Afghanistan: The cradle of ancient culture

by Dr. S.B. Ekanayake

Afghanistan occupies a pivotal geographical position and forms the north eastern portion of the Iranian plateau. It is a landlocked country. The total area of the country is approximately 700,000 square kilo metres, with a population of about 21 million (1999). It has borders with a number of countries providing possibilities of influence —Pakistan, Iran, Central Asian States, China and Kashmir.

Sri Lanka has only one although not sharing a border has enough tragedies! Afghanistan displays four topographical regions, characterised by many descending levels of altitude. These form the Hindu Kush (14,000 to 25,000 feet), barren and rugged foothills, gently sloping plains and infertile lands.

A group of musicians in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is a beautiful country with snow-covered hills and peaks, and deep green valleys inhabited by virile people. In the ancient days, it was part of the main silk route, which ran through its territory, bringing different cultures into play and assisting trade between the west and the east. Afghanistan, lying between great ancient civilisations around Indus and Yangtze valleys , could not be isolated in the making of history and contributing to the culture of the world.

Traditions

Like Sri Lanka it is also primarily an agricultural country whose natives are known for their martial traditions. The structure of the Afghan society is loose and bears little resemblance to a highly integrated or interdependent modern society.

The whole society is built on family and tribal units, which gives it an individualistic character revolving around family or tribe.

The most striking qualities of the Afghans are their toughness, poverty, self-respect, religious devotion, conservatism and frugality. Religion plays a vital role in the Afghan mind. Family honour and prestige are of utmost importance, especially for the Pashtuns. It is not correct to say that Afghans are militaristic. By and large, the tribal tendency has been to solve problems through discussions, using ‘jirgah,’ which is a council of village elders.

Heroic tales and love ballads, proverbs and wise sayings, fairy tales and ghost stories, epic and ribald war songs are part of the fabric of their folk literature which feeds the imagination of the Afghans (Wilber 1962).

Use of artefacts and contrivances for cultivation and methods of storage of products, especially grains, formed part of the cultural practices associated with agricultural economy.

This technical knowledge related to agriculture seemed to have been commonly shared amongst almost all the people in these civilisations. Thus in southern Afghanistan, there had existed huge granaries similar to those of Harappa, and great mud brick buildings which belonged to the third millennium B.C. with facades of half columns suggestive of Mesopotamia.

This indicates the nature of the international relationship of Afghanistan that prevailed in the early periods of the human race.

The mud architectural culture in the Afghan society is an indication of the ancient traditions in arts and crafts, which continues to this day. ‘In subsequent centuries the overland silk route passed through Balkh, a city in northern Afghanistan, linking east and west.

Thus due to its central location, Afghanistan’s role in the international scenario has been of significance in terms of migration of cultures since early civilisations of mankind. Some historians refer to Rig-Veda in the identification of Afghanistan (Dupree Louis 1980). It was also here that the oldest Aryan hymns and a great part of the Rig-Veda were composed (Mohammed 1970).

According to others, ‘Avesta’, one of the oldest scriptural writings of the Aryan race and probably written in the reign of Cyrus (559-30), is considered as the key source which refers to the original name of Afghanistan as ‘Aryana’ or ‘Ariana’.

Aryan race

‘The name ‘Aryana’, therefore, belongs to the period (559-30 B.C.) when the Aryan race migrated from its centre in Bactria, today known as Balkh, in the northern province of Mazar near the bank of river Oxus or Amu Darya,’ which was also the first Aryan settlement.

The word, ‘Arya’ means ‘excellent’ or ‘noble’. The current name of the flag carrier of Afghanistan is Ariyana, which shows that this word is being used at the national level even today. To some, ‘The country known today as Afghanistan was, until 150 years ago, called ‘Khorasan.’ Khorasan literally means ‘the land from which the sun rises.

Influence of Greeks is vital in the discussion of the history of Afghanistan. It was in 330 B.C. that Alexander entered the province of Herat During the brief period of the reign of Alexander. Greek ideas, culture, art, science, philosophy, literature, language, sports and civic law, which later influenced the whole of Central Asia, were introduced into the country.

The influence of Indian culture followed around the 2nd century B.C. during the reign of Asoka (273-232 B.C.) when Buddhism was introduced to Afghanistan, which was perhaps the most significant factor in the development of Afghanistan from cultural point of view. Later, commencing from the second century B.C., Afghanistan became the centre of Buddhism. This is testified by the records of Hsuan-tuang - (602-664), who on his way from India had seen that Balkh (Balhika or Fo-ho) had been the centre of original Buddhist studies.

There are vivid accounts, supported by archaeological evidence, which indicate the impact of Buddhism on Afghan soil. The Chehel Zina Edict (‘40 steps’) in Kandhar (the writer had visited this site) is the first evidence of the spread of Buddhism to the west during the reign of Asoka (Piyadassi). In this connection Bamiyan, situated in the northwest of Kabul, was the major seat of Buddhist culture and had thousands of monasteries. It had the tallest Buddhist statues in the world.

According to Nancy Dupree (1997) ‘Afghanistan’s landscape is liberally dotted with Buddhist sites dating from the 2nd to the 8th centuries A.D. The countless caves and two Buddha figures in Bamyon standing 55 metres and 38 metres tall, still inspire awe and reverence’. One of these was destroyed by the Talibans in 2004.

Remains of Buddhist art in Balkh support some scholars to call it a Sassano- Buddhist civilisation’ (Desai 1975). Buddhism remained dominant until the end of the 7th century. It was the White Huns who, around 460 AD overran Afghanistan and ‘literally exterminated Buddhism by demolishing temples, monasteries and by the wholesale massacre of the Bhikkhus and population’.

As a result of this unparalleled catastrophe in human history, a wave of pessimism and fatalism spread throughout the country. Intellectual activities diminished and civilisation began to decline. Afghanistan, in spite of the lapse of seven and a half centuries, has not recovered from the shock it received at the hands of these wild hordes’.

Treasured ideal

‘Education has always been a treasured ideal in this region where renowned centres of learning flourished during various historical periods.’ It was very likely that as Buddhism prevailed, religious schools invariably would have been established in all Buddhist temples, providing both secular and religious learning.

Afghanistan had either been a part of many empires, This was more evident during the 16th-18th centuries when Afghanistan had no political identity of its own.

The country was parcelled out between the Mughal Empire of India and the Empire of Persia. From about 1750 Afghanistan began to shape into a nation. However, by the turn of the 18th century another set of powers began to take interest in Afghanistan, namely Russia and Britain.

This further affected the precarious existence of Afghanistan leading to adverse consequences in later years.

These were related to two wars with Great Britain in 1839 and 1880 resulting in foreign occupation, annexation of territory, and dislocation of the economy. All these perhaps resulted in the growing power of the religious leaders and tribal groups, which consolidated their powers at the expense of the central state.

Another critical factor that led to the isolation of Afghanistan was the distrust in foreigners. This was a result of the Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842), (Oleson 1995).

Great games

The Afghans mistrusted all the Europeans whom they considered not only infidels, but also their enemies who threatened Islam and Afghan independence.

Thus the tolerant attitude of the Afghans to other faiths, which prevailed until the beginning of the Anglo-Afghan War (1839-42), changed dramatically. The tussle for power as part of the “Great Games’ continued and Afghanistan was subjected to incessant interference from Russia and Britain. As a consequence of these struggles the eastern boundary between British India and Afghanistan, i.e., the Durand Line, was also drawn in 1893.

In the 20th century the key factors that influenced the development of Afghanistan are its neutrality in the World War II, political upheavals in Afghanistan, and non-alignment until the Soviet invasion in 1979.

Ethnic composition

The ethnic composition of Afghanistan has its origins in the multiplicity of divisions. On the other hand, outsiders fan these ethnic differences similar to what we experience in Sri Lanka, which aggravates the current problems.

Afghanistan consists of 55 ethnic names. The dominant ethnic groups are the Pushtuns, the Tajiks, the Hazaras, and the Uzbeks, while the main languages are Dari and Pashto. In addition, a number of other languages are spoken by different ethnic groups For most groups, except for some Pashtun areas, Dari is the lingua franca in Afghanistan.

But the critical question remains unanswered, namely whether Afghan militants and the parties concerned are interested in a negotiated settlement or whether war has made it more profitable for the Central Asian oil/gas pipeline projects to raise the stakes.

There is also a need to ascertain whether there is a common ground, some common interest, a common objective, and a common desire, which can unite the Afghan factions The issues related to refugees are many and interwoven with the political milieu of the countries of refuge: they are no more welcomed as they were two decades ago. A kind of hospitality fatigue has set in, which can result in great repercussions in the near future.

Thus a country with a long glorious history, playing key roles between countries, rich in culture, enriched by some of the greatest religions in the world and facilitating religious thoughts to the north, east and west, is facing the worst crisis in its history. We Sri Lankans would be pleased to welcome the Ambassador for Afghanistan to share the rich culture and bravery of the nation.

The writer was the Basic Education Advisor for UNESCO/UNHCR in Afghanistan.