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Pashtunwali (Pashto: پښتونوالی) or Pakhtunwali is a non-written ethical code and traditional lifestyle which the indigenous Pashtun people follow.[1][2] It is a system of law and governance that began during prehistoric times and is preserved and still in use today, mostly in the rural tribal areas.[3] Its meaning may also be interpreted as "the way of the Pashtuns" or "the code of life".[4] Pashtunwali dates back to ancient pre-Islamic times and is widely practiced among Pashtuns,[5] especially among the non-urbanized Pashtuns in the countryside. In addition to being practiced by members of the Pashtun diaspora, it has been adopted by some non-Pashtun Afghans and Pakistanis that live in the Pashtun regions or close to the Pashtuns, who have gradually become Pashtunized over time.[4] During the Pashtun-dominated Taliban regime, Pashtunwali was practiced throughout the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in conjunction with the Taliban's interpretation of Deobandi Islam.[6][7][8]
The native Pashtun tribes, often described as fiercely independent people,[9] have inhabited the Pashtunistan region (eastern Afghanistan and north western Pakistan) since at least the 1st millennium BC.[10][11][12] During that period, much of their mountainous territory has remained outside government rule or control. This is perhaps the main reason why indigenous Pashtuns still follow Pashtunwali, which is a basic common law of the land or "code of life".
"Although it pre-dates Islam the two have become inseparable for many Pashtuns, even though in practice Pashtunwali codes often contradict the Qur’an. Such is the case with the Pashtun practice of dividing inheritances equally among sons, even though the Quran clearly states that women are to receive a share."[13]
Ideal Pukhtun behaviour approximates the features Pukhtunwali, the code of the Pukhtuns, which includes the following traditional features: courage (tora), revenge (badal), hospitality (melmestia), generosity to a defeated...[14] — Maliha Zulfacar, 1999
Pashtuns embrace an ancient traditional, spiritual, and communal identity tied to a set of moral codes and rules of behaviour, as well as to a record of history spanning some seventeen hundred years.[15]
It is the way of the Pathans. We have melmestia, being a good host, nanawatai, giving asylum, and badal, vengeance. Pashtuns live by these things.[17] — Abdur, A character in Morgen's War
Although not exclusive, the following eleven principles form the major components of Pashtunwali. They are headed with the words of the Pashto language that signify individual or collective Pashtun tribal functions.
Pakistan, Islam, Afghanistan, Kandahar, Pashtun tribes
Pashtun culture, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Pashtun diaspora, Pashto language
Pashtuns, Pashtun culture, Pashto, Pashtunistan, Pashtunwali