Cradles were an unknown commodity till lately. I have already referred to the wine and treasury cellars excavated in the mountains, and which provided the Dards with food during the war in 1866, whilst the invading Kashmir troops around them were starving. Baths (which were unknown till lately) are sheltered constructions under waterfalls; in fact, they are mere sheltered douche-baths. There is no pavement except so far as stones are placed in order to show where there are no roads. The rooms have a fire-place, which at Astor (where it is used for the reception of live coals) is in the middle of the room. The conservancy arrangements are on the slope of the hills close to the villages, in front of which are fields of Indian corn, etc.
J. DIVISIONS OF THE DARD RACES.
The name of Dardistan (a hybrid between the “Darada” of Sanscrit writings and a Persian termination) seems now to be generally accepted. I include in it all the countries lying between the Hindu Kush and Kaghan (lat. 37° N. and long. 73° E. to lat. 35° N., long. 74° 30´ E.). In a restricted sense the Dards are the race inhabiting the mountainous country of Shináki, detailed further on, but I include under that designation not only the Chilâsis, Astóris, Gilgitis, Dareylis, etc., but also the people of Hunza, Nagyr, Yasin, Chitrál and Kafiristan.[67] As is the case with uncivilized races generally, the Dards have no name in common, but call each Dard tribe that inhabits a different valley by a different name. This will be seen in subjoined Extract from my Ethnographical Vocabulary. The name “Dard” itself was not claimed by any of the race that I met. If asked whether they were “Dards” they said “certainly,” thinking I mispronounced the word “dáde” of the Hill Panjabi which means “wild” “independent,” and is a name given them by foreigners as well as “yaghi,” = rebellious [the country is indifferently known as Yaghistan, Kohistan and, since my visit in 1866 as “Dardistan,” a name which I see Mr. Hayward has adopted]. I hope the name of Dard will be retained, for, besides being the designation of, at least, one tribe, it connects the country with a range known in Hindu mythology and history. However, I must leave this and other disputed points for the present, and confine myself now to quoting a page of Part II. of my “Dardistán” for the service of those whom the philological portion of that work has deterred from looking at the descriptive part.
“SHIN are all the people of Chilâs, Astór, Dareyl or Darèll, Gôr, Ghilghit[68] or Gilìt. All these tribes do not acknowledge the ‘Guraizis,’ a people inhabiting the Guraiz valley between Chilâs and Kashmîr, as Shîn, although the Guraizis themselves think so. The Guraizi dialect, however is undoubtedly Shiná, much mixed with Kashmiri.
“The Shîns[69] call themselves ‘Shin, Shiná lôk, Shinâki,’ and are very proud of the appellation, and in addition to the above-named races include in it the people of Tòrr, Hárben, Sazîn, [districts of, or rather near, Chilâs]; Tanyire [Tangîr] belonging to Darell; also the people of Kholi-Palus whose origin is Shîn, but who are mixed with Afghans. Some do not consider the people of Kholi-Palus as Shîn.[70] They speak both Shiná and Pukhtu [pronounced by the Shîn people ‘Postó.’] The Baltis, or Little Tibetans, call the Shîn and also the Nagyr people ‘Brokhpá,’ or, as a term of respect, ‘Brokhpá bábo.’[71] Offshoots of the ‘Shîn’ people live in Little Tibet and even the district of Dras, near the Zojilá pass on the Ladâk road towards Kashmîr, was once Shîn and was called by them Huméss. I was the first traveller who discovered that there were Shîn colonies in Little Tibet, viz.: the villages of Shingôtsh, Sáspur, Brashbrialdo, Bashó, Danàl djúnele, Tâtshin, Dorôt (inhabited by pure Shîns), Zungôt, Tortzé (in the direction of Rongdu) and Durò, one day’s march from Skardo.”[72]
| The Chilásis call | themselves | Boté.[73] |
| ” ” ” | their fellow-countrymen of Takk | = “Kané” or Takke-Kané. |
| [the Matshuké are now an extinct race, at all events in Dardistan proper.] | ||
| The Chilâsis call | Gilgitis | = Gilîtí. |
| ” ” ” | Astóris | = Astoríjje. |
| ” ” ” | Gôrs | = Goríje. |
| ” ” ” | Dureylis | = Darêle. |
| ” ” ” | Baltis | = Palóye. Gil. = Polôle. |
| ” ” ” | Ladáki | = Botì. Pl. of Bôt. |
| ” ” ” | Kashmiris | = Kashîre. |
| ” ” ” | Dogras | = Sikkì [Sikhs] now “Dôgréy.” |
| ” ” ” | Affghans | = Patáni. |
| ” ” ” | Nagyris | = Khadjunì. |
| ” ” ” | Hunzas | = Hunzíje. |
| ” ” ” | Yasînis | = Poré. |
| ” ” ” | Punyalis | = Punyé. |
| ” ” ” | Kirghiz | = Kirghìz. |
Note.—The Kirghiz are described by the Chilâsis as having flat faces and small noses and are supposed to be very white and beautiful, to be Nomads and to feed on milk, butter and mutton.
The Chilâsis call the people between Hunza and the Pamêr [our Pamir] on the Yarkand road = Gójál.
There are also other Gojáls under a Raja of Gojál on the Badakhshán road.