76 Further Information regarding the Siah Posh Tribe. [Feb. 



IV. — Further Information regarding the Siah Posh Tribe, or reputed 

 descendants of the Macedonians. By Munshi Mohun Lai*. 



I had the pleasure to despatch to you a small account of Herat, which 

 I hope has met your approbation. We are now at the ancient place 

 called Jalalabad, which was one of the capitals of the Macedonian 

 dynasty. At this spot I happened to meet the great Mufti, who often 

 came to see Dr. Gerard, and has lately travelled into the country of the 

 Siah Posh; or, as he called them, " Kafirs." He kindly gave us the 

 following accurate though brief account of the above tribe : 



From Jalalabad he went to Karun, and from thence to " Cha Ghul 

 Serai." Having passed through the valleys called Darah Nur, Da- 

 munj, and Vakul, he arrived the third day at the village named Katar, 

 occupied by the Siah Posh. The inhabitants, whom he called the mas- 

 ters of beauty and charms, came to see him, and were surprised at some 

 feats of his horse : this animal is hardly known in the country of Siah 

 Posh. 



Their dress is of goat skin, and their hair hangs down to their 

 shoulders. They drink wine as well as water, and never sit upon the 

 ground, but only in chairs. This shows perhaps that they are the de- 

 scendants of Alexander the Great. 



As to their religion, they worship idols, either made of stone or woods, 

 which they call Bdruk, or Maha Dev. They wear an iron ring in their 

 ears, and a string ornamented with shells, round their necks. This seems 

 to be the custom of the Hindu Jogis, or red-dressed beggars in India. 

 They sacrifice cows on their holidays, as the Muhammedans do in the day 

 of Eeduzuha. If a stranger happens to ask them where is God, they 

 point with their fingers towards the west or Mecca. They read the 

 Muhammedan kalimeh to please the Musulmans, and at the same time 

 confess themselves to be Kafirs ; in short, their religion is not known. 



They never intermarry with their relations, as the Hindus do ; the 

 ceremonies of the wedding are very singular. They bring their 

 wives unveiled on their shoulders, dance, run, and jump in the streets, 

 (like a jackass, as the Mufti says,) while they are accompanied by crowds 

 of men and women, who play upon drums and flutes, and make a great 

 noise. The parents of the girl are exceedingly pleased to see the hus- 

 band using his great endeavours in jumping, as they think him the most 

 intimate lover of his wife. 



They have made a public house, where they send the pregnant wo- 

 men before their accouchement, and keep them forty days there. No 



* See Lieutenant Burnes' notice on tlie tribes claiming descent from Alexander 

 the Great, in the second volume of the Journal, page 305. 



