Kang (tribe)

Kang (Hindi:कंग/कांग) is a gotra (clan) of Jats in India. Jats of this clan live in the Chittorgarh district in Rajasthan. Dilip Singh Ahlawat has mentioned it as one of the ruling Jat clans in Central Asia. [Dilip Singh Ahlawat: Jat viron ka Itihasa ]

In Sanskrit works, the Kang are mentioned as Kankas. Mahabharata says that when Yudhishthira performed his rajasuya yajna, these people (Kanka) along with the Sakas and the Tukharas brought to Indraprastha, their horses as gifts to the Pandava king. (Sanskrit-शकास्तुखारा कंकाश्च रोमशः श्रंगिणों नराः) Bhim Singh Dahiya, Jats the Ancient Rulers ( A clan study), 1980, Sterling Publishers New Delhi, p. 34 ] Their origin is Central Asia. R. Sankritayana says that the founders of the canal system in Central Asia were the ancestors of Kangs. Bhim Singh Dahiya, Jats the Ancient Rulers ( A clan study), 1980, Sterling Publishers New Delhi, p. 76 ] Visnu Purana and Brahmāṇḍa Purana mention the Kang as ruling over south Maharashtra and Bhoj areas. According to Fleet, they were ruling near Hyderabad and Musa river in south (Deccan). [Journal of Royal Asitic Society, 1905, p. 293] They are mentioned in the Aban Yasht, where the brave Hunas (Huns?, Sunu?, Son?) of Vaesaka invoke the goddess Ardvisura (Ardoksho of Kusanas ?) at the gate of the lofty fort of Kshathrosaoka of the high and holy Kanga. [J J Modi, Annals of Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona, Commemorative Volume, 1977, p. 70] Firdausi places the fort of Kang (Kangdez) at about a month's distance from China. [ibid, p. 69] Modi also mentions a Khyaona Arejataspa, (perhaps reminding of Ari-Zatoi of the Manda Empire). [ibid., p.75] The Chinese name of Sogdian -Kang-is so named as the Kang-nu were the rulers there. Bhim Singh Dahiya, Jats the Ancient Rulers ( A clan study), 1980, Sterling Publishers New Delhi, p. 259 ]

A tribe of Caspi

Kang is one of the tribes of the Caspi. Kangs are also known to have formed one of the 12 Misls of Sikri. They originally belonged to a region called Kang (pronounced Kung)on the Caspian Sea.

Historically despised for being affluent, the Kangs have lost a lot of territory due to encroachment by Muslims in Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Northern India-Pakistan.

A sizable population migrated to Liberia (Monrovia) and Namibia. They are also known to have formed a town named after them in Namibia. The Kang tribes have also migrated to the UK and created a following largely in the Walsall area of the West Midlands.

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