The Pathans live in what is now northwest Pakistan and southeast Afghanistan. This part of central Asia is surrounded by huge mountain ranges, the Himalayas, the Pamirs, and the Hindu Kush in the north and the Sulaiman ranges running north to south along the Pathan territory. These mountain ranges had to be crossed by conquerors such as Darius, Alexander the Great, and the Mongol hordes as they pursued their expansion eastward. And the Pathan territory contained one of the choicest mountain passes, the Khyber Pass.
Although many conquering dynasties passed through the land of the Pathans, none was ever able to subjugate them, nor did the Pathans ever pay tribute to anyone. They are known throughout the world and pride themselves as being great warriors, not answering to anyone's laws but their own. Even today, along the roads of the northwest frontier in Pakistan there are signs put up by the government warning people not be venture off the road after dark.
The term Pathan refers to many different tribes, among which are the Durranis, Afridis, Yusufxai, Mohmands, Wazirs, and Mahsuds. They are united by language, ancestry, and adherence to a common code of behavior, called Pusktuwali, which means the "way of the Pathans." The Pathan's first loyalty is to his own tribe, but fierce fighting breaks out both within and between the different tribes. Pathans place extreme importance on the chastity of their women, and this accounts for much of the fighting within the tribes. If one man as much as looks at another man's wife it can be construed as a cause for mortal combat! Entire families have been wiped out as a result of a misconstrued glance, and women's faces are kept covered to avoid this sort of problem.
Another cause of hostilities between tribes are raids initiated by tribes living in the more barren territory against their wealthier neighbors. Much of the Pathan's life is dedicated to vendetta and revenge, due to their belief in badal - an eye for an eye. They have been known to carry grudges through generations. But an equally important creed, called melmastia, urges extreme hospitality toward strangers, who are offered food and lodging and treated with great respect.
Mysticism and historical records in oral poetry
The Pathans are Sunni Muslims who say they are descended from Afghana, whom they believe was a grandson of Saul. (He does not appear in the Hebrew Scriptures.) In the Islamic religion, graphic representation of the human figure is not encouraged, so artistic expression of human traits often took the form of words. The Pathan language - called Pashtu - was not written until the fifteenth century, and the literary works that survive today date back to the eighteenth century.
Much of early Pathan poetry is tinged with Sufism, expressing the love of God and an attempt to experience God on a more personal level. But in addition to the early mystical poets was a more pragmatic poet, Khushal Khan Khattack. Khushal Khan was a great chief, a warrior, and a poet. One of his sons (he had fifty-seven sons and an uncounted number of daughters) and one of his grandsons also became great poets. In fact every major tribe has produced a great poet at one time or other. Khushal Khan wrote about all aspects of life; one of his earlier poems is titled
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