Glossary of Words Not Generally Used Outside India
A.
Ahl-el-kitáb = the people of the Book: a term applied by Muhammadans to Jews, and Christians whose Scriptures they accept as the Word of God.
B.
Banaprastha = the third stage of the life of a devout Hindu, when he retires from trade or office, and lives in some forest or jungle.
Ber = a tree, very common in Afghanistán—Zisyphus jujuba and Z. vulgaris. Its fruit is largely eaten by the people.
Bhagti = devotion, faith. The Hindus contrast salvation by bhagti to that by karma, or works. Chaitanza and others were the apostles of bhagti.
Bhásha = the script in which the Hindi language is usually written; the language itself.
Brahmachári = the first stage of the life of a devout Hindu, when he is a celibate student under some teacher or guru.
C.
Chádar = a cotton or woollen shawl, used as a wrap in the day and a sheet by night.
Chapáti = flat cakes of unleavened bread, cooked over a tauwa, or flat piece of iron.
Chárpár = “the four-legged,” the plain native wooden bedstead.
Chauk = the room which the headman of a village sets apart for the use of the public. Village business and gossip is carried on here, and travellers accommodated.
Chigah = an alarm, sounded by beating a drum in a village, for the arm-bearing population to come out in pursuit of raiders or robbers.
Chilam = the Afghán term for the Indian hookah, or hubble-bubble pipe. The kind used in Afghanistán is simpler in construction, and has a shorter tube.
D.
Dáktar = the native corruption of “doctor.”
Dharmsála = a Hindu temple and rest-house for travellers, these two institutions being almost invariably combined.
Dilaq = the patchwork cloak which is characteristic of the Muhammadan faqir.
Dúm = the village barber and musician, these two offices being usually combined; he also does most of the minor surgery of the village.
Dúmba = the fat-tailed Afghán sheep.
F.
Fatwá = a religious decree, promulgated by a court of Mullahs, or by one Mullah of authority.
Feringi = the name universally accorded in Afghanistán to Europeans (the Franks). In British India it has a prejudicial signification, but not so in Afghanistán.
G.
Ghazá = a religious murder, when a Muhammadan fanatic kills a Christian or Hindu for the sake of religion.
Gházi = the fanatic who commits ghazá.
Grihasta = the second stage in the life of a devout Hindu, when he marries a wife, begets children, and carries on his profession or trade.
Guru = a religious preceptor or guide among Hindus or Sikhs.
H.
Hákim = a ruler, an executive officer.
Hakím = a native doctor, who practises on Western or Hippocratic lines.
Halwa = a kind of sweet pudding, very popular with the Afgháns.
Hazrat ’Esa = the Muhammadan appellation for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hujra = a guest-house, where travellers are accommodated in Afghán villages. It differs from chauk in that it is more specialized for the use of travellers, while the latter is more for the use of the village folk.
I.
’Íd = a Muhammadan feast-day. There are two chief feasts—the “’Id-el-fitr,” or day following the fast-month of Ramazán, and the “’Id-el-zoha” or “’Id-el-bakr,” which is the Feast of Sacrifice, in memory of Abraham’s would-be sacrifice of his son.
Izzat = honour: a word constantly in an Afghán’s thoughts and conversation, but which even he is not always able to define.
J.
Jirgah = a council of the tribal elders. This may be appointed by the tribesmen themselves to settle some dispute, or in British India it may be appointed by the civil officer to help in deciding some judicial case.
K.
Káfir = an infidel. Strictly, only one who does not believe in God and the prophets, but loosely applied to all non-Muslims.
Kalámulláh = the Word of God. Comprises, according to Muhammadan teaching, four books—the Law (Tauret), the Psalms (Zabúr), the Gospel (Injil), and the Qurán.
Kalima = the Muhammadan creed: “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the prophet of God.” The recitation of this is the recognized way of declaring one’s self a Muhammadan.
Kanal = a measure of land—one-eighth of an acre.
Karmá = works. According to Hindu philosophy, a man’s reincarnation depends on the character and amount of his karmá.
Karnal = the Afghán corruption of “colonel.”
Khán = a lord, a chief; an honorific title in Afghanistán, or merely part of a man’s name.
L.
Lashkar = an army; often applied in Afghanistán to a small body of men going out from a tribe for warlike purposes, but they may be going for peaceful purposes—hence the English “lascar.”
M.
Málik = in Afghanistán the headman of a village or tribe.
Má’uzbílláh = a Muhammadan exclamation on hearing bad news or a calamity: “May God protect us!”
Muharram = a yearly Muhammadan feast held on the 10th of the month of Muharram.
Mullah = a Muhammadan preacher.
P.
Pagari = the Eastern head-dress or turban.
Patwári = a village bailiff, who keeps the accounts of the village lands.
Patwarkhána = the office of the bailiff.
Parda = the Eastern custom of secluding women from the public gaze.
Puláo = a popular dish in Afghanistán, consisting of meat cooked with rice, with spices, nuts, raisins, and sweetenings.
Q.
Qurbán = lit., sacrifice; also used as an expression of devotion by an inferior to a superior.
Qismet = fate, destiny; an ever-present idea in the Muhammadan mind.
S.
Sáhib = lit., gentleman; the term of respect usually applied to Englishmen.
Samádh = the posture assumed by an ascetic for contemplation of the Deity. There are a great variety of these, each possessing its own peculiar merit.
Sangar = an entrenchment. In the mountain warfare of Afghanistán these are made of short walls of stones on the hillside.
Sanyási = the fourth stage in the life of a devout Hindu, when he retires from the world, and gives himself up entirely to religious meditation.
Sardár = a chief, an Afghán nobleman.
Sarkár = the usual term for the British Government.
Sharm = shame. The Afghán idea underlying this word is a complex, in which shame, public disgrace, modesty, delicacy, sense of honour, all share in varying degree. He is always talking of it.
Sháster = a religious book of the Hindus.
Shesham = a common tree on the frontier that yields an excellent hard wood for various articles of household use—Dalbergia sisso.
Sowár = a horseman.
T.
Tahsíl = the subdivision of an administrative district; the centre for the collection of the revenue.
Tálib = a Muhammadan religious student; a pupil in a mosque.
Tap-jap = a recitation of religious formulæ by a Hindu.
Tauba = lit., repentance; an exclamation denoting abhorrence or contrition.
Y.
Yogsadhan = a system of contemplation, combined with religious exercises, whereby occult power is acquired.
Yunáni = pertaining to Greece. This is the word usually applied to that system of native medicine which was derived from the Greeks; in Europe it is spoken of in connection with the name of Hippocrates, who formulated it. The other, or Hindu system, is the Vedic; those who practise the former are called hakíms, the latter baids.
Index
Abdurrahman, and the charm which saved his life, 116
“Across our Indian Frontier,” by Colonel Wingate, 307
“Administered Areas,” 50
“Administrative Area,” The, 45
Afghan, Character of the, 17;
revenge, 18;
vanity, 21;
bluff, 22;
cruelty, 22;
hospitality, 23;
theft, 25;
religion, 33;
tribal jealousy, 60
Afghan public dances, 27
Afghan rule in the Kurram Valley, Remnants of, 58
Afghan village school, An, 170
Afghan women, 190
Afghans as road-makers, 202
Afghans, Origin of the, 31
Afridis, The, their ignorance of religious teaching, 33, 59
Ahl-el-Kitab, or Children of the Book, 106
Alam Gul, 169
Amal Khan, 146
Amir of Afghanistan, his visit to Lahore, 141;
and native colleges, 148
Amputation, Repugnance to, 80
Annexation sometimes inevitable, 65
Ascetics, 211
Austerity, and the accumulation of merit, 231
Badragga, or guide, 76
Bahadur Khan, 72
Balghami, or tea-cups, 100
Bangash and Turis, 55
Bangi Khel Khattak tribe, 112
Bannu, 63
Bannu school course, 144
Beas River, Crossing the, 249
Bedsteads of the country, 100
Bhang, or Indian hemp, 124
Biblical names among the Afghans, 32
Bigotry, An instance of, 245
Blood-feuds, 110
Blood-letting amongst the Afghans, 41
Bluff, a characteristic of the Afghan, 22
Bolan Pass, The, 62
Bombay, Football at, 161
Bombay, Our adventure at, 252
Brahmans and Sanyasis, 220
Branch dispensaries, Advantages of, 311
British rule in the Kurram Valley, 59
“Buried Cities of Khotan, The,” 306
Calcutta, Attack on the Football team in, 163
Cataract a common complaint, 42
Chadar, or shawl, 132
Chauk, The village, 88
Chenab River, The English soldier at the, 245
“Chikki,” a notorious robber, 280
Chinarak Fort, stronghold of “Chikki,” 284
Christian Friars, The need for, 303
Christianity and Shiahs, 57
Christian’s Revenge, The, 75
“Coffin,” derivation of the word, 35
Conolly Bed, The story of the, 72
Coolies: how they work, 94
“Cousin, as great an enemy as a,” 30
Cricket in Afghanistan, 156
Curzon, Lord, and the North-West Frontier Province, 63
Dam, a medical treatment, 39
Dances, Afghan public, 27
Delawar Khan, a notorious robber, 267
Dentistry amongst the Afghans, 42
Dera Baba Nanak, 247
Dera Ismaïl Khan, 63
Devotion of relatives, Touching, 85
Dilag, The, of the faqirs, 237
Divorce, 195
Donald, Mr., the Political Officer, and the outlaw Sailgai, 21
Donaldson, Murder of Captain, 150
Dozakhi kanrai, or “hell-stones,” 121
Drugs, Native use of, 40
“Durand Line,” The, 48
Dur Jamala, Sufferings of, 197
Dzan and dam, two stock medical treatments, 38
Early marriages, 145
Education, four attitudes towards education, 140
Extortion of native underlings, 275
Eye diseases, Prevalence of, 79, 91
Fanaticism, 124
Faqirs, 37;
a profitable occupation, 38;
crudeness of their medical methods, 38, 211, 236;
and intoxicants, 239
Football in Afghanistan, 155
Football tour, A, 158
Fort Saraghari and its brave defenders, 272
“Friendlies,” 49
Frontier campaigning, 267
Frontier, Physical nature of the 62
Frontier regiments, 270
Gadian, 247
Ganges Canal, The, 214
Ghazi, A, 124
Ghazi fanatics, 151
Girls, Vigour of Afghan, 195
“Gleaners’ Bed,” The, 87
Government schools, Lack of religion in, 143
Grand Trunk Road, On the, 243
Graves and shrines of faqirs, 239
Graves, The sanctity of, 35
Gumal Pass, The, 63
Gumatti Post, The, 107
Hafiz, the Persian poet, 239
Hakims, or native practitioners 42
Halwa, or sweet pudding, 172
Hardwar, a holy bathing-place, 214
“Hate like a cousin,” To, 81
Haughton, Colonel, 273
Hazaras in the Kurram Valley, 56
Hindu ideals, 212
Hinduism a doomed religion, 301
Hindu philosophies, 300
Hindu, The indispensable, 51
Hindus in the Kurram Valley, 56
Hindu women, 199
Hospital duties of the day, 89
Hospitality of the Afghans, 23, 100, 122
Hospitals and dispensaries, 311
Hujra, or guest-house, 99
Hyderabad, Football at, 159
Hypnotism practised by yogis, 224
Id-i-bakr, The, or Feast of Sacrifice, 32
Id, or feast days, 27
’Id-el-fitr, or Breaking of the Fast, 153
Immorality and punishment, 192
Indian schoolboy, Characteristics of the, 143
Ingil and Tauret, 127
Inoculation for smallpox, 43
Intoxicants amongst the faqirs, 239
Islam, a doomed religion, 301
Itineration, Value and modes of, 98
Izzat and sharm, the Afghan’s idea of honour, 17
Jahan Khan, The story of, 202
Jewish origin of the Afghans, Supposed, 31
Jhelum River, Our difficulty in crossing, 241
Jirgah, Comic end to a, 22
Jogis and herbalists, 38
Kafiristan, 306
Kalabagh, 111
Kalam Ullah, or Bible, 105
Kalimah, The, or profession of faith, 37, 154, 270, 294
Karachi, Landing at, 252
Karbogha, Mullah, 118
Karma, 217
Khaiber Pass, The, 44
Kharrak, Village of, 208
Kitchens, Charitable, 226
Kohat, 63
Kurram River, The, 44
Kurram Valley, The, 54
Kurram Valley, Hill tribes in the, 55
Laghman, Valley of, 202
Lala Musa, 244
Lawrence, Lord, and his policy, 61
Machinery amongst the Afghans, 93
Malang, or wandering dervish, 237
Manak Khan, The story of, 257
Mania or dementia of Sadhus, Various forms of, 225
Marriage customs and laws, 193
Marwat, The women of, 191
Mast, 239
Matamkhanas, Village, 58
Materialism, The grave danger of, 142
Medical methods, Crudeness of the native, 38
Medical missions, The need for, 308
Medical missions as pioneer agencies, 68
Medical treatment, Crudeness of native, 38;
women’s knowledge of, 40
Militia Sepoys, 119
Mirzada, the beggar, 87
Mirza’s High School at Gadian, 247
Missionary as matchmaker, 207
Mission v. Government schools, 142
Mission outposts on the North-West Frontier, 305
Mission press, The, 94
Mission school, The, 93
Mission school, Work in the, 147
Mission work not to be gauged by the number of converts, 296
Monkeys, Sacred, 218
Monogamy v. polygamy, 195
Monotheism and Pantheism, 212
Moulvi Muhammad Sadiq, 247
Muezzin, The, 89
Muhammad Sarwar, or “Chikki” the “Lifter,” 280
Muhammad Taib, talib, 126;
conversion, 129;
abduction, 131;
recovery, 132;
a prisoner, 136;
relapse, 138
Muhammadan women, 199
Mullahs and the Bible, 57;
their influence, 65;
their ignorance, 104;
opposition, 106;
arguments
concerning prayer, 116;
Mullah Povindah, 116;
wordy warfare, 117;
the Mullah and the smith, 118;
Karbogha, 118;
and fanatics, 125;
a converted m., 133;
Alam Gul, 185;
and the Gospels, 206;
and faqirs, 238
Mullahs and Faqirs: Khodadad, 31;
charms and amulets, 36;
one who walked through fire, 37
Mutilation for immorality, 193
Muzaffar Khan and the fanatic, 152
Name, Aversion to mentioning one’s name, 200
Names, Biblical, among the Afghans, 32
Narowal village, 246
Nezabazi, or tent-pegging, 153
Noble College, Football at the, 160
North-West Frontier Province, 63
Nose, An artificial, or a new wife 194
Operations in the hospital, 94
Outlaws, 109
Parda, or seclusion, 192
Passes in the Frontier mountains, 62;
strategic value, 63
Pat, or alluvial earth, 153
Pathan regiments, 112
Pathans, how they are best governed, 19
Peiwar, a blood-feud at, 28
Peiwar Pass, 44
Penurious patient, A, 38
Peshawur, 63
Philosophies, Hindu, 300
Pir Pangal Range, An ascetic of the, 233
Poisoning scare, A, 69
Police officer and the cartridge stealer, 274
Police posts v. dispensaries, 68
Police prosecution in Calcutta, A 166
Political faqirs, 232
Political officer, Authority of the, 50
Povindah merchants, 157
Povindah, Mullah, 116
Prayer, Arguments concerning, 116
Prejudices, 254
Prescriptions as charms, 36
Primary schools, 147
Pulao, a native dish, 24
Pulao, an Afghan dish, 155
Punishment for immorality, 192
Quails, Catching, 170
Quazi Abdul Karim, 292
Raghzas, or stony plain, 121
Rangin, the outlaw, and Dr. Pennell, 24
Ravi River, The, 246
Revenge amongst the Afghans, 71
Revenge, the predominant characteristic of the Afghan, 18;
the girl and her brother, 18
Rishikes, Village of, 214, 219
Roberts, Sir Frederick, 44
Sacred water from Hardwar, 218
Sacrifice among the Afghans, 32
Sadhu and Christian compared, Vista of, 217
Sadhus, 211
Sadhus on bicycles, 214
Sailgai, a notorious outlaw, 19
Salt quarries at Kalabagh, 111
Samadhs, or contorted positions, 224
Sandeman, Sir Robert, exponent of the “forward policy,” 61
“Scape-goat,” The, or the Qurban among the Afghans, 32
School inspector, Visit of a, 171
Self-denial, The question of, 213
Seronai, the convert, 287
Seyyid Badshah, ustad, conversion and murder of, 134
Seyyids, 134
Sharm and izzat, the Afghan’s idea of honour, 17
Shekh Mahmud, The first branch dispensary opened at, 309
Shiahs in the Kurram Valley, 57
Shlozan village, 55
Shrines, 34
Sika Ram Mountains, 44
Sikh soldiery, 271
Smallpox amongst the Afghans, 42
Stoddart, Colonel, 72
Sufed Koh Range, The, 44
Sunnis in the Kurram Valley, 57
Surgery, Native, 40
Taib Khan, 126
Tea, How it is made and served, 100
Temple, A night in a, 220
Thal, Branch dispensary at, 310
Theft among the Afghans, 25
Thieves and outlaws in the hospital, 26
Tochi Pass, The, 63
Tod, or kari, an Afghan game, 154
Tonnochy, Colonel, and the outlaw Sailgai, 21
Traditions, Afghan, concerning their origin, 31
Travelling, Hardships of, 107
Tribal feuds, 78
Tumtum driver and his fare, The, 274
Turis, The, 55
Ustad, or teacher, 132
Usury, 66
Vanity of the Afghan, 21
Vendetta, or blood-feud amongst the Afghans, 17;
at Peiwar, 28;
the chief of Shlozan, 29;
the causes, 30
Village barber as surgeon, The, 41
Village blacksmith as dentist, The, 42
Village life, Attractions of, 99
Waterfall, A narrow escape from a, 109
Water-tank, The use of a, 146
Wazir rising, A, 70
Wazir tradition concerning their origin, 33;
their ignorance of religious teaching, 33
Waziristan, 48
White, Captain, killed by the outlaw Sailgai, 21
Wolff, Rev. Joseph, missionary to Bukhara, 74
Wolff, the traveller, 31
Women, Inferior position of Afghan, 190
Women, Hindu and Muhammadan, 198;
Povindah, 191, 199;
Marwat, 191
Women and medicine, 40
Yakub Khan, 251
Yoga, 230
Yogis, 224
Yunani, or Hippocratic medicine, 38
Zaida, Town of, 136
Zaimukht tribe, The, 285
Zaman, a noted thief, 26
Zyárat, or Holy shrine, 34
Colophon
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Corrections
The following corrections have been applied to the text:
| Page | Source | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| viii | ’ | ” |
| xii | calvary | cavalry |
| 38 | [Not in source] | , |
| 154 | Bombay | Calcutta |
| 194 | [Not in source] | , |
| 241 | [Not in source] | . |
| 245 | ’ | ” |
| 261 | unwillingnesss | unwillingness |
| 264 | one | once |
| 293 | uncomprising | uncompromising |
| 307 | [Not in source] | ’ |
| 309 | clerica | clerical |
| 317 | Patwāri | Patwári |
| 319 | [Not in source] | , |