In rural areas, the traditional institution of communal cooperation in socio-economic spheres is still in practice among all ethnic groups, but not as much as half a century ago. It is also found in the urban settlements Sibi town and Harnai town, where a number of social welfare organisations are in operation. In the rural areas, there are no formal community based organisations. Instead, communal cooperation is linked to specific occasions or situations, and when these arise, the community becomes active. The most well-known occasions are harvesting of crops, marriage and irrigation management. In the urban centres, there are formal organisations oriented to specific purposes, such as emergency medical aid, education and other socio-economic issues. Among instances of communal cooperation, collective harvesting of crops is perhaps one of the oldest traditions.

Harvesting of Crops: Hasher, or use of communal labour for harvesting, is an age- old institution in the district as it is all over the province. Under this custom, the farmer who needs help to harvest his crop, invites fellow villagers to help him. He does not pay them, but has to provide food. However, the custom is now on the decline, because most farmers are able to provide enough men for the work in their own households and more particularly, because of availability of mechanical thrashers, which are time as well as cost saving. Hasher labour must be served with the best of food, and that can turn out to be more expensive than renting a thrasher. Moreover family labour can cope with harvesting.

Marriage: The nature and extent of communal cooperation on the occasion of marriage varies from tribe to tribe. The common element in all these customs is to facilitate the bridegroom's marriage feast arrangement and to give gifts to the bridegroom. The gift may take the form of cash or animals. In some cases, donation is raised for the bridegroom; in local terminology it is called phoori.

Gifts in cash and kind in some cases meet a substantial part of the feast expenses. Thus, in a way, the bridegroom's marriage feast is a sort of communal function. The recipient of gifts, in cash or in kind, is supposed to reciprocate the goodwill when there is marriage in the family from where the gift is received. There are tribes where the bridegroom is presented cash after the feast. The amount is duly recorded as soon as it is received. The custom demands that, whenever a male from the gift making family is married, the gift receiver must give a gift in cash equal to or more than that received by him on his marriage from that family.

Assistance in cash is usually provided to the needy on the occasion of marriage or funeral.

Irrigation Management: Construction and cleaning of water courses is the community's responsibility. All beneficiaries of an irrigation system are supposed to participate in this activity or pay for substitute labour.

Labour support: is provided, on request, by the community for house construction. This is not very common, though.

Tribal vendetta: One of the age-old institutions of communal cooperation, still persisting in undiminished force, is that of helping and protecting the members of one's tribe against the threats to lives from another. When members of two tribes fight, it becomes a tribal conflict and the target is any member of the opponent tribe, until the conflict is settled.

Back to Sibi