From the Black Mountain to Waziristan: Being an account of the border countries and the more turbulent of the tribes controlled by the north-west frontier province, and of our military relations with them in the pastWylly, H. C. (Harold Carmichael)
History
From the Black Mountain to Waziristan: Being an account of the border countries and the more turbulent of the tribes controlled by the north-west frontier province, and of our military relations with them in the past
Of such part of the Bara Valley as is occupied by the Orakzai, it may be
said to be that portion between the right bank of the Bara River and the
Mastura—formerly known as the Orakzai Bara—and enclosed between Bar And
Khel, where the Mastura makes a sharp bend to the south, and Mamanai,
where it joins the Bara on its entry into the Kajurai plain. From this
part of the Bara Valley the upper reaches of the Mastura are arrived at
by a very narrow, rocky gorge to Sapri and Kwaja Khidda, thence over the
Sapri Pass—an ascent of some 2000 feet—and thence by the stream bed or
over the Sangra Pass to Mishti Bazar and the upper Mastura.
The Orakzais are now usually considered to be divided into six clans,
since, of the original seven, one is practically extinct; these six
clans are again sub-divided into many divisions; the six clans are as
under:
1. Ismailzai.
2. Lashkarzai.
3. Massuzai.
4. Daulatzai.
5. Muhammad Khel.
6. Sturi Khel or Alizai.
In addition, however, to the Orakzai clans, there are four hamsaya
clans:
1. Ali Khel.
2. Malla Khel.
3. Mishtis.
4. Sheikhans.
The _Ismailzai_ are divided into six divisions; all of them are Sunnis
by faith, and the majority are Samil in politics. The clan is very
disunited, but can turn out some 1800 fighting men, chiefly from two of
the divisions, which are rather increasing in power and numbers at the
expense of the remaining four. One of these divisions, the Rabia Khel,
is remarkable for the fair hair, fair complexions and blue eyes of those
belonging to it. The Ismailzai, residing as they do rather nearer to our
territory than the rest of the Orakzais, have hitherto given us
considerably more than their share of tribal trouble.
Commencing from the east, the settlements of the Ismailzai extend along
the right bank of the Khanki River to near Shahu Khel, and include the
northern slopes of the Samana Range. This tract belongs to the Rabia
Khel and Akhel divisions, and they also own a small strip of ground on
the left bank of the river, while both have also settlements in the
British portion of the Miranzai Valley. Another division, the Mamazai,
live in the Daradar Glen, which drains into the Khanki on the left bank,
and here is the village of Arkhi, of more than local reputation for the
manufacture of rifles. The remaining three divisions of this clan are
scattered about in small settlements on the left bank of the Khanki
River, the Khadizais at Sadarai and Tutgarhi, the Sadakhel at Ghandaki,
at the foot of the Sampagha Pass leading to the Mastura Valley, and the
Isa Khel in hamlets on either side of the pass itself. The Isa Khel are
considered inviolable and are hamsayas of the Rabia Khel, Ali Khel and
Mishtis—the two last themselves hamsaya clans—while the curse of an Isa
Khel is said to possess particular potency, and is in consequence
dreaded by the neighbouring tribesmen.
[Sidenote: The Lashkarzai]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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