Society
Religion
The population is fragmented into myriad ethnic, linguistic, religious, kin based, and regional groupings. One of the few commonalities in this diverse country is Islam. Even in the matter of religion, however, sectarian differences and differences over Quranic and legal interpretations divide Afghans. In addition, minorities of Hindus and Sikhs (originally traders from India) and Jews have lived in the country for generations. Islam, however, appears to be one of the few factors crosscutting virtually all other groups.
In late 1985 all resistance groups striving for a pan Afghan constituency appealed to Afghans on the basis of their common Muslim identity. Indeed, the term used for the resistance fighters, mujahidiin, translates as "those waging jihad." Jihad is a duty of Muslims and refers to the struggle for the predominance of God's will, both within oneself and between people. As of 1985 Islam had been a most effective rallying point.
Afghan society, with its fragmented groupings, has often been composed of a congeries of warring factions. Although themes common to the many groups resident in the country (such as honor or family loyalty) ramify throughout the country, these more easily serve to divide than to unite Afghans into multitribal and multiethnic groups. Islam, however, represents a common and potentially unifying symbolic system. The potency of Islam as a unifying factor lies partly in the essence of Islam itself, partly in the meaning of Islam to Afghans, and partly in the fact that religion is one of the few shared symbolic systems in the society. Before proceeding to a discussion of what Islam means in Afghanistan in the mid 1980s, it is necessary first to understand Islam as a religion and then to comprehend how Islam is practiced in Afghanistan.
Ethnicity and Tribe
Afghanistan is home not only to several religious sects but also to a host of different ethnic, linguistic, and tribal groups. Rivalry and even armed hostilities have traditionally been common between and within many of these groups. Historic and geographic factors have led to the creation and preservation of diversity. The relationship between tribe and ethnicity is complex, and by no means do all Afghans, even all rural Afghans, consider themselves tribal members.
In addition to social diversity, many different phenotypes may be found in the population, including blond haired, blueeyed Afghans; those with darker features and epicanthal folds; tall, olive skinned, mustachioed tribesmen; and those who combine these features. Although it may be tempting to associate certain physical features with certain ethnic groups, scholars recognize that because all human populations are capable of interbreeding and do so with great regularity, there are more physical differences found within ethnic groups than between them. Canfield has observed that in Barman, "some Hazaras [who are thought to have "Mongolian" features], especially those from the chiefly families, do not have clearly defined Mongoloid features. Instead, some have heavy beards and lack the typical Mongolian eyefolds and high cheek bones. Conversely, some persons calling themselves 'Tajik' have rather strong Mongoloid features. I consequently doubt that the relationship between phenotype and ethnic identity is very close."
Afghanistan's rugged physical environment serves to isolate residential communities and to create microenvironments. Members of the same ethnic group and tribe who reside in different locations must adapt to their own microenvironment, which may result in different kin based groups within the same tribe and ethnic group using different modes of production. For example, the Durrani Pashtuns that Tapper studied were primarily agriculturalists, while the Sheikhanzai Durrani Pashtuns, who were the subject of Tavakolian's research, were primarily pastoralists. Many Durrani also live in cities, where they may have lost their tribal identity.
Distribution
The largest and most powerful ethnic group is the Pashtun. The Pashtuns are primarily Pashtu speaking, although those residing in Kabul are often Dari speaking. Both Pashtu and Dari belong to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. In 1980 Dupree estimated that there were about 6.5 million Pashtuns in Afghanistan. This ethnic group, like most others in the country, is not limited to the borders of Afghanistan but also constitutes a major ethnic group of about 10 million in Pakistan. Pashtuns are generally Sunni, but there are Twelver Shia Pashtuns as well. In Afghanitan Pashtuns traditionally have resided in a large semicircular area following the Afghan border from north of the Darya ye Morgab east and southward to just north of 35° latitude. Enclaves of Pashtuns live scattered among other ethnic groups in much of the rest of the country, particularly in the northern regions and in the western interior owing to Amir Abdur Rahman's policy of Pashtun resettlement.
The Tajiks are also numerous. A problem in discussing this ethnic group lies in the tendency of some non Tajik groups to classify anyone who is Dari speaking as a member of this group. Some also categorize any urbanite who has become "detribalized" as Tajik. This is particularly true for Kabulis. Tajiks generally live in the west in the area around Herat, in the northwest interior, and (primarily) in the northeast of the country, although not in the Wakhan Corridor. Tajiks speak Dari and Tajik dialects of Dari. Some Tajiks are Sunni, while others (particularly those in the north of the country) are Ismaili. In 1980 Dupree estimated that there were 3.5 million Tajiks resident in the country.
Farsiwans (or Persians) are also Dari speaking. They live in western Afghanistan near the Iranian border; their area extends to almost 66° north longitude. Farsiwans, like the majority of Iranians, are Twelver Shia. In 1980 Dupree believed there to be about 600,000 Farsiwans in the country.
Qizilbash are remnants of the old Iranian presence. They are Twelver Shia, although Dupree asserts that some use taqfyya to pass as Sunni. They are a very small group found in Afghan urban centers. They are, of course, Dari speakers.
Hazaras speak a dialect of Dari and live primarily in central Afghanistan. Among Hazaras are members of every Muslim religious sect in the country Ismaili, Twelver Shia, and Sunni. Dupree put their number at 870,000 in 1980.
Altaic languages are also represented in the country by speakers of Turkic languages. The Uzbeks are Sunni who speak Uzbek, a Turkic dialect. Turkic languages are not in the same family as Indo European languages (such as Dari and Pashtu). Uzbeks live in a large semicircular area roughly following Afghanistan's northern borders, from Faryab Province almost to Feyzabad. Dupree's 1980 estimate was about 1 million people resident in the country. Turkmen are another Sunni Turkicspeaking group found scattered throughout the northernmost portion of Afghanistan along the Soviet border.
The Kirghiz are also Turkic speaking and, until recently, lived in the Pamir mountains of the Wakhan Corridor. In 1985 there were unconfirmed reports that this area was inhabited solely by Soviet and Afghan army soldiers and that the indigenous population had fled or been exiled. The Kirghiz lived it the high mountain valleys of this region, while another ethnic group, the Wakhi, occupied lowland areas. The Kirghiz are Sunnis.
The neighboring Wakhi, or Mountain Tajik, are speakers of Iranian dialects. They are often Ismaili but, according to Dupree, some Wakhi Twelver Shia and Sunni exist. They generally live in the same regions as the Kirghiz but at lower altitudes.
Nuristanis are Sunni who speak dialects of Dari and often also Pashtu. They live in the Konarha, Nangarhar, Laghman, and Parvan areas of eastern Afghanistan. The area where the Nuristanis live, Nuristan, was the scene of the first armed opposition to the Khalq government.
Arabs are a Sunni group living in northeastern Afghanistan, primarily "in an arc extending from Maimana to Kunduz." Here they speak a dialect of Farsi that is mixed with Uzbek vocabulary. Some scholars report that Arabic speaking Arab communities exist in the area of Balkh.
The selection of major ethnic groups in Afghanistan is somewhat arbitrary, as is a classification by language and location. Ethnicity is extremely complicated in the country, and any simple classification is bound to have many exceptions. Furthermore, there are many more ethnic groups than those listed here. Ethnicity has been extensively explored by scholars studying Afghanistan, and they often disagree, further complicating an already labyrinthine phenomenon.
Anderson points out the futility of attempting to locate Afghan ethnic groups on a map because "boundaries are not all of a piece . . . they vary according to the situation." Scholars disagree about what constitutes an ethnic group. Richard F. Strand, an ethnologist, and Anderson describe ethnicity as a process emerging "in situations ryhere people of different traditions and organizations come together or are brought together in contexts set by terms external to themselves." Anthropologist Hugh Beattie defines ethnic groups as "loose collectivities of people who classify themselves and others for the purposes of social interaction on the basis of varying criteria such as language, ideology of patrilineal descent, origin and history and custom in general." These two definitions need not conflict if the processual nature of social interaction is kept in mind. Patrilineal descent is also notoriously malleable and to some extent may be defined and redefined situationally. Canfield introduces a further complication. His experience in Bamian leads him to assert, unlike many other scholars, the importance of religious sectarian differences which, he contends, take precedence over ethnicity.
Ethnicity, then, is based on shared kinship traced through the father, shared customs, tradition, and language. It is most obvious and is to a large extent formed when different groups come into contact in alien situations. The importance of ethnicity as a behavioral and cognitive category is generally extremely important in Afghanistan but, in some areas, at least, may take a backseat to religious sectarianism. Finally, ethnicity, religious sect, tribe, family, and mode of subsistence intermesh and are to some extent indistinguishable. The largest and most politically powerful ethnic group, the Pashtuns (or Pakhtuns, in northern Pakhtu dialects), is very diverse. It is composed of at least seven tribal groups: the Durrani, Ghilzai, Jaji, Mangal, Safi, Mamund, and Mohmand. The Pashtuns have been the subject of several scholars' research.
Anderson reports that because Pashtuns have historically dominated government, other ethnic groups have had to learn to deal with them on the Pashtuns' own terms. He refers to the "Pashtunization" of the country's public behavior. Being a Pashtun, at least a male Pashtun, centers around Pashtunwali, or "doing Pashto." "Doing Pashto" connotes adherence to a code of behavior stressing honor (namos) and its defense, autonomy, bravery, self respect, and respect for others. It is probable that Pashtunwali is shared by all male Pashtuns. A man's namos is expressed through his ability to dominate and defend his property, including his household and his wife and female relatives. A Pashtun who has suffered a blow to his honor is expected to seek revenge in the form of physical retaliation or compensation in property or money. Such a code of behavior is often in opposition to strict interpretation of sharia. When a conflict occurs, Pashtuns tend to "do Pashto" instead of following Sunna, believing as they do that Muslim and Pashtun are equivalent.
In matters other than Pashtunwali, there may be regional differences. Richard Tapper reports that to be classified as Pashtun in the Saripul district, a man must speak Pashto, be a Sunni, trace his ancestry to Qays, and marry his sisters and daughters to other Pashtuns. Most Pashtuns in the country tend to follow this marriage pattern. It is a form of hypergamy and is also practiced by other ethnic groups, i.e., a woman may marry within her ethnic status group or above it, but she may not marry below it. Males may marry within or below their group. Because ethnic groups in Afghanistan are ranked in terms of their status and all Pashtuns consider themselves the top-ranked ethnic group, Pashtun women marry only other Pashtuns.
Interethnic Relations
Scholars studying Afghanistan quip that if Afghans were not fighting the soldiers of another country, they would be fighting each other. Relations among Afghan ethnic groups have tended to bear this out. Groups that live in close proximity often have complex and hostile relations, a situation that is exacerbated by the fact that a multiplicity of ethnic groups may reside in the same region. Furthermore, when Pashtuns have trespassed on the property of other ethnic groups, these groups have been able to do little. The Pashtun dominated government generally sided with Pashtuns, regardless of the merits of the case. Examples of interethnic conflict abound. Two examples will suggest the complexity of interethnic relations.
In Nuristan the Kom Nuristanis have been subject to the encroachments of the Gujars (another ethnic group). The Kom let some of their pastures to the Gujars in return for payment in livestock. In the late 1940s the Gujars began to renege on this agreement. Strand reports that "since then hostilities have become perennial with occasional shootings and rustlings on both sides." Government officials attempting to mediate have almost always been biased against the Kom. The Kom leaders feel that this reflected the desire of the government to promote disunity among Nuristani tribes so that it could manage them more easily. This kind of raiding was widespread among many ethnic groups in the country. Occasionally it has erupted into open warfare.
Historically, stronger groups have attempted to dominate weaker ones. The weaker groups have had the choice of moving to a harsher, more marginal environment or paying tribute to the more powerful groups. Such has been the case in the Wakhan Corridor. Both Wakhi and Kirghiz occupy this region. The Ismaili Wakhi farm and herd in the lower valleys. In addition, there are Pashtuns and Tajiks in the area who are traders supplying market goods. The traders choose their wares carefully and consciously or unconsciously foster a dependence on tea, opium, and other luxury goods. Their customers, particularly the Kirghiz, are often indebted to them. Shahrani observes that relations between Sunni Kirghiz, who inhabit the high, frigid mountain valleys, and relatively lowland Wakhi are tense. "The Kirghiz refer to Wakhi as sart (a derogatory term) and regard them as "nonbelievers." Feelings of contempt are mutual, yet both groups have developed increased economic dependence on each other." The Kirghiz cannot grow grain in their inhospitable environment and consequently must purchase this from the Wakhi. The Wakhi resort to the Kirghiz for animals and animal products, which they employ for their own use or use to pay traders. Shahrani writes that these two groups "have achieved a successful economic exchange system in a situation filled with social tensions."
Ethnic groups are perceived to be ranked in terms of status, although members of the groups in question may not always agree with members of other groups about their own status ranking. Virtually everywhere, Pashtuns are the most prestigious ethnic group, both in their own eyes and usually also in the eyes of others. The subsequent rankings vary by region, but Hazaras are almost always ranked as one of the lowest ethnic groups. They are often placed directly above the despised gypsies. Tapper reports that other groups in north central Afghanistan regard the gypsies (fats and Juggis) "as blots on the ethnic landscape."
