PukhtunWomen

this article has been posted with the kind permission of Khurshaid Khan of www.valleyswat.net

Unexpected technological changes that have crept into the Pukhtun Society of Swat are putting psychological stress on both males and the females alike. The stress is more profound in the female section of the Society, an allusion to the traditional life in Swat in part testifies to it.

The capability of women to contribute to the sustainable development of the region has been hampered due to external and internal factors. The difficulty in being able to have access to an education facility, and their seclusion from the outside world are two major contributing factors. Furthermore, house hold responsibilities have increased and expanded, and social change has resulted in added stress.

Their household work contribution can not be overlooked. They still contribute a lot to the development of the area but the region loses approximately half of its talent by ignoring/sidestepping the female section of society.

Women's contributions in the traditional society were not less than male counterparts, (not identical though), and this helped meet a need for psychological and social fulfillment through various traditional activities too.

Womens roles varied in her duties and she had to step outside her home to perform her various duties: she kept the home supplied with drinking water, which she usually had to travel some distance to get to the village stream or spring, and she would supplement the daily meals with certain wild growing plants (Sabah).

The culture ensured their protection at the (Shat (Goodar), the fields (Pate/) and everywhere. The men would never violate the sanctity of women even inadvertently not only due to fear of retribution but their inherent regard for their tradition.

The headfirst jump into adopting technology and value acceptance, have dealt a blow to various cultural activities, the Goodar, the primary area where almost all the girls and women had to visit once a day. Goodar and the field were not only places where work had to be done, but gossip, problem sharing and ideas exchange was the common features that occurred there.Goodar has attracted poets and folklorists as is clear from the following tapi.

Biya ba mangi tha gwathey na kram
da dey pa waja ratha jorr shoo fassadoona

I will never go to fetch water (from Goodar)
This pitcher has led me to many troubles

b>Da Jalala goodara waran shey
Pa jinako di sa landey walagawoona

May the Jalala goodar lay in ruins
you have made the girls short of breathless

Pa goodar soor saloo khakara sho
cha vey pa thoroo obo wor walageydoona

A red shawl emerged at the goodar
Someone exclaimed, behold the dark water is on fire!

Goodara waran shavey war di thair sho
Da paighloo junoo dar la na razi sayloona

Oh goodar your glory has passed
The virgins no longer come to visit

In addition to these frequent and continuous opportunities of mingling and socializing, many other opportunities were also provided by the culture to women and girls. Those included the following;
Engagement and wedding ceremonies were favorite occasions for enjoyment. Weeks before the wedding, the girls from the neighborhood would beat drums (damame), sing and dance in the wedding house and the activity would reach to its climax on the day of wedding.

Now the social interaction among the women is very rare and the diffusion of modern tools of entertainment like TVs. VCRs and cassette players has taken the place of the traditional drum beating etc.

Historically Pukhtun believe in mysticism. Visits to Holy shrines were common especially in spring season. Men and women, in separate groups would regularly visit the Shrines of Saints. Women irrespective of their socio-economic status, walked on foot to the far-flung Shrine of Pir Baba in Buner. On the way to Buner they would cross the tough and hard route of Sheratrap pass in Ellum Mountain, singing and beating their tambourines (Thumbel). It would be an interesting adventure cum picnic. Interestingly, in such a strict and male dominated traditional society no one showed any sign of objection, but now it has become the stuff of legend and the new generation of girls can not even believe that such adventures were once not only allowed but were very common. This kind of outing also drew the attention of poets and they wrote a lot of romantic poems that were an input to the body of Pukhto folklore. The following tapae are some examples.

Pa thavizoonoo poora na shwa
oos ba jolay pa zyarathoonoo garzavooma

The sacred amulets are ineffective
I will now beg at the shrines

Portha zyaratha, rarasegey
da Swat da sara pa gharaz raghaley yama

Exalted shrine please help me
from Swat I come, praying my wish be granted

Raza chi Pir Baba la lar shoo
derr zorawar dey, swal pa lara qablaweena

Let's go to Pirbaba
so powerful is he, he will grant your wish before you get there

Vishtaley ma yey, rogh ba nashey
Ka da Buner poori wakrey zyrathoona

The poisonous arrows of my eyes have pierced you
There is no hope of recovery, even at the shrine at Bunair

The gathering of women to celebrate the birth of male baby was also an important occasion. On this occasion a special kind of dish would be prepared, called Laitai. It would be made of flour, home made purified buuter and brown sugar , that would take hours of stirring. The elder and experienced women would be specially invited to prepare the dish.

Circumcision was a time of great pomp and show. After the act of circumcision, the village drummer {Dum/nai) would start drumming and the women inside the house would spontaneously burst into dancing and the old women would shower nuts and dry fruits on them. These days such activities are rare and the elders usually nostalgically remind the younger generations.

In the month of June (harr) young girls in a house would sit together to prepare spaghetti/noodles. they would collectively roll out their long strings of dough over the bottom of their pitchers. These noodles would then be fed to their brothers and their brothers friends, with lots of milk, purified butter and brown sugar .

Learning to read Quran the girls used to visit the home of an old women teacher. Here they not only learnt the recitation but also enjoyed socializing, playing and exchanging gossip, they would take left over bread, a few tomatoes and chilies to make a juggay (salsa), to share after their lessons were over. They would also help their teacher with housework.

Cooking rice in their own little pots on the 10th day of Muharam was something all the girls would look forward too. They would gather at one house and sitting around the fire place, or starting a whole line of little fires over which they would cook their rice and while waiting for it to cook they would sing songs of praise for the martyrs of Karbala.

Collective cleaning of grains and refinishing their stone walls with a fresh coat of mud plaster were also interesting activities. Women painted on mud walls inside the house and carved art on the mud finish of their grain storage vats (Kandoo), these were some of the ways the expressive arts ocame to play. These days the diffusion of ready made concrete tiles and modern architecture has sadly replaced their art.

On Eid days women would visit shrines not only for the sake of entertainment but other purposes were served by the gathering as well i.e., the interaction among girls would culminate in lasting relationships, girls would display their new clothes, women of low strata would sell things and general exchange of views on different subjects would take place. Such activities do take place but on a very small scale.

In the new social set-up the said activities, could not be carried out the way they were carried out in the past. Furthermore, their revival in original form is out of question due to many reasons, alternative activities that do not conflict with the prevalent local customs of the people can be sought, to ensure female involvement on the one hand, release them from depression and frustration on the other.