CABULISTAN, OR AFGHANISTAN. 



933 



sians. In the towns are many Persians and Indians, tlie Afghans never exercising a trade 

 The latter occupy themselves with war, robbery, hunting, and raising herds. They are rude, 

 vindictive, and rapacious, but faithful, hospitable, laboi ious, open, and brave. Their religion is 

 Mahoraetanism, but they are not bigoted. The language nearly resembles the Persian, and 

 the educated Afghans are familiar with Persian literature. Education is carefully provided for 

 among them, every village having its school, which is attended by almost every boy. 



The usual dress is a sort of frock, reaching below the knee, and loose, dark cotton trowsers ; 

 the head is covered with a low, flat cap of black silk, and the feet with half-boots, laced m front. 

 The houses of the rich are surrounded by high walls, inclosing courts and gardens, and they are 

 provided with carpets, some glass windows, &c. Those of the lower class, consist of a single 

 room, without chairs or tables, their place being supplied by carpets and felt cushions. The 

 pastoral tribes live in coarse, woolen tents. 



The Afghans are fond of all sorts of boisterous amusements, particularly those which involve 

 great display of bodily activity. Hunting is, as it were, the rage over all Afghanistan, and the 

 people pursue it not only in all the known and usual modes, but in others peculiar to the country 

 itself. Sometimes a whole neighborhood assembled forms a circle, and sweeps together with- 

 in it all the game belonging to a certain district. In the villages much delight is taken in the 

 attum, a hearty and noisy dance, consisting in violent movements, in which both sexes join. 

 They delight in the fighting of quails, cocks, and other animals ; and they amuse themselves at 

 marbles, hopping on one foot, and other games considered with us as suited only to children. 



Although the Afghans are a sober and temperate people, they are enabled to live well, by 

 the extreme cheapness of all provisions, particularly fruit and vegetables. They are also social 

 and hospitable ; and even the poorer classes, when they can afford to kill a sheep, invite their 

 neighbors to partake. The dishes are merely the mutton with the broth in which it has been 

 boiled ; the drink is buttermilk or sherbet ; and conviviality is chiefly promoted by the use of 

 tobacco. At the tables of the great, rich pilaus and dishes variously dressed, are presented on 

 trays, after the Persian manner, and ornamented with gold and silver leaf. The Afghans talk a 

 good deal at table, usually in a somewhat grave style, tliough not without occasional sallies of 

 mirth. One of their favorite amusements consists in walks and collations in the numerous 

 gardens that surround their cities, particularly Cabal, the views from which are particularly beau- 

 tiful. 



The whole nation of Afghans, like the ancient kingdom of Israel, is divided into tribes, 

 which continue much unmixed, each under its own peculiar government, with little interference 

 from the royal government. The king is, in fact, merely the khan of the Dooraunees, the 

 ruling tribe, as being that of Ahmed Shah, the founder of the empire, and his powers over the 

 other tribes, are confined to nominating their khans, levying troops, and collecting the revenue. 

 The Ghiljies, a proud, fierce, and warlike tribe, are the rivals of the Dooraunies, and submit 

 with impatience to their supremacy. The Berdooraunies, Eusofzies, Sheraunees, Vizerees, 

 are among the principal tribes. The internal government of the tribes is republican ; they are 

 divided into separate clans, and each clan has its chief or khan, chosen from the oldest family. 

 The khans generally act in council with tthe heads of families. The people are much attach- 

 ed to their respective tribes, though but little to the khans, and their republican spirit has pre- 

 served them from the general debasement in the East, caused by the oriental despotisms. "When 

 an English traveler had expatiated on the advantages of a firm and steady government, in the 

 security it gives from alarm, discords, and bloodshed, the Afghans replied, "We are content 

 with discord, we are content with alarms, we are content with blood, but we shall never be 

 content with a master." 



7. History. This region, under the names of Arachosia, Paropamisus, and Drangiana, 

 was looked upon by the ancients as a rude and barbarous tract, but in modern times it has re- 

 peatedly played an important part in history. In the 11th century Mahmoud, of Ghizni, made 

 that city the capital of an empire, which extended from the Indus to the Euphrates ; but his 

 dynasty was crushed by the conquests of Timur, and Cabal became the capital of the great 

 Mogul empire, under some of his successors. In the close of the 17th century the Afghans 

 conquered Persia ; Nadir Skah, however, not only drove them out of that country, but sub- 

 dued them in turn. On his death, Ahmed Shah in the middle of the last century, delivered his 

 country from the Persian yoke, and conquered some of the finest provinces of Western India, 

 ncluding Lahore, Moultan, and Cashmere, to which Vv'as also added Balkh. Since his death 

 internal dissensions have broken the power of this great empire ; the warlike and able Runjeet 



