Pdewan at 18:31, 18 November 2014

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THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.
OXFORD, A..."

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Created page with " {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|<div style="font-size:100%"> This article has been extracted from <br/> THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.<br/> OXFORD, A..."

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This article has been extracted from <br/>

THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.<br/>

OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.
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[[Category:India|H]]
[[Category:Places|H]]
''Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value. ''

=Hindu Kush =
(Mountains of the Moon). — This great range, known
to the ancient geographers as the ' Indian Caucasus,' may be said to
start from a point near 37° N. and 74° 38' E., where the Himalayan
system finds its north-western termination in a mass of towering peaks,
and to extend south-westwards across North-Eastern Afghanistan to
about 34° 30' N. and 68° 15' E. The first spur which it throws off to
the north is from the vicinity of Tirich Mir, in the north-western corner
of Chitral. Starting in a westerly direction, this spur takes a north-
ward curve and then again runs westward, dividing the Oxus from the
Kokcha : this may be termed the Badakhshan ridge. To the east
of the Khawak pass, another spur runs north, and then sprays out
north-east and north-west, separating the Kokcha drainage from that of
the Kunduz : this may be called the Kokcha ridge. From the Khawak
pass a branch goes north-west towards Kunduz or Kataghan, where
it ends, forming the Kunduz ridge; There is another spur, running
ahiiost parallel with this, which may be called the Khawak ridge.
A fifth spur is the Koh-i-Changur, which divides the Kunduz (or
Surkhab) from the Tashkurghan river. West of the Dorah pass a
region of spurs is thrown out to the south, which form the Kafiristan
watersheds ; and west again of these a great spur divides Panjshir from
Kafiristan.

The general elevation of the Hindu Kush from its eastern extremity
to the Khawak may be taken as between 14,500 and 18,000 feet, while
there are numerous peaks of between 20,000 and 25,000 feet. The
range is everywhere jagged, precipitous, and arid : it is destitute of
trees, and there is but little grass or herbage. Above 15,000 feet snow
is perpetual. A more inhospitable region it is difficult to imagine, but
the scenery is often sublime.

No table-lands like those of Tibet support the northern sides of the
Hindu Kush, which sinks abruptly into the low plains of Turkistan.
Until recently, information about the Hindu Kush, and the entire
mountain system of which it forms a part, has been extremely defective.
But the inaccurate narratives of Moorcroft, Vigne, and others have
been amplified, corrected, and partly superseded by the investigation
of Sir Douglas Forsyth's mission of 1873, and by the still more recent
Russo- Afghan Boundary Commission in 1884-6 and Sir William Lock-
hart's mission in 1885. In the eastern Hindu Kush region political
relations with the tribes have been established on a firm basis, and the
country right up to Kafiristan is no longer a terra incognita. Some
of the valleys of Kafirist^an also have been visited by Sir (leorge
Robertson. The term ' Hindu Kush' was said by Sir A. Burnes to be
unknown to the Afghans ; but it is admitted by the same writer that
there is a particular peak, and also a pass, bearing the name.

^A systematic survey of the rocks of the Hindu Kush has never been
made ; but isolated observations at different times show that intrusive
granitic and accompanying basic igneous rocks, resembling those of the
crystalline axis of the Himalayas, are associated with schists, quartzites,
slates, and limestones of the kind better known in the regions of
Kashmir, Baltistan, &c. The limestones of Chitral are of unusual
importance, on account of their including fossils which show their age
to be Devonian. The association of this limest(Mie with a purple sand-
stone and a boulder-bed is very similar Id that which is known as tiir
' CoiUiibulcd by Mr. 'l". II. Holland, Director, Geological Survey ot India.

infra-trias series in parts of the North-Western Himalayas; and as these
rocks appear to be unfossiliferous, the Chitral fossils afford an index, by
analogy, to their age also. Owing to the way in which the limestones
of the Hindu Kush have been altered by igneous intrusions, it is
impossible to say what systems are represented ; but, besides the
Devonian of Chitral on the southern and south-eastern slopes, it is
probable that the Permian and younger rocks known in Afghan terri-
tory extended into the range, and became folded and altered by the
granitic intrusions which Griesbach ^ regarded as mainly Cretaceous
in age. The folding system has a general west-south-west, east-north-
east trend.

As usual with areas of this kind in the Himalayan region, where
igneous rocks of various kinds are found intruded into pre-existing
sediments, small quantities of gold are obtained in the rivers which cut
through and sift the minerals obtained by the action of the weather
on the metamorphosed area.

The fauna and flora of the Eastern Hindu Kush are similar to those
of the Himalayas lying within the same latitudes. In this region
are found the wild goat, the snow ounce, and the wild dog, this last
being sometimes met with in packs. Among the snow and ice, the
ibex, the red bear, and the snow-cock share a rarely broken solitude.
Wild sheep are numerous below the glacial region.

The inhabitants of the Hindu Kush are of mixed races, languages,
and religions, and possess different political and domestic institutions.
The valleys and gorges, many of them extremely fertile, contain the
great majority of the inhabitants, but some of the cave-dwellings of the
mountaineers called forth the admiration of Marco Polo. The eastern
valley communities average from 200 to 4,000 people, who maintain
an attitude of independence towards their neighbours. Many centuries
have passed since the original inhabitants of the central and western
mountains were either converted to Muhammadanism and absorbed by
their conquerors, or were driven out and forced to flee to less accessible
valleys. The Safis, who now dwell in the mountains north of Jalalabad,
are probably allied by descent to their eastern neighbours in Kafiri-
STAN. In the Northern Hindu Kush the Tajiks are probably descended
from an old Iranian stock who were the original occupants of that
region. The Badakhshis of the hills are Shiahs, while those of the
plain country are principally Sunnis. Traces of fire-worship have been
found in a few places. In Wakhan, and in Hunza, YasTn, and the
adjacent valleys, there is a distinct sect, called Mughlis or Maulais, who
are connected by Sir H. Yule with the mediaeval ' Assassins,' and with
the Druses of the Lebanon. What their origin or beliefs are, it is

' C. L. Griesbach, 'Field Notes from Afghanistan,' Records, Geological Stirvcy of
India, vol. xx, parts i and ii.
difficult to discover. They hold ' that a man should conceal his faith
and his women,' but they are known to believe in the transmigration
of souls. It is also known that they pay tithes to the Agha Khan of
Bombay as their spiritual leader. They hold Sunni and Shiah Muham-
madans in equal contempt : the Sunni is a dog and the Shiah an ass.
They revere the Kaldm-i-Fir, a Persian work shown only to men of the
Maulai faith, instead of the Koran. They drink wine, and their spiritual
guides do not profess celibacy. The Persian account of the sect is, that
it was founded in 1496 by Mir Sham-ud-din, who in that year came to
Kashmir out of Irak, and whose followers took the name of Nur Bakhsh
{Hlhiminaii''). The Mughli or Nur Bakhsh tenets are also prevalent in
Baltistan.

In the Eastern Hindu Kush the people may be divided into four
distinct castes or classes : namely, Ronos, Shins, Yashkuns, and the
low castes, such as Doms, Kramins, Shoto, &c. The terms Dard and
Dardistan have been applied by Dr. Leitner to several of the tribes
and the valleys they inhabit. The latter term is merely a convenient
expression embracing a large tract of country inhabited by cognate
races. It applies to all the country lying between Kafiristan on the
west and Kashmir and Kagan on the east. The religion of all at the
present time is an easy-going species of Muhammadanism, said to have
been introduced in the course of the fourteenth century, and particularly
noticed by Marco Polo. That the former religion of the western por-
tion of this region was a form of Hinduism, and not of Buddhism, there
can be little doubt. The preservation of a caste system, and the sanctity
of the cow among the Shins, point to this conclusion, while no traditional
reverence survives for the Buddhist remains still to be found in the
country.

In spite of the general conversion of the tribes to Islam,
archaic semi-religious festivals, mostly connected with agriculture, are
still observed in many parts, more or less in accordance with ancient
customs. The mountain villages where Shins are in the majority retain
a trace of former idolatry in the sacred stones set up, in one form or
another, in almost every hamlet. An oath sworn over such a stone is
held to be absolutely binding. In disposition the people are tractable,
good-tem[)ered, fond of rejoicing and nu'irN-making, neither cruel nor
quarrelsome, and they submit readily to constituted authority. Hawk-
ing, dancing, and |)olo are universal amusements, but i)olo is rarely
played north of the Hindu Kush. Polygamy and concubinage are
practised by all who can afford it, and the right of divorce is somewhat
freely exercised. Infidelity is extremely common, and the men show
none of the jealousy of their wives usual in Muhammadan communities.
Apparently morality was still more lax formerly than it is now. Islam
has not yet brought about the seclusion of women, who mix freely with
men on all occasions.

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-[[Category:India|H]]
+[[Category:Afghanistan|H]]
 [[Category:Places|H]]
 ''Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value. ''

Hindu Kush - Revision history

Pdewan at 18:31, 18 November 2014

Pdewan: Created page with " {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"| This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, A..."

Pdewan: Created page with " {| class="wikitable" |- |colspan="0"|
This article has been extracted from
THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908.
OXFORD, A..."