Afghanistan:Detailed Cultural

BackgrounderCapt WS Briggs

KMTC S6, CCTM-A R1

“Cradles of Civilization”

Trade Routes

Sea Trade

Syr Darya (Jaxartes)

Amu Darya (Oxus)

Hari RudH

elm

and

Kabul

Indus

Historic Afghanistan

Pashtun (Pathan, Afghan)

• Sunni Muslim

• Iranic ethnic group, unlikely that Pashtuns share common ethnic ancestry

• Defined by use of Pashto language and practice of Pashtunwali

• 40% - 50% of Afghan population

• Largest Pashtun population is in Pakistan

• Identify by Tribe, Sub-Tribe, Clan, and other factions

Pashtun

Pashtun Tribes• 350-400 different tribes & clans

• After introduction of Islam, all Pashtuns are said to be descended from the tribe of Qais Abdur Rashid (d. 662CE)

• Tribal & Supertribal Groupings (Sarbani*, Ghorgasht*, Betanee*, Karlanni, etc.)

• Tribal Confederations (Ghilzai, Durrani, etc.)

• Kuchi - Nomads in eastern Afghanistan & western Pakistan

Pashtun Tribal Structure• Ttabar (tribe)• Khel/Zai (kinship group)• Plaar/Plaarganei (extended family grouping)• Kahol (extended family)

– Zamen (Children)– Imasi (Grandchildren)– Kwasi (Great Grandchildren)– Kawdi (Great Great Grandchildren)

Pashtun Tribes and Personalities• Ghilzai Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (Kharoti Tribe, Ghilzai

Supertribe)• Abdul Rasul Sayyaf (Ghilzai Supertribe)• Hotaki Mullah Mohammed Omar (Ghilzai Supertribe)• Zadran Clan Jalaluddin Haqqani (Kakai branch of

Karlanni Supertribe)• Ahmadzai Hajji Din Mohammad *Hezb-e Islami-Khalis, Hajji

Abdul Qadir, Abdul Haq, Nasrullah Baryalai Arsalai (Jabbar Khel Clan) Dr. Ashraf Ghani (Karlanni Supertribe)

• Popolzai Hamid Karzai (Zirak branch of Durrani, Sarbani Supertribe)

• Barakzai Gul Agha Sherzai (Zirak branch of Durrani, Sarbani Supertribe)

Pashtunwali• Melmastia (Hospitality) to all visitors without distinction of race,

religion, nation, rank, or class, without expectation of remuneration;• Nanawatai (Asylum) protection against enemies, sanctuary from

criminal prosecution pending resolution, mercy to those who surrender honourably, assistance to those in need;

• Badal (Justice) including revenge for any wrongdoing without limit of time, may demand shedding of blood, may resort to revenge against closest male relative in the absence of the wrongdoer, often leads to blood feuds

• Tureh (Bravery) against tyranny, in defence of possessions, family, women, and honour;

• Sabat (Loyalty) to family, friends, tribe members. Loyalty is indispensable to personal sense of honour;

• Imandari (Righteousness) good thoughts, good words, good deeds, respect for all creation;

• Isteqamat (Trust in God) piety, Islamic belief in one God (Tawheed);• Ghayrat (Dignity) honour-based society, honour begins at home,

extends to respect of others, insult demands extreme response;• Namus (Honour of Women) physical and vocal protection of women,

defence of women’s honour at all costs.

Kuchi• Nomads of the Pashtun ethnicity, from several

tribes (ghilzai, kakar, lodi, ahmadzai, durrani, etc.) Powindah may be a useful tribal name among Kuchi

• Possibly the largest nomadic group in the world – up to 7 million people

• Traverse Pakistan/Afghanistan border annually, carrying animals and trading wool, ghee (clarified butter), and quroot (reconstituted yoghurt)

• Tend to be enemies of the northern ethnic groups, especially Hazara who they compete with for pasture

• Identified as a “vulnerable population” by UNAMA

Tajik (Farsi)• Mostly Sunni Muslim

• Persian ancestry with Bactrian, Sogdian, Parthian lines

• Name literally means “non-Turk” (speaking)

• Original Persian speakers

• 25% - 30% of Afghan population

Tajik

Tajik Groups• Afghan Tajiks generally do not identify by

Tribe, but rather by region or city

• Urban Tajiks tend to maintain close family ties with rural relatives

• Farsiwan – Tajiks who follow Twelver Shiism

Famous Tajiks• Ahmad Shah Massoud

– Most famous and successful Mujahideen leader– Military leader of Northern Alliance– Assassinated by Al-Qaida in September 2001

• Burhanuddin Rabbani– Mujahideen, former President of Afghanistan, political leader of Northern

Alliance, and leader of Jamiat-e Islami, assisted Karzai in attempts at reconcilliation with Taliban

– Assassinated by Taliban in 2011• Ismail Khan

– Mujahideen, local leader in Herat, Governor of Herat Province– Extremely savvy, with long history of managing complex alliances with

political enemies, sustaining support from Iran, and dominating Herat• Atta Muhammad Nur

– Mujahideen, and member of Jamiat-e Islami– Associated with Karzai as a reliable governor in Balkh, supported

Abdullah Abdullah in 2009 election– Responsible for successful Poppy eradication between 2005-2007

Hazara (“The Thousand”)

• Overwhelmingly Shia Muslim

• Claim Mongolian ancestry, supported by genetic research

• Persian Speaking

• 10% - 20% of Afghan population, centrally located in “Hazarajat” in the centre of the Hindu Kush

• Also centred in Quetta, Pakistan

Hazara

Hazara Tribes• Behsud – possibly offspring of Mongol Behsud.

“Behsud” districts in Nangarhar & Wardak Provinces.• Dai Chopan – one of the 8 “overarching” tribes, though

not one of the 5 “original tribes”. With the Dai Khitai they form the Uruzgani tribe.

• Daikundi – an “original” tribe, largely secluded and relatively uneffected by past repressions. Daikundi & Ghor Provinces.

• Dai Mirdad – Samangan Province. Significant assimilation of Uzbek & Tajik cultural traits.

• Daizangi – an “original” tribe• Jaghori – an “original” tribe• Polada – an “original” tribe• Uruzgani Hazara – an “original” tribe

Famous Hazara• Abdul Karim Khalili

– Origins in Wardak Province– Mujahideen, leader of Wahdat party, Vice-President

of Afghanistan– Running-mate and ally of Karzai

• Hajji Mohammad Mohaqiq– Mujahideen, leader of Hezb-e Wahdat party, former

Karzai cabinet member with a complicated relationship to the President

– Supported Karzai in the 2009 election, but has since rescinded support due to appeasement of Taliban

– Most notable Hazara activist regarding conflict with Kuchi nomads over pasture land

Uzbek• Mostly Hanafi Sunni Muslim

• Turkik ethnic group with some Mongol ancestry

• Uzbek language, Uyghur family of Turkic linguistic group

• 10% of Afghan population

• Farming & Herding, breeding karakul sheep & Turkman horse

• Tend to organize by extended family, rather than tribe

Uzbek

Famous Uzbeks• Abdul Rashid Dostum

– Most prominent Uzbek leader, based in Sheberghan– Collaborated with Communist government (1978-

1992), Massoud (1992-1994), Hekmatyar (1994-1996), Rabbani/Massoud (1996-2001)

– Complicated alliance with Karzai and the Afghan government, currently holds the title of Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Afghanistan

– Implicated in war crimes, including Dasht-e-Leilli Massacre

• Adbul Malik Pahlawan– Principal Uzbek competitor to Dostum– Afghanistan Liberation Party– Based in Faryab Province

Turkmen• Mostly Sunni Muslim, with other mystical

and folk religious influences

• Turkic ethnic group, mixed with Sogdian lines and Iranian lines

• Turkmen language, Turkic linguistic group, and other regional languages

• Nomadic heritage

• 2% of Afghan population

Aymaq• Classified as Tajiks in the Afghanistan

census, ethnically linked to Tajik and Hazara

• “Tribe” or “Grazing Territory” in Mongolian

• Sunni Muslim

• Aymaq dialect of Persian language

• Nomadic & Semi-Nomadic

• 2% of Afghan population

• Taimani, Ferozkohi, Temuri, Jamshidi Aymaqs (Tribes)

Baloch• Mostly Sunni Muslim (some within Zikr i

sect)• Iranian ethnic grouping descended from

Median & Persian tribes• Baluchi language• Cultural traits passed along Tribal lines• 2% of Afghan population• Tend towards semi-nomadic agrictulture &

herding• Tend towards secular view of the State• Baluchmayar is the Baloch way of life

Uyghur• Mostly Muslim, tend to practice Sufism

• Turkic ethnic group, connotation of settled life (urban or agricultural) as opposed to other nomadic Turkic groups

• Uyghur language, Turkic linguistic group

• Small community in Afghanistan, diaspora of Chinese Uyghurs

• Genghis Khan employed the Uyghur alphabet to transcribe the Mongol language

Nuristani (Nuristan Province)

• Sunni Muslim (conversion after 1896)• Pre-Islamic animism persists in the form of folk custom• Aryan-Iranian ethnic group, ethnically homogeneous• Nuristani languages, Indo-Iranian linguistic group• <1% of Afghan population (Nuristan)• Ethnic kin of Kalash people in Chitral, Pakistan• Regional clan structure, vice a formal tribe structure• Historical legacy of isolation & defiance• Farming, herding, dairy production• Origin of the Pakul (soft, round, wool hat)

Kizilbash• Twelver Shia Muslim• Descended from Turkic mercenaries who came to

Afghanistan under Nadir Shah (1738 CE)• Adopted Persian language after settling, mostly in

Kabul, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, and villages in Hazarajat

• Traders & craftsmen, often linked with Tajik & Farsiwan, or confused with Farsiwan

• History of persecution, but Kizilbash are influential in Pakistan

• <1% of Afghan population

Pashai (Kohistani)

• Mostly Sunni Muslim (some are Nizari Ismaili Shia)

• Dardic ethno-linguistic group, possibly descended from Gandhari people

• Often bilingual in Pashto, many Pashai consider themselves to be Pashtun though speaking their own Pashai language

• <1% of Afghan population (Kohistan)