Kupri Amazai


Kuprai Amazai is a village in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. This village is about 300 years old and was founded by migrants from Amazo Gharai Mardan. It got its name from its proximity to a large stone which looked like a human skull.. In Pashto, a human skull is called a Kooprai which was corrupted to Kupri over the years. The father of this village migrated from District Mardan and his name was Ahmed Baba. The main tribes in Amazai are Pathans, Mughals and Gujjars. The population is approximately 3500 and the predominant occupations are in agriculture.
There are two mosques and a Hujra in Kupri. People come to Hujra and sit together and discuss their issues. The upper mosque is in the upper part of the village and the lower mosque in the lower. There is also a high school and three primary schools.
There are six sub-tribes in Kupri Amazai. The largest is Khair Muhammad Khel, also called Ganra Khoona. The second largest is Umbaras Khail. These sub-tribes have been further divided into sub-casts. The sub-casts of Khair Muhmmad Khel are Zaman Khel, Musa Khal. Zaman Khel were once very well known for their bravery. Each tribe have some prominent persons who sit together at Hujra to discuss the issues and define policies for the village. Everyone in the village have to follow these policies. Any person who deviates from these local policies are charged fine called Nagha in local language. Policies are prepared verbally and everybody keep remember these rules.
All villagers are very cooperative with each other in social works. Whenever any dispute arises between two persons, some respectable people resolve their conflicts through jirga. Jirga is the most common ethic of Pathans in which many disputes are resolved without any police or government intervention.
The living standard of Kupri Amazai is more than its surrounding villages. Because most of the people of Kupri are living in Cities and even foreign countries. Some have their own businesses.