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The catholicos of the East and his people
The catholicos of the East and his people Author:Arthur John Maclean Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. THE ASHIRET COUNTRY. The Zab—Roads—Bridges—A perilous crossing—A patriarch in difficulties—Crossing in a basket—Building fields—Disappearance ... more »of a landed property—Occupations of the Ashirets— The women—The summer encampment—Massacres by Kurds —Ashiret guns—Tiari houses—The fireplace—The roofs and mosquitoes—Vines and grapes—Types of face—Jilu and Bas —The Butterstone—Maliks —The stone of Balal the fool— The Yezidis. ET us now descend the course of the Zab from Qudshanis to the Ashiret country, which comprises the districts of Tiari, Tkhuma, Diz, Waltu, Tal, Bas, and Jilu. The first thing that will strike the stranger is the clannishness of the people. The tribes not unfrequently fight one another, and in times past some have even helped the Kurds against another tribe. It is this want of unity which has made massacres in the past possible. Let us hope the Syrians have now learnt wisdom. It is a matter of common experience to be told by a local guide that he cannot go further than a certain place, because there is enmity between his village and that which the traveller is approaching Through these districts a traveller—there are very few of them—will do well to take a letter from the patriarch if he can obtain one. It will be of more use to him than any documents or guards which the Government can provide. As he goes along the rough roads his " peace " is replied to with " In peace, a hundred peaces," or " In peace, in goodness " (so. " you have come "), which are the words of welcome. The traveller will probably find his way to the house of the malik, or temporal chief of the district, to whom he will make a present of a knife, or some such thing, and who, if his credentials are right, will receive him hospitably. These Ashiret districts are in the vall...« less