The document summarizes the history of research on the Chaukhandi tombs located near Karachi, Pakistan. The tombs date back to the 15th-18th centuries and feature elaborate sandstone carvings. Early researchers in the early 20th century began documenting the tombs and comparing their architectural styles. More recent research has examined the varying theories around the meaning of the word "Chaukhandi" and the origins and traditions of those buried in the cemeteries.

1. Chukandi The Chaukhandi form an early Islamic cemetery situated 29 km
(18 mi) east of Karachi, close to the National Highway near "Fast National University of
Computer and Emerging Sciences" in Sindh province of Pakistan. The tombs are
remarkable for their elaborate sandstone carvings.
The style of architecture is typical to the region of Sindh. Generally, the tombs are
attributed to the Jokhio (also spelt Jokhiya) and known as the family graveyard of the
Jokhio tribe, although other, mainly Baloch, tribes have also been buried here. They
were mainly built during Mughal rule sometime in the 15th and 18th centuries
when Islam became dominant
Meaning of Chaukhandi
There are various opinions as to the meaning of the word Chaukhandi. Shaikh Khurshid
Hasan writes:
Some scholars believed that Chaukhandi is the name of a place. Others take it to be an
architectural term. On the necropolis of 'Chaukhandi' stands the tomb of one Jam Murid
bin Haji, which contains the wordChaukhandi, along with the name of the deceased.
Shaikh Khurshid Hasan therefore considered Chaukhandi to be the name of the place.
More so, when Banerji visited the Chaukhandi graveyard in 1920, he referred [to] it as
"the little village Chaukhandi". According to Mumtaz Hassan, Chaw in Sindhi language
means four and Khundi corner or pillar. Chaukhandi would refer to the four pillars
supporting the umbrella shaped dome over the tomb and would apply to all tombs
having the same construction However, this argument has flaws because all the tombs
covered with umbrella shaped domes or with a rectangular pavilion at Chaukhandi have
more than four pillars or columns.

2. Even at Mangophir, a canopy over similar graves has more than four pillars. As regards
to the suggestion that Chaukhandi is the name of a place, Mumtaz Hassan feels that
such a view derives from the fact that the name Chaukhandi had come to be associated
with the tombs near Landhi. As mentioned above, on one tomb the word Chaukhandi is
engraved. That might signify the location rather than the structural style of the
monument. It is therefore possible that the word Chaukhandi, originally referring to the
style of construction, became associated with one particular site
[Ali Ahmad] Brohi's view on he other hand is that Chaukhandi is used for a domed roof,
a kind of chhattri (umbrella/pavilion) which is supported by four to eight pillars, whiereby
the sides are left open. According to Kaleem Lashari, the word Chaukhandi as inscribed
on the grave of Jam Murid bin Haji is a compound word with Sahib and is to be read as
such Sahib-e-Chaukhandi and not on its own. He compares it to the [Sahib-e-
Jaidad (Owner of a land)]. It clarifies that Jam Murid is the owner of the Chaukhandi or
that the Chaukhandi is erected over his grave. In support of his theory he refers to a
similar inscription on a grave at Got Raj Malik and, therefore, does not agree
that Chaukhandi is the name of a place.
Dr. Baloch has further tried to explain the meaning of the word Chaukhandi. Literally, it
suggests a four walled enclosure open from above. In the cultural tradition of Sindh,
such a walled enclosure is called a Chaukhandi, which is constructed out of respect
around the grave of a revered person. Chaukhandi as such is therefore not a grave or
tomb in itself, but the four walled enclosure in which the person(s) has been buried.
Referring to the burial place, it would be called Chaukhandi

4. Description
This type of graveyard in Sindh and Balochistan is remarkable because of its main
north-south orientation. The more elaborate graves are constructed with a buff-
colored sandstone. Their carved decoration displays expert craftsmanship and has
often kept remarkably well over time. Tombs were constructed either as single graves or
as groups of up to eight graves, raised on a common platform.
A typical sarcophagus consists of six vertical slabs, with two long slabs on each side of
the grave indicating the length of the body and the remaining two vertical slabs on the
head and foot side. These six slabs are covered by a second sarcophagus consisting of
six more similar vertical slabs but smaller in size, giving the grave a pyramid shape. The
upper box is further covered with four or five horizontal slabs and the topmost
construction is set vertically with its northern end often carved into a knob known as a
crown or a turban. The tombs are embellished with geometrical hunting scenes, arms,
and jewel
Discovery and Research

5. The earliest -passing- reference of the Chaukhandi tombs (a.k.a. Jokundee) is in a letter
of J. Macleod, addressed to H. B. E. Frere in 1851 The tombs, however, were given
more serious attention for the first time by H. D. Baskerville, the Assistant Collector
of Thatta in Karachi district in 1917. The tombs near Landhi were included in
the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 in 1922[
Dr. Salome Zajadacz-Hastenrath summarizes earlier research on these and similar
tombs in Sindh as follows:
A cemetery of this type was discovered at the turn of the 20th century in Hinidan by
Major M. A. Tighe, Political Agent in southern Balochistan. J. P. Vogel was the first
to investigate this and other cemeteries – including Karpasan (a plateau south of
Hinidan), Gundar (a village near Dinga, south of Hinidan), and Manghopir – and he
drew attention to another cemetery discovered by Captain Showers, Political Agent

6. in Kalat, lying between the Hub River and Sonmiani. Vogel recognized that the tombs
were Islamic, as indicated by the use of the Arabic script and the alignment of the
monuments. According to Islamic custom, the dead are laid to rest in such a way that
they are facing Mecca, resting on their right shoulder. Mecca lies approximately to the
west of Sindh; the longitudinal axis of the tombs accordingly lies more or less in a north-
south direction, with the head always lying in the north.
In (...) 1910, Sir Thomas Holdich described a similar cemetery near Malir and also
referred to several other cemeteries. He stated that local tradition ascribed these to the
'Kalmati' Balochis, and he linked this name to the town of Kalmat on the Makran Coast.
In 1917, H. D. Baskerville discovered a similar cemetery in the vicinity of the village of
Chaukhandi, near Karachi. Baskerville's published report raised the question of a
possible above-ground burial – but he dismissed this after a careful investigation of one
of the stone chambers in the

7. cemetery, which did not contain any remains. A number of tomb inscriptions were found
at the Chaukhandi cemetery, consisting of names and/or sayings from the Quran. Some
of the named dead were said to belong to the Jokhiya
tribe, still resident in the vicinity. Only one of the tombs was dated – the date of death
being inscribed on it with the numbers in reverse order – as AH 1169 (AD 1756). Jokhio,
Jokhia or Jokhiya are said to be descendants of the Samma (tribe) of Sindh.
In 1925, Henry Cousens devoted a chapter of his book on the antiquities of Sindh to
'Baloch tombs'. He studied the tombs in Jarak (now
spelt Jerruck), Sonda and Kharkharo, which were of the same type as Chaukhandi.
Referring to the studies by G. E. L. Carter, he noted that more than twenty such
cemeteries had been identified, and rejected the theory regarding above-ground burials,
pointing to the frequent occurrence of arcade-like perforations in the lower casket.
Cousens was the first to draw comparisons with other architectural monuments in

8. Sindh, and he refers to similarities between the decoration of a tomb in Sonda and the
tombs of Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro (Shah Wardi Khan) (d. 1772) in Hyderabad as
well as the tomb of the Samma king, Jam Nizamuddin II (reigned 1461–1509), an
impressive square structure built of sandstone and decorated with floral and geometric
medallions.

9. Comparable is also the mausoleum of Isa Khan Tarkhan the Younger (d. 1644) in the
necropolis of Makli Hill. Regarding the covering of the tombs with chattris (cupola's or
pavilions), he points to similar tombs in the same Makli necropolis and to the tomb
of Mir Masum in Sukkur. He considered the tombs to be of approximately the same date
as the tombs of Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro - i.e. the second half of the 18th century.
Cousens pointed out that depictions of riders, as seen on some of the tombs, are also
found on sati (shrine) stones in Kathiawar and Kutch.
Information about a single tomb of this type in the vicinity of the village of Baghwana,
south-west of the Las Bela (princely state), was published in 1931 by Sir Aurel
Stein. According to local tradition the tomb was that of Mai Masura, a saintly beggar
women; legend had it that the stone slabs had miraculously flown through the air
from Kandahar. Stein considered it to date from the end of the 15th century.
In 1934, in a publication concerning monuments of Sindh, Nani Gopala Majumdar
described a funerary enclosure on Tharro Hill near Gujjo. He believed that that
cemetery enclosure dated from the 14th century, being therefore older than the
monuments on Makli Hill; he also found some additional tombs of lesser significance in
the vicinity of the nearby mausoleum of Sheikh Turabi.