Codes of Pakhtoonwali I despise the man who does not guide his life by honour The very word honour drives me mad. I girded my sword for the honour of Afghans Honor-bound of the time I am Khushal Khattak. (Khushal Khan Khattak) The Pukhtoon social structure, which has attracted the attention of many a scholar is mainly governed by conventions and traditions and a code of honour known as Pukhtoonwali. This un-written code is the keystone of the arch of the Pukhtoons social fabric. It exercises a great influence on their actions and has been held sacrosanct by them generation after generation. The Pukhtoonwali or the Pukhtoon code of honour embraces all the activities from the cradle to the grave. It imposes upon the members of the Pukhtoon society four chief obligations. Firstly Nanawatey or repentance over past hostility or inimical attitude and grant of asylum, secondly Teega or a truce declared by a Jirga to avoid bloodshed between two rival factions, thirdly Badal or obligation to seek revenge by retaliation and fourthly Melmastiya or an open hearted hospitality which is one of the most sublime and noble features of Pukhtoon character. In a broad sense hospitality, magnanimity, chivalry, honesty, uprightness, patriotism, love and devotion for the country are the essential features of Pukhtoonwali. The history of Pukhtoonwali is as old as the history of the Pukhtoons and every individual of Pukhtoon society is expected to abide by these age old traditions. The non-observance of these customary laws is considered disgraceful and may lead to expulsion of an individual or even a whole family. Pukhtoonwali, Pukhto and Pukhtoon have become almost synonymous terms. Some useful vocabulary that signify individual or collective Pashtoon Tribal functions are given below, arranged alphabetically. These words are common to Pashtun society and language but some, have fallen into disuse in the Settled areas. Aitbar Badal Bad Narr Badragga Balandra Baramta Belga Bota Chalweshti Chigha Gundi Hamsaya Hujrah Jirga Karhay (Teega) Lashkar Lokhay Warkawal Lungai Meerata Melmastia Mila Tarr Muajib Nagha Nanawatay Nang Nikat Qalang Rogha Saz Tarboor Tarr Tor Aitbar Itbar which means trust, or guaranteed assurance or is the arch of society which is governed by un-written laws or conventions. All business including contracts relating to sale and mortgage or disposal of property, is transacted on the basis of trust or Itbar. Such transactions are verbal and are entered into in the presence of the village elders or a few witnesses. The violation of Itbar is considered to be dishonourable act, un-becoming of gentleman and contrary to the norms of Pukhtoonwali. Badal To my mind death is better than life when life can no longer be held with honour (Khushal Khan Khattak) Self-respect and sensitivity to insult is another essential trait of Pukhtoon character. The poorest among them has his own sense of dignity and honour and he vehemently refuses to submit to any insult. In fact every Pukhtoon considers himself equal if not better than his fellow tribesmen and an insult is, therefore, taken as scurrilous reflection on his character. An insult is sure to evoke insult and murder is likely to lead to a murder. Badal (retaliation) and blood feuds generally emanate from intrigue with women, murder of one of the family members or their hamsayas, violation of Badragga, slight personal injury or insult or damage to property. Any insult is generally resented and retaliation is exacted in such cases. Badnarr Badnarr which means the imposition of a ban closely resembles Tarr both in spirit and essence. The only difference between the two is that the scope of Tarr is vast and it includes any matter unanimously agreed upon whereas Badnarr is specifically used for a ban on cutting wood from hills. Anyone violating Badnarr renders himself liable to the payment of a specific amount of fine. Tribesmen immediately approach him for extraction of fine and he is obliged by this tribal custom to pay Nagha (fine) Badragga An armed party escorting a fugitive or a visitor to his destination, is called Badragga. Badragga is a guarantee for the safety of a man who is either hotly pursued by his enemies or there is an apprehension of his being killed on his way home. An armed party accompanies such a man as Badragga or `escort to ensure his safe return to the place of his abode. Badragga is never attacked by the second party because of fear of reprisals and the blood feud that is sure to follow if an attack is made on it. The Badragga convoy can be depended upon only within its own geographical limits; beyond it, the people of other tribes take the charge to convoy the traveller. Balandra Balandra or Ashar can be best described as a village aid programme under which a particular task is accomplished on the basis of mutual cooperation and assistance. At the time of sowing or harvesting, the villagers lend a helping hand to the man who seeks their help. They take out their pair of bullocks to plough his fields at sowing time and assist him in reaping his crops at the time of harvest. The man, thus obliged, by the fellow villagers holds a feast in their honour in the evening. Baramta Baramta like Bota is resorted to when the grievances of a party are not redressed or a debtor adopts delaying tactics in respect of payment of a debt to the creditor. The word Baramta is derived from Persian word Baramad which means recovery or restitution of property etc. Under Baramta hostages are held to ransom till the accused returns the claimed property. The Pukhtoons consider it an act against their sense of honour and contrary to the principles of Pukhtoonwali to lay their hands on dependent classes such as blacksmiths, tailors, barbers and butchers etc belonging to the debtors village. Bota and Baramta in the tribal areas have often given rise to inter-tribal disputes and blood feuds. The British Government in India often resorted to Baramta in the event of hostilities with the tribesmen. When the Government failed to cow the tribesmen by force, it used to resort to this coercive method by seizing cattle, property, men and women in Baramta wherever they happened to be in settled districts. Belga The word Bilga is used for stolen property. According to tribal custom, a man is held responsible for a dacoity, theft or burglary if any of the stolen articles are recovered from his house. In such a case he is obliged to make good the loss sustained by the afflicted person. He, however, stands absolved of Bilga if he discloses the source or the persons from whom he had purchased the stolen articles. Bota Bota means carrying away. It is a sort of retaliatory action against an aggressor. For instance, if a creditor fails to recover his debt from the debtor, he resorts to Bota by seizing his cattle or one of his kith and kin. The creditor keeps them as hostages till his dues are fully realised or the debtor has furnished a security to make payment within a specified period to the creditor.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 23:49:37 +0000
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