Wasi-wari | |
---|---|
Prasun, Paruni | |
Vâsi-vari, Vâsi-veri | |
Native to | Afghanistan |
Region | Pārūn Valley |
Native speakers | 8,000 (2011)[1] |
Indo-European
| |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | prn |
Glottolog | pras1239 |
ELP | Prasuni |
Linguasphere | 58-ACB-b |
Wasi-wari (Vâsi-vari, Vâsi-veri) is the language of the Wasi people, spoken in a few villages in the Pārūn Valley (Prasun Valley) in Afghanistan. It also goes by the name Prasun or Paruni.
Wasi-wari belongs to the Indo-European language family, and is on the Nuristani group of the Indo-Iranian branch. Wasi-wari is the most divergent of the Nuristani languages.
The Prasuni people are now mostly Muslim since the imposition of Islam by the Afghan ruler Abdur Rahman Khan in 1896.[2] They first followed out of intimidation, then became more devout as younger generations studied Islamic scriptures in Pakistan and India and came back to preach Islam,[3] but they also keep some vestiges of their indigenous pre-Islamic religion.[4] Literacy rates are low: below 1% for people who have it as a first language, and between 15% and 25% for people who have it as a second language.