184 R. C. Temple — Rouc/li Notes on the Distribution of [No. 3, 



valley. The name I have given as Pungi has a very peculiar pronunciation 

 like Pungai, and a similar sound is heard in Lande Karez, as if it were 

 Landai Karez. The sound Nejoi is also peculiar in the o which is softened 

 almost to the German 6, as if it were Nejoi. Khel-i-Akhund is also called 

 Khel-i-Akhwand. Deh-i-Nao is often called Nao-i-Deh or Navvi Deh 

 (= new town). Beyond the extremely guttural sound of the Pushtu con- 

 sonants, heard in these words, there is little to be noticed but the following. 

 Saifu-1-lah is pronounced often as Zaipullah, Zanghir Khan as Tanghir 

 Khan, Khunsezai as Khunchazai. * 



There is considerable difficulty in discovering the name of a villagef for 

 the following reasons : — A village may be called by sis different names by 

 guides ; those thoroughly acquainted with the locality would recognise it by 

 any one, others less well acquainted will only know it by some of them. Thus 

 a village may be called (1) after the district or tract of land in which it is 

 situated. Takht-i-pul is such a name, Mel Manda is another ; villages ten 

 miles apart are all called Takht-i-pul or Mel Manda, simply because they are 

 situated in the tracts so named. (2) It may be called after the section of the 

 tribe which inhabits it, thus Barakzai ; (3) after the subdivision, thus Khun- 

 sezai or Muhammadzai ; (4) after its late owner if recently dead ; (5) after 

 its present owner ; thus Kala-i-Nur-uddin Khan merely means Nur-uddin 

 Khan's village and the owner's is usually the proper name of a village ; (6) 

 after its own name. To give an example the village, marked Amin Kala on 

 map No. 1, was named to me as Barakzai, Muhammadzai, Amin Kala and 

 Latif Khan. Latif Khan is its present owner, Amin Khan was the late owner 

 Muhammadzai is the subdivision and Barakzai the section of the tribe in- 

 habiting it. It will be easily seen that the more general of these terms are 

 known at a distance, while the more specific ones only in the immediate 

 neighbourhood of a village — and this is what one has to look out for in ask. 

 ing the way on the march, especially as a guide or passing villager thinks he 

 has done quite enough, when he has given any one of the names by which a 

 village may be designated. Complicated as this system of nomenclature 

 looks, it is natural enough in a country where the individual occupies such 

 an important part in men's minds, and nationality so little. It is not diffi- 

 cult to deal with in practice, after a slight knowledge of the country is ac- 



* Further back in the Pishin the same peculiarities are observable. Thus Arambi 

 is pronounced almost as Arambae. Mt. Chapar is called Mt. Sapar and the Zhob valley 

 the Job valley. Awalia or Aulfa is the name of a malik in the Pishin. 



f Villages are also constantly changing their sites, which renders a survey, which 

 is correct for a certain year, very far from being so afterwards. 



