The Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume IX, No. 4 [‎204v] (79/172)

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THE SOUTHERN BORDERLANDS OF AFGHANISTAN.
and down the Gonial. They have, therefore, a regular order of going
fixed by long-established custom, and according to this order they move
down tribe by tribe each autumn from the highlands of Afghanistan to
the plains of India. When the heat of the Indian spring sets in, they
all turn their faces homewards, and tribe by tribe, in the old-established
order, they wend their way up the Gomal again to the cooler regions
of their summer highlands, which they know by the general name of
Khorassan. Above Domandi, about half of them continue up the Gomal
river, and the other half takes the more western route along the Kundar
river. Lieut. Broadfoot, in 1839, travelled in disguise from Ghazni with
a Powindah Kafila A train of travellers; a caravan; or any large party of travellers. to India, and an account of his adventurous journey
is to be found in the earlier records of this Society. He is the only
European who had ever been along the Gomal route above Domandi.
The journey of these Powindahs is not a peaceful one by any means.
The Waziri tribe, whose country fringes the Gomal route from the
plains as far as Domandi, have from time immemorial laid in wait for
these passing caravans, or kafilas, as they are called, and year by year
have exacted their tribute of blood and loot from any caravan that, from
inferior numbers or want of precautions, may have offered an opening
to their ever-watchful enemies.
At the time of our stay at Domandi in 1894, the Waziris were
making themselves particularly objectionable. The yearly exodus of
the Powindah tribes from India to Afghanistan was at its height, and
kafila A train of travellers; a caravan; or any large party of travellers. after kafila A train of travellers; a caravan; or any large party of travellers. of these tribes used to pass our camp, all with the
same tale of woe—so many men killed and wounded at one place on the
road, and so many camels carried away at some other place by the hated
Waziris. To see these large kafilas passing, as we did, day after day for
many weeks, was a very interesting sight. First of all came their
advance party of fighting men, armed to the teeth with guns, pistols,
swords, and shields, those on horseback often armed with a long lance
in addition to their other martial equipment. With these march their
musicians with drums and sirinais, which are a rather pleasing kind of
reed instrument. Every now and then one of the footmen breaks into a
dance, singing at the top of his voice, and spins round and round waving
his sword and rifle; another and another join in, and they dance madly
round until exhausted or the rough nature of the ground makes further
dancing impossible. On approaching the place where they intend to
camp, music and dancing are renewed with redoubled vigour, and often
continued until the ladies of their household, who are following behind,
have arrived, and have erected the tents and arranged the belongings of
their lords and masters. After the fighting men come long strings and
strings of camels, donkeys, and cattle, sheep and goats, accompanied by
moie fighting men, and crowds of women and children. All except
the men are laden with something—the camels with heavy loads of mer
chandize or household belongings, others with gaudier trappings carrying