OF DARDISTAN”_
_By_
G. W. LEITNER M.A., PH.D., LL.D., D.O.L., ETC.
(_With appendices on recent events, a map and
numerous illustrations_)
[Illustration]
MANJUSRI PUBLISHING HOUSE
Kumar Gallery, 11, Sunder Nagar Market,
NEW DELHI (India)
PUBLISHED BY VIRENDRA KUMAR JAIN FOR MANJUSRI PUBLISHING HOUSE
KUMAR GALLERY, SUNDER NAGAR MARKET—NEW DELHI-110003 INDIA
[Illustration: MAP OF DARDISTAN AND THE PAMIRS
_E. G. Ravenstein_ _G. Philip & Son_]
CONTENTS.
PAGE
A MAP OF DARDISTAN AND OF THE PAMIRS
INTRODUCTION. A Note on Classical Allusions to the Dards and to Greek
Influence in India (4 pages)
LEGENDS, SONGS, CUSTOMS, AND HISTORY, OF DARDISTAN (with Illustrations)
A. Demons—Yatsh 1
B. Fairies—Barái 6
C. Wizards and Witches—Dayáll 7
D. Historical Legend of the Origin of Gilgit 9
The Feast of Firs and Songs 14
Bujóni—Riddles, Proverbs, and Fables 17
Songs—(Gilgiti, Astóri, Guraizi, and Chilási) 22
_Manners and Customs_:
(_a_) Amusements (Polo, Dances, etc.) 33
(_b_) Beverages (beer, wine) 38
(_c_) Birth Ceremonies 41
(_d_) Marriage Ceremonies (Song to the Bride) 42
(_e_) Funerals 46
(_f_) Holidays 48
(_g_) The Religious Ideas of the Dards 49
(_h_) Form of Government among the Dards 53
(_i_) Habitations 57
(_j_) Divisions of the Dard race 58
(_k_) Castes 62
Legends regarding Animals, and note thereon 64
_Genealogies and History of Dardistan (pages 67 to 111)_ 67
Rough Chronological Sketch from 1800 to 1872 70
Note on Events since 1872, and in 1891 and 1892 75
Introduction to “THE DARD WARS WITH KASHMÎR” 77
Routes to Chilás 79
I. Struggles for the Conquest of Chilás 80
II. Wars for the possession of Gilgit 88
III. Wars on Yasin, and the massacre of its inhabitants 95
IV. War with Nagyr and Hunza (1864) 98
V. War with Dareyl (Yaghistán) (1866) 101
Mir Wali and Mulk Aman (with a note on the murder of Hayward) 104
Account of Kashmîr atrocities 106
Remarks on Dardistan in 1893 108
Treaty of the British Government with Kashmîr 110
Note on the Hunza-Nagyr Genealogy 111
APPENDICES:
I. Hunza, Nagyr, and the Pamir Regions. (With an Autograph
Letter of the Tham of Nagyr, and other Illustrations) 24 pages
II. Notes on Recent Events in Chilás and Chitrál, with a
photograph of H. H. the present Mihtar of Chitrál,
Nizám-ul-Mulk, his former Yasin Council and Chitráli
Musicians 19 pages
III. Fables, Legends, and Songs of Chitrál (one in musical
notation), by H. H. Mihtar Nizám-ul-Mulk 14 pages
IV. Races and Languages of the Hindukush [The Kohistán,
Gabriál, etc.], with a Note on Polo in Hunza-Nagyr 18 pages
V. Anthropological Observations and Measurements 8 pages
VI. Rough Itineraries in the Hindukush and to Central Asia,
Routes i, ii, and iii 12 pages
VII. (_a_) A Secret Religion in the Hindukush and in the
Lebanon 14 pages
(_b_) The Kelám-i-pîr and Esoteric Muhammadanism 9 pages
VIII. On the Sciences of Language and of Ethnography, with
special reference to the Language and Customs of
Hunza (a separate pamphlet) 16 pages
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.
1. Map of Dardistan and of the Pamirs (abridged from Dr.
Leitner’s large Map of Dardistan and a number of
Native Maps and Itineraries).
2. First Group of Dards, etc., taken in 1866. (Facing page 1.)
3. Group of Natives from Hunza, Yasin, and Nagyr,
listening to a Chitráli and a Badakhshi Musician. (Facing page 22.)
4. A Dance at Gilgit. (Facing page 36.)
5. Dr. Leitner’s Tibet Dog, “Chang.” (Facing page 66.)
6. “Our Manufactured Foes:” a Tangir Student, a
Nagyri Peasant, a Dareyli Herdsman, and a Hunza
Fighter (the first Hunza man taken to Europe in
1886). (Facing page 76.)
7. A Kashmir Soldier and a Balti Coolie. (Facing page 77.)
8. Two Chilásis and a Gilgiti. (Facing page 80.)
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE APPENDICES.
_Appendix I.—(Hunza-Nagyr and the Pamir Regions.)_
9. Specimens of Burishkis of Hunza, Nagyr, and Yasin. (Facing page 1 of
Appendix I.) “Hunza and Nagyri Warriors, separated by Yasinis.”
10. Autograph Letter from the Chief (Tham) of Nagyr,
Za’far Khan. (Facing page 5.)
11. Dr. Leitner as a Bokhara Maulvi in 1866. (Facing page 17.)
_Appendix II.—(Recent Events in Chilás and Chitrál.)_
12. Mihtar Nizám-ul-Mulk and his Yasin Council in 1886. (Facing page 6.)
13. Chitráli Players and the Badakhshi Poet, Taighûn
Shah. (Facing page 7.)
_Appendix IV.—(Races and Languages of the Hindukush.)_
14. Group of Natives from Nagyr, Koláb, Chitrál, Gabriál,
Badakhshan, and Hunza. (Facing page 1.)
15. Heads of Natives from Dareyl, Gabriál, Hunza,
and Nagyr. (Facing page 2.)
_Appendix V.—(Anthropological Observations and Measurements.)_
16. Ethnological and Anthropological Groups. (Facing page 1.)
17. Jamshêd, the first Siah Pôsh Kafir taken to Europe
(in 1872). (Facing page 4.)
18. Comparative Table of Measurements of Dards and Kafirs.
A NOTE ON CLASSICAL ALLUSIONS TO THE DARDS AND TO GREEK INFLUENCE ON
INDIA.
THE DARDS.
Herodotus (III. 102-105) is the first author who refers to the country of
the Dards, placing it on the frontier of Kashmir and in the vicinity of
Afghanistan. “Other Indians are those who reside on the frontiers of the
town ‘Kaspatyros’ and the Paktyan country; they dwell to the north of the
other Indians and live like the Baktrians; they are also the most warlike
of the Indians and are sent for the gold,” etc. Then follows the legend
of the gold-digging ants (which has been shown to have been the name of a
tribe of Tibetans by Schiern), and on which, as an important side-issue,
consult Strabo, Arrian, Dio Chrysostomus, Flavius Philostratus the
elder, Clemens Alexandrinus, Ælian, Harpokration, Themistius Euphrades,
Heliodorus of Emesa, Joannes Tzetzes, the Pseudo-Kallisthenes and the
scholiast to the Antigone of Sophocles[1]—and among Romans, the poems of
Propertius, the geography of Pomponius Mela, the natural history of the
elder Pliny and the collections of Julius Solinus.[2] The Mahabharata
also mentions the tribute of the ant-gold “paipilika” brought by the
nations of the north to one of the Pandu sons, king Yudhisthira.
In another place Herodotus [IV. 13-27] again mentions the town of
Kaspatyros and the Paktyan country. This is where he refers to the
anxiety of Darius to ascertain the flow of the Indus into the sea. He
accordingly sent Skylax with vessels. “They started from the town of
Κασπάτυρος and the Πακτυική χώρη towards the east to the sea.” I take
this to be the point where the Indus river makes a sudden bend, and for
the first time actually does lie between Kashmir and Pakhtu-land (for
this, although long unknown, must be the country alluded to),[3] in other
words, below the Makpon-i-Shang-Rong, and at Bunji, where the Indus
becomes navigable.[4] The Paktyes are also mentioned as one of the races
that followed Xerxes in his invasion of Hellas (Herod. VII. 67-85). Like
our own geographers till 1866, Herodotus thought that the Indus from that
point flowed duly from north to south, and India being, according to his
system of geography, the most easterly country, the flow of the Indus was
accordingly described as being easterly. I, in 1866, and Hayward in 1870,
described its flow from that point to be due west for a considerable
distance (about one hundred miles). (The PAKTYES are, of course, the
Afghans, called Patans, or more properly PAKHTUS, the very same Greek
word). “Kaspatyros” is evidently a mis-spelling for “Kaspapyros,” the
form in which the name occurs in one of the most accurate codes of
Herodotus which belonged to Archbishop Sancroft (the Codex Sancroftianus)
and which is now preserved at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Stephanus
Byzantianus (A.V.) also ascribes this spelling to Hekatœus of Miletus.[5]
Now Kaspapyros or Kaspapuros is evidently _Kashmir_ or “_Kasyapapura_,”
the town of _Kasyapa_, the founder of Kashmir, and to the present day
one may talk indifferently of the town of Kashmir, or of the country of
_Kashmir_, when mentioning that name, so that there is no necessity to
seek for the _town_ of Srinagar when discussing the term Kaspatyrus, or,
if corrected, Kaspapuros, of Herodotus.
Herodotus, although he thus mentions the people (of the Dards) as one
neighbouring (πλησιοχώροι) on Kashmir and residing between Kashmir and
Afghanistan, and also refers to the invasions which (from time immemorial
it may be supposed, and certainly within our own times) this people have
made against Tibet for the purpose of devastating the goldfields of the
so-called ants, does not use the name of “Dard” in the above quotations,
but Strabo and the elder Pliny, who repeat the legend, mention the very
name of that people as _Derdæ_ or _Dardæ_, vide Strabo XV., ἐν Διρδαις
ἔθνει μεγάλω τῶν προσεώων καὶ ὀρείνων Ἰνδῶν. Pliny, in his Natural
History, XI. 36, refers to “_in regione Septentrionalium Indorum, qui
Dardæ vacantur_.” Both Pliny and Strabo refer to Megasthenes as their
authority in Chapter VI., 22. Pliny again speaks of “_Fertilissimi sunt
auri Dardæ._” The Dards have still settlements in Tibet where they are
called Brokhpa (see page 60 of text). The Dards are the “Darada” of the
Sanscrit writers. The “Darada” and the “Himavanta” were the regions
to which Buddha sent his missionaries, and the Dards are finally the
“Dards, an independent people which plundered Dras in the last year,
has its home in the mountains three or four days’ journey distant, and
talks the _Pakhtu_ or DARADI language. Those, whom they take prisoners
in these raids, they sell as slaves” (as they do still). (Voyage par Mir
Izzetulla in 1812 in Klaproth’s Magasin Asiatique, II., 3-5.) (The above
arrangement of quotations is due to Schiern.)[6]
INFLUENCE OF GREECE ON ASIA IN GENERAL AND INDIA IN PARTICULAR.
The most important contribution to this question, however, is Plutarch’s
_Speech_ on Alexander’s fortune and virtue (περὶ Ἀλεξάνδρου τύχης καὶ
ἀρετῆς), the keynote to which may be found in the passage which contains
the assertion that he Κατέσπειρε τὴν Ἀσίαν ἑλληνικοῖς τέλεσι, but the
whole speech refers to that marvellous influence.
That this influence was at any rate believed in, may be also gathered
from a passage in Aelian, in which he speaks of the Indians and Persian
kings singing Homer in their own tongues. I owe the communication of
this passage to Sir Edward Fry, Q.C., which runs as follows; Ὄτι Ἰνδοὶ
τῆ παρα σφίσιν ἐπιχωριά φωνη τά Ὁμήρου μεταγράψαντις ᾄδουσιν οὐ μάνοι,
ἀλλὰ καὶ οἲ Περσῶν βασιλεῖς εὶ τι χρη πιστεύειν τοῖς ὕπερ τούτων
ἱστοροῦσι.—Aeliani Variæ Historiæ, Lib. XII., Cap. 48. [I find from
a note in my edition that Dio Chrysostom tells the same story of the
Indians in his 53rd Oration.—E.F.]
I trust to be able to show, if permitted to do so, in a future note (1)
that the Aryan dialects of Dardistan are, at least, contemporaneous with
Sanskrit, (2) that the Khajuná is a remnant of a prehistoric language,
(3) that certain sculptors followed on Alexander’s invasion and taught
the natives of India to execute what I first termed “Græco-Buddhistic”
sculptures, a term which specifies a distinct period in history and in
the history of Art.
G. W. LEITNER.
P.S. in 1893.—The above, which appeared in “the Calcutta Review” of
January 1878, was also reprinted in the _Asiatic Quarterly Review_
of April 1893 with reference to Mr. J. W. McCrindle’s recent work on
“Ancient India: Its Invasion by Alexander the Great,” in which he omits
to draw attention to the importance of Plutarch’s _Speech_ on the
civilizing results of Alexander’s invasion, and makes no mention whatever
of the traces which Greek art has left on the Buddhistic sculptures of
the Panjab.
He only just mentions Plutarch’s speech on page 13 of his otherwise
excellent work, published by Messrs. Constable of 14 Parliament Street,
London. As that speech, which is divided into two parts, is, however, of
the utmost importance in showing what were believed to be in Plutarch’s
days the results of Alexander’s mission, I think it necessary to quote
some of the most prominent passages from it relating to the subject under
inquiry. I also propose to show in a monograph on the græco-buddhistic
sculptures, now at the Woking Museum, which I brought from beyond the
Panjab frontier, that Alexander introduced not only Greek Art but also
Greek mythology into India. I will specially refer to the “Pallas
Athene,” “the rape of Ganymede,” and “the Centaur” in my collection,
leaving such sculptures as “Olympian games,” “Greek soldiers accompanying
Buddhist processions,” “the Buddhist Parthenon,” [if not also Silanion’s
“Sappho with the lyre,”]—all executed by Indian artists—to tell their own
tale as to the corroborations in sculpture of passages in ancient Greek
and Roman writers relating to the genial assimilation of Eastern with
Western culture which the Great Conqueror of the Two Continents, “the
possessor of two horns,” the “Zu’l-Qarnein” (Al-Asghar) of the Arabs,
endeavoured to bring about.
The following passages from Plutarch’s Speech may, I hope, be read with
interest. The author endeavours to answer his question as to whether
Alexander owed his success “to his fortune or to his virtue” by showing
that he was almost solely indebted to his good qualities:
“The discipline of Alexander ... oh marvellous philosophy, through which
the Indians worship the Greek gods.”
“When Alexander had recivilized Asia, they read Homer and the children
of the Persians ... sang the tragedies of Euripides and Sophocles.”
“Socrates was condemned in Athens because he introduced foreign Gods ...
but, through Alexander, Bactria and the Caucasus worshipped the Greek
Gods.” “Few among us, as yet, read the laws of Plato, but myriads of men
use, and have used, those of Alexander, the vanquished deeming themselves
more fortunate than those who had escaped his arms, for the latter had no
one who saved them from the miseries of life, whilst the conqueror had
forced the conquered to live happily.”
“Plato only wrote one form of Government and not a single man followed
it because it was too severe, whereas Alexander founded more than
70 cities among barbarous nations and permeating Asia with Hellenic
Institutions....” Plutarch makes the conquered say that if they had not
been subdued “Egypt would not have had Alexandria nor India Bucephalia,”
that “Alexander made no distinction between Greek and Barbarian, but
considered the virtuous only among either as Greek and the vicious as
Barbarian” and that he by “intermarriages and the adaptation of customs
and dresses sought to found that union which he considered himself as
sent from heaven to bring about as the arbitrator and the reformer of the
universe.” “Thus do the wise unite Asia and Europe.” “By the adoption of
(Asiatic) dress, the minds were conciliated.” Alexander desired that “One
common justice should administer the Republic of the Universe.”
“He disseminated Greece and diffused throughout the world justice and
peace.” Alexander himself announces to the Greeks, “Through me you will
know them (the Indians) and they will know you, but I must yet strike
coins and stamp the bronze of the barbarians with Greek impressions.”
The fulfilment of this statement is attested by the Bactrian coins. I
submit that he who left his mark on metal did so also on sculpture,
as I have endeavoured to show since 1870 when I first called my finds
“græco-buddhistic,” a term which has, at last, been adopted after much
opposition, as descriptive of a period in History and in the history of
Art and Religion.
[The above quotations are all from the 1st Part of Plutarch’s oration;
the second is reserved for the proposed monograph.]
G. W. LEITNER.
For “Divisions of the Dard Race” and the countries which they occupy see
page 58.
[Illustration: FIRST GROUP OF DARDS, ETC., TAKEN IN 1866.
Gulam Muhammad, of Gilgit (A Shiah Muhammadan).
Gharib Shah and Friend, Both of Chilas (Sunni Muhammadans).
Mirza beg, of Astor (Sunni).
Kazim, From Skardo (Little Tibet). (Shiah).
Malek and Batshu (Kalasha and Bashgali Kafirs) (Subjects of Chitral).]
LEGENDS, SONGS, AND CUSTOMS OF DARDISTAN,[7]
(GILGIT, YASIN, HUNZA, NAGYR, CHITRÁL, &C., AND KAFIRISTAN).
1. Dardu Legends, _in Shiná_ (the language, with dialectic modifications,
of Gilgit, Astor, Guraiz, Chilas, Hódur, Dareyl, Tangîr, etc., and the
language of historical songs in Hunza and Nagyr).
(_Committed to writing for the first time in 1866, By DR. G. W. LEITNER,
from the dictation of Dards. This race has no written character of its
own._)
A.—DEMONS = YATSH[8] (YUECCI?).
Demons are of a gigantic size, and have only _one eye, which is on
the forehead_. They used to rule over the mountains and oppose the
cultivation of the soil by man. They often dragged people away into their
recesses. Since the adoption of the Muhammadan religion, the demons
have relinquished their possessions, and only occasionally trouble the
believers.
They do not walk by day, but confine themselves to promenading at night.
A spot is shown near Astor, at a village called Bulent, where five large
mounds are pointed out which have somewhat the shape of huge baskets.
Their existence is explained as follows. A Zemindar (cultivator) at
Grukot, a village farther on, on the Kashmir road, had, with great
trouble, sifted his grain for storing, and had put it into baskets and
sacks. He then went away. The demons came—five in number—carrying huge
leather-sacks, into which they put the grain. They then went to a place
which is still pointed out and called “_Gué_ Gutume Yatsheyn gau boki,”
or “The place of the demons’ loads at the hollow”—Gué being the Shiná
name for the present village of Grukōt. There they brought up a huge
flat stone—which is still shown—and made it into a kind of pan, “tawa,”
for the preparation of bread. But the morning dawned and obliged them
to disappear; they converted the sacks and their contents into earthen
mounds, which have the shape of baskets and are still shown.
1.—THE WEDDING OF DEMONS.
A Shikari (sportsman) was once hunting in the hills. He had taken
provisions with him for five days. On the sixth day he found himself
without any food. Excited and fatigued by his fruitless expedition, he
wandered into the deepest mountain recesses, careless whither he went
as long as he could find water to assuage his thirst, and a few wild
berries to allay his hunger. Even that search was unsuccessful, and,
tired and hungry, he endeavoured to compose himself to sleep. Even that
comfort was denied him, and, nearly maddened with the situation, he
again arose and looked around him. It was the first or second hour of
night, and, at a short distance, he descried a large fire blazing a most
cheerful welcome to the hungry, and now chilled, wanderer. He approached
it quietly, hoping to meet some other sportsman who might provide
him with food. Coming near the fire, he saw a very large and curious
assembly of giants, eating, drinking, and singing. In great terror, he
wanted to make his way back, when one of the assembly, who had a squint
in his eye, got up for the purpose of fetching water for the others.
He overtook him, and asked him whether he was a “child of man.” Half
dead with terror, he could scarcely answer that he was, when the demon
invited him to join them at the meeting, which was described to be a
wedding party. The Shikari replied: “You are a demon, and will destroy
me”; on which the spirit took an oath, _by the sun and the moon_, that
he certainly would not do so. He then hid him under a bush and went back
with the water. He had scarcely returned when a plant was torn out of the
ground and a small aperture was made, into which the giants managed to
throw all their property, and, gradually making themselves thinner and
thinner, themselves vanished into the ground through it. Our sportsman
was then taken by the hand by the friendly demon, and, before he knew
how, he himself glided through the hole and found himself in a huge
apartment, which was splendidly illuminated. He was placed in a corner
where he could not be observed. He received some food, and gazed in mute
astonishment on the assembled spirits. At last, he saw the mother of the
bride taking her daughter’s head into her lap and weeping bitterly at the
prospect of her departure into another household. Unable to control her
grief, and in compliance with an old Shîn custom, she began the singing
of the evening by launching into the following strains:
SONG OF THE MOTHER.
ORIGINAL:—
_Ajjeyn Biráni![9] mey palise, shíkk sanéy,_
(Thy) mother’s Biráni! my little darling, ornaments will wear,
_Inne Buldar Bútshe angai tapp bey hani,_
(Whilst) here at Buldar Bútshe the heavens dark will become,
_Nágeri Phall Tshátshe Kani miráni in,_
The Nagari (of race) Phall Tshátshe of Khans the prince will come,
_Téyn Mîrkân málose tshé gùm bagéy,_
Thy Mirkan father—from new corn will be distributed.
_Sálti Yabeo wey bo! Shadú Malik bojum théum._
Seven rivers’ water be! Shadu Malik a going will make,
_Tey Mirkann malo Tshe gi bage._
Thy Mirkann, father, now ghee will distribute.
TRANSLATION:—
“Oh, Biráni, thy mother’s own; thou, little darling, wilt wear
ornaments, whilst to me, who will remain here at Buldar Butshe,
the heavens will appear dark. The prince of Lords of Phall
Tshatshe race is coming from Nagyr; and Mirkann, thy father,
now distributes corn (as an act of welcome). Be (as fruitful
and pleasant) as the water of _seven rivers_, for Shadu Malik
(the prince) is determined to start, and now thy father Mirkann
is distributing ghee (as a compliment to the departing guest).”
The Shikari began to enjoy the scene and would have liked to have stayed,
but his squinting friend told him now that he could not be allowed to
remain any longer. So he got up, but before again vanishing through
the above-mentioned aperture into the human world, he took a good look
at the demons. To his astonishment he beheld on the shoulders of one a
shawl which he had safely left at home. Another held his gun; a third was
eating out of his own dishes; one had his many-coloured stockings on, and
another disported himself in pidjamas (drawers) which he only ventured
to put on, on great occasions. He also saw many of the things that had
excited his admiration among the property of his neighbours in his native
village, being most familiarly used by the demons. He scarcely could be
got to move away, but his friendly guide took hold of him and brought him
again to the place where he had first met him. On taking leave he gave
him three loaves of bread. As his village was far off, he consumed two
of the loaves on the road. On reaching home, he found his father, who
had been getting rather anxious at his prolonged absence. To him he told
all that had happened, and showed him the remaining loaf, of which the
old man ate half. His mother, a good housewife, took the remaining half
and threw it into a large granary, where, as it was the season of Sharó
(autumn), a sufficient store of flour had been placed for the use of the
family during the winter. Strange to say, that half-loaf brought luck,
for demons mean it sometimes kindly to the children of men, and only hurt
them when they consider themselves offended. The granary remained always
full, and the people of the village rejoiced with the family, for they
were liked and were good people.
It also should be told that as soon as the Shikari came home he looked
after his costly shawl, dishes, and clothes, but he found all in its
proper place and perfectly uninjured. On inquiring amongst his neighbours
he also found that they too had not lost anything. He was much astonished
at all this, till an old woman who had a great reputation for wisdom,
told him that this was the custom of demons, and that they invariably
borrowed the property of mankind for their weddings, and as invariably
restored it. On occasions of rejoicings amongst them they felt kindly
towards mankind.
Thus ends one of the prettiest tales that I have heard.
2.—THE DEMON’S PRESENT OF COALS IS TURNED INTO GOLD.
Something similar to what has just been related, is said to have happened
at Doyur, on the road from Gilgit to Nagyr. A man of the name of Phûko
had a son named Laskirr, who, one day going out to fetch water was caught
by a Yatsh, who tore up a plant (“reeds”?) “phuru” and entered with the
lad into the fissure which was thereby created. He brought him to a large
palace in which a number of goblins, male and female, were diverting
themselves. He there saw all the valuables of the inhabitants of his
village. A wedding was being celebrated and the mother sang:—
Gúm bagé déy, Buduléy Khatúni.
Gúm bagé déy, huh_á_ huhá!!
Gi bagé déy, Buduléy Khatúnise.
Gi bagé déy, huh_á_ huhá!!
Motz bagé déy, Buduléy Khatúni.
Motz bagé déy, huhá huhá!!
Mô bagé déy, huhá huhá!! &c., &c.
TRANSLATION:—
Corn is being distributed, daughter of Budal.
Corn is being distributed, hurrah! hurrah! (_Chorus._)
Ghee is being distributed, &c. (_Chorus._)
Meat is being distributed, &c. (_Chorus._)
Wine is being distributed, &c., &c. (_Chorus._)
On his departure, the demon gave him a sackful of coals, and conducted
him through the aperture made by the tearing up of the reed, towards
his village. The moment the demon had left, the boy emptied the sack of
the coals and went home, when he told his father what had happened. In
the emptied sack they found a small bit of coal, which, as soon as they
touched it, became a gold coin, very much to the regret of the boy’s
father, who would have liked his son to have brought home the whole
sackful.
B.—“BARAI,” “PERIS,” “FAIRIES.”
They are handsome, in contradistinction to the Yatsh or Demons,
and stronger; they have a beautiful castle on the top of the Nanga
Parbat or Dyarmul (so called from being inaccessible). This castle is
made of crystal, and the people fancy they can see it. They call it
“Shell-battekōt” or “Castle of Glass-stone.”
1.—THE SPORTSMAN AND THE CASTLE OF THE FAIRIES.
Once a sportsman ventured up the Nanga Parbat. To his surprise he found
no difficulty, and venturing farther and farther, he at last reached
the top. There he saw a beautiful castle made of glass, and pushing one
of the doors he entered it, and found himself in a most magnificent
apartment. Through it he saw an open space that appeared to be the garden
of the castle, but there was in it only one tree of excessive height, and
which was entirely composed of pearls and corals. The delighted sportsman
filled his sack in which he carried his corn, and left the place, hoping
to enrich himself by the sale of the pearls. As he was going out of
the door he saw an innumerable crowd of serpents following him. In his
agitation he shouldered the sack and attempted to run, when a pearl fell
out. It was eagerly swallowed by a serpent which immediately disappeared.
The sportsman, glad to get rid of his pursuers at any price, threw pearl
after pearl to them, and in every case it had the desired effect. At
last, only one serpent remained, but for her (a fairy in that shape?)
he found no pearl; and urged on by fear, he hastened to his village,
Tarsing, which is at the very foot of the Nanga Parbat. On entering his
house, he found it in great agitation; bread was being distributed to the
poor as they do at funerals, for his family had given him up as lost.
The serpent still followed and stopped at the door. In despair, the man
threw the corn-sack at her, when lo! a pearl glided out. It was eagerly
swallowed by the serpent, which immediately disappeared. However, the
man was not the same being as before. He was ill for days, and in about
a fortnight after the events narrated, died, for fairies never forgive a
man who has surprised their secrets.
2.—THE FAIRY WHO PUNISHED HER HUMAN LOVER.
It is not believed in Astor that fairies ever marry human beings, but
in Gilgit there is a legend to that effect. A famous sportsman, Kibá
Lorí, who never returned empty-handed from any excursion, kept company
with a fairy to whom he was deeply attached. Once in the hot weather the
fairy said to him not to go out shooting during “the seven days of the
summer,” “Caniculars,” which are called “Bardá,” and are supposed to be
the hottest days in Dardistan. “I am,” said she, “obliged to leave you
for that period, and, mind, you do not follow me.” The sportsman promised
obedience and the fairy vanished, saying that he would certainly die if
he attempted to follow her. Our love-intoxicated Nimrod, however, could
not endure her absence. On the fourth day he shouldered his gun and went
out with the hope of meeting her. Crossing a range, he came upon a plain,
where he saw an immense gathering of game of all sorts and his beloved
fairy milking a “Kill” (markhor) and gathering the milk into a silver
vessel. The noise which Kibá Lorí made caused the animal to start and to
strike out with his legs, which upset the silver vessel. The fairy looked
up, and to her anger beheld the disobedient lover. She went up to him
and, after reproaching him, struck him in the face. But she had scarcely
done so when despair mastered her heart, and she cried out in the deepest
anguish that “he now must die within four days.” “However,” she said,
“do shoot one of these animals, so that people may not say that you have
returned empty-handed.” The poor man returned crestfallen to his home,
lay down, and died on the fourth day.
C.—DAYALL = WIZARDS AND WITCHES.
The gift of second sight, or rather the intercourse with fairies, is
confined to a few families in which it is hereditary. The wizard is
made to inhale the fumes of a fire which is lit with the wood of the
_tshili_[10] (Panjabi = Padam), a kind of fir-wood which gives much
smoke. Into the fire the milk of a white sheep or goat is poured. The
wizard inhales the smoke till he apparently becomes insensible. He is
then taken on the lap of one of the spectators, who sings a song which
restores him to his senses. In the meanwhile, a goat is slaughtered,
and the moment the fortune-teller jumps up, its bleeding neck is
presented to him, which he sucks as long as a drop remains. The assembled
musicians then strike up a great noise, and the wizard rushes about
in the circle which is formed round him and talks unintelligibly. The
fairy then appears at some distance and sings, which, however, only the
wizard hears. He then communicates her sayings in a song to one of the
musicians, who explains its meaning to the people. The wizard is called
upon to foretell events and to give advice in cases of illness, etc.
The people believe that in ancient times these Dayalls invariably spoke
correctly, but that now scarcely one saying in a hundred turns out to
be true. Wizards do not now make a livelihood by their talent, which is
considered its own reward.
* * * * *
There are few legends so exquisite as the one which chronicles the
origin, or rather the rise, of Gilgit. The traditions regarding Alexander
the Great, which Vigne and others have imagined to exist among the people
of Dardistan, are unknown to, at any rate, the Shiná race, excepting in
so far as any Munshi accompanying the Maharajah’s troops may, perhaps,
accidentally have referred to them in conversation with a Shîn. Any such
information would have been derived from the Sikandarnama of Nizámi, and
would, therefore, possess no original value. There exist no ruins, as far
as I have gone, to point to an occupation of Dardistan by the soldiers
of Alexander. The following legend, however, which not only lives in
the memories of all the Shîn people, whether they be Chilasis, Astoris,
Gilgitis, or Brokhpá (the latter, as I discovered, living actually side
by side with the Baltis in Little Tibet), but which also an annual
festival commemorates, is not devoid of interest from either a historical
or a purely literary point of view.
D.—HISTORICAL LEGEND OF THE ORIGIN OF GILGIT.
“Once upon a time there lived a race at Gilgit, whose origin is
uncertain. Whether they sprang from the soil, or had immigrated from a
distant region, is doubtful; so much is believed, that they were Gayupí
= spontaneous, aborigines, unknown. Over them ruled a monarch who was
a descendant of the evil spirits, the Yatsh, that terrorized over the
world. His name was Shiribadatt, and he resided at a castle, in front of
which there was a course for the performance of the manly game of Polo.
(See my Hunza Nagyr Handbook.) His tastes were capricious, and in every
one of his actions his fiendish origin could be discerned. The natives
bore his rule with resignation, for what could they effect against a
monarch at whose command even magic aids were placed? However, the
country was rendered fertile and round the capital bloomed attractive
gardens.
“The heavens, or rather the virtuous Peris, at last grew tired of his
tyranny, for he had crowned his iniquities by indulging in a propensity
for cannibalism. This taste had been developed by an accident. One day
his cook brought him some mutton broth, the like of which he had never
tasted. After much inquiry as to the nature of the food on which the
sheep had been brought up, it was eventually traced to an old woman, its
first owner. She stated that her child and the sheep were born on the
same day, and losing the former, she had consoled herself by suckling
the latter. This was a revelation to the tyrant. He had discovered the
secret of the palatability of the broth, and was determined to have
a never-ending supply of it. So he ordered that his kitchen should
be regularly provided with children of tender age, whose flesh, when
converted into broth, would remind him of the exquisite dish he had once
so much relished. This cruel order was carried out. The people of the
country were dismayed at such a state of things, and sought slightly to
improve it by sacrificing, in the first place, all orphans and children
of neighbouring tribes! The tyrant, however, was insatiable, and soon was
his cruelty felt by many families at Gilgit, who were compelled to give
up their children to slaughter.
“Relief came at last. At the top of the mountain Ko, which it takes a
day to ascend, and which overlooks the village of Doyur, below Gilgit,
on the side of the river, appeared three figures. They looked like men,
but much more strong and handsome. In their arms they carried bows and
arrows, and turning their eyes in the direction of Doyur, they perceived
innumerable flocks of sheep and cattle grazing on a prairie between that
village and the foot of the mountain. The strangers were fairies, and had
come (perhaps from Nagyr?) to this region with the view of ridding Gilgit
of the monster that ruled over it. However, this intention was confined
to the two elder ones. The three strangers were brothers, and none of
them had been born at the same time. It was their intention to make Azru
Shemsher, the youngest, Rajah of Gilgit, and, in order to achieve their
purpose, they hit upon the following plan.
“On the already-noticed plain, which is called Didingé, a sportive calf
was gamboling towards and away from its mother. It was the pride of its
owner, and its brilliant red colour could be seen from a distance. ‘Let
us see who is the best marksman,’ exclaimed the eldest, and saying this,
he shot an arrow in the direction of the calf, but missed his aim. The
second brother also tried to hit it, but also failed. At last, Azru
Shemsher, who took a deep interest in the sport, shot his arrow, which
pierced the poor animal from side to side and killed it. The brothers,
whilst descending, congratulated Azru on his sportsmanship, and on
arriving at the spot where the calf was lying, proceeded to cut its
throat, and to take out from its body _the titbits, namely the kidneys
and the liver_.
“They then roasted these delicacies, and invited Azru to partake of them
first. He respectfully declined, on the ground of his youth; but they
urged him to do so, ‘in order,’ they said, ‘to reward you for such an
excellent shot.’ Scarcely had the meat touched the lips of Azru, than the
brothers got up, and vanishing into the air, called out, ‘Brother! you
have touched impure food, which Peris never should eat, and we have made
use of your ignorance of this law, because we want to make you a human
being,[11] who shall rule over Gilgit; remain therefore at Doyur.’
“Azru in deep grief at the separation, cried, ‘Why remain at Doyur,
unless it be to grind corn?’ ‘Then,’ said the brothers, ‘go to Gilgit.’
‘Why,’ was the reply, ‘go to Gilgit, unless it be to work in the
gardens?’ ‘No, no,’ was the last and consoling rejoinder; ‘you will
assuredly become the king of this country, and deliver it from its
merciless oppressor.’
“No more was heard of the departing fairies, and Azru remained by
himself, endeavouring to gather consolation from the great mission
which had been bestowed on him. A villager met him, and, struck by his
appearance, offered him shelter in his house. Next morning he went on
the roof of his host’s house, and calling out to him to come up, pointed
to the Ko mountain, on which, he said, he plainly discerned a wild goat.
The incredulous villager began to fear he had harboured a maniac, if no
worse character; but Azru shot off his arrow, and accompanied by the
villager (who had assembled some friends for protection, as he was afraid
his young guest might be an associate of robbers, and lead him into a
trap), went in the direction of the mountain. There, to be sure, at the
very spot that had been pointed out, though many miles distant, was lying
the wild goat, with Azru’s arrow transfixing its body. The astonished
peasants at once hailed him as their leader, but he exacted an oath of
secrecy from them, for he had come to deliver them from their tyrant, and
would keep his incognito till such time as his plans for the destruction
of the monster were matured.
“He then took leave of the hospitable people of Doyur, and went to
Gilgit. On reaching the place, which is scarcely four miles distant from
Doyur, he amused himself by prowling about in the gardens adjoining
the royal residence. There he met one of the female companions of
Shiribadatt’s daughter (_goli_ in Hill Punjabi, _Shadróy_ in Gilgiti)
fetching water for the princess, a lady both remarkably handsome, and of
a sweet disposition. The companion rushed back, and told the young lady
to look from over the ramparts of the castle at a wonderfully handsome
young man whom she had just met. The princess placed herself in a spot
from which she could observe any one approaching the fort. Her maid then
returned, and induced Azru to come with her on the Polo ground, the
“Shavaran,” in front of the castle; the princess was smitten with his
beauty and at once fell in love with him. She then sent word to the young
prince to come and see her. When he was admitted into her presence, he
for a long time denied being anything else than a common labourer. At
last, he confessed to being a fairy’s child, and the overjoyed princess
offered him her heart and hand. It may be mentioned here that the tyrant
Shiribadatt had a wonderful horse, which could cross a mile at every
jump, and which its rider had accustomed to jump both into and out of the
fort, over its walls. So regular were the leaps which that famous animal
could take, that he invariably alighted at a distance of a mile from the
fort and at the same place.
“On that very day on which the princess had admitted young Azru into
the fort, King Shiribadatt was out hunting, of which he was desperately
fond, and to which he used sometimes to devote a week or two at a time.
We must now return to Azru, whom we left conversing with the princess.
Azru remained silent when the lady confessed her love. Urged to declare
his sentiments, he said that he would not marry her unless she bound
herself to him by the most stringent oath; this she did, and _they became
in the sight of God as if they were wedded man and wife_.[12] He then
announced that he had come to destroy her father, and asked her to kill
him herself. This she refused; but as she had sworn to aid him in every
way she could, he finally induced her to promise that she would ask her
father _where his soul was_. ‘Refuse food,’ said Azru, ‘for three or four
days, and your father, who is devotedly fond of you will ask for the
reason of your strange conduct; then say, “Father, you are often staying
away from me for several days at a time, and I am getting distressed lest
something should happen to you; do reassure me by letting me know where
your soul is, and let me feel certain that your life is safe.”’ This
the princess promised to do, and when her father returned refused food
for several days. The anxious Shiribadatt made inquiries, to which she
replied by making the already-named request. The tyrant was for a few
moments thrown into mute astonishment, and finally refused compliance
with her preposterous demand. The love-smitten lady went on starving
herself, till at last her father, fearful for his daughter’s life, told
her not to fret herself about him, as _his soul was [of snow?] in the
snows_, and that he could only perish by fire. The princess communicated
this information to her lover. Azru went back to Doyur and the villages
around, and assembled his faithful peasants. Them he asked to take twigs
of the fir-tree or _tshi_, bind them together and light them—then to
proceed in a body with the torches to the castle in a circle, keep close
together, and surround it on every side. He then went and dug out a very
deep hole, as deep as a well, in the place where Shiribadatt’s horse used
to alight, and covered it with green boughs. The next day he received
information that the torches (_talên_ in Gilgiti and _Lome_ in Astori)
were ready. He at once ordered the villagers gradually to draw near the
fort in the manner which he had already indicated.
“King Shiribadatt was then sitting in his castle; near him his
treacherous daughter, who was so soon to lose her parent. All at
once he exclaimed, ‘I feel very close; go out, dearest, and see what
has happened.’ The girl went out, and saw torches approaching from a
distance; but fancying it to be something connected with the plans of her
husband, she went back, and said it was nothing. The torches came nearer
and nearer, and the tyrant became exceedingly restless. ‘Air, air,’ he
cried, ‘I feel very, very ill; do see, daughter, what is the matter.’
The dutiful lady went, and returned with the same answer as before. At
last, the torch-bearers had fairly surrounded the fort, and Shiribadatt,
with a presentiment of impending danger, rushed out of the room, saying
‘that he felt he was dying.’ He then ran to the stables and mounted his
favourite charger, and with one blow of the whip made him jump over the
wall of the castle. Faithful to its habit, the noble animal alighted at
the same place, but alas! only to find itself engulfed in a treacherous
pit. Before the king had time to extricate himself, the villagers had
run up with their torches. ‘Throw them upon him,’ cried Azru. With one
accord all the blazing wood was thrown upon Shiribadatt, who miserably
perished. Azru was then most enthusiastically proclaimed king, celebrated
his nuptials with the fair traitor, _and, as sole tribute, exacted the
offering of one sheep, instead of that of a human child, annually from
every one of the natives_.[13] This custom has prevailed down to the
present day, and the people of Shin, wherever they be, celebrate their
delivery from the rule of a monster, and the inauguration of a more
humane government, in the month preceding the beginning of winter—a month
which they call Dawakió or Daykió—after the full moon is over and the
new moon has set in. The day of this national celebration is called ‘nôs
tshilí,’ ‘the feast of firs.’ The day generally follows four or five
days after the meat provision for the winter has been laid in to dry. A
few days of rejoicing precede the special festivity, which takes place
at night. Then all the men of the villages go forth, having torches in
their hands, which, at the sound of music, they swing round their heads,
and throw in the direction of Gilgit, if they are at any distance from
that place; whilst the people of Gilgit throw them indifferently about
the plain in which that town, if town it may be called, is situated. When
the throwing away of the brands is over, every man returns to his house,
where a curious custom is observed. He finds the door locked. The wife
then asks: ‘Where have you been all night? I won’t let you come in now.’
Then her husband entreats her and says, ‘I have brought you property, and
children, and happiness, and everything you desire.’ Then, after some
further parley, the door is opened, and the husband walks in. He is,
however, stopped by a beam which goes across the room, whilst all the
females of the family rush into an inner apartment to the eldest lady of
the place. The man then assumes sulkiness and refuses to advance, when
the repenting wife launches into the following song:—
ORIGINAL:—
_Mù tútè shábilès, wó rajó tolyá._
I of thee glad am, oh Rajah’s presented with tolahs!
_Mù tútè shábilès, wó ashpa panu._
I of thee glad am, oh steed’s rider.
_Mù tútè shábilès, wó tumák ginu._
I of thee glad am, oh gun-wearer. [Evidently a modern interpolation.]
_Mú tútè shábilès, wó kangár ginu._
I of thee glad am, oh sword-wearer.
_Mú tútè shábilès, wó tshapàn banu._
I of thee glad am, oh mantle-wearer.
_Mú tútè shábilès, shá mul dé ginum._
I of thee glad am, pleasure’s price giving I will buy.
_Mú tútè shábilès, wó gúmy tshino._
I of thee glad am, oh corn-heap!
_Shábilès shá mul de ginum._
Rejoicing pleasure’s price giving I will buy.
_Mú tútè shábilès, wó giéy loto._
I of thee glad am, oh ghee-ball.
_Shábilès sha mul de ginum._
Rejoicing pleasure’s price giving I will buy.
TRANSLATION:—
Thou hast made me glad! thou favourite of the Rajah!
Thou hast rejoiced me, oh bold horseman!
I am pleased with thee who so well usest gun and sword!
Thou hast delighted me, oh thou who art invested with a mantle of
honour!
Oh great happiness! I will buy it all by giving pleasure’s price.
Oh thou [nourishment to us] a heap of corn and a store of ghee!
Delighted will I buy it all by giving pleasure’s price!
“Then the husband relents and steps over the partition beam. They all
sit down, dine together, and thus end festivities of the ‘Nôs.’ The
little domestic scene is observed at Gilgit; but it is thought to be
an essential element in the celebration of the day by people whose
ancestors may have been retainers of the Gilgit Raja Azru Shemsher, and
by whom they may have been dismissed to their homes with costly presents.
“The song itself is, however, well known at Gilgit.
“When Azru had safely ascended the throne, he ordered the tyrant’s palace
to be levelled to the ground. The willing peasants, manufacturing spades
of iron, ‘Killi’, flocked to accomplish a grateful task, and sang whilst
demolishing his castle:
ORIGINAL:—
_Kûro téyto Shiri-ga-Badàt djé kuró_
[I am] hard said Shiri and Badatt![14] why hard?
_Demm Singéy Khotó kúro_
Dem Sing’s Khotó [is] hard
_Na tshumáre kille téy ráke phala thèm_
[With] this iron spade thy palace level I do
_Tsháké! túto Shatshó Malika Demm Singéy_
Behold! thou Shatshó Malika Dem Singh’s
_Khotó kuró na tshumare killéyi_
Khotó hard; [with] this iron spade
_Téy rake-ga phalatém, tshaké_
Thy palace very I level, behold!”
TRANSLATION:—
“‘My nature is of a hard metal,’ said Shiri and Badatt. ‘Why
hard? I Khoto, the son of the peasant Dem Singh, am alone
hardy; with this iron spade I raze to the ground thy kingly
house. Behold now, although thou art of race accursed, of
Shatsho Malika, I, Dem Singh’s son, am of hard metal; for with
this iron spade I level thy very palace; look out! look out!’”
During the Nauroz [evidently because it is not a national festival] and
the Eed, none of these national Shîn songs are sung. Eggs are dyed in
different colours and people go about amusing themselves by trying which
eggs are hardest by striking the end of one against the end of another.
The possessor of the hard egg wins the broken one. The women, however,
amuse themselves on those days by tying ropes to trees and swinging
themselves about on them.
_BUJONI = RIDDLES, PROVERBS AND FABLES._
A. RIDDLES.
THE NAVEL.
1. _Tishkóreya ushkúrey halól._
“The perpendicular mountain’s sparrow’s nest.
The body’s sparrow’s hole.”
A STICK.
2. _Méy_ _sazik_ _heyn_, _súreo_ _peréyn_, _bás_ _darre_
my sister is at day [_she_] walks, at night door
_pató_; _búja._[15]
behind; listen!
“Now listen! My sister walks in the day-time and at night stands behind
the door.” As “Sas” “Sazik” also means a stick, ordinarily called
“Kunali” in Astori, the riddle means: “I have a stick which assists me in
walking by day and which I put behind the door at night.”
3. The Gilgitis say “méy káke tré pay; dashtea” = my brother has three
feet; explain now. This means a man’s two legs and a stick.
A RADISH.
4. _Astóri mió dádo dimm dáwa-lók; dáyn sarpa-lók, buja._
My grandfather’s body [is] in Hades; his beard [is in] this
world, [now] explain!
This riddle is explained by “radish” whose body is in the earth and whose
sprouts, compared to a beard, are above the ground. Remarkable above all,
however, is that the unknown future state, referred to in this riddle,
should be called, whether blessed or cursed, “Dawalók” [the place of
Gods] by these nominal Muhammadans. This world is called “Sarpalók,”
= the world of serpents. “Sarpe” is also the name for man. “Lók” is
“place,” but the name by itself is not at present understood by the
Shins.
A HOOKA.
5. _G._ _méy_ DADI _shishédji_ _agár_, _lúpenu_
my father’s mother on her head fire is burning.
The top of the Hooka is the _dadi’s_ or grandmother’s head.
A SWORD.
6. _Tutâng_ _gotéjo_ _rúi_ _nikai_
“Darkness from the house the female demon is coming out,”
viz., “out of the dark sheath the beautiful, but destructive, steel
issues.” It is remarkable that the female Yatsh should be called “Rûi.”
RED PEPPER.
7. _Lólo bakuró shé tshá lá há—búja!_
In the red sheep’s pen white young ones many are—attend!
This refers to the Redpepper husk in which there are many white seeds.
B. PROVERBS.
DOTAGE.
To an old man people say:
8. _Tú_ _djarro_ _môto_ _shûdung_
thou and old brains delivered,
“You are old and have got rid of your senses.”
Old women are very much dreaded and are accused of creating mischief
wherever they go.
DUTIES TO THE AGED.
9. (_G._[16]) _Djuwanie_ _keneru_ _digasus_, _djarvelo_ _betshumus_.
In youth’s time I gave, in old age I demand.
“When young I gave away, now that I am old you should support me.”
A BURNT CHILD, ETC., ETC.
10. _Ek damm agáru dáddo dugúni shang thé!_
Once in fire you have been burnt, a second time take care!
EVIL COMMUNICATIONS, ETC., ETC.
11. _Ek khatsh látshek bilo búdo donate she._
One bad sheep if there be, to the whole flock is an insult
= One rotten sheep spoils the whole flock.
12. _Ek khatsho manújo budote sha_ = _one_ bad man is to _all_ an insult.
ADVICE TO KEEP GOOD COMPANY.
13. A. _Mishto manújo—katshi béyto, to mishto sitshé_
_Katsho manujo—katshi béyto, to katsho sitshe_
When you [who are bad?] are sitting near a good man you learn good things.
When you [who are bad?] are sitting near a bad man you learn bad things.
This proverb is not very intelligible, if literally translated.
DIMMI CON CHI TU PRATTICHI, ETC., ETC.
14. _Tús máte rá: mey shughulo ró hun, mas tute rám: tu ko hanu_ = “Tell
me: my friend is such and such a one, I will tell you who _you_ are.”
DISAPPOINTMENT.
15. _Sháharè kéru gé shing shém thé—konn tshiní tey tshiní téyanú._
“Into the city he went horns to place (acquire), but ears he cut thus he
did. He went to acquire horns and got his ears cut off.”
HOW TO TREAT AN ENEMY.
_Dî dé, putsh kàh_ = “give the daughter and eat the son,” is a
Gilgit proverb with regard to how one ought to treat an enemy. The
recommendation given is: “marry your daughter to your foe and then kill
him,” [by which you get a male’s head which is more valuable than that of
a female.] The Dards have sometimes acted on this maxim in order to lull
the suspicions of their Kashmir enemies.[17]
C. FABLES.
THE WOMAN AND THE HEN.
16. _Eyk tshéekeyn kokói ek asílli; sése sóni thúl (hané) déli;
setshéy-se kokóïte zanmá láo wîi; tulé dù déy thé;
(food, grain) eggs two giving does;
sè ékenu lang bilí; kokói dêr páy, múy._
this one rid got; the hen’s stomach bursting, died.
MORAL.—_Anésey maní aní haní_ = the meaning of this is this:
_Láo_ _arém thé_ _ápejo_ _lang_ _biló_.
Much to gain the little lost becomes.
_Translation._
A woman had a hen; it used to lay one golden egg; the woman thought that
if she gave much food it would lay two eggs; but she lost even the one,
for the hen died, its stomach bursting.
MORAL.—People often lose the little they have by aspiring to more.
17. THE SPARROW AND THE MOUNTAIN.
“A sparrow who tried to kick the mountain himself toppled over.”
_Shunútur-se_ _tshíshe—sáti_ _pájja dem thé_ _náre_ _gó_.
The sparrow with the mountain kicked fall went.
18. THE BAT SUPPORTING THE FIRMAMENT.
The bat is in the habit of sleeping on its back. It is believed to be
very proud. It is supposed to say as it lies down and stretches its legs
towards heaven, “This I do so that when the heavens fall down I may be
able to support them.”
_Tilteò_ _ráte_ _súto—to_ _pey_ _húnte_ _angái—warì_ _theun_;
A bat at night sleeping its legs upwards heaven—ward does;
_angái_ _wáti—to_ _pêy—gì_ _sanarem theun_.
the heavens when falling with my feet uphold I will.
19. “NEVER WALK BEHIND A HORSE OR BEFORE A KING” as you will get kicked
in either case.
_ashpe_ _pataní_ _nè bó_; _rajó_ _mutshanì_ _nè bó_.
horse behind not walk; raja in front not walk.
20. UNION IS STRENGTH.
“A kettle cannot balance itself on one stone; on three, however, it does.”
_Ey pûtsh! èk gutur-yá dêh nè quriyein; tré[18] gútúrey á dek quréyn._
Oh son! one stone on a kettle not stops; three stones on a kettle stop.
The Gilgitis instead of “ya” = “upon” say “dja.”
“Gutur” is, I believe, used for a stone [ordinarily “bàtt”] only in the
above proverb.
21. THE FROG IN A DILEMMA.
“If I speak, the water will rush against my mouth, and if I keep silent I
will die bursting with rage.”
This was said by a frog who was in the water and angry at something that
occurred. If he croaked, he would be drowned by the water rushing down
his throat, and if he did not croak he would burst with suppressed rage.
This saying is often referred to by women when they are angry with their
husbands, who may, perhaps, beat them if they say anything. A frog is
called “manok.”
_Tós_ _thèm—to_ _áze—jya_[19] _wéy_ _bojé_; _né them_
Voice I do—if mouth in water will come; not do,
_to py_ _muos_.
then bursting I will die.
22. THE FOX AND THE UNIVERSE.
When a man threatens a lot of people with impossible menaces, the reply
often is “Don’t act like the fox ‘Lóyn’ who was carried away by the
water.” A fox one day fell into a river: as he swept past the shore
he cried out, “The water is carrying off the universe.” The people on
the banks of the river said, “We can only see a fox whom the river is
drifting down.”
23. THE FOX AND THE POMEGRANATE.
_Lóyn_ _danù_ _né utshàtte_ _somm_ _tshàmm_
The fox the pomegranate not reached on account sour,
_thù_: _tshùrko_ _hanú_.
spitting, sour it is.
“The fox wanted to eat pomegranates: as he could not reach them, he went
to a distance and _biting his lips_ [as “tshàmm” was explained by an
Astori although Gilgitis call it “tshappé,”] spat on the ground, saying,
they are too sour.” I venture to consider the conduct of this fox more
cunning than the one of “sour grapes” memory. His biting his lips and,
in consequence, spitting on the ground, would make his disappointed face
really look as if he had tasted something sour.
_SONGS._
THE GILGIT QUEEN AND THE MOGULS.
1. GILGITI SONG.
Once upon a time a Mogul army came down and surrounded the fort of
Gilgit. At that time Gilgit was governed by a woman, Mirzéy Juwāri[20]
by name. She was the widow of a Rajah supposed to have been of Balti
descent. The Lady seeing herself surrounded by enemies sang:
I. Mirzéy Juwāri = Oh [daughter of] Mirza, Juwāri!
Shakeréy piál; darú = [Thou art a] sugar cup; in the
Dunyá sang taréye = world [thy] light has shone
II. Abi Khānn[21] djālo = Abi Khān [my son] was born
Lamâyi tey! latshār tāro = [I thy mother] am thy sacrifice;
the morning star
Nikāto = has risen
The meaning of this, according to my Gilgiti informant, is: Juwari
laments that “I, the daughter of a brave King, am only a woman, a cup of
pleasures, exposed to dangers from any one who wishes to sip from it. To
my misfortune, my prominent position has brought me enemies. Oh, my dear
son, for whom I would sacrifice myself, I have sacrificed you! Instead of
preserving the Government for you, the morning-star which shines on its
destruction has now risen on you.”
SONG OF DEFIANCE.
2. GILGITI WAR SONG.
In ancient times there was a war between the Rajahs of Hunza and Nagyr.
Muko and Báko were their respective Wazeers. Muko was killed and Báko
sang:
_Gilgiti._
Ala, mardāney, Báko-se: má shos they!
Múko-se: má shos they!
Báko-ga dīn sajjéy
Múko mayáro they
_English._
Hurrah! warriors, Bako [says]: _I_ will do well
Muko [also says] _I_ will do well
And Bako turned out to be the lion
[Whilst] Muko was [its prey], a [mere] Markhōr [the wild
“snake-eating” goat]
[Illustration: GROUP OF NATIVES FROM HUNZA, YASIN, AND NAGYR LISTENING TO
MUSICIANS FROM CHITRÁL AND BADAKHSHÁN.]
LAMENT FOR THE ABSENT WARRIOR BY HIS MOTHER.
3. ANOTHER GILGITI WAR SONG.
_Biyashtëyn náng Kashíru_
A Paradise [is the lot of whoever is struck by] the bullet of Kashiru?
_Góu nélli,[22] áje Sahibe Khann_
He has gone, my child, mother of Sahibe Khann [to the wars].
_Suregga karé wey jill bey?_
And the sun when coming will it shining become?
(When will his return cause the sun again to shine for me?)
_Mutshútshul shong putéye_
Of Mutshutshul[23] the ravine he has conquered
_Híyokto bijéy, lamayi_
Yet my soul is in fear, oh my beloved child, [literally: oh my
sacrifice]
_Ardàm Dolója yujéy_
To snatch [conquer] Doloja[24] is [yet necessary = has yet to be done].
_Translation._
“The bullet of Kashiru sends many to Paradise. He has gone to the wars,
oh my child and mother of Sahib Khan! Will the sun ever shine for me by
his returning? It is true that he has taken by assault the ravine of
Mutshutshul, but yet, oh beloved child, my soul is in fear for his fate,
as the danger has _not_ passed, since the village Doloja yet remains to
be conquered.”
4. THE SHIN SHAMMI SHAH.
OLD NATIONAL SHINA SONG.
_Shammi Shah Shaîtingêy mítojo._
Shammi Shah Shaíting, from his courtyard.
_Djálle_ _tshâye_ _dûloe_ _dên_.
The green fields’ birds promenade they give.
_Nyé_ _tziréye_ _tshayote_ _kóy bijéy_.
They (near) twitter birds who fears?[25]
_Tómi tom_ _shiudóke_ _dên_.
From tree to tree a whistle they give.
_Alldátey_ _pótskeyn_ _mítojo_.
Alldát’s grandson’s from the courtyard.
_Djalle_ _tshaye_ _dúloe_ _dên_.
The green fields birds promenade give.
_Nyé_ _tziréye_ _tshayote_ _kóy bijey_.
They twitter birds who fears?[25]
_Tomi tom_; _shiudôke_ _den_.
From tree to tree; a whistling they give.
Shammi Shah Shaíthing was one of the founders of the Shín rule. His wife,
although she sees her husband surrounded by women anxious to gain his
good graces, rests secure in the knowledge of his affections belonging
to her and of her being the mother of his children. She, therefore,
ridicules the pretensions of her rivals, who, she fancies, will, at the
utmost, only have a temporary success. In the above still preserved song
she says, with a serene confidence, not shared by _Indian_ wives.
_Translation._
“In the very courtyard of Shammi Sha Shaîting.
“The little birds of the field flutter gaily about.
“Hear how they twitter; yet, who would fear little birds,
“That fly from tree to tree giving [instead of lasting love] a
gay whistle?
“In the very courtyards of Alldat’s grandson these birds flutter
gaily about, yet who would fear them?
“Hear how they twitter, etc., etc., etc.
5. A WOMAN’S SONG (GILGITI).
[THE DESERTED WIFE AND THE FAITHLESS HUSBAND.]
_The Wife_:
_Mey_ _kukúri_ _Patan_ _gayta_ _béyto_ _djék tòn_?
My kukuri Pathán going he sat what am I to do?
_Pípi_ _batzísse_ _garáo_ _dên_; _múso tshûsh_.
Aunt! from the family he absence has given; I cocoon.