The writer’s team consists of Abdullah Beg and Daulat
Shah belonging from Hunza; his cooks Abdullah Rathar and Aziza Rathar were both
from Kashmir. Later on another man named Hasil Shah from Hunza joined the
group.Starting from Punyal he informs the reader about the adventures he came
across there. One of the observations
made by Schomberg while travelling through Punyal was that the Raja of Punyal
lived on the opposite side of the river. This raja would cross the river on a
narrow rope bridge and meet the passengers on the road. This act of his saved
him from spending on his guests as he would meet them on the road. Schomberg
adds on that the chiefs of Punyal are largely of Chitrali descent. Shah Kutor
and Shah Burush being the grandsons of Shah Khushwaqt. Moreover he compares the
people of Hunza and Punyal. He is of the view that the men of Hunza are better
climbers and fighters. Punyalis on the other hand hate agriculture.
Schomberg also briefs his reader about his travels through
Kuh and Ghizr. Kuh and Ghizer had one governor.
This governor was appointed by the British government as the other governors of
Yasin and Ghizer too were appointed by them. At various places he mentions the
issue of food security in the region. He believes that the staple food in Hunza
was apricot unlike Kuh and Ghizer where things are differet. Furthermore
Schomberg confirms the presence of English trout in the Ghizer River. Moving on,
in his account the author refers to the murder of George Hayward, a British
traveller, in the nineteenth. This mysterious murder took place in Yasin where
Schomberg was travelling now. Yasin exported wheat and Barley as it had these
crops in abundance, but there was a shortage of pastureland in the territory. Schomberg
categorizes the people in the Gilgit agency in terms of strength and
intelligence. He refers to the people of Hunza as superior among all the people
in the whole expanse. Being a keen observer he writes that in the upper Yasin
valley, women did not work as they did in Hunza and Punyal. He praises the Yak,
a domesticated mountain animal at Ishkoman and describes its role in detail. According
to him the wakhis fully use the yak for their different tasks. Other than this
the author has mentioned details about Ali Mardan Shah, an old wakhi chief from
Wakhan who used to live in Imit. With that on page ninety the pirs of
Chatorkhand have also been discussed. Throughout his account various
comparisons of Hunza and Nagir have been made by Schomberg. The Mir of Hunza at
that time was Mir Nazim Khan who was from a peasant mother. Nazim hated to see
his people leave his valley. Furthermore in the book local folklores, festivals
and superstitions have been highlighted in great detail. The practice of
fratricide was very common in those days. For instance in Hunza Mir Ghazan Khan
had murdered his father Ghazunfur Khan. He also murdered his uncle Abdulla Khan.
The roles and responsibilities of
various functionaries have been outlined by Schomberg. Under the Mir worked the
Wazir, Trangpa, Uyum, Chirbu, Yarpa and Elchi
. These were the elements of his power and influence in the area.
In chapter twelve different castes/ races in Gilgit
region have been identified by the author. Schomberg believes that Yeshkun, Ronos and
Shins are not necessarily different races. Some of them are castes and the
categorization of races in the region is false. Doms consist of muscians,
blacksmiths and cobblers while wakhi to him are a race of an old ‘Persian
stock’. According to him Ishkoman had been colonized many times by Gilgit and
Bagrot. Before that it belonged to Yasin. In this book the major events of the
Hunza-Nagir war of 1891 have also been discussed. The foster relationship of
the ruling family with the locals has been reflected. Schomberg says that the locals
of Hunza, Nagir and Punyal had to pay money to their respective rulers. This
money was used by the rulers for the marriage of their offspring. Schomberg’s
account also includes his th local tales and stories. He mentions stories of
witch and wizards in Hunza. He considers that the apples of Passu are famous.
On his tour to Chupursan he wrote that there were 60 families in Reshit, a
small village in Chupursan Valley. He narrates that the body of Baba Ghundi is
not buried at the shrine in Chupursan. In the last chapter of the book Darel
and Tangir are discussed in great detail. The various attempts by rulers to
rule the area have been mentioned. Schomberg considers Pakhtun Wali, son of Mir
Wali from Yasin to have ruled this area for 12 years. He stands to be the only one to do so under an
autocratic rule.
R.C.F Schomberg while travelling through the region has in some of the cases included minute details and in other instances just overlooked many important details which if included would have given a comprehensive outlook to his account.
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