The book "Friend by day, enemy by night" written by Lincoln Keiser tries to illustrate for the reader the blood feuding concept in the Kohistani culture. Furthermore, it seeks to give explanations how this death enmity is constructed and deeply rooted in their society. For people who live in a western world this death enmity is very difficult and sometimes impossible to understand. Therefore, this book provides insight views into the complexity of the human life of the Thull community in Pakistan. It shows how this village that is falling apart from blood feuding still manages to keep itself together. These people live a totally different life, with completely different moral values than western socialist people do. Consequently, the understanding of their social behavior, cultural life and their social structure is very hard for westernized people. .
This study shows how death enmity (mar dusmani) rules the daily life of the Thull people. Woman play more than a passive role in the blood feud but Lincoln Keiser did not get the chance in his study to learn something about their contribution because woman and man are somehow separated from each other. All the values and daily activities of the Thull are based and ruled by their belief of death enmity. The killing of men is on the daily agenda and seems to be normal. Not one single day passes without any violent activity. These killings appear very shockingly and trivial for people who are not involved in the community of the Thull. For instance, looking at someone's daughter or wife through a camera brings bad reputation on a man's honor. This act, therefore, demands assassination and with no doubt will be pursued.
In the Thull culture man can be friendly to each other by day and kill each other by night. Furthermore, men are armed with all kinds of weapons all the time and they are willing to use them. They own special fighting knives, axes, automatic pistols, revolvers and Kalashnikov AK-47.
