An Inquiry Into the Ethnography of Afghanistan/Page 101-125

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An Inquiry Into the Ethnography of Afghanistan

By H. W. Bellew

The Oriental University Institute, Woking, 1891

Ethnology of Afghanistan:Page 101-125

Jadran

Adjoining the Mangal are the Jadran. The Jadran are reckoned at ten thousand families, and inhabit

[Page-101]: the forest-covered hills of the Suleman range between Khost and Zurmat; their principal section, named Akhtun, occupies the Shamal district on the western border of Khost. The Jadran are not reckoned Afghan at all, and are an entirely free people ; in their own country they live by agriculture chiefly. In winter many of the tribe come down to British territory as day labourers,and are there considered a quiet, inoffensive, and industrious people, and clever at spade work and well sinking. In their own country they are hemmed in by other tribes on all sides, and thus cut off from free communication with the rest of the country ; on the east they have the Khostwal, on the west the Gurbuz, on the south the Ghilzi, and on the north the Mangal. The Jadran probably represent the ancient Gadrosai of the Greeks, and appear to have been forced up into their isolated position in the time of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, who, it is supposed, transplanted them to this place when he invaded the Kalat and Las provinces of Balochistan, and replaced them there by the Jhalawan tribe. The ancient Gadrosai are represented in their native country by the Gadari of Las, and it is this name in the plural form of Gadaran which is the source of our Jadran.

Jadran sections are : —

Akhtar. Akhtun. Ahmat. Al. Alek. Ali. Alo. Ayo. Babar. Bakhai. Bashak. Bazki. Bet. Bibu. Bola. Brest. Burhan. Dangi. Deri. Dobi. Dreplara. Firoz. Garazi. Ghani. Goyan. Hos. Jamki. Jol. Khani. Kharmaz. Khatar. Khoe. Khoja. Lala. Mado. Mamal. Mandal. Marsen. Mata. Mazi. Mosam. Multan. Musa. Niamut. Nambat. Pao. Parangi. Sher. Sipari. Shodut. Sparki. Sultan. Suri. Tenpa. Tokar. Tola. Toraki. Umar. Wali. Walidi. Zaugi. Zani. etc.

Of these,

[Page-102]:

Next to the Jadran on the east are the Khostwal and Dawari.

Khostwal

The Khostwal, or " People of Khost," inhabit a fertile valley drained by the upper sources of the Shamil, or Keti, river, a principal affluent of the Kuram, which it joins at Zerwam, twelve miles south of the Turi limit at Thal Biland-khel, and are reckoned at four thousand families. They are called Khostwal by their neighbours, and do not appear to have any distinct tribal designation of their own. Though they share the possession of the Khost valley with the Vaziri, who are indeed forcible intruders, they are not allowed to be of the same lineage with them, but are rather looked down on as of inferior descent.

Khost is probably an abbreviation of Khostan " the country of the Kho a Kachwaha tribe, whose original seat was in the Shekhawati, or Shikarwati, hills about Udipur. The Khostwal would thus be the Indian Kho, and the same people as the Kho of Kafiristan, whom we shall meet by-and-by. Like the Afridi, Orakzi, and other Pathan tribes in this part of the Indus frontier, the Khostwal and Dawari, as also the Banu tribes, to be presently noticed, are ranged in two opposite political factions, or gundi; but here they are called Torgundi, or " black faction," and Spingundi, or " white faction," instead of the Samal and Gar previously mentioned. The origin of these factions is not well understood ; but judging from the names Samal and Gar, they probably indicate Buddhists (Sraman) and Magians (Gahar, or Gaur) prior to the establishment of Islam.

Khostwal sections are : —

Bacir. Ismail. Lakan. Mandu. Matun. Mula. Saban. Shamal. Tani. Tarawi, etc.

Of these,

[Page-103]: desert and Rajwara ;

  • Mula seems to be the name of a tribe (perhaps a Kachwaha clan) which formerly extended over a wide extent of this Indus border, and gave its name to the Mula Pass to Khozdar in Kelat Balochistan, and to the Mula range of hills (Mulaghar) in the Afridi country, at the extreme ends south and north respectively of the great Suleman range.
  • Lakan is also a place name of wide distribution on this border, in the form of Laki, being found in the Mula Pass just mentioned, and also in the Banu district ; it may mark the ancient seats of a Kachwaha clan now lost in the Musalman population and nomenclature.

Dawari

The Dawari, orDauri, tribe inhabits the Dawar or Daur district, which lies to the south of the Khost valley, and is properly called Rorh or Rodh. It comprises two open and fertile valleys separated from one another by a long narrow defile called Tograi Tangi, "the strait of the Togra" (Toghra or Togrda, a Solanki, or Chaluk Rajput tribe), through which flows the Tochi or Gambila river, an affluent of the Kuram. The Dawari, who have given their name to the Rorh or Rodh district, are supposed to have been transported to this part from Zamin Dawar on the Helmand at the time that the Afghan tribes were moved by Shahabuddin Ghori from the Ghor mountains to the Suleman range, about the middle of the twelfth century. Shahabuddin Ghori, by whom Islam was first really established in India, following the example of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, planted a whole succession of Afghan colonies in the mountain barrier along the Indus, from Bajaur in the north to Khozdar in the south, and mostly in places previously so planted by Mahmud, fully a hundred and fifty years earlier.

The Dawari are reckoned at six thousand families, and are in two divisions, Tapi and Mali.

Tapi sections are (Lower Dawar) : —


Arghund. Bangash. Bari. Bata. Bibi. Boki. Boki. Bulbul. Chargul. Dori. Gali. Hoti. Hydar. Idak. Isori. Jakar. Jaras. Jawaki. Kati. Khadi. Khoshi. Makhi. Mena. Miro. Musiki. Pahar. Palala. Raji. Rozi. Sami. Sarki. Shangi. Sivaki. Spin. Tapi. Taroti. Taru. Tata. Toghrai. Tori. Utman. Zeraki. Zho.


Of these,

[Page-104]:

  • Mir are Indians of Central India and the desert.
  • Musaki we have noticed before.
  • Pahar stands for Puar (Pramara) Rajput, or else for Parihara Rajput, The whole list, in fact, is of purely Indian nomenclature.

Mali sections are (Upper Da war) : —


Ahmad. Ali. Amrani. Aswan. Aydal. Babi. Brahim. Char. Darpu. Dhan, Firoz. Gadae. Gara. Idal. Jabar. Kaka. Karai. Kati. Khadi. Kori. Land. Larh. Malakh. Mali. Mando. Maryam. Musaki. Myani. Nani. Nasarki. Nasrat. Naugoshi. Ormuz. Pae. Rehar. Sapaki. Samal. Seni. Soho. Taos. Taraki. Taroti. Tayb. Tariki. Tuar. Umar. Zira. etc.


Of these,

The others are almost every one Indian, and have been before noticed.

Bangash

Next to the Dawari eastward is the Shitak tribe of the Banu district ; but before we speak of them it will be better first to dispose of two other tribes which we have not yet dealt with, and which occupy the country extending east and west between the Indus and the Kuram rivers, namely, the Bangash and the Khattak.

The Bangash tribe inhabits the plains of Kuram, Miranzai, and Kohat, from the Peohar or Pewar ridge in the west, to the Khattak border on the east, all which tract is called Bangash by the name of the tribe. The Bangash are reckoned at ten thousand families, of which number two thousand are in Kuram (beyond the British border), where they are dependents of the Turi. In Kuram every Bangash is obliged to attach himself as hamsdyah or "vassal," to some Turi lord, who protects him against any other Turi, and is styled his naik or nayic, or " protector, patron." The Turi nayik furnishes his Bangash hamsdyah with a passport or escort when moving from one part of the district to another, claims his service in war or faction fights, and has a right to his estate in default of a direct Bangash heir.

According to native accounts, the Bangash came originally from Sistan, and settled in Gardez district of Ghazni, where they were

[Page-105]: converted to Islam in the last quarter of the ninth century, during the reign of Sultan Ismail Samani, whose name they are supposed to have adopted as their Muhammadan patronymic; though more probably they got that over-name as belonging to the sect of Ismaili, called Mulahida by orthodox Musalmans, which was founded by Hasan Sabah in Persia in 1099-1100 A.D., and exterminated by Holaku Khan in 1266 A.D. The Ismaili, Mulahida, or " Assassins," to escape destruction, fled in large numbers into Afghanistan. It is not clear which Sistan they came from : whether from the province on the Helmand bearing that modern name (Sistan, the Sajistan of Arab writers, who took the name they found, viz., Sakastan, or " country of the Saka), or from the province bordering on the Bolan Pass, the modern Sibi (Siwistan ; or Shivasthan of the Indians). But, be this as it may, they were expelled from Gardez after some five hundred years of settlement there by the Ghilzi, and drifting eastward towards the Indus gradually, about four hundred years ago, possessed themselves of the Miranzai and Kohat plains, whence, with the aid of the Khattak of Tiri, they drove the Orakzi inhabitants into the Tirah hills where we now find them, as before described.

The Bangash are for the most part Shia' Musalmans, and of the Gar faction in politics. They are reckoned amongst the Pathan tribes, although their origin is variously described and assigned to different sources. By some, the Bangash ancestor, Ismail, is connected with the Sultan Ismail, founder of the Samani dynasty, which succeeded to that of the Suffari (founded by Yacub bin Leith or Lais) 876 A.D. Ismail was surnamed Samani, after his great-grandfather Saman, a camel-driver by profession, and a highway robber by occupation, who had settled in the vicinity of Marv. The great-grandfather of this Saman again was Thahiri, or Dahiri, that is, belonged to the Dahir family or tribe. Dahir was the name of the Hindu Raja of Sind, who was conquered and slain by the Arab general, Muhammad Casim when he invaded that country ; and, as before suggested, it was from this Dahir family, after conversion to Islam, that the Tahiri dynasty sprung. But perhaps Bangash (or Bangakh, as pronounced by the hill Pathan,) may stand for Bangat, or Bankat, Chohan Rajput. Or the Bangash may be a branch of the Bangi division of the Khattak to be next noticed, and of the same stock as the Bangi division of the Sikh nation, and of Jata descent. The Bangash have emigrated largely to India, where they have established considerable colonies in various parts of the country, chiefly at Farrukhabad in the North- Western Provinces.

Bangash is in two divisions — Gara and Samal.

Gara is in two divisions — Bai and Miran.

[Page-106]:

Bai sections are : —

Alisher. Biland. Dang. Daulat. Darsamand. Doda. Gulshah. Hasan. Isa. Jamshedi. Kamal. Kati. Landi. Mandar. Mastu. Musa. Mysaro. Shadi. Shingi. Tapi. Umar, etc.

Miran sections are : —

Aba. Alisher. Azi. Badda. Hasan. Isap. Khoja. Labi. Lodi. Mandar. Mardo. Shahu. Umar, etc.

Samal sections are : —

Ali. Darbi. Kalesar. Kasi. Khadi. Khadir. Khoti. Landi. Mama. Mari. Masturi. Mozu. Musa. Naso. Pae. Tana. Tazi. Ustari, etc.

Of the above names,

  • Gara and Samal are those of two political factions previously mentioned. These factions — in the country drained by the Gomul river and the southern affluents of the Kuram, called Spingundi and Torgundi — divide all the Pathan tribes on the Indus frontier throughout the country between the Kabul and Gomal affluents of that river into opposite parties, and in former times were much more powerful and active than they now are. Inside the British border these factions have died out altogether, but are still in force beyond the border, where the clansmen are ranged in opposition under one or other as a matter of hereditary duty rather than of expediency or choice. For it appears that they have no knowledge of the origin of these factions, nor of the names by which they are distinguished ; all they know is, that their fathers and forefathers were partisans of the faction to which they themselves belong, and that is a precedent good enough for their guidance. These factions probably sprung into existence on the establishment of the supremacy of Islam in these parts, when the professors of the two principal religions at that period prevailing side by side in Eastern Afghanistan, namely, Buddhism and Magism, or Fire-worship (their laity called Sraman and Gabar respectively), were enrolled together under its one brotherhood, supreme creed, and paramount government.
  • Bai and Miran we have before noticed as representing Boioi Greek, or Bai Kachwaha Rajput, and
  • Mer or Mir, an aboriginal Indian tribe of the great desert of Jesalmir, and hills of Central India and Rajwara ;
  • Dang, not before met, is also an aboriginal Indian tribe of the same region as the preceding ;
  • Mysaro also belongs to the same category, together with
  • Shingi and Labi. Of the others we have met and explained most in preceding passages.
  • Badda is a Yadu or Gadun tribe.

[Page-107]:

Khattak

The Khattak tribe inhabits the barren, rocky, and parched country on each bank of the Indus for upwards of a hundred miles along its course, from a little above the confluence of the Kabul river at Attock to near the junction of the Kuram stream below Kalabagh. The width of this Khattak tract varies much, being only a few miles above Attock, and widest — fifty to sixty miles — about Makhad and Kalabagh. The Khattak are reckoned at thirty thousand families, nearly half of which number dwell on the east bank of the Indus. They are a very fine, tall, and well-developed race of Indians, with generally fairer complexions than their neighbouring tribesmen. Their country is exceedingly poor — except in salt, of which it contains whole mountains, and many mines in full work — desolate and rugged, with but little cultivable soil. I have in a previous passage identified the Khattak with the Sattagydai of Herodotus, and may here add that they are the same people as the Shitak of Banu originally, the difference in name being merely the result of local dialectic pronunciation, the soft sound prevailing in the south, and the harsh in the north. The original seat of the Khattak was in the Shamal and Barmal districts, on the east slopes of the Suleman range, now occupied by the Vaziri. In this country they were called Sattak, Shattak, Sitak, or Shitak ; but as they passed north-wards, on expulsion by the Vaziri from their ancient seats, they were called Khattak by their neighbours there, according to the pronunciation of that part of the country ; and after awhile themselves adopted this pronunciation of their name, though in their common Pukhto they still retain the soft pronunciation of the southern and western dialects of that tongue. In fact, the Khattak is the only tribe in the Kohat and Peshawar districts which speaks the soft dialect of Pukhto, all the other tribes north of Kohat and the Kuram speaking different dialects of the northern hard Pukhto.

These Khattak, it appears, were expelled from their lands in the region above indicated by the Vaziri, early in the thirteenth century, during the period of the Kara Khitai rule in the provinces of Kirman and Suran, which together formed the principality founded by the Barak Hajib previously mentioned. At first, it seems, they took refuge in the, at that time, uninhabited Kafir Koh range forming the southern border of the modem Miranzai district, and thence gradually spread eastwards by the Tiri district and Bahadur-Khel salt-mines to the Indus, and across that river

[Page-108]: to the rough country about Makhad and Mianwali through which the Sohan river passes to its confluence with the Indus. At present we are concerned only with that portion of the Khattak found in the country previously defined as that in which the ancient Aparytai of Herodotus were the dominant nation responsible for the tribute due to Darius Hystaspes. Here they are in two great settlements or divisions, namely, the Khattak of Akora in the eastern portion of the Peshawar district, and its Charhat range of hills, where they are in contact with the Afridi and Orakzi ; and the Khattak of Tiri in the southern part of Kohat district, where they have the Bangash of Miranzai on their north border, and at Thal Biland on the Kuram river come in contact with the Vaziri. These Khattak have also a considerable colony in the Yusufzai country, at Jamalgarhi and Katlang near the Lundkhor valley.

The Khattak are probably the same people as the Satakh or Stakhi mercantile Rajput, and are in two great divisions — Torman and Bolac.

Torman, or Turan, is in two divisions — Tari and Taraki.

Tari sections are : —

Ako. Aman. Amir. Ano. Aziz. Babar. Bahram. Barak. Bargwet. Bayan. Chakho. Darpi. Darshi. Ghori. Godi. Gul. Hati. Husen. Idris. Ismail. Janda. Kabul. Kachir. Kamal. Kami. Kani. Khachin. Khushhal. Khwaram. Madi. Maeshi. Makhal. Mali. Mama. Mandoli. Mashar. Miri. Murgi. Nasar. Pash. Rajar. Saro. Shakhal. Shakhawat. Shekhali. Shoe. Surya. Taraki. Watar. Yasin, etc.

Of these names,

[Page-109]:

Taraki sections are : —

Aodal. Aodani. Badin. Bahram. Bashar. Bogar. Dawar. Darkhan. Ganda. Jali. Kashid. Khojak. Laghari. Mahpal. Mandar. Nasar. Usturi. Yusuf, etc.

Of these,

  • Aodal is the same as Abdal, and has appeared before.

Bolac sections are : —

Acho. Babar. Bangi. Barmal. Chawari. Dallo. Gali. Ghori. Juna. Kharak. Khwaram. Kuti. Mamar. Matun. Maryam. Mandi. Makori. Maroz. Misari. Musa. Nagori. Nandrak. Nara. Rozi. Sada. Saghri. Sako. Seni. Shan. Shevi. Shoe. Tapasi. Tara. Taraki, etc.

Of these names,

This completes our review of the tribes now found in the area assigned to the ancient Aparytai country.

Sattagydai

[Page-110]: The next of the four nations mentioned by Herodotus in this connection is the Sattagydai, "those of Sattag kindred or association" ; they apparently occupied the area lying between the Suleman range and the Indus, and drained by the Gomal river and its Zhob and Bori tributaries, as far south as the Vihova range, which marks the boundary between the Pathan and the Baloch tribes on the Indus frontier. This extensive mountainous tract was formerly called Suran, and with Kirman (the country drained by the Kuram) formed the Kara Khitai kingdom before mentioned ; it appears to have been jointly occupied by several tribes, of which the Sattagydai were anciently the one held responsible for the payment of tribute.

The Sattagydai I have identified with the Khattak and Shitak of our day. Anciently they held the Shawal, or Shamil, and Barmal, or Barmol (probably the same as Farmul, or Furmul, of the Furmuli, whom I recognise as the ancient Paniphylai of Herodotus) districts in the hills now occupied by the Vaziri (the Buseri of Pliny), along with the plain country now known as the Banu district, and were then known by the name of Sattak, Shattak, or Shitak, (all three forms are met with in native manuscripts) ; but on the expulsion of the portion of the Sattak inhabiting Shamil and Barmul, and their migration into the adjoining districts of the Aparytai country, they were called in the harsher dialect of that region Khattak ; whilst the portion of the tribe that remained in their ancient country about the modern Banu, retained their original name of Sattak, or Shattak, Sitak, or Shitak, as pronounced in the softer dialect of that country, which was all formerly included in the general term Suran (from the Sur Rajput).

The two provinces of Kirman and Suran, as before stated, constituted the principality of the Kara Khitai of Barak Hajib. The tribes inhabiting Kirman (the country drained by the Kuram river) we have disposed of in the preceding pages. We now proceed to describe those inhabiting Suran (the country drained by the Gomal river), which represents the area assigned to the ancient Sattagydai. This extensive tract is occupied by a number of different tribes, of which theShitak, Waziri, Kakar, and Shirani are the principal, with several others of less power and notoriety, such as Gurbuz,Kharoti, Furmuli, Usturani, etc.

Shitak tribe

The Shitak tribe is said to descend from one Shah Afrid; a circumstance which seems to indicate some hazy connection with the Afridi, who also are said to descend from one Afrid. The Shitak inhabit the Banu subdivision of the Banu district, and are now-a-days more commonly known as Banuchi. They are in three main divisions, viz. : Kevi, Surani, and Sami.

[Page-111]: Kevi, or Kivi, sections are : —

Bai. Bakhi. Balbo. Barak. Bobal. Borah. Boti. Brahirn. Burtah. Calandar. Dalla. Doda. Gala. Gedi. Ghazi. Ghundi. Gidar. Haved. Isap. Ismail. Jelam. Kabir. Kaki. Kamari. Karak. Kevi. Khojak. Lewan. Mama. Mandi. Mirgal. Miri. Mita. Mughal. Musa. Neri. Nucradin. Rawat. Rustam. Sarbi. Seti. Shadi. Shoba. Sindi. Tapi. Targali. Tohali. Torar. Umar, etc.

Of these names,

In Banu, as in other plain districts on the frontier, there is a very numerous mixed population of dependent and vassal castes living amongst the dominant tribes; they are collectively styled Hindki, or "Indians," and comprise various Musalman and Hindu tribes or castes employed in the various industries and trades; the Hindu tribes are Arora, Bhaka, Bhattya, Khatri, etc., and Musalman are Dum, Gujar, Jolaha, Kashmiri, etc.

Surani sections are : —

Adam. Amandi. Aymal. Barah. Bhangi. Bori. Bubak. Bubakar. Chandan. Char. Danda. Daulat. Dharma. Doran. Gabrak. Ghor. Hamza. Hybak. Jaji. Jani. Kamal. Kechi. Kevi. Kakal. Khachin. Khadi. Khatun. Khojak. Khoti. Ladi. Lali. Lata. Mahet. Makhal. Mali. Mamkat. Mandu. Mashaki. Meshu. Mita. Nani. Nokar. Pak. Pali. Remi. Sabo. Salami. Sangu. Sarani. Shordura. Shumi. Sirki. Sultan. Tota. Toraki. Utman. Zakar. Zhob, etc.

[Page-112]: Of the names,

  • Surani means those of the great Sur Rajput tribe.

Many of the others we have met and explained before.

Sami sections are :

Babak. Bada. Badal. Bahlol. Bajal. Bangash. Barak. Bashar. Batak. Bazid. Bhawan. Chet. Chigha. Dadi. Ganda. Gari. Ghazni. Gheb. Hamir. Hasan. Hati. Hybat. Injal. Isa. Ismail. Kafaah. Kamal. Kalra. Kati. Kengar. Khattak. Khojri. Lachi. Ladi. Langar. Mamit. Manda. Mangur. Masi. Mati. Misri. Musa. Natak. Nil. Odi. Pae. Pahar. Parid. Sabo. Samali. Sarwar. Sartoi. Shakhal. Sikandar. Sinawar. Sokri. Suro. Sarwar. Tapi. Waziri. Weran. Yasin. Zalo, etc.

Of these names, many have appeared and been explained before.

Isa-khel, Marwat

The rest of the Banu district is occupied by the Isa-khel and Marwat tribes. The Isa-khel have been mentioned before, as a section of the Niyazi branch of the Lodi tribe of Ghor. The Niyazi are partly settled and agricultural and partly pastoral and Pavindah, or "caravan merchants." The agricultural Niyazi comprise the Isa-khel in the district of that name, the Kamar Mashani between Isakhel and Kalabagh, the Khundi, or Kundi in the Tank district, and the Sarhang in Mianwali on the east bank of the Indus.

[Page-113]: Isakhel sections are : —

Awan. Badar. Bangi. Jat. Kazir. Koresh. Mamu. Masu. Mulo. Shekhan, etc.

Of these names,

  • Isa has been before described, as perhaps representing the Asi (Asiani of Strabo, and Aswa of Sanskrit books) ; but it may also stand for Isai, " Followers of Jesus," or Christians.
  • Awan has appeared and been noticed before.
  • Kazir and Koresh, or Gorich, are said to be the same ; and Koresh has been before recognised as the Rajput Keruch a clan of either the Rahtor or the Kachwaha.

The Pavinda sections are : —

Ali. Mahsud. Mala. Mamriz. Nur, etc.

They spend the summer in Khorasan, and winter in India, going to and fro by the Ghwalari Gomal route.

The Marwat, or Maorat (an Indian tribe of the great desert) inhabit the Marwat division of the Banu district, and are a branch of the Lohani, previously described. They are partly agricultural and partly pastoral, and reckoned at eight thousand families. They are a fine, tall, muscular Rajput race.

The Batani, who inhabit the western slopes of the Gabar mountain and outer spurs of the Waziri hills bordering on the Banu and Dera Ismail districts (British), are a branch of the Batani previously described, and are reckoned at five thousand families. These Batani are in three divisions, namely, Tata, Dana, and Urashpun.

Tata called also Pala, sections are : —

Ashak. Bai. Bolaki. Daraki. Devi. Jaol. Kana. Katagram. Kichi. Khyr. Nyamat. Pira. Sadi. Sari. Sen. Shakar. Shan. Tari. Turan. Umar, etc.

Of these,

The others have appeared and been explained before.

Dana sections are : —

Adam. Adi. Ajad. Ali. Ayb. Azgha. Babur. Bubak. Dadi. Daori. Gali. Hati. Kaka. Kesu. Lamar. Makhal. Ma'ruf. Pae. Par. Pira. Suraj. Sen. Shadi. Shekh. Sikandar. Tari. Warghara. Wruki. Warya, etc.

Most of these names have appeared before.

[Page-114]: Urashpun, or Warashpun, sections are : —

Barak. Barmast. Chapli. Dand. Dari. Dreplara. Galar. Gharbun. Jangi. Jarik. Khat. Kodin. Maghzi. Mandra. Mandi. Moya. Myani. Samar. Sarwar. Sekra. Shakhi. Shanbe. Tari. Taraki, etc.

Of these,

Shirani tribe

To the west of the Shitak, or Banuchi, beyond the Tank, Kolachi, Draband, and Chaodwan districts (British), is the Shirani tribe ; which occupies the coautry lying between the Zmari on the south, and the Vaziri of the Gomal valley on the north, and bounded on the west by the Kakar and Mandu of the Zhob valley.

The Shirani (Jiran, mercantile Rajput) are a fine tall race of hardy mountaineers, mostly engaged in agriculture, and are distinguished by some peculiar customs. For instance, they marry later than other Pathan tribes, and the father not only receives nothing for his daughter but gives a dower with her ; they have no dependents or slaves, but do all their own work and cultivation themselves ; they have a few handicraftsmen and artificers, and some shopkeepers (Hindu); their chief has the title of Nika, "Grandfather " (perhaps Hindi nayik, " Leader, chief, patron," etc.), and exercises considerable authority over the tribe, from which he receives contributions of sheep, oxen, etc., by way of recompense for his magisterial and priestly functions. Though long ago converted to Islam, the Shirani, it is said, never kill beef; but they eat the flesh of oxen that die naturally, first cutting the throat in the orthodox fashion.

Formerly, the Shirani were a terror on this border, from their predatory habits, but are now quiet and orderly for Pathans; I hey are not counted Rajput nor Jat, but are called also Char, or Chahar, after an early ancestor of that name They date from a

[Page-115]: very early period in this part of the Indus valley, and are supposed by Tod to be the Saura of Saurashtra.

The Shirani are in three main divisions, namely, Wadam, Jalwani, and Haripal.


Wadam sections are : —

Ahmad. Anjar. Angu. Babar. Babi. Bahlol. Barak. Byram. Daulat. Hamim. Hani. Hormuz. Hydar. Jahim. Kamal. Kapip. Karo. Kharo. Lala. Land. Maina. Mamand. Mangal. Masani. Marhel. Maru. Musa. Nuro. Nyazi. Peo. Rodin. Sanjar. Sydani. Umar. Yahya, etc.


Of these names,

Jalwani sections are : —

Ano. Aymal. Babakar. Beza. Brahim. Bubak. Gado. Hamim. Isa. Kabul. Kalasha. Kamo. Kirman. Khidar. Khojak. Kolar. Kengari. Loda. Mamand. Mandal. Mano. Ma'ruf. Marwat. Mayar. Mir. Musa. Nekbi. Nekzan. Obah. Parcha. Parik. Pirak. Sado. Salar. Saro. Shakar. Shamal. Shanbe. Sipand. Spapi. Sultan. Taraki. Tarkhan. Varya. Ya'cub, etc.

Of these names,

[Page-116]:

Haripal sections are, —

Aro. Idris. Kalu. Karmo. Khalil. Nazak. Sado. Sen. Shahu. Tori. Yasin. Yusuf, etc.

Of these names,

Vaziri tribe

Next to the Shirani on the north is the great Vaziri tribe. They may derive from the ancient Buseri of Themiscyra on the Pontus, or Euxine Sea, mentioned by Pliny ; or they may be the Bhasira Khatri. The Vaziri are also called Sulemani, in common with the Ghilzi, as inhabiting the Suleman range. The Suleman range was probably so called by the Arab conquerors after the Solanki Rajput, whom they found in possession of the country at the period of their invasion. As the Ghilzi is the predominant tribe inhabiting the western slopes and spurs of the Suleman range in its northern part, so the Vaziri is the predominant tribe inhabiting the eastern slopes and spurs of that range in its northern part. The Vaziri extend on this side the range from Thal Biland on the Kuram, bordering Miranzai, to the Gomal Pass, and their principal districts are Shamal (or Shawal), Barmal (or Barmol), Khysor, Marghat, Sham, etc. They are a very numerous, powerful, and predatory tribe, noted for roughness of manners and hardiness of habit. They are in two great divisions — Khizari (Khejar Pramara) and Laili or Lele (Lele Brahman). The Lele Vaziri, reckoned at six thousand families, have for centuries been settled amongst the Khugiani on the north slopes of Sufed Koh, as before described, and are now entirely distinct from the Vaziri proper.

The Khizari Vaziri are in three divisions— Musa, Mahsud, and Gurbuz.

Musa is in two divisions, Utman and Ahmad, together styled Darvesh. Of these, Utman, reckoned at eighteen thousand families, is in three clans — Mahmud, Ibrahim, and Wali.

[Page-117]: Mahmud or Mahmit, sections are : —

Aydal. Ayiz. Babur. Badi. Bakhshi. Balal. Barak. Bozi. Chalak. Darani. Dardani. Darmal. Dosali. Gogi. Hasan. Hakim. Hybat. Iramya. Jangi. Khalap. Kharmanz. Khoja. Lali. Lochi. Mashi. Mali. Mama. Mandi. Marchi. Masaki. Mihrman. Mihtar. Nana. Nazal. Nur. Pahar. Peng. Raji. Razoti. Reshmin. Shadi. Shamal. Shapi. Sarmast. Shekh Vali. Sikander. Sulemani. Tari. Targali. Toragi. Tola. Wazar. Wuzi, etc.


Of these names, many have appeared and been explained before.

Ibrahim sections are : —

Ali. Badin. Bajal. Bobali. Bozi. Calandar. Dadi. Ditta. Hybat. Indas. Iskandi. Jangi. Jinbeg. Karai. Kayi, Khoja. Khushhal. Lachi. Lakhi. Machgan, Mada. Makhtar. Mali. Manzar. Mati. Mewa. Mirali. Nunya. Nyamat. Pala. Pela. Rami. Sakhi. Salami. Sami. Shakha. Shamira. Sirki. Sogi. Suni. Tarpashi. Tolak. Tori. Udi. Wuruki. Zakar. Zarni, etc.


Of these names,

Wali sections are : —

Andi. Aral. Aram. Aydya. Baba. Bada. Baji. Baka. Bangat. Bashaki. Dada. Dari. Degan. Fatoh. Gali. Gari. Hindi. Imbar. Isa. Jabi. Jamal. Janbeg. Jani. Jogi. Kabul. Kaji. Kaka. Khandar. Kharmaz. Khozi. Kotar. Ladi. Mada. Malikshahi. Malo. Mama. Mamit. Mandar. Maruf. Mena. Mesti. Mita. Mitaki. Musa. Myami. Myan. Nanak. Narmi.

[Page-118]: Nur. Pal. Pipali. Polya. Reshmin. Sali. Sardi. Shabar. Shakhal. Sharbat. Shobar. Shumi. Suni. Sur. Syfali. Takhti. Tatar. Tatti. Tor. Torak. Tura. Wruki, etc.


Of these names,


Ahmad, the other division of Musa Darvesh, is reckoned at ten thousand families, and is in two divisions — Sen and Kalu.

Sen sections are : —

Aggar. Allahdad. Ali. Amal. Aydal. Babar. Bakar. Barat. Bola. Boti. Brahim. Dodi. Gali. Gandae. Garara. Hati. Isa. Isap. Janbeg. Jangar. Kaka. Kamal. Kymal. Lala. Landi. Madak. Madi. Madid. Mariz. Marwat. Musa. Myan. Nana. Pae. Paek. Parba. Patoh. Perga. Salemi. Sanzar. Shami. Sirki. Sudat. Taos. Tarah. Tolak. Torak. Tori. Umar. Wali. Walid. Ziraki, etc.


Of these names.

[Page-119]:

Kalu sections are : —

Aggar. Ali. Andaki. Ashpala Badin. Badakhan. Baghwan. Bajal. Baloch. Bami. Bapaj. Basi. Batan. Bazid. Bezan. Bobal. Camar. Cazi. Darba. Darveza. Gala. Galot. Gangi. Gidar. Indaki. Indas. Isap. Iso. Kabir. Karani. Kati. Khojal. Kodo. Lali. Malik. Mandak. Masti. Mata. Misri. Mughal. Mala. Nagara. Nana. Nasri. Nazarbeg. Pasarki. Poti. Sadan. Sakharya. Sanjar. Sanzi. Seni. Shadi. Shakhan. Shamsi. Shekh. Sherak. Shivaki. Sidi. Sipahi. Takhi. Takra. Tori. Umar. Utman. Vaskak. Vatak. Za. Zaza. Zakarva. Zali. Zarffar, etc.


Of these names,

Mahsud, or Mas'aud, Vaziri, are in two divisions — Ali and Bahlol.

Ali sections are : —

Aka. Astani. Ata. Bangash. Basi. Beri. Char. Dodya. Dosang. Gadae. Gali. Gari. Ghalap. Jamin. Kangar. Kati. Kemal. Kesi.

[Page-120]: Khali. Khojak. Machi. Mada. Mahpal. Mala. Man. Mangi. Mati. Mirak. Najil. Pipli. Potya. Salmi. Sargala. Shahabi. Sliaman. Shebani. Shekha. Taraki. Tatari. Totya, etc.

Of these names,

Most of the other names have appeared and been noticed before.

Bahlol sections are —

Ashangi. Aykam. Babul. Balam. Banda. Batani. Bilal. Burti. Cayamat. Darman. Darvesh. Gega. Ghorki. Hamal. Hybat. Jogi. Kamal. Kati. Kharman. Khormang. Ladi. Langar. Lela. Malai. Malikshahi. Manda. Masura. Merat. Nanak. Nasiri. Naurang. Panji. Payo. Rozi. Salimki. Sandar. Sarmat. Shamak. Shingi. Shumi. Sura. Tano. Thano. Tokhi. Totya. Udi, etc.

Of these names,

Of the above sections,

  • Mamit, Madi, and Pipli Vaziri are collectively styled Star Vaziri — " Great Vaziri " ; they are also called Dre-nghari — " Three hearths," or families. The jirgah, or "council," of these three tribes is referred to as the final umpire in all disputes amongst the clansmen that cannot be settled by their own councils ; and the referees decide according to a particular code, called nirakh, an Indian word which means " tariff, fixed price," etc. The Star Vaziri are reckoned at twelve hundred families, all belonging to the Spin Gundi, or " White faction."

[Page-121]: Gurbuz Vaziri are in two divisions — Nasiri and Khari. Their sections are : —

Begi. Beri. Borya. Ganda. Husen. Kodi. Landi. Mani. Pakha. Piri. Pret. Sargali. Sher. Zauddin, etc.

Of these

The Gurbuz, although classed among the Vaziri, are said to be a distinct people. Formerly, it is said, they dwelt in the Shakhdu valley and Babar mountain, but being driven thence by the Mahsud Vaziri they took refuge in the Gabar hills, whence again they were driven out by the previous occupants, the Khachin Batani. The Gurbuz, now greatly reduced in strength, retired to the inaccessible hills on the north-west of the Vaziri country, and bordering on the Khost and Dawar districts.

Kakar tribe

To the south of the Vaziri is the great Kakar tribe. They occupy a very extensive tract of mountainous country, drained by the Zhob confluent of the Gomal river, and comprising some populous and fertile valleys ; viz., those of Zhob, Bori, Kanchoghai, and the lesser valleys of Barshor, Hana, Jawara, etc. The Kakar are supposed to be a branch of the Gakar, a great tribe in the Potwar country on the east bank of Indus adjoining Chach Hazara ; but in native manuscripts the name is frequently written Kaikan, Kayan, Kikanan, Kakan, as well as Kakar, suggesting affinity with Kaikaya of the Mahabharat, and the Kayani of Sistan. They are also said to be of the same descent as the Tymani (ancient Thamanai of Herodotus) inhabiting the Ghor country, and they certainly are a good deal mixed up with the Tymani, who look on the Kakar as elder brethren and protectors. Kakar may stand for Khokra Rahtor, and the connection of the tribe with the Tymani may date from an early period, when possibly the Kakar occupied the Ghor hills as the dominant people.

In the Afghan genealogies the Kakar are classed in the Ghurghushti division of the nation, which comprises the Dani, Babi, and Mando.

Of these, Dani, in four divisions, — Kakar, Naghar, Panni, and Dawi, - represent the Danava of the Mahabharat and Sanskrit writers.

Kakar sections are : —

Adam. Aka. Ali. Ango. Ano. Apakh. Arabi. Astana. Ato. Barat. Choe. Dadar. Dalor. Darpi. Dumhar. Ghori. Hakalon. Husen. Abrahim. Ilyas. Isa. Ismail. Ismam. Jadran. Jafara. Kabul. Kamal. Kapip. Karkarato. Kevi. Khutan. Makran. Mali. Mando. Mardan. Mastak.

[Page-122]: Musa. Mzari. Pae. Pakhi. Panni. Pindar. Pokhi. Rajar. Rani. Rumi. Sabak. Salor. Sanatya. Sanjara. Sargari. Satag. Sen. Sham. Shamal. Shaprad. Shori. Sitam. Sudan. Suleman. Suran. Tabrak. Tahir. Tarahghari. Taran. Tor. Ud. Utman. Yunus. Yusuf. Zan Ghori, etc.

Of these names, we have met and noticed several before.

  • Ango stands for Ananga Rajput.
  • Apakh for Apaharya, herdsman tribe (Indian).
  • Arabi for the Indian tribe anciently seated on the Arabius river (modern Hab), on the Sind border adjoining Las province of Balochistan, the Arbies tribe of Strabo ; there are the ruins of an ancient town on the Kabul river near Peshawar, called Arabai (the Orobates of Arrian), as before related ; this may formerly have been a city of the Arabi, ancestors of those whose name we have here.
  • Choe may stand for Chohan Rajput, or for Chaera Rahtor.
  • Makran is the name of a considerable province of modern Balochistan, which we shall notice later on.
  • Mando is a Kachwaha tribe.
  • Mzari stands for Indian Mysari of the Jesulmer desert, and has been before noticed in describing the Shirani.
  • Panni is Pramara Rajput.
  • Rumi may stand for Ram-deva Rahtor.
  • Sabak is the name for an ancient Indian tribe (perhaps a Kachwaha clan) ; there is a village on the Kabul river, near Nowshera cantonment, called Pir Sabak; it may mark a former seat of the Sabak tribe, to which perhaps belonged the celebrated Sabak-tegin of Ghazni. The latter part of the name, tegin, or dakin (dakmac "to call") is a Turki word meaning "called," and was applied by Turk sovereigns to their slaves ; Sabak-takin equals " Yclept Sabak.
  • Sanatya stands for Sunadhya Brahman.
  • Satag is the old name whence the Sattagydai of Herodotus, and the modern Khattak and Shitak already described.
  • Tahir is the Musalman form of the Duharya, or Daharya Rahtor.

Naghar sections are : —

Bahrand. Chandoli. Chandro. Dor. Hydar. Khado. Masho. Matroli. Namir. Pahat. Palkat. Parid. Rorak. Salayij. Saylati. Tarak. Tarnak. Tiro. Yunus. etc.

[Page-123]: Of these,

Panni sections are:

Adin. Aghzar. Ahmad. Ali. Babar. Babakar. Bahun. Bai. Balel. Bihdin. Casim. Dahpal. Dreplara. Gahada. Hamza. Hazran. Hybat. Inzar. Isot. Kabul. Kamal. Kano. Karer. Karmo. Khitani. Khojak. Lahar. Maghdud. Mami. Malahi. Mardo. Marghastan. Marghrani. Marsen. Muki. Mula. Musi. Nasar. Pak. Sami. Sandud. Sarhang. Sen. Shadi. Shakun. Shero. Tola. Toti. Umar. Umargat. Utman. Wadir. Zmari, etC.

Of the above names,

  • Panni is a Pramara tribe ; there are now comparatively few of the Panni left in Afghanistan, most of that name having emigrated to India along with the Naghar before mentioned, and settled in much the same localities, but most numerously in the Barar districts and Dakhan, especially Hydrabad.
  • Isot, or Sot, is a Rahtor clan.
  • Lahar may stand for Lahiri Brahman.
  • Many of the others we have met before, and some are new names not well known or recognised.
  • Wadir may be the same as Wadihu of Kafiristan, to be noticed later on.

Dawi, Davi, or Dabi sections are : — Ali. Balel. Dumar. Hamar. Khundi. Musa. Sikandar, and others with modern Musalman names.

Of these,

  • Dawi, or Dabi, is a Rajput tribe (Parihara), and is not now of any note in Afghanistan, or even among the Kakar. The Kakar is a very numerous and important Pathan tribe ; its numbers are reckoned at twenty thousand families in the Suleman range. The Kakar have settlements also in various parts of Hindustan, especially in the Bulandshahr and Rohtak districts ; but, like other Pathan colonists in Hindustan, are quite Indian in language and manners, and in appearance also. There is a colony of Kakar at Kandahar also, and large numbers of the tribe are in the Ghor country along with the Tymani, with whom they claim kinship. The Firozkohi of this country, and the Kayani of Sistan, together with the Utman-khel of Peshawar, also claim common descent with the Kakar.

The Babi division of Ghurghushti Afghan is not found within

[Page-124]: the area before assigned to the Sattagydai of Herodotus, except in small and scattered communities. The greater part of the tribe, which is principally engaged in mercantile pursuits, is settled in and about the city of Kandahar, and also at Kalat, the capital of Balochistan. The Babi probably represent the Bhiba Pramara

Babi sections are : —

Azrail. Bakhi. Idris. Jandar. Kato. Mir. Saeb. Saro. Sheloi, etc.

The Babi, it is said, were formerly composed of four clans, called respectively Jabrail (Gabriel), Mikail (Michael), Asrafil (Asrafa) and Azrail (Azrad), named after the cherubim ; but the Afghans, on conversion to Islam, disapproving this nomenclature, the names were changed. The story seems to indicate some connection with Jewish or Israetish families at some former period. There is a large and important tribe in Persia called Babi, which may be related to the Afghan Babi.

The Mando branch of the Ghurghushti is settled in the Zhob valley along the course of the river, together with the Kakar.

The Mando sections are : —

Aymal. Babakar. Bangi. Barak. Barham. Char. Hamza. Hybak. Ismail. Kambar. Lali. Malewa. Mamkati. Mes. Nani. Nekbi. Nokar. Salami. Shordara. Shumi. Sirki. Toraki, etc.

  • Mando is a great Kachwaha clan, and widely distributed among the Pathan tribes on the Indus border.
  • Kambar will appear again in Balochistan. The others we have frequently met before.

Kharoti tribe

Beyond the Kakar to the north-east, is the Kharoti tribe, one of the principal clans composing the Povindah association of caravan merchants. The Kharoti represent, the Kharaita mercantile Rajput ; they are reckoned at six thousand families, and inhabit Paltu and Dwa Gomal districts on the east slopes of the Suleman range, and are almost entirely nomadic or pastoral. The chief township in their country is called Urghim, or Warghun, which is inhabited by the Furmuli tribe. The Kharoti also inhabit the western slopes of the Suleman range from Paltu Pass to Katawaz district. The Kharoti who are not enrolled amongst the Povindah are mostly employed in agriculture and grazing ; they own large herds of camels and immense numbers of goats and sheep. The agricultural and pastoral Kharoti differ very remarkably in appearance and manners, and even in language, from the mercantile Kharoti, being more rough in their ways and unkempt in

[Page-125]: their persons ; but they are all a very fine and manly people, with light complexions compared with Indians.

Kharoti sections are : —

Adek. Ali. Alo. Amand. Ambar. Azghar. Babar. Badin. Banas. Bandar. Bostam. Bi. Dreplara. Gari. Ghebi. Ghori. Gundi. Harun. Isa. Isot. Kakal. Karaba. Khadir. Kharan. Khidar. Lajmir. Lalli. Lali. Langi. Lewan. Madad. Malek. Mali. Matok. Mazrak. Motik. Mrigat. Musa. Nadir. Nora. Panjo. Paroti. Pasani. Rayo. Sakhta. Sandar. Sayad. Shaeb. Shahtori. Shali. Shamo. Sharik. Suleman. Sultan. Suran. Tar. Tor. Yah. Yahya. Yasin. Zako. Zaoli. Zhonya, etc.


Of these names,

Nasar tribe

Another tribe similar to the Kharoti is the Nasar, one of the Povindah clans of caravan merchants. They pretend to be a branch of the Hotaki Ghilzi ; but these last claim the Nasar as their hamsayah, or vassals. The connection is merely that of landlord and tenant ; both the Kharoti and Nasar summering for pasture in the territories occupied by the Tokhi and Hotaki respectively, and wintering in the Daman of the Indus Derajat. Some of the Nasar claim descent from Shah Husen Ghori, and others claim to be Baloch in descent. The Nasar, although assimilating to the Pathan in language and customs, are a different people in complexion and features, and show undoubted marks of Indian origin. They are reckoned at thirteen thousand families. There is a small Nasar settlement in the Koh Daman of Kabul ; but most of the tribe is without land in Afghanistan, and is chiefly . engaged in the carrying trade between India and the countries of Central Asia,

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