Book Review: My Khyber Marriage by Morag Murray Abdullah

My Khyber Marriage brings out the experience of a Scotswoman who marries a pathan chieftain’s son. Morag meets Abdullah in Britain. Before marrying him she converts to Islam. Abdullah is the son of a tribal chieftain on the Indian Frontier.

 The first chapter starts with the very first meeting of Morag and Abdullah. Initially Morag’s father is apprehensive about her marriage to an easterner, but later he agrees to the proposal. Despite caution from friends and family Morag marries the easterner. Syed Abdullah takes his wife to his tribal country in the East where a marriage ceremony takes place. Before the marriage, his wife takes a bath in ass’s milk for beautification. Some of the observations of the writer stress that all highland folks around the world believe in luck and many of the blood feuds trace their origin to water issues.

Furthermore the author describes her life inside the fort and the roles assigned to each gender. Adding on to that the writer discusses various legends of the area. One of such legends is known as the white lady’s hill. One day Morag flees from the fort and travels to the white lady on the hill. She takes this risk to prevent a bloody fight. Later her husband discovers this and thanks God for her safety, as she might have got killed by gunfire.

Moreover the author mentions about the time when the women defended the fort resisting an attack. At another instance she describes her journey into the snake valley. This adventure is triggered by the frequent mention of snake valley in different local stories. Morag helps in her sister-in-law’s marriage. Furthermore Morag explains the strict moral codes of the tribal society and the limited choices available to women.

Later Morag and her husband travel to India. They are invited by an Indian Raja. Moray and her family leave for India. She writes a separate chapter on her journey through ninety-nine tunnels. Their visits to Simla and Dehli are also highlighted in later part of the book. In her final chapter Moray compares East and West. On hearing about her mother’s illness, she travels to Scotland along with her daughter Margaret. There she compares her life in the Freeland and that in Scotland. Morag intends to go back home in the Freeland where life is simple and the honor one one’s clan comes before anything else.