Before and After Mar Dushmani
“Friend by Day, Enemy by Night” shares an in depth look into the lives of the Kohistanis who live in Thull, Pakistan. The author of the text, Lincoln Keiser, goes into great depth in explaining the life of these people before and after mar dushmani. Mar dushmani can be directly translated as “death enmity.” This social relationship between the Kohistanis causes for many problems. As a general principle death enmity allows men to retaliate whenever another man wrongs them, though the act of revenge itself should not exceed the original wrong. The example stated in the book is, “a blow should answer a blow and a death answer a death.” For such offenses as attacks on men through their wives, sisters, and daughters retaliation usually occurs in deadly violence. Killing the offender is considered the most appropriate response. Although violence usually takes place during retaliation, it is not the only way to handle it.
The rules don’t always require taking revenge. Enemies can peacefully settle mar dushmani in one of two ways. First, if the murderer feels desperate because he thinks he will be killed he can sue for peace, but even doing this causes certain risks. Asking for mercy requires the murderer to enter his enemy’s guestroom holding his dagger with a piece of white cloth tied to its blade. “If he enters before his enemy kills him, he then must crawl under one of the string beds in the room.” He calls out from there, “Kill me! I am at your mercy,” says Keiser. The man suing for peace is not asking to be killed, but instead formally requesting that he accept compensation instead of seeking revenge. If the wronged party refuses to accept the plea he must find a close relative to remove the enemy from his house. The other option the wronged party has it to choose to settle the case peacefully by accepting compensation. Men usually pay compensation for murder in money, a sum of about four to six thousand dollars. Sometimes land and more rarely women in marriage are given. If this is accepted peace usually follows, but their still remains a certain risk. If certain relatives of the wronged do not receive any compensation they may still want to carry out mar dushmani and retaliate. This would include friends or distant relative who feels upset but was not compensated. The...
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...ciety could buy and own a firearm. The wealth increased in Thull when herding diminished. The change to their economic system included cultivating potatoes as a cash crop, coupled with an increased number of fields significantly increased hard cash in the community. The supply of money expanded even further following large-scale timber exploitation.
Blood feuding and dushmani has only developed in the past few decades in Thull. It is stated that this has occurred because of economic change and political modernization, which both have been previously stated. As an American citizen I find it very difficult to understanding how such a society can actually work. This book is informative of a society and culture that most Americans probably have never heard of. I cannot even begin to imagine living in such a place. Worrying about your life everyday would have to be very frustrating especially not even knowing who your enemies are. I can understand why everybody carries a firearm because if you don’t your life is put at a much higher risk. Overall, this book gives great insight into another culture, but makes me appreciate the country I live in much more.
Farmers’ incomes were low, and in order to make a profit on what they produced, they begun to expand the regions in which they sold their products in. This was facilitated through the railroads, by which through a series of grants from the government as...
Bullying is an ongoing form of aggression characterized by intent, repetition and an inequity of power (Ma, Stewin & Mah, 2001). It is expressed through a variety of methods including physical, verbal, cyber, and relational. While it can be either overt or covert it is usually proactive, since bullies tend to seek victims without provocation (Beaty & Alexeyev, 2008).
...ate cancer are the quality of life, medical care, and nutrition. I have learned that scientists are coming up with broader and unique treatments of this cancer. One other factor that I encountered while researching was that African American men were more likely to develop this cancer due to the lack of resources to help themselves.
Alsana faces the expectation of fulfilling her proper role as the subservient, good muslim wife; however, she subverts this tradition by actively fighting against her husband Samad and, therefore, maintaining her sovereignty. When Alsana expresses her support for her husband’s motion during a PTA meeting, the other wives look “over to her with the piteous saddened smiles they reserved for subjugated Muslim women” (Smith 110). This perception fails to take into account the conflict that occurs under the surface of their seemingly traditional marriage. Before she finally expresses support for him, “Samad pressed Alsana’s hand. She kicked him in the ankle. He stamped on her toe. She pinched his flank. He bent back her little finger and grudgingly raised her right arm while deftly elbowing him in the crotch with her left” (Smith 110). Physical violence is the hallmark of the power struggle within Samad and Alsana’s marriage; it is the manner in which Alsana expresses her defiance to the proper role that it is assumed she should take in her marriage. This physical violence is so common, in fact, that as they violently fight in their garden, their twins calmly watch, placing bets on who will win (Smith 167). This normalization of the violence further highlights how innate it is to their
Cancer of the prostate, a common form of cancer, is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the prostate. The prostate is on the male sex glands, and is located just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. The size of the prostate is about the size of a walnut. It surrounds the part of the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. The prostate makes fluid that becomes part of the semen, which contains sperm. Prostate cancer is most commonly found in older men.
Gender differences are influences on gender behavior in the way that one must fit through the assumptions and inevitable confusion to distinguish the reality of the assumption. Men and women are obviously different inherently, but not in what they can and cannot do. Men and women are different and have different roles because this is society presented them to the world. Women have the most difficulty getting through these complicated times. There should be equality among all men and women of all races and ethnicity. This is a never-ending issue. We as a society should always know and act on the importance of gender roles, gender equality, and challenges with education in developed and developing countries.
... to develop. In adult males the most frequently diagnosed cancer is prostate cancer, which is diagnosed in one out of every seven men. Prostate cancer is a cancer that contains familial tendencies, when past generations of an individual have been diagnosed, the likelihood of inheriting it is greatly increased. Though the most frequent cancer found in adult males, prostate cancer does not cause the most fatalities from cancers in adult males. When treated early and correctly, the cancer is not commonly fatal, and less than 3% of American males with prostate cancer die from the illness itself (Prostate Cancer 5).
Together, the improvements in agriculture, transportation, and communication changed the ways of economic, social, and political life. By the 1850s, farming had become a leading commercial activity. The standard of living for many farm families also improved. ?Undeveloped land dotted with scattered farms, primitive roads, and modest local markets was transformed into an engine of capitalist expansion, audacious investment, and global reach.? (Tindall, 432)
Muhammad Ali, a famous boxer, once said, “Hating People because of their color is wrong. And it doesn’t matter which color does the hating. I’s just plain wrong” (Goodreads, 2015). For many centuries, ethnic conflict between the humans have existed immortally due the never changing differences of culture and values, spinning the cycle of war. Fortunately, some have ended however some still remain immortal in the eyes of those who have experience struggle to this date. The lack of awareness of problems in a cultural crisis concerning those who fall victim to a system and society that discriminates and alienates. With assistance of Critical Race Theory, this essay will examine how the role of race with has affected has caused consequences within the lives of marginalized groups within society through the lives and their relationship with those in their communities.
First, Hester is one guideline that with reveal sin and also leads to many different sins. She suffered from the strange insight and had been isolated from Puritan society, however, she only suffered from outside not from inside. Different from Hester, Arthur Dimmesdale is totally opposite. He is a noble man in front of people, but behind his majestic mask, he is an ugly sinner and always without forgiveness. He suffered not from outside. He was afraid his mask would be disclosed and expose his true colors, therefore, he refused to confess his sin which leads to his wife’s suffering, his daughter’s acceptance, and his own tribulation. Hawthorne used his detailed language with romantic writing style to describe the struggle of two lovers. The red color letter “a”, as the second main guideline, is the most typical symbol. The letter, with an unlimited imaginary association, made people wandering in Hawthorne’s fiction world. Red is the color of blood and fire, also a symbol of life, strength, and passion. Fire is the source of light and heat of human life, and the fire of love is the source of human life. Hawthorne combines symbolism with romanticism and endows this letter a new life. Hawthorne also focuses on the consequence of selfishness, guilt, and sin in this book. He uses his meticulous technique to describe a
The practice of female infanticide shows how desirable having a male child is that parents would take the lives of a female baby. The dowry system in India is the main cause of female infanticide in India. Gender inequalities in the rural part of northern India exhibit female infanticide occurs here the most despite laws to abolish these acts. Men hold a higher value in this society because a system they adapted many years ago. Men are seen as an asset or of value because at one point his future wife and her family will “pay” for him. Daughters are opposite and viewed as a burden to the family because she will have to marry one day and that will cost her parents. So women are not viewed equally here even as infants, they don’t even stand a chance. Officials have tried to make laws to assist in reducing female infanticide but people have continued to follow traditions of the dowry systems putting the population at risk as well
Robinson, B.A. (2002, October 14). Islam: Is it a religion of violence or of peace.
Bullying in schools is something that is currently on going and most likely never disappear on its own. Bullying is the unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance (stopbullying.gov). Although, bullying is not new it is becoming more prevalent today. Socially withdrawn, shy, and reserved children are prime targets of bullying (Juvonen, 2007). For many years bullying has been put off as a sort of rite of passage, everyone must go through it. Many adults today will say that they have been involved in bullying as child and it just faded. That was okay in the past, but today many children are hurting themselves as a result to bullying. To try to help with bullying one must know the
Violence. Just mentioning the word conjures up many images of assault, abuse, and even murder. Violence is a broad subject with many categories. Some types of violence are terrorist violence and domestic violence. Violence can arise from many different sources; these sources whether biological, cultural, and social all can evoke violent behavior. All cultures experience some sort of violence, and this paper considers violence as a cultural phenomenon across a range of various settings. Violence plays a part in both Islamic and Indian cultures according to the articles “Understanding Islam” and “Rising Dowry Deaths” by Kenneth Jost and Amanda Hitchcock, respectively. From an anthropological perspective, violence emphasizes concerns of meaning, representation and symbolism.
Bullying has several different ugly faces and styles, which is on the rise in the United States. One normally thinks of bullying as a school-age incident and something that happens when kids are just being kids. However, this is far from always true. Bullying is defined when a person or a group of people repeatedly tries to harm someone who is weaker or who they appear to be weaker. Sometimes direct attacks are involved by name calling, hitting, teasing or taunting. While sometimes it is indirect, such as spreading rumors or trying to make others reject someone. (www.stopbullying.gov, 2014)