of the window, but some months later he
heard that his friend the chief, having inadvertently gone to the
open window, had been shot there by his cousin. So universal is the
enmity existing between cousins in Afghanistan that it has become a
proverb that a man is "as great an enemy as a cousin," the causes of
such feuds being such as are more likely to arise between those who
have some relationship. The causes of 90 per cent. of such feuds are
described by the Afghans as belonging to one of three heads--zan, zar,
and zamin, these being the three Persian words meaning women, money,
and land; and disputes are more likely to arise between cousins than
between strangers on such matters as these.

CHAPTER II

AFGHAN TRADITIONS

Israelitish origin of the Afghans--Jewish practices--Shepherd
tradition of the Wazirs--Afridis and their saint--The zyarat
or shrine--Graveyards--Custom of burial--Graves of holy
men--Charms and amulets--The medical practice of a faqir--Native
remedies--First aid to the wounded--Purges and blood-letting--Tooth
extraction--Smallpox.

A controversy as to the origin of the Afghans centres round the
question as to whether they are the children of Israel or not;
and there are two opposing camps, one regarding it as an accepted
historical fact that they are descended from the lost ten tribes of
Israel, and the other repudiating all Israelitish affinities except
such as may have come to them through the Muhammadan religion. The
Afghans themselves--at least, the more intelligent part of the
community--will tell you that they are descended from the tribe of
Benjamin, and will give you their genealogy through King Saul up to
Abraham, and they almost universally apply the term "Bani-Israil,"
or children of Israel, to themselves. Wolff, the traveller, relates
that an Afghan, Mulla Khodadad, gave him the following history:
Saul had a grandson called Afghana, the nephew of Asaph, the son of
Berachiah, who built the Temple of Solomon. One year and a half after
Solomon's death he was banished from Jerusalem to Damascus on account
of misconduct. In the time of Nebuchadnezzar the Jews were driven
out of Palestine and taken to Babylon. The descendants of Afghana
residing at Damascus, being Jews, were also carried to Babylon,
from whence they removed, or were removed, to the mountain of Ghor,
in Afghanistan, their present place of residence, and in the time of
Muhammad they accep