KABUL AND ITS BAZAARS
[Illustration: THE FAMOUS CAGE ON THE SUMMIT OF THE LATABAND PASS]
The bazaars of Kabul are quite unworthy of the capital, but radical
improvement in their character could only be made by a complete
reconstruction of the city. Here and there new ones have been built,
Habib Ullah himself having erected several at his own expense, but the
principle of construction, adopted at the time of the building of the
city, is the great stumbling block to any extensive alterations. The
narrowness of the streets, many of which are mere alleys, gives rise
to perpetual congestion; while, in consequence of their contracted
character, they are always dirty and overloaded with the refuse of the
houses, more particularly in winter when they are blocked with the
snow, which is swept from the roofs. Of the several bazaars of the
city,[42] the three principal, running irregularly parallel to each
other, are the Shor Bazar, the Erg Bazar, and the Darwaza Lahori Bazar.
The former extends east and west from the Bala Hissar to the Ziarat
Baba Khudi, a distance of little more than three-quarters of a mile.
The latter, stretching from the Darwaza Lahori, passes through the
centre of the wood market and terminates at the New Bridge. The Erg
Bazar crosses the town and communicates with the workshops. The western
portion of the Darwaza Lahori Bazar was the site of the Char Chata,
at one time undoubtedly the most magnificent bazaar in Afghanistan.
The structure, ascribed to Ali Mardan Khan, whose name is immortal
in these countries, was handsomely laid out and highly embellished
with paintings. Four covered arcades, of equal length and dimensions,
were separated from each other by open squares, originally provided
with wells and fountains. The entire fabric was destroyed in October
1842 by General Pollock, as retribution for the murder of Sir William
Macnaghten and the indignities offered to his remains.
[Illustration: WEIGHING WOOD IN THE BAZAAR]
The Nakush Bazar, or cattle market, is situated north of the Kabul
river and west of the Pul-i-Kishti in the Indarabi quarter. The Mandi
Kalan and the Mandi Shahzada, the chief grain bazaars, lie in the
Tandur Sazi quarter, between the Shor Bazar and the Darwaza Lahori. The
Shikarpuri quarter, adjoining the Pul-i-Kishti on the right bank of
the river, is the fruit market. Here are collected the various fruits
for which the capital of Afghanistan is so famous, the exhibition of
grapes, apples, apricots and pears becoming at once the glory of the
bazaars. Melons are missing from this bazaar, as this important branch
of the fruit trade of Afghanistan is conducted in the Mandi Kalan. Near
to the fruit bazaar are the wood and charcoal markets, each section of
trade possessing its particular locality and its special marketplace.
In this way there is a shoe bazaar, a meat market, a vegetable market,
a copper bazaar, silk bazaar and certain central marts where arms,
tobacco, furs, medicines and cloth are sold. In the boot bazaar there
are a number of Anglo-Indian importations and no less a quantity from
Russia. The native shoes are made from leather which is manufactured
in Kabul at the Amir’s factory--articles of local manufacture being
put up as a rule upon the premises where they are sold. The more
important merchants possess accommodation beneath their shops, where
craftsmen, whose special industry is allied with the business in the
premises above them, are employed. These underground rooms are so small
that the men at work are compelled to crouch over their knees, while
customers, who bring articles for repair, sit in the street. In the
copper bazaar, where domestic utensils are to be found, there is the
ceaseless tapping of countless hammers, as the men, assisted by boys
who ply the bellows or feed the furnace with charcoal, wield their
tools upon long-necked vases, hubble-bubbles, kettles, cooking pots,
water-bottles with delicate handles and graceful spouts, stoves, plates
and copper boxes of all shapes and sizes. These workers in metals,
whether they are the ironmongers or silversmiths, smelters of copper
or the moulders of brass, are worthy of their hire, and bring to their
labours an extraordinary patience and exactitude. The silversmiths
are, perhaps, the most wonderful craftsmen, although the men who trace
fantastic designs upon metal vessels with blunt instruments are not to
be despised. From early morning, without cessation until the heat of
the mid-day hours makes work impossible, they bend over their tasks,
actively working their pliers, tweezers and hammers as they fashion
ear-rings, bracelets or graven ewers. The business, transacted at these
stalls, seems out of proportion with the labour involved, as sales are
arranged between the merchant and his customers only after many days of
protracted dealing.
The method of barter is always the same in the East. Customers sit
down by the side of the merchant, examining and asking the value
of his goods, praising certain pieces and decrying others, until
conversation has worked round to the article which it is desired to
buy. Ten times the price will be asked at first, perhaps haggled over
with all sincerity, until, as the would-be purchaser rises to leave,
a few rupees will be knocked off the figure which the vendor has been
demanding. It is then prudent to leave, returning some other day to
begin over again. The hours spent in an Oriental bazaar are of such
supreme interest that they are sacrificed very willingly and are not
easily forgotten. The setting of the scene is romantic, while the life
of the city passes in endless, kaleidoscopic changes of character, of
costume and of men and beasts. It is never wise to hurry transactions
conducted amid such environment. Time is of no value to the merchant,
who regards the overtures with indifference. He may hope that
ultimately his customer will become his patron, but he would never show
his satisfaction nor lose an opportunity to drive a haggling bargain.
Around the shops there are always groups of idle but profoundly
interested spectators. Some one ascertains the price the worker is
paid; another inquires of the merchant the amount he will receive for
it; and, in the hope of extracting a commission from the proprietor of
the shop or his purchaser, all are eager to advise the customer upon
the merits of the article he may have chosen or the sum he may have
offered.
In the silk and cotton bazaar there is equally the press and bustle
of an active trade, a continuous passing of gaily-decked customers
and busy traders--from India with caravans of silk, from Turkestan
with bales of printed cottons, plain calicoes and other articles of
Russian manufacture, merchants and itinerant traders from the most
distant parts of Afghanistan, from Persia and from Kashgar. There is,
too, a wonderful blaze of colour in the silk stalls, while the display
of goods in the cotton shops reveals a various assortment of English
clothing--cotton and merino vests, men’s shirts, drawers and socks--and
a variety of coloured waistbands, a weird collection of ties and some
really startling handkerchiefs from India. These stalls, whether their
effects are imported from India or from Turkestan, are mostly in
the keeping of Hindus, who transact a very profitable business with
their Afghan masters. Nevertheless, long intercourse with Afghanistan
has quite crushed the Hindu, obliterating all trace of his original
individuality, and emphasising his inborn humility and lack of spirit.
In Kabul the Hindus pay a poll tax and wear turbans, which may be only
red or yellow--a similar rule prevailing in Kandahar. Formerly they
affected the red, the blue lungi, which is prohibited to them, being
favoured by the Afghans. Similar indications of prosperity may be found
in the skin bazaar, where the furriers are engaged in making the fur
coats for which Kabul has become famous. Here there are several kinds
of expensive furs such as marten, a variety of red fox, squirrel, wild
cat and astrakhan. Over the latter fur the Amir exercises a monopoly.
The cheaper kinds are put to numerous purposes, figuring as lining
for cloaks, hats and high boots of the Russian and Turcoman pattern.
Many of the fur caps are costly in production and elaborate in design.
Cut from a piece of velvet, trimmed with fur and heavily embroidered
with gold thread from Benares, they are sold in the Kabul bazaars only
to the richest classes, becoming, as a rule, a finishing touch to a
costume which, on the score of colour effect, will leave little to be
desired.
The character of the costume adopted by the average Afghan depends,
in a certain measure, upon whether he is a hillsman or one who is
accustomed to town-life. If he possess merely a casual acquaintanceship
with the life of the towns, coming to them from some small village or
in charge of a trading caravan from the border, his costume is simple
although effective. Probably he is a fine-looking man: tall, with a
long, blue-black beard; his head may be shaven, or his long hair may
hang in ringlets over his shoulders. He will wear a small unembroidered
skull-cap and wound round it a blue, coarse, cotton _lungi_. A loose
vest, caught at the waist by the ample folds of a _cummerbund_, will
reach the knees; and tucked within these folds there will be pistols
and an array of formidable knives. His drawers of cotton and reaching
only a little below the knees are very baggy. Round his shoulders there
will be thrown carelessly, but with conspicuous grace, a heavy blue
cotton shawl; his feet will be ornamented by leather sandals with high
curving toes.
The dress of a man of the better classes differs from that adopted by
the hillsman. He then wears _tom-bons_ or pyjamas, gathered in at the
waist and falling in tapering folds from the hip to the ankle, where
they fit closely. The native shoes will be worn without socks, unless
the wearer is wealthy. An embroidered _piran_ or chemise falls over the
pyjamas nearly to the knees, and a waistcoat, reaching a little below
the waist, with long sleeves and a slit at the hip, is also affected.
The costume is completed by a loose robe. The waistcoat is of velvet
or cloth, quilted and generally gold embroidered. The coat is of thin
native cloth. The Kabul man-about-town usually amplifies the native
costume with European innovations; as a rule the higher he rises in the
social scale the more Europeanised he becomes in costume.
[Illustration: PLAYGROUND OF AMIR’S SCHOOL, KABUL]
Nevertheless, the readiness to follow certain European fashions depends
solely upon the personal influence of the Amir, although the custom
prevails more generally in Kabul than in many parts of India. European
weapons are, of course, acquired by all who can afford them; but the
earliest and the most striking change of dress is the replacement of
the _cummerbund_ by a belt, with a brass or silver buckle and decorated
with two labels--“Made in Germany” and “God Bless the Happy Home.” Upon
more serious grounds the wisdom of this innovation may be questioned,
since the climate of Afghanistan is subject to such great variations of
temperature that the _cummerbund_ affords excellent protection to the
abdominal region. The purchase of socks and “foreign style” coat or,
better still, a discarded uniform follows, while patent leather button
boots are considered to give a nice, dressy appearance to the bareness
of the leg. Trousers are not general in any degree, although they
are affected among the upper classes and also in Court and military
circles. They are made quite loose and are put on over the native
pyjamas. In spite of the popularity which foreign dress has achieved,
it is always discarded in the privacy of the family. While nothing
affords Habib Ullah so much pleasure as showing himself in European
costume in public, nothing will induce him to wear Western clothes
once the doors of his palace have closed upon him and he can recline
at his ease amid well-placed cushions. His disapproval of ostentatious
habiliment was revealed at the Nauroz festival in 1903, when he
ordained that all good Mahommedans of the upper classes should eschew
braid, gold lace and embroidered shoes. He also enjoined them to wear
trousers and to keep the feet and ankles bare. Hindus were ordered to
wear yellow turbans and to encircle the waist with a cord as a mark of
distinction and humility.
The attire adopted for ordinary purposes differs in a very considerable
degree from that worn by a Court attendant. Regulation Court costume
comprises a black cloth coat, vest and trousers, circular astrakhan
hat, and white collar with a black necktie. Any one who wishes to
attend at the palace or to be present at a Durbar, must wear this
dress, which is cut to a special pattern. Military officers wear their
uniform. On State occasions the Amir himself is resplendent in a
scarlet coat, richly embroidered with gold lace, white cloth trousers
and white gloves. For headgear he has an astrakhan hat decorated with
a large diamond star,--the costume being completed by a gold belt with
jewelled buckle, sword and gold shoulder-straps surmounted by a diamond
insignia. In semi-state dress Habib Ullah puts himself into a black
uniform, faced with several revers of braid and having deep, astrakhan
cuffs, black cloth trousers braided, and patent leather knee-boots. The
sleeves, cap, sword and shoulder-straps are the same as in full dress.
At other times the Amir wears the ordinary garb of an English gentleman
and greatly dislikes any exaggerated display of jewellery, believing
that simplicity is not only desirable but in accord with the tenets of
the Mahommedan religion. In furtherance of that view he has restricted
the wearing of jewellery among men to signet rings and prohibited
altogether the gaudy silk handkerchiefs, which it had been the fashion
to display about the shoulders. It is difficult for the Afghans to
subdue their passion for ostentation. Friday, a day which corresponds
with our Sunday, is the great festival of the Afghan. This weekly
holiday commences with a visit to the baths and a brief call at the
mosque, after which the entire family, arrayed in its best, proceeds
to take the air. There are many gardens of a sort in Kabul; and each is
thronged by people, who sit about the pathways bartering for bunches
of fruit and trays of sweetmeats, or loll with rapt attention around
the perch of some singing-bird. Every man of consequence is attended by
slaves bearing his pipe, the cage of his pet songster, sweetmeats and
fruit, the party coming to a halt in some secluded spot where, lying
at ease, receiving and returning the salutations of his friends, he
listens to the notes of his favourite bird.
[Illustration: AFGHAN WOMEN]
The indoor costume of an Afghan woman is no less picturesque than that
of her lord and master. Even to a plain and awkward woman it imparts
some appearance of grace. The _piran_ extends from the throat to just
above the ankles, with sleeves that reach to the wrist. It is of cloth
of gold, velvet, silk, cashmere or calico, and in shape not unlike our
own Princess robe. Beneath this are the _tom-bons_, very similar to the
garment worn by men.[43] These may be of cloth of gold, silk, cashmere
or calico; they are finished off at the ankles by a fringe of diamonds,
gold or silver. A round cap, worked all over with gold thread, so that
it looks like gold cloth, is fitted closely to the back of the head.
The hair, parted in the centre, is done up in tiny braids, which are
caught in a black silk embroidered bag, worn underneath the gold cap,
but hanging down the back to below the waist. Married women wear a
fringe of hair, often curled, on either side of the face. Descending
from the top of the head to the hem of the _piran_, leaving the face
uncovered, is the gracefully-draped _chadar_--a large wrapping of
finest muslin, filmy gauze, or delicately tinted chiffon. Black hair is
in vogue among the belles of the harem; if their locks reveal any shade
of fairness or show indications of turning grey the vain creatures,
adopting the custom of their Western sisters, at once dye them.
Like all their sex, too, they delight in jewellery and conspicuous
ornaments, and a considerable portion of their savings is expended upon
the purchase of necklaces, ear-rings and bracelets. All who can afford
it wear flowers just above the right ear, while they also indulge in
the use of cosmetics. Paint and powder, rouge for the lips and the
blackening pencil for eyebrows and eyelashes are the adventitious aids
to whatever natural charms they may possess.
Proud of their prepossessing qualities, the women of Afghanistan
have exploited their charms so much that it was left to Habib Ullah
to impose a check upon the increasing attractiveness of the street
costume of the feminine portion of his subjects. One day, in the
spring of 1903, to the unspeakable dismay of many pretty women and
of all young girls, he issued orders, changing the white _burka_,
which, although covering the head and figure and leaving a latticed
insertion before the face, was in a measure attractive. Thereafter
these white street robes were to be dyed kharki for Mahommedan women,
red or mustard-yellow for Hindu women and slate colour for other women.
Disobedience of this law was threatened with a fine of fifty rupees,
while its requirements had to be fulfilled within fourteen days.
Unhappily, by this change an attractive feature in the life of the city
has disappeared, the lamentable hues enforced upon the poor ladies
by the Amir’s edict emphasising the dirt and discomfort of the Kabul
streets.
In Afghanistan, as in all Mahommedan countries, the women lead a very
secluded life, seldom venturing into the streets. The conditions
of their married life are unfortunate, since the religion of the
Afghan permits him to possess four wives, while no restrictions are
imposed upon the number of concubines that he may support. This law
in regard to wives is broken at will; and, while plurality of wives
may be conducive to the satisfaction of the husband, it is unnecessary
to say that the practice is not in favour among the women, who, in
this matter, incline their hearts after the customs of the West.
Moreover, women are not the sole companions of their husbands, for in
Afghanistan, as in most Oriental countries, the small, but comely, boy
is the more frequent intimate of their masters. At Court and in the
households of the several princes this characteristic feature of the
East may be observed, the existence of these boys being accepted by the
priests, who themselves indulge in this most peculiar vice.
[Illustration: A SAINT’S TOMB]
In spite of their position, women do contrive to play an important
part in the life of the country and, in a measure, help to keep alive
many of the old superstitions of the people, while their passionate
credulity no doubt exercises an influence over the feelings of their
husbands. Their strongest superstition perhaps attaches to the potency
of the frog as a love charm. Women, especially in the harem of the Amir
where jealousy is supreme, resort constantly to this enchantment to
improve their positions. The mode of procedure is as follows: two frogs
are tied back to back. A black heart is then painted upon the bull
frog, while the head of the cow is similarly ornamented. The pair are
then baked alive and the remains reduced to powder, which, sprinkled
upon some dear friend, is supposed to cause her to lose the favour of
her husband and to give place to the rival. This spell is employed so
frequently even among the lowest classes that there is probably no
household in which recourse to it is not made every few days. In the
harem of the palace the chief queen keeps a slave boy whose sole duty
it is to provide the frogs necessary for the preparation. It is the
invariable experience of native ladies, when calling upon the queen, to
find that they have been surreptitiously powdered with it at the hands
of some discreet attendant.
Another legend, implicitly accepted by the women of Afghanistan, is
associated with the Lata Bund Davan or Rag Bound Pass. It ordains that
they will have healthy children, and gain favour in the eyes of their
lords, if they tie a piece of cloth to the bushes in the Rag Bound
Pass. Certain prescribed prayers, of course, accompany the ceremony,
the summit of the pass presenting an extraordinary aspect from the
fluttering rags, and streamers of cotton, calico and cloth which have
been secured there.
Among men a bullet which has been through a human body is valued very
highly, the supernatural powers of such a charm finding immediate
acceptance with the Amir. Whenever they are extracted from any
patient in the Kabul hospitals, Habib Ullah secures possession of the
coveted relic to the great grief of its owner who, equally with him,
supports the view that such a bullet acts as a preservative of life.
Unfortunately, complaint is fruitless; the man who would be bold enough
to seek the restoration of his property might find himself condemned to
imprisonment or execution.
There is little doubt that the gross superstition prevailing in the
country is the direct effect of its religious bigotry. Afghanistan,
if Turkey be excepted, is the most powerful Mahommedan country in the
world, and religion exercises a deciding voice in its affairs. The
real rulers of the people are the priests, whether the wise men who
have made the pilgrimage to Mecca, or merely the wandering _fakirs_
whose fanatical tendencies are so easily aroused. The great division
of the State lies between the two religious sects, the Sunni and the
Shiah Mahommedans. In the main, Afghans are Sunni; while the Persians,
the Hazaras, the Kizzilbashes of Kabul and the Turis of the Kurram
border, are Shiahs. The Kafirs of Kafiristan are pagan. Between these
two sects there exists an envenomed feud which is by no means confined
to Afghanistan, similar contempt, and an equal undying hatred against
the other, distinguishing the partisans of either sect wherever they
may meet. In Afghanistan Habib Ullah is the leader of the Sunnis, but
his power is purely nominal; the real leader is Nasr Ullah Khan. The
Amir of Kabul recently requested the priesthood to pronounce formally
upon the question as to what amount of tolerance should be shown to
the Shiahs in Afghanistan. The decision formulated was that the Sunni
religion was the one true Faith which should be recognised by his
Highness as “King of Islam.” Accordingly all ceremonial observances of
the Shiahs in Kabul have been stopped and similar action is likely to
be taken elsewhere. It is seen, however, that the services of the Hindu
colony cannot be dispensed with, as its leading members have a good
deal to say in matters of finance and trade, while the Kizzilbashes
(of Persian origin) are also a thrifty community in Kabul. It has
therefore been ordered that their places of worship are to be 5 feet
lower than the Sunni mosques, and existing buildings are to be altered
accordingly. Since the Shiahs are not numerous enough to give any
political trouble they will probably conform to the orders issued,
which naturally met with the immediate approval of the Sunnis.
Ramasan, the period corresponding with our Lent, is very strictly
observed. It continues throughout the Moslem world for one lunar month
and in Kabul the Amir, his Court and his subjects deny themselves most
strictly. Gun-fire at dawn--from which time no one is allowed to eat,
to drink, or to smoke--gives the signal. It terminates at sunset, when
just previous to evening gun-fire the activity round the provision
stalls is tremendous, the spectacle of a vast concourse simultaneously
preparing to eat anywhere and everywhere--in the palace, in the
mansions of the wealthy, in the hovels of the poor, in the crowded
street--no matter what any may be doing, as the signal breaks, being
very singular. Between gun-fire at dusk and gun-fire at dawn two meals
are partaken, after which the wise make day into night, retiring to
their couches to wait for the hour when they prepare to feed again. The
termination of the fast is celebrated by the firing of guns, general
feasting and rejoicing, while the following day is observed as the
Id--the great festival of the Mahommedan calendar. On this day the Amir
and his Court proceed in full state to the Idgah Mosque, when prayers
are celebrated by Nasr Ullah in person, the service being followed by
a public Durbar held in the Salaam Khana where Habib Ullah meets his
people.
Four days are annually set apart for religious celebrations in
Afghanistan. These comprise two Id festivals, one immediately following
Ramasan, the other two months and ten days later; the third, the Barat
festival, takes place forty-five days before Ramasan. The fourth
event is Nauroz or New Year which falls invariably upon March 21.
Abdur Rahman created a fifth festival, observed upon 28th of Asad, in
remembrance of the day when confirmation of his title “The Light of the
Nation and Religion” was received from all the centres of Afghanistan.
Priestly influence in Afghanistan is anything but beneficial. The
priests impose upon the credulity of the people, concealing their
actual worthlessness by a continuous assumption of godliness which they
do not really practise. Their power is opposed to foreign development,
since any raising of the veil about the borders of Afghanistan would
deal a grievous blow to their position. Habib Ullah is completely
subjugated to their will, and his brother, Nasr Ullah Khan, imbibes
his anti-foreign prejudices from their bigoted teachings. At once a
curse and a power in the land, they are the most enduring menace to
our influence which the country contains. As a religion Mahommedanism
exacts constant adoration of the qualities of God. The word Allah in
a variety of intonations, or the phrase “God knows,” recur without
cessation to the lips of every devout follower of the Prophet. All
correspondence of an official or private character also addresses
itself in the first place to the Supreme Deity--letters beginning
with the phrase “In the name of God” and closing with the farewell
salutation, “With the will of God,” or “In the hands of God.” This
peculiarity quite fails to arouse sentiments of very great depth among
the great mass of the Afghans, although the western areas frequently
develop a spirit of ghazidom, under pressure of which feeling and
excitement become intense.
Religion is allied with the practice of medicine and the pursuit of
learning in Afghanistan, although in respect of education no settled
procedure has been adopted. Upon occasion Abdur Rahman gave expression
to his intention of founding a native university in Kabul, and Habib
Ullah in 1904 actually imported from India five Mahommedan graduates
from Lahore College for the purpose of founding a college for the
education of the sons of Afghan nobles. The plan raised the hostility
of the priests and was abandoned. At present the Amir contemplates the
erection of a military academy. Unhappily the roads round Kabul are
paved with good intentions, and the educational system of Afghanistan
has made no advance upon the native principle of oral teaching. There
are no schools or colleges under European supervision similar to those
which exist in other Eastern countries, and the young idea is only
trained to read Persian, to quote extensively from the Koran, to write,
to shoot and to ride. Nothing further is desired by the priests, since
it is their aim to maintain their authority unimpaired by extraneous
suggestion.
[Illustration: THE BALA HISSAR, KABUL]
The priests exert in a measure a two-fold power. In the villages of the
countryside it is the local mullah who drives into the dull wits of
his audience the rudiments of reading, writing, and religion. At the
same time, in addition to teaching the countryside he professes to heal
it, although attempts have been made from time to time to establish in
Kabul European control in medical matters. But the Court is suspicious;
and, while Abdur Rahman supported in theory the introduction of
improved medical knowledge, enlisting in March 1889 Mr. J. A. Gray as
his private surgeon, he was in practice opposed to its acceptance.
Nevertheless, under the supervision of various distinguished people
attempts have been made to instruct native doctors in the art of
vaccination and in simple dispensing; while, in 1894, Miss Lillias
Hamilton opened an hospital in Kabul. At their instigation, too,
military hospitals, placed in the charge of native druggists who were
familiarised with Western ideas, were started. Popular prejudices
prevail so strongly in the capital, that no great success has attended
these efforts, and the medical arrangements of Afghanistan have
remained under the control of the native professors of the healing art,
save for those spasmodic interruptions which have occurred when more
competent authorities were summoned to Kabul from India by the Amir.
Miss Lillias Hamilton spent three years at the Court of Abdur Rahman,
the cause of her becoming medical attendant to the Amir being somewhat
curious. Abdur Rahman, observing the good effect that association with
English gentlemen had on the men folk of his country, conceived the
brilliant idea of providing an example for Afghan women by obtaining
the presence of an English lady. On the announcement being made that
a lady was required merely to be entertained as a visitor for six
months at the Amir’s Court Miss Hamilton applied for the post, and was
accepted. Her appointment as physician was due to the fact that the
Amir fell ill during her visit, and wisely availed himself of the aid
of the only qualified medical practitioner in the country. Miss Lillias
Hamilton always described the late Amir as a man of simple mind, who
was nevertheless possessed of a progressive spirit. On being asked why
he entertained a friendly feeling towards Great Britain, the Amir said:
“If I were to tell you that it is because I love the
British you would not believe me, so I will say that it
is because it suits my policy. Russia is my geographical
enemy, who would seize my country if she could, because it
is on her route to a sunny sea and a fertile country from
which she could get supplies, but I have nothing to fear
from Great Britain.”
This charming and well-known physician relates several characteristic
anecdotes of the late monarch, of which one is reproduced here. After
an eclipse of the sun Abdur Rahman said to Miss Hamilton:
“You think yourself a clever woman, but you could not
explain that phenomenon so simply that a child could
understand it.”
Miss Hamilton assured him that she could, and proceeded to do so with
the aid of a candle and an orange. In the evening when, according to
his custom, Abdur Rahman held a reception, he told his people that they
were all very stupid and that he was sure not one of them could explain
the eclipse. Many wild suggestions were made, until the Amir attempted
to give the demonstration that Miss Hamilton had shown him. Since she
kindly came to his assistance it went off so successfully that the
company were deeply impressed with the Amir’s wisdom.
Multitudes of ailing people flocked to Miss Hamilton for advice, some
of them sleeping outside her hospital all night in order to be attended
to the first thing in the morning. This lady doctor was also the first
to introduce the Western system of vaccination into Afghanistan, where
almost the greatest scourge is small-pox, and where the Amir does not
allow conscientious objectors!
As one foreign physician has left Kabul and another has taken his
place, the newcomer has found that the hospital buildings of his
predecessor have become in the interval the premises of a school, a
depôt for military stores, or have fallen altogether into ruin. The
establishment which has served longest as an hospital was built for
that purpose by Nasr Ullah Khan in compliment to Mrs. Daly, who was so
long associated with Miss Hamilton as medical adviser to the harem.
It contained 100 beds. This building is now a magazine for artillery
stores, while a second, which filled a similar purpose under Dr. Gray,
is now a school. During the eight years in which Mrs. Daly was engaged
in medical work in Afghanistan she held the appointment of private
physician to Abdur Rahman’s queen, Bibi Halima, besides filling the
post of medical adviser to the Kabul Government. Mrs. Daly has stated
that between three hundred to five hundred patients daily visited her,
and that, while very interested in her work, she was sorely harassed by
the unceasing espionage of which she was the very conscious victim. The
high opinion which the Government of Afghanistan formed of Mrs. Daly’s
services is aptly illustrated by a testimonial from Habib Ullah, which
was presented to her in the autumn of 1902. It ran:
IN THE NAME OF GOD.
I myself certify that Mrs. Kate Daly ranks above all people
in her zeal for the work and in her attendance to patients.
I am pleased with her services, and the treatment of my two
daughters; of the workmen in the factories that were so
seriously injured, and of my subjects in general whom she
treats from day to day.
HABIB ULLAH,
_Amir of Afghanistan_.
_September 20, 1902._
In the following year, 1903, the European residents of Kabul subscribed
through a committee of three to an expression of gratitude to Mrs. Daly
in the following terms:
KABUL, _November 20, 1903_.
The European residents of Kabul have much pleasure in
presenting this testimonial to Mrs. Kate Daly, as an
expression of gratitude for the medical services rendered
us and admiration of the successful medical and surgical
work she has carried out during the past eight years,
particularly during the epidemics of cholera, small-pox,
etc.; when her devotion to her work, self-denial, and
untiring energy won her the respect of all here. She
carries with her our sincere wishes for her future welfare
and success.
FRANK A. MARTIN, Engineer to the Afghan Government.
G. FLEISCHER, Manager of Arms Department H. M. The Amir’s
Workshops.
ERNEST T. THORNTON, Manager of Tanneries, Kabul.
There are several degrees of native “practitioners.” There is first
the class who professes to dress wounds and ulcers, to set fractures
and to probe for bullets. These men have no ability and very little
real knowledge of their work. They are quite ignorant of anatomy.
The mischief perpetrated by these “dressers,” as they are called,
is equalled by the class who practise the art of surgery and are
described as “barbers.” These men are specialists in the extraction of
teeth, and in “bleeding”--a cure used equally for liver complaints,
fevers, indigestion, rheumatism, and gout. In addition to these two
there is a third expert, the oculist, who, like his colleagues in the
previous classes, is entirely deficient in any knowledge of his work.
These three medical authorities are distinct from the _hakims_, who
practise as physicians simply. These latter do not use the knife or
even have recourse to bleeding. Their principal method of treatment,
which is without pathological relation to cause and effect and lacks
recognition of the malady from which the sick may be suffering, is
by the administration of purgatives, in the healing properties of
which they place great faith. They provide for their own existence
by preying upon the superstitions and credulity of the public. These
four classes--dressers, barbers, oculists and _hakims_ are responsible
for at least 70 per cent. of the annual death-roll of the city. From
time to time, particularly under the _régime_ of Dr. Gray, energetic
attempts were made to combat these evils; in place of these so-called
curative remedies, courses of elementary instruction in the art of
medicine, in the science of physiology and in anatomy were suggested.
These schemes were entirely fruitless and aroused an actively hostile
and violent propaganda, which was directed against the foreign
physicians.
[Illustration: REMAINS OF THE ROBERTS BASTION AT SHIRPUR]
Unfortunately, ministrations of European medical officers in Kabul
are handicapped very seriously by the injudicious liberty of practice
which is allowed to any wandering hospital assistant who, after a few
months’ casual acquaintance with some Indian hospital, sets up in the
Afghan capital. These men, in whom a little learning is as dangerous
as the more complete ignorance of the Afghan self-appointed leech, use
foreign medicines without distinguishing the properties of the several
ingredients. It is not to be supposed that the Afghan doctor fails to
make capital out of the repeated failures of the Hindustani quack;
and, as the _hakim_ finds his patients among the better classes of the
residents, the prejudice, emanating from his unceasing denunciation
of the methods of foreign practitioners, is stronger among the upper
ranks of Kabul society than among the very poor. It is, indeed, among
the latter that lively appreciation of the skill and experience of the
foreign physicians is found. The ignorant, ill-kempt Afghan, tempted
by the promise of free rations and treatment, has sufficient raw
intelligence to discard the remedies of his own doctors and to consult
the foreigner, even, upon occasion, placing such faith in him that he
will swallow a week’s medicine in a single draught.
The most recent medical attendant to the Amir is Major Cleveland, one
of the leading authorities of his rank in India, and selected specially
for service in Afghanistan by the Government of India at the direct
invitation of Habib Ullah. A more suitable candidate for the post it
would be difficult to find. Aside from his wide experience of natives,
he is a distinguished linguist, speaking French, German, Persian,
Pushtu and Hindustani with fluency. It may be added, too, that modesty
is his most distinguishing characteristic and that he knows nothing
of this reference to his abilities. The full list of those whose
medical services have been retained by the Amir from time to time is
as follows: Mr. O’Meara, dentist, 1887; Mr. J. A. Gray, surgeon, 1889;
Miss Lillias Hamilton, physician, 1894; Mrs. K. Daly, who, in 1895,
accompanied Miss Hamilton as assistant when that lady returned to Kabul
with Nasr Ullah Khan, after his visit to England; Major Cleveland, who
took up the duties of physician to the Amir in 1904, and the Misses
Brown, who, in 1904, replaced Mrs. Daly. In addition to these there
have been numerous technical advisers: Sir Salter Pyne, Sir Acquin
Martin, Monsieur Jerome, Messrs. McDermot, Cameron, Thornton, Clements,
Fleischer, Middleton, Stewart, Walter, Grant, Donovan, Edwards, Tasker,
Riches, F. Martin, Finlayson and others who, each and every one, have
added to the dignity and prestige of the white races in Afghanistan by
their devoted and unceasing service at the Court of the Amir. Their
duties have not always been rewarded, and at certain times the Amir
has done without the services of any European medical adviser. In this
direction Major Cleveland followed upon Dr. Gray, but the interval,
which was a wide one, was filled by Miss Hamilton and, at a later
date, by Mrs. Daly. Further gaps ensued when the retirement of Mrs.
Daly followed the withdrawal of Miss Hamilton, who now has set up in
practice in this country. In the interval Abdur Rahman entrusted his
health to the scanty knowledge of an Indian hospital assistant, whose
ignorance was as profound as the superstitions of the Amir and his
successor were unyielding. The crisis came with the injury to Habib
Ullah’s hand: it was because of the speedy relief which Major Bird
brought to the august sufferer that the Amir reconsidered his absurd
objections and applied to Lord Curzon for the services of two lady
doctors, in addition to those of a physician.
This subject has always received close consideration at the hands
of the Government of India, and there should not be any insuperable
difficulties in the way of arranging that an Indian medical staff
should be permanently established in Kabul. A doctor is practically
always safe, even among the most fanatical tribes beyond our
border-line. A few successful operations, even though they are of the
simplest order, make him the friend of the people. His fame rapidly
spreads and patients come from long distances to visit him. No one dare
interfere with him, and not even the jealousy of the local _hakims_ can
render his position altogether precarious. In a big city like Kabul,
the headquarters of the Afghan Court, the conditions are somewhat
different. Admittedly Doctor Gray, who was physician to Abdur Rahman
for several years, had no easy task to discharge. His experiences show
that he was often driven to the verge of exasperation by the intrigues
of his native rivals. But a Court physician in a semi-civilised
country will always have his detractors and he can only confound them
by pointing to the success gained by his treatment. In future if any
medical mission were stationed in Kabul they should not be attached to
the personal retinue of the Amir, but should have their headquarters
in a public hospital, which his Highness should provide for them and
all classes of the people should be able to avail themselves of their
knowledge and skill. Their time should not be wasted by frequent
summonses to the palace at all hours of the day and night, with the
inevitable long delays in ante-rooms; they should rather be busily
engaged with the common run of patients of whom there would certainly
be no lack. There is a very wide field open for the skilled surgeon,
and if the Amir is in earnest in desiring the services of medical
officers in his capital, they might ultimately be welcomed by every
class of the population.
The Europeans, who have found employment in the service of Afghanistan,
have belonged to many trades. The majority, in some way or another
associated with the Ordnance Department of the Amir’s Government,
have supervised the different branches of the magnificent arsenal
with which the late Amir equipped his capital. Lately, there have
been difficulties over the fuel question, the great demands for fuel
made by the works having caused a fuel famine in the Kabul district.
Habib Ullah proposes to surmount this problem by developing certain
coal deposits which have been located in Afghan Turkestan, and through
an electric power installation for the workshops. Tentative attempts
in this direction have been in hand since 1903, when the fuel bill
was represented by eight lakhs of Kabuli rupees. Snider and Martini
rifles; Hotchkiss, Gatling and field guns; swords, sabres and knives;
ammunition; transport carts; bits, bridles and saddles; boots and
uniforms, are all turned out from the Kabul works, twenty-five rifles
per diem, two guns and 20,000 rounds of Martini ammunition per week
being the estimated capacity of the factories. The workshops, the
growth of the first fifteen years of Abdur Rahman’s reign, were due
solely to the initiative of the late Amir, assisted by Sir Salter
Pyne. This well-known engineer was personally responsible for their
introduction, besides doing much to familiarise the Afghans with the
mechanical implements and improvements of the West. As the result
of these efforts the workshops now occupy an extensive range of
buildings, situated outside the town on the banks of the Kabul river,
where 1500 natives under the superintendence of 100 Hindu artificers,
who have been trained in the factories and workshops of India, are
daily employed. The mint where the plant possesses a possible output
of 20,000 coins per day, the tanning yards, the candle factory where
100,000 candles can be turned out weekly, and the soap works where ten
tons of soap can be made up in the same period, are all located in
buildings adjoining the Ordnance compound.
With the exception of the tanning yards and the leather factory, where
300,000 stands of infantry equipment were put in hand during 1904-1905,
no great activity has distinguished these various enterprises during
the last three years, a general stoppage of work having been caused in
all branches by the extreme scarcity of the wood supplies. In spite
of the output of ammunition having ceased, the traffic in Kabul-made
ammunition is encouraged by the authorities, practically unlimited
supplies for Martini and Snider rifles being easily purchased by the
natives. The price is only four annas per cartridge, so that a fairly
large amount can be obtained at small expense. As such cartridges
command a price varying from eight to twelve annas in the tribal
country the outlay of money in Kabul is quite a profitable investment.
The supply of Martini ammunition has become most difficult to obtain
since the Indian Army was given the ̇303 rifle, and orders were issued
regarding the return of empty cases to the Ordnance Department; but
with the vast supplies stored in Kabul the tribesmen can get almost as
much ammunition as they want. The late Abdur Rahman punished with the
greatest severity any one found trafficking in rifles and cartridges,
for he held that it was dangerous to let the tribes become well
armed. Habib Ullah’s departure from the Amir Abdur Rahman’s policy is
exceedingly foolish, although characteristic of Habib Ullah’s weak and
undecided rule. It should be noted, too, since supplies of ammunition
in Kabul are so readily forthcoming, that there has been a revival
in the profitable trade of rifle-selling on the frontier. A large
number of English Martinis, both rifles and carbines, have lately been
imported into Afghanistan from the Persian Gulf. Very many of these
have found their way into the tribal country on the North-west frontier
of India, the price being only Rs. 180, or less than half the sum that
was usually paid by tribesmen for a Martini before the ̇303 rifle was
issued to troops in India. The weapons are well made and all bear the
inscription “Ma-sha-Illah” in Arabic. It is surmised that they have
been sent through in some way from Turkey, possibly _viâ_ Baghdad, and
were originally intended for the Central Asian khanates. The Government
of India is not concerned with this phase of the affair, but it is a
somewhat serious matter that the tribesmen in the Pathan hinterland
beyond the Indian frontier should be able to obtain breechloaders so
cheaply. The Martini had fallen into disrepute owing to the difficulty
of obtaining ammunition, but now that it is possible to draw so
readily upon the Amir’s reserves the situation should be watched,
since tribesmen, who pay Rs. 600 or Rs. 700 for ̇303 rifles and can
get Martinis at Rs. 180 each, will have plenty of money to spare for
cartridges.
[Illustration: BAZAAR CHILDREN]
While mention has been already made of those Europeans who have passed
through Kabul in the service of the Court, there are two others who, by
the folly of their conduct, have trailed the reputation of the white
races through the filth of the Kabul bazaars. These two, the one,
Frau Liebertziet, a German woman with a family in Germany, and for
some time maid to Mrs. Fleischer, the other an English woman, have
permitted their passions to thrust them beyond the limits of decency.
Frau Liebertziet left behind in Kabul to attend to Mr. Fleischer’s
wants when Mrs. Fleischer went on leave to Europe, turned native,
adopted the Mahommedan faith and petitioned the Amir to be given a
husband. The Afghans themselves refused the lady and Habib Ullah would
not allow any Hindustani to marry her. In the end he provided her with
a Kaffir boy who had been converted to Islamism. The English woman,
having contracted an alliance in India with an Afghan camel-man,
disguised herself as a native woman and crossed the frontier riding
her husband’s camel. Her arrival in Kabul quickened the curiosity of
every native in the bazaar, raising a sensation which brought the
story very speedily to the ears of Habib Ullah. Unfortunately, to an
ignorance of all European languages saving her own, she added but a
meagre acquaintanceship with the tongues of Asia; as a consequence,
when summoned to the presence of the Amir she was literally speechless.
Habib Ullah sent for the German woman to speak with the English woman
from India, but communion was impossible as each was ignorant of the
other’s tongue. Indeed, it was not until Mrs. Cleveland, the wife of
Major Cleveland, arrived in Kabul with her husband, coming at the same
time as the Misses Brown, that any explanation was forthcoming. It
may be said here that, in both cases, the Amir endeavoured to induce
the women to return to India: unluckily, each was obdurate, and the
pair have been converted to Islamism taking up their residence in
the hovels of the Kabul bazaar, where, enclosed from the world, they
endure an existence the sordid tragedy of which forbids more detailed
description. For the benefit of those women in this country whose
delight it is to associate with coloured blood--whether it flows in the
veins of negroes from Africa, of natives from Egypt, or of princes and
students from India--one is constrained to remark that their lives are
a degradation and their conduct an infamy. So long as they transgress
racial limitations they should be properly regarded as beyond the pale.
[42] “At the Court of the Amir.” Dr. A. T. Gray.
[43] “Eight Years among the Afghans,” Mrs. Kate Daly.
[Illustration: IN THE KHYBER PASS]