Tribalogy-Part#1 Pashtun Tribe

This the first part of my introduction to different tribes across the world. In this series, I will give you knowledge about different tribes and communities which you don’t know so far. I am starting with my own tribe which is the Pashtun tribe and will keep on helping you to explore more tribes and cultures around the globe. Do comment if you know tribes that you want me to tell others about their traditions, cultures, and lives etc.

Pashtun Tribe

Image Source: Google.com

Pashtuns, Pathans or Afghans are an ethnic community mainly living in Pakistan and Afghanistan with a significant population of the community working as skilled labor in Gulf and around the world and many of them have been absorbed into the indigenous communities as well. Pashtuns speak Pashto language and are in majority in Afghanistan. In Pakistan, they are about 15% of the total population and is the largest ethnic minority in the country.

Sub-Tribes

Pashtuns are divided into many sub-tribes, the prominent of which are:

1. Yousufzai Tribe, living in the plain areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan

2. Khattak

3. Afridi

4. Mohmand

5. Orakzai

6. Serbani

7. Bettini

8. Gharghashti

9. Wazir

10. Mehsud and many others.

All of these sub-tribes are pretty similar in terms of their traditions and culture. However, lineage is the factor that separates them from other tribes.

Origin

Different theories have been put forward by different historians regarding the origin of Pashtuns. The prominent of these theories below.

Theory 1: Famous historian, Yu.V.Gankovsky, in his book, peoples of Pakistan, mentions that Pashtuns are the descendants of the Eastern-Iranian tribes which migrated towards Afghanistan and modern-day Pakistan.

Theory 2: According to some well-known scholars such as Abdul Habib Hai, Pashtuns are a mixed race of Pakhtas and Hephthalites and living in Afghanistan since the Vedic Aryan period.

Theory 3: Henry Walter Bellew, a British army officer working in Afghanistan, is of the view that Pashtuns are the descendants of the Greeks.

Theory 4: Many scholars also consider Pashtuns as the lost tribe of the Israelites. Historical accounts show that ten tribes were dispersed by the occupation of Neo-Assyrian Empire over Israel and scholars are of the view that Pashtuns were also part of the Israelites whom later settled in Afghanistan. The tribe they mostly refer to is “ Yousufzai” because the word “Yousufzai” means the descendants of Joseph.

Religion

Before the arrival of Islam into Afghanistan, Pashtuns are said to follow different religions like Judaism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism etc. However, the advent of Islam completely changed the map and Pashtuns collectively converted into Islam under the leadership of Qais Abdul Rasheed on the invitation of the famous Islamic warrior and a companion of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), Khaled Ibn Walid.

Code of conduct

Majority of Pashtuns are very passionate about following the religion of Islam but they also have an ancient code of conduct which is called “Pashtunwali”. Though this code of conduct is mostly in conformity with the basic teachings of Islam yet it sometimes clashes with the rules of Islam. Some of the rules ascribed to be part of Pashtunwali and are in contrast to the teachings of theProphet of Islam are:

1. No second marriage for a widow

The Pashtun code of conduct doesn’t allow women to marry after they were widowed. This concept is totally against the teachings of Islam as Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) himself married divorced and widows in his life.

1. Revenge

Pashtun culture always speaks of revenge once a person is harmed. It is considered shameful if you did not take revenge for any harm inflicted by others. This rule of revenge is also opposite to the teachings of the Last Prophet since he always pardoned even his fierce rivals.

1. Tarburwali

Tarburwali means that your cousin or close relatives are always your rivals in every walk of life. One must strive to take over his rivals in the race to get more social recognition and this race ultimately leads to animosity and bloody conflicts.

Music

Pashtun music is very rich in its essence with many genres and their beautiful tunes. Some of the popular genres of the Pashto music are:

1. Tappa

2. Charbetta

3. Nemakai

4. Loba

5. Rubai

Some of the traditional music instruments include:

1. Rabab

2. Mangai

3. Sitar

Popular dance types are:

1. Attan Dance

2. Khattak Dance

Clothes

Image Source: Google.com

Pashtun clothes can be divided into two categories:

1. Male dress

Both males and females wear Shalwar Kameez but male Shalwar Kameez are mostly light colored with no flowers or other things around whereas females' Shalwar Kameez are full of colored decorations. Males mostly wear turbans on their head as a tradition plus to protect themselves from the blazing sun

1. Female dress

As already mentioned above, the clothes worn by females are full of colors along with flowers etc. The females instead of Turban wear Duppata as a piece of cloth to cover up their hairs and to get protection from the sun.

Ceremonies

Pashtuns celebrate all the Islamic events with religious zeal and enthusiasm which include two Eids.

They also celebrate their weddings by playing traditional music and other musical instruments by sitting in the congregation with friends, and families. On the weddings, guests are offered different kinds of dishes which primarily include rice.

On occasion of death; relatives, friends, and neighbors reach out for help to the bereaved family and bring food along to prepare for the guests arriving. People gather at a place highly popular in the Pashtun society known as Hujra and offer prayer there.

Tribal traits

Some of the traits in Pashtun people are:

1. Heroics

Pashtuns are very brave people as can be judged by their tradition to defeat the superpowers of the time including Alexander the great, British and Russia.

1. Hospitality

Pashtuns are hospitable and treat their guests with love and kindness even if the guest is the fiercest enemy.

1. Hard work

Pashtuns normally work very hard to earn their incomes instead of begging for help.

1. Sharing

Pashtun people share each other's pain and difficult times. They are very charitable people and don’t hesitate to help their brethren in difficulty.

1. Joint family system

Pashtuns live in join family system mostly with the elder one in the family serves as the head of the family.

Food

Pashtun mostly eats with their hands instead of using forks or chips and every meal certainly contains the Tandoori Roti (Bread).

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Some of the popular dishes of the Pashtun area are:

1. Chapli Kabab

2. Kabli Pulao

3. Seekh Kabab

4. Tikka

5. Narray Ghwaha (Mutton)

6. Shorwa ( a kind of soup)

Green tea or Qehwa is taken after the meal which is very good for weight loss.

Famous personalities

Some of the famous Pashtuns personalities are listed as below.

1. Malala Yousufzai ( Noble Prize winner)

Image Source: Google.com

1. Imran Khan (Cricket turned politician)

1. Shahid Afridi (Famous Cricketer

2. Ayub Khan ( Former president of Pakistan)

3. Jansher Khan ( eight times World Open Squash Championship winner, which is a record)

4. Jahangir Khan ( Squash champion)

5. Hamid Karzai (Former Afghan President)

6. Zarine Khan (Bollywood actress)

7. Zalmay Khalilzad (US envoy for Afghanistan)