DESCRIPTION OF JAMSHED, THE SIAH PÔSH KAFIR. Jamshêd of Katár, the nephew of General Feramorz, the renowned Kafir General in the service of the late Amir Sher Ali of Kabul, was a confidential orderly both in the service of the Amir Sher Ali and in that of Yakub Khan, whose cause he espoused against that of his father, in consequence of which, when his master was imprisoned, he fled to Rawalpindi, where he came to me. He had witnessed some of the most exciting scenes in modern Kabul history, had risen to the rank of Major, and had served with Prince Iskandar of Herát, whom he afterwards again met in London. In 1872 I published from Jamshêd's dictation an account of the "Adventures of Jamshed, a Siah Pôsh Kafir, and his wanderings with Amir Sher Alí," and also "a statement about slavery in Kabul, etc.,” which contained the names of places and tribes previously unknown to Geographers and Ethnographers, as well as historical and political material, the value of which has been proved by subsequent events. I took him with me to England, not only on account of the interest which exists in certain scientific quarters as regards the "mysterious race" of which he was a member, but also in order to draw the attention of the Anti-slavery Society and of Government to the kidnapping of Kafirs-the supposed "poor relations" of the European-which is carried on by the Afghans. His measurement was taken, according to the systems of both Broca and Schwarz (of the Novara expedition), by Dr. Beddoe, and the type appeared to approach nearest to that of the slavonized Macedonians of the Herzegovina, like one of whose inhabitants he looked, thus creating far less attention, especially when dressed à l'européenne in Europe, than he did at Lahore, where Lord Northbrook saw him. The Anti-slavery Society sent him to the Chiefs of Katár with a communication to the effect that Englishmen strongly disapproved of slavery, and that they should represent their case to the Panjab Government. A curious incident in connection with his presence in England may be mentioned. It was the 6th May, 1874, the day of the "Two Thousand"; the result of the Newmarket race was eagerly expected, when the Globe came out with the following titles placed on the posters: "Result of the 'Two Thousand."" "An Interesting Race" (the latter was an article on the race of the Siah Pôsh Kafirs). The result may be imagined. Hundreds of Welshers plunged into an account of the Siah Pôsh Kafirs under the notion that they were going to have a great treat in a telegraphic description of a Newmarket race. I was informed that the wrath of the sporting roughs who besieged the office was awful when they found out their mistake. Poor Jamshêd was seen across the Panjab border by one of my Munshis, but returned some months later to Lahore, whence he found his way to Brussa, in Asia Minor. It is supposed that he took service in the Turkish Army, but he has not since been heard of. As I intend to publish an account of the Káfirs of Katár (now, I fear, all Nimchas, or half-Muhammadans), Gambir, etc., I reserve the interesting statements of Jamshêd to their proper Section in my "Káfiristán.” G. W. LEITNER. JAMSHED.-A Katár Káfir; nephew of General FERAMORZ. MEASUREMENTS OF HEAD (BY DR. JOHN BEDDOE). 2. Length from tuber occip. to greatest convexity of frontal 4. Greatest length of head from smooth depression above glabella (ophryon) ... ... ... 5. Greatest length of head from depression at root of nose 6. Length from chin to vertex ... 6.75 1714 6.65 168.9 ... 11. Breadth between greatest convexities of mastoid pro ... 16. Arc from one meatus to the other across top of head... The head, though strongly brachy-cephalic, is distinctly of Aryan type; high and round, but not at all acro-cephalic; the inion is placed very high. JAMSHED (continued). THE FOLLOWING MEASUREMENTS ARE ACCORDING TO THE SYSTEM OF 28. From the growth of hair to the incisura semilunaris sterni 36. Distance of the two angles of the lower jaw JAMSHED.-SYSTEM OF SCHWARZ-(continued). 40. From one spina anterior superior ilii to the other ... ... ... ... ... 43. From one tuberculum majus to the other... ... 45. Circumference of chest on the same level 46. From nipple to nipple 47. Between anterior spines of ilia ... ... ... ... CENTIMETRES. 22°35 26.05 33'5 37' 48. From trochanter major to the spina anterior ilii of the same 50. From same point to the navel ... ... ... ... 51. From navel to upper edge of the symphysis ossium pubis 14'75 43' 53. From the 7th vertebra to the end of the os coccygis ... ... 32°25 25° IO'2 60. Greatest circumference of upper arm over the biceps ... ... NOTE ON THE HEADFORM OF THE DARDS AND OF THE SIAH-POSH KAFIRS. JOHN BEDDOE, M.D., F.R.S. It is a good many years since, by the courtesy of Dr. Leitner, I was enabled to see, examine, and take measurements of Jamshed, a Siah-Posh (Katár) Kafir whom he had brought to England. These measurements are now in course of publication by Dr. Leitner, together with a series taken from certain Dards who had been in his service. The purpose of this note is to draw attention to the very remarkable difference in headform between Jamshêd, the Kafir, and these Dards. Six of these, in whom the kephalic index was ascertained, yielded an average of 75'55, the extremes being 72'5 and 78.7. If we subtract, as is customary, two degrees for the excess caused by the presence of the integuments, we shall have an average for the skull of 73'55, very decidedly dolichokephalic, and limits of 70'5 and 76.7. Three would be dolichokephals, two mesokephals, and one doubtful. These proportions, the general type of feature and figure, the long, wellformed nose, the dark eyes and hair, seem to me to bring them into the same class with their neighbours the Kashmiris, and with the inhabitants. of the Punjab and of North-western India generally. But Jamshêd was of an entirely different type. He was a short man : by the way, the Dards varied extremely in this respect-a short, small man, rather sturdily made, with a short head, broad and flat posteriorly, such as is found abundantly in the Keltic and Slavonic regions of Central Europe, and of the Sarmatic, rather than the Turanian, type of Von Hölder. The kephalic index was very high, not less than 867, or eight degrees beyond that of the broadest-headed Dard; the facial index 80, the zygomata not being largely developed. His eyes were hazel-gray, his hair very dark, but with a reddish-brown tinge. On the whole, though I have nothing to say against Dr. Leitner's conjecture, that Jamshêd was of the Illyro-Macedonian type, such type being possibly still represented in the valleys of the Hindu Kush, where it may have been planted in consequence of Alexander's colonization and the establishment of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom; though, I say, I do not oppose this conjecture, I am disposed simply to refer the man to the Galcha race. This short-headed race, which I may perhaps be allowed to call Iranian or Irano-Aryan, is known to occupy the upper valleys of the Zerafshan and neighbouring rivers, and is supposed, though I confess I can give no real authority for the supposition, to extend across the Oxus and occupy Badakshan. Let this be granted, for the sake of argument, and let us take note of the statement of the late Dr. Bellew, that some of the SiahPosh Kafirs are very dark and others very fair, which may indicate either varieties of origin or segregation in practically endogamous communities, where accidental differences of type may have been perpetuated. If the former cause be admitted, what more likely than that some of the Kafir tribes, instead of being akin to the long-headed Indo-Aryans, are really intruders from Badakshan, and that Jamshêd may have derived his origin and type from such a tribe? |