The Private Journal of Current Research
Pashtun Story Telling: A Clue to Their Violent Culture
"Storytelling" and visits from wandering Pashtun poets to isolated compounds having few other forms of entertainment, especially during periods of extreme winters, keeps the memory of tribal heritage, religion, and revenge fresh in the minds of succeeding generations. Hafiz Rahmat, the Rohilla chief killed by the British, was a recognized poet and his poetry and tales of his demise probably lingered long among northern Pashtuns.
There is a connection between Pashtu songs, actually their prized poetry, and the destruction of the Rohilla states. In 1887, James Darmesteter studied their songs and concluded, "… the literary poet, who can read … who has composed a Divan. Every educated man is a Sha-ir, though, if he be a man of good taste, he will not assume the title. Writing Ghazal was one of the accomplishments of the old chiefs. Hafiz Rahmat, the great Rohilla captain, and Ahmad Shah, the founder of the Durrani empire, had written Divans, were 'Divan people.'" "Afghan Life in Afghan Songs," Science, Vol. 10, No. 246, October 21, 1887, pg. 195.