Aimaq is a collective name for a number of groups, not the name of one people. In western Afghanistan and eastern Iran it means "tribal people" and separates these groups from the settled, non-tribal Persian and Tajik population around them. The people grouped under it speak local Persian dialects close to the Persian of eastern Khorasan and the Herati dialect of Dari, and are considered Hanafi Sunni Muslims. Encyclopedia.com, Aimaq
Published sources on the Aimaq cover history, social structure and economy. They do not record a pantheon, a body of retold myths or a list of named spirit beings, and none is borrowed here from neighbouring peoples. What follows is limited to what the sources support.
Who the Aimaq are
The best-known grouping is the Chahar (or Char) Aimaq, "four Aimaq": the Jamshidi, the Aimaq-Hazara, the Firuzkuhi and the Taimani. They live in the area from Badghis, north of Herat, to the mountains of Ghor. The four groups took shape in the 16th and 17th centuries, when groups of Iranian, Turkic, Pashtun and other origins were united by chiefs from outside the area, and the grouping of four is a later administrative one. The Chahar Aimaq are the largest of about twenty Aimaq groups, which also include the Timuri, Taheri, Zuri, Maleki and Mishmast. Encyclopedia.com, Aimaq Encyclopaedia Iranica, Aymaq
Deities and Spirits
No named deities or spirits of the Aimaq are documented in published sources. The Aimaq are Sunni Muslims, and Islamic practice rather than a separate native pantheon is what the sources describe. Encyclopedia.com, Aimaq
Myths and Stories
The one legendary element in the sources is a claim of descent. Among the Jamshidi, a branch of the Kayani family from Sistan, which traced its descent to the legendary hero Jamshid, was appointed by Shah Abbas II as warden of the marches in Badghis. The tribal name is derived from Jamshid in this account. Jamshid is a figure of the wider Persian epic tradition, and published sources do not record Aimaq tellings of his story. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Aymaq
Creatures and Spirit Beings
No creatures or spirit beings specific to the Aimaq are documented in published sources.
Social life and custom
Descent is traced through the father. The groups divide into clan-like ṭāʾefas, and the extended family is the basic household and economic unit. Local power has rested on coalitions built through marriage between ṭāʾefa chiefs, and tribal unity has not existed as far as history can be traced. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Aymaq
Encyclopedia.com reports that honor and shame still carry more weight in tribal law than Islamic or state law, and that feuds are usually settled by tribal authorities. It also notes that Aimaq women have a relatively high status compared with other rural Afghan societies: they take part in group discussions and a girl may refuse a groom her father has chosen. Bride-service, in which a groom lives with and works for his bride's family for a set period, is sometimes practised. These customs are reported to be less common where orthodox clergy have more influence, as around Herat. Encyclopedia.com, Aimaq
Livelihood
Farming, herding and carpet weaving support the Chahar Aimaq. Fat-tailed sheep graze year-round, and in Badghis water is plentiful enough for rice, cotton, grapes, wheat and melons. Jamshidi and Aimaq-Hazara are classed as semi-sedentary and Firuzkuhi and Taimani as semi-nomadic. Timuri women weave some of the best carpets sold as Herat Baluch rugs. Encyclopaedia Iranica, Aymaq Encyclopedia.com, Aimaq
Today
The Aimaq remain a mixed population of herders, farmers and weavers in western Afghanistan, with smaller communities in Iranian Khorasan. Encyclopedia.com notes that few reports on the Aimaq have appeared since the Soviet invasion of 1979. Anyone looking for Aimaq stories would need fieldwork or collections made with Aimaq communities, which published sources do not include. Encyclopedia.com, Aimaq