Part 13

The black-robed Kafirs consist of one very large, widely spread tribe, the Katirs, and four much smaller communities, the Kam, the Madugalis, the Kashtan or Kashtoz, and the Gourdesh. Numerically, it is probable that the Katirs are more important than all the remaining tribes put together. They inhabit several valleys, each community being independent of the others, but all acknowledging the same origin and a general relationship. The Katirs fall readily into the following groups: (a) Those of the Bashgal valley, also called Kamoz and Lutdehchis, who occupy eleven villages between Badawan and Sunra, the border hamlet of the Madugal country, namely, Ptsigrom, Pshui or Pshowar, Apsai, Shidgal, Bragamatal (Lutdeh), Bajindra, Badamuk, Oulagal, Chabu, Baprok and Purstam; (b) the Kti or Katwar Kafirs, who live in two settlements in the Kti valley; (c) the Kulam people, who have four villages in the valley of the same name; (d) the Ramgalis, or Gabariks, who are the most numerous, and possess the western part on the Afghan border. Of the remaining tribes of the Siah-Posh, the chief is the Kam or Kamtoz, who inhabit the Bashgal valley, from the Madugal boundary to the Kunar valley, and its lateral branches in seven chief settlements, namely, Urmir, Kambrom or Kamdesh, Mergrom, Kamu, Sarat, Pittigal and Bazgal. The next Siah-Posh tribe in importance is the Muman or Madugal Kafirs, who have three villages in the short tract between the Katirs and the Kam in the Bashgal valley. The last Siah-Posh tribe is the Kashtan or Kashtoz, who in 1891 were all located in one greatly overcrowded village, their outlying settlement having been plundered by the Afghan tribes of the Kunar valley. One colony of Siah-Posh Kafirs lives in the Gourdesh valley; but they differ from all the other tribes, and are believed to be descended, in great part, from the ancient people called the Aroms.

The Waigulis.

Our exact knowledge of the Waigulis is scanty. They seem to be related in language and origin with a people fierce, shy and isolated, called the Ashkun, who are quite unknown. The Wai speak a tongue altogether different from that spoken by the Siah-Posh and by the Presungalis. The names of their ten chief villages are Runchi, Nishi, Jamma, Amzhi, Chimion, Kegili, Akun or Akum, Mildesh, Bargal and Prainta. Of these Amzhi and Nishi are the best known.

The Presungalis.

The Presungalis, also called Viron, live in a high valley. In all respects they differ from other Kafirs, in none more than in their unwarlike disposition. Simple, timid, stolid-featured and rather clumsy, they are remarkable for their industry and powers of endurance. They probably represent some of the earliest immigrants. Six large well-built villages are occupied by them--Shtevgrom, Pontzgrom, Diogrom, Kstigigrom, Satsumgrom and Paskigrom.

The Slaves.

The slaves are fairly numerous. Their origin is probably partly from the very ancient inhabitants and partly from war prisoners. Coarse in feature and dark in tint, they cannot be distinguished from the lowest class of freemen, while their dress is indistinctive. They are of two classes--household slaves, who are treated not unkindly; and artisan slaves, who are the skilled handicraftsmen--carvers, blacksmiths, bootmakers and so forth; many of the musicians are also slaves. They live in a particular portion of a village, and were considered to a certain extent unclean, and might not approach closely to certain sacred spots. All slaves seem to wear the Siah-Posh dress, even when they own as masters the feeble Presungal folk.

Women.

Little respect is shown to women, except in particular cases to a few of advanced years. Usually they are mistresses and slaves, saleable chattels and field-workers. Degraded, immoral, overworked and carelessly fed, they are also, as a rule, unpleasant to the sight. Little girls are sometimes quite beautiful, but rough usage and exposure to all weathers soon make their complexions coarse and dark. They are invariably dirty and uncombed. In comparison with the men they are somewhat short. Physically they are capable of enormous labour, and are very enduring. All the field-work falls to them, as well as all kinds of inferior occupations, such as load-carrying. They have no rights as against their husbands or, failing them, their male relations. They cannot inherit or possess property.

Language.

There are certainly three tongues spoken, besides many dialects, that used by the Siah-Posh being of course the most common; and although it has many dialects, the employers of one seem to understand all the others. It is a Prakritic language. Of the remaining two, the Wai and the Presun have no similarity; they are also unlike the Siah-Posh. Kafirs themselves maintain that very young children from any valley can acquire the Wai speech, but that only those born in the Presungal can ever converse in that language, even roughly. To European ears it is disconcertingly difficult, and it is perhaps impossible to learn.

Religion.

Before their conquest by Abdur Rahman all the Kafirs were idolaters of a rather low type. There were lingering traces of ancestor-worship, and perhaps of fire-worship also. The gods were numerous; tribal, family, household deities had to be propitiated, and mischievous spirits and fairies haunted forests, rivers, vales and great stones. Imra was the Creator, and all the other supernatural powers were subordinate to him. Of the inferior gods, Moni seemed to be the most ancient; but Gish, the war-god, was by far the most popular. It was his worship, doubtless, which kept the Kafirs so long independent. In life as a hero, and after death as a god, he symbolized hatred to the religion of Mahomet. Every village revered his shrine; some possessed two. Imra, Gish and Moni were honoured with separate little temples, as was usually Dizani goddess; but three or four of the others would share one between them, each looking out of a small separate square window. The worshipped object was either a large fragment of stone or an image of wood conventionally carved, with round white stones for eyes. Different animals were sacrificed at different shrines: cows to Imra, male goats and bulls to Gish, sheep to the god of wealth; but goats were generally acceptable, and were also slain ceremonially to discover a complaisant god, to solemnize a vow, to end a quarrel, to ratify brotherhood. The ministers of religion were a hereditary priest, a well-born chanter of praise, and a buffoon of low station, who was supposed to become inspired at each sacrifice, and to have the power of seeing fairies and other spirits whenever they were near, also of understanding their wishes. The blood of the offering, together with flour, wine and butter, was cast on the shrine after the animal and the other gifts had been sanctified with water sprinkled by the officiating priests, while he cried "Such, such!" ("Be pure!"). Dense clouds of smoke from burning juniper-cedar, which crackled and gave forth pungent incense, added to the spectacle, which was dignified by the bearing of the officials and solemnized by the devout responses of the congregation. There was no human sacrifice except when a prisoner of war, after a solemn service at a shrine, was taken away and stabbed before the wooden tomb of some unavenged headman. Kafirs believed in a kind of Hell where wicked people burned; but the Hereafter was an underground region entered by a guarded aperture, and inhabited by the shapes which men see in dreams. Suicide was as unknown as fear of dying. Melancholy afflicted only the sick and the bereaved. Religious traditions, miracles and anecdotes were puerile, and pointed no social lesson or any religious law. Music, dancing and songs of praise were acceptable to the gods, and every village (_grom_) had its dancing platform and dancing house (_grom ma_), furnished with a simple altar. No prayers were offered, only invocations, exhortative or remonstrant.

Tribal Organization.

The great majority of the tribes were made up of clans. A person's importance was derived chiefly from the wealth of his family and the number of male adults which it contained. The power of a family, as shown by the number and quality of its fighting men as well as by the strength of its followers, was the index of that family's influence. Weak clans and detached families, or poor but free households, carried their independence modestly. The lowest clan above the slaves sought service with their wealthier tribesmen as henchmen and armed shepherds. By intricate ceremonial, associated with complicated duties, social and religious, which extended over two years, punctuated at intervals by prodigious compulsory banquets, rich men could become elders or _jast_. Still further outlay and ostentation enabled the few who could sustain the cost to rank still higher as chief or _Mir_. Theoretically, all the important and outside affairs of the tribe were managed by the _jast_ in council; actually they were controlled by two or three of the most respected of that class. Very serious questions which inflamed the minds of the people would be debated in informal parliaments of the whole tribe. Kafirs have a remarkable fondness for discussing in conclave. Orators, consequently, are influential. The internal business of a tribe was managed by an elected magistrate with twelve assistants. It was their duty to see that the customs of the people were respected; that the proper seasons for gathering fruit were rigidly observed. They regulated the irrigation of the fields, moderating the incessant quarrels which originated in the competition for the water; and they kept the channels in good repair. Their chief, helped by contributions in kind from all householders, entertained tribal guests. He also saw that the weekly Kafir Sabbath, from the sowing to the carrying of the crops, was carefully observed, the fires kept burning, and the dancers collected and encouraged. Opposition to these annual magistrates or infraction of tribal laws was punished by fines, which were the perquisites and the payment of those officials. Serious offences against the whole people were judged by the community itself; the sentences ranged as high as expulsion from the settlement, accompanied with the burning of the culprit's house and the spoliation of his goods. In such cases, the family and the clan refusing to intervene, the offender at once became cowed into submission.

Houses and Villages.

Habitations are generally strong, and built largely of wood. They are frequently two or more storeys high, often with an open gallery at the top. Wealthy owners were fond of elaborate carving in simple designs and devices. A room is square, with a smoke-hole when possible; small windows, with shutters and bolts, and heavy doors fastened by a sliding wooden pin, are common. The nature of the ground, its defensible character, the necessity of not encroaching upon the scanty arable land, and such considerations, determine the design of the villages. Specimens of many varieties may be discovered. There is the shockingly overcrowded oblong kind, fort-shaped, three storeys high, and on a river's bank, which is pierced by an underground way leading to the water. Here all rooms look on to the large central courtyard; outwards are few or no windows. There is also the tiny hamlet of a few piled-up hovels perched on the flattish top of some huge rock, inaccessible when the ladder connecting it with the neighbouring hill-side or leading to the ground is withdrawn. Some villages on mounds are defended at the base by a circular wall strengthened with an entanglement of branches. Others cling to the knife-edged back of some difficult spur. Many are hidden away up side ravines. A few boldly rely upon the numbers of their fighting men, and are unprotected save by watch-towers. While frequently very picturesque at a distance, all are dirty and grimed with smoke; bones and horns of slaughtered animals litter the ground. The ground floor of a house is usually a winter stable for cows and the latrine, as well as the manure store for the household; the middle part contains the family treasures; on the top is the living-place. In cold valleys, such as the Presungal, the houses are often clustered upon a hillock, and penetrate into the soil to the depth of two or more apartments. Notched poles are the universal ladders and stairways.

Characteristics.

In height Kafirs average about 5 ft. 6 in. They are lean; always in hard condition; active jumpers, untiring walkers, expert mountaineers; exceptionally they are tall and heavy. With chests fairly deep, and muscular, springy legs, there is some lightness and want of power about the shoulder muscles, the arms and the hand-grasp. In complexion they are purely Eastern. Some tribes, notably the Wai, are fairer than others, but the average colour is that of the natives of the Punjab. Albinos, or red-haired people, number less than (1/2)% of the population. As a rule, the features are well-shaped, especially the nose. The glance is wild and bold, with the wide-lidded, restless gaze of the hawk; or the exact converse--a shifty, furtive peer under lowered brows. This look is rather common amongst the wealthier families and the most famous tribesmen. The shape of a man's head not uncommonly indicates his social rank. Several have the brows of thinkers and men of affairs. The degraded forms are the bird-of-prey type--low, hairy foreheads, hooked noses with receding chin, or the thickened, coarse features of the darker slave class. Intellectually they are of good average power. Their moral characteristics are passionate covetousness, and jealousy so intense that it smothers prudence. Before finally destroying, it constantly endangered their wildly cherished independence. Revenge, especially on neighbouring Kafirs, is obtained at any price. Kafirs are subtle, crafty, quick in danger and resolute, as might be expected of people who have been plunderers and assassins for centuries, whose lives were the forfeit of a fault in unflinchingness or of a moment's vacillation. Stealthy daring, born of wary and healthy nerves and the training of generations, almost transformed into an instinct, is the national characteristic. Ghastly shadows, they flitted in the precincts of hostile villages far distant from their own valleys, living upon the poorest food carried in a fetid goatskin bag; ever ready to stab in the darkness or to wriggle through apertures, to slay as they slept men, women and babies. Then, with clothing for prize, and human ears as a trophy, they sped, watchful as hares, for their far-away hills, avenger Pathans racing furiously in their track. Kafirs, most faithful to one another, never abandoned a comrade. If he were killed, they sought to carry away his head for funeral observances. As traders, though cunning enough, they are no match for the Afghan. They were more successful as brigands and blackmailers than as skilled thieves. In night robbery and in pilfering they showed little ingenuity. Truth was considered innately dangerous; but a Kafir is far more trustworthy than his Mahommedan neighbours. Although hospitality is generally viewed as a hopeful investment, it can be calculated on, and is unstinted. Kafirs are capable of strong friendship. They are not cruel, being kind to children and to animals, and protective to the weak and the old. Family ties and the claim of blood even triumph over jealousy and covetousness.

Dress, Weapons, Utensils, &c.

The national attire of the men is a badly-cured goatskin, confined at the waist by a leather belt studded with nails, supporting the I-hilted dagger, strong but clumsy, of slave manufacture, sheathed in wood covered with iron or brass, and often prettily ornamented. Women are dressed in a long, very dark tunic of wool, ample below the shoulders, and edged with red. This is fastened at the bosom by an iron pin, a thorn, or a fibula; it is gathered round the body by a woven band, an inch wide, knotted in front to dangle down in tassels. On this girdle is carried a fantastically handled knife in a leather covering. The woman's tunic is sometimes worn by men. As worn by women its shape is something between a long frock-coat and an Inverness cape. Its hue and the blackness of the hairy goatskin give the name of Siah-Posh, "black-robed," to the majority of the clans. The other tribes wear such articles of cotton attire as they can obtain by barter, by theft, or by killing beyond the border, for only woollen cloth is made in the country. Of late years long robes from Chitral and Badakshan have been imported by the wealthy, as well as the material for loose cotton trousers and wide shirts. Clothing, always hard to obtain, is precious property. Formerly little girls, the children of slaves, or else poor relations, used to be sold in exchange for clothes and ammunition. Mahommedans eagerly bought the children, which enabled them in one transaction to acquire a female slave and to convert an infidel. Men go bareheaded, which wrinkles them prematurely, or they wear Chitral caps. Certain priests, and others of like degree, wind a strip of cotton cloth round their brows. Siah-Posh women wear curious horned caps or a small square white head-dress upon informal occasions. Females of other tribes bind their heads with turbans ornamented with shells and other finery. Excellent snow gaiters are made of goat's hair for both sexes, and of woollen material for women. Boots, strongly sewn, of soft red leather cannot be used in the snow or when it is wet, because they are imperfectly tanned. For the ceremonial dances all manner of gay-coloured articles of attire, made of cheap silk, cotton velvet, and sham cloth-of-gold, are displayed, and false jewelry and tawdry ornaments; but they are not manufactured in the country, but brought from Peshawar by pedlars. Woollen blankets and goat's-hair mats cover the bedsteads--four-legged wooden frames laced across with string or leather thongs. Low square stools, 18 in. broad, made upon the same principle as the bedsteads, are peculiar to the Kafirs and their half-breed neighbours of the border. Iron tripod tables, singularly Greek in design, are fashioned in Waigul. A warrior's weapons are a matchlock (rarely a flintlock), a bow and arrows, a spear and the dagger which he never puts aside day or night. The axes, often carried, are light and weak, and chiefly indicate rank. Clubs, carefully ornamented by carving, are of little use in a quarrel; their purpose is that of a walking-stick. As they are somewhat long, these walking-clubs have been often supposed to be leaping-poles. Swords are rarely seen, and shields, carried purely for ostentation, seldom. Soft stone is quarried to make large utensils, and great grim chests of wood become grain boxes or coffins indifferently. Prettily carved bowls with handles, or with dummy spouts, hold milk, butter, water or small quantities of flour. Wine, grain, everything else, is stored or carried in goatskin bags. Musical instruments are represented by reed flageolets, small drums, primitive fiddles, and a kind of harp.

Peculiar Customs.