Most disputes within a subtribe are economic in origin, but contested claims and political competition for the control of resources most often emerge in the context of marriage. The central role of marriage becomes clear in the following account of the history and social organization of the Maduzai subtribe. This discussion provides the necessary background for a detailed discussion of the subtribe and patterns of marriage choice.

The history of the Maduzai subtribe

Today the Maduzai subtribe occupies two substantial village settlements known as Chinar and Sinjit, and various smaller scattered hamlets and camps, of which the largest is Naju (see Map 3 and Table 4). The settlements are some fifteen kilometres north of Saripul on tracks to the east of the main dirt road between Shiberghan and Saripul. Officially the whole collection is called Chinar, comprising Upper Chinar, Middle Chinar and Lower Chinar. Maduzai themselves refer to these settlements as Chinar, Sinjit and Naju respectively and I will use these latter names here — not only are they less confusing but they are indicative of divisions within the subtribe which are ignored in the official village names. The Maduzai Khan, Purdil, lives in Chinar and is the official headman of that village and Naju; Sinjit has its own official headman, Hajji Ibrahim.