270 An account of Upper and Lower Suwat. [No. 3, 



6,000 matchlocks. I asked what he meant thereby; and he replied, 

 that he meant families who could send one adult male capable of 

 bearing arms into the field, which generally is one to a family. It is 

 a very fair mode of computation, and a generally correct one. 



Out of the bounds of Lower Suwat are the Doshah-khels to the 

 west of the river, and the Utman-khels to the east ; and beyond the 

 bounds of Upper Suwat are the Akhund-khels, the descendants of 

 Aklnind Darwezah, who are Tajiks, that is to say, are not Afghans. 

 These two khels, however, are, not considered as included in Suwat. 



The Doshah-khels are located on the west side of the river, beyond 

 the bounds of the Khwado-zis, of the Khadak-zi clan. When the 

 Doshah-khels, who formerly dwelt in the hills behind or to the north 

 of the Khadak-zis, descended from their hills, from time to time ; 

 they, by paying money to some, practising deception with others, 

 and, according to the Afghan custom, taking by force in other cases, 

 succeeded in acquiring a few villages and some lands, which, had 

 they been wholly in the plain, and not in the hills, I could have 

 visited. The lands they thus acquired they have not built villages 

 upon, but have set them apart for cultivation only. Three of their 

 best villages are, Ttala, Bagh, and Pingal. 



All to the west of Tiitakan and Matakani is out of Suwat and is 

 called the country of the Utman-khel. The village of Hissar, also, 

 is not considered to be in Suwat. 



Beyond the bounds of the Ba'i-zis of the Ja"nak-khel, in Upper 

 Suwat, to the north-east, lies Buner, which belongs to other branches 

 of the great tribe of Yiisufzi. On the opposite side of this part of the 

 valley, beyond the mountains, lies the valley of the U'shiri river, 

 belonging to the Malizi branch of the Yusufzis, known as the tribes 

 of Panjkorah. Beyond the mountains bounding the Kohistan or upper 

 valley of the Suwat river, the country of the Yasin prince lies, and 

 the Grilgittis, who, also, are not Afghans. 



It was a natural consequence in the distribution of the lands of 

 Suwat amongst his people, by Shaykh Mali, that some would have 

 good land whilst others would have inferior ; and that sagacious 

 chief foreseeing that disputes would arise in consequence, instituted 

 the peculiar custom of an interchange of lands, after a certain 

 number of years ; and to which the name khasarrni and ivesli was 

 given, from the mode of drawing lots amongst this simple race of 



