Pashtuns
From Complex Operations Wiki
"Pashtuns’ motivations for choosing how to identify and organize politically— including whether or not to support the Afghan government or the insurgency—are flexible and pragmatic. “Tribe” is only one potential choice of identity among many, and not necessarily the one that guides people’s decision-making. Scholars who have performed research in Afghanistan are unanimous in the view that Pashtun “tribes” aren’t political units that act collectively. Anthropologists have long noted the tendency of Pashtuns to form factions that don’t break down along tribal lines. Because these local strongmen have, in many places in rural Pashtun areas, replaced the former tribal organizations or at least competed successfully against them, Pashtun areas have started to resemble non-Pashtun areas more and more. In other parts of Afghanistan, like the northern areas inhabited by Tajiks, Uzbeks, and others that are not tribal, local strongmen convince people to follow them either by force or by charismatic leadership and patronage. Though tribe is a factor in Pashtun society, it is neither the only source of Pashtun identity nor the only foundation of Pashtun social organization. Traditions of shared kinship have formed the narrative foundations for Pashtun tribal organization, and historical forces have reinforced these structures. However, both in the past and where kin-based social structures still exist among Pashtuns, other social forms routinely arise and trump the importance of tribe and tribal organization. Rivalry between close male relatives, the formation of factions within kin groups, and the dynamics of patronage make Pashtun social structures far more complex than if they followed the classical anthropological definition of 'tribe.'"[ref 1]
- Kakar Super Tribe
- Khostwal Super Tribe
- Mangal Super Tribe
- Shinwari Super Tribe
- Bangash Tribe
- Betani Qabayil Tribe
- Dalazak Tribe
- Dawarh Tribe
- Gorbaz Tribe
- Hani Tribe
- Jadoon Tribe
- Kakarh Qaum
- Kasi Tribe
- Khogiani
- Lodhi Qabayil
- Mahsood Tribe
- Malagori Tribe
Links
- Pashtun people - Wikipedia
References
- ↑ "My Cousin’s Enemy is My Friend: A Study of Pashtun "Tribes" in Afghanistan," Afghanistan Research Reachback Center White Paper TRADOC G2 Human Terrain System, United States Army, Fort Leavenworth, KS, September 2009, http://easterncampaign.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/my-cousins-enemy-is-my-friend-a-study-of-pashtun-tribes.pdf
