SOCIAL USAGES

TOR: As has been suggested earlier that Pukhtoons are sensitive about the honour of their women folk and slight molestation of the women is considered a serious and an intolerable offence. The cases of adultery and illicit relations are put down with iron hand in and no quarter is given to culprits either male or female. Casting of an evil eye on woman is tantamount to imperil one's life. Both sexes, therefore, scrupulously avoid indulgence in immoral practices.

If a Pukhtoon discovers that a particular person is carrying a liaison with any female of his house, then he neither spares the life of the female nor that of her seducer. This is called Tor in Pashto (literally meaning black but used for public disgrace and defamation) or stigmatization of both male and female who is found guilty of illicit amour on sufficient evidence. Both the man and woman are put to death according to the customary law and this type of notoriety, abuse and slander is wiped out with the blood of the culprit. Besides adultery, death penalty is also prescribed for elopement, which also falls under the purview of Tor. In cases of Tor murder is not accounted for and the tribal law to kill their female relation as well as her paramour justifies the woman relatives. In case any of the persons guilty of adultery succeeds in absconding, the heirs of the female have every right to kill him/her whenever and wherever an opportunity presents itself. Otherwise the matter remains Paighore (reproach).

Tor has two aspects. If a woman is criminally assaulted and raped by force by a man with whom she had no previous illicit relations, then the woman is spared because of her innocence and the guilty man alone is put to death. According to the tribal custom, the accused is handed over to her parents, or her husband, if she is married. If the culprit's family refuses to hand him over to the Jirga or the relatives of the violated woman, then the adulterer's family is forced to abandon their village and seek refuge outside tribal limits. In such cases the relatives of the woman have a right to wipe out the insult by killing the accused himself or his brother or father. Not only the husbands but also even brothers consider themselves bound to wipe out the insult.

The second aspect of Tor is that if the infidelity of a woman or the alleged involvement of adultery of both male and female is proved, then both are put to death. It is because of such deterrent punishment and ignominious death that both the sexes dare not indulge in fornication.

GUNDI:

Gundi is a classic case of balance of power in tribal areas. It is derived from Pashto word Gund, meaning a political party but it is used for an alliance. As modern states enter into bilateral agreements for promotion of trade, cultivation of friendly relations and mutual defence, similarly various sections of a tribe align themselves in blocs or Gundis to safeguard their common interests. Gundi is entered into defeat the aggressive and nefarious designs of a hostile neighbor. In tribal fighting the Gundi members espouse their mutual interests against their common enemy and act as a corporate body with all the resources at their command.

The history of the Pukhtoons provides many instances of long blood feuds spreading over several years. To quote an example, a quarrel of a few blacksmiths split up the Zarghun Khel section of the Adam Khel tribe into two warring factions in 1922 and the hostilities continued for over five years in which the tribesmen of different villages arrayed themselves on one or the other side. The member of a Gundi maintain constant liaison with each other, exchange views on matters of common interest and hold mutual consultations to meet critical situations. They invite each other on festive occasions, help each other in the hour of need and share each other's joys and sorrows.

LOKHAY WARKAWAL:

Lokhay Warkawal literally means `giving of a pot' but it implies the protection of an individual or a tribe. A weaker tribe to a stronger one with the object of ensuring its safety and security generally gives Lokhay. It is accepted in the form of a sacrificial animal such as a goat or a sheep. When a tribe accepts a Lokhay from another tribe, it undertakes the responsibility of safeguarding the latter's interests against its enemies and protects it at all costs. The custom of Lokhay is common among the Afridi tribes of Khyber Agency and Orakzai tribes of Tirah.

LAKHKAR:

Lakhkar (widely known as Lashkar) is an armed party, which goes out from a village or tribe for warlike purposes. The Lakhkar may consist of a hundred to several thousand men. The Lakhkar assembled for Jehad (Holy War) is usually very large. The decisions of a Jirga, if violated by a party, are enforced through a tribal Lakhkar. The Lakhkar thus performs the functions of police in the event of a breach of tribal law.

CHIGHA:

Chigha means a pursuit party. The Chigha party is formed or taken out in case armed bandits with the object of lifting cattle, looting property or abducting an inmate of the village, raid a village. Composed of armed persons, the Chigha party goes in pursuit of the raiders to affect the release of the cattle etc or recover the stolen property.

TARR:

A mutual accord between two tribes or villagers themselves with regard to a certain matter is called Tarr. For instance, after sowing wheat or any other crop, the people of the village agree not to let loose their cattle to graze in the fields and thus damage the crop. The man whose cattle are found grazing in the fields in violation of this agreement has no right to claim compensation for an injury caused to his cattle by the owner of the field.

MLA TARR:

Mla Tarr, which literally means `girding up of loins' denotes two things. Firstly it is used for all such members of a family who are capable of carrying and using firearms. If for instance, some one says that "A" has a Mla Tarr of ten men, it would mean that "A" can furnish an armed party of ten men usually consisting of his sons grandsons or close relatives. Secondly, it means espousing the cause of a man against his enemies and providing him with an armed party. The tribesmen resort to Mla Tarr when a person belonging to their village or tribe is attacked, mal-treated or disgraced by their enemies.

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 traveler.

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).

BILGA:

The word Bilga is used for stolen property. According to tribal custom, a man is held responsible for a dacoit, 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 realized or the debtor has furnished a security to make payment within a specified period to the creditor.

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 that 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 debtor's 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.

BALANDRA OR ASHAR:

Balandra or Ashar can be best described as a village aid programmes 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.

MEERATA:

Meerata means complete annihilation of the male members of a family by brutal assassination. This is not a custom but a criminal act. Under Meerata, the stronger member of family used to assassinate their weak but near relatives with the sole object of removing them from the line of inheritance and gaining forcible possession of their lands, houses and other property. The tribal law and persons responsible for such an in human seriously view this kind of cold-blooded murder and ghastly act cannot escape the wrath of Pukhtoons. The Jirga immediately assembles to take suitable action against the culprits. The penalty is usually in the form of setting on fire their houses and other property and expulsion of the culprits from their area.

SAZ:

The word Saz is used for blood money or compensation in lieu of killing. Under the custom of Saz a person who feels penitent after committing a deliberate murder, approaches the deceased's family through a Jirga and offers to make payment of blood money to end enmity between them. All hostilities come to an end between the parties after acceptance of Saz. Sometimes the payment of compensation takes the form of giving a girl in marriage to the aggrieved party. It is also called Swarah, which binds together the two parties in blood relations and thus helps in eradicating ill will and feelings of enmity.

ITBAR:

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 dishonorable act, un-becoming of gentleman and contrary to the norms of Pukhtoonwali.

HAMSAYA:

The word Hamsaya in Persian and Urdu stands for a neighbor but in Pashto it applies to a man who abandons his home either due to poverty or blood feud and seeks protection of an elder of another village. In this way the latter becomes his client or vassal. It is, therefore, incumbent upon the protector to save his Hamsaya from insult or injury from any source.

In some cases the Hamsayas till the lands of their protectors and render them help in other vocations. But it has no marked bearing on the Hamsayas' social status and they are treated at par with the other inhabitants of the village. Barbers, cobblers, butchers, blacksmiths, carpenters etc can live as Hamsaya.

FINISHED.

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