AN INTRODUCTION TO ORAL TRADITIONS AND POETRY OF THE BALOCHES

Author

• Emran Dorrazehi, University of Texas at ArlingtonFollow

Graduation Semester and Year

Spring 2026

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in English

Department

English

First Advisor

Timothy R. Morris

Second Advisor

Amy Hodges

Third Advisor

Neill Matheson

Abstract

There is not much known about the history and literature of the Baloches besides the translation and transliteration of Mansel Longworth Dames. Dames while serving as an official in the region wrote a book, Popular Poetry of the Baloches (1907) in two volumes. Dames translated a series of oral poetry of his subjects. This dissertation utilized 13 poems from Dames’ transliterations and employed a compensatory, creative and restorative translation to recreate their earlier states.  It is the assertion of this dissertation that the poems given to Dames by minstrels were already heavily censored to reflect Islamic, Mongol and Mughal identities. Thus, this project aimed to employ a restorative and creative translation to recreate an earlier state of the poetry prior to imposition of Islamic, Mongol and Mughal identities upon them by colonization practices of the said parties. Chapter one will provide an introduction to Balochi poetry and the socio-political context in which they survive through the works of Dames. Further it will talk about other parallel traditions in the region. In addition, it will also attempt to trace the history of the Baloches in history.  Chapter Two will provide a translation methodology elaborating on choice and philosophy of translation available to the author. Chapter three contains the texts that the author has reproduced using a restorative and creative translation using Dames’ transliterations in addition to two pieces that are produced directly from oral tradition.

Keywords

Balochi, Oral Poetry, Indo-European Oral Traditions, Translations

Disciplines

Ethnic Studies | Language Interpretation and Translation | Literature in English, Anglophone outside British Isles and North America | Near Eastern Languages and Societies | Oral History | Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Dorrazehi, Emran, "AN INTRODUCTION TO ORAL TRADITIONS AND POETRY OF THE BALOCHES" (2026). English Dissertations-Archive. 118.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/english_dissertations/118