Glossary of Words Not Generally Used Outside India
A.
Ahl-el-kitáb = the people of the Book: a term applied by Muhammadans to Jews, and Christians whose Scriptures they accept as the Word of God.
B.
Banaprastha = the third stage of the life of a devout Hindu, when he retires from trade or office, and lives in some forest or jungle.
Ber = a tree, very common in Afghanistán—Zisyphus jujuba and Z. vulgaris. Its fruit is largely eaten by the people.
Bhagti = devotion, faith. The Hindus contrast salvation by bhagti to that by karma, or works. Chaitanza and others were the apostles of bhagti.
Bhásha = the script in which the Hindi language is usually written; the language itself.
Brahmachári = the first stage of the life of a devout Hindu, when he is a celibate student under some teacher or guru.
C
Chádar = a cotton or woollen shawl, used as a wrap in the day and a sheet by night.
Chapáti = flat cakes of unleavened bread, cooked over a tauwa, or flat piece of iron.
Chárpár = “the four-legged,” the plain native wooden bedstead.
Chauk = the room which the headman of a village sets apart for the use of the public. Village business and gossip is carried on here, and travellers accommodated.
Chigah = an alarm, sounded by beating a drum in a village, for the arm-bearing population to come out in pursuit of raiders or robbers.
Chilam = the Afghán term for the Indian hookah, or hubble-bubble pipe. The kind used in Afghanistán is simpler in construction, and has a shorter tube.
D
Dáktar = the native corruption of “doctor.”
Dharmsála = a Hindu temple and rest-house for travellers, these two institutions being almost invariably combined.
Dilaq = the patchwork cloak which is characteristic of the Muhammadan faqir.
Dúm = the village barber and musician, these two offices being usually combined; he also does most of the minor surgery of the village.
Dúmba = the fat-tailed Afghán sheep.
F.
Fatwá = a religious decree, promulgated by a court of Mullahs, or by one Mullah of authority.
Feringi = the name universally accorded in Afghanistán to Europeans (the Franks). In British India it has a prejudicial signification, but not so in Afghanistán.
G.
Ghazá = a religious murder, when a Muhammadan fanatic kills a Christian or Hindu for the sake of religion.
Gházi = the fanatic who commits ghazá.
Grihasta = the second stage in the life of a devout Hindu, when he marries a wife, begets children, and carries on his profession or trade.
Guru = a religious preceptor or guide among Hindus or Sikhs.
H.
Hákim = a ruler, an executive officer.
Hakím = a native doctor, who practises on Western or Hippocratic lines.
Halwa = a kind of sweet pudding, very popular with the Afgháns.
Hazrat ’Esa = the Muhammadan appellation for our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hujra = a guest-house, where travellers are accommodated in Afghán villages. It differs from chauk in that it is more specialized for the use of travellers, while the latter is more for the use of the village folk.
I
’Íd = a Muhammadan feast-day. There are two chief feasts—the “’Id-el-fitr,” or day following the fast-month of Ramazán, and the “’Id-el-zoha” or “’Id-el-bakr,” which is the Feast of Sacrifice, in memory of Abraham’s would-be sacrifice of his son.
Izzat = honour: a word constantly in an Afghán’s thoughts and conversation, but which even he is not always able to define.
J.
Jirgah = a council of the tribal elders. This may be appointed by the tribesmen themselves to settle some dispute, or in British India it may be appointed by the civil officer to help in deciding some judicial case.
K.
Káfir = an infidel. Strictly, only one who does not believe in God and the prophets, but loosely applied to all non-Muslims.
Kalámulláh = the Word of God. Comprises, according to Muhammadan teaching, four books—the Law (Tauret), the Psalms (Zabúr), the Gospel (Injil), and the Qurán.
Kalima = the Muhammadan creed: “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the prophet of God.” The recitation of this is the recognized way of declaring one’s self a Muhammadan.
Kanal = a measure of land—one-eighth of an acre.
Karmá = works. According to Hindu philosophy, a man’s reincarnation depends on the character and amount of his karmá.
Karnal = the Afghán corruption of “colonel.”
Khán = a lord, a chief; an honorific title in Afghanistán, or merely part of a man’s name.
L
Lashkar = an army; often applied in Afghanistán to a small body of men going out from a tribe for warlike purposes, but they may be going for peaceful purposes—hence the English “lascar.”
M
Málik = in Afghanistán the headman of a village or tribe.
Má’uzbílláh = a Muhammadan exclamation on hearing bad news or a calamity: “May God protect us!”
Muharram = a yearly Muhammadan feast held on the 10th of the month of Muharram.
Mullah = a Muhammadan preacher.
Munshi = a clerk or preceptor.
P.
Pagari = the Eastern head-dress or turban.
Patwári = a village bailiff, who keeps the accounts of the village lands.
Patwarkhána = the office of the bailiff.
Parda = the Eastern custom of secluding women from the public gaze.
Puláo = a popular dish in Afghanistán, consisting of meat cooked with rice, with spices, nuts, raisins, and sweetenings.
Q.
Qurbán = lit., sacrifice; also used as an expression of devotion by an inferior to a superior.
Qismet = fate, destiny; an ever-present idea in the Muhammadan mind.
R.
Rebáb = an Afghán stringed instrument, resembling a guitar.
S.
Sáhib = lit., gentleman; the term of respect usually applied to Englishmen.
Samádh = the posture assumed by an ascetic for contemplation of the Deity. There are a great variety of these, each possessing its own peculiar merit.
Sangar = an entrenchment. In the mountain warfare of Afghanistán these are made of short walls of stones on the hillside.
Sanyási = the fourth stage in the life of a devout Hindu, when he retires from the world, and gives himself up entirely to religious meditation.
Sardár = a chief, an Afghán nobleman.
Sarkár = the usual term for the British Government.
Sharm = shame. The Afghán idea underlying this word is a complex, in which shame, public disgrace, modesty, delicacy, sense of honour, all share in varying degree. He is always talking of it.
Sháster = a religious book of the Hindus.
Shesham = a common tree on the frontier that yields an excellent hard wood for various articles of household use—Dalbergia sisso.
Sowár = a horseman.
Sura = a chapter of the Qurán.
T.
Tahsíl = the subdivision of an administrative district; the centre for the collection of the revenue.
Tálib = a Muhammadan religious student; a pupil in a mosque.
Tap-jap = a recitation of religious formulæ by a Hindu.
Tauba = lit., repentance; an exclamation denoting abhorrence or contrition.
U.
Ustád = a master or preceptor; a religious teacher (among Muhammadans).
W.
Wiláyati = belonging to Europe; especially applied to merchandise of European origin.
Y.
Yogsadhan = a system of contemplation, combined with religious exercises, whereby occult power is acquired.
Yunáni = pertaining to Greece. This is the word usually applied to that system of native medicine which was derived from the Greeks; in Europe it is spoken of in connection with the name of Hippocrates, who formulated it. The other, or Hindu system, is the Vedic; those who practise the former are called hakíms, the latter baids.
Z.
Zamindár = a farmer, a landowner.
Zyárat = a shrine; the grave of a holy man; a place of pilgrimage.