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    Kurin, Punjabi Chief

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    Sociology reading (Kurin)

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    Kurin, Punjabi Chief

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    Sociology reading (Kurin)

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    Kurin, Punjabi Chief

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    Sociology reading (Kurin)

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    Article 3 Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief As Punjabi villagers say, “You never really know who a man is until you know who his grandfather and his ancestors were” Richard Kurin 1 was full of confidence when— equipped with a scholarly proposal, blessings from my advisers, and gener- ‘ous research grants—T set out to study village social structure in the Panjab province of Pakistan. But after looking for an appropriate fieldwork site for sev- eral weeks without success, I began to think that my research project would never get off the ground. Daily I would seek out villages aboard my puttering rotor scooter, traversing the dusty dit roas, footpaths, and imigation ditebes that erisseross the Punjab. But [couldn't seem to find a village amenable to study ‘The major problem was thatthe villagers 1 did approach were baffled by my pres- ence. They could not understand. why ‘anyone would travel ten thousand miles from ome to a foreign county in order to ive in a poor village, interview iiter- ate peasants, and then write a book about it Life, they were sure, was to belived, ot written about. Besides, they thought, ‘what of any importance could they pos- sibly ell me? Committed as I was toeth- nographic esearch, I realy understood their viewpoint. Iwas a babu log—er- ally, a noble; figuratively, @ clerk; and simply, a person ofthe city. Lrode a mo- tor scooter, wore tightfting clothing, and spoke Urdu, a language associated ‘with the urban literary elite. Obviously, L id not belong, and the villagers simply id not see me fitting into their society, ‘The Punjab, a region about the size of Colorado, straddles the northem border cf India and Pakistan. Partitioned be- twveen the two countries in 1947, the Punjab now consists of a western prov- ince, inhabited by Muslims, and an east- ce one, populated in the main by Sikhs and Hindus. As its name implies—punj meaning “five” and ab meaning “ti exs"—the region is endowed with plen ful resources to. support. widespread agriculture anda large rural population, ‘The Punjab has traditionally supplied grains, produce, and dairy products to the peoples of neighboring and consider- ably more ari states, eaming it a reputa- tion asthe breadbasket of southern Asia. Given this predilection for agrcul- ture, Punjbis like to emphasize that they are earthy peopl, having values they see asconsonant with rural life. These values include an appreciation of, and trust in, nature; simplicity end directness of ex: pression; an awareness of the basic dives and desires that motivate men (aamely, zan, zar, zamin—‘women, ‘wealth land”); a concem with onor and shame as abiding principles of social or- ganization; and for Maslims, a deep faith in Allah and the teachings of his prophet ‘Mohammed. Besides being known for its fertile soils, life-giving rivers, and superlative agriculturists, the Punjab is also per ceived as a zone of transitional cultare, a region that has experienced repeated in- vvasions of people from western and cen tral Asia into the Indian subcontinent. (Over the last four thousand years, m= ‘merous groups, among them Seythians, Parthians, Huns, Greeks, Moguls, Per sians, Afghans, and Turks. have entered the subcontinent through the Punjab in search of bountiful land, riches, or power, Although Punjabis—notably Rs- §puts, Sikhs, and Jats—have a reputation for courage and fortitude on the battle field, their primary, self-professed strength has been their ability to incorpo- rate new, exogenous elements into their society with a minimum of conflict. Pun- Jabis are proud that theirs isa rmultiethnic sociely in which diverse groups have ‘been largely unified by a common lan- guage and by common customs and tra- ditions. Given this background, I had not ex- pected much difficulty in locating a vil- lage in which to settle and conduct my research, As an anthropologist, I viewed myself a5 an “earthy” social scientist who, being concemed with basics, would have a good deal in common with rural Punjabis. True, I might be looked ‘on as an invader of a sort; but I was be- ‘nevolent, and sensing this, villagers were sure to incorporate me into their society with even greater ease than was the case for the would-be conquering armies that hhad preceded me. Indeed, they would ‘welcome me with open arms, Twas wrong. The villages whom I ap- proached attributed my desire to live ‘ith them either to neurotic delusions or nefarious ulterior motives. Perhaps, so the arguments went, I was really afer ‘women, land, or wealth. (On the day I had decided would be my last in search of a village, I was driving along a road when I saw a farmer run- ning through @ rice field waving me down. I stopped and he climbed on the scooter. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I began fo explain why I wanted to live in a village. To my surprise and delight, he was very receptive, and after sharing a pomegranate milkshake at a roadside shop, he invited me to his home. His name was Allah Dita, which means “God given,” and I took this as a sign that I had indeed found my village. ‘My’ village tumed out to be a setle- ment of about fifteen hundred people, mostly of the Numari gatam, or “tribe.” ‘The Nunatis engage primarily in agricul- ture (wheat, rice, sugar cane, and cotton), and most families own small plots of land, Members of the Bhatti tribe consti- tute the largest minority in the village. Although traditionally a wartior tribe, the Bhattis serve in the main as the vil- lage artisans and crafismen. ‘On my first day in the village I tried explaining in great detail tho purposes of my study to the village elders and clan leaders. Despite my efforts, most of the elders were perplexed about why I ‘wanted to live in their village, Asa guest, vas emttied tothe hospitality tradition ally bestowed by Muslim peoples of ‘Asia, and during the first evening I was assigned a place to stay. But I was an ‘enigma, for guests leave, and I wanted to remain. I was also perceived as being strange, foc T was both a non-Muslim and ‘2 non-Punjabi, a type of person not here- tofore encountered by most ofthe villag- ers. Although T tried to temper my behavior, there was litle I could say or do to dissuade my hosts from the view that I embodied the antithesis of Panjabi values. While Twas able to converse in, their language, Jatki, a dialect of western Punjabi, Lwas only able todo so with the ability of a four-year-old. This achieve- ‘ment fell far short of speaking the tt”, or “genuine form,” ofthe villagers. Their idiom is tich with the tomninology of ag- ricultural operations and rural life. It is unpretentious, uninflected, and direct, and villagers hold high opinions of those who are good with words, who can speak ‘oz point and be convincing. Needless to say, my infantile babble realized none of these characteristics and evoked no such respect. Similarly, even though 1 wore indi ‘nous dress, [was inept at tying my Lung, ‘oc pant cloth. The fact that my lungi oc-

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