|
Culture and Religion
The Baluch's consciousness of their common
cultural heritage constitutes another significant foundation of their
nationalism. As manifested in a set of shared social norms, value
systems, traditions, and folklore, the Baluchi cultural values together
with their cultural environment are the focus of nationalist appeals for
broader popular support for their overall demands of which cultural
autonomy is only one. The Baluch see themselves as heirs to an ancient
culture that has served as a strong unifying force giving them the sense
of a distinctive identity and enabling them to counter the ever-present
threat of absorption and assimilation into surrounding cultures. So they
have successfully preserved their cultural traditions throughout
recorded history. "To, a great extent” wrote Selig Harrison, "it is the
vitality of this ancient cultural heritage that explains the tenacity of
the present demand for the political recognition of Baluch
identity." (59)
Naturally, the Baluch culture is a function
of their natural habitat or envirollll1ent as l11uch as their history.
The geographical isolation of the Baluch plateau and the barrenness of
its land are two major ecological factors which have left a strong
impact on all aspects of Baluchi society including its culture.
Traditionally, the former has served, to strength its intra-dynamics by
isolating and freeing it from the ever-present menace of absorption by,
and into the adjacent cultures, while the latter has been responsible
for the development of a predominantly feudal and tribal economy and way
of life as reflected in the southern part or Makurn and the northern
parts, respectively. “The monotony and barrenness of the country," wrote
Sardar Khan, “is reciprocally reflected in the Baluch physical
and mental, Make-up. His food and costume are si111ple and so
simple are his demands, Obedience, hospitality, tenacity, bravery and
endurance are his supreme virtues."
(60)
Many British colonial officials have
testified to Baluch hospitality and generosity. As stated by
Dames, ”the Baluch exalts generosity into the first of all
virtues” (61) Although both nomads and townsfolk are bound by a
common culture based on a historically evolved set of economic,
social, Political, military, and lingual interactions, each has
retained some parochial cultural traits of its own. In western
Baluchistan,
for example, the settled population applies the designation "Baluch"
specifically to the members of the nomadic tribes, while the latter
refer to the former shahri or townsfolk, implying a deviation of
the strict Baluchi martial code.
In cultural terms, there is a great sense of communalism
affecting the set of rules, norms, and values governing the social and
economic relations in both groups. This is best manifested in such a
social institution as open divan (council) held regularly in
each' village, town, and among tribes with the purpose of publicly
discussing and addressing major social political and legal issues of
public concern. Another such institution is hashar (communal
cooperation) that is participation at the request of any individual in
such affairs as sowing the land, harvesting crops, constructing a home,
mosques;' etc. Yet another example is the institution of bejjar;
when an individual is assisted upon request on such occasions as
marriage, divorce, or heavy debt in order to enable him to cope with the
expected cost or burden.
Historically the
constant threat of invasion by neighboring empires on the one hand, and
the chronic inter tribal/feudal wars have resu1ted in the spread of a
Spartan like culture dominated by and large by a code of martial honor
with all its accompanying vices and virtues as has been testified to by
medieval sources, British colonial officers and administrators, and
other European and non-European travelers and observers And so is the
bulk of their classic poetry which, for the most part, consists of epics
or heroic ballads describing their wars and ventures. The most striking
example is the thirty years' tribal wars between the Rinds and Lashari
tribes. "For full thirty years, we fought among ourselves," goes a
sixteenth-century ballad, referring to the event, "and this is the cause
of the Baluchi misfortune. (62)
Another sixteenth-century balhid states
that “my white sandals are my sted, for my sons you may choose
the arrows, for my son-in-law the pointed dagger, for my brethren the
broad shield, for my father the wide-wounding sword.”(63)
.Consequently, farmers, craftsmen, and women were relegated to a
secondary position, while traits such as swordsmanship, marksmanship,
and. the avenging of blood were regarded high on the social agenda.
Equally
important for the Baluch is the Islamic faith and culture to which they
adhere. the overwhelming majority belonging to the Hanafi rite of the
Sunni sect. There are some Karamatis, Zikris, and Shaites, but their
number is very insignificant. Correspondingly. Islamic laws or Sharia
and Islamic institutions playa very important role in the overall
aspects of Baluchi society. This is particularly the case in western
Baluchistan where the weakening of traditional tribal power structure by
the central government of Iran on the one hand, and the threat percieved
from the dominant Shiates on the other hand have led Baluchi religious
leaders, known as the Maulavis, to enhance their power and role in
recent years, Ironically, for the same reasons that the Persians
used Shiism to counter the Sunni Arabs and Turks in the sixteenth
century, the Baluch, particularly in western Baluchistan, view Sunnism
as a significant manifestation of their nationalism, as will be
discussed in chapter IV.<---back to index---
(59) Harrison, In Afghanistan's Shadow. p. 11.
(60) Sardar Khan, T1Je Great BalLich Race. p. 169. (G 1)
Dames, POpliJIll' Poel1y of tlIe Balocl1es. p. 28.
(62) Marri, Searc111igl1ts: p. GO (with some
alternation in translation). |
