The Vanishing Institution Of Hujra

[ijaz yousafzai]

Malgaro!

Hujra plays a significant role in the Pakhtun culture. In fact the Hujra institution augmented and consolidated the Pakhtuns virtue of " Melmastya", which is a very glaring character of " Pakhtunwali". Hujra taught tha Pakhtuns the lessons of Pakhtunwali, da mashar kashar tameez, where mashar used to sit on the Head and Kashar on the Tail (Langa) of the cot.This is un-matchable in any other nation.We had story tellers in Hujra in the long chilling nights of winter and kala kala sitar ao rabap. But alas the Hujra Institution is vanishing and dismantling very rapidly. We will be discussing the multifacet role of Hujra in Pakhtun society.

[Zarawar]

Malgaro!

Hujra plays a significant role in the Pakhtun culture. In fact the Hujra institution augmented and consolidated the Pakhtuns virtue of " Melmastya", which is a very glaring character of " Pakhtunwali". Hujra taught tha Pakhtuns the lessons of Pakhtunwali, da mashar kashar tameez, where mashar used to sit on the Head and Kashar on the Tail (Langa) of the cot.This is un-matchable in any other nation.We had story tellers in Hujra in the long chilling nights of winter and kala kala sitar ao rabap. But alas the Hujra Institution is vanishing and dismantling very rapidly. We will be discussing the multifacet role of Hujra in Pakhtun society.

Ijaz yousafzai saib,
I know alot of Pashtun customes are fading away, but when it comes to guests and Hujras. Alhamdulillah I assure you that as long as the very "pashtun" ideology exists, we are going to have balashtona and toshakey with tens and hundreds having a "jirga" on it.
Don't you worry and sweat about this one, oh and the "chawkai" (tables, couches) have made everything even worst. If you want to maintain a Hujra, get rid of anything materialistic, e.g. TV, chairs, tables, stereos etc.
(this only implies to HUJRAS in Pashtunkhwa and Afghanistan, not WEST)

[Millatpal Noorzai]

په پښتنو کی ده حجری دود اوس هم هغسی پاته دئ څنګه چی زموږ مشرانو پاللئ ؤ خو په حجرو کی هغه جرګی ،رباب او نکلونه ورځ په ورځ کمیږی او ځائ یی ده نوی زمان رواجونه او ساعت تیری آلات نیسی

[Master Khan]

there are still hujras, Beetak etc in our village ...it will never go away.

[Badlun]

We must differentiate between the traditional Hujra of a Khan where other people of the village used to sit at the Hujra at night and used to participate in discussions and musical evenings and the modern individual houses based guest houses with different names as Dera , Betak, guest room, drawing room etc.

The later one still exists but the one or two hujras of Khans in a village are vanishing because now each person has a place to receive his or her guests and the role of Hujra as a community center for the whole village is now disappearing.

The traditional hujra had a very important role of separating secular from the religious. Khan or the leader of the community was responsable for the cultural, social ,economic, educational,political and other issues of the Pashtun society while the Mulla in the mosque was responsable for the religious stuff like beliefs, worship and morality hence the division of Hujra and Jumat. Now Pashtun society is facing the worst situation of making Mulla also responsable for the secular and non religious aspects of Pashtun life.

[Zarawar]

We must differentiate between the traditional Hujra of a Khan where other people of the village used to sit at the Hujra at night and used to participate in discussions and musical evenings and the modern individual houses based guest houses with different names as Dera , Betak, guest room, drawing room etc.

The later one still exists but the one or two hujras of Khans in a village are vanishing because now each person has a place to receive his or her guests and the role of Hujra as a community center for the whole village is now disappearing.

The traditional hujra had a very important role of separating secular from the religious. Khan or the leader of the community was responsable for the cultural, social ,economic, educational,political and other issues of the Pashtun society while the Mulla in the mosque was responsable for the religious stuff like beliefs, worship and morality hence the division of Hujra and Jumat. Now Pashtun society is facing the worst situation of making Mulla also responsable for the secular and non religious aspects of Pashtun life.

Mullan and religious leaders were always a part of our hujras, they might not be as political as today. But, they did have a big part in making decisions and solving problems.
Secularism is what destroyed our society!

[Zarawar]

Zarawar we have had Hujras before Islam came. But now Islam is part of our identity.

Nobody knows that, and nobody can proof that.
And even if that, everyone had guests and guest rooms prior to Islam, not only pashtuns.
Also, I was reffering to history as in centuries etc, not millennium (thousands of years). God knows, what type of civilization we were prior to Islam.

No wonder the present day Afghanistan was once called "Land of Bones". Because, we would leave our dead ones outside, so the carnivores can eat them and leave the bones behind.
I doubt, Hujra had any importance to those people...(keyword: doubt) don't assume it is WHAT I said.

[erlangner]

Hagha waee kanna,

Pa joomat ao pa Hujra ke tameez na kaee
Dagha sheikh ta me pa de khabaray okre

Hujra was and is still a social institution where we learn our culture and customs.
Ya moderanism and Mullaism has deastroyed it to much extent, however it is stuill working especially in rural pashtun areas.
Its role can never be denied. It is not only for melmasteya, but for teaching the new generation our culture.

[Badlun]

Mullan and religious leaders were always a part of our hujras, they might not be as political as today. But, they did have a big part in making decisions and solving problems.
Secularism is what destroyed our society!

Can you imagine a traditional Pashtun Hujra with all the musical instrument like mangey, rabab ,sitar ,baja ,shpelai , the competition of Tappas or Landai, charbetey, nimakai, political discussions , festivals and a MULLA there.

The difference of Hujra and JUmat was always there. Mulla was in charge of the Jumat while a Pashtun leader or Khan was in charge of Hujra. Khan used to go to mosque to offer his prayers in the leadership of Mulla and Mulla used to come to Hujra only if he had to recite Azaan in the ears of a new born baby or if there was a funeral prayer in the court yard of the Hujra. This was perefct secularism and great balance between religion on one side and culture, society and politics at the other side. The day this balance was disturbed and Mulla became our political, cultural and social leader too and wanted to impose the Arab culture and extremism on us , we have all these problems of Taliban terrorism and a war like situation.

[Zarawar]

Can you imagine a traditional Pashtun Hujra with all the musical instrument like mangey, rabab ,sitar ,baja ,shpelai , the competition of Tappas or Landai, charbetey, nimakai, political discussions , festivals and a MULLA there.

The difference of Hujra and JUmat was always there. Mulla was in charge of the Jumat while a Pashtun leader or Khan was in charge of Hujra. Khan used to go to mosque to offer his prayers in the leadership of Mulla and Mulla used to come to Hujra only if he had to recite Azaan in the ears of a new born baby or if there was a funeral prayer in the court yard of the Hujra. This was perefct secularism and great balance between religion on one side and culture, society and politics at the other side. The day this balance was disturbed and Mulla became our political, cultural and social leader too and wanted to impose the Arab culture and extremism on us , we have all these problems of Taliban terrorism and a war like situation.

Khanan are gone not because Mullah took over or forced them to leave/flee, but because WESTERN SECULARISM destroyed the core of Pashtunwali/Khani/melmastia etc.
Now a days, parents don't motivate their children to work for the Pashtun society or even their native tribes. Instead, it's all about jealousy, bling and materialism. Everyone is worried about buying the newest mercedez or the newest armored lexus. Hujras existed because everyone's mindsets agreed on the fact that we come from the same blood. Old, young, poor and rich would get around dastarkhwan in a Hujra, this isn't the case now a days.
I guess there were some efforts during the 90s to root out Pashtunwali/tribal system by Pakistan, through different Mujahideen factions. But, that also has nothing to do with Mullah, but "las potsee" godagian that approach you in the form of a "mullah".
The west/ want you to despise Mullah and blame him for the tribal issues. Lets assume that "Mullahs" didn't existed in this situation. Do you think we would have been any better?
No, we still would have been competing and trying to be the richest and the best. Western secularism, through media, has influenced our people a lot.
Tarbgani is on the hike, each cousin wants to be rich and better than the other cousin...

[Zarawar]

The typical village Mullah is still the same as they used to be (i.e. very private, sangeen and khamosh type)
It's the political Mullahs (that are not even Mullahs), that gives our real Mullahs a bad name, and that's why it's wrong to blame "Mullahs" in general.
It's like blaming Islam for what Alqaeda does or blaming Islam for what Taleban does?

[Badlun]

Khanan are gone not because Mullah took over or forced them to leave/flee, but because WESTERN SECULARISM destroyed the core of Pashtunwali/Khani/melmastia etc.
Now a days, parents don't motivate their children to work for the Pashtun society or even their native tribes. Instead, it's all about jealousy, bling and materialism. Everyone is worried about buying the newest mercedez or the newest armored lexus. Hujras existed because everyone's mindsets agreed on the fact that we come from the same blood. Old, young, poor and rich would get around dastarkhwan in a Hujra, this isn't the case now a days.
I guess there were some efforts during the 90s to root out Pashtunwali/tribal system by Pakistan, through different Mujahideen factions. But, that also has nothing to do with Mullah, but "las potsee" godagian that approach you in the form of a "mullah".
The west/ want you to despise Mullah and blame him for the tribal issues. Lets assume that "Mullahs" didn't existed in this situation. Do you think we would have been any better?
No, we still would have been competing and trying to be the richest and the best. Western secularism, through media, has influenced our people a lot.
Tarbgani is on the hike, each cousin wants to be rich and better than the other cousin...

I agree that materialism and the quest for wealth has derailed Pashtuns from the path of Pashtunwali as very well described above but secularism has nothing to do with this. Secularism is just to sepaarte Church from the state and in our case Hujra from the mosque or Jumat and giving due role to each one of these to establish an equilibrium in society and this is what we see in the west and is the main cause of the development of the West and this amalgam of jumat and hujra in our society is the main cause of our downfall.

Khan is not the symbolic elite or a cruel despotic elite but a political, social or cultural leader of Pashtun responsable for the non religious counter part of Mulla. Khan can be any Pashtun not necessarily a rich man with more property. Any one who can offer food, shelter, hospitality and political leadership to a pashtun village or a town or another unit of the Pashtun populace.Khan did not disappear because of Mulla but because of the Taliban, political parties like Jumate islami, Jamiate islami, tableeghyan, JUI, Hizbe Islami etc.

I agree that still the traditional role of Mulla in a jumat exist and Hujras still function but the over all political and cultural scene of Pashtuns is dominated by religious pandits.

[Zarawar]

Khan did not disappear because of Mulla but because of the Taliban, political parties like Jumate islami, Jamiate islami, tableeghyan, JUI, Hizbe Islami etc.

that is what I was trying to portray, that Mullah ghareeb has nothing to do with the downfall of tribal Pashtun society.
It's the political Mullahs that people mistake them for the real ones, I think there should be a public awareness campaign amongst the Pashtun society, not to get fooled by Silk turbans and Henna beards. And, just because someone happens to be a Sheikh ul Hadith (Sayyaf) or professor (Ustad Rabbani) doesn't mean whatever he spits is going to be fair and neutral of social bias. Afghans are very loyal and good followers when it comes to, obeying the elder or more knowledgeable authority. Afghans look at every bearded man with a turban as their mentor or spiritual leader. This shouldn't be the case, in other words generalization of the false fact that "every one with a beard is a good musalman" should be rooted out.

[Badlun]

I 100% agree with what you said in your last post with the addition of the names like Mulla Omar, Maulana fazlu rahman, Qazi Hussein Ahmad, Gul badin Hikmatyar and many others Political Mullas and Taliban.

[Zarawar]

I 100% agree with what you said in your last post with the addition of the names like Mulla Omar, Maulana fazlu rahman, Qazi Hussein Ahmad, Gul badin Hikmatyar and many others Political Mullas and Taliban.

If these people really have worked against the interests of Afghanistan, may God confront them what we already went through (i.e. widows, orphans and losing their loved ones)