KÁFIRISTÁN AND THE KÁFIRS. THE tradition that there existed in some remote valleys of the Hindú Kúsh tribes who were descended from the warriors of Alexander the Great has always excited peculiar interest among our countrymen, who pictured to themselves kindred spirits preserving their liberty and making themselves respected amongst overwhelming numbers of Asiatics. This interest increased as we became better acquainted with the neighbouring country, for the mystery which enveloped these people seemed deeper by contrast, and attention became gradually focussed on that part of the map called Káfiristán, which recently has been more or less before the public in connection with the boundaries within which English or Russian influence is to prevail. The name means the land of unbelievers, and, whilst meant as a reproach, is a tribute to the obstinacy with which subjugation and conversion to Mahommedanism had for centuries been resisted. Concerning the origin of the Káfirs various opinions are held. Sir Henry Rawlinson, whilst admitting that their appearance warranted the presumption of Greek descent, believed them to be an old Aryan tribe like their neighbours. Sir Henry Yule, who by study and by temperament was most capable of forming a trustworthy opinion, considered them. to be the remains of a nation of the same race as the Hindus, which, as the Mahommedans advanced, had retired to remote valleys. He pointed out that the chiefs of the surrounding countries, Badakshán, 1 Wákhán, and others, claimed descent from Alexander, and that Marco Polo in 1272-73 had heard stories during his travels of a breed of horses descended from Bucephalus! Colonel Holdich, who has had much experience in frontier surveying, at the end of an ingenious paper published in the 'Geographical Journal' of January 1896, remarks: "At present I cannot but believe them to be the modern representatives of that very ancient Western race, the Nysæans-so ancient that the historians of Alexander refer to their origin as mythical." Major Raverty appears to hold this view, believing that Nisha'i (Nuơov) “is the most probable site of 'Nysa' of Dionysus, or Bacchus; and the ivy and the grape are there to be found in great luxuriance." 1 It is perhaps safe to say that the country from Kashmir to Kábul, including both slopes of the Hindú Kúsh, was peopled by an ancient race which showed in various ways signs of Greek influence, and that these people have by degrees been subjected and converted to Mahommedanism, the Káfirs being the last remnant that held out. They were latterly restricted to a few difficult valleys on the southern slopes of the Hindú Kúsh, surrounded on the north, south, and west by Afghanistan or its dependencies, and on the east by Chitrál. As may be expected, references in ancient history to the Káfirs or their progenitors are not numerous. One of the earliest is by the Chinese pilgrim Sungyun, who refers to the Yetha, a people said 6 "Káfiristán and the Káfirí Tribes," Cal. Rev.,' July 1896. to have been of Tibetan extraction, who in 518 A.D. were spread over a great extent of country, which probably included Káfiristán. He mentions the great snowy mountains, and the horned headdress of the court ladies. But the first distinct notice of the Káfirs was, according to Sir H. Yule, in 1398, when the Great Timur invaded their country. He had to slide down the steep snow slopes in a basket, after the manner of a toboggan; and it is recorded that he slew many Káfirs, took some forts, but found the country so difficult that he had to retire. Major Raverty describes how when the air was warm the horses sank in the snow, and that Timur therefore marched at night when the surface was hard, supporting the few horses he had on platforms of felt during the day : "As these infidels had taken up their quarters in the darahs, and as, from the mountain-range on which they then were, there was no road by which to descend and gain access to those places on account of the depth of snow, a number of the Amirs and troops of the right and left wings lowered themselves down from the mountains by means of ropes; while others, lying on their backs on the surface of the snow, slid down, until they conveyed themselves to the more level ground of the valley beneath. 6 round their bodies and necks, and they were then lowered. Some, that fell from the mountain and perished, they could not keep their hold of, but two horses reached the bottom in safety, and Amír Tímúr mounted again, while his Amirs and troops accompanied him on foot." 1 The next important notice is by the Jesuit Brother Benedict de Goes, a member of the third mission to Akbar the Great.2 That emperor had desired a subdeacon, by name Leo Grimon, "a person of great merit and good discourse," to proceed to Goa and ask the Fathers to send some men of prudence and learning to his court, in order that they might instruct him in the faith of Jesus Christ, and dispute with his doctors, "whom we call Kázis." 3 Ac cordingly in 1591 Jerome Xavier, nephew of St Francis, Father Pinheiro, and Brother Benedict de Goes arrived at Agra. The Brother was the most distinguished of the party. He had been a soldier, and had led a wild life, but repented whilst still young. 1603, accompanied by Leo Grimon (who returned from Kábul, being unequal to the fatigue of the journey), he set out from Agra to travel by Afghanistan, Yarkhand, and Tibet, to China. When between Peshawar and Jalálábád he In heard "of a country to the north called 'Capperstam,' in which there were a people very hostile to Mahommedans, who made and drank wine, had temples, and dressed in black garments; in fact in a few lines he gave substantially all the facts, with the exception of those relating to the language, which were known at the present day." 4 1 "Káfiristán and the Káfirí Tribes," Cal. Rev.,' July 1896. 2 See paper by E. D. Maclagan, B.C.S., read before the As. Society of Bengal, April 1896. 3 Letter from Akbar to the Fathers of the Society at Goa. 4 Yule, 'Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society,' May 1881. After describing the country, its crops, roads, and wooden bridges, the villages are mentioned as After this we come to com- worthy. paratively modern history. Major Rennell referred to the Káfirs in his memoir (ed. 1794) on the map of Hindustan; and Mountstuart Elphinstone, that most valuable public servant, when on his mission to the court of Kábul (1808-10), inspired by the reference, instituted inquiry "after our Macedonian neighbours. We were soon obliged to give up an opinion, derived from Abool Fuzl, that these colonists were a branch of the Eusofzyes; but we learned that the Caufirs, a people in the mountains north of Bajour, had many points in character in common with the Greeks. They were celebrated for their beauty and their European complexions, worshipped idols, drank wine in silver cups or vases, used chairs and tables, and spoke a language unknown to their neighbours." An agent duly qualified to make inquiries on the spot was found in "Moola Nujeeb, a person admirably fitted for the task by his talents and curiosity. He left Peshawer in the middle of May, and penetrated into the country of the Caufirs by the way of Punjcoora." But he did not return when expected, and was given up as lost or murdered; nevertheless he arrived, unexpectedly, after several months' absence, at Elphinstone's camp at Delhi. "He had been as far as Caumdaish, a village within three stages of Budukshaun, had made himself master of everything relating to the Caufirs, had completed a vocabulary of their language, and brought full answers to a long list of queries with which he had been furnished at his departure." The information thus obtained, checked by Elphinstone (of whom the Afghans said that he could see on the other side of a hill), has proved to be remarkably trust "built on the slopes of hills, so that the roof of one house forms the street leading to the one above it. . . . The people have no general name for the nation. Each tribe has its peculiar name, each valley being held by a separate tribe. The Mussulmans confound them all under the name of Caufir or infidel, and call their country Caufiristaun. They also call one division of them Seeaposh (black vested) or Tor Caufirs (black infidels), and another Speen Caufirs (white infidels). Both epithets are taken from their dress." Their language and religion are noticed, and the Mulla was present at Kámdesh on the occasion of a sacrifice to Imra their god. His description is interesting, and bears the stamp of truth on every line. "There is a stone set upright about four feet high, and in breadth about that of a stout man. This is the Imrtan or holy stone, and behind it to the north is a wall. This is all the temple. The stone represents God. They say 'this stands for him, but we know not his shape.' To the south of the Imrtan burns a fire of Kanchur, a species of pine which is thrown on of smoke. A person whose proper green, purposely to give a great deal name is Muleek, and his title Ota, stands before the fire, and behind him the worshippers in a row. First water is brought to him, with which he washes his hands, and taking some times through the smoke or flame on in his right hand, throws it three the Imrtan, saying every time Sooch, that is, pure; then he throws a handful of water on the sacrifice, usually a goat or a cow, and says Sooch. Then taking some water, and repeating some words (meaning 'do thou accept the sacrifice!' &c.), he pours it into the left ear of the sacrifice, which stands on his right [Moola Nujeeb saw two sacrifices, one to God and one to an idol]. If the animal now turn up its head to heaven, it is reckoned a sign of acceptance, and gives great satisfaction." and whiskers black, and his figure well-set and active. He would sometimes bring us a present of a few partridges, and returning the Mahomedan salutation with which we greeted him, take his seat at the fire Crosswithout further ceremony. "He! and Further ceremonies are described when the priest says, after him the worshippers and he say He Umuch! that is accept!" The various gestures are defined, and a prayer, "Ward off the fever from us! increase our stores! kill the Musulmans! after death admit us to Buré le bóola! or paradise, and three He Umuch are said." Then the "Pusha, or person possessed by a spirit," is mentioned, as are many minute details too long for insertion. The curious will find all in the appendix to Elphinstone's Caubul,' in which the manners and customs of the Kafirs, "a harmless, affectionate, and kindhearted people," are well described. This information was gathered in 1809, and the next references that need be noticed are those of the eminent explorer, Captain John Wood, who, on his way to the source of the Oxus in the first days of 1838, was in Badakshán, and visited the lapis-lazuli mines immediately north of and close to Káfiristán. When there he mentions a raid of Káfirs " some time back" on the village in which he slept, and his satisfaction that the passes between his party and these barbarians were then closed with snow. However, he got safely back to Jirm, which he describes as the largest place in Badakshán, with a substantial fort, a governor, and perhaps fifteen hundred inhabitants. Among his acquaintance there none was more welcome than a Siyah-posh Káfir whom he thus describes : "He was an uncommonly handsome man of about twenty-five years of age, with an open forehead, blue eyes, and bushy arched eyebrows, his hair legged he could not sit, for in this respect the Kaffirs differ from all Eastern nations, and like Europeans prefer a chair or anything raised to a seat upon the ground. He gave us an animated account of his countrymen, and pressed us to visit them when the passes opened. As an inducement to do so, he promised us plenty of honey and oceans of wine. His sister was married to Mirza Suliman; but though thus connected with Mahomedans, he bore them the most deadly ill-will, and even in their presence would recount the numbers that had fallen by the bow or spear of his countrymen. 'The Mussulmans,' he said, 'were responsible for the blood thus spilt, for since they hunted down the Kaffirs to make them slaves, the latter had retaliated; for the loss of liberty was worse than the loss of life.' About forty precious years were now wasted, as far as addition to our knowledge of the Káfirs is concerned, in what its admirers call a policy of masterly inactivity, of which Russia did not fail to profit. By 1878, however, the Governments in India and at home awakened to the fact that under existing circumstances it was desirable to control the external affairs of certain tribes on our extreme frontiers, to secure command of their northern passes, and to keep watch over events which were happening beyond them. With these objects in view, an agency was established at Gilgit under Major Biddulph, who visited Chitrál, and there received deputations of Siyáh-posh Káfirs, who invited him to visit their country. He was unable to go, but he collected information about Káfiristán which is recorded in his and very warlike, constantly fighting with the Afghans or among themselves. Hunza Nagar had been visited by Grombtchevsky, the handsome giant who met Frank Younghusband with his escort of sturdy but diminutive Gurkhas in the neighbourhood of the Taghdumbash pamir. Younghusband book 'Tribes of the Hindoo Koosh' cribed as short but well-built men, (Calcutta, 1880). Briefly, whilst adding considerably to our knowledge of the Káfirs, his researches fairly corroborated what Elphinstone had written. The horned head-dress of the ladies, the dancing, and peculiar ceremonies, are specially mentioned. All went well till 1880, when there was a tribal disturbance near Gilgit which Biddulph failed to quell, and by which his safety was in a measure threatened. This was ample to induce the cold fit to which Mr Gladstone's second Ministry seemed specially subject, and the agency was withdrawn in 1881, inactivity again exercising its baneful influence till 1889, when Lord Lansdowne's Government showed good cause for the re-establishment of the mission. Meanwhile Colonel H. C. Tanner in 1881, and Mr M'Nair in 1883 (whose "modest account of one of the most adventurous journeys that had ever been described before the Geographical Society"received the marked commendations of Lord Aberdare, Sir Henry Yule, and Sir Henry Rawlinson), had added to our store of knowledge. In 1885, Colonel, now Sir William, Lockhart with his party passed through that part of the country and entered Káfiristán, but owing to complications he soon left, returning by another route to Chitrál. The Russians, too, had not been idle. Terentieff is mentioned by Biddulph as having promptly settled disputed points concerning the Káfirs, declaring that they were "incontestably of Slav origin and the natural subjects of the Czar"! In 1880 Mr Delmar Morgan, when travelling in Central Asia, met a Russian officer who had visited Badakshán and seen Siyah-posh Káfics, whom he des tells how, when Grombtchevsky inspected the Gurkha guard, the non-commissioned officer, fearing that the tall Russian might be unfavourably impressed with their short stature, begged that he might be told that these Gurkhas present were unusually small, but that the rest of the regiment were much bigger than Captain G. himself! Then also the Russians had parties marching about the pamirs, and the name of Colonel Yonoff may be remembered, as he on one occasion took high-handed and unwarrantable action for which his Government apologised. These and other considerations induced Lord Cross, who in 1889 was Secretary of State for India, to sanction Lord Lansdowne's proposals; the agency at Gilgit was reopened with Captain Durand in charge, and a person was wanted who could be deputed to visit certain tribes and prepare them for our intended policy. For such pioneering work medical officers are specially fitted. Possessed of considerable scientific attainments, they have educated power of observation and a knowledge of human nature most valuable qualities-not to mention their professional skill, which at once commends them to the respect and protection even of savage tribes. There are plenty of instances. In ancient days (522 B.C.) Democedes, the physician of Crotona and son-in-law of Milo, was taken prisoner with Polycrates, |
