Chapter XVII: Appendix: VIII (2)

[79] Tromba, to be made eatable, must be ground into flour, then boiled in water and placed in the “tshamúl” [in Astori] or “popúsh” [Ghilgiti], a receptacle under the hearth, and has to be kept in this place for one night, after which it is fit for use after being roasted or put on a tawa [pan] like a Chupatti [a thin cake of unleavened bread]. “barao” or tshítti baráo = sour baráo [móro baráo = sweet baráo].

[80] Almost every third man I met had, at some time or other, been kidnapped and dragged off either to Chilás, Chitrál, Badakhshán or Bukhárá. The surveillance, however, which is exercised over prisoners, as they are being moved by goat-paths over mountains, cannot be a very effective one and, therefore, many of them escape. Some of the Kashmir Maharajah’s Sepoys, who had invaded Dardistan, had been captured and had escaped. They narrated many stories of the ferocity of these mountaineers; _e.g._, that they used their captives as fireworks, etc., etc., in order to enliven public gatherings. Even if this be true, there can be no doubt that the Sepoys retaliated in the fiercest manner whenever they had an opportunity, and the only acts of barbarism that came under my observation, during the war with the tribes in 1866, were committed by the Kashmir invaders.

[81] This is undoubtedly the _canis rutilans_, a species of wild dog, which hunts in packs after the wild goat, so numerously found in the high mountains round Gilgit. The snow-ounce also pursues it. Dardistan, specially Hunza, is the paradise of the ibex, the wild sheep, including the _ovis poli_, and the red bear.

[82] Only so much has been mentioned of the Genealogies of the rulers of Nagyr, Hunza, and Dîr, as belongs to this portion of my account of Dardistan.

[83] Full details of the son and successor of Ghazan Khan, Safdar Ali Khan, to the present vassal of the Kashmir (Anglo-Indian) Government, Muhammad Názim Khan, the fugitive Safdar Ali Khan’s half-brother, are given elsewhere.

[84] Abbas Khan(?) now at Srinagur and Bahadur Khan(?).

[85] I believe that Raja Záhid Za’far’s wife was a sister of Rajas Kerîm Khan and Sakandar Khan of Gilgit (also of Nagyr descent). _Vide_ page 67 and Heading V. on page 69.

This connexion might account for Za’far helping the Dogras, who had reinstated Kerîm Khan in Gilgit.

[86] Jewahir Singh went by Shigar with 13,000 Baltis (Little Tibetans), 2,000 light infantry came _viâ_ Jagloth under Sirdar Mahmud Khan. The general of all the “Khulle” Regiments was Bakhshi Radha Kishn. Colonel Hoshiára went by the Nomal road to Nagyr, and after destroying 3,000 head of sheep and many villages returned.

Wazir Zoraweru went to Darêl with Colonel Devi Singh and 10,000 men(?). Bija Singh was at Gor(?) and Hussani Ali was in command of the Artillery.

[87] Mir Vali and Pahlwan are brothers by different mothers. Mulk Amán and Nura Guzá (Mîr Ghazi?) are brothers by the same mother—so one of my men says. Pahlwan is Amán-ul-Mulk’s sister’s son (_vide_ “History of Wars with Kashmir”).

[88] _Extract_: “_1850._ The raids of the Chilásis, is made the occasion for invading the country of Chilás, which not being a dependency of Kashmir, is not included in the Treaty of 1846. The Maharaja gives out that he is acting under orders of the British Government. Great consternation among petty chiefs about Muzaffarabad regarding ulterior plans of the Maharaja. The Sikhs send a large army, which is defeated before the Fort of Chilás. 1851.—Bakhshi Hari Singh and Dewan Hari Chand are sent with 10,000 men against Chilás, and succeed in destroying the fort and scattering the hostile hill tribes which assisted the Chilásis.”

[89] Extract from Drew’s “Northern Barriers of India,” 1877: “Until about 1850 they used to make occasional expeditions for plunder, coming round the flanks of the mountain into this Astor Valley. It was these raids that determined Maharaja Gulâb Singh to send a punitive expedition against Chilás. This he did in 1851 or 1852. The Dogrâs at last took the chief stronghold of the Chilásis, a fort two or three miles from the Indus River, and reduced those people to some degree of obedience: and _there has been no raid since_.”

[90] “The Astor people used formerly to do the same thing,” and on page 459 of Drew’s “Jummoo and Kashmir Territories,” the author, who was a high official in the Kashmir service, says: “The Sikhs sent an expedition to Chilás under one Sujah Singh, but it was repulsed.... This was about the year 1843.... The good effects (of the expedition in 1850 or 1851) ... have already been spoken of. Since that time the Chilásis ... pay yearly to the Maharaja a tribute of 100 goats and about two ounces of gold-dust; _otherwise they are free_.” Since then Major Ommaney in 1868 reports that ever since the advent of British neighbourhood they have never committed any offences: “The people are inoffensive.” Mr. Scott calls them “a quiet, peace-loving people,” and all the Panjab Administration Reports give them the same reputation.

[91] The word “Thousand” may only stand for 400, as explained elsewhere.

[92] For divisions of Dard castes see pages 62, 63.

[93] Of the value of ten annas each, then 1s. 3d.

[94] “Yaghistáni” means inhabitant of the “wild” or “independent” country.

[95] For Divisions of Dard Castes, see pages 62, 63.

[96] Robe of honor.

[97] [The stones are so loosely embedded in sandy soil, that treading on or catching hold of one, often brings down an avalanche of stones. When the path is narrow and a river flows beneath, it is, generally, impossible to escape. Stones are often placed in such a way as to cause avalanches to come on the invader who steps on them.]

[98] Here my informant, himself a Sunni Mussulman and always calling his Shiah co-religionists Kafirs, was raving with indignation against the orthodox Sunnis, Isa and Asmat and the Sunni soldiers of Kashmir, for murdering the Shiahs of Yasin. He ascribed the atrocities of the Sikhs entirely to the orders of the ex-fugitives.

[99] I met Lehna Singh, a relative of the Maharaja, in 1866 in command of the Sai forces, who had only Rs. 20 per mensem, with unlimited liberty, however, to make as much besides out of the people, as he could. Bad as this system is, the drain on the rulers and the ruled is not so great, under Oriental methods, as under a highly-paid European administration, and the mismanagement of Kashmîr was far less expensive and less injurious to the Empire than the present “good” management through British officers.

[100] The Kholi people from whom the Sazini heard the account of the massacre were 100 merchants who had come to Gilgit, as is their custom, to sell goats, etc., and had there been arrested and taken along to Yasin by Isa Bahadur, in order to prevent their spreading the news of the impending attack. There were also eight men from Djajiál and five from Patan. The following were the Chiefs with the merchants: Káhar, Kali, Dessa, Amr, Djá—Shìns of Mahrëin in Koli (four miles from Koli). Sabit Shah, Aman, Shudum Khan, Serdàn, Guldán (Kamins); Hajetu, Lola, Shughlu Hákko, Bisat, Puz, Khushir (Yashkunns); Ashmál, Gulu, Subhán Shah, Bilál, Mahsúmu, Yadúla, Najb-ulla of Kóli; Bolós Khan, and Bula Shài, two Patan Sirdars—Wáli, Sirdar of Djajiál, a Shin, with seven Zemindars. I, adds my informant, have also heard it from Mulk Aman who was not present, but who sorrows deeply for the occurrence. (The atrocities related are fully confirmed by Mr. Hayward’s account, quoted elsewhere, and by what I saw and heard myself in 1866. Mr. Hayward fixes 1863 as the date of the massacre.)

[101] There is a place called Nilamutsh—green mountain ridge—literally a mountain that has fallen off a still higher one. Chaprôt is three kôs above and Guyetsh two kôs below this place. Hîni is on the other side of the river two and a half kos from Nilamutsh. Chaprôt has 150 houses; Guyêtsh 30 and Hini 80 houses.

[102] I sent the Yarkandi, Niaz Muhammad, (whom I had taken to Europe), by the little frequented Shigar route to find out the truth about Hayward’s murder. His report is a strange and suggestive one, and will be published in my next volume. (See also pages 74, 75 and 105.)

[103] It has also been alleged that in order to get rid of two doubtful friends of the Maharajah, namely, Mir Vali and Mulk-Aman, and to make room for the more trusted Pehliwan, Aman-ul-Mulk, the ruler of Chitrál and supposed instigator of the murder of Hayward through the agency of Mir Vali of Yasin, wrote to the Maharajah to implicate Mulk Aman in the business. Immediately on his flight, his wife and son were temporarily imprisoned in the Fort of Gilgit. Pehliwan and Rahmat interceded for some of the servants, who were set free and sent on to Chitrál. Mir Vali found his way to Chitrál, whose ruler had one of Mr. Hayward’s guns, though the bulk of his property is said to have been recovered. There he was seen by Major Montgomery’s Havildar, who reported that Mir Vali was lame from a kick by a horse. This however, does not seem to have prevented him from resuming the rule of Yasin in conjunction with Pehliwan or, if recent accounts are to be trusted, from turning his nominal suzerain, Aman-ul-Mulk, out of Chitrál. Mulk Aman also figured for a short time on the scene of the war with Aman-ul-Mulk and by the latest report, seems to have fled to Yarkand.

[104] This peak overlooks Bunji and the whole course of the Indus (with a sight of the Gilgit Valley) from its sudden southward bend at the Makpon-i-Shang-Rong, till it again bends westward beyond Chilás.

[105] The last (semi-official) _Moscow Gazette_ says: “Russia will not neglect to avail herself of the first convenient opportunity to assist the people of India to throw off the English yoke, with the view of establishing the country under independent native rule.”

[106] I began to write this paper as an introduction to an academical treatment of the history, language, and customs of Hunza-Nagyr, when the apparently, sudden, but, probably, calculated complications on that frontier compelled me to abandon my task for the present and to discuss instead the ephemeral news as they were published from day to day in the press.

[107]

“Agàr qahàt rijál uftad az-sî qaum kam gîrî.
Yakùm Affghan, doyum Kambó, soyùm bad-zât Kashmîrî.”

If there (ever) should be a scarcity of men, frequent little (beware of) three peoples: one the Affghan, the second the Kambó, and the third the bad-raced Kashmîrî.

[108] I was again on special duty in 1886, and its result was Part I. of the “Hunza-Nagyr Handbook,” of which a second and enlarged edition will appear shortly. My material, some of which has been published, has been collected between 1865 and 1889 in my private capacity as a student of languages and customs.

[109] In spite of Russian attempts to conciliate the orthodox Muhammadans of Turkey and thus to take the place of the British as “the Protector of Islám,” the news of the revision of the Korán by a Russian Censor and the _bévue_ of putting up the Czar’s portrait in Central Asian Mosques, have injured Russia’s propaganda among Muhammadans, whom also the accounts of the persecution of the Jews have estranged from a Power that began its rule in Central Asia by repairing and constructing Mosques, helping Mosque Schools and even subsidizing an employé to call “the faithful” to fast and _break_-fast during the month of Ramazán.

[110] “By the most recent account, Ghazan Khan, the son of Ghazanfar, has been killed by his own son, Muhammad Khan. Muhammad Khan’s mother was the sister of Zafar Khan, the ruler of Nagyr. She was killed by her father-in-law, Ghazanfar, and thrown over a precipice from her house. Ghazan Khan treacherously killed his paternal uncle, Abdullah Khan, ruler of Gojál, who unsuspectingly met him. On ascending the throne, Ghazan Khan is also said to have poisoned his ailing full brother, Bukhtawar Shah, and another (by a different Sayad mother) Nanawal Shah. The fratricidal traditions of Hunza and of the Khush-waqtia family of Yasin have now been somewhat thrown into the shade by the parricide of Muhammad Khan. The father of Ghazan Khan, Ghazanfar, is said to have died from the effects of a suit of clothes, impregnated with small-pox, sent to him by his daughter, the full sister of Ghazan Khan, who was married to Mir Shah of Badakhshan, in order to accelerate her brother’s accession to the throne. The father of Ghazanfar, Sullum, also poisoned his own father. This state of things is very different from the gentle rules and traditions of Nagyr, whose aged Chief, Zafar Khan, has nineteen sons, and who sent his rebellious eldest son. Muhammad Khan (whose mother was a full sister of Ghazan Khan of Hunza) to Ramsu in Kashmir territory, where he died. He was married to a daughter of his maternal uncle, and tried to sell some of his Nagyr subjects into slavery, against the traditions of that peaceful country, in consequence of which his father, Zafar Khan expelled him.” (See Part referring to the History and Customs of Hunza and Nagyr.) Yet it is this patriarchal, loyal and God-fearing Záfar Khan, whose letter to me I published last year, whom we accused of kidnapping and aggressiveness, so that we might take his country.

[111] Of the £380, Shignán received £170, Sirikul £100, Wakkan £50, and Hunza £60 in Yambus (silver blocks of the value of £17).

[112] _Times_, 5th December, 1892.

[113] _Asiatic Quarterly Review_, January, 1891.

[114] Burns, in his travels to Bukhárá, points out the locality of the province of Koláb in the south of the Amu (Oxus), and calls it by the name of Gawalan, which I think is a corruption of Khatlan; but Najmuddin asserts with certainty that it is situated on the northern bank and is a part of Ma-vara-un-nahr (the country on that side of the river) (Transoxiana). Najmuddin is No. 2 of the group at the beginning of this paper.

[115] This river is formed by three tributaries (1) coming from Sarghalan (has a mine of rubies); (2) from Wardùj (sulphur mines); (3) یمغان Yamghan (iron mine). It flows through the territory of Badakhshan, and joins the Amu.

[116] See also “Comparative Table” at the end of this Appendix, and the “Anthropological Photograph” facing this page. Read also page 1 of Appendix IV. “The Races of the Hindukush,” opposite to Drawing 1 of that Appendix, on which look for Nos. 1, 6, and 9.

[117] Matavalli, and a new man, Mîr Abdullah of Gabriál (column F of subjoined Comparative Table), were also measured at Lahore on the 23rd March, 1886, with the following results that may be added to the above measurements or may be compared with those in the “Comparative Table,” respectively columns A and F, (_Matavalli_ and _Mîr Abdullah_).

I. Head: Greatest breadth, A, 14·3—F, 14·1.
Greatest length from glabella to the back of the head, A,
18·8—F, 18·6.
Greatest length from root of nose to the back of the head,
A, 19·6—F, 19·1.
Height of ear, A, 11·2—F, 11·9. Breadth of forehead, A,
10·6—F, 10·7.
Height of face (_a_), chin to edge of hair, A, 18·4—F, 19·1.
Height of face (_b_), root of nose to chin, A, 12·7—F, 12·1.
Middle face, root of nose to mouth. A, 8·1—F, 7·6.
Breadth of face, zygomatic arch, A, 13·8—F, 13·6.
Distance of the inner angles of eyes, A, 3·4—F, 3·4.
Distance of the outer angles of eyes, A, 9·2—F, 8·8.
Nose: Height, A, 5·1—F, 5·8; Length, A, 5·3—F, 5·9; Breadth,
A, 3·9—F, 3·5.
Mouth: Length, A, 5·4—F, 5·3.
Ear: Height, A, 6·1—F, 6·3; distance from ear-hole to root
of nose, A, 12·1—F, 12·1.
Horizontal circumference of head, A, 55—F, 53.

II. Body: Entire height, A, 165·7 centim.—F, 166.
Greatest extension of arms, A, 166·5—F, 165. !!
Height: chin, A, 142—F, 143. Height to navel, A, 96·5—F, 99.
” shoulder, A, 138—F, 138. ” middle finger, A, 73—F,
71·5.
” elbows, A, 104—F, 105. ” patella, A, 45—F, 44·5.
” wrist, A, 78—F, 80.
Height in sitting, to top of head (over the seat), A, 88—F, 85.
Breadth of shoulder, A, 43—F, 36.
Circumference of chest, A, 87—F, 81.
Hand: length middle finger, A, 8—F, 7·5; breadth, base of four
fingers, A, 10—F, 7·5.
Foot: length, A, 26—F, 25·5; breadth, A, 11—F, 8·25.
Circumference of upper leg, A, 46—F, 42·5.
Circumference of calf, A, 34—F, 32.

[118] For additional measurements, see page 2. He is No. 6 of Drawing 1 of Appendix IV.

[119] Mîr Abdullah is No. 7 of Drawing 1, and No. 2 of Drawing 2, of Appendix IV. For additional measurements, see page 2.

[120] I was obliged to get myself measured in order to encourage the Dards and Kafirs to allow themselves to be subjected to a process so unintelligible to them. At the same time, their comparison with an European may have some interest. His brachycephalic Cranial Index 81·44 may be compared with those of dolichocephalic Matavalli 73·84, mesocephalic Khudáyár 78·7, mesocephalic Ghulám Muhammad 77·4, mesocephalic Ghulám 77, the exquisitely dolichocephalic Abdullah 72·53 and dolichocephalic Mîr Abdullah 73·82, which give an average of 75·55. The European’s circumference of head, 60 centimetres, may also be compared with Abdul Ghafûr’s, 53·7½; Khudayâr’s, 52·5; Ibrahîm’s, 56·5; Matavalli’s, 54; Sultan Ali’s, 53·75; Khudádad’s and Hatamu’s, 54·4; and Ghulam Mahammad’s, 54; which give the circumference of the heads of the eight Dards and Kafirs on the first page. This Table supplies further details regarding three of them, and adds the measurements of three other Dards (Ghulám, Abdullah, and Mîr Abdullah), so that in all, including Jamshêd, the measurements of twelve Dards or Kafirs have been preserved. Those taken by Dr. Neill have been lost. Notice also the fine formation of the head and the amplitude of the frontal region of the Dareyli herdsman, on the drawing opposite to page 76 of the text of this Volume.

[121] There were also weighed the Kamôzi Káfir Abdulghafûr, age 23 or 24, weighing 10 st. 2¾ lb.; and the following Nagyris: Ibrahim Rôno, 34 years old, 10 st. 12 lb.; Sultàn Ali, 35 years old, 9 st. 12 lb.; and the boy Hatamu, 16 years old, and weighing 7 st. 13 lb.

[122] The numbers refer to the tables published by Broca, Topinard and Hamy.

[123] The following extra measurements were given:—Height to auricular meatus, 158; to acromion, 142; to epicondyle, 106; styloid apophysis of the radius, 82; to the end of middle finger, 64.

[124] A kôs is a measurement of distance varying from 1 to 2½ miles, and often depending on the speaker’s impression due to hardships encountered or to other causes. “Katsha” and “pakka,” for “rough, unfinished,” and “thorough” respectively, are terms well known to Anglo-Indians. “Katsha” and “pakka” are generally spelt “kucha” and “pucka.”

[125] Or about 20 miles. The reader should notice that such abbreviations as “14 kôs, plain” mean that “the distance is 14 kôs over generally a plain or easy ground”; “h” stands for houses.

[126] Or British-Indian Rupees.

[127] It is superfluous to inform readers of this Review that the Persians are Shiah, and the Turks Sunni, Muhammadans. Most of the Indian Muhammadans are Sunnis.

[128] Many words denoting proximity, become honorifics, such as “Sherîf” (Shereef), “Hazrat,” “Jenáb,” etc. “Khalîfah” is one who succeeds, or follows, or is a deputy. Strictly speaking, this title refers to the Sultan of Turkey as the successor of the Prophet Muhammad in the temporal headship of the Sunnis, but even the successor of the heretical Mahdi in the Sudán calls himself “Khalifa.”

[129] The “Sherîfs” or “Shereefs,” in a special, princely or official sense, are lineal descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima who was married to A’li, and have, perhaps, even a higher claim to the respect of the Faithful, than ordinary descendants or “Sayads.” The Grand Shereef of Mecca, the Shereefian dynasty of Morocco, the Shereef of Wazan, who also bears the title, like the Emperor of Morocco, of “Muláy,” or “Maulái,” show the great extent of the “House of A’li.”

[130] Among these Pîrs each Mulái chooses his own, of course, _under_ the supreme headship of Agha Khan.

[131] Who has been accused of instigating the “Old Man of the Mountain” to send his emissaries to murder Conrad of Montferrat, titular King of Jerusalem. The Ismailian “Assassins” are also accused of an attempt to murder Prince Edward of England at Acre.

[132] Whom I took to England and whose name, curiously enough, was “Matav_ali_,” which is also a derivative of “vali.”

[133] Also, “Does it rise in the direction of heavens, or is its descent in vegetation?” [taking “Hásil” = obtaining for “Mehásil” = vegetation], reproduction (?)

[134] Also, “Or in the form of Man how does it again rotate into being born an Adamite?” or, “Why is man created in the form of a human being?”

[135] Also, “Nay, but the perfect man, the seemly, the all-perfect wins the prize.”

[136] These words are so badly written that they may also be read as, “O, thou that waitest not for wisdom.”

[137] “Degol is the first village of Zebák ... which is ruled by Shah Abdur-Rahim, a Sayad of the Shiah sect, worshipped by all the Shiahs of Kashkar, (Chitrál), Yarkand, and Khokand. They also worship Shah Bombáy, Shah Madkasan, who is learned, good-natured, and friendly to travellers.... The people give a tenth of their income to their preceptors; if one has ten children, he consecrates one to Shah Abdur-Rahim.... The inhabitants are strong and hardy; the women do not cover their faces from strangers. Although Shiahs, they have no mosques and repeat no prayers. Abdur-Rahim has one in his village, where _he_ prays. Every morning at _Chasht_ (the middle hour between sunrise and noon) he sits in the assembly and distributes breads of wheat among the members, followed by the servants handing round tea in porcelain cups in which each one soaks his bread, and, after eating it, lifts his hand to bless the giver, a custom also followed by the nobles on entering the assembly. If Shah Abdur-Rahim addresses any of them, he rises from his seat and answers as if he were reading a _ruka’t_ at the time of praying, and then returns to his place, and sits on his knees, for to sit otherwise is reckoned a sin amongst these men.” In other words, the only worship of the prayerless Muláis is to their Pîr, to whom they address the _ruka’t_ given by real Muhammadans in prayers to God [bowing, whilst standing, with hands resting on the knees].

[138] The Druses are divided into “Juhelá” = “uninitiated,” or the Laity, and “U’qalá” = the “initiated.”

[139] It should be noticed that this apotheosis of “Al-Hákim,” the mad Fatimite Khalifa of Cairo (A.D. 996-1020), who was the head and originator of the special Ismailian sect, which became subsequently known to the Crusaders under the name of the “Assassins”—a corruption of “Hashishin,” or drinkers of Hashish (_Canabis Indica_)—commences with titles of governorship or Age which would seem (to the uninitiated) to be compatible with his subordination to the Deity, although, for practical purposes, Al-Hákim is the “ruler of this world,” whether for good or for evil. He is, therefore, the Prince of this world, if not Apollyon, and the fact that the words “Valî” = a deputed governor or “Hákim” = a governor, may cause him to be confounded with either an ordinary ruler, or be merely ringing the changes on his own name of “Al-Hákim,” it is clear, at any rate to the initiated, that the only Deity worth caring for is thereby meant, and that he began with the Khalifa Al-Hákim, who lives for ever. In the titles “Maula” and “Valî” there is also an allusion to A’li, who is “next to God,” and from whom Al-Hákim was descended. The Mauláis or Muláis of the Hindukush use similar titles for their spiritual head, whether dead, or continuing in his lineal descendant, Agha Khan of Bombay. The “Kelám-i-Pîr,” or “the Logos or word of the Pîr or ancient sage,” mainly refers to the sayings attributed to the “Sheikh-ul-Jabl,” or “Old Man of the Mountain.” In Hunza itself, the Muláis equally address their practical Deity as “The Ancient of the Age,” or “Pîr-uz-Zamán.”

[140] The contract is thus repeated from a written document.

[141] Many Shiahs call A’li “the light” of God.

[142] There are _five_ books of the _Sheikh-ul-A’ql_, “or old man of the intelligence,” or of the “initiated,” and also apparently a book of investigation and of the unity of the Godhead for the “initiated of the retirement” = “U’qala al Khalwat.” There are _five_ “Maulas” or Mulas of “the initiated,” which I take to be the names of five books, namely: (1) the Mula of the A’ql, or Mind, or of the body-corporate of the “U’qalá” or “the initiated”; (2) the Mula of the Nafs, or Breath; (3) the Mula of the Zeman, or the Age; (4) the Mula of the Kalima, or the Word; (5) the Mula of Al-Hákim, or the founder of the sect. Numbers 3 and 4 are probably the Kelám-i-Pîr and other dicta of the Mulais of the Hindukush, to which I have already referred.

[143] This holy roll among extreme Shiahs has _five_ names, namely, God, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husain, which positively excludes the prophet Muhammad, but includes his son-in-law (Ali), his daughter, Fatima, and the martyred grandsons of Ali, namely Hasan and Husain. As a rule, however, the ordinary orthodox “Panjtan” among Shiahs (and even in some Sunni Mosque inscriptions) are: “Muhammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain.” “Panjtan” means “the five (holy) bodies.”

[144] There are _five_ main sects among the Shiahs, or, rather, “Adelias,” or advocates of “the rightful” and hereditary succession to the Apostleship of Muhammad, in opposition to the elective principle by the _consensus fidelium_ of the Sunnis. The two sects that now concern us are the African Ismailians, and the Ismailians of the Lebanon and of the Hindukush. The number of Shiah sects is estimated variously from 3 to 72.

[145] I use the word “Mulái” to include not only the virtuous Druses with their self-denying “initiated” or “_U’qelá_” leaders, but also the Ismailians generally, whether religious or not, (as in impious Hunza) and of whatever degree of conformity or scepticism. As a rule, an ordinary Mulái will outwardly practise Sunni rites and hold Shiah doctrines.

[146] In discussion, whenever expedient, with a Brahmin, or even Buddhist, the belief in a modified metempsychosis would form a bond of sympathy (see last A. Q. R.), whilst the survival “of the most adapted,” rather than that of “the best,”—without, however, the loss of any individual or type,—would be connected with the notion of a certain fixed number of souls in evolution from “the beginning” and ever recurrent in living form. “The beginning,” however, would be a mere term applying to this or that revealed condition, for behind what may be called “the terrestrial gods,” behind Allah in whatever form, Deity or Deities, there was The BEING that existed without a beginning and whose first manifestation was the “Word” with its Replica as the type of the apostle and his fellow that ever succeeded itself throughout the generations of this world. If the visible Deity, preferring to show itself in human, rather than any other, form, is incorporated in the lineal descendant of the 7th Imám, it is, apparently, because humanity requires such an unbroken link in order to convert into certainty its hope of the deliverer, the Messiah, the Mahdi, the second [advent of] Jesus, who will similarly be the Deity in the shape of a man, reconciling the various expectations of all religions in one manifestation. That few, if any, Muláis, or even the most “initiated” Druses, should know _every_ variety of their belief, is natural, not only in consequence of varying degrees of mental ability and of corresponding “initiation,” but also because of varied historical or national surroundings, circumstances which underlie the guiding principle of all Mulái belief and practice. I venture to indicate, _as purely my personal impression_, that this principle, which need not be further explained in this place, is the real secret of that faith. In my humble opinion, the _disjecta membra_, so to speak, of that faith form, if reconstituted, an embodiment of the religious thought of the World that seeks to reconcile all differences in one Philosophy and in one Policy.

[147] In the interior of Arabia, Mr. W. B. Harris has come across a curious sect that may be connected with a section of the Kerámis or Keramátis, sects that gave much trouble in Syria in the 10th century, or, more probably, with an extreme and, probably, disavowed heterodox sub-sect of the Ismailians. It may be interesting to quote the correspondence that has taken place between us on the subject:

Tangier, _April 5, 1893_.

“During my journey through the Yemen last year I came across
a sect of people calling themselves _Makarama_, of whom I was
able to learn little, on account of their own reticence and the
apparent want of interest of their Moslem neighbours. However,
one of their number gave me a couple of lines of Arabic poetry,
which translated, run:

“God is unknown—by day or by night.
Why trouble about him, there is no heaven and no hell.”

All that I could find out about them in addition to this is
that they hold an annual nightly feast with closed doors and
lights in the windows, in which they are said to practise
incest; and that they annually practise the form of driving a
scapegoat into the mountains. The latter is clearly Judaic and
the former custom savours of the Karmathians, but this seems
improbable as the people are not Moslems. They are visited, it
is said, by certain Indians who prize the charms written by
these Yemenis. Beyond this I was able to discover nothing.

I have no valuable books of reference as to religions here,
but if I remember aright there were Phœnician rites resembling
this. Could it have anything to do with the Sabeans? I should
be so grateful to you if you could let me know, when you have
time, what you think about it. I can find no reference to them
in any work on the Yemen. The name of the sect is, I suppose,
of Persian origin.

WALTER B. HARRIS.

[REPLY.]

Vichy, _April 14, 1893_.

I, too, am not here within the reach of books of reference. I
will, however, try to suggest what occurs to me on the spur of
the moment in the hope that it may possibly be of some slight
use in your enquiries. It is very important, first of all,
to learn how “Makarama” is spelt by the Yemen people in the
Arabic character, and especially whether the “k” is a “kef” or
a “qaf” ق . Then the lines you quote should be sent to me
in the original Arabic dialect and character (not the Maghrebi
form, of course) and transliterated in Roman characters[*] _as
you heard them_, for a good deal depends, _inter alia_, on the
Arabic equivalents, used by “the Makarama” of “God,” “heaven,”
and “hell.” ... The sentiment of the translation is the _Mulái_
of Hunza, about whom I have written in the last _Asiatic
Quarterly Review_....

How do you know that the people are _not_ Moslems? That their
orthodox Muhammadan neighbours do not admit them to be such,
is not conclusive, for I have heard rigid Sunnis even exclude
Shiahs from that appellation. If you could remember the _exact_
question which you put on that subject to your Mukarama friends
and their precise reply, it might help to a conclusion.

Driving a scapegoat into the mountains is a common practice
among the Afghans, who call themselves “Beni Israel” (not to be
confounded with the _Jews_ properly so called—their “Musáis” or
“Yahûdis”). The other rites you speak of _were alleged_ against
the Karmathians and the Yazîdis _are_ accused of them. Have you
thought of the Yazîdis? The accusation of incestuous gatherings
is, as you know, constantly brought by “the orthodox” against
sectarians and I would not, in your place, give up the
conjecture of a Karmathian origin of the “Makarama,” before
you have gone further into the matter. Please, therefore, to
remember _all you can_ about your friends and, if I can, I
shall aid your enquiry to the best of my ability. I think you
are right about the Phœnician rites and the Sabean conjecture.

I do not think that “Makarama” is of Persian origin. Is
it possibly “_Mu_karama” or “_Mu_karrima”? If so, this
would be an appropriate title for a specially “blessed” or
enlightened sect. Why do you call them a “_sect_”? Are they
also ethnographically distinct from their neighbours and what
are their occupations? Could you get me a copy of one of
their _charms_? Their being visited by certain Indians would
rather show their Ismailian connexion than that they are not a
heretical Muhammadan sect. Indeed, among the Ismailian sects
mentioned by Makrizi as having spread in Yemen, among other
countries, are “the _Kerámis_, _Karmátis_, Khárijis, etc.,”
“all of whom studied philosophy and chose what suited them.” I
really think these are your “Makaráma.”

G. W. LEITNER.

[*] I think “romanizing” the Oriental characters a great
mistake, except “to make assurance doubly sure.” The _Arabic_
spelling would at once limit conjectures and lead to a solution.

[148] We trust to be able to publish in our next issue the history of his family since 622 A.D. as also his photograph and those of his father and grandfather, the latter of whom tendered great services to our Government in Sind and Kandahar.—ED.

[149] Being a report of an extempore address delivered before the Victoria Institute.

Transcriber’s Note:

This book is a collection of papers written at different times, and not edited with any consistency. Spelling and accents vary considerably. The text has been preserved as printed apart from minor repairs to punctuation and the following changes to correct near-certain errors.

Introduction, page 1: “acccurate” changed to “accurate” (one of
the most accurate codes)

Main text, page 12: “Arzu” changed to “Azru” (‘Refuse food,’
said Azru)

Main text, page 40: “porbably” changed to “probably” (in Astor
(probably Vigne))

Main text, page 78: “Seapoys” changed to “Sepoys” (in 1866
_six_ Kashmir Sepoys)

Main text, page 89: “aud” changed to “and” (Shahbaz, also
called “Osmin,” and Uzet Shah)

Main text, page 99: redundant word “in” removed (lost 400 young
men [in] killed)

Main text, page 101: “Dumnu-dummu” changed to “Dummu-dummu”
(Yatshotsh below Dummu-dummu on the Gilgit side)

Main text, page 111: “Islamin” changed to “Islam in” (the
introduction of the religion of Islam in to Gilgit)

Appendix I, page 22: “Naygr” changed to “Nagyr” (As for Nagyr,
the case was quite different)

Appendix IV, page 1: “Kerbalá” changed to “Kerbelá” (sent to
Kerbelá a year ago)

Appendix IV, page 14: “wár” changed to “war” (war, _kali_.)

Appendix VI, page 8: “Pigisth” changed to “Pigitsh” (Kazi-deh
to Pigitsh 12 kôs)

Appendix VIII, page 5: “arbitary” changed to “arbitrary” (The
meaning is nothing so arbitrary.)

Illustration 15: “gNayari” changed to “Nagyri” (No. 4. Nagyri)

Footnote 38: “make” changed to “makes” (the Indus river makes a
sudden turn)

Footnote 129: “Marocco” changed to “Morocco” (like the Emperor
of Morocco)

End of Project Gutenberg's Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893, by G. W. Leitner