They wear their weapons as clothing accessories, and are renown as equally for their fierce blood feuds and hatred of enemies as for their loyalty to friends. Proud warriors and one of the most resistant tribal peoples on earth, the Pashtun have withstood the military might of Alexander the Great, Moghul Emperors, the Soviets and the British. "He is no Pashtun who does not give a blow for a punch," maintains one of their proverbs. Pashtun make up nearly half the population of Afghanistan and are the second largest ethnic group in Pakistan. Substantial communities also live in Iran, Tajikistan and the United Arab Emirates. Traditionally a nomadic people, today they number approximately 25 million and are divided into 60 tribes.


CULTURE


The Arts and Recreation

Folk songs, ballads and poetry are popular among the Pashtun. Classical instruments include the rebab, a 12-string guitar-like instrument, the four-stringed sitar, and a pair of drums called the Tabla. Women have their own musical and dance traditions, which often feature the tambourine. For recreation, people enjoy getting together in small groups to chat and discuss local events. Men will go for a walk with friends for no other purpose than to enjoy each another's company.


Language

Pashto (also known as Pakhtu) is an ancient Indo-European/Aryan language with several dialects and accents. The alphabet contains forty letters and uses a modified Persian script. Although Pashto remains the mother tongue of Pashtuns, as a literary language it is giving ground to Dari in Afghanistan and Urdu in Pakistan. A large percentage of Pashtun adults are illiterate, especially women.


Food

The main stable of the Pashtun diet is bread, or nan, which are long, thin loaves baked in a mud-oven. Restricted by poverty, they eat mainly lentils, spinach, garlic, onions, and milk products. Meat, when available, is often curried. The Pashtun are enthusiastic tea drinkers, however, drinking about five cups a day. The offer of tea is integral to their sense of hospitality.


Dress

Pashtun women are required to keep Purdah, which means 'curtain.' Women must wear a burkha in public. The burkha is a full body garment with only a small mesh window through which to see. Even at home, a woman's clothing must cover everything but her face and hands. Women in strict purdah, especially young women, may rarely leave their homes and only the woman's male relatives are allowed to see her face. Pashtun men are not supposed to cut their beards. In both Afghanistan and Pakistan, men wear the shalwar kamise, a long-sleeved cotton shirt that hangs down over baggy trousers. They wear their turbans in a distinctive fashion, with one end dangling over the shoulder. Clothing for Pakistani Pashtun women is similar to that of their male counterparts-long cotton shirts over trousers and a shawl to cover the head.


ECONOMY

Afghanistan is one of the poorest nations on earth, with an economy devastated by war, civil strife, and drought. Industry is almost non-existent and people are highly dependent on livestock raising (sheep and goats) and farming. A major source of income comes from the poppy fields, used to manufacture opium. Aside from the opium poppies, wheat, fruit and nuts are also important cash crops severely affected by the drought in recent years. Public services, including health, communications, and transportation are limited or non-existent. Due to harsh living conditions and unsanitary water, the Afghani Pashtun's life expectancy is only 46 years.

Economic opportunities are better for the Pashtun in Pakistan, particularly in the big cities. Many are labourers in the building industry, but others work in shops, transportation and government offices.


SOCIETY

Pashtun society revolves around a strict code of ethics, known as Pushtunwali ("the way of the Pashtun"). This unwritten code includes hospitality and protection of one's guests; extending refuge to a fugitive; the right of blood feuds or revenge; bravery, steadfastness, righteousness, and persistence; defense of one's property and honour; and defense of one's women. The ability to defend his property and dominate his wife and household is vital to a man's honour. And according to their culture, death is not too high a price to pay for one's honour.

The extended family is the building block of Pashtun social structure. The majority live in dried mud homes that make up a village, and each home may hold two or three generations. Wealthier families live in fortified residences often made of brick.

Women are responsible for the household duties of cooking and raising children, but the men often do the shopping. Women are not allowed out in public without a male escort, may not inherit property and have limited possibilities for education. A woman's identity is usually tied to a male member of her family, and she is referred to not by her name but as 'the wife of Omar' or the mother of her eldest son.


RELIGIOUS LIFE

The majority of Pashtun are Sunni Muslims. Their loyalty to Islam is fierce, but Pashtun culture often seems to supercede Islamic orthodoxy. Pashtun women pray regularly, but are not allowed to go to the Mosque. Consequently, they have woven their beliefs with superstition and animistic practices. Fearful of curses and evil spirits, they often wear amulets and charms for protection and good luck. Although traditionally the Pashtun have shown little interest in Christianity, due to the misery suffered at the hands of their Muslim brothers, some are doubting the value of Islam.


Contact with Christianity

While historically the Pashtun have been closed to Christianity, about 50 years ago there was a small movement of Pashtun who became believers. Due to persecution, however, they scattered and lost contact with each other. In the 1960's, missionaries built an international protestant church in Kabul, but the government bulldozed it a few years later because of a number of conversions of Afghan. Evangelism is still illegal and Afghan converts risk death if discovered. However, some small groups of Pashtun and other Afghan believers have been reported in the cities, and there are others who have become Christians while in exile in other countries.

Reports indicate that there is a small Pashto-speaking church in Pakistan. While the Jesus Film is available in Western Pashto along with portions of Scripture in the various Pashto dialects, they are not readily available to the average Pashtun. But Christian radio broadcasts are getting into the country with positive responses from some surprising quarters-namely ex-Taliban, most of whom are Pashtun.


PLEASE PRAY:

• That God will raise up prayer groups committed to pray specifically for the Pashtun.
• That the Lord would protect the many Christian workers in the country and use them to help meet the physical needs of those in extreme poverty and facing death from lack of food, water, shelter or basic medical treatment.
• For Pashtun who have become Christians outside of Afghanistan to return to their country to help rebuild and shape a more tolerant society.
• For God's protection on Pashtun Christians and for opportunities for them to share the Gospel with others.
• That the Lord would break the cycle of revenge and blood feuds that is such a part of Pashtun culture.
• That the 'veil covering their hearts' might be removed so that they can turn to Christ.

© International Teams and People International 2003.