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Doing Pashto 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, Pashtunwaliwhichcanbeunderstoodas'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 thethreatenedgroupfeelsresponsibilityfortaking wordPashtunwali(paܤhtunwali1,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 spiritandthecodeofhonourasexpressedin Pashtuns.2Itincludesalltraditionsbywhichthe Pashtunwali.Thecustomarylegalsystemcanvary insomedetailsfromtribetotribeandfromregion toregion.Variationmainlyconcernsthe 1ForPashtowords,asimplifiedsystemofRomanisation computationoftheamountofbloodmoneytobe isusedinthispaper.Mostcharactersandpairsof paidratherthanthemechanismofconflict characters(sh,zh,ch,kh,ai,au)canbepronounced resolution. almostlikeinEnglish.FollowingtheRomanisationtables oftheLibraryofCongressretroflexsoundsaremarked Itisimportanttostressthatthesocietyof byadotunderacharacter.Amacronovera(Ĉ)shows Afghanistan,includingPashtunsociety,wassubject thatamustbepronouncedasalongvowel.The tofundamentalchangeinalmosteveryrespect characterഋstandsforamidͲcentralvowelsound(schwa) duringthelastdecades.Asaresult,todaythe whichispronouncedlikeainEnglish'separate'(sepഋrഋt). Thecombinationghshouldbepronouncedasguttural'r' idealsofPashtunwalicompetewithothervalue (sometimesknownasFrench'r'). systemsthatgainedinfluenceduringthattime. 2SeeBerntGlatzer,'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.6Inthesecondhalfofthetwentieth martialbravery,reasonableactionsand century,thenormsandvaluesofPashtunwali consultation,asystemofcustomarylegalnorms engagedtheattentionofwesternanthropologists andnotleast,faithinIslam.3 whoanalyseditinawiderperspective,bringing TheconceptofPashtunwaliisanethnoͲcentric intofocusmoralandethicalvaluesandrulesof conceptbecauseitisbasedontheideathatthe behaviouraswell.7Inrecentpublications, 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 beseenasthefirstattempttodefinerulesof ethnicgroupsinAfghanistanandPakistan.4Butthe behaviourforthePashtuns.ThewordPashtunwali, Pashtunshaveevolvedthesevalues,norms, however,wasnotusedinthetext.Thenameof customsandhabitsintoastrongsetofrulestoa higherdegreethanmostotherethnicgroupsof thatregion.5ForthePashtuns,theserulesdefine 6Forexample,MountstuartElphinstone,anofficerof whatconstituteshonourablebehaviourandthey theEastIndiaCompanywhomadeanofficialmissionto includevarioussanctionsforthosewhoarein theDurraniwinterresidenceinPeshawarin1809, violationoftheserules.TheideathatPashtunsare describesPashtunwaliinhisreportasa"rudesystemof customarylaw".SeeMountstuartElphinstone,An AccountoftheKingdomofCaubul,2volumes(Karachi, IndusPublications1992)p.220. SubjekteundSysteme:Soziologischeund anthropologischeAnnäherungen.FestschriftfürChristian 7SeeAlfredJanataandReihanodinHassas,'Ghairatman
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