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There is a very remarkable coincidence in terms, if nothing more, derivable from this word Pactiya, Herodotus mentions another and entirely distinct country of this name in the province of Armenia. And it is not difficult to trace the same name through the countries of Southern Europe to the ancient Pictavium – or modern Poictiers – in France, and thence on to the Picts of our own Islands In fact, to the curious speculator in archaeology, there is a wide field for enquiry and research in this Pakhtun-khwa country, where the Pacts and Scyths who inhabit it may be held to corre-spond with the Picts and Scots of our own country, whilst the Kambari of the Khan of Kelat’s family, and large sections of the Afridi people, called Kambar-khel and Kamari, together with the Logari of Logar or Lohgar, may be compared with the Cambrians and Logrians, of ancient Britain. Whether there be any connection or not between these names, their similarity and juxtaposition in such widely separated regions is at least noteworthy, if not deserving of more serious attention and investigation.
This Pactiya of Herodotus was a country bordering on the Indus, and the most eastern province of those into which the Empire of Darius Hystaspes was divided It contained four contiguous nations, who were placed under the command of a single Satrap or Governor, and it corresponded in extent very nearly exactly with the modern Pukhtun-khwa, or “Pukhtun quarter” The term Pukhtun-khwa is a purely home word, and seldom heard from the mouth of a stranger. By outsiders and foreigners – on the side of India almost exclusively – the country is known by the name of Roh, which has the same signification as Koh – “mountain” – and its natives are called Rohilla – ‘mountaineer,” or Highlands, and Highlanders.
The four nations who dwelt in this country in the time of Herodotus were the Gandarn, the Aparytae, the Sattagyddae, and the Dadicae. The first have long since been identified with the ancient inhabitants of that part of the Peshawar valley now known as the Yusufzai and Mahmand country. The second and third (see Rawhnson’s Herodotus) have hitherto been entirely unknown, and are now for the first time identified with the Afridi, and the Khattak of the present day The last, or Dadicae, are still the subject of speculation, but are, I think, most probably represented by the nearly extinct tube of the Dadi, who dwell amongst the Kakar, on the southern border of the ancient Sattagyddae country. It is curious to find these very nations now, after a lapse of more than two thousand years, retaining the identical names and the same positions as those assigned to them by the ancient Greek author, who is justly styled the “Father of History.” To understand the relative positions of these four Pactiyan nations, it will be as well first to take a glance at the ancient geography of the country, which in early times was known as Ariya Vartha to the Persians, and Ariana to the Greeks, afterwards as Khurasan, and in recent times only as Afghanistan Its principal divisions, as brought to our knowledge by the Greeks, were, in ancient times, Bactria and Margiana on the north, Ariya and Zuangra or Diangra on the west, Paropamisus and Arachosia in the middle tract, and Pactiya and part of Bactria on the east with Gedrosid to the south. The limits of none of these are now accurately definable, though for practical purposes, their general position and extent are sufficiently well known Bactria – the Bakhtar of the Persians, the Bahlika of the Hindus, and Bactria of the Greeks may be considered to comprise all the country between the Upper Oxus or Wakhsh, as far west as the Balkh frontier, and the Upper Indus to the point where it is struck by the Dumah range running due east and west from the head waters of the Swat and Panjkora rivers – the Suastus and Guraeas respectively of the Greeks In a south-westerly direction, its bolder probably ran along the Bamian hills to Gardan Diwar, and thence along the Pughman range to that of Altamur – bounding the Logar and Wardak country to the southward – which connects the Sherdahan, or “Lion’s Mouth” pass of Ghazni with the Pari-daria, or “Fairy Glen” of Jagdalak (not an inappropriate name with its ruby mines and gold diggings, though a spot of mournful memory as the scene of the greatest slaughter and climax of disasters that befel our retreating army in January, 1842); whilst onwards from this point the Kabul river, down to the junction with it of the Kunar or Chitral stream, formed the boundary. In the north-east, the country which appears on our maps as Bolor, but in native books is written Balur, was probably included in Bactria, and comprised the districts of Chitral or Kashkar, Yasin, Gilgit, and Skardo. In fact, it appears that the word Balur itself is merely a natural variant form of Bakhtar, as in the corresponding changes from the Persian dukhtar to the Pukhtu lur, “daughter,” from sokhtan to swal, “to burn;” from padandar to plandar, “stepfather,” from madar to mor, “mother,” from padar to plar, “father,” and so on. Pactiya – the Pukhtun-khwa of the natives, and Roh of Muhammadan writers – apparently comprised all the country of the modern Suleman range and the Sufed Koh, extending northward in one direction to the head waters of the Swat and Panjkora streams and the Dumah range, and in the other to the south hanks of the Logar and Kabul rivers down to Jalalabad. The southern limit was, probably, the same as that of the present Kakar country, where it marches with the Peshin and Shal districts, and the Bori valley to the Indus. The eastern limit was the Indus itself. And the western, the Helmand, including thus the country of Arachosia of the Greeks – the Ar-Rukhaj of Arabian geographers, and the Zabul of the Muhammadan historians – to the south of Ghazni. And these, roughly stated, are the limits of the present Pukhtun-khwa. This territory was originally the seat of the true Pukhtun people, who were, as they still are, Indians – the Afghan, Ghilzai, “Waziri, Kakar, etc., etc, being later and comparatively modern immigrants and conquerors. Within these limits of the ancient Pactlya were located the four contiguous nations above-mentioned, who were, in the time of Darius, combined in a single satrapy, under a single satrap, but under military commanders of their own. Let us now proceed to consider each of these nations separately.
The Pashtun are not at peace unless they are at war.
Pashtun proverb Pakistan contains an estimated 25 million ethnic Pashtuns. The estimated total population of Pakistan (167,762,040) in the CIA World Factbook, and 15.42 percent of Pakistan’s population claim Pashto as their mother tongue. Pashtuns also represent 42 percent or 13.75 million (the majority) of Afghanistan’s population. The North-West Frontier Province is closely identified with Pashtuns [aka Pashtoons or Pakhtuns, also called Pathans], one of the largest tribal groups in the world. The Pakhtuns predominate in Balochistan and are also the major group in southern Afghanistan. The West has long been fascinated with the Pakhtuns, one of the few peoples able to defeat the advances of British imperialism. Authors as diverse as Rudyard Kipling and contemporary Pakistani anthropologist Akbar S. Ahmed wrote about them. More is written about Pakhtun norms, values, and social organization than any other ethnic group in Pakistan.
The vast majority are Muslims of the Hanafi Sunni tradition. A tiny minority of Pashtuns are Shiites, principally clustered in the Kurram river valley in Kurram Agency of the FATA. Virtually all members of the Turi tribe of the Karlanri Pashtuns in that valley are Shiites, as are some Bangash, Chamkanni, and Orakzai clans. Most Pakhtuns are pious Sunni Muslims, and effective religious leaders often acquire a substantial following. However, there is a basic ambivalence on the whole toward mullahs, who have a formal role in leading prayers and in taking care of the mosque.
As one observer noted “By and large the Pukhtoons are deeply religious. The land of these highlanders has experienced the influence of religious leaders for a long time, who, after making their way into the mountains aroused the religious sentiments of the local people and rallied them under the banner of Islam against the enemies of their religion. Besides less known divines, who occasionally sprang up and played their short but spectacular part on the stormy stage of the Frontier, the names of Akhund of Swat, Hadda Mullah, Haji Sahib of Turangzai, Mullah Powindah, Faqeer of Ipi, Mullah Syed Akbar or Aka Khel Mullah, Gud Mullah, Lewaney (mad) Mullah, Karbogha Mullah, Faqir of Alingar and Chaknawar Mullah also figure prominently in the religio-political history of the Frontier. Saints and divines exercised immense spiritual and political influence over their minds and it was on account of their religious zeal and fervour that they proclaimed a holy war (Jehad) against infidels. They fought a number of battles against the Sikhs under the leadership of Syed Ahmed Barelvi Shaheed and Syed Ismael Shaheed and later under the influence of the above noted religious divines and stalwarts… Sometimes lunatics and impostors are also mistaken for saintly persons.” A country Afghan only approved of a king provided he never raises taxes or interferes with feuds. The whole people look on resistance to taxes not as a crime but as a virtue, to be admired and imitated if possible, like the sympathy the lower orders in England had with poachers and highwaymen.
Because brothers divide property among themselves, rivalry builds among the children of brothers who may have to subdivide increasingly unequal portions of an original estate. Hence, a man’s greatest rival for women, money, and land (zan, zar, and zamin, respectively) is his first cousin — his father’s brother’s son — even though the same man may be his staunchest ally in the event of attack from the outside. Lineages themselves have a notable tendency to fragment; this tendency has contributed to the existence of a number of well-established clans among the Pakhtuns. At every level of Pakhtun social organization, groups are split into a complex and shifting pattern of alliance and enmity. An intensely egalitarian ethos exists among Pakhtun men in a clan; the tribal leader is considered the first among equals. No man willingly admits himself less than any other’s equal. Nor will he, unless driven by the most dire circumstances, put himself in a position of subservience or admit dependency on another. This sense of equality is evident in the structure of the men’s council, composed of lineage elders who deal with matters ranging from disputes between local lineage sections to relations with other tribes or with the national government. Although the council can make and enforce binding decisions, within the body itself all are considered equals. To attempt or to appear to coerce another is to give grave insult and to risk initiating a feud.
In the mid-19th Century the people of the country, always with matchlocks across their shoulders, pursued their agricultural avocations. It spoke volumes for the state of a country, when men at the plough are armed to the teeth and ready for a fight. A Lashkar is a body of tribesmen raised or collected at the respons of drum beat to combat a large scale offensive. Its purpose is invariably to deal with a particular incident. The term is applied to dozen of men going to a nearby village for family feud and also to the fiftty thousand who poured into Kashmir in 1947-48. Since the Pathans are a warrior race, the lashkar is an inseparable part of thier life. The best English equivalent of the Pashto Lashkar is probably War panrty as was found among the Red Indians of America.
The millions of tribesmen who live within this system have no desire to have a new, alien system imposed on them by outsiders. Furthermore, Pashtuns are generally convinced that their system of social order produces men superior to those of the Western model.
There are approximately 60 major Pashtun tribes, and more than 400 sub-clans. The Pashtuns in the tribal belt profit from trading, tracking, trucking and trafficking. Pakhtoon designates a person who speaks Pashto. Pathan is a Hindi term adopted for them by the British. The racial composition of the Pukhtoons is less than clear. The tribes who dwelled in the area in the days of the Greek historians are believed to be part of the great Aryan horde which had moved down from Central Asia a millennium earlier. Over the course of centuries, the Greek, Persian, Turk, and Mongol invaders who passed through the Frontier have added their blood.
Kul means family. It is usually used to indicate an enlarged family. Koranai and Tabar is used for smaller family. Sometimes Kul is used for a group of families closely related to each other. In this case kul may refer to khel as the pateh kul and Omar khan kul in Mangal tribe. Each family should obey its own natural head. Traditionally the household head has a strong hold and decision-making power for the whole family. The wives are traditionally submissive to their husbands and the likelihood of divorce or separation in the tribal society is negligible. If there is dislike and conflict between wife and husband, he will marry another girl if he is rich and also keep his old wife as well. Pakhtuns are organized into segmentary clans (called khels), each named for a first migrant to their area to whom they trace their ancestry. Like all nomade tribes, they have long genealogies. They say themselves that they were anciently descended from one man. All the families of a Khel should obey a malik, and all be obedient to a khan, who leads the troops, and is answerable for the revenue, but should not act on important business without the sanction of a “jirga” or convocation of the elders of a tribe. Khel is an ethnographic unit forming the central point around which tribe moves. Khel is a unit of composed of kuls and koranai i. ie. families. The khel is a unit based on kinsship. In the southern tribes the term khel and in the western tribes, the term Zai are suffixed to the name indicating the basic ethnographic unit. It is the authority of the khel to admit someone into the tribe or refuse him. The decision on such matters will be taken in Jirgas in which the representive of each khel casts a predetermined number of votes.
Khel membership is tied to landownership as well as to descent. A person who loses his land is no longer treated as a full (adult) member of the community. He no longer may join or speak in the tribal jirga, or council of tribal leaders, at which issues of common interest are debated. But the amount of land owned has no bearing on the influence of the individual. In the 19th Century, each of the tribes was divided into ‘numerous Khels, and each Khel into a few families. Traditionally, the natural head of each family is implicitly obeyed ; the oldest by descent of these heads of families is usually, not always, the malik of the Khel, with a power but little obeyed. It was understood that the head of the senior Khel is chief of the tribe, and the king often granted him the title of khan. He dared not collect any income from his tribe, but lived on tho produce of his own lands ; and by appropriating by fraud part of the duties on infidels and merchandise, and in the obedient tribes, part of the royal taxes. Among the eastern tribes (who were always in rebellion, or rather, in a state of independence) he used his influence to head plundering expeditions and procure a good share in the spoil. His seniority in birth made the Afghans pay him the respect of an elder brother, but nothing more. If his character was disliked, he had not even that; the lowest of his tribe eat, drink, and smoke with him. In urgent danger the khan was often set aside, and a “Toelwashteo” or leader was chosen, and while the danger lasted he was pretty well obeyed.
Obscure genealogies, myths, historical alliances and conflicts, and folklore make it difficult make clear divisions. Pashtuns are divided into tribes, kaum or qabili, and sub-divided into Khel [sub-tribes or clans]. Tribes usually join a tribal confederation, a significant number are named after a legendary ancestor, to which the suffix khel (kin) or zai (son) is attached. Qays Abd’ al-Rashid Pathan is the ancestor of all Pashtuns. They also claim lineage from King Saul (first King of Israel). The three sons of al-Rashid Pathan are Sarban, Bitan, and Ghurghusht. Sarban’s eldest son was Sharkhbun and his descendents are found in South Afghanistan. Sarban’s other son, Kharshbun, has descendants in the Peshawar valley. The Pashtun’s of west Afghanistan are called the Durranis and are descended from Sharkhbun’s son Abdalis. The Pashtun in Pakistan are descended from Kharshbun’s son Yusufzay, and his descendents live north of Peshawar. The Shinwaris, Pashtun in the Jalalabad vicinity, are descended fron Kharshbun’s son Kasi. Bitan had a daughter, Bibi Mato who married a foreigner named Husayn Ghur. She conceived an illegitimate son before they were wed and the Ghaljis tribe is descended from them. This accounts for the lower status of the Ghaljis among the Pashto tribes. Pathan’s third son was Ghurghusht and two tribes are descended from him; the Kakars and the Safis.
The two main tribal confederations in Afghanistan are the Durranis and the Ghaljis, while a third, the Mohmand confederation, spans both Afghanistan and Pakistan. The fourth branch of the Pashto are found throughout western Pakistan. They are descendants of Karran, who was either Pathan’s fourth son, or was adopted by Pathan. The tribes claiming Karran as an ancestor are the; Afridis, Bangash (Shi’a), Khataks, Mahsuds, Mangals, and the Waziris. Thus there are five major Pashtun tribal groups: the Durrani, Ghilzai, Karlanri, Sarbani, and Ghurghusht, of which the Durrani and the Ghilzai are the most influential.
- Durrani tribal confederation, mostly concentrated in Southeast Afghanistan, has traditionally provided leadership in Pashtun areas since Ahmad Shah Durrani founded a monarchy in 1747. Afghans regard Ahmad Shah as the founder of modern Afghanistan because he united the factional tribes. The current president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, is a Durrani. The Durrani are the most powerful and influential tribal confederation in Afghanistan. The King of Afghanistan has always been a Durrani. The Durrani are divided into two branches; the Zirak and the Panjpao. Tribes within the Zirak branch include the Popolzai (east of Kandahar and west of the Helmand River), the Alkozai (east of Kandahar and north of Helmand), the Barakzai (southwest of Kandahar in the Arghestan River Valley), and the Atsakzai (Zamindawar region and along the Kohdaman Ridge). Tribes within the Panjpaobranch include the Nurzai (southwest and western Afghanistan), the Alizai (Zamindawar and Helmand), and the Ishaqzai (west of Kandahar, Farah region, and in Seistan). The Saddozai is the senior tribe of Popalzai, and therefore of the Abdalis, who themselves are the elder branch of the offspring of Saraban, the eldest son of Kais Abdul Eashid, descended from Saul, Abraham, and Adam. This genealogy, however absurd, has procured the head of the Saddozais great respect.
- Ghilzai tribal group is concentrated mostly in eastern Afghanistan and has historically been the arch-rival of the Durranis. Some of the primary Taliban leaders, notably Mullah Omar, are Ghilzais. The Ghilzais are part of the Bitani tribal confederation. The Ghalji confederacy is divided into two groups, the Turan (western) and the Burhan (eastern). The Turan include the Nasir, Kharaoci, Hotaki, and Tokhi (Qalat-I Ghilzai) tribes. The Burhan includes the Sulaymen Khel (southeast of Kabal to Jalalabad), the Ali Khel(Mukur region), and the Tarakkis (Mukur) tribes. In the 18th Century, the Ghalji led a seriesof revolts against the Persian Safavid Empire. The Ghilzis had kings also when they were conquering Persia, and were not taxed for their support.
- Karlanris, or “hill tribes,” are the third largest group of Pashtuns. They straddle the border areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Waziristan, Kurram, Peshawar, Khost, Paktia, and Paktika.
- Sarbanis consist of two major geographically separated groups. The larger group, located north of Peshawar, includes tribes such as the Mohmands, Yusufzais, and Shinwaris, while the smaller segment consists of Sheranis and Tarins scattered in northern Balochistan. This faction comprises the traditional aristocracy of the Pashtun.
- Ghurghushts are found mostly in northern Balochistan and include tribes such as the Kakars, Mandokhels, Panars, and Musa Khel. Some of the groups’ sub-tribes, like the Gaduns and Safis, are found in the NWFP.
Central to identity as a Pakhtun is adherence to the male-centered code of conduct, the Pashtunwali ( or Pakhtunwali). In the tribal model, conformity to Pashtunwali defines what it means to be “really” Pashtun. Their injunctions clearly point back to a nomade state of society, when a man depended on his immediate relations, not on laws, for protection, and when to refuse hospitality was equivalent to murder. Pashtunwali, a code good enough for wandering shepherds, when land and water were abundant for all, tended to foster the best virtues of barbarians, and probably produced a simple, hospitable, and spirited race. It has not kept pace with the increase of population, and the change from a pastoral to a settled life. Traditionally, the conduct of Pukhtoons was guided by the Pukhtunwali. The foremost commandment of the Pukhtunwali is Badal or revenge (revenge is a dish which tastes better cold, Pukhtoon proverb). The obligations to take revenge for wrong falls not only upon the man who has suffered it, but also upon his family and tribe. Insults and retaliation hence involve clans and perpetuate blood feuds. The most frequent causes of trouble are money, women and land (zar, zan, and zamin). In rare instance, feuds are terminated when the weaker party throws itself on the mercy of its enemy, called Nanawati or acceptance of a bonafide truce, when blood money may be accepted in lieu of revenge. The third component of Pukhtunwali is Melmastia, or hospitality towards a guest, stranger, or an enemy if he seeks it. A formal escort or assurance of safety to a guest or enemy is called Badragga. The Pukhtunwali provides for law and order in a harsh environment, and is still a strong force in the tribal areas.
Nang – honor / bravery – is foremost in this code. This is articulated in a starkly black-and-white, all-or-nothing manner. Without honor, life for a Pakhtun is not worth living. According to Pashtunwali, it is the absolute duty of men to protect the respectability of women and to protect the integrity of the homeland. According to the most approved Pashtunwali, every man defended himself and defied his neighbours. Honor demands the maintenance of sexual propriety. Complete chastity among female relatives is of the essence; only with the purity and good repute of his mother, daughters, sisters, and wife (or wives) does a man ensure his honor. Thus women are restricted to private, family compounds in much of the province. Census takers, invariably male, are constrained not to ask about the women in another man’s home, and the number of men in a household is often overstated because sons and brothers are a source of strength. Accurate enumeration of the population hence is not possible.
Badal – revenge – is closely related to the notion of honor. Badal revolves around zan (women), zar (wealth), and zameen / zamin (land). Offenses to one’s honor must be avenged, or there is no honor. Badal is the most important, dominanat and greatest of all Pathan traits. The urge to take revenge on his enemy, is infused in the very blood of a Pathan. Although minor problems may be settled by negotiation, murder demands blood revenge, and partners in illicit sexual liaisons are killed if discovered. Even making lewd innuendos or, in the case of women, having one’s reputation maligned may mean death. The men involved sometimes escape to other regions, where they may well be tracked down by the woman’s kin. When a woman is killed, the assailant is, almost without exception, a close male relative. Killings associated with sexual misconduct are the only ones that do not demand revenge. Even the courts are accustomed to dealing leniently in such cases. The revenging wrongs encourages feuds more than it punishes aggressions. Two men quarrel in a field, and one strikes or wounds the other; the relations take it up. They meet on some occasion, fight and kill a man; from that moment the quarrel is deadly; if of different tribes and the quarrel important, the whole tribes go to feud. Semi-barbarians constantly quarrelling, have always feuds on their hands. Feuds are a system of petty warfare carried on by long shots, stealing cattle, and burning crops. Samson burning his neighbours’ corn acted just like a Pashtun. When the harvest was nearly ripe, neither party dared sleep. Vendettas and feuds are an endemic feature of social relations and an index of individual and group identity. Revenge may take time: as one Pashtun proverb goes, “I took my revenge after a hundred years, and I only regret that I acted in haste.” Indeed, it may take generations to avenge the wrong, but retribution will be the focus of the family’s life until honor is recouped.
Merana / Mairrana – bravery and Ghairat / zeal is needed to keep on one’s own and his tribe’s prestige. One has to be zealous, couraeous and somewhat headless. Ghairat and Mairrana are synonyms. Merana means an act of zealousness.
Tura – sword require Pashtuns to answer a plea for help even if it involves risking their own life. Turzan is courageous. Possessing Tura means being courageous and warrior. Tura is sacred and disrespect for it makes one liable to pay nagha. One swears by Tura. If someone is engaged to a girl and is away from home his family can get the girl married to a Tura as with Topak. After the ceremony of such marriage the family of her husband takes the girl along. She lives there until her husband returns. When a coourageous act for guarding the grace of the tribe is done, it is said that Tura-i- wakrra i. e. he did Tura. The cover of Tura is called Teki. The meaning of a common Pashto proverb is “Dont take tura of its teki’but once you do, it must be reddened”.
Nanawati / nanawatey / nanawaty / Nanawate – refuge / reconciliation / repentance / sanctuary is the remedy of feuds, which the Afghans extol as the acme of their civil code. The word literally means “going in” or entering into someone’s house or Hujra. When the enemies are distant, the feud often lasts for generations ; but when they are neighbors it becomes an intolerable nuisance. This is to let both parties fight till the same number are killed on each side, then their neighbours step in and effect a reconciliation called ” Nanawati or Nannawatt. The party who first draws blood is looked on as the aggressor, whatever may have been his provocation ; he pays the expense of a feast and gives some sheep and cloth as an atonement to the others. But in case this beau ideal of equal justice cannot be procured by one party having more killed than the others, the price of the reconciliation is much higher, but it never exceeds a feast and a few virgins. These girls are not given as concubines (which the country Afghans seldom or never have), but are married and well treated. The expense of marriage being so heavy, to get so many of their young men well married without expense is a great object, and a real money compensation. The other party do not like it however, as to give Afghan virgins without getting presents is thought to show want of spirit.
Jirga / circle is the Pukhtoon assembly in which all public and private affairs are settled. The Jirga, of which the Khan is the head, now contends with the state judiciary in the settled districts. Rules of the federal and provincial governments are enforced through state intervention. The decisions of the village Jirga in the districts have to be reinforced by the court of law if the law enforcement authorities have also registered the case. Unlike in the tribal areas, a legal permit is required for the manufacture and possession of arms and ammunition. Jirga and Malki systems are strong and powerful local institutions for the reconciliation and resolution of local disputes and even to punish those who violate the local rules and customs. If the dispute is of bigger nature between the tribes then the PA, MNA and Senators, Maliks and elders, sometimes from neighbouring FRs/agencies also participate in the jirga to resolve the disputes. Maliks and elders are nominated both by the accused and the grieved. The people have to accept the decision made by the jirga. The jirga results are presented to the PA for information and record. If any one of the party is not happy or satisfied with the decision made by the jirga then the grieved party can go to the appellate court and then the Home Department, GoNWFP who decides the case under the FCR. Sometimes the jirga uses local power, which they have by tradition such as, Muchalga (fine), to eject a person or even a family from their area as a punishment or impose heavy fine and destroy/put their houses and property to fire. Due to these strong local traditional rules the reported crime rate in FATA is low. However, with the passage of time the element of corruption has also entered this traditional dispute resolution system. It is reported that the poor and vulnerable cannot afford to have a jirga. There are a lot of requirements of jirga like hospitality and many other things, which the poor cannot afford. Thus Jirga is now becoming very expensive to convene. There is a grievance among the people that most of the time the ultimate decision is in favour of the rich and the influential.
Hujra is traditionally a male club and social center, which exists in every village of the tribal as well as settled areas. It is the focus of community opinions and actions. While Hujras exist in the villages of the settled districts as well, they have lost much of their functional importance.
Teega / truce declared by Jirga to avoid bloodshed among two or more tribal factions. This is a sort of truce which is enforced upon the combating parties for a specified period in order to dissociate them from fighting between them, holding in abeyance their mutual jealousies and to avoid a bigger combat between them. ‘Teega’ literally means a stone which is fixed at a certain place across which both the combating parties make pledges to have no concern with life or property of the opposite party until the time a permanent settlement is carved out. Teega, in other words, is a temporary truce in a feud arranged by a tribal jirga or the jirga arranged by the goverment which is symbolized by the setting out of a Teega.
Lashkar – army / group together / camp / military quarter of the town / posse / raiding party / volunteers’ militia is formed for the implementation of the decision taken by the jirga. The word is originally from the Perssain lashkar, ‘an army,’ ‘a camp.’ This is usually derived from the Arabic al-askar, but it would rather seem that the Arabic ‘askar, ‘an army’ is taken from this Perssian word : whence lashkari, ‘one belonging to an army, a soldier.’ The word lascar or laucar (both these pronunciations are in vogue) appears to have been corrupted, through the Portuguese use of lashkari in the forms lasquarin, lascari, &c., either by the Portuguese themselves, or by the Dutch and English who took up the word from them, and from these laskur has passed back again into native use in this corrupt shape.
The Persian word lashkar, meaning army, or camp, is still used most notably in Pakistan and India, e.g. Lashkar, originally the camp, now the permanent capital, of Sindhia at Gwalior. When Daolat Rao Sindhia obtained possession of Gwalior he pitched his camp on ihe open plain to the south of the fort. As the camp remained, the tents soon disappeared, and a new city rapidly sprang up, which still retains the name of Lashkar, or “the camp,” to distinguish it from the old city of Gwalior. Since the occupation of the Lashkar, the old city gradually decayed, and by 1860 was now only one-third of the size of the new city. But at that time the two together still formed one of the most populous cities in India.
The security structure of Pashtun tribes involves using the Lashkar, a large number of people gathered by a Chegha (call), to defend against a common enemy. This enemy is an enemy of the community. In general, forays are on a small scale, sometimes they are mere thefts. They seldom plunder near their own houses, and have an understanding with other predatory tribes, by which the cattle taken are passed along by secret paths. The ordinary rule is that small Parties of a tribe went out on a marauding expedition. Their object is to murder and plunder only those enemies whom they can surprise. It is only when they have been exasperated beyond bearing that they assemble a “lashkar” or army to punish a tribe which has been retaliating on them by sending small Parties. When a lashkar is assembled, those for whom it is intended generally contrive to be out of the way. When they are robbed and cannot help themselves by force, they negotiate. The lashkar is a group of armed men, typically numbering in the dozens to hundreds range – called up by the community to defend community interests – this is very similar to the American Revolution notion of the Minuteman. The lashkar is an essential element of the qawm social structure, and if the central government intends to engage society it should not receive international pressure to fight the essential elements of its society.
The rural rebellion in 1978 began with resistance mounted by lashkars, which were drawn from and protect the qawm in a manner highly similar to the Minuteman model of the early American Revolution. These disparate militias were united in purpose through Islam in jihad, initially against the Afghan communists, and then against the Soviet occupation. The Soviets devastated the rural agriculture and economic structures which supported the lashkars. A key element of the US and Government of Pakistan strategy against the Taliban from 2006 was to negotiate with tribal elders for them to provide security in their own areas, using their traditional Lashkar or militia, in return for keeping the Taliban at bay. This strategy had significant validity in that the tribes have traditionally ensured their own security, in the absence of a central government able to ensure law and order. However, the power of the tribal elders had been progressively undermined over the past 20 or so years by the emergence of commanders linked to the various Mujahidin parties. It was thus common, at the height of the Mujahidin resistance to the Soviet intervention, for men within the same family to be members of different Mujahidin groups. Although the traditional Lashkar system was kept intact along with the State forces, in some places due to the exigency of the time it was gradually done away completely with and numbers of the forces were increased.
Arbakai is a tribal based community policing system grounded in volunteer grassroots initiatives. They differ from lashkar that form in response to cheghar, or a need to defend against a common threat, and certainly from hired militias. Making use of akarbai would be a specific, traditional approach to using clans to enforce peace. The Arbakai survived in specific areas of Loya Paktia for a number of reasons. Tribal institutions survived there. And no real ‘warlordism’ emerged in the ‘Pashtun belt’, especially in the south-east where the balance of power remained much more fluid and tribal leaders maintained a strong influence. There are clear differences between militias and the Arbakai. The Arbakai are unpaid, and not hired by government, a person, or a company. They carry responsibilities which are approved and recognized as the common or public good. Lashkar and Arbakai have different functions and roles in Pashtun tribes. The Arbakai institution plays the role of the police in tribe, sub-tribe or community areas.
Mashar / elderly, leader, actually this word comes from moshe-Moses the spiritual leader. The respect for elders is easily accounted for. Among civilised people, young men have the advantages the experience of ages has given in books; and better still, they are early obliged to act for themselves and form their own character. Before the body fails with age, they acquire perhaps all they will ever learn. The young Afghans, on the contrary, are as ignorant as beasts, they know nothing but their genealogies and the confession of faith. Without any means of education but their individual experience, they for many years plough the earth, and then commit the crimes and excesses I have described. By degrees their wild independent life makes them rely on their own judgment, and gives them an acquaintance with human nature, at least in its Afghan form. As they get old they are constantly employed about reconciling feuds or arranging marriages, in which they have to reason with some, flatter others, and browbeat a third ; their fine climate and temperate habits preserve their faculties for a long time. They are much superior to the young or middle-aged men, and are respected accordingly. In all half-barbarous countries the same respect for the old men is observed. Sparta, which was about the Afghan standard, preserved the feeling much longer than Athens, where education, assemblies, and debates made the mind bo quicker formed.
Melmastia / melmasthia / melmastiya – hospitality is another major dimension of pakhtunwali. The commensalism of Melmasthia is a means of showing respect, friendship, and alliance. A complex etiquette surrounds the serving of guests, in which the host or his sons, when serving, refuse to sit with those they entertain as a mark of courtesy. Closely related to melmastia is the requirement of giving refuge to anyone, even one’s enemy, for as long as the person is within the precincts of one’s home. These codes, too, are related to the concept of honor, for the host gains honor by serving his guest, and the person who places himself under another’s protection is weak, a supplicant. Refuge must extend to the point of being willing to sacrifice one’s own life to defend one’s guest, but a person who demeans himself so much as to plead for mercy should be spared. Among the Waziris a little child was said to be sufficient escort through the lands of the tribe, and they were said to protect men who have killed their brothers, if they come as guests. The method of insuring safety was to sit by a man’s fireside and neither eat nor drink till he promises to convey you safely to any place you wish to reach; by the Afghan custom he must comply, and either go himself or send a near relation to prevent danger. If this ceremony be neglected, food and a pipe will be freely given, but it will depend on the character of the host whether he does not rob and murder his guest the moment he leaves the threshold. When they wish to rob a stranger, they either try to civilly hinder his entering the house, or make him eat before he asks for protection. The Achikzais were said to consider themselves as relieved from all obligation to hospitality when a guest had eaten his full, and to have a right to rob him or murder him when they please.
Panah is to take someone in personal protection. Even if a notorious criminal or an outlaw asked for panah he will definitely be granted asylum and duly protected. It has happened many a times that a murderer after committing murder asked for panahfrom the family of the victim and they have him panah. During panah he enjoys equal rights and status but when he leaves thier house, he can be killed in revenge and his family cannot claim for any penalty of reward under the custom of badal (revenge).
Qawm / localized community refers to any form of solidarity group, and as a construct of personal identity can be somewhat fluid based on what form or level of identity is relevant to a particular setting. Every Pashtun is linked to the past by a line of ancestors traced through his father. He is also conscious of belonging to a larger entity which takes the form of a more or less endogenous community (the qawm), whether its sociological basis is tribe, clan, professional group (qawm of the mullahs.), caste, religious group, ethnic group, village community or simply an extended family.