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618 PUNJABIS
qaum or zat, of which there are two basic types: those, like the Sayyid, Jat,
Rajput and Awan, which are defined in terms of putative patrilineal descent from
a historical or mythical figure; and those, like the Jullaha (weaver), Mussali
(sweeper) and Mirasi (bard and genealogist), which are defined occupationally.
In general, the former are considered hereditarily superior to the latter, the
greatest esteem and prestige being accorded to the Sayyids and Sharifs, who
claim direct descent from the Prophet Muhammad or his family, and the least
to the Mussalis, who are associated with defiling tasks and materials. Punjabi
society as a whole consists of many qaums or zats theoretically arranged in a
hierarchy of status but with no clear order of precedence in the middle ranks.
In this respect there are broad similarities with the Hindu scheme of varnas, or
castes, and indeed the literature abounds with references to "Muslim castes,"
despite the fact that a religiously sanctioned caste ideology is lacking. Punjabi
Muslims themselves, particularly those claiming high status, are apt to draw
analogies to the Hindu caste system. The Rajputs will say they are a martial
race descended from warrior princes and therefore are "like Kshatriyas."
Although rural-to-urban migration has taken place on a massive scale in recent
years, the bulk of the Punjabi population still resides in discrete agricultural
communities or associated outlying hamlets. A village settlement usually is
nucleated and may range in size from a few hundred to even 20,000 people
residing in densely packed clusters of mud-brick houses. It serves as a basic unit
for purposes of government, revenue collection, the provision of social services
and the implementation of economic programs. A person's ties to his or her
ancestral village, in addition to being practically important, are of great sentimental
value. They are used as a primary means of identification and are never
fully severed even after many years of absence.
In the village context political and collective economic affairs largely are
organized in terms of biraderi relationships. The biraderi is the constituent unit
of the qaum or zat and is composed of the descendants of a known ancestor two
to six generations removed from the eldest living cohort. Biraderis constitute
relatively tightly bound and well-defined groups. Their members share a common
patronymic, are able to trace specific ties of kinship to each other and are expected
to engage in close cooperation for the sake of common prosperity and the protection
of persons and property. Biraderi relationships are sustained through
constant visiting, consultations, gift exchanges at birth, circumcision and marriage
and by respect shown to group elders. Conversely, lack of material resources
and the wherewithal for hospitality and the dispersion of members are seriously
detrimental to effective biraderi organization. Hence, large and solidary biraderis
typically are found among those who are prosperous or politically and economically
interdependent, while small and fractionalized biraderis are characteristic
of the economically disenfranchised and dependent.
Within the context of the village, another division of key importance is that
which separates the landholders (zamindar) from the artisans, domestic servants
and field laborers whom they employ (collectively designated kammi). A given
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