In height Kafirs average about 5 ft. 6 in. They are lean; always in
hard condition; active jumpers, untiring walkers, expert mountaineers;
exceptionally they are tall and heavy. With chests fairly deep, and
muscular, springy legs, there is some lightness and want of power
about the shoulder muscles, the arms and the hand-grasp. In complexion
they are purely Eastern. Some tribes, notably the Wai, are fairer than
others, but the average colour is that of the natives of the Punjab.
Albinos, or red-haired people, number less than (1/2)% of the
population. As a rule, the features are well-shaped, especially the
nose. The glance is wild and bold, with the wide-lidded, restless gaze
of the hawk; or the exact converse--a shifty, furtive peer under
lowered brows. This look is rather common amongst the wealthier
families and the most famous tribesmen. The shape of a man's head not
uncommonly indicates his social rank. Several have the brows of
thinkers and men of affairs. The degraded forms are the bird-of-prey
type--low, hairy foreheads, hooked noses with receding chin, or the
thickened, coarse features of the darker slave class. Intellectually
they are of good average power. Their moral characteristics are
passionate covetousness, and jealousy so intense that it smothers
prudence. Before finally destroying, it constantly endangered their
wildly cherished independence. Revenge, especially on neighbouring
Kafirs, is obtained at any price. Kafirs are subtle, crafty, quick in
danger and resolute, as might be expected of people who have been
plunderers and assassins for centuries, whose lives were the forfeit
of a fault in unflinchingness or of a moment's vacillation. Stealthy
daring, born of wary and healthy nerves and the training of
generations, almost transformed into an instinct, is the national
characteristic. Ghastly shadows, they flitted in the precincts of
hostile villages far distant from their own valleys, living upon the
poorest food carried in a fetid goatskin bag; ever ready to stab in
the darkness or to wriggle through apertures, to slay as they slept
men, women and babies. Then, with clothing for prize, and human ears
as a trophy, they sped, watchful as hares, for their far-away hills,
avenger Pathans racing furiously in their track. Kafirs, most faithful
to one another, never abandoned a comrade. If he were killed, they
sought to carry away his head for funeral observances. As traders,
though cunning enough, they are no match for the Afghan. They were
more successful as brigands and blackmailers than as skilled thieves.
In night robbery and in pilfering they showed little ingenuity. Truth
was considered innately dangerous; but a Kafir is far more trustworthy
than his Mahommedan neighbours. Although hospitality is generally
viewed as a hopeful investment, it can be calculated on, and is
unstinted. Kafirs are capable of strong friendship. They are not
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