Afghan Village Voices: Stories from a Tribal Community

Description

Afghanistan in the 20th century was virtually unknown in Europe and America. At peace until the 1970s, the country was seen as a remote and exotic land, visited only by adventurous tourists or researchers. Afghan Village Voices is a testament to this little-known period of peace and captures a society and culture now lost. Prepared by two of the most accomplished and well-known anthropologists of the Middle East and Central Asia, Richard Tapper and Nancy Tapper-Lindisfarne, this is a book of stories told by the Piruzai, a rural Afghan community of some 200 families who farmed in northern Afghanistan and in summer took their flocks to the central Hazârajât mountains. The book comprises a collection of remarkable stories, folktales and conversations and provides unprecedented insight into the depth and colour of these people’s lives. Recorded in the early 1970s, the stories range from memories of the Piruzai migration to the north a half century before, to the feuds, ethnic strife and the doings of powerful khans. There are also stories of falling in love, elopements, marriages, childbirth and the world of spirits. The book includes vignettes of the narrators, photographs, maps and a full glossary. It is a remarkable document of Afghanistan at peace, told by a people whose voices have rarely been heard. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents List of Maps, Tables and Figures List of Illustrations Preface Map 1 Prologue: Introducing the Piruzai Great Games in Afghanistan Afghan Turkistan: the setting Pashtuns come to Sar-e-pol The Piruzai The Piruzai economy Population growth and change Village life in 1971 The narrators 2 The Es’hâqzai Come North The move north From Kandahar . . . . . to Turkistan Resisting the khans Wazir Mahmad-gol Mohmand The khans in 1970 3 Ethnic Politics in Sar-e-pol Elections Elections for People’s Assembly 1965 Elections for Senate 1969 Elections for People’s Assembly 1969 Ethnic Categories ‘Afghan’ and ‘Fârsibân’ Uzbeks and others Marrying strangers: Rangin and Golshâh Taymani The Runaways The quest in Day-kondi Petitioning the government in Kabul The fallout A Moral Tale of Abduction and Revenge 4 Tribal Politics Murder and Revenge The Piruzai Feud I: In the mountains II: At the wedding III: Peacemaking, marriages Village Factions Groups Leaders ‘Upper’ vs ‘Lower’ Konjek 5 A Shepherd’s Life1 The Tale of the Shepherd and the Judge The Flocks The Nomad Trail Châ gol’s first trip The flash-flood and the dervish Home The Pastoral Year Mating and lambing Lambs and spring grazing Hard work in the mountains Autumn and winter Shepherding Contracts Employees Partners 6 For the Animals Camel Care An Old Wolf ’s Tale An Old Wolf’s Tale Wolves and thieves The tick man The Tale of Nokhodak Expedition to the Salt-pan A Terrible Winter 7 Land: A Golden Tent-Peg The Value of Land Water Rights Inheritance 8 On the Farm The Tale of the Ox, the Donkey and the Hen Farming in Sar-e-pol ‘White’ crops Shoot- and stubble-grazing ‘Green’ crops Rainfed farming The Tale of Secret and Satan Farming Contracts Farmhands and sharecroppers Pawning, renting and selling land Farming Up-country In the mountains In Kachan and Sangchârak Vineyards in Sangchârak 9 Other Business Work for the Landless Cowherds The Tale of Soltânyâr Trade and Exchange Nomad bazaars Trade on the trek Trade for a living Livestock trading The skin trade Debt Going to market Rising prices The Zuris A trip to Qataghan The Tale of the Fox and the Miller 10 The Marriage Market The Tale of Jallât Khân and Shamayel Getting Married Engagement Marrying relatives Exchange marriage (mëkhi) In- laws (khish) Brideprice Going to bâzi The wedding – and after Irregularities Jumping the gun Elopements; infidelities Parwiz and Shamayel Madu The pimp Endings Widowhood Divorce The Tale of Sheykh Shâdi 11 Family Matters A Tale of Three Brothers Family Solidarity and Break-down Hearth and home Haji Zabtu’s Family Ghâfur’s wives Bâbu and Joma-khân Mumin, Khânamir Khaw ânin and Abdor-Rahmân Tumân and Maryam Mâku remarries Tumân and Pâkiza Khâni-âghâ and Bâdâm Pâdshâh and Pâkhâl Tumân and Sarwar Darwiza and Sawur A bride for Baya-khân Golapruz and Soleymân-shâh Ghaws and Family Golshâh Taymani Gorey’s Deceit Mowzoddin’s Misfortunes 12 Religion, Life, Death, Disease 10 The Marriage Market The Tale of Jallât Khân and Shamayel Getting Married Engagement Marrying relatives Exchange marriage (mëkhi) In-laws (khish) Brideprice Going to bâzi The wedding – and after Irregularities Jumping the gun Elopements; infidelities Parwiz and Shamayel Madu The pimp Endings Widowhood Divorce The Tale of Sheykh Shâdi Religious Practices Mosques and tâlebs The Hajj Fasting and alms The Ids Id and Jashn parties Some mullahs Childbirth and Infancy Birth Nashra and tsalweshti Circumcision; childhood Death and the Afterlife Funerals Heaven and Hell The skies Baya-khân on Plato Disease and Curing Some diseases The skin cure Fasting ‘Warm’ and ‘cool’ The mullah Charms, Curses and the ‘Eye’ Love charms – and others The Evil Eye 13 The World of Jinns More numerous than raindrops They attack women and children . . . . . . and animals Detective-jinns Dreams Jinn Tribes Mirgey Khâpëska Wobâ Mordëzmâ Pari, div, ablij, rëwey, balâ Haji Tumân defeats the jinn Sheytân Birth of a Jinn The Tale of the Three Musicians 14 Shrines, Sufis, Exorcism Pilgrimage to Shrines A pilgrimage to Mazâr-e-Sharif Exorcism Shrines and jinns Sufi pirs and âghâs Bâbak’s exorcism Mahbuba/Khurey’s exorcism The Tale of Seyf-ol-moluk and Badri-jamâl 15 Epilogue: The Piruzai Since 1972 Haji Tumân on ‘The End of Times’ What happened to the Piruzai? Appendices 1 Ancestors 2 Afghanistan and Sar-e-pol, 1972–20161 The PDPA The mujahidin The Taliban Post-2001 3 Recording and Editing the Stories Recording Representation Cultural styles Translating, selecting and editing Transliteration and usage Glossary Bibliography Acknowledgements Index of People and Places Index of Subjects