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| I wish the operative words for the week could be busy, busy, busy but I'm afraid
I have to be dull and say the true words hot, bloody and hot. There was more proof
that Baba Shaikh Daud is indeed very bazourkh man (powerful-- but that's an inadeqate
translation which I'll be happy to take criticism for), in spite of having been dead
for at least 2 centuries. I watched as a younger non head of household tried to resolve
a dispute in the absence of his brother. I was introduced to internet chat by a visiting
Pakistani (and told to be discreet about it but am blowing it by including it here).
I learnd of the significance of peacocks to Muslims near the end of the week. One day I was told that everyone would be gathering at Baba Shaikh Daud's mountain the following day to pray for rain. It seemed everyone who could afford anything at all had contributed either money or wheat for a big halva feast to pray for rain. I intended to be up at the crack of dawn to witness this extraordinary event but sloth being what it is I only managed a mid-morning arrival. They prepared about 170 kilograms of halva which was freely distributed to anyone who came with a bag or container to take some away. Plus of course there were dozens of people content just to stuff their face right there. I was one of the on the spot face stuffers (but since I don't really care much for halva I admit I didn't even come close to finshing the plate I was given). The ladies and children went up to the top of the mountain to do the praying while the men sat at the bottom and took care of the eating. I don't know how equitable this distribution of labour is but it suited me fine as it was hot and I didn't feel like going to the top of the mountain anyway. People told me that Baba-ji would take care of the rain after everyone had finished praying. That evening while sitting in one of the Malik's dhera my faithful friend, Rasheed, looked outside and said rain was on it's way. We all jumped up and ran outside to watch the rain come in. It was indeed overcast and windy. All we got then was dust (though the power of suggestion is amazing-- once Rasheed said rain was coming people actually claimed to feel a few drops). There was no rain that day but in the morning we did have about 15 minutes of rain which gave us one of the best mornings I've had in a long time. So chock one more mini miracle up to Baba-ji. 'Vagabond' livestock is a problem in the area. One of the sharecroppers decided he'd had enough of his neighbour's vagabond cows eating his crops and kidnapped them. He kidnapped 6 cows and kept them in his little house with his brother's and his own family. I've never seen the inside but it must have been a tight squeeze. He released 5 of the cows fairly quickly but hung onto one. The owner of the cows sent his little brother to fetch the cow and he and 2 friends showed up with guns to demand their return. Things turned nsty when the cow owner, a Punjabi, insulted the ladies of the house, Pathans. By reputation Pathans are extra sensitive about their ladies and so this escalated the matter beyond simply damaged crops. The Punjabi's guns were not convincing as the Pathans have their own guns. I was never able to determine if any shots were actually fired but the guns were waved about liberally. They all came to Bhalot to a Malik to settle this matter. The head of household was out so his brother tried to handle it. I got more evidence that what makes zamindar arbitration really work is not common sense or debating skill. It is fear of the Malik. The matter got dragged on far longer than I think the head of household would have allowed because the Punjabi was unwilling to give the necessary apology and the Malik was unable to force the Pathans to release the cow without it. I may be wrong, since this is speculation, but I suspect that a head of household would have had the matter settled in a day. He would have simply told the two parties how things were going to be and they would have to cooperate or risk his retribution. Since this younger brother doesn't normally do these things nobody knew what his retribution was likely to be and so ignored his very reasonable arbitration (I thought he was very reasonable anyway). A frequent visitor to the village who is a regular reader of this website helped me download some chat softeware and we arranged a time to get on line together. It was sort of silly since we see each other regularly but it was fun. It's the first time I have used this service (in spite of being an incorrigble web surfer) and must admit that for speaking to people I know I enjoyed it. He 'introduced' me to some of his chat friends (all clean chat I might add) and I tried chatting with them but I'm afraid I have too much of a tendency to try and evade personal questions to be a really good chat partner. However this has given me some insight into the potential impact of the web on a relatively conservative country like Pakistan. It is a way that the young elite can meet each other without really fearing their parents' anger. Normal phones are not sacred in this country. People do not seem to see the harm in listening in on other people's conversations nor reading each other's mail (being thoroughly anglo saxon and anal retentive on this issue I must admit to being horrified should a letter arrive pre-opened). For this reason I was told not to let the younger Maliks know I have this service or they will all be clamouring to log on to meet women. I think the risk is minimal as I am not so generous with my time with younger Maliks. I was summoned up to the big dhera on the top of the hill to see a beautiful sight. I arrived to find a peacock being hosed down with a spinkler. They are indeed beautiful birds and this was my first opportunity to see one up close. I was told that peacocks are the Sardar of Jannat (the lords of heaven). I was also told that they are the perfect role model for human relationships since the pea hen is modest and humble and the peacock is respectful and dignified in the company of ladies. There is only a male here and I am not a bird watcher so I can't confirm this but having spent a great deal of time watching the chickens that live outside my room I must admit to being dubious. If pea birds behave anything like chickens then the model is not one I would seek to emulate (harems that seem to involve a lot of quick matings that have a strange resemblance to rape-- but I am anthropomorphising shamelessly here). In any event it was a pleasure to see a peacock up close and if I get my act together I will put this beautiful bird's picture up on the web soon. So back to the heat and dust and praying desparately for a little more rain. |
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