________________
SEPTEMBER, 1891.]
BOOK-NOTICE.
899
selves holding grass between their teeth, as much as to say "I am your oz."'A footnote refers us to Major Temple's Legends of the Punjab (II., 101, 103, I. 37), who quotes this as a conventional phruse, the cow being the most sacred of all things in the Hinda's eyes; to be treated as his cows is to be well treated by him. A much older authority on this point is the Dehli Siwalik Pillar inscription of Visala Dêra, dated 1164 A.D.,' where we read pratyarthi-dant-untare pratya-kshrini trindni. After the death of Båbar the Afghans regained their power temporarily in India to be finally ex. pelled by Akbar in 1556. It was not till 1761 that Ahmad Shah, the Durrani, held the Grand Mughal
prisoner at Dehli, and destroyed the Marathå power at Panipat. He thus left the way open to the European conquest of India, while giving rise at the same time to the Afghan Principalities of Farrukhâbâd and Bundelkhand. The Durrani dynasty was succeeded (1818) by that of the Bârukzais, which now occupies the throne of Kabul.
The Afghán race is, at the present day, divided into three main branches, those of Afghanistan, under the dominion of the Amir: the indepen. dent tribes of Yaghistân (şvât, Buner, Bajaus, &c.), which, being absolutely free of all foreign influence, have best preserved their national characteristics : and those of British India, in the six districts of the North-West frontier.
It is doubtful whether the classical writers have mentioned the Afgbên nation by name. Arrian and Quintus Curtius, mention Indian mountaineers whose country was traversed by Alexander on his way to the Hinda Kush from Arachosia (Qandahår). Herodotus mentions the LIákTues, Paktyes, who inhabited the country about Kabul. Are these the Afgháns (Pakhtúns)? The details which he gives of their dress are not inconsistent with the theory, and, while he treats them as Indians, he says that their customs resemble those of the Bactrians, which would refer us to an Iranian type. There is, however, one serious difficulty. Of the two forms, Pushton and Pukhtûn (or more anciently Pashton and Pakhtan), the latter is a derivative one. The original was Pashton, which would lead us to expect in Greek Táorues, Pastyes, not IISKTLES, Paktyes. Pashton is derived from pusht, a mountain, and means inountaineer, highlander, and the original form of the latter word was parshti or "parshtu. If, therefore, the Paktyes are our Afgháns, we must assume that laktves is an imperfect transcription
See ante, Vol. XIX. p. 218, and note.
See Irvine, J. A. S. B. 1878 and 1879, the Bangash Nawabs of Farrukhabad.
. (I fanoy there are several YAghistans (independent territories) in AfghanistAn. I came across one in the country of the Kakais; Bee my "Account of the Country
for II potues, Parstyes, or rather ITapahtves, Parshtyes, and that the kt of the Greeks, represents the exotic sound reht.
We do not meet the Paktyes after Herodotus, but Ptolemy, in his description of Arachosia, mentions the "mountains of the Parsyêtai" (8à TÔ Tlaporuntûv pôv), and says that the lapovitas, Par. syétui, are the most northern of the four tribes of Arachosia. These may be the same as the lapotues, Paratyes, whom we should expect to find in this very neighbourhood.
The third chapter of the Introduction (pp. clxxxiv. - nesviii.) describes the Afghán literature. This is of two kinds, written and oral. The former dates, according to tradition, from the Yosuízai conquest (1413-1424), but the first writer whom we know directly by his works was Akhon Darvéza (A. 1685), the author of more than fifty volumes, most of which are unpublished. His principal writings consist of theological abuse, directed against the mystic heresiarch Bayazid Angåri ; but one of them, the Makhzani Afghuni, possesses real historical value.
The most ancient poet, whose works have been preserved, is Mirza Anşåri, grandson of the BA yazid above mentioned. His poems, which are permeated with Persian Sufism have been more than once published and translated. He was fol. lowed (1631-1691) by the warrior poet Khuwahal Khan, who 'not only succeeded in throwing all his predecessors, with the exception of Mirza, into the shade of oblivion, but who retains his popularity to the present day.' Whenever M. Darmesteter asked a dum to recite a song to him, he commenced by asking, 'Do you want one of KhushḥAl Khan Khaçak P' The divan of this poet has been published by Dr. Bellew, but he was as prolific a writer as Akhûn Darvéza. Both Khushḥ&l and Mirza derived their inspiration from Persian, and their nume. rous followers have done the same, the ambition of each being to leave behind him a divdn. In the last few years Peshwar has become an active centre from which issue translations into Pushta of the best known Persian and Indian works, and these, together with the works of the above mentioned poets and their successors, form the bulk of the written literature of the Afghans.
All this is a foreign and learned literature, and, with the exception of the works of Khushḥál, tells us very little about the Afghêng, their customs or their national genius. But the true literature of this nation, the only one which is understood and traverned by the Second, Column of the Tel-ChôtiAli Field Force, in the spring of 1879; " J. R. G. 8., Vol. L.-R. C. T.)
Since M. Darmesteter's book was written, Mr. Biddulph has published selections from this Poet's works (Kegan Paul and Co.)
