EVERY-DAY LIFE IN AFGHANISTAN 



105 



lege to exploit the poor, and the burden 

 of taxation is very heavy. 



As for entertainment, the people, espe- 

 cially the wealthy, are fond of games and 

 of sports. Hunting, horse-racing, wrest- 

 ling matches, and gymnastic games are 

 popular. Recently, football and tennis 

 have been adopted by the upper-class 

 youngsters of Kabul. Ram fights, cock- 

 fighting, and even fights between male 

 quail are favorite diversions, and through- 

 out all Afghanistan dancing is indulged 

 in and the public declamation of ballads 

 is warmly applauded. 



ODD COMBINATIONS IN EUROPEAN 

 COSTUMES 



Every better-class Afghan owns a 

 piano, imported from Bombay, which he 

 plays with one finger, keeping his foot on 

 the loud pedal constantly. When Haji 

 Mirza Hussein played for them, using 

 ten fingers at a time, they were overcome 

 with amazement and admiration. A tale 

 is told of one man at Kabul who sawed 

 the legs off his grand piano, so that he 

 might play it while sitting on the floor, 

 Afghan fashion. 



Costumes vary in different parts of the 

 country. In the East the garments ap- 

 proach the Indian style, and of late years 

 a few natives have even appeared in 

 European dress. Lately, the Amir has 

 introduced European uniforms and suits 

 for himself and his whole staff of officials. 



European hats and uniforms of all 

 styles, imported in quantities from India, 

 are often worn in the most singular com- 

 binations. One servant in Herat was 

 seen wearing a tile hat, even when sitting 

 in the house. It was held in place with an 

 elastic band, which was passed under his 

 chin. His body was wrapped in an old 

 blue coat with brass buttons, which had 

 strayed from the wardrobe of a railroad 

 conductor in Germany. He had on baggy 

 Afghan pants, with his bare feet sticking 

 out from under the big blue coat. 



THREE KINDS OF HEADGEAR ARE WORN 



Often the Amir is accompanied by a 

 sort of court jester, who wears a gray 

 tile hat of extra height (like the Boers 

 formerly wore), and colored tights. In- 

 stead of the harlequin's sword, he carries 

 a fly-swatter ! 



The typical national dress of the Af- 



Photograph by Haji Mirza Hussein 

 THE "RUBBISH" IN THE BOTTOM OF THIS 

 MAN-CAGE WAS ONCE A SUBJECT 

 OE THE AMIR 



ghan consists of a longtailed calico shirt, 

 white pants, leather shoes or boots, and 

 a tanned sheepskin coat elaborately em- 

 broidered with yellow silk ; this coat is 

 sometimes replaced by a long toga of red 

 cloth. 



Three kinds of headgear are cus- 

 tomary. Some wear a low, many-colored 

 cap ; others a blue or white turban, which 

 is frequently gold-embroidered with a 

 flap hanging down behind to protect the 

 neck from the sun. In some provinces 

 men wear the kitllah. a colored cap that 

 looks like a Turkish fez. but which 

 widens toward the top. 



In the house and at work women wear 

 long calico shirts, wide, colored pants 

 like the men and head-cloths above gold- 

 embroidered caps. Their street dress 

 consists of long, wide pants and a blue 

 or black overdress, the costume being 

 completed by a loose garment that covers 

 the head and upper part of the body, just 

 allowing the eyes to look through a lat- 

 ticed insert like a strip of mosquito bar. 

 The feet are stuck in large red slippers. 



