The number of his followers must have increased during the years that Moses travelled from one country to another, and he was likely in consequence to leave some of them to colonise, and to teach his doctrine, and to carry on the ordinances of his religion, in every region that was suitable for that purpose.
The Afghans, whose country lies nearest to Persia, claim descent from the Jews, and the people of Kafiristan are unmistakably Jews. These inhabit a mountainous country adjoining Afghanistan, on the north-west of Cashmere.
“The Caufirs[[56]] have no general name for their nation. Each tribe has its peculiar name, for they are all divided into tribes, though not according to genealogy, but to geographical position, each valley being held by a separate tribe. The Mussulmans confound them all under the name of Caufir, or infidel, and call their country Caufiristaun. They also call one division of them Seeaposh (black-vested), or Tor Caufirs (black infidels), and another Speen Caufirs (white infidels). Both epithets are taken from their dress, for the whole of the Caufirs are remarkable for the fairness and beauty of their complexion, but those of the largest division wear a sort of vest of black goat-skin, while the others dress in white cotton.
“There are several languages among the Caufirs, but they have all many words in common, and all have a near connection with the Sanskrit. Their religion does not resemble any other with which I am acquainted. They believe in one God; but they also worship numerous idols, which, they say, represent great men of former days, who intercede with God in favour of their worshippers. These idols are of stone or wood, and always represent men or women, some mounted and some on foot.
“They have hereditary priests. They have also persons who can procure an inspiration of some superior being by holding their heads over the smoke of a sacrifice. Their festivals are often accompanied with a sacrifice, and always with a feast. They have no titles of their own, but they have borrowed that of Khaun from the Afghans for their rich men. Their property chiefly consists in cattle and slaves.
“The houses of the Caufirs are often of wood, and they have generally cellars where they keep their cheeses, clarified butter, wine, and vinegar. In every house there is a wooden bench fixed to the wall, with a low back to it. There are also stools shaped like drums, but smaller in the middle than at the ends, and tables of the same sort, but larger. The Caufirs, partly from their dress and partly from habit, cannot sit like the other Asiatics; and if forced to sit down on the ground, stretch out their legs like Europeans. They have also beds made of wood and thongs of neats’ leather: the stools are made of wicker-work.
“They celebrate a sacrifice at a particular place near the village where there was a stone post; a fire was kindled before it, through which flour, butter, and water were thrown on the stone. At length an animal was sacrificed, and the flesh was burned, and part eaten by the assistants, who were numerous, and who accompanied the priest in prayers and devout gesticulations.”[[57]]
Their neighbours, the dwellers in the beautiful vale of Cashmere, also claim descent from the Jews, “a claim[[58]] borne out by the personal appearance of the race, their garb, the cast of their countenance, and the form of their beards. There is a belief, too, among them that Moses died in the capital of Cashmere, and that he is buried near it.” (This belief is erroneous, as that Lawgiver ended his days very far away from Cashmere.)
“There is no doubt that they were originally of Brahmin (Hebrew) origin; and prosperous must have been the people—wise, beneficent, and energetic the rulers, in those old days, if tradition and legend are to be believed, and the mighty monuments of a past grandeur, long anterior to the days when Mogul wealth and taste embellished the valley, are to be looked on as faithful witnesses; but to this golden age succeeded centuries of oppression.
“We must, therefore, not be too hard on the Kashmiri; his faults are those that oppression fosters, and his virtues, for he has some, are his industry, his religious toleration, his observance of family ties and obligations, while for qualities of head and hand he is second to no Eastern race. As artificers, the pale, slim, sneaking denizens of the crowded lanes of Sreenuggur will compete with any in the East, and the sturdy, broad-shouldered, large-limbed peasant is a painstaking and successful husbandman.