoja|Sindhi Khoja]] communities are considered offshoots of the Lohanas.<ref>{{cite book |last=Herzig |first=Pascale |date=2006 |title=South Asians in Kenya: Gender, Generation and Changing Identities in Diaspora |publisher=LIT Verlag |page=118 |isbn=978-3-8258-0052-9 |url=https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=QU_yPk0koH8C&pg=PA118}}</ref><ref name="Boivin-2024"/>

==See also==
* [[Sindhis of Balochistan]]
* [[Med people|Sindhi Meds]]
* [[Mahar (tribe)]]
* [[List of Sindhi tribes]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite journal |last1=Hussain |first1=Ghulam |title=The Politics of Metaphor: Traces of Casteism and Patriarchy in the Work of Shah Abdul Latif |journal=Postcolonial Studies |date=10 May 2021 |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=469–488 |doi=10.1080/13688790.2021.1923154 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13688790.2021.1923154 |issn=1368-8790 |url-access=subscription}}

[[Category:Social groups of Sindh]]
[[Category:Sindhi tribes]]

Sindhi Sammat - Revision history

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