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The Way of the Pathans
The largest tribal society remaining in the world lives along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the area surrounding the Khyber Pass. The guiding force for its twelve million members is 'Pukhtunwali', The Way of the Pathans.The principal tribes and their characteristics, their austere and beautiful land, their turbulent history, and daily lives are presented concisely and systematically; as are the fiery sweetness of Pathan poetry, the murky violence of tribal feuds over zar, zan, and zamin, (gold, women, and land), and the perennial intrigue among the tribes and the Great Powers which has continued since Kipling first wrote of The Great Game.
190 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 1972
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February 25, 2022
As Sir Olaf Caroe said 'there is a strange fascination among living in the Pathans. Many attempts have been made to catch and convey that feeling, but the spell is elusive'.
With a history going back a thousand years, the Pathans are an ancient people. Pukhtunwali, the Way of the Pathans, is their way of life. James Spain, so nostalgically, tried to explore this fascination in the 1950s, roaming the Frontier.
The unchallenged queen of the Pathan cities 'Peshawar', it's bustling bazaars booming with business by the Afridis and Shinwaris and Orakzais, the famous Qissakhani Bazaar', Chowk YadGarthe tea-stalls, Edwardes College are but some of Peshawar's most intriguing charms.
The Afridis of the Khyber, tall, handsome men possessing a calm and dignity, guardians of the passes.
Beyond the Malakand Pass which connects three princely states Dir, Swat, Chitral, the pine forests covering the flanks of the mountains, lay high green valleys, where live the 'Kohistanis', the 'people of the mountains'.
Mardan, house of the Yousafzais, a deceptively peaceful-looking land of lush fields. Mohmmands, living north of the Khyber and the Kabul River, a hilly and inaccessible country. The countryside of Charsadda, where lay the Mohammadzai village of Utmanzais, a small and well-settled Pathan clan.
Kohat lying south to Peshawar, and Kurram Valley to it's west. The beautiful Kurram Valley, the only ribbon of fertility in the entire tribal area. River Kurram, both sides of which are dotted with fields of Artemisia, finds its way to Afghanistan, the high snowy peaks of Paktia can be seen in the background of it.
Waziristan, the dark and bloody ground, where live the Wazirs, the largest Southern tribe, with a reputation of savage aggressiveness.
Ghilzais, the only true nomads among the Pathans. The Pathan poetry especially the warrior bard of Khushal Khan Khattak; Melmastia the Pathan hospitality; the Pathan women covered in several layers, yet brave, resourceful and honorable; a diverse deep language, a hillman's tendency, loving their own barren hills with so fierce a passion - a Pathan is a essentially a warrior tribesman.
This book is written with such a loving nostalgia. In just 190 pages, the Pathan culture and life is described beautifully.
With a history going back a thousand years, the Pathans are an ancient people. Pukhtunwali, the Way of the Pathans, is their way of life. James Spain, so nostalgically, tried to explore this fascination in the 1950s, roaming the Frontier.
The unchallenged queen of the Pathan cities 'Peshawar', it's bustling bazaars booming with business by the Afridis and Shinwaris and Orakzais, the famous Qissakhani Bazaar', Chowk YadGarthe tea-stalls, Edwardes College are but some of Peshawar's most intriguing charms.
The Afridis of the Khyber, tall, handsome men possessing a calm and dignity, guardians of the passes.
Beyond the Malakand Pass which connects three princely states Dir, Swat, Chitral, the pine forests covering the flanks of the mountains, lay high green valleys, where live the 'Kohistanis', the 'people of the mountains'.
Mardan, house of the Yousafzais, a deceptively peaceful-looking land of lush fields. Mohmmands, living north of the Khyber and the Kabul River, a hilly and inaccessible country. The countryside of Charsadda, where lay the Mohammadzai village of Utmanzais, a small and well-settled Pathan clan.
Kohat lying south to Peshawar, and Kurram Valley to it's west. The beautiful Kurram Valley, the only ribbon of fertility in the entire tribal area. River Kurram, both sides of which are dotted with fields of Artemisia, finds its way to Afghanistan, the high snowy peaks of Paktia can be seen in the background of it.
Waziristan, the dark and bloody ground, where live the Wazirs, the largest Southern tribe, with a reputation of savage aggressiveness.
Ghilzais, the only true nomads among the Pathans. The Pathan poetry especially the warrior bard of Khushal Khan Khattak; Melmastia the Pathan hospitality; the Pathan women covered in several layers, yet brave, resourceful and honorable; a diverse deep language, a hillman's tendency, loving their own barren hills with so fierce a passion - a Pathan is a essentially a warrior tribesman.
This book is written with such a loving nostalgia. In just 190 pages, the Pathan culture and life is described beautifully.
Displaying 1 of 1 review