To the neighboring Pushtun tribes, who live in fertile riverine valleys, Balochistan is "the dump where Allah shot the rubbish of creation. But for the Baloch, their sense of identity is closely linked to the austere land where they have lived for at least a thousand years.
-Selig S Harrison
A number of tribes constitute to the people of Balochistan. The three major tribes are Baloch, Pashtun and Brahui.
The Baloch speaking tribes include Rind, Lasher, Marri, Jamot, Ahmedzai, Bugti Domki, Magsi, Khosa, Rakhashani, Dashti, Umrani, Nosherwani, Gichki, Buledi, Sanjarani and Khidai.
Each tribe is further sub-divided into branches. The tribal chief is called Sardar while the head of sub-tribe is known as Malik, Takari or Mir.
Sardars and Maliks are members of district and other local Jirgas according to their status. The Balochis, believed to have originally come from Arabia or Asia Minor, can be divided into two branches: The Sulemani and Mekrani as distinct from the Brahvis who are mostly concentrated in central Balochistan.
Among the eighteen major Baloch tribes, Bugtis and Marris are the principal ones who are settled in the buttresses of the Sulemania.