Sarbaṇī (Pashto: سربڼي‎) are the largest tribal group of Pashtuns. They are situated in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Sarbani include many Pashtun tribes, among whom the most numerous are the Tareen, (Durrani historically Abdali), Yusufzai, Mohmand, Khalil, Ghoryakhel, Shinwari, Kasi , and Muhammadzai (Charsadda). According to the Pashtun legend of origins, the members of the Sarbani group all descend from Sarban, who was the first son of the legendary founding father of the Pashtun people, Qais Abdur Rashid.

Etymology

The name Sarbani is similar (or identical) with the name of an historical tribe on Caucasus that was also named Sarbani (the Caucasian tribe was recorded under this name in the 10th century). Pashtuns are believed to be of Scythian descent and their language is classified as East Scythian (Sarmatian language is also grouped within Scythian branch).

According to the research of Henry Walter Bellew and Ibbetson Denzil, the Pashtun genealogist took the term Saraban for their ancestors from Suryabans which was the distinctive race title of the solar clans of Kshatriya people among whom the Pashtuns had become absorbed, and it was also a title held in high respect among the people of the country at that time. Further, as it included a large and important population, it was a convenient term to adopt as an ancestral title.