Pashtunwali

Pashtunwali ( Pashtun پښتونولي) is the legal and honor code of the Pashtuns and is one of the so-called tribal laws . He assumes an ideal as well as a physical protective function of the family , the tribe , the nation and the honor .

etymology

The term Pashtunwali was created after the reforms of the Pashtun language in 1936 and is composed of the proper name Pashtun (پښتون), the present participle wal (وال, "Having", synonymous with the Persian dar ) and the suffix -i (ی, similar to -keit , -heit or -tum in German), so that it can be translated as Pashtunism .

Afghanyat and Pashtunwali

The term Afghanyat افغانیت, composed of the name Afghan (افغان) and the Persian suffix -yat (یت, like German -heit ), means Afghanism and was used before the reforms of the Pashtun language and the introduction of the national language in 1936. This change in the meaning of the word became necessary because the term Afghan was prescribed for citizens of Afghanistan from 1936. In 1939 the Pashtun Abdul Rahman Pazhwak , including an Afghan UN diplomat, published the Pashto laws under the name of Afghanyat in the Kabul yearbook.

The term Pashtunwali is better known abroad, perhaps even originated there among Pashtuns. The Pashtuns in the country themselves use Afghanyat or more often Pashto for the laws of Pashtunwali (e.g. in da Pashtu di , "This is Pashtu (nwali)"). From 1922, King Amanullah Khan sent Afghans or Pashtuns to Europe to study there, with the largest contingent of students going to Germany.

Pashtunwali as a code of honor for the Pashtuns

Due to its high, pre-Islamic age, Pashtunwali harbors traditions such as retribution or badal (literally for exchange ), which also appear in other spiritual and religious codes of antiquity . The Badal can also be obtained in the true sense of the word by exchanging money, goods and marriage.

The hospitality (Melmastya) ranked in Pashtunwali over all other values. It is closely involved with the Nanawati (literally admission ), which stands for forgiveness, granting shelter and part of the right to asylum . The nanawatai, once the word is uttered, must be granted to everyone, even the greatest enemy. The Badal thus only works in persistent, existential cases and is weakened. Anyone who does not grant Nanawatai is not considered a nobleman ( ghairatman ) and attracts shame and shame ( shame ).

Those who do good sha are dubbed ghairatman as well as nangyalay ("man of honor"). The word combination of nang and namus plays an important role: nang is to be translated as the “male honor” that can be achieved through tura (“sword”). The term Namus refers to the female honor and requires the protection of family, land and land - in the broadest sense of the home. Whoever performs tura is called turyalay . He does a service to the community (like the defense of the homeland); hence the saying: “Tura ye wokra!” when you achieve something important.

Most disputes are known to arise in the area associated with the Persian alliteration zan , zar and zamin (زن, زر and زمین; Woman , gold and soil ).

The Jirga ("Assembly") is convened to settle conflicts, and at the national level the Loya Jirga ("Grand Assembly"). The warring parties ( Gond ) are reconciled through the Jirga . If necessary, the decisions of the will Jirga by Zalwechti , an executive of 40 men who enforced.

In order to separate groups, a demarcation line is negotiated, which is marked by tiga or kana (literally for stone ). Neither party is now allowed to violate this limit. The decisions of the Jirga are binding. Therefore the idiom “de kano kerscha” (German: “commitment”) literally means “a line drawn with a stone” .

The individual components of Pashtunwali

Melmastia : The first law of Pashtunwali. It stands for hospitality towards all guests without the expectation of anything in return and, if necessary, defense of the guests against their enemies.

Badal : The second law of Pashtunwali: It stands for "taking vengeance" when injustice / evil has been done to one. Literally translated it means "exchange".

Nanawatay : The Third Law. Nanawatay is derived from the verb "go in, go in" and stands for when the vanquished goes into the house of the winner and asks for forgiveness. Nanawatay cannot be claimed if the dispute involves dishonoring or harming a woman.

Nang (honor): The fourth law. Nang consists of the points below which, when summed up, constitute the honor of a Pashtun or his family.

Tor (black): Refers to cases involving a woman's honor. Gate (black) can only be converted into spin (white) upon the death of the causer.

Tarboor (cousin): In Pashtun society the "Tarboor" (or the son of the father's brother) has the appearance or connotation of rivalry or enmity.

Laschkar : Laschkar is the tribal army. It implements the decisions of the jirga.

Jirga : The jirga is the gathering of tribal elders, which can be called or meet on various occasions or for various cases. Example: disputes within the tribe or between different tribes.

Chalweshti / Zalwesti : The word is derived from the word "forty" and stands for the implementation of the decisions of the jirga, i.e. H. every 40th man is a member. In Kurram this group is called "Shalgoon", which is derived from the word "twenty" and means that every 20th man becomes a member of this group.

Teega / Kanrai (stone): Teega stands for a fixed date on which all hostilities between arguing / fighting parties must be interrupted. The trunk then ensures the implementation of the "Teega".

Nikkat : Nikkat is derived from the word "Nikka", which stands for "grandfather". It stands for the distribution of profits and losses within tribes and sub-tribes. The distribution key is not necessarily based on demographic values, but can also be laid down generations ago and appear unjust to an outsider.

Badragga : Badragga stands for a tribal escort that usually consists of members of this tribe. An attack on a "Badragga" can lead to a tribal feud.

Hamsaya (neighbor): Hamsaya stands for a group of protection addicts who place themselves in the protection or care of a stronger one. Every attack on the "Hamsaya" is counted as an attack on their protector.

Qalang (rent or tax): Qalang is levied by the landlord against his tenants. In this context it is typical of the Yousufzai tribe , but can also have other meanings for other tribes.

Malatar : Malatar stands for the members of a group who take part in a fight on behalf of their leader or together with him.

Mu'ajib : Mu'ajib stands for the annual or semi-annual, fixed, payment of an amount to tribes and / or sub-tribes by political power.

Lungi : Lungi stands for the payment of political power to individual leaders.

Nagha : Nagha is a fine that is set by the tribal elders and is imposed on a convicted / punished person. The implementation of this measure can, if necessary, be carried out by the "Lashkar".

Rogha : Rogha stands for the settlement of a dispute between arguing factions.

Hujra : A hujra is a place to stay or sleep for guests and male, unmarried members of a village. The costs are usually shared by the residents of the village. Each "Hujra" usually has an adjoining mosque that is linked to the village structure.

Swara : A form of atonement for murder, adultery, or kidnapping. A woman from the perpetrator's clan is married to a man from the injured clan (by order of the Jirga).

Pashtunwali is a canon of laws and rules of conduct, a code from the time when modern jurisprudence did not exist. The Pashtunwali led to an order and offered a guarantee of existence for the Pashtuns. Many elements of Pashtunwali, e.g. B. the Jirgas (Loya Jirga, Wolesi Jirga ) were taken over by the Afghan state, and when the Americans were looking for a restructuring of Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, it was the Loja Jirga that gave the Karzai government its legitimacy .

literature

Willi Steul: Pashtunwali and resistance - tribal society in the state: The Pashtuns in Paktia In: Berlin Institute for Comparative Social Research [Ed .: Kurt Greussing u. Jan-Heeren Grevemeyer] (Ed.): Revolution in Iran and Afghanistan - mardom nameh - Yearbook for the history and society of the Middle East Syndicate, Frankfurt am Main 1980, pp. 250-263, ISBN 3-8108-0147-X .
Christian Sigrist: Pashtunwali - The tribal law of the Pashtuns In: Berlin Institute for Comparative Social Research [Red .: Kurt Greussing u. Jan-Heeren Grevemeyer] (Ed.): Revolution in Iran and Afghanistan - mardom nameh - Yearbook for the history and society of the Middle East Syndicate, Frankfurt am Main 1980, pp. 264-279, ISBN 3-8108-0147-X .

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Salnamah e Kabul in 1939

[1] Salnamah e Kabul in 1939