afghanistan
Hospitality or mehman nawazi, is equally important to all Afghans.
Having guests for a meal and inviting them to stay over, or providing
accommodation for travellers, is both meritorious and enhances the status
of both the host and guest. In rural Afghanistan travellers have the right
of free board for three nights and village heads and khans keep a well-
appointed guest room for this purpose. Honour too is a key building block
of all Afghan peoples. In Pushtu nang and ghairat are the foundation stones
of pushtunwali, while in Persianate culture the ethics of honour are rooted
in the ancient Iranian chivalric tradition known as jawanmardi, which is
enshrined particularly in the great pre-Islamic epic the Shah Nama, or
Book of Kings. Jawanmardi is also a central theme of the heroic sagas of
the Mongols, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz.
The world of honour is rooted in the exalting of manly, warrior
virtues and the pursuit of public honour. Honour can be either ascribed or
achieved. Ascribed honour is derived from one’s birth, blood and historic
honours bestowed on the qaum by the state or religious institutions. Honour
is achieved by valour in battle, especially in a jihad, generosity, hospital-
ity, endowment of public institutions, literary achievement, public service
and being a good Muslim. In Uzbek and Turkman culture, adult males
also achieve honour through their skill as chapandaz or wrestlers. The flip
side of this honour-centric world view is the need to avoid sharm – shame
or disgrace – or a ‘blackened face’. Shame covers a whole variety of nega-
tive acts, from disrespect of one’s elders, to cowardice, public disgrace or
Hospitality is a foundational value in all Afghan societies. Here a family in northern
Afghanistan enjoy the traditional pot of tea in their walled garden.