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“eat this, it'll do you a power of good”: food and commensality among Durrani Pashtuns
Author(s) -
TAPPER RICHARD,
TAPPER NANCY
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
american ethnologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.875
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1548-1425
pISSN - 0094-0496
DOI - 10.1525/ae.1986.13.1.02a00040
Subject(s) - sacrifice , islam , afghan , power (physics) , context (archaeology) , sociology , order (exchange) , geography , political science , philosophy , law , theology , archaeology , economics , quantum mechanics , physics , finance
Food, eating, and commensality among the Durrani Pashtuns are discussed in terms of four domains of discourse: the Koranic, the Tribal, the Humoral, and the Magical. Each domain is related to a distinct section of the Afghan‐Islamic Great Tradition. The domains offer alternative frames of reference between which actors switch according to context, in order to preserve recognition of the ultimate priority of Islam and to conceal relations of power. Semantic shifts are made possible by links between the domains, especially the ambiguities inherent in the pervasive values of “goodness” and “power,” the symbolism of blood, and the ritual of sacrifice . [food classifications, health, power symbolism, sacrifice, Islam, Afghanistan]