Nanawatai
Encyclopedia
Nanawatai is a tenet of the Pashtunwali
code of the Pashtun people
. It allows a beleaguered person to enter the house of any other person and make a request of him which cannot be refused, even at the cost of the host's own life or fortune. A similar code of conduct is used by the neighbouring Baluch people.
Traditionally it is used to refer to a request for sanctuary
, whereby the host must be willing to fight or die for the sake of anyone who comes knocking at his door seeking refuge, even if it is a sworn enemy.
As the burden of sanctuary and protection extends even to fighting against government troops on behalf of the person seeking refuge, some have suggested that Mullah Omar
's refusal to turn in Osama bin Laden
was due only to his having availed himself of nanawatai.
Traditionally, the burden of protection exists only insofar as the one pleading clemency stays within the property of the protector; if one leaves the company of the protector, the responsibility vanishes and even the protector can attack him. Often, the one pleading for sanctuary would be made to first humiliate himself, perhaps wearing a halter
made of grass around his neck, to demonstrate that he was entirely supplicant to his host.
and adultery
, the guilty party cannot request sanctuary, and must flee or submit willingly to the prescribed punishment. Sources are divided on whether those who elope
can request such protection.
In one example, a woman was sheltering two robbers when their pursuers came to her and told her that the men she was sheltering had killed her son. She replied "That may be so, but they have come nanawatai to my house and I cannot see any one laying his hands on them so long as they are under my roof". Deputy Minister for Tribal Affairs Mohammed Omar Barakzai recounted the time that another woman was greeted at her door in Saidkhail by a transient student who had just stabbed her son and requested sanctuary; and she told her husband and brothers that he must be given refuge, and taken to safety outside the city.
In a counter-example, the Utmanzai tribe
decided to pay a visit to the house of the Governor of the North-West Frontier Province
, Owais Ahmed Ghani
. Once they arrived, they impressed upon him a nanawatai obligation to give them anything they demanded, and he acquiesced to re-instate the salaries of 5,000 local tribal police whose payments he had suspended ten months earlier following a refusal to work after Taliban threats.
capture and execute a Soviet tank crew, William Mastrosimone
wrote a stage play entitled Nanawatai, about a tank driver captured in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and his resulting plea for sanctuary from those who find him. The story was later adapted into the 1988 film The Beast of War
.
Norwegian composer Hakon Berge wrote an instrumental piece, for drums and brass pipes, titled Nanawatai.
Pashtunwali
Pashtunwali or Pakhtunwali is a non-written ethical code and traditional lifestyle which the indigenous Pashtun people from Afghanistan and Pakistan follow. Some in the Indian subcontinent refer to it as "Pathanwali". Its meaning may also be interpreted as "the way of the Pashtuns" or "the code of...
code of the Pashtun people
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
. It allows a beleaguered person to enter the house of any other person and make a request of him which cannot be refused, even at the cost of the host's own life or fortune. A similar code of conduct is used by the neighbouring Baluch people.
Traditionally it is used to refer to a request for sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
, whereby the host must be willing to fight or die for the sake of anyone who comes knocking at his door seeking refuge, even if it is a sworn enemy.
As the burden of sanctuary and protection extends even to fighting against government troops on behalf of the person seeking refuge, some have suggested that Mullah Omar
Mohammed Omar
Mullah Mohammed Omar , often simply called Mullah Omar, is the leader of the Taliban movement that operates in Afghanistan. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council"...
's refusal to turn in Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
was due only to his having availed himself of nanawatai.
Use of nanawatai
By invoking nanawatai, one is said to "seize the skirt" (laman niwul) of his new protector, and the other party is obligated to extend peace and acquiesce to grant shelter and protection, when someone has placed themselves in harm's way in this fashion.Traditionally, the burden of protection exists only insofar as the one pleading clemency stays within the property of the protector; if one leaves the company of the protector, the responsibility vanishes and even the protector can attack him. Often, the one pleading for sanctuary would be made to first humiliate himself, perhaps wearing a halter
Halter
A halter, headcollar, or, less often, headstall, is headgear that is used to lead or tie up livestock and, occasionally, other animals; it fits behind the ears , and around the muzzle. To handle the animal, usually a lead rope or lead shank is attached...
made of grass around his neck, to demonstrate that he was entirely supplicant to his host.
Examples
Nanawatai can typically be used to force a victim, or victim's family, to forgive a transgressor and offer their protection to the repentant aggressor. However, in cases of rapeRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
, the guilty party cannot request sanctuary, and must flee or submit willingly to the prescribed punishment. Sources are divided on whether those who elope
Elope
To elope, most literally, merely means to run away with a girl and to not come back to the point of origination. More specifically, elopement is often used to refer to a marriage conducted in sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving hurried flight away from one's place of residence together...
can request such protection.
In one example, a woman was sheltering two robbers when their pursuers came to her and told her that the men she was sheltering had killed her son. She replied "That may be so, but they have come nanawatai to my house and I cannot see any one laying his hands on them so long as they are under my roof". Deputy Minister for Tribal Affairs Mohammed Omar Barakzai recounted the time that another woman was greeted at her door in Saidkhail by a transient student who had just stabbed her son and requested sanctuary; and she told her husband and brothers that he must be given refuge, and taken to safety outside the city.
In a counter-example, the Utmanzai tribe
Utmanzai (tribe)
Utmanzai or Uthmanzai is a Pashtun tribe in Pakistan and Afghanistan.Utmanzai are generally considered to be a clan of Yusufzai, but they are, in fact, cousin tribes. ottman, the ancesstor of Utmanzais was son of Umar a brother of Yusuf, the ancestor of Yusufzais...
decided to pay a visit to the house of the Governor of the North-West Frontier Province
Governor of the North-West Frontier Province
The Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the appointed Head of State of the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The governor is designated by the Prime Minister and is normally regarded a ceremonial post...
, Owais Ahmed Ghani
Owais Ahmed Ghani
Owais Ahmed Ghani is the former governor of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, who previously governed southwestern province of Balochistan for four and a half years....
. Once they arrived, they impressed upon him a nanawatai obligation to give them anything they demanded, and he acquiesced to re-instate the salaries of 5,000 local tribal police whose payments he had suspended ten months earlier following a refusal to work after Taliban threats.
In popular culture
In 1986, after witnessing a team of mujahideenMujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
capture and execute a Soviet tank crew, William Mastrosimone
William Mastrosimone
William Mastrosimone is an American playwright and screenwriter from Trenton, New Jersey. He attended high school at The Pennington School and received a graduate degree in playwrighting from Mason Gross School of the Arts, a part of Rutgers University....
wrote a stage play entitled Nanawatai, about a tank driver captured in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and his resulting plea for sanctuary from those who find him. The story was later adapted into the 1988 film The Beast of War
The Beast of War
The Beast is a 1988 American war film directed by Kevin Reynolds and based on a William Mastrosimone play Nanawatai. The plot concerns a Soviet T-55 tank lost during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan...
.
Norwegian composer Hakon Berge wrote an instrumental piece, for drums and brass pipes, titled Nanawatai.