E-Lecture

Ethnic Cleansing and the Wooden Effigies
of the
Kafir
By Brenda Gladwell

This lecture is about the wooden effigies of the Kafir in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Students will study the wooden effigies that stood guard over the ancestral graves of the Kafir. They will also learn about the culture behind these images. Discussion questions will encourage
students to think about how they would like to memorialize their culture and what they would leave behind to mark their existence. Students will also discuss how they feel about the destruction of the museum in which these artifacts were kept and the ethnic cleansing of the Kafirs in Pakistan.


History of Objects:
Within the Kafir culture there are wooden carved figures that set at the head and foot of each wooden coffin. Similar figures would stand guard over fields to protect the harvests. The most impressive of the figures would be placed at the grave yard of the Kafir’s ancestors. There are enormous wooden soldiers on horseback that stand at the foot and head of the above ground coffins. The coffins are simple wooden boxes. The Kafir let the bodies decompose until only the skeletons were left. Then the bones would be taken back to the villages and placed in the middle of the town square to be a part of the community council. The wooden effigies that protected the ancestors had great meaning. Prominent people in the community would be identified by how elaborately th statue was carved. Extremely important people were often memorialized with statues of people on mounted horses or even two headed horses. The images themselves were decorated with tassels and embroidery. The museum in Kubal housed twenty of these wooden images. Until 1993 when it was bombed and looted. The United Nations tried to stop the looting but 90% of the collection was destroy it would destroy all artifacts of pre-Islamic cultures. Statues and object in Afghanistan were destroyed. A few artifacts occasionally turn up on the black market, but there is no way to regain the cultural legacy of the Kafir people. What was left of the wooden structures was said to be used as firewood.

Najibullah Popal deputy chief of Kabul Museum over the destroyed treasure. (1993)

Historical Background:
Long before Afghanistan was a country it was part of the Great Persian, Greek, and Indian Empires. The trade route of these great empires was known as the Silk Road which cut right through what is now Afghanistan. This territory was always in turmoil over property and wealth from the trade route. The Kushan was one of the many tribes that fought over this area. In the 13 century, Genghis Khan ravaged the country, destroying almost all in his path except for the Kushans. Many years later Alexander the Great passed through the Kafir territory with the intent of conquering the people of the area.. Upon meeting the Kafir people, Alexander was surprised to see similar physical resemblance to there own and assumed the Kafir were of the same proud heritage, he let them join in his forces establishing his empire. Like many warring cultures of the time, such as the Kushans, the Kafir took slaves from conquered areas and killed many neighboring people. A tribal culture that lived in areas throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Kushan people were broken up into small fractions. Each fraction developed different languages. The Kafir never developed a written language to keep track of their history. Instead, they passed down stories about their ancestors to the next generation.

The passing of time and the rise in Islam, caused a decline in the population of the Kafristan people. The last of the Kafir tribes remained in the Hindu Kush valleys but by the end of the 19 century the Kafir people were out numbered and surrounded by Muslims . The Muslims called the Kafir ‘infidels’. In Pakistan, Kafiristan means “Land of the Infidels.” The Emir of Kabul was determined to cleanse Afghanistan of the Infidels or convert them to Islam. A few of the Kafir escaped to Pakistan but they were greatly diminished in numbers by the end of the 20 century.
Present Day:
In 1965 the Kafir still exist in Pakistan in small numbers. In an effort to bring Islam to every one in Pakistan General Zia initiated the jihad. The Taliban took over the Kafir land between 1981 and 1995. They built mosques and seminaries on the land where the Kafir lived and the Kafir people were forced to convert to Islam or die. The few Kafir people that still did not convert were forced into menial livelihoods. With no written language to preserve the history of the strong warrior tribes, the only evidence of their existence was the wooden effigies of a proud culture. In Pakistan today there are less than 2000 Kafir descendants left ,and they have become more of a oddity than a culture. Very few Kafir know how to read and write and they are treated like animals. They are denied jobs and forced to live with their farm animals. Visitors who tour the area have to pay a toll to the government. The toll is jokingly referred to as “a trip to the zoo.”


Discussion Questions:
Why do you think the wooden men were created?
What was their purpose?
Why would it matter if they were destroyed or not?
If you were to make an image to guard over you, what would it look like?
What are your feelings about the way the Kafir history will be remembered?
How do you feel about the destruction of the culture and artifacts?
Do you think the Kafir should have been forced to become Muslim?
Do you think they deserved to be treated this way because of their ancestral history?
What other cultures do you known of that have vanished? Why?
Do you think it is right? Why?
Do you think it is wrong? Why?
If you conquered a neighboring country would you destroy its past history and disassemble the culture? Why or why not?
During a war do you think the museums should be destroyed an why?

(Click on the picture above to go to the website it was found!!)

Activity:
Make a guardian statue of your own. Students will create a free standing image from cardboard by using cardboard scarp pieces to build up a 3Dimensional sculpture to represent their culture.What is it about your history that you want it to symbolize? Include items that are important in your culture. Write a short paragraph about what your guardian represents.
















Sample of guardian made of cardboard