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Identification. The word "Afghan" historically has been used to designate the members of an ethnic group also called the Pashtuns, but Afghanistan is multicultural and multiethnic.
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Identification • The word "Afghan" historically has been used to designate the members of an ethnic group also called the Pashtuns, but Afghanistan is multicultural and multiethnic. • The state was formed by the political expansion of Pashtun tribes in the middle of the eighteenth century but was not unified until the end of the nineteenth century. • Persian-speaking and Turkic-speaking populations have been incorporated in the state. • Since the Communist coup of 1978 and the ensuing civil war, those groups have sought for greater political recognition, but the existence of the state has not been seriously questioned. • The experience of exile shared by millions of refugees may have given rise to a new national feeling.
Weddings • The families of the couple welcome the guests and escort them into the room where beautiful tables where arranged with flowers and perforated candles. • The musicians play mellow music for the happy couple. • The couple get their hands cut and share the blood • At the end of the ceremony a dance is preformed by a special guest, this dance its called attan, attan is a dance that was created in south Afghanistan. When the dance is over the just married couple thank their guests for coming. A afghan bride getting ready (left) The same woman that was getting ready is fully complete. All the jewelry that she ahs on represents a phase on her new life (right)
Funerals • First the dead body is washed cleanly with water then body is wrapped with white clean cloth and put it on the carrier and taken to graveyard the dead body is followed by all relatives friends neighbors and scholars. • Afghans follow the Islamic way of burial. If the deceased is male he is washed by men or if women she will be washed by women. After the body is washed its wrapped in white cloth and no tear drop is supposed to fall on the body otherwise it has to be washed again. The head of the dead body is supposed to face to the Mecca. • After the body is buried there will be a funeral at the mosque. • For 40 days there will be grieving and prayers. • The 3rd day after the death is an important day and the every Friday night for 40 days. Also for 40 days the dinner of dead is given out, in Afghanistan it used to be to the poor but in western countries the food needs to leave the house of the family
Trade • Hides, wool, dried and fresh fruits, and pistachios are exported, but narcotics account for the bulk of export receipts. • The country imports tax-free goods through Pakistan, including cars, air conditioners, refrigerators, televisions, radios, and stereo equipment. • These consumer products are then smuggled to neighboring countries.
Opium Trade • Afghanistan is, as of March, 2008, the greatest illicit opium producer in the world, ahead of Burma and the Southeast Asia • Opium production in Afghanistan has been on the rise since the downfall of the Taliban in 2001. • Based on United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) data, there has been more opium poppy cultivation in each of the past four growing seasons than in any one year during Taliban rule. • Also, more land is now used for opium in Afghanistan than for coca cultivation in LatinAmerica. • In 2007, 92% of the opiates on the world market originated in Afghanistan. • This amounts to an export value of about $64 billion, with a quarter being earned by opium farmers and the rest going to district officials, insurgents, warlords and drug traffickers. • In the seven years (1994–2000) prior to a Taliban opium ban, the Afghan farmers' share of gross income from opium was divided among 200,000 families.
Kite Running • The goal of the sport is to pull your opponent's kite out of the sky by wrapping your kite string around the other kite's string. • In order to cut a kite's string you need special twine that's coated with an abrasive coating. • Then once the kite is cut loose, the real battle of kite running begins. • While the kite is falling from high above the city or park, everyone races to be the first to retrieve the fallen kite as his or her prize. • Buildings, trees, power lines can all make the kite's path to the ground more interesting and the capture more challenging.
Food • Everyday food consists of flat bread cooked on an iron plate in the fire or on the inner wall of a clay oven. • Bread often is dipped in a light meat stock. • Yogurt and other dairy products are an important element of the diet, as are onions, peas and beans, dried fruits, and nuts. • Rice is eaten in some areas and in urban settlements. • Food is cooked with various types of oils, including the fat of a sheep's tail. • Other common beverages are water and buttermilk. • Afghans use the right hand to eat from a common bowl on the floor. • At home, when there are no guests, men and women share meals.
Religion • Islam is one of the few commonalities in Afghan society despite the existence of sectarian differences and variations in legal interpretations. • It faces no competition from other religions as only scattered minorities of Hindus and Sikhs, who came originally as traders from India.
Infant Care • Babies are bound tightly in wooden cradles with a drain for urine or carried by the mother in a shawl. • They may be breast-fed for more than two years, but weaning is very sudden. • Although surrounded by affection, children learn early that no one will intervene when they cry or are hurt. • Adults do not interfere with children's games, which can be tough. • Physical punishment is administered, although parents tend to be indulgent with young children. • Children move freely from the female part of the house to the public one and learn to live in a group setting. • Children are cared for by a large group of female relatives.
Music • The Music of Afghanistan is somewhat similar to that of its neighboring countries. • Music in Afghanistan has been suppressed and recording for outsiders minimal, despite a rich musical heritage. • The multi-ethnic city of Kabul has long been the regional cultural capital, but outsiders have tended to focus on the city of Herat, which is home to traditions more closely related to Iranian music than in the rest of the country. • Lyrics throughout most of Afghanistan are typically in Persian and Pashto.
Etiquette • Young people address elders not by name but by a title. • A husband will not call his wife by her name but will call her "mother of my son." • Family surnames are unusual, but nicknames are very common. • Kinship terms often are used to express friendship or respect. Hospitality is a strong cultural value. • When food is served, the host waits until the guests have started eating. • As soon as the dishes are cleared, guests ask permission to leave unless they are spending the night.
Etiquette cont. • When meeting, two men shake hands and then place the right hand on the heart. • Direct physical contact is avoided between men and women. • If they have not seen each other for a long time, friends and relatives hug, kiss, and speak polite phrases. • When someone enters a room, people stand and greet him at length. When they sit down, more greetings are exchanged. • It is considered rude to ask a factual question or inquire about anything specific early in the conversation. • To express affection, it is customary to complain, sometimes bitterly, about not having received any news.
Child Rearing and Education • Respect and obedience to elderly persons are important values, but independence, individual initiative, and self-confidence also are praised. The most important rite of passage for a boy is circumcision, usually at age seven. • Boys learn early the duties of hospitality and caring for guests as well as looking after the livestock or a shop. • Girls begin helping their mothers as soon as they can stand. Both are taught the values of honor and shame and must learn when to show pride and when to remain modest.
Higher Education. • Literacy is extremely low, and in 1980, 88 percent of the adult population had no formal schooling. • Only 5 percent of children get a primary education, with a huge discrepancy between males and females. • People from Afghanistan must travel abroad to further their education. • Although education is valued, there is no professional future for educated people other than working for an international agency or a nongovernmental organization.
