Title: The Kafir status and hierarchy and their economic, military, political, and ritual foundations
First published: 1978
Description: The Kafirs live in the extremities of a complex of valleys in the southern Hindu-Kush (mountain) range of mideastern Afghanistan where they have preserved a pre-Buddhistic and pre-Zoroastrian Aryan culture. The valleys they occupy are fertile and particularly suited to the raising of livestock. The men raise goats and cattle while the women practice agriculture in addition to their domestic chores and the raising of children.

Strategic resources and their exploitation or ownership have created conflicts and feuds among the Kafirs themselves. In order to be successful in their enterprises and rivalries, the Kafirs try to create a large following of supporters. This they accomplish in several ways: (1) through emphasizing ties with both patrilateral as well as matrilateral kindsmen; (2) through establishing as many affinal ties as possible; (3) through ritual adoption of "brothers" and "sons"; and finally (4) through feasting and gift-giving.

With regard to their outside enemies, the Kafirs have strenuously defended their society, its territory and resources from time immemorial. Their countless military encounters with neighboring enemies, both Muslim and Kafir alike, have necessitated their being an extremely warlike people. Their vengeful nature and accounts of almost inconceivable warfare has caused the outside world to see them as the sole aggressors, responsible for all the bloodshed in the area.

The mechanism conducive to Kafir daring and success in warfare involves a system of status hierarchy. A Kafir earns his ranks and honors by killing enemies. The greater the number of a hero's victims, the higher is his ranking position in the society. The murder of enemies is such an honorable deed that it is monopolized by the upper class men alone. The mechanism through which the lower class warriors are excluded from this status is the sacred duty of sacrificing fifteen to thirty large male goats in worship of the war-god upon killing an enemy. It is at this sacrificial feast that the hero receives the title and insignia of the relevant rank through the feasting of his fellow warriors.

The pattern of heroic ranks is extended and prevails among the rich, aged people who can no more take part in raiding missions. These men, like the heroes, compete among themselves for ranks, honors, and for public offices or large following of supporters. The mechanism for achieving these prerogatives is the sacrifice, in honor of various deities, of many goats and bulls upon which the people are feasted on numerous occasions. This competition among the upper class individuals serves, in fact, the collective social function of maintaining a class of warriors through the redistribution of surplus produce. This class of warriors is comprised of lower and middle class men who do not raid, but fight defensive and collective wars.
Subjects: Nuristani (Asian people), kafir, afghanistan, hindu-kush
Places: hindu-kush, afghanistan, pakistan
People: kafirs, nuristanis, central asian, aryan