Alien
Races residing in Dir, Swat and Bajour
Torwal
and Garhwi ; Mention has already been made of the non-Pathan races which occupy
Swat Kogistan. The are known as the Torwal and Garhwi , each speaking a
different language. They are probably remnants of the races who occupied Dir
and Swat prior to the Pathan conquest of the country. Little definite is as yet
known about them.
Bashkari ; In the Panjkora Kohistan
reference has also been made to the Bashkari, who are doubtless similar in race
and origin to the above. According to Biddulph they are divided into three
clans, the Malanor, Katchkhor and Goghior. Their language is said to be similar
if not the same as the Garhwi.
Among other alien races scattered
about the country are the following ;-
The Mashwani , who live principally in
Jandol and partly in Maidan. There is no record of ehwt stock they are sprung,
from or when they first appeared in Bajour, but the name would seem to show
that they are of the same stock as the Mashwani tribe near Kabul. They own no
land , but are tenants of the tribes within whose limits they dwell, and are
included in the estimate already given of the population of those valleys.
Other alin tribes are the Sheikh Khel, Mandezai, Senzai and Khwazazai in
Jandol, and the Haramzai as Shaibzai in Maidan. They are said to be Kafir
descent, but are now converts to Islam and reckoned as Pathans, with the
exception of the Sheikh Khel they are so unimportant as to be hardly worth
mentioning. Similarly in Dir are the Rogani, Katni and Guroh. In Bajour there
are a few scattered scttelements of Mohmands, Utman Khel and Swatis, the latter
being the original owners of Swat who were driven out by the Yusafzai, the
majority settling down in Pakhli in the Hazara district.
The Sahibzada in Jandol calim to
be of Arab descent, but stand in very much the same position as Saiads. Their
ancestor who first settled in Baour was one Mian Amar Rahmat.
The Akhundzadas of Khal are probably
of other descent than Yusafzai, but they are now classed as Sultan Khel,
Malizai. They are not to be confused with the Akhund Khel, from which the Khans
of Dir are sprung. The latter is a subsection of the Painda Khel . The whol
country swarms with Saiads, Mullahs, Talibs, and other members of religious
classes.
A numerous and ubiquitous race are
the Gujars, who are found all over the country side . They are of Hindustani
origin, probably Jat or Rajput. They own dialect resembles Punjabi, but they
all speak Pashtu. Grazing their cattle on the higher hills, leading for the
most part nomadic lives, and coming down only occasionally into the valleys,
their numbers are impossible to estimate
, but they must number many thousands. On the whole they are quiet, inoffensive
class of hardy habits, keeping arms for the protection of their flocks and
herds, and seldom join in any tribal fighting. They all pay toll in the form of
ghi to whoever the land on which they graze their cattle belongs. The keep a
breed of very powerful and savage dogs, not ; the males of which , when wanted
for work with the flocks, are usually gelt .
There are two small bands of Karu
Khel Ghilzai , generally called Kuchis . They number about 200 souls and are
genrally to be found camped in Lower Swat . They left Afghnistan about 18 years
ago on account of a difference of opinion with the Afghan authorities.
Hindus ; Hindu bunniahs are to
be found in most villages of any size in Dir , Swat and Bajour , Most of them
have been settled in the country for several generations . Mian Killi in Bajour
appears to possess more Hindus than any other village, but numerous families of
them are to be found in Kumbar, Mayar and Dir , also in Nawagai and Jhar . In
the Swat valley they are chiefly represented in Thana, Mingoara, Barikot,
Butkhela and Khar . They are well treated by the Pathan population , but have
to pay a tax on marriages, and by old standing custom are obliged to provide
oil and tobacco for the hujras [guest houses ] of the village chiefs , and also
eight annas worth of sweets on the Id festival.
