Features of Person and Society in Swat ~ (Fredrik Barth, 1981)

[یاسمینه]

Fredrik Barth, Features of Person and Society in Swat. Collected Essays on Pathans.

[emkhan]

Thank you Yasmeenah khor for uploading some material about my swat. I will read the whole article inshallah.

[یاسمینه]

Don' forget that essays were written based on author's experiences from 1960-1974 and that maybe your Swat has changed during last 30-40 years.

[emkhan]

Yes It has changed a lot especially when it got merged with Pakistan and the justice system gone.

[emkhan]

Quick question, anybody know why only the "Land Owner" caste are reffered to as "Pakhtun", even though the other castes are Pakhtuns themselves?

The land owners are not refered to as pashtuns my dear... But it is true that Pashtuns are a special class, every pashto speaker is not pashtoon.

[emkhan]

I mean this

Yes that time, only a special class "pukhtana" were the owners of the land. Others like mullahs and miangaan or syeds were given pieces of land by the pukhtana khalaq for their services and the honour that they had in the society...
The other people that you mentioned in the list were given grains like wheat, rice or whatever we have according to the season.
Adam you belong to swat but you seem to be very less informed about your society and your people ???

[Michin Khel]

Quick question, anybody know why only the "Land Owner" caste are reffered to as "Pakhtun", even though the other castes are Pakhtuns themselves?

Actually it was in old times. Now karigars can buy lands. I have talked with masharan, according to them, pashtuns allowed karigars to live in their lands in return for loyalty and service...and the pashtun had to protect the honour of the karigar family and even had to take revenge for them if some harm was inflicted on them. these karigars and other non-pashtuns were not allowed to buy land, but were allowed to live on it.forexample you have one acre land and you allow a family but on condition that they would obey you. After so many generations now the lands they are living on, legally belong to them and they are not answerable to true pashtuns...but still they accept the jirga decisions of qaum among which they live...they speak pashto and have adopted pashtun culture. But they dont follow pashtunwali to that extent... E.g they dont kill on the name of ghairat. Many of them dont follow their profession any more but are still labeled with the profession of their ancestors.
Their ratio is more in In urban areas and one of the main identification is that they do not belong to any pashtun tribe , they outside their village they link themeselves with a tribe.

[emkhan]

Thats why im here

Yes but the things have changed a lot now... The commercialism and education have brought so many changes in our society, like the non pashtuns that you mentioned in your list are well educated and most of the businesses are owned by them. So financially they are stronger than the Pukhtana khalaq as a whole.
Pukhtana khalaq sticked to their land and spent their lives in their lands sowing and reaping but now even they are coming to education and businesses.
The reasons you left your homeland for have gone now, now you should come back to your homeland.