We Were Now Once More On The Beaten Track, For Though The
Country South Of Gwarjak Was, Previous To Our Crossing It, Unexplored,
The Journey From Kelat To Gajjar Has Frequently Been Made By Europeans
During The Past Few Years.
Our reception by the natives of Gajjar
(only twenty miles from Gwarjak) was a pleasant contrast to that given
us at the latter place.
Camp was no sooner pitched than presents of
eggs, milk, rice, and tobacco were brought in, and I was cordially
welcomed by the chief of the village.
Gajjar is a ramshackle, tumble-down place of about three hundred
inhabitants. On a small hillock to the right of the village stands
the fort, a square building of solid masonry, which, however, is now
roofless, and has only three walls standing. The garrison (of six men)
were lodged in a flimsy tent pitched in the centre of the ruins.
Half the houses were constructed of dried mud; the remainder, as at
Gwarjak, of palm leaves. The village stands in a grove of date palms,
and the swarms of flies were consequently almost unendurable. We
encamped close to the village well, to which, during the afternoon,
many of the female population came to draw water. Two of them, bright,
pleasant-featured girls of eighteen or twenty, were the best-looking
specimens of the Baluch woman that I met with throughout the journey.
Towards sunset the corpse of a young man was borne past my tent
and interred in a little cemetery hard by. The burial rites of the
Baluchis are very similar to those of Persia. When a death occurs,
mourners are sent for, and food is prepared at the deceased's house
for such friends as desire to be present at the reading of prayers for
the dead, while "kairats," or charitable distributions of food, are
made for the benefit of the soul of the deceased. A wife, on the
decease of her husband, neglects washing, and is supposed to sit
lamenting by herself for not less than fifteen days. Long before this,
however, her female friends come to her house and beg her to
desist from weeping, bringing with them the powder of a plant
called "larra." With this the widow washes her head, and then
resumes her former life and occupations. If, however, by
thoughtlessness or malice, her friends defer their visit, she must
mourn for a much longer period alone. A curious Baluch custom is that
of digging a grave much deeper for a woman than a man. They argue that
woman is by nature so restless she would not remain quiet, even in
death, without a larger proportion of earth over her.
[Illustration: NOMAD BALUCH TENT]
In the matter of births and marriages the Baluchis, being of the
Mohammedan religion, regulate their ceremonies mainly according to the
Koran. Marriage is attended with great festivities. The first step
is the "zang," or betrothal, which is regarded as of a very sacred
nature, the final rite being known as "nikkar." On the wedding-day
the bridegroom, gorgeously arrayed, and mounted on his best horse or
camel, proceeds with his friends to a "ziarat," or shrine, there to
implore a blessing, after which the "winnis," or marriage, is gone
through by a moullah. On the birth of a child there is also much
feasting. The fourth day after birth a name is given to the infant,
and on the sixth an entertainment to friends. The following day the
rite of circumcision ("kattam") is performed, though not always, this
being sometimes postponed for a year or more. On this occasion (as at
a death) large distributions of food are made to the poor.
The country between Gajjar and Jebri, which was reached next day, is
bare and sterile, notwithstanding that, at the latter place, water is
seldom scarce, even in the dryest seasons. The plain, which consists
of loose, drifting sand, with intervals of hard, stony ground, is
called Kandari. The cold here in the months of January and February
is intense. We passed some curious cave-dwellings in the side of the
caravan-track, in which the natives take refuge from the icy blasts
that sweep across here in winter. They are formed by digging holes
eight to ten feet deep. These are rudely thatched over with palm
leaves, bits of stick, and plaited straw, thus forming a warm and
comfortable shelter.
The Chief of Jebri, one Chabas Khan, rode out to meet me, clad in
a long gown of golden thread, which, flashing in the sun, was
discernible a couple of miles off. Jebri contains about four hundred
inhabitants, and is a neatly built village, protected by a large mud
fort, and a garrison of twenty Baluchis armed with Snider rifles.
Chabas, who was very proud of his village, informed me that his
rule extended over a considerable extent of country, containing a
population of over 20,000. Many of his subjects were natives of
Seistan, Kharan, and Shotrawak, all Afghan border districts, and gave
him at times no little trouble. The Jebri fort had been attacked only
a year previous to my visit, but Chabas (who I afterwards heard at
Kelat is a renowned fire-eater) gave the rebels such a warm reception
that there has been no outbreak since. My genial old host had himself
given a good deal of trouble to the Kelat Government in his younger
days, and told me with evident pride that he had led many a chupao in
the good old days. The savage and predatory character of the Baluchi
was formerly well exemplified in these lawless incursions, when large
tracts of country were pillaged and devastated and the most unheard-of
cruelties practised. Chupaos are now a thing of the past. Pottinger,
who traversed this country in the last century, and had more than one
unpleasant _rencontre_ with these armed bands, thus describes one of
these plundering expeditions -
"The depredators are usually mounted on camels, and furnished,
according to the distance they have to go, with food, consisting of
dates, goat's milk, and cheese.
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