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THE DARDS.
JANUARY 5, 1872.]
Yassen, Nagyr and Hunza people dance quickest; then come the Ghilgitis; then the Astoris; then the Baltis, and slowest of all are the Ladakis.
When all join in the dance, cheer or sing with gesticulations, the dance or recitative is called "thapnatt" in Ghilgiti, and " burro" in Astori.
When there is a solo dance it is called " nátt" in Ghilgiti, and "nott" in Astori. Cheering is called "halamush" in Ghilgiti, and "halamúsh" in Astori. Clapping of hands is called "tza." Cries of "Yu, Yú dea; tza theá, Hiú Hiú dea; Halamush thes; shabásh" accompany the perfor
mances.
There are several kinds of Dances. The Pro
sulki nate is danced by ten or twelve people ranging themselves behind the bride as soon as she reaches the bridegroom's house. This custom is observed at Astor. In this dance men swing about sticks, or whatever they may happen to hold in their hands.
The Buró natt is a dance performed on the Nao holyday, in which both men and women engage the women forming a ring round the central group of dancers, which is composed of men. This dance is called Tappnate at Ghilgit. In Dareyl there is a dance in which the dancers wield swords and engage in a mimic fight. This dance the Ghilgitis and Astoris call the Darelá nate, but what it is called by the Dareylis themselves I do not know.
The mantle dance is called Goja nat. In this popular dance the dancer throws his cloth over his extended arm.
When I sent a man round with a drum inviting all the Dards that were to be found at Ghilgit to a festival, a large number of men appeared, much to the surprize of the invading Dogras, who thought that they had run to the hills. A few sheep were roasted for their benefit; bread and fruit were also given them, and when I thought they were getting into good humour, I proposed that they should sing. Musicians had been procured with great difficulty, and after some demur, the Ghilgitis sang and danced. At first, only one at a time danced, taking his sleeve well over his arm so as to let it fall over, and then moving it up and down according to the cadence of the music. The movements were, at first, slow, one hand hanging down, the other being extended with a commanding gesture. The left foot appeared
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to be principally engaged in moving or rather jerking the body forward. All sorts of pas seuls were danced; sometimes a rude imitation of the Indian Náchh; the by-standers clapping their hands and crying out "Shabásh;" one man, a sort of Master of Ceremonies, used to run in and out amongst them, brandishing a stick, with which, in spite of his very violent gestures, he only lightly touched the bystanders, and exciting them to cheering by repeated calls, which the rest then took up of
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Hiú, Hiú." The most extraordinary dance, however, was when about twelve men arose to dance, of whom six went on one side and six on the other. Both sides then, moving forward, jerked out their arms so as to look as if they had all crossed swords, then receded and let their arms drop. This was a war dance, and I was told that properly it ought to have been danced with swords, which however, out of suspicion of the Dogras, did not seem to be forthcoming. They then formed a circle, again separated, the movements becoming more and more violent till almost all the bystanders joined in the dance, shouting like fiends and literally kicking up a frightful amount of dust, which, after I had nearly become choked with it, compelled me to retire. I may also notice that before a song is sung the rythm and melody of it are given in "solo" by some one, for instance,
Dană dang dână dăngdă nädañg dână, &c., &c., &c. (b.)-BEVERAGES.
Beer.-Fine corn (about five or six seers in weight) is put into a kettle with water and boiled till it gets soft, but not pulpy. It is then strained through a cloth, and the grain retained and put into a vessel. Then it is mixed with a drug that comes from Ladak which is called "Papps," and has a salty taste, but in my opinion is nothing more than hardened dough with which some kind of drug is mixed. It is necessary that "the marks of four fingers" be impressed upon the "Papps." The mark of "four fingers" make one stick,' two fingers' mark half stick, and so forth. This is scraped and mixed with the corn. The whole is then put into an earthen jar with a narrow neck, after it has receiv→ ed an infusion of an amount equal to the proportion of corn. of water The jar is days, or under the fireplace if in winterput out into the sun-if summer-for twelve
The drawing and description of this scene were given in the Illustrated London News of the 12th February 1870, under the heading of "A Dance at Ghilgit."
