Pashtun
Pashtun (Pakhtun, Pushtoon) refers to the predominant ethnic group of Afghanistan, which has for centuries represented the political and military elite. Before the eighteenth century, the Pashtan were also known as Afghans, but with the creation of modern Afghanistan in 1747, that name came to identify any person born in the country and lost its distinctive ethnic connotation. The difference between the words "Pashtun" and "Pakhtun" is purely phonetic. The term "Pathan" is less accurate; adopted by the English during the colonial period, it is still in use in the present state of Pakistan to identify the Pashtun people who have settled within Pakistan's borders.
Pashtun origins are still disputed. Though Pashtun traditions claim a Jewish origin—the common tribal ancestor being Afghana, a grandson of King Saul of Israel—the language belongs to the Indo-European stock. Between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Pashtun extended their influence over the Afghan region, migrating also toward the western borders of the Indian subcontinent. In 1747, the Ghilzays, a powerful Pashtun tribe with many subdivisions, invaded the Persian empire, putting an end to the Safavid dynasty(1501–1722/1736). Also in 1747, the Pashtun Abd'ali commander, Ahmad Shah (1722—1773), established himself as first amir (king) of Afghanistan, and the Abd'alis became the predominant tribe of the country. Thereafter, the Abd'alis were known as Durranis, from Ahmad Shah's appellative Durr-i Durran (Pearl of Pearls).
The Pashtun traditionally have a strong and distinctive tribal structure, organized into tribal subsections (tribes, clans, subclans) according to the male bloodline descent from an eponymous ancestor. The two main groups of tribes are the Durranis, who held the principal political positions, and the Ghilzays, but there are at least sixty tribes of different importance and size. The powerful nomadic traditions and close links with the practice of transhumance and animal husbandry gave them great mobility over, and knowledge of, the harsh Afghan territory, enhancing their warfaring attitudes against any external aggression. Indeed, Pashtun have always been attracted to the military life, while blood feuds and disputes are even today a characteristic of inter and intratribal relations.
Pashtun soldiers in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in December 2001. (REUTERS NEWMEDIA INC./CORBIS)These warrior traditions have been "codified" in the Pakhtunwali, the unwritten code observed by Pashtun warriors to preserve their honor. Basic elements of this code are hospitality, the blood feud, the right/duty of asylum, and the defense of the honor of the women of one's own tribal subsection. From a religious point of view, Pashtun are Sunni Muslims.
In 1999, Pashtun in Afghanistan were estimated to be almost 10 million (38 percent of the total population), settled mainly in the Kabul area, in Kandahar, and along the eastern borders. In Pakistan, there were around 15 to 16 million Pashtun, concentrated in North West Province and Baluchistan.
Further Reading
Caroe, Olaf. (1983) The Pathans: With an Epilogue on Russia. New enlarged ed. Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press.
Dupree, Louis. (1980) Afghanistan. New enlarged ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
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