20110321LR Pashtunwali FINAL

LutzRzehak
DoingPashto
Pashtunwaliastheidealofhonourablebehaviourandtriballife
amongthePashtuns
1 EXECUTIVESUMMARY principlesforamodernAfghannation.Lateron,
AfghanscholarsstartedtostudyPashtunwalifrom
Variousvaluesystemsarecompetingwitheach afolkloricpointofview.Thus,writtenaccountsof
otherinAfghanistantoday.Ourunderstandingof Pashtunwaliappeared,offeringaviewfrominside
thePashtuns,oftheircultureandtraditionalvalues thecultureofthePashtuns.Someoftheseare
isoftenovershadowedbytheTalebanandtheir writteninadidacticstyleandmanyrevealthe
fundamentalistinterpretationofIslam.Thispaper philosophybehindparticularvaluesandrules.The
bringsbackintodiscussionasystemofvaluesand perspectiveoftheseaccountsisfeaturedinthis
rulesofbehaviourwhich,foraratherlongtime paperwhereinPashtunwaliisdescribedasthe
beforetheriseoftheTaleban,hadbeenheld idealofhonourablebehaviourandtriballife
sacredbyvirtueoftraditionandwhich,byvirtueof amongthePashtuns.Idealsnevercomeupto
itsimperativecharacter,hadbeenintendedto reality,ofcourse,buttheyserveasimportant
determinethebehaviouroftheindividualandof guidingprinciplesforbehaviour.
socialgroupsinbotheverydaylifeaswellasin ThetribalspiritofthePashtunsisexplainedherein
exceptionalsituations. theframeworkofasocialorganisation,which
InPashtolanguage,mostofthesevaluesandrules followstheprincipleofpatrilinealdescentandin
ofbehaviouraresummarisedundertheword whichgroupsofdifferentsize(tribes,subͲtribes,
‘Pashtunwali’whichcanbeunderstoodas'theway clans,andlineages)canbedistinguished
ofthePashtuns'.Pashtunwalipresentsanethnic dependingonthegenealogicaldepthtakeninto
selfͲportraitofthePashtunsaccordingtowhich account.AlthoughthemajorityofthePashtuns
thePashtunsaredistinctfromotherethnicgroups adoptedasettledlifestylecenturiesago,thetribal
notonlyduetotheirlanguage,historyandculture, spiritandotheraspectsofPashtunwalicanbe
butalsoduetotheirbehaviour.Since,accordingto tracedtotheirnomadicbackground.Sincethe
thisconcept,Pashtunsaretrustedandexpectedto AfghanstateoriginallyemergedfromaPashtun
acthonourably,wecanqualifyPashtunwaliasa tribalconfederacy,Pashtuntribeswerefavoured
codeofhonour.'DoingPashto'meanstoact withmuchautonomyandotherprivilegeswithin
honourablyandtobeguidedbythevaluesof Afghansociety.This,inparticular,explainsthe
Pashtunwali. persistenceofthetribalspiritandtribalcustoms
amongthePashtuns.
AmongthePashtuntribes,thesevaluesandrules
ofbehaviourhavebeentransmittedorallyfor TherulesofconductofPashtunwalifollowthe
centuries,butaslateasthe1950s,someAfghan dichotomyofhonourandshame.Behaviour,
menoflettersbecamemoreandmoreinterested consequently,isguidedbythequestionastohow
inPashtunwaliwhensearchingfortheguiding itisevaluatedintheeyesofothersaccordingto
2 LutzRzehak:DoingPashto

thecommonunderstandingofhonourandshame. ThequestionhowimportantPashtunwalistillisin
Thefollowingvaluesandrulesofbehaviourwillbe modernAfghanistancannotbeansweredina
discussedinthispaper: generalway.Thetransformationofformaland
organisationalaspectsofthetriballife(principles
x Honouroftheindividualandhonourof
ofdecisionmaking,roleofelders,artofwarfare,
groups
innercoherenceoftribalunitsandothers)ismore
x Fightingspiritandbravery
obviousthanchangeswithinthesystemofvalues.
x Equalityandrespectforseniors AnevaluationofthepresentͲdayimportanceof
x Consultationanddecisionmaking Pashtunwaliasasystemofvaluesrequires
x Willpowerandsincerity qualitativecasestudiesinvariouspartsof
x Compensationandretaliation Afghanistanthatcannotbepresentedwithinthis
x Generosityandhospitality paper.Itdependsoneveryparticularsituationby
x Prideandzeal whichvaluesthebehaviourofindividualsorgroups
Apersonwhoembodiesalmostallofthevalues isguided,butthereisnodoubtthatamongthe
andrulesofbehaviourofPashtunwaliandwho competingvaluesystemstheidealsofPashtunwali
leavesnodoubtthathedoeshisutmosttoabide stillcontinuetopresentanattractiveand
bythem,isrespectfullycalledghairatman.He sometimesbindingoptiontoday.
representstheidealPashtun.
Beinganidealofthetribalwayoflife,Pashtunwali 2 INTRODUCTION
alsoincludesasystemofcustomarylegalnorms
(narkh)whichiscloselyrelatedtothecodeof InmodernAfghanistan,thecultureandwayoflife
honour.SinceselfͲgovernancewasoneofthe ofthePashtunsareusuallyviewedthroughthe
privilegeswhichPashtuntribesweretraditionally prismofthequiteidiosyncraticinterpretationof
grantedinthestatesystemofAfghanistan, IslampresentedbytheTaleban.Thisperspective
customarylegalnormswereappliedeventotopics hinderstherecognitionofcertainculturalvalues
addressedbysecularlaw.Inremoteruralareas, andrulesofbehaviour,whichhadbeen
somecustomarylegalnormsremainimportant determiningthewayoflifeofmanyPashtunsfora
todayandattimesevenTalebanleadersadvisethe longtimebeforetheriseoftheTalebanasa
membersoftheirmovementthattheyshould militaryandpoliticalmovement,andwhichremain
solvedisputesamongthelocalpopulationby ofconsiderableinfluencetoday.
applyingtribalmechanismsofconflictresolution.
InthePashtolanguage,mostofthesevaluesand
Wheneveracommonlyrecognisednormisbroken, rulesofbehaviourareoftensummarisedunderthe
1
thethreatenedgroupfeelsresponsibilityfortaking wordPashtunwali(pa‫ܤ‬htunwali ,also
measuresagainstthenormͲbreakerinordertoreͲ pa‫ܤ‬htunwĈlഋiorpa‫ܤ‬htungalwi).Thiswordconsists
establishthepreviousbalanceandtoretrievetheir ofthenounpa‫ܤ‬htun'Pashtun'andthesuffixͲwali,
honour.Crimeswhichoffendthewhole respectivelyͲwĈlഋiorͲgalwi.InPashto,these
communityaredifferentiatedfromcrimeswhich suffixesgeneratenounswithanabstractmeaning.
offendonlyaparticulargroupofpersonslikea Hence,thewordPashtunwali(oritsvariants)can
lineageorclan.Varioushabitsandcustomsallow betranslatedliterallyas'Pashtunness'orinafreer
foravoidingabloodfeudcycleandresolvinga translationas'thewayofthePashtuns'.
conflictpeacefully.Thesemechanismsarebased Pashtunwalisignifiesaconceptwhichcanbe
ontheideologyofpatrilinealdescent,thetribal interpretedasanethnicselfͲportraitofthe
2
spiritandthecodeofhonourasexpressedin Pashtuns. Itincludesalltraditionsbywhichthe
Pashtunwali.Thecustomarylegalsystemcanvary
insomedetailsfromtribetotribeandfromregion
1
toregion.Variationmainlyconcernsthe ForPashtowords,asimplifiedsystemofRomanisation
computationoftheamountofbloodmoneytobe isusedinthispaper.Mostcharactersandpairsof
paidratherthanthemechanismofconflict characters(sh,zh,ch,kh,ai,au)canbepronounced
almostlikeinEnglish.FollowingtheRomanisationtables
resolution.
oftheLibraryofCongressretroflexsoundsaremarked
Itisimportanttostressthatthesocietyof byadotunderacharacter.Amacronovera(Ĉ)shows
Afghanistan,includingPashtunsociety,wassubject thatamustbepronouncedasalongvowel.The
tofundamentalchangeinalmosteveryrespect characterഋstandsforamidͲcentralvowelsound(schwa)
whichispronouncedlikeainEnglish'separate'(sepഋrഋt).
duringthelastdecades.Asaresult,todaythe
Thecombinationghshouldbepronouncedasguttural'r'
idealsofPashtunwalicompetewithothervalue
(sometimesknownasFrench'r').
systemsthatgainedinfluenceduringthattime.
2
SeeBerntGlatzer,'ZumPashtunwalialsethnischem
Selbstportrait',inGünterBestandReinhartKößler(eds):
AANThematicReport01/2011
LutzRzehak:DoingPashto 3

Pashtuns,accordingtotheirunderstanding, trustedandexpectedtoacthonourablytherefore
distinguishthemselvesfromotherethnicgroups. qualifiesPashtunwaliasacodeofhonour.
Likemanyotherconceptswhichareaimedat
WhenBritishofficersandcolonialservantstook
shapingethnicidentity,Pashtunwalidescribesan
noticeofthenormsandvaluesofPashtunwaliin
ideal,inthiscase,theidealofthewayoflifeofthe
thenineteenthcentury,theywereinterested
Pashtuns.Thisidealincludesthetribalspiritofthe
aboveallinadministrativeandmilitaryquestions
Pashtuns,asophisticatedcodeofhonour,moral
andtheirmainfocuswasoncustomarylawand
andethicalrulesofbehaviour,thedemandfor
bloodrevenge. 6 Inthesecondhalfofthetwentieth
martialbravery,reasonableactionsand
century,thenormsandvaluesofPashtunwali
consultation,asystemofcustomarylegalnorms
engagedtheattentionofwesternanthropologists
andnotleast,faithinIslam.3
whoanalyseditinawiderperspective,bringing
TheconceptofPashtunwaliisanethnoͲcentric intofocusmoralandethicalvaluesandrulesof
conceptbecauseitisbasedontheideathatthe behaviouraswell. 7 Inrecentpublications,
Pashtunsaredistinctfromotherethnicgroupsnot Pashtunwaliisusuallyseeninthecontextofthe
onlyduetotheirlanguage,cultureandhistory,but currentwar. 8
duetotheirbehaviouraswell.Theidealoftheway
WithinPashtunsociety,thevalues,normsand
oflifeofthePashtunsissometimesconfusedwith
rulesofPashtunwalihavebeentransmittedorally
anethnicstereotype,butneithertheidealnorthe
forcenturies,althoughasearlyastheseventeenth
stereotypenecessarilycorrespondstoactual
century,thePashtunpoetKhushhĈlKhĈnKha‫ܞܞ‬ak
behaviour.Furthermore,similarvalues,norms,
(1613Ͳ1689)wroteabookinPashtoprosethatcan
customsandhabitscanbefoundamongother
4 beseenasthefirstattempttodefinerulesof
ethnicgroupsinAfghanistanandPakistan. Butthe
behaviourforthePashtuns.ThewordPashtunwali,
Pashtunshaveevolvedthesevalues,norms,
however,wasnotusedinthetext.Thenameof
customsandhabitsintoastrongsetofrulestoa
higherdegreethanmostotherethnicgroupsof
thatregion. 5 ForthePashtuns,theserulesdefine 6
Forexample,MountstuartElphinstone,anofficerof
whatconstituteshonourablebehaviourandthey theEastIndiaCompanywhomadeanofficialmissionto
includevarioussanctionsforthosewhoarein theDurraniwinterresidenceinPeshawarin1809,
violationoftheserules.TheideathatPashtunsare describesPashtunwaliinhisreportasa"rudesystemof
customarylaw".SeeMountstuartElphinstone,An
AccountoftheKingdomofCaubul,2volumes(Karachi,
IndusPublications1992)p.220.
SubjekteundSysteme:Soziologischeund
7
anthropologischeAnnäherungen.FestschriftfürChristian SeeAlfredJanataandReihanodinHassas,'Ghairatman
Sigristzum65.Geburtstag(Frankfurt:IKOͲVerlag2000). –DergutePaschtune',AfghanistanJournal(1975)3:83Ͳ
3 96,CharlesKieīer,'ÜberdasVolkderPašาtunenundsein
Thewordpa‫ܤ‬htunwĈlidoesnotbelongtotheactive
Pašาtunwali',Paš๸toQuarterly(1360/1981)1:63Ͳ76,JonW.
vocabularyinallPashtospeakingregions.Itseemsthatit
Anderson,DoingPakhtu:SocialOrganizationofthe
ismorefrequentlyusedinthesouthͲeasternpartsof
GhilzaiPakhtun(ChapelHill:UniversityofNorthCarolina
Afghanistan(Khostandneighbouringprovinces)thanin
1979),CharlesLindholm,GenerosityandJealousy–The
thesouthernandwesternparts.However,thisisrather
SwatPukhtunofNorthernPakistan(NewYork,Columbia
aquestionoflinguisticbehaviouranddoesnotmean
Univ.Pr.1982),WillySteul,Paschtunwali:ein
thattheidealsandvaluesforwhichtheword
EhrenkodexundseinerechtlicheRelevanz(Wiesbaden,
Pashtunwalicanstandwouldnotbevalidinthose
FranzSteinerVerlag1981),BerntGlatzer,'Zum
regionswherethewordislessornotusedinactive
PashtunwalialsethnischemSelbstportrait'.
speech.Theexpressionpa‫ܤ‬htokawഋl,'doingPashto,'in
8
themeaningoffollowingtheidealofhonourable See,forexample,MajorRichardTodStrickland,'The
behaviourandtriballifeiscommontoalmostallPashto wayofthePashtun:Pashtunwali',CanadianArmy
speakers. Journal(2007)3:44Ͳ55,JohnH.Cathell,Human
4 geographyintheAfghanistanͲPakistanregion:
Thedifferenceisratherinthedegreeofrigourwith
UnderminingtheTalebanusingtraditionalPashtun
whichtheseidealsandvaluesarepursued.Forcommon
socialstructures(Newport,R.I.:NavalWarCollege2009)
valuessee,forexample,theremarksonseclusionand
http://www.dtic.mil/cgiͲ
dignity(pഋtauজizzat),reputationandhonour(nangau
bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA502894&Location=U2&doc=GetT
ghairat),loyaltyandpromise(wafĈauzhmഋna),shame
RDoc.pdf(referredtoon9March2011),CraigCordell
andmodesty(sharmauhayĈ)andothersinthechapter
Naumann,JohnF.RichardsFellow,ThePashtunwali's
'Afghanhabits'(afghĈnikhuyuna)inAurangzebIrshĈd,
RelevanceasaToolforSolvingthe'AfghanCrisis'(Edited
AfghĈnistĈnpezhandഋna['Acountrystudyof
andupdatedexcerptoftheResearchReportsubmitted
Afghanistan'](Pe‫ܙ‬hawur,DĈnishkhparanduya‫ܞ‬ol೅na
totheAmericanInstituteofAfghanistanStudies(2008),
1386h.sh.=2006)p.327Ͳ333.
http://www.educationinafghanistan.com/The_Pashtunw
5
Somecausesofthisdevelopmentwillbediscussedin alis_Relevance_as_a_Tool_for_Solving_the_Afghan_Crisi
chapter2. s_September_2009.pdf(referredtoon8March2011).
March2011

thebookisDastĈrnĈma('Bookoftheturban')and confidentlyprofferedtherulesandvaluesof
KhushhĈlKhĈnKha‫ܞܞ‬akdescribestwentyabiliƟes Pashtunwaliaseducationalprinciplesforamodern
(hunaruna)andtwentyvirtues(khislatuna)whicha Afghannation.Duringthefollowingdecades,as
Pashtunmanmustowntobecomeworthytowear Afghanscholarsbecameincreasinglymore
aturban.Someofthesevalues,suchasselfͲ interestedinthestudyoflocalfolkloreand
knowledge(dഋdzĈnmaজrifat),bravery(shujĈজat), traditions,morepublicationsonPashtunwaliand
consultation(mashwarat),modesty(sharm,hayĈজ), relatedsubjectsemerged.12 Mostofthese
honesty(rĈsti),respectfortheelders(dഋmalik publicationswerewritteninthedescriptivestyleof
intizĈm),ambitiousness(himmat),prideand folkloricandanthropologicalaccountsratherthan
honour(ghairat),areclosetothevaluesof asanalyticalstudies.Onthesegrounds,onecan
Pashtunwaliinthesensedescribedearlier.But saythatthesepublicationsoffertheperspectiveof
someotherabilities,likefalconryandhunting personswithinthecultureandthatPashtunwaliis
(‫ܤ‬hikĈr),chess(narddഋshatranj),poetry(sheজr), describedintermswhicharemeaningfultothose
music(musiqi)orpainting(taswirdഋnaqqĈsh),are whoaredoingPashto(inthemeaningof
addressedtothenobilityfirstofall.Thus,thisbook Pashtunwali).
standsratherinthetraditionofclassicalIslamic
textsinthegenreof'Mirrorsforprinces'like
QĈbusnĈma('BookofQĈbus')byKaiKĈॖus,
SiyĈsatnĈma('BookofGovernment')byNizĈmalͲ newspaperAngarwhichwaspublishedinKabultwicea
Mulk,orNasihatalͲmuluk('CounseltoPrinces')by week,butnoclearprogramexistedatthebeginning.The
9
alͲGhazĈli. mainidealofthemovementwaspatriotism.Education,
enlightenment,nationalunityandtheparticipationof
Inmoderntime,thefirstwrittenaccountson thepeopleinpoliticalaffairswereseenasthemainways
PashtunwaliappearedinAfghanistaninthe toleadthepeopleofAfghanistanoutofthe'darknessof
1950s. 10 Theirauthorsweremenofletterswho ignorance',togivethewomentheirlegalrights,to
followedtheWe‫ܤ‬hZalmiyĈnmovementandother enablethepeopletobecomethepillarofasovereign
nationalgovernmentandtodeveloptheeconomy.Later
groupsoftheintellectualenlightenment.They
somemembersofthismovementstoodupfora
appealedtothehistoryandtraditionsofthe constitutionalmonarchysystemwithpoliticalrightslike
Pashtunswhenadvocatingfornationalawakening freedomofspeech,freedomofthepressandfreedomof
andsocialjustice. 11 Intheirpublications,they politicalorganisations.FordetailsseeV.G.Korgun,
IntelligenicyavpoliticheskoyzhizniAfganistana
['IntelligentsiainthepoliticallifeofAfghanistan']
9
ThePashtotextoftheDastĈrnĈmabyKhushhĈlKhĈn (Moskva,Nauka1983)p.52ff.
Kha‫ܞܞ‬akwaspublishedseveraltimes(KĈbul,Pashto 12
SeeamongothersQudratullahHidĈd,'D೅pa‫ܙ‬htun
‫ܞ‬ol೅na1345/1966,Peshawar,PashtoAcademyofthe
kahol'['ThefamilyofthePashtuns'],KĈbul(1340/1961)
UniversityofPeshawar1991).QuiterecentlyanEnglish
46Ͳ51,BismillahHaqmal,'IjtimĈॖimasĈyilaud೅ta‫܋‬iyo
translationwaspublished;seeArifNaseem(transl.,
wul೅sinarkh'['Socialquestionsandthecustomarylegal
commentary),DastarnamaofKhushhalKhanKhattak
systemoftheTani'],KĈbul(1360/1981)58Ͳ68,QaƟl
(Peshawar,PashtoAcademyoftheUniversityof
Xo‫ܮ‬hyĈni,'Jirgaaupa‫ܙ‬htoadab'['JirgaandPashtun
Peshawar2007).ForadescriptionofthebookseeV.V.
culture'],Jirga(nodate)1/4,25Ͳ28,M.IbrĈhimॖAtĈyi,Dഋ
Kushev,Afganskayarukopisnayakniga['Afghan
pa‫ܤ‬htaniqabiloisƟlĈhiqĈmƻs['DictionaryofPashtun
handwrittenbooks'](Moskva,Nauka1980)p.56f.and
tribalterminology'](KĈbul,D೅pa‫ܙ‬htoce‫ܕ‬೅nona‫ܕ‬iwĈl
ManfredLorenz,'DerafghanischeDichterChushhĈlͲ
markaz1357/1978),MuhammadॖAzizKĈka‫ܕ‬,'D೅
ChĈnChattaküberdasSchachspiel',inAdélaKƎikavová,
AfghĈnistĈnd೅khatidzoaumarkazibarkhod೅kuchiyĈno
LudĢkHƎebíēek(eds.),ExOriente.CollectedPapersin
ijtimĈॖihĈlat'['Thesocialsituationofthenomadsofthe
HonourofJiƎíBeēka(Prague,OrientalInstituteofthe
westernandcentralpartsofAfghanistan'],KĈbul
CzechAcademyofSciences1995)p.101ff.
(1340/1961)53Ͳ58,IliyĈsWaziri,'D೅waziristĈnd೅
10
SeeQiyĈmuddinKhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali(KĈbul, barmalid೅khalkoul೅snarkhuna'['Thecustomarylegal
1331/1952),QiyĈmuddinKhĈdim,'Pa‫ܙ‬htunwali– systemofthepeopleofBarmalinWaziristan'],KĈbul
tarbiyawiusul'['Pashtunwali–educationalprinciples'], (1361/1982)52Ͳ61,HoۭyĈlai,'D೅apridiyonangiyĈlai
KĈbul(1331/1953)25Ͳ32,ॖAbdullahBakhtĈni,Pa‫ܤ‬htani qaum'['ThebravetribeoftheAfridi'],Jirga(nodate)
khuyuna['Pashtunqualities'](KĈbul1334/1955), 1/5,42Ͳ47,MuhammadAkbarMuॖtamad(ed.),
[GulpĈchĈUlfat(ed.),]Pa‫ܤ‬htanidoduna['Pashtunhabits NangiyĈlaipa‫ܤ‬htun['ThehonourablePashtun'](KĈbul,
andcustoms'](KĈbul:D೅pa‫ܙ‬hto‫ܞ‬ol೅na1336/1957). Daulatimatbaॖa1345/1966),JalĈtXĈnHikmati(ed.),Dഋ
11 pa‫ܤ‬htano‫ܩ‬olഋnizͲiqƟsĈdiju‫ܠ‬ഋ‫ܤ‬htdഋsaurtഋrinqilĈba
We‫ܤ‬hZalmiyĈn('AwakenedYouths')appearedasa
['ThesocialandeconomicalstructureofthePashtun
ratherinformalmovementin1947undertheleadership
tribesuptotheSaurrevolution'](KĈbul,D೅pa‫ܙ‬hto
ofMuhammadRasulKhĈnPa‫ܙ‬htun.Mostmemberswere
ce‫ܕ‬೅nobainulmilalimarkaz1362/1983),NurMuhammad
menoflettersandintellectualslikeॖAbdurraufBenawĈ,
TĈbish(ed.),Pa‫ܤ‬htĈnഋkuchiyĈn['Pashtunnomads']
GulpĈchĈUlfat,ॖAbdullahBakhtĈni,QiyĈmuddinKhĈdim
(KĈbul,D೅pa‫ܙ‬htoce‫ܕ‬೅nobainulmilalimarkaz
andNurMuhammadTaraki.From1951publicationson
1360/1981).
thepoliticalagendaofthismovementappearedinthe

Thispaperconcentratesonthisperspective.Itis 3 THENOMADICBACKGROUND
largelybasedonwrittenaccountsnotonlybecause
inotherpublicationsonPashtunwali,such OFTHEPASHTUNSANDITS
accountshavescarcelybeentakeninto SIGNIFICANCEFORPASHTUNWALI
consideration,butalsobecausePashtunwaliis
usuallypresentedasaphenomenonthatis Theemergenceandthevitalityofthenormsand
exclusivelysubjecttooraltradition.Thevalueof valuesofPashtunwaliaredeeplyͲrootedinthe
thesewrittenaccountsliesinthefactthatmanyof socialhistoryofthePashtuns.Culturesofhonour
themhaveadidacticinterestandduetotheir aretypicallyidentifiedwithnomadicpeopleswho
form,presenttheidealsofPashtunwaliinamuch havenorecoursetolawenforcementor
morecomplexwaythanisusuallythecaseinoral governmentwhentheytraversegeographically
narratives.Insomestudies,Pashtunwaliis remoteareasinsearchofpastures,carrytheir
presentedasacollectionofquantifiabletenetsor mostvaluablepropertywiththem,riskhavingit
rulesofbehaviour.13 Itgoeswithoutsayingthat stolen,etc.15 TherearestillsomePashtunnomadic
Pashtunwaliisratheraquestionofthequalityof herdsmentoday,butthemajorityofPashtuns
behaviorthanofthequantityofparticularvalues. adoptedasettledlifestylecenturiesago. 16 Today,
Thenativeaccountsexaminedforthispaperreveal mostPashtunsliveinruralareasandareengaged
thephilosophywhichstandsbehindparticular inagriculture.Innomadicsocieties,theprivate
valuesandrulesofbehaviourandconflatesthem ownershipofpasturelandisunknownalthougha
systematicallyintoanentireworldͲview.Thefocus particulargroupbytraditionmaylayclaimstoa
ofthispapermoreoverisnotonlyonkeywords particularpastureinaparticularseasonofthe
andtheirmeaning,butalsoonthelinesof year.Butaclaimtosomethingisnotidenticalwith
argumentusedbyAfghanauthorsinorderto theownership/possessionofsomethingandthese
demonstratetheculturalvaluesandrulesof claimswereheldnotbyindividualsbutbygroups.
behaviourbywhichthePashtunsdistinguish ManyPashtungroupsretainedthispracticewith
themselvesfromotherethnicgroups.Hence, regardtofarmlandforaverylongtimeafterthey
Pashtunwaliismainlydescribedhereasanideal; hadsettleddownandbegunfarming.Atthe
fromtimetotime,however,theemphasisonthe beginning,thefarmlandusuallybelongedtothe
viewfromwithinPashtunculturewillbroadento wholecommunity.Noparticularhouseholdhadan
incorporatetheobservationsoftheauthorofthis individualclaimtoaparticularparcelofland;
paper,basedonhisfieldstudiesinvariouspartsof instead,theparcelsoflandwereregularly
14
Afghanistanoverthelasttwodecades. Tobegin, redistributedamongallhouseholdsbelongingto
andtoenableabetterandbroaderunderstanding thatcommunity.Originally,theparcelswere
ofthematter,somehistoricalremarksare redistributedbylotandredistributiontookplace
necessary.
15
Thecorrelationofculturesofhonourandaparticular
wayoflifeismuchmorecomplexinfact.Thecodeof
honourofthePashtunsshowsmanysimilaritieswith
codesofhonourintheMediterranean,theCaucasus,
CentralAsia,theMiddleEast,EastAfricaandinthe
13
Cf.'Dependingonone'sperspectiveand Philippines,butaclearinterrelationshipofhonour
interpretation,Pashtunwaliismadeupofbetweenthree culturesandanomadicwayoflife(inthepastorat
andsixbasictenets,whichinturndevelopintoafairly present)isnotinallcasesevident.Foracritical
complexinterplayguidingtheactionsandnormative discussionseeMarkMoritz,'ACriticalExaminationof
behavioursofthecode.'(MajorRichardTodStrickland, HonorCulturesandHerdingSocietiesinAfrica',African
'ThewayofthePashtun:Pashtunwali',p.47).Seealso: StudiesReview(2008)2:99Ͳ117andToddK.Shackelford,
'Pashtunwalialsoencompassesfourpersonalcore 'AnEvolutionaryPsychologicalPerspectiveonCulturesof
values:honor,revenge,freedom,andchivalry.'(JohnH. Honor',EvolutionaryPsychology(2005)3:381Ͳ391.
Cathell,HumangeographyintheAfghanistanͲPakistan 16
Adetailedaccountofthesettlementprocesswas
region,9).
presentedfromaMarxistperspectivebytheRussian
14
Istartedlinguisticandanthropologicalfieldworkin scholarI.M.Reysnerwhobasedhisanalysisonlocal
Afghanistanin1988asavisitingpostgraduatestudentat chronicles,Europeantravelreportsandmanyother
KabulUniversity.Inthemid1990iesIcarriedout sources.Accordingtohisstudy,thefirstwaveof
fieldworkintheNorthernprovincesofBalkh,SarͲiPul settlementstartedamongPashtunnomadictribes
andJuzjan;between2002and2006Imadeseveral betweenthefourteenthandseventeenthcenturies.See
researchtripstothesouthwesternpartsofAfghanistan I.M.Reysner,Razvitiefeodalizmaiobrazovanie
betweenHeratandKandaharwithlongerstaysin gosudarstvauafgancev['Thedevelopmentoffeudalism
Nimrozprovince.In2008and2010Iworkedagainin andtheemergenceofthestateamongtheAfghans']
NorthernAfghanistan(BalkhandTakharprovinces). (Moskva,Izdatelफ़stvoAkademiinaukSSSR1954)p.47ff.
March2011

everyyear.InPashto,thiscustomiscalledwesh someBalochtriballeaders.Hekeptthetitleofa
'redistribution[ofland]'.Theparcelscouldbe shĈh('king'),butforthosewhohadelectedhimhe
allocatedtoahouseholdaccordingtothenumber wasnotmorethanaprimusinterpares.Ahmad
ofitsmembers(khulawesh'redistributionamong ShahDurrĈnicouldrelyonthemilitaryandpolitical
eaters'),accordingtothemilitarystrengthofa strengthofthetribeswhichsupportedhimaslong
household(mlĈt೅‫ܕ‬wesh'redistributionamong ashedidnotoffendtheirfeelingsandinterests. 21
fighters'),oraccordingtogenealogicallinks(d೅ Thesamecanbesaidforallofhissuccessors
shajarewesh'genealogicalredistribution'). 17 In withintheroyaldynasties.Allofthem,selfͲ
manyPashtunvillages,thecustomofweshwas evidently,werePashtunsandallofthemhadto
maintainedupuntilthenineteenthcentury,in cometotermsfirstofallwiththePashtuntribesin
singularcases,likeamongtheShinwĈriand differentpartsoftheirkingdom.Pashtuntribes
MomandPashtunsoftheNangarhĈrandKuna‫ܕ‬ providedthemilitaryandpoliticalbasisforthe
provinces,upunƟlthemiddleofthetwenƟeth royaldynastyandtheyweregrantednumerous
century.Inthedistrictof٨horĈwakintheSouthern privilegesinreturn,particularlyintaxationandin
Kandaharprovince,theBa‫ܕ‬ecPashtunscontinued selfͲgovernment.Ithasalwaysbeenafactthatin
practisingtheweshcustomintothe1980s. 18 thetribalregions,thestatewouldnotinterfere
Grouppropertyofasimilarkindcontinuedtoexist intoaffairswhichoughttoberegulatedbythe
withregardtopastures,threshingfloors,or stateandwhichinfactwereregulatedbyofficial
woodlands. 19 AlongͲtermconsequenceofthe 22
institutionsinmostotherpartsofthecountry. In
weshtraditioncanbeseeninthefactthatinmany thecourseoftime,thisexceptionalpositionwithin
ruralplacesofAfghanistan,theprivateownership thesocietyofAfghanistanbecameaninherent
oflandisstillsubjecttostrongrestrictions.Land featureoftheselfͲconfidenceofmanyPashtuns
canbethepropertyofapersonorofahousehold, especiallyinthetribalareasalongthefrontierwith
itcanberentedtootherpersons,butitcannotbe Pakistan.AmongallethnicgroupsofAfghanistan,
soldtojustanyone.Oftenthisispossiblefor onlytheBalochtribessharedthisexceptional
recognisedmembersofaparticularcommunity positionwiththePashtuns.Thisreflectedasimilar
only.Inmanyplaces,itisunimaginableand, wayoflifewithasimilartribalstructureanda
23
therefore,defactoalmostimpossibletosellland similarcodeofhonour. Generallyspeaking,in
toapersonwhodoesnotbelongtothecommunity
whichtraditionallyhasheldrightstoit.The 21
SeefordetailsI.M.Reysner,Razvitiefeodalizma,p.
acquisitionoflandislimitedalmostentirelyto
334ff.
inheritanceandresidencerightswhichare
20 22
transmittedthroughpatrilinealdescent. Group Adetaileddiscussionofthehistoricalrelationship
interestsarehigherthanindividualinterests. betweentribesandstateinAfghanistanispresentedin
RichardTapper(ed.):TheConflictofTribeandStatein
Furthermore,itmustberememberedthatthe IranandAfghanistan(London:St.Martin'sPress1983);
AfghanstateoriginallyemergedfromaPashtun seeespeciallythepapersbyRichardTapper,
tribalconfederacy.WhenAhmadShahDurrĈniwas 'Introduction'(pp.1Ͳ82),RobHager,'State,tribeand
enthronedasthefirstkingofAfghanistanin1747, empireinAfghaninterͲpolityrelations'(pp.83Ͳ118),J.
hehadbeenchosenbyagroupofPashtunand W.Anderson,'Khanandkhel:DialecticsofPakhtun
Tribalism'(pp.119Ͳ149),BerndGlatzer,'Political
organisationofPashtunnomadsandtheState'(pp.212Ͳ
17
SeefordetailsI.M.Reysner,Razvitiefeodalizma,p. 232)andNancyTapper,'AbdalͲRahman’sNorthͲWest
104ff.,Hikmati(ed.),Dഋpa‫ܤ‬htano‫ܩ‬olഋnizͲiqƟsĈdi Frontier:ThePashtuncolonisationofAfghanTurkistan'
ju‫ܠ‬ഋ‫ܤ‬ht,p.24ff. (pp.233Ͳ261).SeealsoChristineNoelle,StateandTribe
inNineteenthͲCenturyAfghanistan:TheReignofAmir
18
SeeHikmati(ed.),Dഋpa‫ܤ‬htano‫ܩ‬olഋnizͲiqƟsĈdiju‫ܠ‬ഋ‫ܤ‬ht, DostMohammadKhan(1826Ͳ1863)(Richmond:Curzon
p.30ff.,M.G.AslanovandV.I.Kochnev,'Pushtuny' Press1997),RichardTapper,'Anthropologists,historians,
['ThePashtuns'],NarodyYuzhnoyAzii(Moskva1963)p. andtribespeopleontribeandstateformationinthe
747. MiddleEast',inPhilipS.Khoury,JosephKostiner(eds.),
19 TribesandstateformationintheMiddleEast(Oxford:
ForexamplesrelatingtotheKhostprovinceseeWilly
UniversityofCaliforniaPress1990)pp.48Ͳ73,Richard
Steul,Paschtunwali,p.23.
Tapper,'Ethnicity,orderandmeaninginthe
20
ForthesituationamongtheGhilzaiPashtunsin anthropologyofIranandAfghanistan',inJeanͲPierre
easternAfghanistanbetweenKabulandKandaharinthe Digard(ed.),LefaitethniqueenIranetenAfghanistan
1970sseeJonW.Anderson,DoingPakhtu,164. (Paris:ÉditionsduCentreNationaldelaRecherche
AccordingtomyobservationsintheNimrozandFarĈh Scientifique1988)pp.21Ͳ34.
provinces,similarlimitationsconcerningtheacquisition 23
SimilaritiesofthecodeofhonourofthePashtunsto
oflandstillexist.Forthesituationinotherregionssee
thatoftheBalochareevidentbuttheycannotbe
Hikmati(ed.),Dഋpa‫ܤ‬htano‫ܩ‬olഋnizͲiqƟsĈdiju‫ܠ‬ഋ‫ܤ‬ht,p.143
discussedindetailhere.Accordingtomyobservationsin
ff.
Nimroz,almostallwhatisdescribedhereforthe

SouthernandWesternAfghanistanthedistinction 4 TRIBALSPIRIT
betweenPashtunandBalochissometimesvery
smooth.Indeed,somegroupsarereferredtoas 'AmongthePashtunsthewordPashtunwali
augĈnͲbaloch,i.e.AfghanͲ(PashtunͲ)Baloch.These implicateseverythingwhatranksamongthe
aresplintergroupsofPashtunoriginwhichwere rootsandbasicsoftheirtribalspirit,historical
incorporatedintothetribalorganizationofthe greatnessandnationaltraditions...Pashtois
Baloch,oralternatively,groupsofBalochorigin thenameoftheirnationallanguage,Pashtunis
whichwereincorporatedintothetribal thenameoftheirtribe,Pashtunkhwaisthe
organisationofthePashtuns. 24 InAfghanistan, nameoftheirhomeland;andfromthesewords
prominenceisgiventobothPashtunsandBaloch themeaningfulwordPashtunwaliwas
bythenameĈzĈdqabĈyil'thefreetribes'. 25 This created'. 27
situationonlybegantochangesignificantlyinthe
lastthreedecadeswhenothergroupsgainedin ThisPashtunauthor,QiyĈmuddinKhĈdim,places
militaryandpoliticalpowerinthecivilwarand thetribalspirit(qaumiruh)firstwhenhedefines
startedtoenforcetheirpoliticalclaimsonan thewordPashtunwaliinhisfundamentalbookon
ethnicbasis. 26 thissubject.Qaumisthewordwhichheusesfor
'tribe',andqaumiisthewordwhichheusesfor
'tribal'.Nodoubtisleftthathisreferencetothe
PashtunscanbetransferredtotheBalochinsouthͲ tribalspiritappliestoallPashtuns.Onecould
westernAfghanistanalthoughparticulartermsmayvary. interpretqaumiruhas'nationalspirit'therefore,
SomefeaturesofthecodeofhonouroftheBalochof butthereisanotherwordwiththemeaningof
AfghanistanaredescribedinAbdulsattĈrPurdeli,Chint
'national'inPashtoandinotherlanguagesof
pahlokshabalochĈnirabedagipahlistĈnĈ/Chandgulaz
farhangͲipurbĈrͲiBaloch['Someflowersofthecultural
Afghanistan(milli).QiyĈmuddinKhĈdimusesthis
gardenoftheBaloch'](Kabul:RegionalStudiesCenterof latterwordtorefertothelanguageandthe
Afghanistan1387=2008/09)pp.71Ͳ82.Adetailed traditionsofthePashtuns,butheusesqaumwith
analysisoftheBalochcodeofhonourwiththemain referencetothePashtunpeopleandqaumiwhen
focusonPakistanwaspresentedbyErwinOrywal,Krieg describingtheirspirit.Thisisduetothefactthat
oderFrieden:einevergleichendeUntersuchung thewordqaumimplicatestheideaofcommon
kulturspezifischerIdeale–derBürgerkriegin descenttoamuchhigherdegreethanimaginable
Belutschistan/Pakistan(Berlin:Reimer2002). lexicalequivalents.Likeotherconceptsofgroup
24
Forexample,groupslikeBa‫ܕ‬ecandNurzicanbefound identity,qaumexpressesidentityasarather
bothasPashtunandBalochtribes.BalochNurziand cumulativeorpolymorphfeaturewhichcanbe
BalochBa‫ܕ‬ecmaintaintribalrelaƟonsnotonlytoother imaginedasapooloffragmentarycharacteristics
Balochtribes,buttoPashtunNurziandBa‫ܕ‬ecaswelland likecommondescent,language,culture,shared
viceversa.Usuallysuchsplintergroupsswitchedoverto history,customs,wayoflife,religion,
thelanguageofthetribalgrouptheywereincorporated
neighbourhood,etc.Hence,qauminfactisavery
into,butbilingualismisawideͲspreadphenomenonas
well(ownobservations,moredetailedsooninLutz
elastictermwhich,dependingonthesituation,can
Rzehak'Ethnicminoritiesinsearchofpolitical beunderstoodas'nation','tribe','clan'orasa
28
consolidation',forthcoming). groupofsomeotherkind. Thesizeofagroupcan
25 differ,butthewordqaumindicatesthatamongall
ThistermdescribesthePashtunandBalochtribeswho
featuresofidentity,priorityisgiventocommon
resideinthefrontierregionswithPakistanandIranand
whotraditionallyarrogatetheprivilegeofcrossingthe
descent.Agrouptermedqaumisadescentgroup,
borderwithoutlimitation.Inthepoliticalsystemof firstofall.
Afghanistan,thisstatuswasofficiallyrecognisedbythe AmongthePashtuns,thedescentofanindividual
establishmentofaspecialministryfortribalaffairsafter
isreckonedfromthefather'slineofdescent.Thus
theSaurrevolution.SeeNeamatollahNojumi,TheRise
oftheTalebaninAfghanistan.MassMobilization,Civil
aqaumisalineofdescentfromamaleancestorto
War,andtheFutureoftheRegion(NewYork,N.Y.: descendantsinwhichtheindividualsinall
PalgravePublishersLtd.2002),pp.67ff.Thisministry interveninggenerationsarefathers.Thetradition
stillexiststodayunderthenameMinistryofBordersand holdsthatallPashtunsarefatherͲlinedescendants
TribalAffairs.
26
Asaresult,theresponsibilityoftheMinistryof
BordersandTribalAffairswasextendedtoallminority 27
SeeKhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,p.10.
groups,mostlybyprovidingeducationprogramsin
28
minoritylanguagesandbyhelpingtheminthe FortheconceptofqaumseeErwinOrywal:'Ethnische
resolutionofdisputeswithothertribesandethnic Identitäten–KonzeptundMethode',inErwinOrywal
groups(informationprovidedbyAbdulKarimBrahui, (ed.):DieethnischenGruppenAfghanistans.Fallstudien
MinisterforBorderandTribalAffairs,duringan zuGruppenidentitätenundIntergruppenbeziehungen
interviewwiththeauthorinApril2005inKabul). (Wiesbaden,Dr.LudwigReichertVerlag1986).
March2011

ofalegendaryancestornamedQais 29 (aliasPatan) beliefincommonpatrilinealdescentthatunites
whoaccordingtoprevailingopinion,livedatthe individualsonaparticularlevelofthetribalsystem
timeofMuhammad.WhenQaisconvertedto anddistinguishesthemfromotherindividualson
Islam,heassumedtheIslamicnameॖAbdurrashid. thesamelevel,eventhoughtheyallbelongtoone
AccordingtogenealogicaltradiƟon,Qais grouponahigherlevel.Patrilinealdescentgroups
ॖAbdurrashidhadthreesons–Sa‫ܕ‬bun,Ghargha‫ܙ‬ht, ofdifferentgenealogicaldepths,i.e.tribalgroups,
andBai‫ܞ‬an–whobecamethefoundersofthree tribes,subͲtribes,clansandsmallerlineagesare
descentgroups.Today,thedescentgroupsof solidaritygroups.Eachparticularsituationdictates
Sa‫ܕ‬bun,Ghargha‫ܙ‬htandBai‫ܞ‬anappearastribal whichgenealogicaldepthistakenintoaccount
groupstowhichmostPashtuntribescanbe concerningtheneedforsolidarity.Rivalling
assigned.AfourthtribalgroupnamedKarlĈ‫܋‬igoes lineagesofaclanforgettheirrivalryandstick
backtoapersoncalledKarlĈ‫܋‬.ItissaidthatKarlĈ‫܋‬ togetherwhenclaninterestsareindanger.Clans
wasafoundlingwhowasbroughtupbyaPashtun whichbelongtoonesubͲtribeandwhicharein
andlatermarriedthedaughterofhisadoptive conflictoveraparticularmatter,forgettheir
father.ThedescendantsofSa‫ܕ‬bun,Ghargha‫ܙ‬ht, conflictandsticktogetherwheninterestsoftheir
31
Bai‫ܞ‬anandKarlĈ‫܋‬areregardedtheancestorsof subͲtribeoroftheirtribeareindanger,etc.
varioustribes,theirdescendantsareregardedthe
Genealogicalknowledgeisofvitalnecessityina
ancestorsofvarioussubͲtribes,etc.Dependingon
societywhichisstructuredalongpatrilineal
thenumberofgenerationstakenintoaccount,
descentgroupsofdifferentsize.Ideally,aPashtun
patrilinealdescentgroupsofdifferentsizecanbe
candemonstratehisdescentfromQais
distinguished,andthemembersofeachgroupcan
ॖAbdurrashid,thecommonancestorofall
demonstratetheircommondescentfromanapical
Pashtuns,byenumeratingalllinkingforefathers.In
ancestor.Biggerdescentgroupsarenamedtribe
reality,aPashtunknowsbyheartatleastallhis
(tĈyifaorqabila).Eachtribeisdividedintotwoor
forefathersuptotheancestorofhiskaholgroup,
moresubͲtribes(‫ܞ‬ab೅r),subͲtribesconsistof
i.e.foraboutsevenoreightgenerationsasa
smallergroupswhichcanbenamedclan(khelor
minimum.Forgenealogicalknowledgewhichgoes
zaionahigherlevelandplarinaorp‫ܙ‬haonalower
backdeeperinhistory,olderandexperiencedmen
level).ThesmallestgroupofthePashtuntribal
whoareregardedasexpertsinthisfield,are
systemiscalledkahol.Thecommonancestorofa
contacted.Whennecessary,theyrefertowritten
kaholusuallylivedsevenoreightgenerationsago.
genealogytrees(shajara)oftheirclan,subͲtribeor
Everykaholconsistsofseveralextendedfamilies.A
tribe.Attemptstocodifythecommongenealogical
household(kor)isaneconomicalratherthana
treeofallPashtunsdatebacktotheearly
tribalunit.Ideally,itconsistsofagrandfather,his 32
seventeenthcentury. Likelatercompilationsof
wifeorwives,sons,daughtersͲinͲlaw,unmarried 33
thatkind, theyareunabletokeepupwiththe
daughtersandgrandchildren.Ayoungmancan
createhisownhouseholdaftermarriagealthough
31
itisoftenlocatedquiteclosetohisfather's HerethePashtuntribalsystemwasdescribedfroma
householdandmealsstillcanbeprepared structuralpointofview.Foramoredetailedandcritical
commonly.Ineverydaylife,patrilinealdescent discussionseeBerntGlatzer,'ThePashtunTribal
System',inG.Pfeffer&D.K.Behera(eds.),Conceptof
groupsofthekahollevelrepresentthemost
TribalSociety(NewDelhi,ConceptPublishers2002),R.
importantunitsofsocialorganisation.Thisisthe Tapper(ed.):TheConflictofTribeandStateinIranand
levelatwhichmarriagesarearranged,peoplehelp Afghanistan,JonW.Anderson,DoingPakhtu.
eachotherinagricultureorinbuildinghouses, 32
disputesaboutlandusageariseandaresolved,or Ni'matullahalͲHerawiwhoservedasachroniclerat
thecourtoftheMughalEmperorJahangir,wrotedowna
opinionͲformationaboutpoliticalquestionstakes
30 historyoftheAfghans.Itisoftenreferredtoas
place. MakhzanͲiAfghĈnior'HistoryoftheAfghans'andlists
Thelowestleveldemonstratesthedynamicnature thousandsoftribes(seeKhwajaNiॖmatUllahb.Khwâja
ofthePashtuntribalsystem.Groupswhichappear HabîbUllahalͲHarawî:TarîkhͲeKhânJahânîwa
makhzanͲeAfghâni.Ed.byS.M.Imâmuddîn(Dacca,
asthesmallestunitsataparticulartime,increase
AsiaticSocietyofPakistan1960Ͳ1992).AnEnglish
innumberwitheverynewgenerationandthus translationwasmadebyB.Dorn,HistoryoftheAfghans
theytransformgraduallyintoclans,whichare translatedfromthePersianofNeametUllah,by
dividedintoseveralnewgroupsofthekahollevel BernhardDorn(London,A.J.Valpy1829&1836).
aftersomegenerations.Butallgroupssharethe 33
Averypopulargenealogywascompiledunderthe
nameHayĈtͲiAfghĈnduringthereignofAmirSherAli
29
Also:Kais. Khanin1865.ForaPashtoeditionseeMuhammad
30 AkbarKhĈn:HayĈtͲiAfghĈn(KĈbul,D೅sarhadunochĈro
SeeWillySteul,Paschtunwali,pp.28ff.,JonW.
wazĈrat1370/1991).Publicationsofthatkindremainto
Anderson,DoingPakhtu,pp.223ff.
beverypopulartoday.See[PohanwĈl]Muhammad

dynamiccharacterofthetribalsystem,and, honourableorshamefulwhenitishonourableor
correspondingly,lessornoinformationisavailable shamefulintheeyesofotherpeople.
aboutgroupsonthelowestlevelswhich,however, Consequently,themainruleofconductisthe
arethemoreimportantineverydaylife.Oral questionastohowone'sbehaviourisevaluatedin
knowledgeofthegenealogicaltraditionremains theeyesofotherpeople.Inaddition,thecitedrule
absolutelyessential.WhentwoPashtunmenmeet impliesanotherdichotomy:individualhonourand
forthefirsttime,theyoftenchecktheir shamearecloselylinkedtothehonourandshame
genealogicalroots.Iftheyfindacommonancestor, ofotherpeople.
thechanceacquaintancewillturnintoa
relationshipwithmutualobligationsandsupport.
5.1 Honouroftheindividualand
ExplainingtheessenceofPashtunwali,QiyĈmuddin honourofgroups
KhĈdimreferredtothetribalspirit(qaumiruh)of
allPashtunsbecauseallPashtunsarepatrilineal Theconceptofnanga(alsonang)arisesfromthe
descendentsofQaisॖAbdurrashidandmoreover, tribalspiritofthePashtuns:'Nangameansto
becausehewrotehisbookduringaperiodof defendone'srightsandtherightsofone'stribe
nationalawakening.Yetallothersegmentsofthe honourably'. 37 Thus,thisconcepthasadouble
tribalsystemcanbereferredtosimilarlyasqaum. meaning.Nangaisthecalltodefendone's
Hence,thereferencetothetribalspiritcanbean personalhonour,whichisbasedonanindividual's
appealforsolidarityacrossalllevelsofthetribal dignityandtrustinoneself.Butthecallfornanga
system,i.e.withinatribe,asubͲtribe,aclan,or isnotlimitedtopersonalhonourbecausethe
withinsmallerlineagegroupsaswell. honourofanindividualandthehonourofthe
lineageortribeonebelongstoareinterdependent.
Onlyinthelineageortribecanonefindallieswho
5 HONOUR,SHAMEANDRULES wouldprovidesupportifnecessary.Livingoutside
OFBEHAVIOUR ofthetribalstructureisalmostunimaginable
becauseapersonwithoutagenealogicaltreeisa
Aspreviouslymentioned,Pashtunwalimeansthat personwithoutadescentgroup,andaperson
thePashtunsaredifferentfromotherpeoplesnot withoutadescentgroupisapersonwithoutallies
onlyduetotheirlanguage,butalsoduetotheir orsupporters.Hence,nangaisthedemandfor
behaviour.ThePashtunauthorॖAbdullahBakhtani personaldignityandselfͲconfidencebecauseonly
takesthisideatothepointthat'apersonwho apersonwithdignityandtrustinoneselfcan
speaksPashtobuthasnoPashtunwaliisnota upholdthehonourofone'slineageortribe.A
Pashtunbecausepersonsfromotherpeoplesalso personwholivesuptothisstandardisheldinhigh
havelearnedPashtoandspeakit.Onlyaperson esteemandwillbecallednangyĈlai('honourable').
whodoesPashtoandfollowsitsruleshas ThedemandfornĈmushasasimilarrationale
34
Pashtunwali'. Pashtunwalimeans'doingPashto'; behindit,butwithafocusonthosemembersof
and'doingPashto'meanstobringone'sbehaviour thesocietyforwhomaPashtunmanfeels
inlinewiththeidealsandmoralconceptsofthe responsibleinaveryspecialway.Theseare,firstof
Pashtuns.Theseconceptsareprojectedin all,hiswifeorwives,daughters,andhisunmarried
numerousrulesofbehaviour.Oneofthebasic orwidowedsisters.ThewordnĈmuscanbe
rulesstates:pa‫ܤ‬htunhaghഋwichinadzĈn translatedas'honour','reputation','esteem',
sharmawiaunabഋl('APashtunishewhodisgraces 'conscience',and'chasteness',anditcandenoteall
35
neitherhimselfnorothers'). Aswecansee,the femalemembersofahouseholdaswell.Inthe
rulesofbehaviouraregroupedaroundthe worldviewofPashtunwali,thehonourofa
dichotomyofhonourandshame. 36 Behaviouris Pashtunmanandthehonourofallfemalesfor
whomheisresponsibleareinterdependent.
ॖUmarRawandMiyĈkhel:Dഋpa‫ܤ‬htanoqabiloshajareau Defendingtheirhonourmeanstoprovideshelter
mene['ThegenealogiesandhomelandofPashtun andtotakecareofthemandthisisthebestwayto
tribes'](KĈbul,MaiwandKhparandoya‫ܞ‬ol೅na defendone'sownhonourandreputation.Pashtun
1383/2004),SiyĈlMomand:Dഋpa‫ܤ‬htaniqabiloshajare authorspropagatethisideabyreferringtoa
['GenealogiesofthePashtuntribes'](Quetta,Sidiq popularversewhichisattributedtothepoet
kutubkhĈna,nodate). HamidBaba(1660Ͳ1732).Hesays:chidഋbഋlnang
34
SeeBakhtĈni,Pa‫ܤ‬htanikhuyuna,p.2.
35
SeeQuyamuddinKhĈdim,'Pa‫ܙ‬htuncokd೅y?',KĈbul
asanestablishedexpressiontodenotetheBalochcode
(1333/1954),p.1.
ofhonouringeneral.
36
InBalochi,thisdichotomyisexpressedbythewords 37
ॖAtĈyi,Dഋpa‫ܤ‬htaniqabiloisƟlĈhiqĈmƻs,p.277.
nangͲumayĈr('honourandshame')whicharealsoused
March2011

aunĈmussĈtഋlainaͲshi/wuͲbഋnaͲsĈticokkhpഋl beginning,theyareusuallyresponsiblefor
nangaunĈmus('Hewhocannotdefendthe identifyingasuitablewifeandasuitablemember
honourandreputationofanotherpersondoesn't tojointheirhousehold.Olderwomenareheldin
defendhisownhonourandreputation.') 38 suchhighesteemthattheycanhelptoresolvea
Seclusionisseenasthebestwaytodefenda bloodͲfeudconflictpeacefully. 41
female'sreputationandconsequently,one'sown
honourbecausethemainruleofconductisthe
questionabouthowone'sbehaviourisevaluated 5.2 Fightingspiritandbravery
intheeyesofotherpeople.Afemalewhoisalmost Thedemandforturaisaimedatraisingthefighting
invisibletotheeyesofotherpeoplecannot spiritofthePashtuns.InPashtofolklore,onecan
disgraceherselfintheeyesofotherpeople.Ifa findinnumerableproverbs,sayingsandverses
woman,nevertheless,hasbeenunfaithful,her praisingbravery.Pashtunauthorsoftenquote
husbandfeelsobligedtokillhertogetherwithher fromthatfolklorewhentheyexplaintheconcept
loverrightaway.Intheeyesofamanwhois oftura.Onepopularverseisattributedto
trustedandexpectedtoacthonourably,thisisthe KhushhalKhanKhattak(1613Ͳ1689)whois
39
onlywaytodefendhishonourandreputation. regardedasthenationalpoetofthePashtuns.He
However,inreality,hecanlethimselfbeguidedby says:chiminpഋwaslanaͲwഋymarddenaͲwaye
theprinciplethat'ashameisnotashameaslong khpഋldzĈnͲta('Ifyoudon'tlikeweaponsyou
asnobodyisawareofit'.Thusadultery(likeother 42
shouldnotcallyourselfaman'.) Theoriginal
missteps)canbecovereduptoavoidblood meaningofturais'sword'andasaruleofconduct,
feuds. 40 turaisthedemandforphysicalbravery.Aperson
IntheconceptofPashtunwali,thepositionof whofightsfearlesslyandbravelyishonourably
womenismainlydefinedbytheideaofpatrilineal calledturyĈlai('brave').Thistitlecanalsobe
descentandbythecleardistinctionwhichismade attributedtoalineage,clanortribe.
betweenrelationshipbydescent(khpഋlwali)and ThefightingspiritofthePashtunshasbeensubject
relationshipbymarriage(khe‫ܤ‬hi).Thisexplainswhy toproofmanytimesoverthecourseofhistory.It
thebirthofasonandthebirthofadaughtercause extendsbacktothenomadicpastandwasraised
differentfeelings,whywomenareexcludedfrom againandagainduringthelongstruggleagainst
thedivisionoftheestate,whymanyPashtuns SafavidandMughalrulersandduringthe
prefermarriagesinsidethepatrilineage,whythe campaignsofPashtuntribesagainstotherpeoples
transferofmoneyandgoodsiscompulsoryfor aswell.InthethreeBritishwarsinAfghanistan,
marriages,andwhymarriagesareoftenarranged thePashtunslearnedtocombinetheirfighting
aspatrilinealcrossͲcousinmarriages.Theideaof spiritwiththeirfaith.Untilthattime,Islamic
patrilinealdescentcanalsoexplainlevirateͲ reservationsaboutthesoͲcalledunbelievershad
marriagesaccordingtowhichthebrotherofa beenquiteunclearformanyPashtuns,butduring
deceasedmanisobligatedtomarryhisbrother's theBritishwars,thePashtuns–likeother
widow,andthewidowisobligatedtomarryher inhabitantsofAfghanistan–physicallyexperienced
deceasedhusband'sbrother.LevirateͲmarriages theburdenofthecolonialaggressorsandgaineda
arealsoaquestionofnĈmus.Theyserveas veryrealisticpictureofthedreadedunbelievers.
protectionforthewidowandherchildren, AsprophesisedintheQuran,theyfound
ensuringnotonlythattheyhaveamaleprovider themselvesindangerofbeingtriumphedoverby
responsibleforthem,butthatthechildrenremain 43
theseunbelievers,dressedinBritishuniforms.
intheresponsibilityoftheirfather'spatrilineage. Thus,theirstruggleforindependenceturnedintoa
Theseclusionoffemalesblocksourviewofsome strugglefortheirfaith. 44 Today,thefightingspirit
spheresofsociallifewhicharelesspublic,but
wherewomenhavemuchauthority.Womenare 41
Formoredetailsonthepositionofwomeninthe
oftenthetreasurersofahouseholdandplayan patrilinealPashtunsocietyseetheexcellentstudyby
importantroleinmatchmakingbecauseatthe NancyTapper,BarteredBrides:Politics,Genderand
MarriageinanAfghanTribalSociety(Cambridge,
CambridgeUniversityPress1991).
38
KhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,p.127. 42
ForthisandotherversesseeKhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,pp.
39
Cf.AlfredJanataandReihanodinHassas,'Ghairatman 15Ͳ20.
–DergutePaschtune',p.86. 43
'Norwilltheyceasefightingyouuntiltheyturnyou
40
It'sinthenatureofthingsthateveninconfidential backfromyourfaithiftheycan'(Quran,2/218).
conversationsonehearsonlyverysubtlehintsatsuch 44
AlreadyduringthefirstAngloͲAfghanwar,Afghan
cases.Allattemptstoquantifythemwouldbeidle
theologianswrotenumeroustractatesinwhichthe
speculation.
struggleforfreedomwasdeclaredaholywar.Oneofthe

ofthePashtunshasbecomeintertwinedwiththe womentocheertheirsonsandhusbands.Oneof
sacredtraditionsoftheirstruggleforfreedom, theseversessays:ghഋܹhshupഋka‫Ͳܩ‬yejĈnĈnrĈͲ
independence,andfortheirfaith.Thecallfortura wuͲwഋ‫ܠ‬/z‫ܠ‬ഋͲmipഋpurshuchiͲyepഋshĈnaͲwi
isalwaysthedemandforphysicalbraveryinajust zakhmuna('Therewasabattlecry,mybeloved
cause. madeitinthebed/myheartisfull[ofconcern]
thathewouldn'tbewoundedattheback').47
Itisalsoajustcausetodefendone'shonourand
ExplainingtheartofwarofthePashtuns,
rights.Bothindividualrightsandhonourandthe
QiyĈmuddinKhĈdimmentionsastoryabouta
rightsandhonourofalineage,clanortribeneed
battleoftheAfriditribein1897/98.ABritish
tobedefendedbravely.Propertyoffencesaswell
officerwatchedAfridiwomencollectingbodies
aslibelandslandercancausebloodyquarrels
fromthebattlefield.Hesawanoldwomanwho
therefore.Butbraveryrequiresreasonedactions
liftedtheheadofeverydeadmaninordertofind
basedonconsideratenessandprudence.Inevery
hersons.Thenshekissedsixmenandslappedthe
conflict,preferenceshouldbegiventononͲviolent
faceoftheseventh.TheBritishofficersentascout
andamicablemethodsofresolution.Heroic
tofindoutwhathadhappened.Later,thescout
courageandbraveryareindemandonlywhen
45 explainedtohimthatallsevenmenweretheold
thereisnolongeranyalternative. Thisideais
woman'ssons.Sixofthemwerewoundedonthe
fixedinaproverbwhichsays:turadഋtekemaͲbĈsa
frontsideandshekissedthemfortheirbravery.
kadewuͲistഋlabiyĈͲyenosrawuͲtekeͲtaachawa
Theseventhwaswoundedontheback,andthe
('Don'tunsheathethesword,butwhenyouhave
womanhadsaidthatacuckolddeservesnothing
unsheathedtheswordsheatheitred[fromblood] 48
butaslapintheface.
afterwards'). 46
Accordingtothetraditionalrulesofwarfare,
Describingbraveryasoneoftheidealsandvalues
womenareexpectedtosupporttheirfightingsons,
ofPashtunwali,Pashtunauthorsemphasisethat
brothersandhusbandsnotonlymorallybut
thePashtunsfollowspecialrulesandcustomsof
physicallyaswell.InhisbookonPashtunwali,
warfare.Wheneverfightingbecomesinevitable,
QiyĈmuddinKhĈdimdevotedaspecialchapterto
themembersofalineageortribefeelcalledupon
theroleofwomenatwar.Itissaidthatbothmen
toforgetinternalquarrelsinordertopresenta
andwomentakepartinfightingandthatwomen
unitedfrontandleadofftothefight.Solidarity
supporttheirfightingmenbybringingfood,water
groupsappearascombatunits.Intheconceptof
andothernecessariestothetrenches.According
tura,itisaholydutytoopposeanenemyfaceͲtoͲ 49
tothesamerules,womenmustnotbeattacked.
faceandtofightuntilthelastbreath.Escaping
Thisispartiallyduetothefactthatthekinship
fromthebattleisseenasanactofcowardiceanda
systemofthePashtunsclearlydistinguishes
Pashtunmustnoteventurnhisbacktohisenemy.
relationshipbydescentfromrelationshipby
Otherwisehewillbecalleddawus('cuckold'),i.e.
marriage.Awomanremainsamemberofher
heiscomparedwithamanwhosewifehasbeen
father'sdescentgroupafterbecomingmarried.
unfaithful.Theidealofafearlesswarrioris
Whenawomangetshurtinaction,bothher
preachedinvariousgenresofthePashtunfolklore.
husbandandherbloodrelativescantake
Thereareshortverses(landഋi)whicharesungby
vengeance.Besidesthat,intheconceptoftura
braveryrequirescoequalopponents.Attackinga
mostfamoustractatesofthatkindwaswrittenunder womanisregardedasanactofarrogant
thetitleRauzatͲulͲmujĈhidin('TheGardenofthe cowardice.Forsimilarreasons,itisforbiddento
Mujahidin')byMullĈFayzMuhammad
khundzĈda.He attackchildrenaswellasmembersofcasteswitha
wrotethistractatebyorderofEmirSherAliandfinished sociallyinferiorstatus,likebarbersormusicians.
itin1876.Itiswritteninverses,consistsof1500lines MullahsaswellasSayyids,i.e.maleswhoare
andpresentsamilitarycodexforthemujahidin.SeeG.F. acceptedasdescendantsoftheIslamicprophet
Girs,Istoricheskiepesnipushtunov['Historicalsongsof Muhammad,Hajjis,i.e.personswhohave
thePashtuns'](Moscow:Nauka1984),47.
successfullycompletedthepilgrimagetoMecca,
ContemporaryPashtunfolkloreprovidesevidencefor
thefactthatintheAngloͲAfghanwarsthestrugglefor spiritualleadersofSufibrotherhoodsandother
independencewasseenasastruggleforfaith.For dignitariesshouldbeexcludedfrommilitary
examplesseeibid.pp.79Ͳ111,JamesDarmesteter, actionsduetotheirholiness.Likeotherideals,this
ChantspopulairesdesAfghans(Paris,Imprimerie wasnotalwaysfollowedduringthecivilwar.
Nationale,1888Ͳ1889).
45
Seethediscussiononturaandaql('swordand 47
reason')inBerntGlatzer,'ZumPashtunwalials
48
ethnischemSelbstportrait',pp.94ff. SeeKhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,pp.31Ͳ34.
46 49
SeeॖAtĈyi,Dഋpa‫ܤ‬htaniqabiloisƟlĈhiqĈmƻs,p.59. SeeKhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,pp.41Ͳ42.
March2011

5.3 Equalityandrespectforseniors answersorinformationastopersonalproblems
wouldagainshowthatonewantstobethefocus
TheconceptofmusĈwatexpressestheideaof ofattention.
equality.Thisideaiscloselyrelatedtothe
genealogicaltraditionofcommonpatrilineal Theideaofequalityasexpressedintheconceptof
descent.Pashtunauthorsproudlyclaimthattheir musĈwatgoeshandͲinͲhandwiththedemandfor
languagedoesnothavegenuinePashtowordswith respectfulandhonourablebehaviourtowards
meaningslike'slave','servant'or'Lord'. 50 Withthis seniors(dഋmഋshഋrĈnomanഋ‫ܤ‬ht).Thisdemand
statement,theywanttodemonstratethe definesthepositionoftriballeadersaswellasthe
importanceoftheconceptofmusĈwat.Equalityas relationbetweenfathersandtheirsons,between
conveyedintheconceptofmusĈwatisthe brothers,cousins,etc.LiketheEnglishwords
equalityofbrothersbutitdoesnotcontradict 'elder'and'senior,'thePashtowordmഋshഋrcan
socialinequality,differenceinageordifferencesby denotebothapersonwhoisolderinageanda
otherhierarchicalprinciples.Furthermore,equality personwhoseprestigeisbasedonsocial
asconveyedintheconceptofmusĈwatisdeeplyͲ categorieslikeleadership,experienceoflife,
rootedintheconceptofpersonaldignityand knowledge,etc.SeveralageͲgroupswhichare
honour.InthePashtofolklore,thisideais generallygenderͲseparatedcanbedistinguishedin
expressedinapopularproverbwhichsays: thesocietyofthePashtuns.Inthishierarchy,the
pa‫ܤ‬htĈnഋharyaumandഋinimmanpഋkinഋshta positionofamandependsnotonlyonone'sage
51
('EveryPashtunweighsoneman ;thereareno butalsoonthecriteriawhetheroneisunmarried
52 ormarried,whetheronekeepsahouseholdof
halfͲmanamongthem.') Thismeansthat
Pashtunsarenotsimplyequal,buttheyareequal one’sown,whetheronehaschildren,whetherone
intheirprideanddignity.Apersonwhoexpects ownsaplotofland,etc.Besidesbydifferencein
otherstorespecthisorherdignityandhonour age,thepositionofwomenisalsodefinedby
mustrespectthedignityandhonourofothersin criteriawhetheroneisunmarriedormarried,
anequalway.Consequently,theconceptof whetheronehaschildrenorgrandchildren,etc.All
equalityrequiresrespectfulandmodestbehaviour personscanpassthroughtheseageͲgroupsover
ineveryway.Takingturnstolettheothergofirst thecourseoftheirliveswhereasonlyselected
doesbynomeansinflictdamageonsomebody's personsareregardedasseniorsduetocriterialike
dignity.Incontrast,onlydignifiedpersonsareable leadership,knowledgeoftribalcustoms,or
topaytributetosomebody'shonourinthatway. experienceoflife.
ThetraditionholdsthattheformerkingZaherShah Traditionally,inthesocietyofthePashtuns,two
broughthiscartoastopbecauseanagedPashtun groupsofeldersortriballeaderscanbe
manwascrossingovertheroad.Needlessto distinguishedduetotheirsocialfunctionsand
mentionthatostentationrepresentsacrude competencies.Thefirstgroupconsistsofpersons
breachoftherulesofconduct;andoneshouldnot 53
whoarecalledkhĈnormalikinPashto. Theseare
eventalkaboutoneselfwithoutbeingaskedtodo eldersoravillageheadmanofhighprestigewho
so.Agoodillustrationofthisruleofbehaviouris havemuchinfluenceandpowerandwhoactas
thegreetingceremony.Wheninquiringafter representativesfortheirtribalgrouporvillagein
somebody'shealthonewillhardlygetananswer negotiationswithgovernmentagenciesandother
rightaway.Insteadofanswering,theotherperson tribalgroups.Inmostregions,thepositionofa
willinquireafterthehealthoftheconversational khĈnormalikishereditaryanddependsmuchon
partner.SuchquestionsandcounterͲquestionscan landownershipandeconomicstrengthalthough
lastforseveralminutesinmanycases.Answering
toosoonwouldshowthatonewantstobeinthe 53
focusofattention,butonemustdemonstrateto TheusageofkhĈnormalikasanhonorarytitlefor
theconversationalpartnerthathisorherstateof theseleadersdependsonthedialect.SeeM.IbrĈhim
ॖAtĈyi,'P೅qabilawi‫ܞ‬ol೅nakid೅m೅sh೅r೅yp೅rfaktoyawa
healthisthefocusofattentioninstead.When
itnolojikice‫ܕ‬೅na'['Astudyonthefactorsofleadershipin
finallyanswering,onewillcontentoneselfwith atribalsociety'],AryĈnĈ(1360/1981)3:65,75.In
sayingthateverythingisfineandthankingGodfor regionswherebothtitlesareinuse,preferenceisgiven
that.Atthisstageofconversation,moredetailed tooneofthemduetothecriterionoflandownership.In
someregionssuchasKhost,apersonwhoseleadership
ismainlybasedonlandholding,iscalledkhĈnwhereasa
50
SeeKhĈdim,'Pa‫ܙ‬htunwali–tarbiyawiusul',p.30. malikisapersonwhoseeconomicinfluenceisless
51 importantforleadership.SeeSteul,Paschtunwali,p.70.
Manisameasureofweight.Dependingontheregion
AmongtheNurziandGhelziofSouthͲWestern
onemanisabout4kg(Kandahar),32kg(Peshawar)or
AfghanistanthepositionofakhĈndependsmainlyon
565kg(Kabul).
leadershipabilitiesandeconomicpowerisless
52
SeeKhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,p.43. importanttoday(ownobservations).

leadershipabilityisalsonecessary.Twoormore berespectedasaleaderofthattype.Economic
leadersofthattypecancoexistinonevillageand powerislessimportant,butoneshouldownat
sometimestheyrivalforfollowersandloyalty.A leastaplotoflandtodemonstratethatoneis
khĈnormalikdoesnotexercisedirectpowerover economicallyindependent.Agedmenwhohavean
hisfollowers;decisionsareinsteadusuallybased expertknowledgeofthecustomarylegalsystem
onconsultationswithfollowers.Evidently,akhĈn arecallednarkhi(singular:narkhai)respectfully.A
ormalikmustholdallattributesofa'good narkhaiisnotajudge,butapersonwhois
Pashtun'asprescribedbythenormsandrulesof experiencedinjudicialmatters,whoisableto
Pashtunwali.Inaddition,atriballeaderofthatkind quoteprecedentsandwhoisthereforeaskedfor
needstohaveconsiderableeconomicresources. adviceonvariousissues.Eldersofthistype(both
Followersmustbefeastedfortheirloyaltyfrom spinܹhiriandnarkhi)aregrantednumerous
timetotime.Afollower,whohasplacedhistrust privilegesthatenablethemtoactas
inaleaderforalongperiodoftime,expects intermediariesincasesofconflict.Sayyids,Hajjis,
financialormaterialaidintheeventofan somespiritualleadersofSufibrotherhoodsand
emergency.Generallyspeaking,thepositionofa otherdignitariesareprivilegedinasimilarway.
khĈnormalikismorethatofapatronthanofa
landlord,buteconomicdependencyhasgained
importanceintherelationshipbetweensuch 5.4 Consultationanddecisionmaking
54
eldersandtheirfollowers. Duringthecivilwar, Asmentionedabove,individualhonourandshame
thepositionoftraditionaltriballeaderssuchas arecloselylinkedtothehonourandshameofthe
khĈnormalikwasseriouslyweakenedbythe tribalgrouptowhichonebelongs.Allquestions
militaryandpoliticalstrengthofmilitary requirethoroughconsultationswithother
commanders.Intimesofpeace,akhĈnormalik tribesmenwhomaybeaffectedbythem.Inmany
organisedaccesstopastures,tookcareofthe cases,itissufficienttoasktheeldersforadvice;in
irrigationsystemordealtwithstateauthorities, othercases,allconcernedpersonsarecalled
butduringthewarotherleadershipabilitieswere togetherforconsultations.Inthetribalstructureof
indemand.Aleaderhadtoorganiseweapons, thePashtuns,thedemandforconsultationhas
moneyandfoodwhichwereoftensuppliedvia beeninstitutionalisedintheJirgatradition.
PakistanorIran.Hence,aleaderneededaccessto Generallyspeaking,everygatheringofPashtun
militarygroupsandforeignorganisations.Manyof menwhichisheldinordertosolveaquestionof
theelderlytraditionalleaderswerephysically commoninterestcanbecalledJirga.Inmostcases,
unabletocopewiththesetasksandlefttheir aJirgaisconvenedspontaneouslywhenevera
55
positiontomilitarycommanders. problemofcommoninterestneedstobesolved.
Thesecondgroupoftraditionaleldersconsistsof TherearenosuperiororinferiorJirgas.Thegroup
personswhoseprestigeandinfluencearebased ofparticipantsisdefinedbythecircleofpersons
exclusivelyonpersonalattributesandonthe whoareaffectedbyaparticularproblem.Whena
knowledgeandexperiencetheyhavegained Jirgaisheldonthevillagelevel,alladultmenwho
duringtheirlonglives.Sucheldersareregardedas havefoundedahouseholdandownatleasta
wisemenandarerespectfullycalledspinܹhiri patchoflandhavetheformalrighttojoinit.In
('whiteͲbeardedmen',singular:spinܹhirai).They othercases,onlytheeldersofatribalgroupor
haveagoodknowledgeofthetraditionsand villagemaycometogether.Supportersofa
valuesofPashtunwali.Theyareexperienced particularpositioncanforminformalpartiesin
rhetoriciansandcanbeaskedforadviceinalmost advanceandauthoriseelderstodefinetheir
allsituations.Generally,everyagedmancanbe positionattheJirgagathering.Experiencedelders
calledspinܹhirai,butonemustpossessall emphasisetheirideasimpressivelyusingproverbs,
aforementionedpersonalattributesandhavethe quotingprecedentsortellingmoralisingnarratives.
knowledgeandexperienceofanagedwisemanto InsomeregionssuchasPaktia,theJirgahas
transformedintoatribalassemblyofelderswhich
isnotopentoeveryonethoughthisassemblyis
54
SeeJ.W.Anderson,'Therearenokhananymore: alsocalledJirga.WhenaJirgaofthiskindcomes
economicdevelopmentandsocialchangeintribal togethertheeldersaresurroundedbyakindof
Afghanistan',MiddleEastJournal(1978)2,pp.167Ͳ183. tribalpolicewhichiscalledarbaki(singular:
56
55
Fordetailsconcerningthesituationoftraditional
arbakai)andrecruitedfrombravetribesmen.
eldersduringthecivilwarofthe1990iesseeBernt Thearbakidenyaccesstounauthorisedpersons
Glatzer,'BeingPashtun–beingMuslim:Conceptsof
personandwarinAfghanistan',inBerntGlatzer(ed.),
56
EssaysonSouthAsianSociety:CultureandPoliticsII SeeAliMohammadSobman,'ArbakaiinPaktia',Pa‫ܤ‬to
(Berlin,DasArabischeBuch1998),p.83f. Quarterly(1359/1980)3:81.
March2011

andareresponsiblefortheenforcementofthe (mudĈhina)and'blarney'(chĈplusഋy)arenotof
Jirgadecision. Pashtoorigin.Withthisstatementhewantsto
showthatPashtunsdisdainfalsenessand
Dependingontheproblemtobesolved,aJirgacan
insincerity.Hearguesthatsincerityisnotamatter
takeonaconsultinganddesigningrole,itcanbe
ofwealth.Onthecontrary,willpowerwillhelpa
partofthedisputeresolutionmechanismina
poorpersontocopewithhissituation.Asinother
disputebetweentwogroups,anditcanbeusedas
cases,QiyĈmuddinKhĈdimdoesnotrefrainfrom
acourtincasesofcriminalconduct.Inallcases,
usingbigwords,sayingthatgenerallyforaPashtun
decisionsaremadebyconsensus. 57 Thediscussion
itisbettertodiethantolie.AndwhenaPashtun
lastsaslongasthereisnolongeranyoppositionto
dies,hedoesnotevenwanttobeburiednexttoa
aparticularposition.Allparticipantsmustagreeto
liar.61
aproposal.Itcanhappen,therefore,thataJirga
lastsaverylongtimeorthatitbreaksupwithout
takingadecision.Insuchcases,anewJirgacanbe 5.6 Compensationandretaliation
calledorintermediariesareinvitedtocometoa
decision. Freedom,strongͲmindednessandsincerityare
basicfeaturesofone'sdignityandhonour.These
ThedecisiontakenbyaJirgaisbindingforall feelingsareincompatiblewiththeideaofowing
membersofatribalgroup.ContraventionofaJirga anybodyanything.Theconceptofbadalconveys
decisioncancauseatribalpenalty(nĈgha).Itis thedemandforcompensationwithoutcondition.
reportedthatwithseriousviolations,thehouseof Theoriginalmeaningofthewordbadalis
theoffenderwasburnedorheorshewasexpelled 'exchange'.Inthecourseoftime,itacquiredthe
58
fromthevillageortribalgroup. meaningofcompensationandretaliation.In
Westernpublications,badalisoftenunderstood
62
exclusivelyasrevengeandbloodfeud. Pashtun
5.5 Willpowerandsincerity
authors,however,unmistakablypointoutthat
Theconceptofme‫ܠ‬Ĉnഋexpressesthedemandfor bothgooddeeds(nekഋi)andbaddeeds(badഋi)
willpowerandtenacity.DoingPashtomeansto requirecorrespondingactionsinreturn. 63 Hence,
overcomeanydifficultieswithconsiderableeffort theconceptofbadalexpressesnotmerelythecall
andagreatdealoftimeifnecessary.Theword forrevenge,butalsotheobligationtothankfor
me‫ܠ‬ĈnഋwasderivedfromthePashtowordfor theprovisionofhelpandtoprovidecompensation
'[married]man'(me‫ܠ‬ഋ),butthedemandfor assoonaspossible.InPashtunwali,itissinfultobe
willpowerandtenacitymustbemetbywomen givensomethinggoodwithoutreciprocation.The
andchildrenaswell.Pashtunauthorsclaimthat feelingofindebtednesstosomeonewhohasdone
thesearenationalattributesofthePashtunswhich youafavourisconsideredunmanlyandcowardly
werebroughtforthbythedifficultgeographical althoughreciprocationdoesnotneedtobe
59
conditionsoftheirhomeland. Faithfulness, grantedrightaway.Compensationcanbeprovided
reliabilityandsincerityarespecialfeaturesofthe ataconvenienttimebecausedoingPashtomeans
conceptofme‫ܠ‬Ĉnഋ.Agivenwordmustnotbe tosettleone'sdebtwhentheopportunityarises.
broken.Promisesareweighedthoroughlybecause Onthesegrounds,numerousnetsofmutual
doingPashtorequireskeepingpromiseswithout obligationsarewoven.Onesimpleexamplecan
exception.InPashtunwali,thesevaluesare illustratehowsuchnetswork.In2006inNimroz
expressedbytheconceptofজahdauwafĈ province,alocalkhĈnoftheNurzitoldmethathe
('promiseandfidelity').Itissaidthatin hadboughtwithhisownmoneymorethan100
Pashtunwali'speakingPashto'and'keepingone's prayermatsforafriendinFarĈhprovincewhohad
60
promises'aresynonyms. Furthermore,doing completedthehajjtoMeccaandneededthese
Pashtorequirestellingthetruth.Inhisarticle prayermatstobepresentedassouvenirsto
abouttheeducationalprinciplesofthePashtuns, relativesandfriends.WhenIaskedhimifthe
QiyĈmuddinKhĈdimhasanextrachapternamed friendhadalreadygivenbackthemoneyforthe
ri‫ܤ‬hƟyĈ'truth'andheemphasisesthatthewords carpetmats,hesaidno.Heexplainedthathe
whichareusedinPashtofor'lie'(durogh),'flattery' wouldn’ttakethemoney,butwheneverhewould
haveaprobleminFarĈhprovince,thisfriendwho
57
OnlyattheLoyaJirgaasenshrinedintheConstitution 61
SeeKhĈdim,'Pa‫ܙ‬htunwali–tarbiyawiusul',p.30.
ofAfghanistandecisionsaretakenbyvoting.
62
58 SeeLindholm,GenerosityandJealousy,p.210,Steul,
Paschtunwali,p.153,Strickland,'Thewayofthe
59
SeeBakhtĈni,Pa‫ܤ‬htanikhuyuna,p.16. Pashtun',pp.4Ͳ5.
60 63
SeeKhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,p.58. SeeKhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,p.48.

hadahighpositioninthelocaladministration 5.7 Generosityandhospitality
wouldbeobligedtohelphim.Thiscouldbe
tomorroworinsomeyears.Numerousobligations TheconceptofsakhĈwatexpressesthehabitof
ofthisandsimilarkindsarewovenintonumerous givingfreelywithoutexpectinganythinginreturn.
netsofmutualobligationswhichmakesany Agenerouspersoniscalledsakhirespectfully. 65 It
discussionaboutcorruptionmuchmoredifficult issaidthataPashtunwillneversacrificehis
thanitwouldseematafirstglance. honour,butgivingawayone'sbelongingsis
nothingexceptionalforPashtuns. 66 Hospitality
Likegooddeeds,baddeedsalsocallfor (melmastiyĈ)isaspecialformofdemonstrating
reciprocation.Ifabaddeedconsistsinanattackon generosity.Everypersonwhoentersthehouseis
aperson'shonourorphysicalintegrity, providedwithatleastsometeaandfoodand,if
reciprocationmeanstotakerevenge.Revengeis necessary,aplacetostay.Evenpoorpeopleare
aimedatrestoringtheprimarybalancebetween hospitabletosuchanextentthataguestwill
individualsandgroupsandatretrievingone's probablygetawrongpictureoftheirreal
honour.Thisequivalenceisalsocalledbadal.A economicsituation.Aguestisseenasagiftsentby
cycleofretaliatoryviolencecanturnintoablood Godanddemonstratinghospitalitythereforeisa
feud.Suchfeudsarenamedbloodfeudnot piousdeed.67 Accordingtocustom,aguestis
becausebloodshedmustbenecessarilyinvolved, treatedwithspecialhonourforthreedays.
butbecausetheyarecarriedoutbykingroups Afterwards,aguestisservedlikeothermembers
whicharerelatedbyblood,i.e.bydescentgroups ofthehousehold.Hospitalityincludesnotonly
ofdifferentgenealogicaldepth.Revengecanbe rulesofbehaviourtobeobservedbythehost,but
takenbythepatrilinealrelativesofsomeonewho rulesfortheguestaswell. 68 Everyoneisfreeto
hasbeenwounded,killedorotherwisewrongedor becomesomebody'sguest,butoncethishas
dishonoured,anditcanbedirectedagainstthe happened,theguestmustgivethehostthe
offenderoragainstoneofhispatrilinealrelatives. opportunitytoshowgenerosity.Hence,aguest
Sincebloodfeudsareaimedatrestoringthe canleavethehost'shouseonlywiththehost's
primarybalancebetweenindividualsandgroups, permission.Itgoeswithoutsaying,thatitisnot
revengemustbereciprocal.Theprincipletobe respectabletorefuseofferedfood.Furthermore,a
appliedisaneyeforaneyeandatoothforatooth. guestshouldfranklytalktohishostsalthoughthe
Forexample,killingapersonrequireskillingthe hostmaynotevenaskwhotheguestis,wherehe
killeroroneofhisrelatives.Onlyinthiscasethe comesfromandwhereheisgoing.APashtundoes
primarybalanceandequivalencebetweenthetwo notneedtoknowaguest'spersonaldetailsto
groupswouldberestoredandpeacenegotiations 69
honourhimgenerously. Thehostandhisfamily
wouldbepromising.Revengedoesnotneedtobe willentertainaguest,havingconversationwith
takenrightaway.Vengeancecanbedelayedand himorherinorderthataguestshallnotbebored.
theobligationtotakerevenge(por,literary'debt') Onthesegrounds,aguestisneverleftalone.Ifthe
canevenbelefttothenextgeneration.Apopular hostneedstobeabsentforawhile,hewill
proverbsays:pa‫ܤ‬htunsഋlkĈlapaskhpഋlporwuͲ commissionhisbrothersorsonstokeepcompany
asikht/hamwayഋlͲyechighalơͲmiwuͲk‫ܠ‬a('A withtheguest.Atypicalquestionaddressedtoa
Pashtuntookhisrevengeafteronehundredyears guestissĈজatͲditerdഋi?('Aren'tyoubored?').
64
andhesaidthathewasinahurry.') Often,guestsareofferedapresentwhentheyare
Moralharmcausedbykillingandinjurymustalso leaving.
betakenintoconsiderationwhentheprimary
balancebetweenindividualsandgroupsistobe
restoredinthecourseofvengeance.Accordingto
custom,somemoneyneedstobepaidbythe 65
Thewordsakhicanbeusedasapropernameaswell.
offenderorhisrelativestocompensatemoral Furthermore,inAfghanistanitisawellknownepithetof
damage.InPashto,thismoneyiscalledsharm. Ali,thecousinandsonͲinͲlawoftheIslamicprophet
Originally,thiswordmeans'shame'andthusit Muhammad.
showsthatrevengeisalsoaquestionofhonour 66
SeeBakhtĈni,Pa‫ܤ‬htanikhuyuna,p.29.
andshame.Moneycanbepaidascompensation 67
forphysicalharmaswelltoavoidpointless Ofcourse,beinggenerousisalsoawaytoexpress
one’swealthandtogainpublicreputationbutasa
bloodshed.ThismoneyiscalledkhunbahĈ('blood
primarymotiveofaction,suchbehaviourdoesnot
money').Suchpaymentsareveryimportantforthe correspondtotheidealsof'doingPashto'.
peacefulsolutionofdisputes. 68
SeeMuhammadKĈka‫ܕ‬,'D೅AfghĈnistĈnd೅xatidzo',p.
55.
64 69
SeeKhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,p.43. SeeBakhtĈni,Pa‫ܤ‬htanikhuyuna,p.30.
March2011

Hospitalityalsofindsitsexpressionintheway almostallvaluesandrulesofbehaviourofthe
buildingsaredesignedanderected.Almostevery codeofhonourofthePashtuns.Apersontowhom
househasaguestroomwhichisstrictlyseparated ghairatisattributedisrespectfullycalled
fromthehouse'sfamilypart.Manyvillageshavea ghairatman.Suchapersonisnotsimplydoing
separatehutwhichiscalledhujraandservesasa Pashtobutheisanxioustodosoandleavesno
restingplaceforguestsandtravellers.The doubtthathedoeshisutmost.Suchapersonis
householdsofavillagewillsupplyfoodand heldinhighesteembecauseaghairatmanPashtun
companyinturn. personifiesthe'idealPashtun'.72
InPashtunwali,aguestisnotonlyprovidedwith
foodandaplacetostay,butwithprotectionas 6 THECUSTOMARYLEGAL
well.Apersonisunderthehost'sprotectionas
longasheisthehost'sguest.Theguestonhispart SYSTEM
mustnotraisehishandagainstanyoneaslongas
heisinthehouseofhishost.Thiselementof 6.1 Legalnormsandthecodeofhonour
hospitalityincludestheobligationtograntasylum
(panĈkawഋl)toapersonwhoispersecutedby Legalnormsdifferfromothersocialnorms
anyone.Ahostcantrytoactasamiddlemanfor becausecomplianceissupervisedbyinstitutions
theguestandhispersecutors,butwhentheguest whicharesociallyrecognisedforthisfunction.Ina
isattackedthehostwilldohisutmosttoprotect societywherehonourcoverseverythingandwhere
him.Defendingone'sguestmeanstodefendone's thehonourofanindividualandthehonourofthe
honourandthehonourofone'stribalgroup. grouptowhichonebelongsareinterdependent,
Asylummustnotevenberefusedtoone'senemy. mattersofdisputecanhardlybedelegatedtoany
Specialmechanismsofpeacefulconflictresolution personsotherthanthosewhosehonourisin
havedevelopedonthesegrounds.Followingthe question.AmongthePashtuntribes,whenevera
samerationaleofhospitality,awomancanpresent commonlyrecognisednormisbroken,the
herselfasaguestinthehouseofthemanwhom threatenedgroupfeelsresponsibletotake
shewishestomarrywhensheisgoingtobe measuresagainstthenormͲbreakerinordertoreͲ
marriedtoanothermanagainstherwishes.Inthis establishthepreviousbalanceandtoretrievetheir
case,thechosenhostmustsettlethematterwith honour.Imposedsanctionsneedtobeacceptedby
herfather.Inreality,however,thisdoesnot othertribesmenand,ifnecessary,supportedby
happenveryoftenbecauseawomanwhoresorts themtobecomelegalsanctions.Thisphilosophy
tothistacticlosesfaceandrunstheriskofstarting constitutesthebasisforacomplexofnormsand
70
arevengecycle. mechanismswhichareknownunderthename
narkh(literally'price')inPashtoandwhichcanbe
Escorting(badraga)isanotherfeatureof
interpretedasthecustomarylegalsystemofthe
hospitalityinthemeaningofdoingPashto.A 73
Pashtuns. Thecustomarylegalsystemandthe
personwhoistravellinginaregionwhereother
codeofhonourarecloselyrelatedtoeachother.
tribesresidecanaskforanescort.Localtribesmen
Onecannotunderstandthephilosophyand
willescorthimandprovideprotectionifnecessary.
mechanismsofthecustomarylegalsystemwithout
Anintelligenttravellerwillnevercrossforeign
takingintoconsiderationtheideologyofpatrilineal
regionswithoutseekinganescortbylocalpeople.
descent,thetribalspiritaswellasthevaluesand
rulesofbehaviourasexpressedinPashtunwali.
5.8 Prideandzeal Besidescustomarylegalnorms,Pashtunsaccept
Theconceptofghairatisprobablythemost theSharia,i.e.thesacredlawofIslam,andfollow
complextenetofPashtunwali.Thewordghairat theHanafiSchoolinjurisprudence.Traditionally,
means1.dignity,selfͲesteem,pride, Shariaaddressedseveralaspectsoffamilylaw
ambitiousness;2.zeal,eagerness,passion;3. primarilywhereascasesofcrimeandinheritance
bravery,courage,audacity;4.indignation,anger; disputesweresettledaccordingtocustomarylegal
5.modesty. 71 Thustheconceptofghairatpools norms.Nooppositionexistedbetweentheselegal
70 72
SeeErikaKnabe,'AfghanWomen:DoesTheirRole SeeAlfredJanataandReihanodinHassas,'Ghairatman
Change?,inLouisDupreeandLinetteAlberts(eds.), –DergutePaschtune',M.IbrĈhimॖAtĈyi,Dഋpa‫ܤ‬htani
Afghanistaninthe1970s(NewYork,Prager1974),pp. qabiloistilĈhiqĈmƻs,p.199.
146,147. 73
Thefactthatawordwiththeoriginalmeaning'price'
71
SeeM.G.Aslanov,PushtuͲrusskijslovar'['PashtoͲ isusedtodenotethecustomarylegalsystemisrelated
Russiandictionary'](Moskva,Russkijjazyk1985),pp. tothecustomofpayingbloodmoneyintheprocessof
621Ͳ622. conflictsolution(fordetailsseebelow).

systemsuntilthemidͲ1990swhentheTaleban Asmentionedearlier,ithasalwaysbeenafactthat
introducedafundamentalistinterpretationof inthetribalregionsthestatewouldrarely
Islamanddeclaredsometraditionalcustomsand interfereintoaffairswhichwereregulatedby
normsofthePashtunstobeopposingIslamiclaw. officialinstitutionsinmostotherpartsofthe
In1998,theTalebanissuedadecreewhichbanned country.Whenaconflictarose,manyPashtuns
thecustomthatindisputeresolutiontheclanof usedtosaypa‫ܤ‬htokawu'wewilldoPashto',i.e.
theoffenderwouldpresentawomanorseveral theyresolvedtheconflictbyapplyingcustomary
womentotheclanofthevictimascompensation. legalnorms.Correspondingly,aJirgawhichisheld
Anotherdecreeforbadeleviratemarriages toresolvealegalconflictaccordingtothetribal
declaringthatwidowshadtherighttochoosetheir customsofthePashtunsiscalledpa‫ܤ‬htojirga.77
ownhusbandsregardlessofwhetherthey Especiallyinremoteareasandinareaswith
belongedtothehusband'sfamilyortribeornot.74 compactPashtunsettlements,government
Today,however,theTalebanrecommendcaution agenciesacceptedthissituationuntiltherecent
inapplyingIslamiclaw.Inastatuteforthe pastbycondoningthecustomarylegalsystemor
membersoftheTalebanmovement(Dഋ evenbyapplyingcustomarylegalnormsintheir
mujĈhidinoaskarilĈyha'Militaryrulesforthe ownjudgements.Intheearly1980s,Afghan
mujahedin')whichwasissuedinAugust2010,itis scholarscarriedoutananthropologicalsurveyin
saidthatjudicialdisputeswhicharetakentothe Pashtuntribalareasanddocumented104criminal
Talebanbythelocalpopulationwiththerequest cases.84ofthemwereresolvedbythetribes
forresolutionshouldbeaddressedfirstlyvia withoutinforminggovernmentagenciesandonly
mediationbylegalpeacemakingJirgas.Onlyifa in20caseswerethepoliceorothergovernment
JirgacannotcometoasolutionorifaJirgacannot agenciesengagedtoresolvetheconflict.Inalmost
beheld,disputesshallbetakentoanIslamic allcases,however,theirjudgmentsconformedto
75 78
court. Thisrecommendedpreferencefortribal thecustomarylegalnormsofthePashtuns.
methodsofconflictresolutionstrengthens
SinceinmanypartsofAfghanistannofunctioning
Pashtunwalieventhoughitmightbeatemporary
governmentinstitutionsexistedduringthecivil
approachintheeyesoftheTaleban. 76
war,customarylawcontinuedtobeimportantand
Furthermore,thecustomarylegalnormsofthe inremoteareasitisstillbeingappliedtoday.In
Pashtunsdealwithmanytopicsaddressedby 2005,IhadthechancetojoinaJirgaoftribal
secularlaw.However,selfͲgovernancewasoneof eldersoftheNurziwhohadcomefromFarĈhand
theprivilegeswhichPashtuntribestraditionally NimrozprovincestoZaranjinordertodiscussa
weregrantedinthestatesystemofAfghanistan. deaththreatagainstayoungmanfromtheirtribe
whohadbeenengagedincrossͲborderdrug
trafficking.Althoughaleadingsecurityofficerof
74
FordetailsseeJuanR.I.Cole,'TheTaleban,Women, FarĈhprovincewhoalsobelongedtotheNurziwas
andtheHegelianPrivateSphere',inRobertD.Crewsand presentatthisJirga,itwasclearfromthevery
AminTarzi,TheTalebanandtheCrisisofAfghanistan beginningthattheproblemwouldbesolvedby
(Cambridge,London,HarvardUniversityPress2008),pp. 'doingPashto',i.e.thetribalwayandwithout
118,143Ͳ144.
addressingofficialinstitutions.
75
Thethirdeditionoftheseruleswaspublishedinthe
Interneton8August2010bythesecretariatofthe
ThecustomarylegalnormsofthePashtunshave
IslamicEmirateofAfghanistan(DഋafghĈnistĈnislĈmi neverbeencodifiedinwrittenform.Theywere
imĈratdĈrͲulͲinšĈজ).Itconsistsoffourteenchaptersand transmittedorallyandconsequentlyparticular
85sections.Thereferredstatementisgiveninsection62 normsandcustomsmayvaryinsomedetailsfrom
ofchapter14titledolഋsimauzuজĈt('Publicquestions').I tribetotribeandfromregiontoregion.Variation
downloadedthetexton2November2010underthe mainlyconcernsthecomputationoftheamountof
address bloodmoneytobepaidbutnotthemechanismof
http://shahamat.info/index.php?option=com_content&v 79
conflictresolution. Herethemaintypesof
iew=category&id=9&Itemid=24buttodaythissiteisnot
workinganymore.
77
76 MuhammadGulMuhmand,Dഋmusawadepഋ۷aul
TheybelievethattheconditionsforIslamicjurisdiction
lum‫ܠ‬aipa‫ܤ‬htosind['AdraftofthefirstPashto
areunfavourabletoday.Insection63ofthesame
dictionary'],(KĈbul,MatbaॖaͲyiumumiyaͲiKabul
documentitissaid,therefore,thatevensolutionswhich
1316/1937),pp.210Ͳ211.
weretakenbyIslamiccourtsunderthesovereigntyof
78
theIslamicEmirateofAfghanistan,i.e.between1995 SeeHikmati(ed.),Dഋpa‫ܤ‬htano‫ܩ‬olഋnizͲiqƟsĈdiju‫ܠ‬ഋ‫ܤ‬ht,
and2001,andrequirerenegotiationshouldnotbe pp.235Ͳ284.
renegotiatedtoday'becauseunliketodaybetter 79
SomeexamplesforvariationamongtheTa‫܋‬iand
conditionsforjustifiedsolutionsexistedatthattime'
Ahmadzaitribesaregivenbelow.Formoredetailssee
(ibid).
Steul,Paschtunwali,185ff.andHikmati(ed.),Dഋ
March2011

conflictsandprinciplesofdisputeresolutionwillbe 6.3 Disputesettlement
described.
Revengedoesnotnecessarilyinvolvebloodshed.
Varioushabitsandcustomsenableabloodfeud
6.2 Typologyofconflicts cycletobeavoidedandaconflicttobepeacefully
resolved.Themostfamouscustomisaritualof
Crimeswhichoffendthewholecommunityare
forgivenesscallednഋnawĈtainPashtowhich
differentiatedfromcrimeswhichoffendonlya
literallymeans'entering[thehouseofthe
particulargroupofpersonssuchas,forexample,
offendedparty]'.Thisritualisperformedincases
themembersofalineageorclan.Eachtypeof
ofattacksonaperson'sphysicalintegrity(both
crimesgivesrisetoothersanctionsanddifferent
killingandinjury)whenoneofthefeudingparties
groupsareauthorisedtoimposeandexercisethe
istooweaktotakerevengeorwhenbloodshed
sanctions. 80
shouldbeavoidedforotherreasons.The
Actionswhichthreatenthewholecommunityare nഋnawĈtaritualisbasedontheconceptsof
subjecttosanctionstobeimposedbythe hospitality(melmastiyĈ)andasylum(panĈkawഋl)
community,i.e.byaJirga.Forexample,incases accordingtowhichasylummustnotevenbe
whensomebodyhasrefusedtoparticipateintasks refusedtoone'senemy.NഋnawĈtameansthatthe
whicharetobeperformedasreliefbycommunity offendercomestothehouseoftheopposingparty
members(ashar),whensomebodyhascleared toadmitguilt.Sometimesamullahissentfirstto
tribalwoodlandswithoutpermission,orwhen announceanഋnawĈtaritual,atothertimesthe
somebodyhasexceededthemaximumofthebride offenderappearsinpersonwithoutanyadvance
pricewhichhadbeenestablishedforaregion,a announcement,thenusuallyaccompaniedbya
Jirgaisconvenedandtheoffenderisforcedtogive mullah,tribalelders,anelderwomanorseveral
offsomeanimalsorsomemoneyaspunishment women.Inthepast,apersonwhoperformedthe
forhisbehaviour.Inthecaseofgrossviolations, nഋnawĈtaritualboundacordaroundhisneckand
thehouseoftheoffendercanbeburneddownor boreatuftofgrassinhismouthtoshowthathe
82
hislandconfiscatedanddistributedamongother admitshisguilt. APashtunisobligedtoaccept
81
tribesmen. Thismeansthatthispersonisde thenഋnawĈtaritualbecauseapersonwho
factoexpelledfromthecommunity. performsitrepentsanddemonstratesdevotion.
Attemptsonsomebody'slifeorphysicalintegrity, WhenthenഋnawĈtaritualisbeingperformedthe
assaultsonaperson,adulteryorotherattemptson offendergivesthesoͲcalledbloodmoney
afemale'ssexualintegrityaswellasproperty (khunbahĈ)tothefamilyofthevictim.Theblood
offencesandattemptstoexploitapersonorgroup moneyisacompensationfortheinflicteddamage
areactionswhicharedirectedagainstaparticular anditispaidouttoavoidfurtherrevenge.The
personoragainstaparticulargroupofpersons. amountofthebloodmoneyvariesdependingon
Consequently,inthefirstinstance,theoffended thedamage.Thebasicunitisestablishedaccording
personorgroupofpersonsisresponsiblefor totheaveragebrideprice(walwar)whichis
imposingandexercisingsanctions.Takingrevenge currentlypaidinaparticularregion.Ifamalehas
istheusualresponseinthesecasesandinthe beenkilledthebloodmoneytobepaidconsistsof
customarylegalsystem,revengeisregardeda twobrideprices.Thisunitiscalledonekhun
legitimatesanctionforsuchactions. (literally'blood')oronenek(literally'good','good
man')insomeregions.Therationalebehinditis
thatthebloodmoneyenablesthefamilyofthe
victimtomarryagirlwhocangivebirthtoason.
Duetotheideologyofpatrilinealdescent,thisson
wouldbeamemberofthevictim'spatrilineal
pa‫ܤ‬htano‫ܩ‬olഋnizͲiqƟsĈdiju‫ܠ‬ഋ‫ܤ‬ht,pp.176ī.(bothforthe
tribesofKhost),Haqmal,'IjƟmĈॖimasĈyil'(fortheTa‫܋‬i
82
tribe),Waziri,'D೅waziristĈnd೅barmalid೅xalkoul೅s Thisusedtobethemosthumiliatingformof
narkhuna'(fortheWaziritribe),KhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali, nഋnawĈtabecauseapersondemonstratesthatevenin
pp.50ff.(fortheAfriditribe). hisowneyesheisnotaturyĈlai.Nodetailedinformation
80 isavailableaboutwhenthistypeofnഋnawĈnawas
Inthatrespectcustomarylegalnormsinvariousparts
performed.KhĈdimdescribesitasacontemporary
oftheworldaremoreorlessidentical.Cf.Heiderich
customandhisdatabelongtothe1950s(seeKhĈdim,
Barnim,GeneseundFunktionderRache(Gleichzeitigein
Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,p.40).WillySteul,whogatheredhis
BeitragzumProblemderUniversalrechtsinstitute),(Köln,
materialinthelate1970sinKhostprovince,reportsthat
UniversitätzuKöln1972),pp.12ff.
someinformantsrememberthistypeofnഋnawĈta'but
81
SeeHikmati(ed.),Dഋpa‫ܤ‬htano‫ܩ‬olഋnizͲiqƟsĈdiju‫ܠ‬ഋ‫ܤ‬ht, theywereunabletostateparticulars'(WillySteul,
pp.235ff. Paschtunwali,p.163).

descentgroupandareplacementforthekilled Figure1:ThebloodmoneyoftheAhmadzai
person.Forthatreason,thebloodmoneyalways tribe 84
dependsontheaveragebrideprice.
Killing
Ifawomanhasbeenkilled,thebloodmoneyishalf
Premeditatedmurder 2khun
ofthatamount,i.e.½khunwhichisequaltoone
Manslaughter 1khun
averagebrideprice.Inthecaseofinjury,different
Injuries
amountsofbloodmoneyareestablishedforevery
bodypart.Forexample,ifsomebodyhaslost
Spin–'white[visible]bodyparts'
eyesightinbotheyesthebloodmoneyis1khun,if
Eye 1eye ½khun
oneeyehasbeenblindeditis½khun.Ifsomebody
haslostalegthebloodmoneyis½khun.Thesame Botheyes 1khun
mustbepaidwhensomebodylosthislegorcannot Nose ½khun
useitanymoreafterbeingwounded.If Ears 1ear ½khun
somebody'sleghasbeenwoundedbutstillcanbe Bothears 1khun
83
usedthebloodmoneyis¼khun. Theamountof Tongue 1khun
bloodmoneywhichwastobepaidforkillingand Teeth Everyvisible onetenthofa
injuriesamongtheAhmadzaitribeaccordingto tooth khun
datapresentedbyQiyĈmuddinKhĈdim,isgivenin EverynonͲ Specialblood
Figure1.Furthermore,acertainamountofmoney visibletooth money
needstobepaidbytheoffenderorhisrelativesto Legs Oneleg ½khun
compensateformoraldamage(sharm). Bothlegs 1khun
Thebloodmoneycandifferin
Theamountofthebloodmoneyisraisedincases
thecasethatonlythepartbelow
wherethevictimwasanhonouredelderlikea
thekneewaslost.
spinܹhiraiorbelongedtothedignitaries.The
Armsand Onearm/ ½khun
amountofthebloodmoneyisalsoraisedinthe
hands hand
casethatthevictimwasunarmedanddefenceless
Botharms/ 1khun
whenhewaskilledorinjured,inthecasewhere
hands
thevictimwasmutilatedafterbeingkilledorinthe
casethatthekillertookpossessionofthevictim's Thebloodmoneycandifferin
weapon. thecasewhenonlythepart
belowtheelbowwaslost.
Sincetheamountofbloodmoneytobepaidis Furthermorethebloodmoney
alwaysestablishedinproportiontotheaverage candifferdependingonwhether
brideprice,theoffender'sfamilycanalsogiveone therightarmorhandortheleft
orseveralmarriageablegirlstothevictim'sfamily onewaslost.
insteadofpayingmoney.Forexample,if Fingers Thumborall 1khun
somebodyhasbeenmurderedandtheoffender's fourbearing
familygivesonegirltothevictim'sfamily,the fingersonone
amountofmoneywhichremainstobepaidis hand
reducedto½khun.Revengeandbloodfeudsare Thumbsorall 2khun
disputeswhicharecarriedoutbetweenpatrilineal fourbearing
descentgroups.Hence,disputesettlementis fingersonboth
aimedatreͲestablishingtheprimarybalance hands
betweenthesepatrilinealdescentgroups.
AfterthenഋnawĈtaritualhasbeenacceptedby Tor–'black[invisible]bodyparts'
thevictim'sfamilyandthebloodmoneyhasbeen Genitals Injuryor 2khun
paidtothem,thebloodfeudmustbestopped.No cuttingoff
furtherrevengecanbetakenbecausetheprevious beforethe
balancebetweenthedisputingfamiliesorclans death
hasbeenreͲestablished.Anyotherbehaviour Desecrationor 1khunin
wouldbedishonouring. cuttingoff additiontothe
afterthedeath bloodmoney
tobepaidfor
killing

83
ThesedatarefertotheTa‫܋‬itribeofPakƟainthe
84
1970ies.SeeHaqmal,'IjtimĈॖimasĈyil',pp.62ff. SeeKhĈdim,Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,pp.183ff.
March2011

6.4 Mediation mediationandpeacenegotiations.Acceptanceofa
Jirgadecisionisaquestionofhonour. 86
Seriousdisputescangiverisetoabloodfeudcycle
withnumerousvictimsthatwouldthreatenthe SometimesaJirgaisusedasatrialcourt.This
wholecommunity.Insuchcases,acommunity wouldhappenwhenarightofownershiporusage
mightbewelladvisedtobringthedisputetoan rightsuchasofpasturesisindispute.Inthiscase,
end.Forthispurpose,theeldersofalineage,clan everyconflictingpartymusttestifyunderoaththat
ortribewouldpersuadethefeudingpartiestolay accordingtopatrilinealsuccessionitisthelegal
downtheirarmsandagreetopeacetalks.Tomake heiroftheobjectofdispute.Itisbelievedthata
sucheffortsasuccess,theywouldappealtothe falseoathwouldevokeGod'spenalty.If,
conceptofnang,i.e.totheindividualhonourof nevertheless,bothpartiessweartobethelegal
thepersonsinvolvedandtothehonouroftheir heir,theobjectofdisputewillbedividedbetween
87
lineage,clanortribe.Forpeacenegotiations, them.
mediators(dreyഋmgഋ‫ܠ‬ai,miyandzgഋ‫ܠ‬ai)canbe AlldecisionsofaJirgathathasbeenheldfor
invited.Mediatorsmustberespectableeldersand conflictmanagementaremadebyconsensusand
theymustbeneutral.Forthatreason,itisusually theyarethereforecompromises.Thequotationof
tribaleldersofotherlineagesorclanswhoare precedentsoriftheeventisquiteunprecedented,
calleduptoarbitratebetweentheconflicting referencestosimilareventsareveryimportantfor
parties.Furthermore,theweaponsofboth decisionͲmaking.TheauthorityofaJirgadecisionis
conflictingpartiescanbeconfiscatedbythe basedupontheappealtonanga,i.e.acceptanceis
communitytopreventanewflareͲupofhostilities amatterofhonour.
forthetimeofthepeacetalks.Thiscustomis
85
calledbaramtainPashto. Aceasefireisan
essentialpreconditionforpeacetalks. 7 CONCLUDINGREMARKS
PeacenegotiationsareconductedataJirgato
whichthemediatorsandrepresentativesofboth Insummary,itmustbereiteratedthatPashtunwali
conflictingpartiesareinvited.Inasocietywhichis describesanideal,namelytheidealofthePashtun
organisedinpatrilinealdescentgroups,peace wayoflife,andthatidealsnevercomeupto
cannotbemadebetweenindividualsonly,but reality.Actualbehaviourcanbeguidedbyother
mustberealisedbetweenpatrilinealdescent valuesaswell.Inrecentdecades,Afghansociety
groups.Forthatreason,bothconflictingparties hasbeensubjecttofundamentalchangeinalmost
mustsenddignifiedrepresentatives,usuallytheir everyrespect.ThesocietyofthePashtuntribesis
elders,totheJirga.SuchaJirgaisbynomeansa nolongerthesocietythatexistedwhenmostof
judicialhearingoratrialcourt,butapeacemaking thenativeaccountsdrawnonforthispaperwere
institution.Hence,thequestionofguiltwouldnot written.Atthattime,manyofthevaluesof
bediscussedatall.TheJirgawouldfindouthow Pashtunwaliwerealreadylesspredominantinthe
manymembersoftheconflictingpartieswere milieuofurbanPashtunsincitieslikeKabulthanin
killed.Ifthenumberofkilledpersonsisequalin mostruralareas.Later,foreignaggressionsandthe
everyparty,peacecanbeconcluded.Ifoneparty civilwarcreatedawartimeexperiencewhichis
hasmorevictimsthantheother,theotherparty almostwithoutprecedentinthehistoryof
mustpaythecorrespondingamountofblood Afghanistan.Whilethewarwaswagedin
money.Insomecases,theritualofforgiveness Afghanistan,itwasinfactaninternationalconflict
(nഋnawĈta)couldalsobepartofthepeacemaking betweensuperpowerswhichendedwiththe
process.Inanycase,theprincipalobjectof collapseoftheSovietUnionandtheEasternbloc.
peacemakingistoreͲestablishthebalanceand Afghanmujahidinfeltlikeglobalplayersinthenew
equivalencebetweenthedisputinggroupsasit internationalorderandtheconceptoftura
hadexistedbeforetheoutbreakofthedispute. seemedtopromiseawaytosolveglobalconflicts.
Onlyinthissituationcanpeacebeconcluded.The Butthemilitarypowerofthecommanders
decisionofapeacemakingJirgaisbindingforall underminedthetraditionalhierarchyofPashtun
participantsbecauseapeacemakingJirgacanbe societyaswellastheconceptofequality.Atthe
heldonlyifbothconflictingpartieshaveagreedto sametime,numerousmigrationsbroughtmillions
ofPashtunsintoasocioͲeconomicenvironment
whichwasorganisedinafundamentallydifferent
wayfromtheirformervillagecommunities.Several
85
Generallybaramtadescribesallkindsofconfiscation
madetoforcesomebodytoclearhisdebt.SeeKhĈdim, 86
FordetailsseeSteul,Paschtunwali,pp.229ff.
Pa‫ܤ‬htunwali,p.39,ॖAtĈyi,Dഋpa‫ܤ‬htaniqabiloisƟlĈhi
87
qĈmƻs,p.21. FordetailsseeSteul,Paschtunwali,pp.226ff.

traditionalvaluesandrulesofbehaviourwereput andforeignobservers,andthatmuchofwhatis
intoquestionbytheTaleban,theirfundamentalist toldaboutitareidealisedversionsofagolden
interpretationofIslamiclawandanewartof past. 90 ThisistruebecausePashtunwali,bynature,
warfare.Moreover,thecivilwaralsochangedthe isanidealisedpictureofthePashtunwayoflife.
natureofrelationshipsbetweentheethnicgroups Theideathatinformertimesallbehaviourfulfilled
ofAfghanistan.Othergroupsgainedinmilitaryand thedemandsofPashtunwaliiswithoutadoubtan
politicalpowerduringthewarandintheireyes, idealisation,butthereisalsonodoubtthat
thePashtuntribeslosttheirtraditionalexceptional Pashtunwaliitselfpresentsidealsandthatthese
positionwithinAfghansociety.After2001,anew idealsserveasvaluestobepursuedasgoals.
politicalorderandanewconstitutionwere
TheidealofthePashtunwayoflifeaspresented
establishedwithenormousforeignsupport.This
byPashtunwaliincludesvalues,norms,customs
neworder,selfͲevidently,wascraftedtorespond
andhabitswhichforafairlylongtimehavebeen
tointernationalexpectationsratherthan
heldsacredbyvirtueoftraditionandwhichby
traditionalvaluesasexpressed,forexample,inthe
virtueoftheirimperativecharacterareintendedto
conceptofPashtunwali.Andbesidesallthat,the
determinethebehaviouroftheindividualandof
risinglevelofeducationamongtheyounger
socialgroupsineverydaylifeandinexceptional
generationisbringingnewvaluesintoawareness,
situationsaswell.Today,thevaluesystemof
whilemodernmeansofcommunicationare
Pashtunwalicompeteswithothersystemsof
enablingthepeopleofAfghanistantobecomepart
valueswhichhavegainedinfluenceinAfghanistan
oftheglobalisedworldwithitsglobalised
overthelastfewdecades.Indeed,thevalues
discussionofvalues.
guidingthebehaviourofindividualsorgroupsare
ThequestionabouttheimportanceofPashtunwali largelydependentonthedemandsofaparticular
inmodernAfghanistancannotbeansweredinany situation.Attemptstofulfiltherequirementsof
88
generalway. Thetransformationoftheformal Pashtunwalimayremainacompromisefromcase
andorganisationalaspectsoftriballifeismore tocase,yetamongcurrentcompetingvalue
obviousthanchangeswithinthesystemofvalues. systems,theidealsofPashtunwalistillpresentan
Recently,afundamentaldiscussionofsomeofthe attractiveandsometimesabindingoptiontoday.
changeswithinPashtuntribalsociety,whichhad
beencausedbythirtyyearsofconflictandthe
gradualcollapseofthestate,waspresentedby

ThomasRuttiginhispaper'Howtribalarethe
89
Taleban?' Hearguesquiterightlythatmight
oftentrumpsPashtunwaliandhecitesmany
examplesshowingthattheJirgahaslostmuchof
itsauthorityandthatithasbeenreplacedbythe
lessegalitarianshurĈ,thatintraͲtribalcohesionhas
declinedinstrength,andthatseveralfactorsstand
inthewayofacoherentandcontinuoustribal
leadership.ThomasRuttigdoesnotconfinehimself
totheformalaspectsofpoliticalandsocial
organisation.ConcerningthePashtunwaliasthe
codeofconductofthePashtuns,hearguesthat
muchofithadbeenmystified,bothbyAfghans
88
Foradiscussionoftheeffectsofthecivilwaronsome
aspectsofPashtunwaliseeGlatzer,'ZumPashtunwali'.
Genderissueswerediscussedfromalegalpointofview
byPalwashaKakar,'TribalLawofPashtunwaliand
Women'sLegislativeAuthority',publishedbythe
HarvardLawSchoolintheInterneton
http://www.law.harvard.edu/programs/ilsp/research/ka
kar.pdf(referredtoon8December2010).
89
SeeThomasRuttig,'HowtribalaretheTaleban?
Afghanistan'slargestinsurgentmovementbetweenits
tribalrootsandIslamistideology',AfghanistanAnalyst
Network,http://www.aanͲ
afghanistan.org/uploads/20100624TRͲ
90
HowTribalAretheTalebanͲFINAL.pdf. Ibid,pp.4,7.
March2011
ABOUTTHEAFGHANISTANANALYSTSNETWORK(AAN)
TheAfghanistanAnalystsNetwork(AAN)isanonͲprofit,independentpolicyresearchorganisation.Itaimsto
bringtogethertheknowledgeandexperienceofalargenumberofexpertstoinformpolicyandincreasethe
understandingofAfghanrealities.
TheinstitutionalstructureofAANincludesacoreteam(currentlyconsistingofthreesenioranalysts)anda
networkofregularcontributorswithexpertiseinthefieldsofAfghanpolitics,governance,ruleoflawand
security.AANwillpublishregularinͲdepththematicreports,policybriefingsandcomments.
ThemainchannelfordisseminationofthereportsistheAANwebsite.Forfurtherinformation,pleasevisit
www.aanͲafghanistan.org.

AUTHORBIO:LUTZRZEHAK
LutzRzehakisaseniorresearcherandassistantprofessorattheDepartmentforCentralAsianStudiesofBerlin
HumboldtUniversity.HegraduatedfromStPetersburgUniversity,thenLeningrad,USSR,in1985andearned
hisPhDatBerlinHumboldtUniversityin1991.Currently,heteacheslanguagesandculturalhistoryof
AfghanistanandCentralAsia.Hepublishedextensivelyaboutlanguagedevelopment,socialandculturalhistory
andfolkloreofAfghanistanandneighbouringregions.Inoneofhismajorprojects,hecollaboratedinthe
editionofaBalochiͲPashtoͲDariͲEnglishdictionarythatwaspublishedinKabulin2007asacontributiontothe
developmentprogramforethnicandlinguisticminoritiesofAfghanistan.

©AfghanistanAnalystsNetwork2011.
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationcanmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystemortransmittedinanyformorbyany
means,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwisewithoutfullattribution.

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