![Nikàstalì
Come out
quáray kusúni
hawk’s daughter
(“astali” is added to the fem. Imp).
Nikastali
Come out
ke
why
karaníliè
delayest thou!
(“balanîle,” in Gilgiti).
Gilgit, however, the girl may be of a lower caste than the bridegroom. In Astór
it appears that a young man, whose parents—to whom he must mention his
desire for marrying any particular person—refuse to intercede, often attains
his point by threatening to live in the family of the bride and become an
adopted son. A “Shîn” of true race at Astor may live in concubinage with a girl
of lower caste, but the relatives of the girl if they discover the intrigue
revenge the insult by murdering the paramour, who, however, does not lose
caste by the alliance.
The bridegroom dances as well as his twelve companions. The girl ought
not to be older than 15 years; but at 12 girls are generally engaged.[50]
The Balti custom of having merely a claim to dowry on the part of the
woman—the prosecution of which claim so often depends on her satisfaction
with her husband or the rapacity of her relatives—is in spite of the intercourse
of the Baltis with the Shîn people never observed by the latter; not even by
the Shîn colonists of little Tibet who are called “Brokhpá.”
When the bridegroom has to go for his bride to a distant village he is
furnished with a bow. On arriving at his native place he crosses the breast of
his bride with an arrow and then shoots it off. He generally shoots three
arrows off in the direction of his home.
At Astór the custom is sometimes to fire guns as a sign of rejoicing. This is
not done at Gilgit.
When the bridegroom fetches his bride on the second day to his own home,
the girl is crying with the women of her household and the young man
catches hold of her dress in front (at Gilgit by the hand) and leads her to the
door. If the girl cannot get over embracing her people and crying with them
quickly, the twelve men who have come along with the bridegroom (who in
Astóri are called “hilalée” = bridegrooms and “garóni” in Gilgiti) sing the
following song:—
INVITATION TO THE BRIDE.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-16-320.jpg)
![Come out, O daughter of the hawk!
Come out, why dost thou delay?
Come forth from thy father’s tent,
Come out and do not delay.
Weep not! O fairy of the waterfall!
Weep not! thy colour will fade;
Weep not! thou art the beloved of us all who are thy brethren,
Weep not! thy colour will fade.
O Weep not! thou beloved of fathers, [or “thy father’s darling.”]
For if thou weepest, thy face will grow pale.
Then the young man catches hold of her dress, or in Gilgit of her arm, puts
her on horseback, and rides off with her, heedless of her tears and of those of
her companions.
E. FUNERALS.
Funerals are conducted in a very simple manner. The custom of eating
grapes at funerals I have already touched upon in my allusion to Dureyl in the
chapter on “Wine.” Bread is commonly distributed together with Ghî, etc.,
three days after the funeral, to people in general, a custom which is called
“Nashí” by the Astóris, and “Khatm” by the Gilgitis. When a person is dead,
the Mulla, assisted generally by a near friend of the deceased, washes the
body which is then placed in a shroud. Women assemble, weep and relate the
virtues of the deceased. The body is conveyed to the grave the very day of
the decease. In Astor there is something in the shape of a bier for conveying
the dead. At Gilgit two poles, across which little bits of wood are placed
sideways and then fastened, serve for the same purpose. The persons who
carry the body think it a meritorious act. The women accompany the body for
some fifty yards and then return to the house to weep. The body is then
placed in the earth which has been dug up to admit of its interment.
Sometimes the grave is well-cemented and a kind of small vault is made over
it with pieces of wood closely jammed together. A Pîr or saint receives a hewn
stone standing as a sign-post from the tomb. I have seen no inscriptions
anywhere. The tomb of one of their famous saints at Gilgit has none. I have
heard people there say that he was killed at that place in order to provide the
country with a shrine. My Gilgiti who, like all his countrymen, was very
patriotic, denied it, but I heard it at Gilgit from several persons, among whom
was one of the descendants of the saint. As the Saint was a Kashmiri, the
veracity of his descendant may be doubted. To return to the funeral. The body](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-18-320.jpg)
![is conveyed to the cemetery, which is generally at some distance from the
village, accompanied by friends. When they reach the spot the Mulla reads
the prayers standing as in the “Djenazá”—any genuflexion, “ruku”
عرکو
and
prostration are, of course, inadmissible. After the body has been interred the
Mulla recites the Fatiha, [opening prayer of the Koran] all people standing up
and holding out their hands as if they were reading a book. The Mulla prays
that the deceased may be preserved from the fire of hell as he was a good
man, etc. Then after a short benediction the people separate. For three days
at Gilgit and seven days at Astor the near relatives of the deceased do not eat
meat. After that period the grave is again visited by the deceased’s friends,
who, on reaching the grave, eat some ghí and bread, offer up prayers, and,
on returning, slaughter a sheep, whose kidney is roasted and divided in small
bits amongst those present. Bread is distributed amongst those present and a
little feast is indulged in, in memory of the deceased. I doubt, however,
whether the Gilgitis are very exact in their religious exercises. The mention of
death was always received with shouts of laughter by them, and one of them
told me that a dead person deserved only to be kicked. He possibly only joked
and there can be little doubt that the Gilgit people are not very
communicative about their better feelings. It would be ridiculous, however, to
deny them the possession of natural feelings, although I certainly believe that
they are not over-burdened with sentiment. In Astór the influence of Kashmir
has made the people attend a little more to the ceremonies of the Mussulman
religion.
In Chilâs rigour is observed in the maintenance of religious practices, but
elsewhere there exists the greatest laxity. In fact, so rude are the people that
they have no written character of their own, and till very recently the art of
writing (Persian) was confined to, perhaps, the Rajas of these countries or
rather to their Munshis, whenever they had any. Some of them may be able to
read the Koran. Even this I doubt, as of hundreds of people I saw only one
who could read at Gilgit, and he was a Kashmiri who had travelled far and
wide and had at last settled in that country.
F. HOLIDAYS.
The great holiday of the Shîn people happened in 1867, during the month
succeeding the Ramazan, but seems to be generally on the sixth of February.
It is called the “Shinó náo,” “the new day of the Shîn people.” The Gilgitis call
the day “Shinó bazóno,” “the spring of the Shîn people.” [The year, it will be
remembered, is divided into bazono = spring; walo = summer; shero =](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-19-320.jpg)
![autumn; yono = winter.] The snow is now becoming a little softer and out-of-
door life is more possible. The festivities are kept up for twelve days. Visits
take place and man and wife are invited out to dinner during that period.
Formerly, when the Shîns had a Raja or Nawab of their own, it used to be the
custom for women to dance during those twelve days. Now the advent of the
Sepoys and the ridiculous pseudo-morality of the Kashmir rule have
introduced a kind of Pardah and the chaste Shîn women do not like to expose
themselves to the strangers. Then there is the Naurôz, which is celebrated for
three, and sometimes for six, days.
There are now five great holidays in the year:
The I’d of Ramazân.
The Shinó-Náo.
The Naurôz.
Kurbanī I’d.
The Kùy Náo,[51] { Astóri.
Dúmniká, { Gilgiti.
On the last-named holiday the game of Polo is played, good clothes are put
on, and men and women amuse themselves at public meetings.
The Shîn people are very patriotic. Since the Maharaja’s rule many of their
old customs have died out, and the separation of the sexes is becoming
greater. Their great national festival I have already described under the head
of “Historical Legend of Gilgit” (pages 14 to 16).
G. THE RELIGIOUS IDEAS OF THE DARDS.
If the Dards—the races living between the Hindu-Kush and Kaghán—have
preserved many Aryan customs and traditions, it is partly because they have
lived in almost perfect seclusion from other Muhammadans. In Chilâs, where
the Sunni form of that faith prevails, there is little to relieve the austerity of
that creed. The rest of the Muhammadan Dards are Shiahs, and that belief is
more elastic and seems to be more suited to a quick-witted race, than the
orthodox form of Islam. Sunniism, however, is advancing in Dardistan and will,
no doubt, sweep away many of the existing traditions. The progress, too, of
the present invasion by Kashmir, which, although governed by Hindus, is
chiefly Sunni, will familiarize the Dards with the notions of orthodox](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-20-320.jpg)
![deemed unclean by other Muhammadans. The Dards had no hesitation in
eating with me, but I should not be surprised to hear that they did not do so
when Mr. Hayward visited them, for the Hinduized Mussulman servants that
one takes on tours might have availed themselves of their supposed superior
knowledge of the faith to inform the natives that they were making an
improper concession to an infidel. A good many Dards, however, have the
impression that the English are Mussulmans—a belief that would not deter
them from killing or robbing a European traveller in some districts, if he had
anything “worth taking.” Gouhar-Amán [called “Gôrmán” by the people] of
Yasin used to say that as the Koran, the word of God, was sold, there could
be no objection to sell an expounder of the word of God, a Mulla, who
unfortunately fell into his hands. I did not meet any real Shîn who was a
Mulla,[52] but I have no doubt that, especially in Hunza, they are using the
services of Mullas in order to give a religious sanction to their predatory
excursions. I have said that the Dards were generally Shiahs—perhaps I ought
not to include the Shiah Hunzas among Dards as they speak a non-Aryan
language unlike any other that I know[53]—and as a rule the Shiahs are
preyed upon by Sunnis. Shiah children are kidnapped by Sunnis as an act
both religious and profitable. Shiahs have to go through the markets of
Bokhara denying their religion, for which deception, by the way, they have the
sanction of their own priests.[54] Can we, therefore, wonder that the Mulái
Hunzas make the best of both worlds by preferring to kidnap Sunnis to their
own co-religionists? A very curious fact is the attachment of Shiahs to their
distant priesthood. We know how the Indian Shiahs look to Persia; how all
expect the advent of their Messiah, the Imám Mahdi; how the appointment of
Kazis (civil functionaries) is made through the Mujtehid [a kind of high priest]
and is ratified by the ruling power, rather than emanate direct from the
secular authorities, as is the case with Sunnis. The well-known Sayad residing
at Bombay, Agha Khan, has adherents even in Dardistan, and any command
that may reach them from him [generally a demand for money] is obeyed
implicitly. Indeed, throughout India and Central Asia there are men, some of
whom lead an apparently obscure life, whose importance for good or evil
should not be underrated by the authorities. [See my “Hunza and Nagyr
Handbook, 1893.”]
What we know about the religion of the Siah-Posh Kafirs [whom I include in
the term “Dards”] is very little. My informants were two Kafir lads, who lived
for some weeks in my compound and whose religious notions had, no doubt,
been affected on their way down through Kashmir. That they go once a year
to the top of a mountain as a religious exercise and put a stone on to a cairn;
that the number of Muhammadan heads hung up in front of their doors](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-22-320.jpg)
![indicates their position in the tribe; that they are said to sit on benches rather
than squat on the ground like other Asiatics: that they are reported to like all
those who wear a curl in front; that they are fair and have blue eyes, that
they drink a portion of the blood of a killed enemy—this and the few words
which have been collected of their language is very nearly all we have hitherto
known about them. What I have been able to ascertain regarding them, will
be mentioned elsewhere.[55]
H. FORMS OF GOVERNMENT AMONG THE DARDS.
Chilâs, which sends a tribute every year to Kashmir for the sake of larger
return-presents rather than as a sign of subjection, is said to be governed by
a council of elders, in which even women are admitted.[56] When I visited
Gilgit, in 1866, it was practically without a ruler, the invading troops of
Kashmir barely holding their own within a few yards of the Gilgit Fort—a
remarkable construction which, according to the report of newspapers, was
blown up by accident in 1876, and of which the only record is the drawing
published in the Illustrated London News of the 12th February 1870.[57] There
is now (1877) a Thanadar of Gilgit, whose rule is probably not very different
from that of his rapacious colleagues in Kashmir. The Gilgitis are kept quiet by
the presence of the Kashmir army, and by the fact that their chiefs are
prisoners at Srinagar, where other representatives of once reigning houses are
also under surveillance. Mansur Ali Khan, the supposed rightful Raja of Gilgit
is there; he is the son of Asghar Ali Khan, son of Raja Khan, son of Gurtam
Khan—but legitimate descent has little weight in countries that are constantly
disturbed by violence, except in Hunza, where the supreme right to rob is
hereditary.[58] The Gilgitis, who are a little more settled than their neighbours
to the West, North and South, and who possess the most refined Dardu
dialect and traditions, were constantly exposed to marauding parties, and the
late ruler of Yasin, Gouhar-Amán, who had conquered Gilgit, made it a
practice to sell them into slavery on the pretext that they were Shiahs and
infidels. Yasin was lately ruled by Mir Wali, the supposed murderer of Mr.
Hayward, and is a dependency of Chitrál, a country which is ruled by Amán-
ul-mulk. The Hunza people are under Ghazan Khan, the son of Ghazanfar,[59]
and seem to delight in plundering their Kirghiz neighbours, although all
travellers through that inhospitable region, with the exception of Badakhshan
merchants, are impartially attacked by these robbers, whose depredations
have caused the nearest pass from Central Asia to India to be almost entirely
deserted (1866). At Gilgit I saw the young Raja of Nagyr, with a servant, also
a Nagyri. He was a most amiable and intelligent lad, whose articulation was](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-23-320.jpg)
![very much more refined than that of his companion, who prefixed a guttural
to every Khajuná word beginning with a vowel. The boy was kept a prisoner
in the Gilgit Fort as a hostage to Kashmir for his father’s good behaviour, and
it was with some difficulty that he was allowed to see me and answer certain
linguistic questions which I put to him. If he has not been sent back to his
country, it would be a good opportunity for our Government to get him to the
Panjab in the cold weather with the view of our obtaining more detailed
information than we now possess regarding the Khajuná, that extraordinary
language to which I have several times alluded. [This was done on my second
official mission to Kashmir in 1886.]
The name of Rá, Rásh, Raja, applied to Muhammadans, may sound singular
to those accustomed to connect them with Hindu rulers but it is the ancient
name for “King” at Gilgit (for which “Nawab” seems a modern substitute in
that country)—whilst Shah Kathor[60] in Chitrál, Tham in Hunza and Nagyr,
Mitérr (Mihtar) and Bakhté in Yasin and Trakhné in Gilgit offer food for
speculation. The Hunza people say that the King’s race is Mogholote (or
Mogul?); they call the King Sawwash and affirm that he is Aishea (this
probably means that he is descended from Ayesha, the wife of Muhammad).
[61] Under the king or chief, for the time being, the most daring or intriguing
hold office and a new element of disturbance has now been introduced into
Dardistan by the Kashmir faction at every court [or rather robber’s nest] which
seeks to advance the interests or ulterior plans of conquest of the Maharaja,
our feudatory. Whilst the name of Wazir is now common for a “minister,” we
find the names of the subordinate offices of Trangpá, Yarfá, Zeytú, Gopá, etc.,
etc., which point to the reminiscences of Tibetan Government and a reference
to the “Official Designations” in Part II. of my “Dardistan” will direct
speculation on other matters connected with the subject.
I need scarcely add that under a Government, like that of Chitrál, which
used to derive a large portion of its revenue from kidnapping, the position of
the official slave-dealer (Diwánbigi)[62] was a high one. Shortly before I visited
Gilgit, a man used to sell for a good hunting dog (of which animal the Dards
are very fond), two men for a pony and three men for a large piece of pattú
(a kind of woollen stuff). Women and weak men received the preference, it
being difficult for them to escape once they have reached their destination.
Practically, all the hillmen are republicans. The name for servant is identical
with that of “companion;” it is only the prisoner of another tribe who is a
“slave.” The progress of Kashmir will certainly have the effect of stopping, at
any rate nominally, the trade in male slaves, but it will reduce all subjects to
the same dead level of slavery and extinguish that spirit of freedom, and with](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-24-320.jpg)
![it many of the traditions, that have preserved the Dard races from the
degeneracy which has been the fate of the Aryans who reached Kashmir and
India. The indigenous Government is one whose occasional tyranny is often
relieved by rebellion. I think the Dard Legends and Songs show that the Dards
are a superior people to the Dogras, who wish to take their country in
defiance of treaty obligations,[63] and I, for one, would almost prefer the
continuance of present anarchy which may end in a national solution or in a
direct alliance with the British, to the épicier policy of Kashmir which, without
shedding blood,[64] has drained the resources of that Paradise on earth and
killed the intellectual and moral life of its people. The administration of justice
and the collection of the taxes in Dardistan are carried on, the former with
some show of respect for religious injunctions, the latter with sole regard to
whatever the tax-gatherer can immediately lay his hand upon.
I. HABITATIONS.
Most of the villages, whose names I have given elsewhere, are situate on
the main lines of roads which, as everywhere in Himalayan countries,
generally coincides with the course of rivers. The villages are sometimes
scattered, but as a rule, the houses are closely packed together. Stones are
heaped up and closely cemented, and the upper story, which often is only a
space shielded by a cloth or by grass-bundles on a few poles, is generally
reached by a staircase from the outside.[65] Most villages are protected by one
or more wooden forts, which—with the exception of the Gilgit fort—are rude
blockhouses, garnished with rows of beams, behind which it is easy to fight as
long as the place is not set on fire. Most villages also contain an open space,
generally near a fountain, where the villagers meet in the evening and young
people make love to each other.[66] Sometimes the houses contain a
subterranean apartment which is used as a cellar or stable—at other times,
the stable forms the lower part of the house and the family live on the roof
under a kind of grass-tent. In Ládak, a little earth heaped up before the door
and impressed with a large wooden seal, was sufficient, some years ago, to
protect a house in the absence of its owner. In Dardistan bolts, etc., show the
prevailing insecurity. I have seen houses which had a courtyard, round which
the rooms were built, but generally all buildings in Dardistan are of the
meanest description—the mosque of Gilgit, in which I slept one night whilst
the Sepoys were burying two or three yards away from me, those who were
killed by the so-called rebels, being almost as miserable a construction as the
rest. The inner part of the house is generally divided from the outer by a](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-25-320.jpg)
![beam which goes right across. My vocabulary will show all the implements,
material, etc., used in building, etc. Water-mills and windmills are to be found.
Cradles were an unknown commodity till lately. I have already referred to
the wine and treasury cellars excavated in the mountains, and which provided
the Dards with food during the war in 1866, whilst the invading Kashmir
troops around them were starving. Baths (which were unknown till lately) are
sheltered constructions under waterfalls; in fact, they are mere sheltered
douche-baths. There is no pavement except so far as stones are placed in
order to show where there are no roads. The rooms have a fire-place, which
at Astor (where it is used for the reception of live coals) is in the middle of the
room. The conservancy arrangements are on the slope of the hills close to the
villages, in front of which are fields of Indian corn, etc.
J. DIVISIONS OF THE DARD RACES.
The name of Dardistan (a hybrid between the “Darada” of Sanscrit writings
and a Persian termination) seems now to be generally accepted. I include in it
all the countries lying between the Hindu Kush and Kaghan (lat. 37° N. and
long. 73° E. to lat. 35° N., long. 74° 30´ E.). In a restricted sense the Dards
are the race inhabiting the mountainous country of Shináki, detailed further
on, but I include under that designation not only the Chilâsis, Astóris, Gilgitis,
Dareylis, etc., but also the people of Hunza, Nagyr, Yasin, Chitrál and
Kafiristan.[67] As is the case with uncivilized races generally, the Dards have no
name in common, but call each Dard tribe that inhabits a different valley by a
different name. This will be seen in subjoined Extract from my Ethnographical
Vocabulary. The name “Dard” itself was not claimed by any of the race that I
met. If asked whether they were “Dards” they said “certainly,” thinking I
mispronounced the word “dáde” of the Hill Panjabi which means “wild”
“independent,” and is a name given them by foreigners as well as “yaghi,” =
rebellious [the country is indifferently known as Yaghistan, Kohistan and, since
my visit in 1866 as “Dardistan,” a name which I see Mr. Hayward has
adopted]. I hope the name of Dard will be retained, for, besides being the
designation of, at least, one tribe, it connects the country with a range known
in Hindu mythology and history. However, I must leave this and other disputed
points for the present, and confine myself now to quoting a page of Part II. of
my “Dardistán” for the service of those whom the philological portion of that
work has deterred from looking at the descriptive part.
“SHIN are all the people of Chilâs, Astór, Dareyl or Darèll, Gôr, Ghilghit[68] or
Gilìt. All these tribes do not acknowledge the ‘Guraizis,’ a people inhabiting the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-26-320.jpg)
![Guraiz valley between Chilâs and Kashmîr, as Shîn, although the Guraizis
themselves think so. The Guraizi dialect, however is undoubtedly Shiná, much
mixed with Kashmiri.
“The Shîns[69] call themselves ‘Shin, Shiná lôk, Shinâki,’ and are very proud
of the appellation, and in addition to the above-named races include in it the
people of Tòrr, Hárben, Sazîn, [districts of, or rather near, Chilâs]; Tanyire
[Tangîr] belonging to Darell; also the people of Kholi-Palus whose origin is
Shîn, but who are mixed with Afghans. Some do not consider the people of
Kholi-Palus as Shîn.[70] They speak both Shiná and Pukhtu [pronounced by the
Shîn people ‘Postó.’] The Baltis, or Little Tibetans, call the Shîn and also the
Nagyr people ‘Brokhpá,’ or, as a term of respect, ‘Brokhpá bábo.’[71] Offshoots
of the ‘Shîn’ people live in Little Tibet and even the district of Dras, near the
Zojilá pass on the Ladâk road towards Kashmîr, was once Shîn and was called
by them Huméss. I was the first traveller who discovered that there were Shîn
colonies in Little Tibet, viz.: the villages of Shingôtsh, Sáspur, Brashbrialdo,
Bashó, Danàl djúnele, Tâtshin, Dorôt (inhabited by pure Shîns), Zungôt,
Tortzé (in the direction of Rongdu) and Durò, one day’s march from
Skardo.”[72]
The Chilásis call themselves Boté.[73]
” ”
”
their fellow-countrymen of
Takk
= “Kané” or Takke-Kané.
[the Matshuké are now an extinct race, at all events in Dardistan proper.]
The Chilâsis call Gilgitis = Gilîtí.
” ”
”
Astóris = Astoríjje.
” ”
”
Gôrs = Goríje.
” ”
”
Dureylis = Darêle.
” ”
”
Baltis = Palóye. Gil. = Polôle.
” ”
”
Ladáki = Botì. Pl. of Bôt.
” ”
”
Kashmiris = Kashîre.
” ”
”
Dogras = Sikkì [Sikhs] now “Dôgréy.”](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-27-320.jpg)
![” ”
”
Affghans = Patáni.
” ”
”
Nagyris = Khadjunì.
” ”
”
Hunzas = Hunzíje.
” ”
”
Yasînis = Poré.
” ”
”
Punyalis = Punyé.
” ”
”
Kirghiz = Kirghìz.
Note.—The Kirghiz are described by the Chilâsis as having flat faces and
small noses and are supposed to be very white and beautiful, to be Nomads
and to feed on milk, butter and mutton.
The Chilâsis call the people between Hunza and the Pamêr [our Pamir] on
the Yarkand road = Gójál.
There are also other Gojáls under a Raja of Gojál on the Badakhshán road.
The Chílâsis call the Siah Pôsh Kâfirs = Bashgalí (Bashgal is the name of the
country inhabited by this people who enjoy the very worst reputation for
cruelty). They are supposed to kill every traveller that comes within their
reach and to cut his nose or ear off as a trophy.[74]
The Chilâsis were originally four tribes; viz.:
The Bagoté of Buner.
The Kané of Takk.
The Boté of the Chilâs fort.
The Matshuké of the Matshukó fort.
The Boté and the Matshuké fought. The latter were defeated, and are said
to have fled into Astor and Little Tibet territory.
A Foreigner is called “ósho.”
Fellow-countrymen are called “malêki.”
The stature of the Dards is generally slender and wiry and well suited to the
life of a mountaineer. They are now gradually adopting Indian clothes, and](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-28-320.jpg)
![whilst this will displace their own rather picturesque dress and strong, though
rough, indigenous manufacture, it may also render them less manly. They are
fairer than the people of the plains (the women of Yasin being particularly
beautiful and almost reminding one of European women), but on the frontier
they are rather mixed—the Chilâsis with the Kaghanis and Astóris—the Astóris
and Gilgitis with the Tibetans, and the Guraizis with the Tibetans on the one
hand and the Kashmiris on the other. The consequence is that their sharp and
comparatively clear complexion (where it is not under a crust of dirt)
approaches, in some Districts, a Tatar or Moghal appearance. Again, the
Nagyris are shorter than the people of Hunza to whom I have already
referred. Just before I reached the Gilgit fort, I met a Nagyri, whose yellow
moustache and general appearance almost made me believe that I had come
across a Russian in disguise. I have little hesitation in stating that the pure
Shîn looks more like a European than any high-caste Brahmin of India.
Measurements were taken by Dr. Neil of the Lahore Medical College, but have,
unfortunately, been lost, of the two Shîns who accompanied me to the Panjab,
where they stayed in my house for a few months, together with other
representatives of the various races whom I had brought down with me.[75]
The prevalence of caste among the Shîns also deserves attention. We have
not the Muhammadan Sayad, Sheykh, Moghal, and Pathan (which, no doubt,
will be substituted in future for the existing caste designations), nor the
Kashmiri Muhammadan equivalents of what are generally mere names for
occupations. The following List of Dard Castes may be quoted appropriately
from Part II. of my “Dardistan”:—
K. CASTES.
“Raja (highest on account of position).
“Wazîr (of Shîn race, and also the official caste of ‘Róno’).
“SHIN the highest caste; the Shiná people of pure origin, whether they be
Astóris, Gilgitis, Chilâsis, etc., etc.[75]
“They say that it is the same race as the ‘Moghals’ of India. Probably this
name only suggested itself to them when coming in contact with Mussulmans
from Kashmir or the Panjab. The following castes are named in their order of
rank (for exact details, see “Hunza Handbook”):
“Yáshkunn [the great
land-owning race found
= a caste formed by the intermixture (?) between
the Shîn and a lower [aboriginal?] race. A Shîn
may marry a Yáshkunn woman [called ‘Yáshkûni;’]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-29-320.jpg)
![in possession by the
invading Shîns.]
but no Yáshkunn can marry a Shînóy = Shîn
woman.
“Tatshön = caste of carpenters.
“Tshâjjá = weavers. The Gilgitis call this caste: ‘Byêtshoi.’
“Akár = ironmonger.
“Kûlál = potter.
“Dôm[76] = musician }
“Kramìn = tanner? } (the lowest castes).
“N.B. The Brokhpâ are a mixed race of Dardu-Tibetans, as indeed are the
Astoris [the latter of whom, however, consider themselves very pure Shîns];
the Guráïzis are probably Dardu-Kashmiris; but I presume that the above
division of caste is known, if not upheld, by every section of the Shîná people.
The castes most prevalent in Guraiz are evidently Kashmiri as:
“Bhat. Lôn. Dâr. Wây. Râter. Thôkr. Bagâ.”](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-30-320.jpg)
![LEGENDS RELATING TO ANIMALS.[77]
1.—A BEAR PLAYS WITH A CORPSE.
It is said that bears, as the winter is coming on, are in the habit of filling
their dens with grass and that they eat a plant, called “ajalí,” which has a
narcotic effect upon them and keeps them in a state of torpor during the
winter. After three months, when the spring arrives, they awake and go about
for food. One of these bears once scented a corpse which he disinterred. It
happened to be that of a woman who had died a few days before. The bear,
who was in good spirits, brought her to his den, where he set her upright
against a stone and fashioning a spindle with his teeth and paws gave it to
her into one hand and placed some wool into the other. He then went on
growling “mû-mû-mû” to encourage the woman to spin. He also brought her
some nuts and other provisions to eat. Of course, his efforts were useless,
and when she after a few days gave signs of decomposition he ate her up in
despair. This is a story based on the playful habits of the bear.
2.—A BEAR MOURNS A GIRL.
Another curious story is related of a bear. Two women, a mother and her
little daughter, were one night watching their field of Indian corn “makai,”
against the inroads of these animals. The mother had to go to her house to
prepare the food and ordered her daughter to light a fire outside. Whilst she
was doing this a bear came and took her away. He carried her into his den,
and daily brought her to eat and to drink. He rolled a big stone in front of the
den, whenever he went away on his tours, which the girl was not strong
enough to remove. When she became old enough to be able to do this he
used daily to lick her feet, by which they became swollen and gradually
dwindled down to mere misshapen stumps. The girl eventually died in
childbirth, and the poor bear after vain efforts to restore her to life roamed
disconsolately about the fields.
3.—ORIGIN OF BEARS.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-31-320.jpg)
![It is said that bears were originally the offspring of a man who was driven
into madness by his inability to pay his debts, and who took to the hills in
order to avoid his creditors.[78]
4.—THE BEAR AND THE ONE-EYED MAN.
The following story was related by a man of the name of Ghalib Shah
residing at a village near Astór, called Parishing. He was one night looking out
whether any bear had come into his “tromba” field.[79] He saw that a bear
was there and that he with his forepaws alternately took a pawful of “tromba,”
blew the chaff away and ate hastily. The man was one-eyed [shéo = blind;
my Ghilgiti used “Kyor,” which he said was a Persian word, but which is
evidently Turkish] and ran to his hut to get his gun. He came out and pointed
it at the bear. The animal who saw this ran round the blind side of the man’s
face, snatched the gun out of his hand and threw it away. The bear and the
man then wrestled for a time, but afterwards both gave up the struggle and
retired. The man, after he had recovered himself went to look for the gun, the
stock of which he found broken. The match-string by which the stock had
been tied to the barrel had gone on burning all night and had been the cause
of the gun being destroyed. The son of that man still lives at the village and
tells this story, which the people affect to believe.
5.—WEDDING FESTIVAL AMONG BEARS.
A Mulla, of the name of Lal Mohammad, said that when he was taken a
prisoner into Chilás,[80] he and his escort passed one day through one of the
dreariest portions of the mountains of that inhospitable region. There they
heard a noise, and quietly approaching to ascertain its cause they saw a
company of bears tearing up the grass and making bundles of it which they
hugged. Other bears again wrapped their heads in grass, and some stood on
their hind-paws, holding a stick in their forepaws and dancing to the sound of
the howls of the others. They then ranged themselves in rows, at each end of
which was a young bear; on one side a male, on the other a female. These
were supposed to celebrate their marriage on the occasion in question. My
informant swore to the story and my Ghilgiti corroborated the truth of the first
portion of the account, which he said described a practice believed to be
common to bears.
6.—THE FLYING PORCUPINE.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-32-320.jpg)
![There is a curious superstition with regard to an animal called “Harginn,”
which appears to be more like a porcupine than anything else. It is covered
with bristles; its back is of a red-brownish and its belly of a yellowish colour.
That animal is supposed to be very dangerous, and to contain poison in its
bristles. At the approach of any man or animal it is said to gather itself up for
a terrific jump into the air, from which it descends unto the head of the
intended victim. It is said to be generally about half a yard long and a span
broad. Our friend Lal Mohammad, a saintly Akhunzada, but a regular
Münchhausen, affirmed to have once met with a curious incident with regard
to that animal. He was out shooting one day when he saw a stag which
seemed intently to look in one direction. He fired off his gun, which however
did not divert the attention of the stag. At last, he found out what it was that
the stag was looking at. It turned out to be a huge “Harginn,” which had
swallowed a large Markhor with the exception of his horns! There was the
porcupine out of whose mouth protruded the head and horns of the Markhor!!
My Ghilgiti, on the contrary, said that the Harginn was a great snake “like a
big fish called Nang.” Perhaps, Harginn means a monster or dragon, and is
applied to different animals in the two countries of Ghilghit and Astor.
7.—A FIGHT BETWEEN WOLVES AND A BEAR WHO
WANTED TO DIG THEIR GRAVE.
A curious animal something like a wolf is also described. The species is
called “Kō.”[81] These animals are like dogs; their snouts are of a red colour,
and are very long; they hunt in herds of ten or twenty and track game which
they bring down, one herd or one Kō, as the case may be, relieving the other
at certain stages. A Shikári once reported that he saw a large number of them
asleep. They were all ranged in a single long line. A bear approached, and by
the aid of a long branch measured the line. He then went to some distance
and measuring the ground dug it out to the extent of the line in length. He
then went back to measure the breadth of the sleeping troop when his branch
touched one of the animals which at once jumped up and roused the others.
They all then pursued him and brought him down. Some of them harassed
him in front, whilst one of them went behind and sucked his stomach clean
out. This seems to be a favourite method of these animals in destroying
game. They do not attack men, but bring down horses, sheep and game.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-33-320.jpg)
![|
Mansur Ali Khan,
(the rightful Raja of Gilgit, probably still a prisoner in Srinagar).
1827.—Azad Shah, Raja of Gakutsh, appointed ruler of Gilgit by Suleyman
Shah whom he kills in 1829.
Tahir Shah of Nagyr conquers Gilgit in 1834
| and kills Azad.
+--------------------------+---------------------------+
| | |
Sakandar Khan, killed Kerîm Khan, (Raja of Gôr), Suleyman Khan.
by Gauhar Aman of (calls in Kashmir troops
Yasin, in 1844. under Nathe Shah in 1844)
was killed in 1848 in Hunza.
|
+--------------------------+--------------+-------------+
| | | |
Muhammad Khan died Suleyman Khan. Sultan Muhammad. Rustam
in 1859 when on a Khan.
visit to Srinagar. |
| |
Alidád Khan (son of Muhammad Ghulam Hayder.
Khan’s sister).
View original page image
II.—YASIN DYNASTY.
It is said that both the Yasin and the Chitral dynasties are descended from a
common ancestor “Kathôr.” The Gilgitis call the Yasînis “Poryalé” and the
Chitralis “Katoré.”
Khushwakt(?) died 1800(?) from whom the present dynasty derives the
name of “Khushwaktia.” [A Raja of that name and dignity often met me at
Srinagar in 1886.]
He had two sons Suleyman Shah and Malik Amán Shah. The former died
about 1829 and left four sons and a daughter whom he married to Ghazanfar,
the Rajah of Hunza. The names of the sons are Azmat Shah the eldest,
Ahmad Shah, Rahîm Khan and Zarmast Khan.
Malik Amán Shah was the father of seven or, as some say, of ten sons, the
most famous of whom was Gauhar Aman, surnamed “Adam farosh” (the man-
seller) the third son. The names of the sons are: Khuda Amán Duda Amán,
Gauhar Amán, Khalîl Amán, Akhar Amán (who was killed by his nephew Malik
Amán, eldest son of his brother Gauhar Amán): Isa Bahadur (son of Malik
Amán Shah by a concubine), Gulsher, Mahter Sakhi, Bahadur Khan (who was
murdered) and Mir Amán(?) of Mistuch(?)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-36-320.jpg)
![Gauhar Amán left seven sons: Malik Amán (also called Mîr Kammu? now in
Tangîr?) Bahadur Amán, murdered by Lochan Singh, Mir Vali (who killed
Hayward), Mir Gházi, Pahlwan (who killed Mir Vali), Khan Daurán and Shajáyat
Khan. [The Khushwaktia Dynasty has since been dispossessed by the kindred
dynasty of Chitrál in 1884.]
III.—CHITRAL OR “SHAH KATHORIA” DYNASTY.
Shah Kathor, the son of Shah Afzal, (who died about 1800) was a soldier of
fortune who dispossessed the former ruler, whose grandson Vigne saw in the
service of Ahmad Shah, the independent ruler of Little Tibet in 1835.
Cunningham considers that the name of Kathôr is a title that has been borne
by the rulers of Chitrál for 2,000 years.
Shah Kathor had a brother, Sarbaland Khan, whose descendants do not
concern us, and four sons and a daughter married to Gauhar Amán of Yasin.
The names of the sons were: Shah Afzal (who died in 1858), Tajammul Shah
who was killed in 1865 by his nephew Adam-khor—or man-eater—(so called
from his murderous disposition; his real name was Muhtarim Shah), Ghazab
Shah (who died a natural death) and Afrasiab (who was killed). The murdered
Tajammul Shah left two sons namely Malik Shah (who revenged his father’s
death by killing Adam Khôr), and Sayad Ali Shah.
Shah Afzal left Amán-ul-Mulk, his eldest son, the present ruler of Chitrál
[1872] Adam-khôr (who usurped the rule for a time); Kohkán Beg, ruler of
Drus; a daughter whom he married to Rahmat-ulla-Khan, chief of Dîr;
Muhammad Ali Beg; Yadgar Beg; Bahadur Khan; and another daughter whom
Gauhar-Amán married as well as Shah Afzal’s sister and had Pahlwan by her.
Amán-ul-Mulk married a daughter of the late Ghazan Khan, chief of Dîr, by
whom he had Sardar (his eldest son), also called Nizam-ul-Mulk. Amán-ul-
Mulk’s other sons are Murad and others whose names will be found
elsewhere. One of his daughters is married to Jehandar Shah, the former ruler
of Badakhshán and the other to the son of the present Chief, Mîr Mahmud
Shah. [Full details are given elsewhere of the Yasin-Chitrál house.]
IV.—The names of the principal chiefs of the Chilâsis and of the Yaghistanis
(the independent Hill tribes of Darêl, Hôdûr, Tangìr, etc.) have already been
given in my “history” of their “Wars with Kashmir.” Just as in Chilâs and
Kandiá, the administration is in the hands of a Board of Elders. The Maharaja
of Kashmir only obtains tribute from three villages in Chilaz, viz., the villages
of Chilás, Takk and Bundar.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-37-320.jpg)
![V.—Nagyr,[82]
[is tributary to Ahmad Shah of Little Tibet about the beginning of this century,
but soon throws off this allegiance to Ahmad Shah under Alif Khan.](?)
[See “Historical Legend of the Origin of Gilgit,” pages 9 to 16. The Nagyr-Hunza Rajas or
Thams similarly claim a divine origin and account for it through the two fairy-brothers who
disappeared at Gilgit. See note on page 111.]
[“Nagyr,” which Col. Biddulph very properly writes “Nager” (like “Pamèr”) is now spelt
“Nagar,” so as to confound it with the Indian “Nagar” for “town,” from which it is quite
different.]
Alif Khan. 1800(?)
|
Raja Za’far Khan Záhid (the present Raja of Nagyr).
|
|
Son (a hostage for his father’s adhesion to Kashmîr, whom I saw
at Gilgit in 1866). The names of his maternal uncles are Shah
Iskandar and Raja Kerîm Khan(?) the elder brother. (The full
genealogy of Hunza Nagyr is given elsewhere.)
View original page image
VI.—Hunza
Ghazanfar, died 1865.
|
Ghazan Khan, present ruler.[83] (1866)
View original page image
VII.—Badakhshan
Sultân Shah.
|
+----------------+--------+
| |
Rejeb Shah. Mirza Kalán.
| |
Ahmad Shah. +-----------+--+----+
| | | |
| Nizam-ud-din Yusuf Saad-ulla
| (surnamed Ali Khan.
+------+---------------+ Mir Shah). Khan.
| | | |](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-38-320.jpg)
![Rahmat Shah Mahmud Shah [1872] +---------+-------+---------+----+
Shah. Ibrahim (present ruler of | | | |
|
Khan. Badakhshan Shajá-ul Jehandar Suleyman Shahzada |
under Kabul) Mulk. Shah, Shah. Hasan. |
stayed a long the former
|
time with his ruler,
Abdulla
maternal uncle, independent Khan
(by
the ruler of Kunduz, of Kabul a
concubine).
whence he (now (1872)
has often been a fugitive;
miscalled “a Sayad infests the
from Kunduz.” Kolab road).
View original page image
Yusuf Ali Khan had seven sons: Mirza Kalán, surnamed Mir Jan; Hazrat Ján;
Ismail Khan; Akbar Khan; Umr Khan, Sultan Shah; Abdurrahim Khan (by a
concubine).
Saad-ulla Khan had two sons: Baba Khan and Mahmud Khan (by a
concubine).
VIII.—Dir
Ghazan Khan (a very powerful ruler. Chitrál is said to have once
| been tributary to him).
|
Rahmat-ulla Khan and other eight sons (dispersed or killed in
struggles for the Chiefship).
View original page image
The connection of Little Tibet with the Dard countries had ceased before
1800.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-39-320.jpg)
![ROUGH CHRONOLOGICAL SKETCH OF
THE HISTORY OF DARDISTAN SINCE
1800.
1800.—Gurtam Khan, hereditary ruler of the now dispossessed
Gilgit Dynasty, rules 10 years in peace; is killed in an
engagement with Suleyman Khan, Khushwaktia, great
uncle of the famous Gauhar Amán (or Gormán) of Yasin.
1811.—Muhammad Khan, the son of Gurtam Khan, defeats
Suleyman Khan, rules Gilgit for 15 years in peace and
perfect independence whilst—
1814.—(Sirdar Muhammad Azim Khan, Barakzai, is ruler of
Kashmir).
1819.—Ranjit Singh annexes Kashmir.
1826.—Suleyman Khan of Yasin again attacks Gilgit and kills
Muhammad Khan and his brother, Abbas Ali. Muhammad
Khan’s son, Asghar Ali, is also killed on his flight to Nagyr.
1827.—Suleyman Shah appoints Azad Khan(?), petty Raja of
Gakutsh, over Gilgit as far as Bunji; Azad Khan ingratiates
himself with the people and rebels against Suleyman
Shah whom he kills(?) in 1829.
1829.—Suleyman Shah, head of the Khushwaktia family of
Yasin, dies.
1833.—Gauhar Amán turns his uncle, Azmat Shah, out of
Yasin.
1834.—Azad Khan is attacked by Tahir Shah of Nagyr and
killed. Tahir Shah, a Shiah, treats his subjects well. Dies
1839. Vigne visits Astór in 1835, but Tahir Shah will not
allow him to cross over to Gilgit. At that time the Sikhs
had not conquered any Dard country. Ahmad Shah was
independent ruler of Little Tibet (Baltistan) and under him
was Jabar Khan, chief of Astór (whose descendants,[84]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-40-320.jpg)
![like those of Ahmad Shah himself and of the Ladak rulers
are now petty pensioners under Kashmir surveillance).
(The Little Tibet dynasty had once, under Shah Murad,
about 1660, conquered Hunza, Nagyr, Gilgit and Chitrál,
where that ruler built a bridge near the fort.) Zorawar
Singh conquers Little Tibet in 1840, but no interference in
Dard affairs takes place till 1841 when the Sikhs are
called in as temporary allies by the Gilgit ruler against
Gauhar Amán of Yasin.
1840.—Sakandar Khan, son of Tahir Shah, succeeds to the
throne of Gilgit and rules the country—with his brothers,
Kerim Khan and Suleyman Khan.
1841.—Gauhar Amán of Yasin conquers Gilgit. Its ruler,
Sikandar Khan, asks Sheikh Ghulam Muhi-ud-din,
Governor of Kashmir on behalf of the Sikhs, for help.
1842.—1,000 Kashmir troops sent under Nathe Shah, a
Panjabi.
1843.—Sikandar Khan is murdered at Bakrôt at the instigation
of Gauhar Amán.
1844.—Gauhar Amán of Yasin re-conquers the whole country,
selling many of its inhabitants into slavery.
Nathe Shah, joined by Kerim Khan, younger brother of
Sikandar Khan and 4,000 reinforcements, takes Numal
Fort, but his subordinate Mathra Das is met at Sher Kila
(20 miles from Gilgit) by Gauhar Amán and defeated.
1845.—Karim Khan succeeds his brother as ruler (called
“Raja,” although a Muhammadan) of Gilgit and pays a
small sum for the retention of some Kashmir troops in the
Gilgit Fort under Nathe Shah. The Rajas of Hunza, Nagyr
and Yasin [Gauhar Amán sending his brother Khalil Amán
to Sheikh Iman-ud-din] now seek to be on good terms
with Kashmir, especially as its representatives, the
tyrannical Nathe Shah and his equally unpopular
successor, Atar Singh, are removed by its Muhammadan
Governor.
1846.—Karim Khan, Raja of Gor, another son of Tahir Shah,
calls in Nathe Shah and defeats Gauhar Amán at Basin,](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-41-320.jpg)
![dependency of Kashmir, is not included in the Treaty of
1846. (See page 110.) 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 Chilâs.
1851.—Bakhshi Hari Singh and Dewan Hari Chand are sent
with 10,000 men against Chilâs and succeed in destroying
the fort and scattering the hostile hill tribes which
assisted the Chilâsis.
1852.—The Maharaja’s head officers, Santu Singh and
Ramdhan, are murdered by the people of Gilgit whom
they oppressed. The people again assist Gauhar Amán,
who defeats and kills Bhup Singh and Ruknuddin (for
details vide Appendix), and drives the Kashmir troops
across the Indus to Astór.
1853.—The Maharaja now confines himself to the frontier,
assigned to him by nature as well as the treaty, at Bunji,
on the east of the Indus, but sends agents to sow discord
in the family of Gauhar Amán. In addition to Isa Bahadur,
he gained over two other brothers, Khalil Amán and Akbar
Amán, but failed with Mahtar Sakhi, although an exile. He
also attracted to his side Azmat Shah, Gauhar Amán’s
uncle.
1854.—The Maharaja instigated Shah Afzal of Chitrál to attack
Gauhar Amán, and accordingly in
1855.—Adam Khor, son of Shah Afzal of Chitrál, drove Gauhar
Amán from the possession of Mistuch and Yasin and
restricted him to Punyal and Gilgit.
1856.—The Maharaja sends a force across the Indus under
Wazir Zoraweru and Atar Singh assisted by Raja Zahid
Jafar of Nagyr,[85] and Gauhar Amán thus attacked in
front and flank, retreats from Gilgit and dispossesses
Adam Khor from Yasin and Mistuch.
1857.—Gauhar Amán again conquers Gilgit and drives out Isa
Bahadur, officiating Thanadar of that place. Gauhar Amán](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-43-320.jpg)
![All the hill tribes combine against Kashmir and reduce the
Dogras to the bare possession of Gilgit, which however
held out successfully against more than 20,000 of the
allied Dards, headed by Amán-ul-Mulk, Ghazan Khan and
Mir Vali. Very large reinforcements were sent by Kashmir,
[86] at whose approach the besiegers retreated, leaving,
however, skirmishers all over the country.
Wazir Zoraweru followed up the advantage gained by
invading Dareyl. Whilst the place was yet partially
invested, Dr. Leitner made his way to the Gilgit Fort and
frustrated two attempts made against him by the
employés of the Maharaja, who ostensibly were friends.
1867.—Jehandár Shah of Badakhshan is expelled from his
country by the Governor of Balkh and seeks refuge in
Kabul, where he is restored a year afterwards to his
ancestral throne by the influence of Abdurrahman Khan,
son of the Amir Afzal Khan and by his popularity. His rival,
Mahmud Shah, leaves without a struggle. Mir Vali, joining
Mulk Amán, made an unsuccessful attack on Isa Bahadur
and Azmat Shah, who beat them off with the help of
Kashmir troops from Gilgit. The consequence was general
disappointment among the Muhammadan Chiefs and the
Hill tribe of Dareyl (which had been subdued in the
meantime) and all opened friendly relations with Kashmir,
especially.
1868.—Mir Vali rules Yasin with Pahlwan.[87] Mulk Amán flees
to Chitrál.
1869.—Mulk Amán takes service with Kashmir and is
appointed on salary, but under surveillance, at Gilgit.
1870.—Mr. Hayward visits Yasin in March; is well received by
the Chief, Mir Vali, but returns, as he finds the passes on
to the Pamir closed by snow—visits the country a second
time in July, after exposing the conduct and breach of
treaty of the Kashmir authorities, and is murdered,
apparently without any object, at Darkôt in Yasin, one
stage on to Wakhan, by some men in the service of his
former friend, Mir Vali, who, however, soon flies the
country in the direction of Badakhshan, then seeks refuge](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/50909-250713025805-7c527779/85/Self-Directed-Learning-with-ICT-Theory-Practice-and-Assessment-1st-Edition-46-320.jpg)
Self Directed Learning with ICT Theory Practice and Assessment 1st Edition
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- 5. Self Directed Learning with ICT Theory Practice and Assessment 1st Edition Digital Instant Download ISBN(s): 9789810883003, 9810883005 Edition: 1 File Details: PDF, 3.98 MB Year: 2011 Language: english
- 7. Copyright © 2011 Ministry of Education, Singapore vision Ministry of Education logy Di a Drive Educational Techno North Buona Vist ingapore 138675 1 S First Edition ICT: Theory, Practice and Assessment Self‐Directed Learning with SBN: 978‐981‐08‐8300‐3 I ublished in Singapore P All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
- 8. Preface This monograph about Self‐Directed Learning (SDL) is written with the Singapore educational context in mind, particularly within the context of formal schooling. It also explores the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) when promoting SDL in different learning scenarios. As former teachers in Singapore, we are mindful of the teacher’s needs and responsibilities. Hence, the main audience of this book is teachers from primary schools to junior colleges. As educators in our different capacities, we hope that teachers in Singapore have a better idea of what it means to promote SDL as a 21st century skill in schools. Our intent is to use this book as a catalyst to more fruitful conversations on promoting SDL among our learners in Singapore.
- 9. 2 CONTENTS Preface 1 Table of Contents 2 List of Tables 3 List of Figures 4 Introduction 5 Chapter 1: Self‐Directed Learning – A Natural Process of Learning 8 Chapter 2: Principles for Designing SDL 19 Chapter 3: Worked examples of SDL 28 Chapter 4: Assessment and SDL 44 Concluding thoughts 59 References 60
- 10. 3 LIST of TABLES Table 1 Possible behavioural indicators of the salient aspects of SDL 16 Table 2 Students’ self‐assessment of SDL behaviours 48 Table 3 An example of an assessment rubric for a science project 50 Table 4 Assessing students’ SDL behaviours 54 Table 5 Teachers’ self‐assessment of scaffolding for SDL 56
- 11. 4 LIST of FIGURES Figure 1 SDL spectrum and student’s readiness 20 Figure 2 Design principles for SDL 21 Figure 3 Key processes of a learning portfolio 53
- 12. 5 Introduction The world that we live in today is a knowledge society. According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Bindé, 2005), otherwise known as UNESCO, a knowledge society values creation and sharing of new knowledge, so that the new knowledge can be applied for the well‐being of its people and solutions to global problems such as poverty and environmental damage. The health and wealth of a nation are now dependent on what is commonly known as knowledge workers, that is, workers who are able, flexible, creative, confident, good team players and are able to solve new problems; the most efficient production workers who can only follow standard procedures do not fit the bill in today’s world. To put it differently, the social and cultural characteristics of a knowledge society require citizens to be highly adaptive. Our societies today are fast‐changing, multi‐cultural, multi‐racial and multi‐religious, which can be attributed to high mobility and connectivity amongst people. In addition, the rapid development in social media such as Facebook and blogs helps to promote social interactions amongst people, breaking the boundaries of time and space. As a result, many modern societies are becoming global villages. Constantly learning about the diverse cultures, beliefs, languages, and customs of the people we meet is essential. Interactive and social media are also empowering people towards self‐actualisation that is characterised by greater autonomy and lifelong learning. To develop our students as confident citizens in today’s knowledge society means that access to education, the capacity to learn, a disposition for lifelong learning, competencies in communication and collaboration in knowledge
- 13. 6 creation activities are becoming increasingly important for participation in a socially and culturally diverse world. It can be argued that the demands of globalisation necessitate the need for our students to become more conscious, controlled, independent and active in their learning. This way of learning enables our students to adapt to the ever‐changing situations in our work lives, personal lives and social lives in the knowledge society. It is therefore no longer sufficient to help our students achieve only the learning objectives specified in the national syllabi. Rather, learning needs to be broadened to develop students’ competencies in learning how to learn; this may include the ability to identify, manage and mobilise resources for learning and the ability to monitor their own progress in learning. We need to foster amongst our students an acute sense of inquiry so that they are intrinsically motivated to understand things surrounding them. In this way, we will develop learners who learn actively while they are studying in a formal institution, and seize every opportunity to engage themselves in lifelong learning. Needless to say, technology is indispensible in our globalised world. Developing students’ competencies in using information and communication technologies (ICT) is vital to their participation in the knowledge society. Many education departments or ministries in more developed countries have charted roadmaps that aim to develop ICT skills that prepare students with the necessary skills, knowledge and dispositions to become confident citizens in the globalised world (Plomp, Anderson, Law, & Quale, 2009). Countries like Finland, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States have been implementing nation‐wide policies on the use of ICT in education; in fact, many of them are into their second or third nation‐wide ICT master plans. This concern is shared by Singapore, which anchors its ICT masterplans in the philosophy that “education should continually anticipate the future needs of society and work towards fulfilling these needs” (Ministry of Education, 2002, p. 1). In the current third ICT masterplan in Singapore, it is stated that the Education Ministry aims to develop
- 14. 7 each of our Singapore students into “a self‐directed learner who takes responsibility for his own learning, who questions, reflects and perseveres in the pursuit of learning” through the use of ICT (Ministry of Education, 2009, p. 1). Bearing in mind the demands of globalisation in the knowledge society and with the aim to support the Singapore Education Ministry’s goal of developing self‐directed learners through the use of ICT, we purport to unpack the notion of self‐directed learning (SDL) that is culturally appropriate for our Singapore context. In chapter 1, we first present an overview of the differing notions of SDL in literature from various disciplines and examine the processes that are commonly entailed in this way of learning. We then move on to chapter 2 where we aim to present the extent SDL can take place in educational scenarios that are familiar to our local teachers. In the same chapter, we also make explicit the principles that are necessary considerations for classroom teachers who intend to design SDL in their instructional approaches. In chapter 3, we succinctly present examples to illuminate our ideas of how SDL can be actualised in our Singapore context. In this chapter, we also emphasise the affordances of some technological tools that can possibly support SDL. Through the examples, we hope that teachers can envision how they can support SDL as they implement the third ICT Masterplan in their teaching and learning. We move on to discuss assessment issues pertaining to SDL in chapter 4. We examine ways of assessing SDL with examples of rubrics that teachers will appreciate when considering ways of developing students’ capacity in self‐assessment and guiding students when they self‐direct their learning. Chapter 5 summarises our concluding thoughts on fostering SDL in the context of our formal schooling in Singapore.
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- 16. Nikàstalì Come out quáray kusúni hawk’s daughter (“astali” is added to the fem. Imp). Nikastali Come out ke why karaníliè delayest thou! (“balanîle,” in Gilgiti). Gilgit, however, the girl may be of a lower caste than the bridegroom. In Astór it appears that a young man, whose parents—to whom he must mention his desire for marrying any particular person—refuse to intercede, often attains his point by threatening to live in the family of the bride and become an adopted son. A “Shîn” of true race at Astor may live in concubinage with a girl of lower caste, but the relatives of the girl if they discover the intrigue revenge the insult by murdering the paramour, who, however, does not lose caste by the alliance. The bridegroom dances as well as his twelve companions. The girl ought not to be older than 15 years; but at 12 girls are generally engaged.[50] The Balti custom of having merely a claim to dowry on the part of the woman—the prosecution of which claim so often depends on her satisfaction with her husband or the rapacity of her relatives—is in spite of the intercourse of the Baltis with the Shîn people never observed by the latter; not even by the Shîn colonists of little Tibet who are called “Brokhpá.” When the bridegroom has to go for his bride to a distant village he is furnished with a bow. On arriving at his native place he crosses the breast of his bride with an arrow and then shoots it off. He generally shoots three arrows off in the direction of his home. At Astór the custom is sometimes to fire guns as a sign of rejoicing. This is not done at Gilgit. When the bridegroom fetches his bride on the second day to his own home, the girl is crying with the women of her household and the young man catches hold of her dress in front (at Gilgit by the hand) and leads her to the door. If the girl cannot get over embracing her people and crying with them quickly, the twelve men who have come along with the bridegroom (who in Astóri are called “hilalée” = bridegrooms and “garóni” in Gilgiti) sing the following song:— INVITATION TO THE BRIDE.
- 17. Nikastali Come out máleyn (from) thy father’s gutíjo. tent Nikastali Come out ke why karaníliè. delayest thou Né ro Do not weep tsharéyn waterfall’s baráye. fairy Né ro Do not weep teyn thy róng colour boje. will go Né ro Do not weep jaro brethren’s shidati. beloved Né ro Do not weep téy thy róng colour boje. will go Né ro Do not weep maleyn father’s shidati. beloved Né ro Do not weep téy thy róng colour boje. will go Translation.
- 18. Come out, O daughter of the hawk! Come out, why dost thou delay? Come forth from thy father’s tent, Come out and do not delay. Weep not! O fairy of the waterfall! Weep not! thy colour will fade; Weep not! thou art the beloved of us all who are thy brethren, Weep not! thy colour will fade. O Weep not! thou beloved of fathers, [or “thy father’s darling.”] For if thou weepest, thy face will grow pale. Then the young man catches hold of her dress, or in Gilgit of her arm, puts her on horseback, and rides off with her, heedless of her tears and of those of her companions. E. FUNERALS. Funerals are conducted in a very simple manner. The custom of eating grapes at funerals I have already touched upon in my allusion to Dureyl in the chapter on “Wine.” Bread is commonly distributed together with Ghî, etc., three days after the funeral, to people in general, a custom which is called “Nashí” by the Astóris, and “Khatm” by the Gilgitis. When a person is dead, the Mulla, assisted generally by a near friend of the deceased, washes the body which is then placed in a shroud. Women assemble, weep and relate the virtues of the deceased. The body is conveyed to the grave the very day of the decease. In Astor there is something in the shape of a bier for conveying the dead. At Gilgit two poles, across which little bits of wood are placed sideways and then fastened, serve for the same purpose. The persons who carry the body think it a meritorious act. The women accompany the body for some fifty yards and then return to the house to weep. The body is then placed in the earth which has been dug up to admit of its interment. Sometimes the grave is well-cemented and a kind of small vault is made over it with pieces of wood closely jammed together. A Pîr or saint receives a hewn stone standing as a sign-post from the tomb. I have seen no inscriptions anywhere. The tomb of one of their famous saints at Gilgit has none. I have heard people there say that he was killed at that place in order to provide the country with a shrine. My Gilgiti who, like all his countrymen, was very patriotic, denied it, but I heard it at Gilgit from several persons, among whom was one of the descendants of the saint. As the Saint was a Kashmiri, the veracity of his descendant may be doubted. To return to the funeral. The body
- 19. is conveyed to the cemetery, which is generally at some distance from the village, accompanied by friends. When they reach the spot the Mulla reads the prayers standing as in the “Djenazá”—any genuflexion, “ruku” عرکو and prostration are, of course, inadmissible. After the body has been interred the Mulla recites the Fatiha, [opening prayer of the Koran] all people standing up and holding out their hands as if they were reading a book. The Mulla prays that the deceased may be preserved from the fire of hell as he was a good man, etc. Then after a short benediction the people separate. For three days at Gilgit and seven days at Astor the near relatives of the deceased do not eat meat. After that period the grave is again visited by the deceased’s friends, who, on reaching the grave, eat some ghí and bread, offer up prayers, and, on returning, slaughter a sheep, whose kidney is roasted and divided in small bits amongst those present. Bread is distributed amongst those present and a little feast is indulged in, in memory of the deceased. I doubt, however, whether the Gilgitis are very exact in their religious exercises. The mention of death was always received with shouts of laughter by them, and one of them told me that a dead person deserved only to be kicked. He possibly only joked and there can be little doubt that the Gilgit people are not very communicative about their better feelings. It would be ridiculous, however, to deny them the possession of natural feelings, although I certainly believe that they are not over-burdened with sentiment. In Astór the influence of Kashmir has made the people attend a little more to the ceremonies of the Mussulman religion. In Chilâs rigour is observed in the maintenance of religious practices, but elsewhere there exists the greatest laxity. In fact, so rude are the people that they have no written character of their own, and till very recently the art of writing (Persian) was confined to, perhaps, the Rajas of these countries or rather to their Munshis, whenever they had any. Some of them may be able to read the Koran. Even this I doubt, as of hundreds of people I saw only one who could read at Gilgit, and he was a Kashmiri who had travelled far and wide and had at last settled in that country. F. HOLIDAYS. The great holiday of the Shîn people happened in 1867, during the month succeeding the Ramazan, but seems to be generally on the sixth of February. It is called the “Shinó náo,” “the new day of the Shîn people.” The Gilgitis call the day “Shinó bazóno,” “the spring of the Shîn people.” [The year, it will be remembered, is divided into bazono = spring; walo = summer; shero =
- 20. autumn; yono = winter.] The snow is now becoming a little softer and out-of- door life is more possible. The festivities are kept up for twelve days. Visits take place and man and wife are invited out to dinner during that period. Formerly, when the Shîns had a Raja or Nawab of their own, it used to be the custom for women to dance during those twelve days. Now the advent of the Sepoys and the ridiculous pseudo-morality of the Kashmir rule have introduced a kind of Pardah and the chaste Shîn women do not like to expose themselves to the strangers. Then there is the Naurôz, which is celebrated for three, and sometimes for six, days. There are now five great holidays in the year: The I’d of Ramazân. The Shinó-Náo. The Naurôz. Kurbanī I’d. The Kùy Náo,[51] { Astóri. Dúmniká, { Gilgiti. On the last-named holiday the game of Polo is played, good clothes are put on, and men and women amuse themselves at public meetings. The Shîn people are very patriotic. Since the Maharaja’s rule many of their old customs have died out, and the separation of the sexes is becoming greater. Their great national festival I have already described under the head of “Historical Legend of Gilgit” (pages 14 to 16). G. THE RELIGIOUS IDEAS OF THE DARDS. If the Dards—the races living between the Hindu-Kush and Kaghán—have preserved many Aryan customs and traditions, it is partly because they have lived in almost perfect seclusion from other Muhammadans. In Chilâs, where the Sunni form of that faith prevails, there is little to relieve the austerity of that creed. The rest of the Muhammadan Dards are Shiahs, and that belief is more elastic and seems to be more suited to a quick-witted race, than the orthodox form of Islam. Sunniism, however, is advancing in Dardistan and will, no doubt, sweep away many of the existing traditions. The progress, too, of the present invasion by Kashmir, which, although governed by Hindus, is chiefly Sunni, will familiarize the Dards with the notions of orthodox
- 21. Muhammadans and will tend to substitute a monotonous worship for a multiform superstition. I have already noticed that, in spite of the exclusiveness of Hinduism, attempts are made by the Maharaja of Kashmir to gather into the fold those races and creeds which, merely because they are not Muhammadan, are induced by him to consider themselves Hindu. For instance, the Siah Posh Kafirs, whom I venture also to consider Dards, have an ancient form of nature-worship which is being encroached upon by Hindu myths, not because they are altogether congenial but because they constitute the religion of the enemies of Muhammadans, their own bitter foes who kidnap the pretty Kafir girls and to kill whom establishes a claim among Kafirs to consideration. In the same way there is a revival of Hinduism in the Buddhist countries of Ladak and Zanskar, which belong to Kashmir, and ideas of caste are welcomed where a few years ago they were unknown. As no one can become a Hindu, but any one can become a Muhammadan, Hinduism is at a natural disadvantage in its contact with an advancing creed and, therefore, there is the more reason why zealous Hindus should seek to strengthen themselves by amalgamation with other idolatrous creeds. To return to the Mussulman Dards, it will be easy to perceive by a reference to my ethnographical vocabulary what notions are Muhammadan and what traces there remain of a more ancient belief. The “world of Gods” is not the mere ةاخر which their professed religion teaches, nor is the “serpent world” a Muhammadan term for our present existence. Of course, their Maulvis may read “religious lessons” and talk to them of Paradise and Hell, but it is from a more ancient source that they derive a kindly sympathy with the evil spirits “Yatsh;” credit them with good actions, describe their worship of the sun and moon, and fill the interior of mountains with their palaces and songs. Again, it is not Islam that tells them of the regeneration of their country by fairies— that places these lovely beings on the top of the Himalayas and makes them visit, and ally themselves to, mankind. The fairies too are not all good, as the Yatsh are not all bad. They destroy the man who seeks to surprise their secrets, although, perhaps, they condone the offence by making him live for ever after in fairy-land. Indeed, the more we look into the national life of the Dards the less do we find it tinctured by Muhammadan distaste of compromise. Outwardly their customs may conform to that ceremonial, but when they make death an opportunity for jokes and amusement we cannot refuse attention to the circumstance by merely explaining it away on the ground that they are savages. I have noticed the prevalence of caste among them, how proud they are of their Shîn descent, how little (with the exception of the more devout Chilâsis) they draw upon Scripture for their personal names, how they honour women and how they like the dog, an animal
- 22. deemed unclean by other Muhammadans. The Dards had no hesitation in eating with me, but I should not be surprised to hear that they did not do so when Mr. Hayward visited them, for the Hinduized Mussulman servants that one takes on tours might have availed themselves of their supposed superior knowledge of the faith to inform the natives that they were making an improper concession to an infidel. A good many Dards, however, have the impression that the English are Mussulmans—a belief that would not deter them from killing or robbing a European traveller in some districts, if he had anything “worth taking.” Gouhar-Amán [called “Gôrmán” by the people] of Yasin used to say that as the Koran, the word of God, was sold, there could be no objection to sell an expounder of the word of God, a Mulla, who unfortunately fell into his hands. I did not meet any real Shîn who was a Mulla,[52] but I have no doubt that, especially in Hunza, they are using the services of Mullas in order to give a religious sanction to their predatory excursions. I have said that the Dards were generally Shiahs—perhaps I ought not to include the Shiah Hunzas among Dards as they speak a non-Aryan language unlike any other that I know[53]—and as a rule the Shiahs are preyed upon by Sunnis. Shiah children are kidnapped by Sunnis as an act both religious and profitable. Shiahs have to go through the markets of Bokhara denying their religion, for which deception, by the way, they have the sanction of their own priests.[54] Can we, therefore, wonder that the Mulái Hunzas make the best of both worlds by preferring to kidnap Sunnis to their own co-religionists? A very curious fact is the attachment of Shiahs to their distant priesthood. We know how the Indian Shiahs look to Persia; how all expect the advent of their Messiah, the Imám Mahdi; how the appointment of Kazis (civil functionaries) is made through the Mujtehid [a kind of high priest] and is ratified by the ruling power, rather than emanate direct from the secular authorities, as is the case with Sunnis. The well-known Sayad residing at Bombay, Agha Khan, has adherents even in Dardistan, and any command that may reach them from him [generally a demand for money] is obeyed implicitly. Indeed, throughout India and Central Asia there are men, some of whom lead an apparently obscure life, whose importance for good or evil should not be underrated by the authorities. [See my “Hunza and Nagyr Handbook, 1893.”] What we know about the religion of the Siah-Posh Kafirs [whom I include in the term “Dards”] is very little. My informants were two Kafir lads, who lived for some weeks in my compound and whose religious notions had, no doubt, been affected on their way down through Kashmir. That they go once a year to the top of a mountain as a religious exercise and put a stone on to a cairn; that the number of Muhammadan heads hung up in front of their doors
- 23. indicates their position in the tribe; that they are said to sit on benches rather than squat on the ground like other Asiatics: that they are reported to like all those who wear a curl in front; that they are fair and have blue eyes, that they drink a portion of the blood of a killed enemy—this and the few words which have been collected of their language is very nearly all we have hitherto known about them. What I have been able to ascertain regarding them, will be mentioned elsewhere.[55] H. FORMS OF GOVERNMENT AMONG THE DARDS. Chilâs, which sends a tribute every year to Kashmir for the sake of larger return-presents rather than as a sign of subjection, is said to be governed by a council of elders, in which even women are admitted.[56] When I visited Gilgit, in 1866, it was practically without a ruler, the invading troops of Kashmir barely holding their own within a few yards of the Gilgit Fort—a remarkable construction which, according to the report of newspapers, was blown up by accident in 1876, and of which the only record is the drawing published in the Illustrated London News of the 12th February 1870.[57] There is now (1877) a Thanadar of Gilgit, whose rule is probably not very different from that of his rapacious colleagues in Kashmir. The Gilgitis are kept quiet by the presence of the Kashmir army, and by the fact that their chiefs are prisoners at Srinagar, where other representatives of once reigning houses are also under surveillance. Mansur Ali Khan, the supposed rightful Raja of Gilgit is there; he is the son of Asghar Ali Khan, son of Raja Khan, son of Gurtam Khan—but legitimate descent has little weight in countries that are constantly disturbed by violence, except in Hunza, where the supreme right to rob is hereditary.[58] The Gilgitis, who are a little more settled than their neighbours to the West, North and South, and who possess the most refined Dardu dialect and traditions, were constantly exposed to marauding parties, and the late ruler of Yasin, Gouhar-Amán, who had conquered Gilgit, made it a practice to sell them into slavery on the pretext that they were Shiahs and infidels. Yasin was lately ruled by Mir Wali, the supposed murderer of Mr. Hayward, and is a dependency of Chitrál, a country which is ruled by Amán- ul-mulk. The Hunza people are under Ghazan Khan, the son of Ghazanfar,[59] and seem to delight in plundering their Kirghiz neighbours, although all travellers through that inhospitable region, with the exception of Badakhshan merchants, are impartially attacked by these robbers, whose depredations have caused the nearest pass from Central Asia to India to be almost entirely deserted (1866). At Gilgit I saw the young Raja of Nagyr, with a servant, also a Nagyri. He was a most amiable and intelligent lad, whose articulation was
- 24. very much more refined than that of his companion, who prefixed a guttural to every Khajuná word beginning with a vowel. The boy was kept a prisoner in the Gilgit Fort as a hostage to Kashmir for his father’s good behaviour, and it was with some difficulty that he was allowed to see me and answer certain linguistic questions which I put to him. If he has not been sent back to his country, it would be a good opportunity for our Government to get him to the Panjab in the cold weather with the view of our obtaining more detailed information than we now possess regarding the Khajuná, that extraordinary language to which I have several times alluded. [This was done on my second official mission to Kashmir in 1886.] The name of Rá, Rásh, Raja, applied to Muhammadans, may sound singular to those accustomed to connect them with Hindu rulers but it is the ancient name for “King” at Gilgit (for which “Nawab” seems a modern substitute in that country)—whilst Shah Kathor[60] in Chitrál, Tham in Hunza and Nagyr, Mitérr (Mihtar) and Bakhté in Yasin and Trakhné in Gilgit offer food for speculation. The Hunza people say that the King’s race is Mogholote (or Mogul?); they call the King Sawwash and affirm that he is Aishea (this probably means that he is descended from Ayesha, the wife of Muhammad). [61] Under the king or chief, for the time being, the most daring or intriguing hold office and a new element of disturbance has now been introduced into Dardistan by the Kashmir faction at every court [or rather robber’s nest] which seeks to advance the interests or ulterior plans of conquest of the Maharaja, our feudatory. Whilst the name of Wazir is now common for a “minister,” we find the names of the subordinate offices of Trangpá, Yarfá, Zeytú, Gopá, etc., etc., which point to the reminiscences of Tibetan Government and a reference to the “Official Designations” in Part II. of my “Dardistan” will direct speculation on other matters connected with the subject. I need scarcely add that under a Government, like that of Chitrál, which used to derive a large portion of its revenue from kidnapping, the position of the official slave-dealer (Diwánbigi)[62] was a high one. Shortly before I visited Gilgit, a man used to sell for a good hunting dog (of which animal the Dards are very fond), two men for a pony and three men for a large piece of pattú (a kind of woollen stuff). Women and weak men received the preference, it being difficult for them to escape once they have reached their destination. Practically, all the hillmen are republicans. The name for servant is identical with that of “companion;” it is only the prisoner of another tribe who is a “slave.” The progress of Kashmir will certainly have the effect of stopping, at any rate nominally, the trade in male slaves, but it will reduce all subjects to the same dead level of slavery and extinguish that spirit of freedom, and with
- 25. it many of the traditions, that have preserved the Dard races from the degeneracy which has been the fate of the Aryans who reached Kashmir and India. The indigenous Government is one whose occasional tyranny is often relieved by rebellion. I think the Dard Legends and Songs show that the Dards are a superior people to the Dogras, who wish to take their country in defiance of treaty obligations,[63] and I, for one, would almost prefer the continuance of present anarchy which may end in a national solution or in a direct alliance with the British, to the épicier policy of Kashmir which, without shedding blood,[64] has drained the resources of that Paradise on earth and killed the intellectual and moral life of its people. The administration of justice and the collection of the taxes in Dardistan are carried on, the former with some show of respect for religious injunctions, the latter with sole regard to whatever the tax-gatherer can immediately lay his hand upon. I. HABITATIONS. Most of the villages, whose names I have given elsewhere, are situate on the main lines of roads which, as everywhere in Himalayan countries, generally coincides with the course of rivers. The villages are sometimes scattered, but as a rule, the houses are closely packed together. Stones are heaped up and closely cemented, and the upper story, which often is only a space shielded by a cloth or by grass-bundles on a few poles, is generally reached by a staircase from the outside.[65] Most villages are protected by one or more wooden forts, which—with the exception of the Gilgit fort—are rude blockhouses, garnished with rows of beams, behind which it is easy to fight as long as the place is not set on fire. Most villages also contain an open space, generally near a fountain, where the villagers meet in the evening and young people make love to each other.[66] Sometimes the houses contain a subterranean apartment which is used as a cellar or stable—at other times, the stable forms the lower part of the house and the family live on the roof under a kind of grass-tent. In Ládak, a little earth heaped up before the door and impressed with a large wooden seal, was sufficient, some years ago, to protect a house in the absence of its owner. In Dardistan bolts, etc., show the prevailing insecurity. I have seen houses which had a courtyard, round which the rooms were built, but generally all buildings in Dardistan are of the meanest description—the mosque of Gilgit, in which I slept one night whilst the Sepoys were burying two or three yards away from me, those who were killed by the so-called rebels, being almost as miserable a construction as the rest. The inner part of the house is generally divided from the outer by a
- 26. beam which goes right across. My vocabulary will show all the implements, material, etc., used in building, etc. Water-mills and windmills are to be found. Cradles were an unknown commodity till lately. I have already referred to the wine and treasury cellars excavated in the mountains, and which provided the Dards with food during the war in 1866, whilst the invading Kashmir troops around them were starving. Baths (which were unknown till lately) are sheltered constructions under waterfalls; in fact, they are mere sheltered douche-baths. There is no pavement except so far as stones are placed in order to show where there are no roads. The rooms have a fire-place, which at Astor (where it is used for the reception of live coals) is in the middle of the room. The conservancy arrangements are on the slope of the hills close to the villages, in front of which are fields of Indian corn, etc. J. DIVISIONS OF THE DARD RACES. The name of Dardistan (a hybrid between the “Darada” of Sanscrit writings and a Persian termination) seems now to be generally accepted. I include in it all the countries lying between the Hindu Kush and Kaghan (lat. 37° N. and long. 73° E. to lat. 35° N., long. 74° 30´ E.). In a restricted sense the Dards are the race inhabiting the mountainous country of Shináki, detailed further on, but I include under that designation not only the Chilâsis, Astóris, Gilgitis, Dareylis, etc., but also the people of Hunza, Nagyr, Yasin, Chitrál and Kafiristan.[67] As is the case with uncivilized races generally, the Dards have no name in common, but call each Dard tribe that inhabits a different valley by a different name. This will be seen in subjoined Extract from my Ethnographical Vocabulary. The name “Dard” itself was not claimed by any of the race that I met. If asked whether they were “Dards” they said “certainly,” thinking I mispronounced the word “dáde” of the Hill Panjabi which means “wild” “independent,” and is a name given them by foreigners as well as “yaghi,” = rebellious [the country is indifferently known as Yaghistan, Kohistan and, since my visit in 1866 as “Dardistan,” a name which I see Mr. Hayward has adopted]. I hope the name of Dard will be retained, for, besides being the designation of, at least, one tribe, it connects the country with a range known in Hindu mythology and history. However, I must leave this and other disputed points for the present, and confine myself now to quoting a page of Part II. of my “Dardistán” for the service of those whom the philological portion of that work has deterred from looking at the descriptive part. “SHIN are all the people of Chilâs, Astór, Dareyl or Darèll, Gôr, Ghilghit[68] or Gilìt. All these tribes do not acknowledge the ‘Guraizis,’ a people inhabiting the
- 27. Guraiz valley between Chilâs and Kashmîr, as Shîn, although the Guraizis themselves think so. The Guraizi dialect, however is undoubtedly Shiná, much mixed with Kashmiri. “The Shîns[69] call themselves ‘Shin, Shiná lôk, Shinâki,’ and are very proud of the appellation, and in addition to the above-named races include in it the people of Tòrr, Hárben, Sazîn, [districts of, or rather near, Chilâs]; Tanyire [Tangîr] belonging to Darell; also the people of Kholi-Palus whose origin is Shîn, but who are mixed with Afghans. Some do not consider the people of Kholi-Palus as Shîn.[70] They speak both Shiná and Pukhtu [pronounced by the Shîn people ‘Postó.’] The Baltis, or Little Tibetans, call the Shîn and also the Nagyr people ‘Brokhpá,’ or, as a term of respect, ‘Brokhpá bábo.’[71] Offshoots of the ‘Shîn’ people live in Little Tibet and even the district of Dras, near the Zojilá pass on the Ladâk road towards Kashmîr, was once Shîn and was called by them Huméss. I was the first traveller who discovered that there were Shîn colonies in Little Tibet, viz.: the villages of Shingôtsh, Sáspur, Brashbrialdo, Bashó, Danàl djúnele, Tâtshin, Dorôt (inhabited by pure Shîns), Zungôt, Tortzé (in the direction of Rongdu) and Durò, one day’s march from Skardo.”[72] The Chilásis call themselves Boté.[73] ” ” ” their fellow-countrymen of Takk = “Kané” or Takke-Kané. [the Matshuké are now an extinct race, at all events in Dardistan proper.] The Chilâsis call Gilgitis = Gilîtí. ” ” ” Astóris = Astoríjje. ” ” ” Gôrs = Goríje. ” ” ” Dureylis = Darêle. ” ” ” Baltis = Palóye. Gil. = Polôle. ” ” ” Ladáki = Botì. Pl. of Bôt. ” ” ” Kashmiris = Kashîre. ” ” ” Dogras = Sikkì [Sikhs] now “Dôgréy.”
- 28. ” ” ” Affghans = Patáni. ” ” ” Nagyris = Khadjunì. ” ” ” Hunzas = Hunzíje. ” ” ” Yasînis = Poré. ” ” ” Punyalis = Punyé. ” ” ” Kirghiz = Kirghìz. Note.—The Kirghiz are described by the Chilâsis as having flat faces and small noses and are supposed to be very white and beautiful, to be Nomads and to feed on milk, butter and mutton. The Chilâsis call the people between Hunza and the Pamêr [our Pamir] on the Yarkand road = Gójál. There are also other Gojáls under a Raja of Gojál on the Badakhshán road. The Chílâsis call the Siah Pôsh Kâfirs = Bashgalí (Bashgal is the name of the country inhabited by this people who enjoy the very worst reputation for cruelty). They are supposed to kill every traveller that comes within their reach and to cut his nose or ear off as a trophy.[74] The Chilâsis were originally four tribes; viz.: The Bagoté of Buner. The Kané of Takk. The Boté of the Chilâs fort. The Matshuké of the Matshukó fort. The Boté and the Matshuké fought. The latter were defeated, and are said to have fled into Astor and Little Tibet territory. A Foreigner is called “ósho.” Fellow-countrymen are called “malêki.” The stature of the Dards is generally slender and wiry and well suited to the life of a mountaineer. They are now gradually adopting Indian clothes, and
- 29. whilst this will displace their own rather picturesque dress and strong, though rough, indigenous manufacture, it may also render them less manly. They are fairer than the people of the plains (the women of Yasin being particularly beautiful and almost reminding one of European women), but on the frontier they are rather mixed—the Chilâsis with the Kaghanis and Astóris—the Astóris and Gilgitis with the Tibetans, and the Guraizis with the Tibetans on the one hand and the Kashmiris on the other. The consequence is that their sharp and comparatively clear complexion (where it is not under a crust of dirt) approaches, in some Districts, a Tatar or Moghal appearance. Again, the Nagyris are shorter than the people of Hunza to whom I have already referred. Just before I reached the Gilgit fort, I met a Nagyri, whose yellow moustache and general appearance almost made me believe that I had come across a Russian in disguise. I have little hesitation in stating that the pure Shîn looks more like a European than any high-caste Brahmin of India. Measurements were taken by Dr. Neil of the Lahore Medical College, but have, unfortunately, been lost, of the two Shîns who accompanied me to the Panjab, where they stayed in my house for a few months, together with other representatives of the various races whom I had brought down with me.[75] The prevalence of caste among the Shîns also deserves attention. We have not the Muhammadan Sayad, Sheykh, Moghal, and Pathan (which, no doubt, will be substituted in future for the existing caste designations), nor the Kashmiri Muhammadan equivalents of what are generally mere names for occupations. The following List of Dard Castes may be quoted appropriately from Part II. of my “Dardistan”:— K. CASTES. “Raja (highest on account of position). “Wazîr (of Shîn race, and also the official caste of ‘Róno’). “SHIN the highest caste; the Shiná people of pure origin, whether they be Astóris, Gilgitis, Chilâsis, etc., etc.[75] “They say that it is the same race as the ‘Moghals’ of India. Probably this name only suggested itself to them when coming in contact with Mussulmans from Kashmir or the Panjab. The following castes are named in their order of rank (for exact details, see “Hunza Handbook”): “Yáshkunn [the great land-owning race found = a caste formed by the intermixture (?) between the Shîn and a lower [aboriginal?] race. A Shîn may marry a Yáshkunn woman [called ‘Yáshkûni;’]
- 30. in possession by the invading Shîns.] but no Yáshkunn can marry a Shînóy = Shîn woman. “Tatshön = caste of carpenters. “Tshâjjá = weavers. The Gilgitis call this caste: ‘Byêtshoi.’ “Akár = ironmonger. “Kûlál = potter. “Dôm[76] = musician } “Kramìn = tanner? } (the lowest castes). “N.B. The Brokhpâ are a mixed race of Dardu-Tibetans, as indeed are the Astoris [the latter of whom, however, consider themselves very pure Shîns]; the Guráïzis are probably Dardu-Kashmiris; but I presume that the above division of caste is known, if not upheld, by every section of the Shîná people. The castes most prevalent in Guraiz are evidently Kashmiri as: “Bhat. Lôn. Dâr. Wây. Râter. Thôkr. Bagâ.”
- 31. LEGENDS RELATING TO ANIMALS.[77] 1.—A BEAR PLAYS WITH A CORPSE. It is said that bears, as the winter is coming on, are in the habit of filling their dens with grass and that they eat a plant, called “ajalí,” which has a narcotic effect upon them and keeps them in a state of torpor during the winter. After three months, when the spring arrives, they awake and go about for food. One of these bears once scented a corpse which he disinterred. It happened to be that of a woman who had died a few days before. The bear, who was in good spirits, brought her to his den, where he set her upright against a stone and fashioning a spindle with his teeth and paws gave it to her into one hand and placed some wool into the other. He then went on growling “mû-mû-mû” to encourage the woman to spin. He also brought her some nuts and other provisions to eat. Of course, his efforts were useless, and when she after a few days gave signs of decomposition he ate her up in despair. This is a story based on the playful habits of the bear. 2.—A BEAR MOURNS A GIRL. Another curious story is related of a bear. Two women, a mother and her little daughter, were one night watching their field of Indian corn “makai,” against the inroads of these animals. The mother had to go to her house to prepare the food and ordered her daughter to light a fire outside. Whilst she was doing this a bear came and took her away. He carried her into his den, and daily brought her to eat and to drink. He rolled a big stone in front of the den, whenever he went away on his tours, which the girl was not strong enough to remove. When she became old enough to be able to do this he used daily to lick her feet, by which they became swollen and gradually dwindled down to mere misshapen stumps. The girl eventually died in childbirth, and the poor bear after vain efforts to restore her to life roamed disconsolately about the fields. 3.—ORIGIN OF BEARS.
- 32. It is said that bears were originally the offspring of a man who was driven into madness by his inability to pay his debts, and who took to the hills in order to avoid his creditors.[78] 4.—THE BEAR AND THE ONE-EYED MAN. The following story was related by a man of the name of Ghalib Shah residing at a village near Astór, called Parishing. He was one night looking out whether any bear had come into his “tromba” field.[79] He saw that a bear was there and that he with his forepaws alternately took a pawful of “tromba,” blew the chaff away and ate hastily. The man was one-eyed [shéo = blind; my Ghilgiti used “Kyor,” which he said was a Persian word, but which is evidently Turkish] and ran to his hut to get his gun. He came out and pointed it at the bear. The animal who saw this ran round the blind side of the man’s face, snatched the gun out of his hand and threw it away. The bear and the man then wrestled for a time, but afterwards both gave up the struggle and retired. The man, after he had recovered himself went to look for the gun, the stock of which he found broken. The match-string by which the stock had been tied to the barrel had gone on burning all night and had been the cause of the gun being destroyed. The son of that man still lives at the village and tells this story, which the people affect to believe. 5.—WEDDING FESTIVAL AMONG BEARS. A Mulla, of the name of Lal Mohammad, said that when he was taken a prisoner into Chilás,[80] he and his escort passed one day through one of the dreariest portions of the mountains of that inhospitable region. There they heard a noise, and quietly approaching to ascertain its cause they saw a company of bears tearing up the grass and making bundles of it which they hugged. Other bears again wrapped their heads in grass, and some stood on their hind-paws, holding a stick in their forepaws and dancing to the sound of the howls of the others. They then ranged themselves in rows, at each end of which was a young bear; on one side a male, on the other a female. These were supposed to celebrate their marriage on the occasion in question. My informant swore to the story and my Ghilgiti corroborated the truth of the first portion of the account, which he said described a practice believed to be common to bears. 6.—THE FLYING PORCUPINE.
- 33. There is a curious superstition with regard to an animal called “Harginn,” which appears to be more like a porcupine than anything else. It is covered with bristles; its back is of a red-brownish and its belly of a yellowish colour. That animal is supposed to be very dangerous, and to contain poison in its bristles. At the approach of any man or animal it is said to gather itself up for a terrific jump into the air, from which it descends unto the head of the intended victim. It is said to be generally about half a yard long and a span broad. Our friend Lal Mohammad, a saintly Akhunzada, but a regular Münchhausen, affirmed to have once met with a curious incident with regard to that animal. He was out shooting one day when he saw a stag which seemed intently to look in one direction. He fired off his gun, which however did not divert the attention of the stag. At last, he found out what it was that the stag was looking at. It turned out to be a huge “Harginn,” which had swallowed a large Markhor with the exception of his horns! There was the porcupine out of whose mouth protruded the head and horns of the Markhor!! My Ghilgiti, on the contrary, said that the Harginn was a great snake “like a big fish called Nang.” Perhaps, Harginn means a monster or dragon, and is applied to different animals in the two countries of Ghilghit and Astor. 7.—A FIGHT BETWEEN WOLVES AND A BEAR WHO WANTED TO DIG THEIR GRAVE. A curious animal something like a wolf is also described. The species is called “Kō.”[81] These animals are like dogs; their snouts are of a red colour, and are very long; they hunt in herds of ten or twenty and track game which they bring down, one herd or one Kō, as the case may be, relieving the other at certain stages. A Shikári once reported that he saw a large number of them asleep. They were all ranged in a single long line. A bear approached, and by the aid of a long branch measured the line. He then went to some distance and measuring the ground dug it out to the extent of the line in length. He then went back to measure the breadth of the sleeping troop when his branch touched one of the animals which at once jumped up and roused the others. They all then pursued him and brought him down. Some of them harassed him in front, whilst one of them went behind and sucked his stomach clean out. This seems to be a favourite method of these animals in destroying game. They do not attack men, but bring down horses, sheep and game.
- 34. The Flora and Fauna of Dardistan have been so minutely described in Part II. of my “Languages and Races of Dardistan,” though mainly from a linguistic standpoint, that I have nothing to say here about the products and animals of that country. Nor need I say anything about the dress of its people, except that its rolled-up woollen cap is, practically, the sign of the brotherhood (sometimes like that of Cain) among all members of the Dard race, and, at once, distinguishes them from Pathans, Affghans, Kashmiris, and others. The beautifully-knit stockings are also a Dard art, and seem to have suggested, rather than followed, Kashmir patterns. Above all, the quasi-Celtic brass brooches of the women, and the family axes of the Hunza-Nagyris denote the antiquity of the Dard race. Curious is also the dress, light as air and softly warm, made of the fluff of the white giant vulture or of that of the wild fowl. I must also refer the reader who wishes to know details about the rivers, mountains, etc., of Dardistan, and the occupations of its peoples, to Part II. of my “Languages and Races of Dardistan,” and to the main volume, of which this is a Supplement, namely, the so-called “Hunza and Nagyr Handbook,” a volume of 247 folio pages. Dr. Leitner’s Tibet Dog “Chang.”
- 35. GENEALOGIES AND HISTORY OF DARDISTAN. I do not propose to do more in this place than give the roughest outline of this subject, as sketched in 1866 and 1872, and now rapidly brought up to date. My reason is to prevent those falsifications of History which are inevitable when a conqueror annexes a new country and the vilest in it naturally becomes his first friends, and fabricate their family tree. Therefore, with all its errors, which subsequent enquiries have corrected, there is an element of actuality in the following accounts gathered from Dards in 1866, the value of which will become apparent when I write the history of the events that are drawing Dardistan into the devastating range of European influences and politics: GENEALOGY OF THE GILGIT, YASIN, CHITRAL, NAGYR, HUNZA, AND OTHER DYNASTIES SINCE 1800. Transcriber’s Note: These genealogies are designed to be viewed using a fixed width font. They’re also provided as linked illustrations. I.—GILGIT Gurtam Khan (1800), hereditary ruler of | Gilgit, whose dynasty can be traced | to the daughter of Shiribadatt, the | last, almost mythical, pre-Muhammadan | Raja of Gilgit. Killed in | 1810 by Suleyman Shah of Yasin. +-----------------------+------------------------------+ | | | Raja Khan (?) died Muhammad Khan reigns till Abbas Ali, killed | 1814. 1826 and is killed by in 1815 by Suleiman | Suleyman Shah of Yasin. Shah. +--------------------------+ | Asghar Ali killed on his flight to Nagyr by Suleyman Shah.
- 36. | Mansur Ali Khan, (the rightful Raja of Gilgit, probably still a prisoner in Srinagar). 1827.—Azad Shah, Raja of Gakutsh, appointed ruler of Gilgit by Suleyman Shah whom he kills in 1829. Tahir Shah of Nagyr conquers Gilgit in 1834 | and kills Azad. +--------------------------+---------------------------+ | | | Sakandar Khan, killed Kerîm Khan, (Raja of Gôr), Suleyman Khan. by Gauhar Aman of (calls in Kashmir troops Yasin, in 1844. under Nathe Shah in 1844) was killed in 1848 in Hunza. | +--------------------------+--------------+-------------+ | | | | Muhammad Khan died Suleyman Khan. Sultan Muhammad. Rustam in 1859 when on a Khan. visit to Srinagar. | | | Alidád Khan (son of Muhammad Ghulam Hayder. Khan’s sister). View original page image II.—YASIN DYNASTY. It is said that both the Yasin and the Chitral dynasties are descended from a common ancestor “Kathôr.” The Gilgitis call the Yasînis “Poryalé” and the Chitralis “Katoré.” Khushwakt(?) died 1800(?) from whom the present dynasty derives the name of “Khushwaktia.” [A Raja of that name and dignity often met me at Srinagar in 1886.] He had two sons Suleyman Shah and Malik Amán Shah. The former died about 1829 and left four sons and a daughter whom he married to Ghazanfar, the Rajah of Hunza. The names of the sons are Azmat Shah the eldest, Ahmad Shah, Rahîm Khan and Zarmast Khan. Malik Amán Shah was the father of seven or, as some say, of ten sons, the most famous of whom was Gauhar Aman, surnamed “Adam farosh” (the man- seller) the third son. The names of the sons are: Khuda Amán Duda Amán, Gauhar Amán, Khalîl Amán, Akhar Amán (who was killed by his nephew Malik Amán, eldest son of his brother Gauhar Amán): Isa Bahadur (son of Malik Amán Shah by a concubine), Gulsher, Mahter Sakhi, Bahadur Khan (who was murdered) and Mir Amán(?) of Mistuch(?)
- 37. Gauhar Amán left seven sons: Malik Amán (also called Mîr Kammu? now in Tangîr?) Bahadur Amán, murdered by Lochan Singh, Mir Vali (who killed Hayward), Mir Gházi, Pahlwan (who killed Mir Vali), Khan Daurán and Shajáyat Khan. [The Khushwaktia Dynasty has since been dispossessed by the kindred dynasty of Chitrál in 1884.] III.—CHITRAL OR “SHAH KATHORIA” DYNASTY. Shah Kathor, the son of Shah Afzal, (who died about 1800) was a soldier of fortune who dispossessed the former ruler, whose grandson Vigne saw in the service of Ahmad Shah, the independent ruler of Little Tibet in 1835. Cunningham considers that the name of Kathôr is a title that has been borne by the rulers of Chitrál for 2,000 years. Shah Kathor had a brother, Sarbaland Khan, whose descendants do not concern us, and four sons and a daughter married to Gauhar Amán of Yasin. The names of the sons were: Shah Afzal (who died in 1858), Tajammul Shah who was killed in 1865 by his nephew Adam-khor—or man-eater—(so called from his murderous disposition; his real name was Muhtarim Shah), Ghazab Shah (who died a natural death) and Afrasiab (who was killed). The murdered Tajammul Shah left two sons namely Malik Shah (who revenged his father’s death by killing Adam Khôr), and Sayad Ali Shah. Shah Afzal left Amán-ul-Mulk, his eldest son, the present ruler of Chitrál [1872] Adam-khôr (who usurped the rule for a time); Kohkán Beg, ruler of Drus; a daughter whom he married to Rahmat-ulla-Khan, chief of Dîr; Muhammad Ali Beg; Yadgar Beg; Bahadur Khan; and another daughter whom Gauhar-Amán married as well as Shah Afzal’s sister and had Pahlwan by her. Amán-ul-Mulk married a daughter of the late Ghazan Khan, chief of Dîr, by whom he had Sardar (his eldest son), also called Nizam-ul-Mulk. Amán-ul- Mulk’s other sons are Murad and others whose names will be found elsewhere. One of his daughters is married to Jehandar Shah, the former ruler of Badakhshán and the other to the son of the present Chief, Mîr Mahmud Shah. [Full details are given elsewhere of the Yasin-Chitrál house.] IV.—The names of the principal chiefs of the Chilâsis and of the Yaghistanis (the independent Hill tribes of Darêl, Hôdûr, Tangìr, etc.) have already been given in my “history” of their “Wars with Kashmir.” Just as in Chilâs and Kandiá, the administration is in the hands of a Board of Elders. The Maharaja of Kashmir only obtains tribute from three villages in Chilaz, viz., the villages of Chilás, Takk and Bundar.
- 38. V.—Nagyr,[82] [is tributary to Ahmad Shah of Little Tibet about the beginning of this century, but soon throws off this allegiance to Ahmad Shah under Alif Khan.](?) [See “Historical Legend of the Origin of Gilgit,” pages 9 to 16. The Nagyr-Hunza Rajas or Thams similarly claim a divine origin and account for it through the two fairy-brothers who disappeared at Gilgit. See note on page 111.] [“Nagyr,” which Col. Biddulph very properly writes “Nager” (like “Pamèr”) is now spelt “Nagar,” so as to confound it with the Indian “Nagar” for “town,” from which it is quite different.] Alif Khan. 1800(?) | Raja Za’far Khan Záhid (the present Raja of Nagyr). | | Son (a hostage for his father’s adhesion to Kashmîr, whom I saw at Gilgit in 1866). The names of his maternal uncles are Shah Iskandar and Raja Kerîm Khan(?) the elder brother. (The full genealogy of Hunza Nagyr is given elsewhere.) View original page image VI.—Hunza Ghazanfar, died 1865. | Ghazan Khan, present ruler.[83] (1866) View original page image VII.—Badakhshan Sultân Shah. | +----------------+--------+ | | Rejeb Shah. Mirza Kalán. | | Ahmad Shah. +-----------+--+----+ | | | | | Nizam-ud-din Yusuf Saad-ulla | (surnamed Ali Khan. +------+---------------+ Mir Shah). Khan. | | | |
- 39. Rahmat Shah Mahmud Shah [1872] +---------+-------+---------+----+ Shah. Ibrahim (present ruler of | | | | | Khan. Badakhshan Shajá-ul Jehandar Suleyman Shahzada | under Kabul) Mulk. Shah, Shah. Hasan. | stayed a long the former | time with his ruler, Abdulla maternal uncle, independent Khan (by the ruler of Kunduz, of Kabul a concubine). whence he (now (1872) has often been a fugitive; miscalled “a Sayad infests the from Kunduz.” Kolab road). View original page image Yusuf Ali Khan had seven sons: Mirza Kalán, surnamed Mir Jan; Hazrat Ján; Ismail Khan; Akbar Khan; Umr Khan, Sultan Shah; Abdurrahim Khan (by a concubine). Saad-ulla Khan had two sons: Baba Khan and Mahmud Khan (by a concubine). VIII.—Dir Ghazan Khan (a very powerful ruler. Chitrál is said to have once | been tributary to him). | Rahmat-ulla Khan and other eight sons (dispersed or killed in struggles for the Chiefship). View original page image The connection of Little Tibet with the Dard countries had ceased before 1800.
- 40. ROUGH CHRONOLOGICAL SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF DARDISTAN SINCE 1800. 1800.—Gurtam Khan, hereditary ruler of the now dispossessed Gilgit Dynasty, rules 10 years in peace; is killed in an engagement with Suleyman Khan, Khushwaktia, great uncle of the famous Gauhar Amán (or Gormán) of Yasin. 1811.—Muhammad Khan, the son of Gurtam Khan, defeats Suleyman Khan, rules Gilgit for 15 years in peace and perfect independence whilst— 1814.—(Sirdar Muhammad Azim Khan, Barakzai, is ruler of Kashmir). 1819.—Ranjit Singh annexes Kashmir. 1826.—Suleyman Khan of Yasin again attacks Gilgit and kills Muhammad Khan and his brother, Abbas Ali. Muhammad Khan’s son, Asghar Ali, is also killed on his flight to Nagyr. 1827.—Suleyman Shah appoints Azad Khan(?), petty Raja of Gakutsh, over Gilgit as far as Bunji; Azad Khan ingratiates himself with the people and rebels against Suleyman Shah whom he kills(?) in 1829. 1829.—Suleyman Shah, head of the Khushwaktia family of Yasin, dies. 1833.—Gauhar Amán turns his uncle, Azmat Shah, out of Yasin. 1834.—Azad Khan is attacked by Tahir Shah of Nagyr and killed. Tahir Shah, a Shiah, treats his subjects well. Dies 1839. Vigne visits Astór in 1835, but Tahir Shah will not allow him to cross over to Gilgit. At that time the Sikhs had not conquered any Dard country. Ahmad Shah was independent ruler of Little Tibet (Baltistan) and under him was Jabar Khan, chief of Astór (whose descendants,[84]
- 41. like those of Ahmad Shah himself and of the Ladak rulers are now petty pensioners under Kashmir surveillance). (The Little Tibet dynasty had once, under Shah Murad, about 1660, conquered Hunza, Nagyr, Gilgit and Chitrál, where that ruler built a bridge near the fort.) Zorawar Singh conquers Little Tibet in 1840, but no interference in Dard affairs takes place till 1841 when the Sikhs are called in as temporary allies by the Gilgit ruler against Gauhar Amán of Yasin. 1840.—Sakandar Khan, son of Tahir Shah, succeeds to the throne of Gilgit and rules the country—with his brothers, Kerim Khan and Suleyman Khan. 1841.—Gauhar Amán of Yasin conquers Gilgit. Its ruler, Sikandar Khan, asks Sheikh Ghulam Muhi-ud-din, Governor of Kashmir on behalf of the Sikhs, for help. 1842.—1,000 Kashmir troops sent under Nathe Shah, a Panjabi. 1843.—Sikandar Khan is murdered at Bakrôt at the instigation of Gauhar Amán. 1844.—Gauhar Amán of Yasin re-conquers the whole country, selling many of its inhabitants into slavery. Nathe Shah, joined by Kerim Khan, younger brother of Sikandar Khan and 4,000 reinforcements, takes Numal Fort, but his subordinate Mathra Das is met at Sher Kila (20 miles from Gilgit) by Gauhar Amán and defeated. 1845.—Karim Khan succeeds his brother as ruler (called “Raja,” although a Muhammadan) of Gilgit and pays a small sum for the retention of some Kashmir troops in the Gilgit Fort under Nathe Shah. The Rajas of Hunza, Nagyr and Yasin [Gauhar Amán sending his brother Khalil Amán to Sheikh Iman-ud-din] now seek to be on good terms with Kashmir, especially as its representatives, the tyrannical Nathe Shah and his equally unpopular successor, Atar Singh, are removed by its Muhammadan Governor. 1846.—Karim Khan, Raja of Gor, another son of Tahir Shah, calls in Nathe Shah and defeats Gauhar Amán at Basin,
- 42. close to Gilgit. A succession of officers of Ghulab Singh then administer the country in connexion with the Raja of Gilgit (Wazir Singh, Ranjit Rai, Bakhshu, Ali Bakhsh and Ahmad Ali Shah, brother or cousin of Nathe Shah). By Treaty (see page 110): “Kashmir and its dependencies eastward of the Indus” are made over by the British to the Hindu Ghulab Singh. Gilgit, which lies to the westward of the Indus, is thus excluded from the dominions of that Maharaja. Gilgit was also, strictly speaking, not a dependency of Kashmir, nor was Chilás. 1847.—The Maharaja restores Nathe Shah, whilst confirming his cousin Nazar Ali Shah as Military Commandant of Gilgit. Raja Kerim Khan sends his brother Suleyman Khan on a friendly mission to Srinagar, where he dies. Vans Agnew arrives at Chalt on the Gilgit frontier towards Nagyr and makes friends with the people, who at first thought that he came accompanied by troops. 1848.—Isa Bahadur, the half-brother of Gauhar Amán by a concubine of Malik Amán Shah, is expelled from Sher Kila, a Fort belonging to Punyal, a dependency of Yasin, and finds refuge with the Maharaja, who refuses to give him up. Gauhar Amán accordingly sends troops under his brother Akbar Amán and captures the Bargu and Shukayôt Forts in Gilgit territory. The Rajas of Hunza and Nagyr combine with Gauhar Amán and assisted by the Gilgit people, with whom Kerim Khan was unpopular because of his friendship for Kashmir, defeat and kill Nathe Shah and Kerim Khan. Gauhar Amán captures the Gilgit and Chaprôt Forts. The Kashmir troops re-invade the country and at the beginning of 1849.—Wrest all the forts in Gilgit territory from Gauhar Amán, and make over the rule of that country to Raja Muhammad Khan, son of Kerim Khan, assisted by the Kashmir representative, Aman Ali Shah as Thanadar, soon removed for oppression. 1850.—The raids of the Chilâsis on Astór is made the occasion for invading the country of Chilâs, which, not being a
- 43. dependency of Kashmir, is not included in the Treaty of 1846. (See page 110.) 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 Chilâs. 1851.—Bakhshi Hari Singh and Dewan Hari Chand are sent with 10,000 men against Chilâs and succeed in destroying the fort and scattering the hostile hill tribes which assisted the Chilâsis. 1852.—The Maharaja’s head officers, Santu Singh and Ramdhan, are murdered by the people of Gilgit whom they oppressed. The people again assist Gauhar Amán, who defeats and kills Bhup Singh and Ruknuddin (for details vide Appendix), and drives the Kashmir troops across the Indus to Astór. 1853.—The Maharaja now confines himself to the frontier, assigned to him by nature as well as the treaty, at Bunji, on the east of the Indus, but sends agents to sow discord in the family of Gauhar Amán. In addition to Isa Bahadur, he gained over two other brothers, Khalil Amán and Akbar Amán, but failed with Mahtar Sakhi, although an exile. He also attracted to his side Azmat Shah, Gauhar Amán’s uncle. 1854.—The Maharaja instigated Shah Afzal of Chitrál to attack Gauhar Amán, and accordingly in 1855.—Adam Khor, son of Shah Afzal of Chitrál, drove Gauhar Amán from the possession of Mistuch and Yasin and restricted him to Punyal and Gilgit. 1856.—The Maharaja sends a force across the Indus under Wazir Zoraweru and Atar Singh assisted by Raja Zahid Jafar of Nagyr,[85] and Gauhar Amán thus attacked in front and flank, retreats from Gilgit and dispossesses Adam Khor from Yasin and Mistuch. 1857.—Gauhar Amán again conquers Gilgit and drives out Isa Bahadur, officiating Thanadar of that place. Gauhar Amán
- 44. and the Maharaja intrigue against each other in Chitrál, Nagyr, Hunza, etc. 1858.—Shah Afzal of the Shah Kathor branch, ruler of Chitrál, dies. Intrigues in Gilgit against Gauhar Amán, by Muhammad Khan, son of Raja Karim Khan, assisted by Kashmir. Muhammad Khan is conciliated by marrying the daughter of Gauhar Amán. The Sai District of Gilgit beyond the Niludar range is still held by the Sikhs. 1859.—Mir Shah of Badakhshan and Raja Ghazanfar of Hunza assist Gauhar Amán in attacking Nagyr, which is under the friendly Raja Zahid Jafar, and in trying to turn out the Sikhs from Sai and even Bunji. Azmat Shah, uncle of Gauhar Amán, is expelled from Chitrál where he had sought refuge. Aman-ul-Mulk, King of Chitrál, dispossesses his younger brother, Adam Khor, who had usurped the throne, from the rule of Chitrál and joins Gauhar Amán against Kashmir. 1860.—The Maharaja instigates Adam Khor and Azmat Shah, who were in the country of Dir with Ghazan Khan, a friendly chief to Kashmir, to fight Gauhar Amán—Adam Khor was to have Yasin, Asmat Shah was to take Mistuch and Sher Kila (Payal) was to be given to Isa Bahadur, the Maharaja to have Gilgit. Intrigues of the Maharaja with the Chiefs of Dir, Badakhshan, etc. Gauhar Amán dies, which is the signal for an attack by the Maharaja co-operating with the sons of Raja Kerim Khan of Gilgit. Gilgit falls easily to Lochan Singh, who murders Bahadur Khan, brother of Gauhar Amán, who was sent with presents from Malik Amán, also called Mulk Amán, son of Gauhar Amán. The Sikhs, under Colonels Devi Singh and Hushiara and Radha Kishen, march to Yasin expelling Mulk Amán from that country (which is made over to Azmat Shah) as also from Mistuch. Isa Bahadur is reinstated as ruler of Payal, but Mulk Amán returns and drives him and Azmat Shah out. The Kashmir troops fail in
- 45. their counter-attacks on Yasin, but capture some prisoners, including Mulk Amán’s wife. 1861.—Malik Amán murders his uncle, Akbar Amán, a partisan of Kashmir. Badakhshan, Chitrál and Dir ask the Maharaja to assist them against the dreaded invasion of the Kabul Amirs, Afzal Khan and Azim Khan. Amán-ul-Mulk tries to get up a religious war (Jehád) among all the Muhammadan Chiefs. Hunza and Nagyr make friends. Both Adam Khor and Amán-ul-Mulk, who have again become reconciled, send conciliatory messages to the Maharaja, who frustrates their designs, as they are secretly conspiring against him. Even Mulk Amán makes overtures, but unsuccessfully. 1862.—Kashmir troops take the Fort of Roshan. A combination is made against Mulk Amán, whose uncle Gulsher and brother Mir Ghazi go over to the Maharaja. 1863.—Mulk Amán advancing on Gilgit is defeated in a very bloody battle at the Yasin Fort of Shamir. Massacre of women and children by the Kashmir troops at Yasin. 1864.—Mir Vali and his Vazir Rahmat become partisans of the Maharaja. 1865.—Ghazanfar, the Raja of Hunza and father-in-law of Mulk Amán, dies, which causes Mirza Bahadur of the rival Nagyr to combine for an attack on Hunza with Kashmir. Adam Khor murders his uncle, Tajammul Shah, whose son, Malik Shah, murders 1866.—Adam Khor (some say at the instigation of his elder brother, Amán-ul-Mulk). Malik Shah seeks refuge with the Maharaja who will not give him up to Amán-ul-Mulk. Amán-ul-Mulk then sprung the mine he had long prepared, and when the long contemplated campaign against Hunza took place in 1866, all the Mussulman Chiefs who had been adherents of the Maharaja, including Mir Vali, fell away. The Kashmir troops which had advanced on Nummal were betrayed, and defeated by the Hunza people (now ruled by Ghazan Khan, son of Ghazanfar).
- 46. All the hill tribes combine against Kashmir and reduce the Dogras to the bare possession of Gilgit, which however held out successfully against more than 20,000 of the allied Dards, headed by Amán-ul-Mulk, Ghazan Khan and Mir Vali. Very large reinforcements were sent by Kashmir, [86] at whose approach the besiegers retreated, leaving, however, skirmishers all over the country. Wazir Zoraweru followed up the advantage gained by invading Dareyl. Whilst the place was yet partially invested, Dr. Leitner made his way to the Gilgit Fort and frustrated two attempts made against him by the employés of the Maharaja, who ostensibly were friends. 1867.—Jehandár Shah of Badakhshan is expelled from his country by the Governor of Balkh and seeks refuge in Kabul, where he is restored a year afterwards to his ancestral throne by the influence of Abdurrahman Khan, son of the Amir Afzal Khan and by his popularity. His rival, Mahmud Shah, leaves without a struggle. Mir Vali, joining Mulk Amán, made an unsuccessful attack on Isa Bahadur and Azmat Shah, who beat them off with the help of Kashmir troops from Gilgit. The consequence was general disappointment among the Muhammadan Chiefs and the Hill tribe of Dareyl (which had been subdued in the meantime) and all opened friendly relations with Kashmir, especially. 1868.—Mir Vali rules Yasin with Pahlwan.[87] Mulk Amán flees to Chitrál. 1869.—Mulk Amán takes service with Kashmir and is appointed on salary, but under surveillance, at Gilgit. 1870.—Mr. Hayward visits Yasin in March; is well received by the Chief, Mir Vali, but returns, as he finds the passes on to the Pamir closed by snow—visits the country a second time in July, after exposing the conduct and breach of treaty of the Kashmir authorities, and is murdered, apparently without any object, at Darkôt in Yasin, one stage on to Wakhan, by some men in the service of his former friend, Mir Vali, who, however, soon flies the country in the direction of Badakhshan, then seeks refuge
- 47. with the Akhund of Swat, and finally returns to Yasin, where he is reported to have been well received by Pahlwan. Whilst in Chitrál, he was seen by Major Montgomerie’s Havildar and was on good terms with Amán-ul-Mulk, who is supposed, chiefly on the authority of a doubtful seal, to be the instigator of a murder which was not, apparently, to his interests and which did not enrich him or Mir Vali with any booty, excepting a gun and a few other trifles. Much of the property of Mr. Hayward was recovered by the Kashmir authorities, and a monument was erected by them to his memory at Gilgit, where there is already a shrine, which is referred to on pages 47 and 51. 1871.—Jehandár Shah, son of Mir Shah, who had again been turned out of the rule of Badakhshan in October 1869 by Mir Mahmud Shah with the help of the Afghan troops of Amir Sher Ali, finds an asylum in Chitrál with Amán-ul- Mulk (whose daughter had been married to his son) after having for some time shared the fortunes of his friend, the fugitive Abdurrahman Khan of Kabul. (Chitrál pays an annual tribute to the Chief of Badakhshan in slaves, which it raises either by kidnapping travellers or independent Kafirs or by enslaving some of its own Shiah and Kafir subjects—the ruler being of the Sunni persuasion.) 1872.—Late accounts are confused, but the influence of Amir Sher Ali seems to be pressing through Badakhshán on Chitrál and through Bajaur on Swat on the one hand and on the Kafir races on the other. The Maharaja of Kashmir on the one side and the Amir of Kabul on the other seem to endeavour to approach their frontiers at the expense of the intervening Dard and other tribes. Jehandár Shah infests the Kolab road and would be hailed by the people of Badakhshan as a deliverer from the oppressive rule of Mahmud Shah, as soon as the Kabul troops were to withdraw. So far my “Dardistan,” in which a detailed “History of the Wars with Kashmir” will be found. The events since 1872 need only to be indicated here in rough outline, and, unfortunately, confirm my worst anticipations as to the
- 48. destruction of the independence of the Dardu tribes, of their legendary lore, and, above all, of the purity of their languages, including the prehistoric Khajuná or “Burishki” spoken in Hunza-Nagyr, and a part of Yasin. What are the admitted encroachments of our Ally, the Maharaja of Kashmir, have been utilized in our supposed interests, and we have stepped in to profit, as we foolishly think, by his sins, whilst he is tricked out of their reward. Falsely alleging that Hunza-Nagyr were rebellious vassals of Kashmir, when Hunza at all events was under Chinese protectorate, we have reduced their patriotic defenders to practical servitude, and, by to-day’s Times (21st November, 1892), are starting, along with 250 rifles and two guns, some 100 men of a Hunza levy to Chitrál to put down a trouble which our ill-judged interference has created in another independent principality, where we have put aside the rightful heir, Nizám-ul-Mulk, for his younger brother, Afzul-ul-Mulk, on the pretext that the former was intriguing with the Russians. I believe this allegation to be absolutely false, for I know him to be most friendly to British interests. In 1886 he offered to send a thousand men from Warshigum over the passes to the relief of Colonel (now General Sir) W. Lockhart, then a temporary prisoner at Panjah Fort in Affghan hands. As Padishah of Turikoh, Nizám-ul-Mulk was, in his father’s life-time, the acknowledged heir to the Chitrál throne, and he was made by his father Raja of Yasin in succession to Afzul, who had taken it in 1884 from Mir Amán, the maternal uncle of Pehliwán, who was ruler of Yasin in 1880, when Colonel Biddulph wrote his “Tribes of the Hindukush,” and with whom the Khushwaqtia dynasty, as such, came to an end. This Pehliwan killed Mir Wali, the murderer of Hayward, but Pehliwan made the mistake of attacking Biddulph in 1880, and was ousted by Mir Amán. With Nizám-ul-Mulk, therefore, begins the rule over Yasin by the Kathoria Dynasty of Chitrál. He is now a fugitive at Gilgit; had he been intriguing with Russia he would certainly not have sought refuge from his brother in the British lion’s mouth at Gilgit. All I can say is that in 1886 he did not even know the name of Russia, and that when he wrote to me in 1887 he referred to the advent of the French explorers Capus, Pepin and Bonvalot, as follows: “they call themselves sometimes French, and at other times Russians.” In the “Asiatic Quarterly Review” of January, 1891, there is a paper from Raja Nizám-ul-Mulk on “the Legends of Chitrál.” He is thus the first Central Asian prince whose literary effusion has appeared in the pages of a British, or indeed of any other, Review. His first letters, sent in the hollow of a twig, like his latter ones sent through British officers, all breathe a spirit of what might be called the sincerest loyalty to the Queen-Empress, were he not an absolutely independent ruler. There will be an evil day of reckoning when the “meddling and muddling,” which has created the Russian Frankenstein,
- 49. will be followed by the exasperation of princes and people, within and beyond our legitimate frontier. To revert to Hunza and Nagyr, Mr. F. Drew, an Assistant Master of Eton College, who was in the service of the Maharaja of Kashmir, wrote in 1877 in his “Northern Barrier of India”—which, alas! our practical annexation of Kashmir, and our interference with the Hindukush tribes are breaking down—as follows: “Hunza and Nagyr are two small independent rajaships. Nagyr has generally shown a desire to be on friendly terms with the Dogras at Gilgit, while Hunza has been a thorn in their side.” There is not a word here of these States being tributaries of Kashmir, whilst Colonel Biddulph, who was our Resident at Gilgit, shows that the last Hunza raid was committed in 1867, and that slavery and kidnapping were unknown in inoffensive, if not “timid,” Nagyr. My article in the “Asiatic Quarterly Review” of January, 1892, shows that raiding and slavery had been recently revived in consequence of alike Russian and English advances, and that the fussiness and ambition of our officials have alone indicated and paved “the nearest way to India.” Woking, 21st November, 1892. P.S.—In correcting this proof of a paper on the Fairy-land that adjoins “the Roof of the World,” which our imprudence has drawn within the range of practical politics, I never anticipated that I should have to refer to my “rough sketch of the History of Dardistan” brought down to 1872 as a refutation of the history written to order by some of our leading journals which, to suit the policy of the moment, would make the Amir of Affghanistan responsible for Badakhshan, and yet blame him for interfering with Chitrál, as is hinted in a telegram in to-day’s Times. I shall deal with this matter elsewhere. (See also Appendix II.) Woking, 29th November, 1892. Our Manufactured Foes
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