Loy Kandahar

Loy Kandahar (Pashto: لوي کندهار‎, lit. "Great Kandahar") is a historical and cultural region of Afghanistan, comprising the modern Afghan provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Urozgan, Farah, Zabul and Quetta. Loy Kandahar is vaguely defined by a common culture and history that is connected to the local indigenous tribes that reside in the region. Some people may refer to these areas as being under the "Kandahari cultural sphere of influence". Particular styles of clothing, articles of clothing, turban styles, turban cloth colors, dialects of Pashto language, etc. may sometimes be associated with specific tribes indigenous to Loy Kandahar and thus integrate themselves into regional culture. For instance, a Pashtun tribesman from Loy Kandahar may quickly recognize a Pashtun from Loya Paktia based upon his turban (or lungee) style and color. Likewise, a Pashtun from Loya Paktia may recognize someone from Loy Kandahar based upon his unique style of collarless kameez (shirt) with specific embroidered patterns on the front. There are many subtle and intricate cultural indicators of this type that are not recorded in any known written history but simply known and observed by the tribesmen of the various Pashtun regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The regional center is the city of Kandahar and the main towns include Spin Boldak, Musa Qala, Lashkar Gah, Marjah, Farah, Tarinkot and Qalat. The population mostly consists of Tareen, Durrani and Ghilzai tribes of Pashtuns. Predominant tribes with notable large populations native to Loy Kandahar include the Barakzai, Alizai, Nurzai, Hotak, Alakozai, Achakzai and Popalzai.