Art. XVI.—The Vernacular Literature and Folklore of the Panjáb

373 ART. XVI.—The Vernacular Literature and Folklore of the Punjab. By THOMAS H. THOKNTON, C.S.I., D.C.L. THE aim of the present paper is to give some idea of what is known of the ' Vernacular Literature and Folklore of the Panjab.' It lays no claim to be the result of original research. It is, in fact, little more than an epitome of information collected from books, periodicals, and official records, or gathered from the lips of Indian friends. More- over, the task of collecting information has been greatly simplified by the appearance, within the last year, of a remarkable work by a rising Indian civilian. I refer to the Report of the late census of the Panjab, by Mr. Denzil Ibbetson. The Report is a monument of elaborate research, is written in a most attractive style, and has been justly described by high authority as a " mine of information,"— not only regarding census operations—but also concerning the history, races, languages, and literature of the Panjab. For the first portion of this paper free use has been made of the contents of that valuable work. I shall conclude by a few observations on the effects of thirty-five years of British rule on the development of vernacular literature and the intellectual condition of the people. Before describing the literature of the Panjab, it is right that I should say a few words about the land and the people. The province of the Panjab, with its feudatory states (exclusive of Kashmir), covers an area exceeding that of DownloadedPrussia from https://www.cambridge.org/core, and includes a populatio. INSEADn, onof 24 nearl Jul 2018y at23,000,00 10:32:40, subject0 souls to the, Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00165566 374 PANJAB LITERATURE AND FOLKLORE. comprising one-fourth of the Musalman, one-twentieth of the Hindu, and eleven-twelfths of the Sikh subjects of the Queen. There are other provinces of India more vast, more populous, more wealthy; but none, perhaps, present such striking variety of climate, scenery, and population, or afford so many points of interest to the historian, the ethnologist, or the student of ancient institutions. On the south-west it includes the almost rainless region of Multan, dependent for very life upon wells, canals, and river inundation; further north vast grazing grounds of scrub and bush, then a wide grain-producing tract extending through zones of increasing rainfall and fertility to the foot of the Himalayas; then stretches up among the mountains through forests and rich valleys up to and beyond the peaks of the central ranges, and embraces the Tibetan valleys of Lahul and Spiti. On the east it includes the Mughal capital of Dehli, and the western borders of Hindustan, on the south encroaches on the great desert of Rajputana, and on the west includes within its trans-Jhilam territory a tract which, except in respect of geographical position, can hardly be said to belong to India. Nor are its inhabitants less diverse than its physi- cal aspects. Writing in Akbar's time, Abulfazl, the great author of the Ain-i-Akbari, describes Lahore as the " grand resort of people of all nations" ; this description is, in a sense, applicable to the whole of the Panjab. Upwards of three hundred separate tribes and castes are enumerated in the census papers, and these are further subdivided into a multitude of clans and sections./ The bulk of its peasantry are Jats, believed to be of Scythic origin, strong in frame, thrifty, hardworking, impatient of tribal or communal control, but orderly and well disposed. Next in importance come the Rajputs, of pure Arian stock, brave, proud, with strong feudal instincts and respect for tribal heads, but lazy and indifferent husbandmen. Then the Ardins, a purely Panjab race, the market-gardeners of the province. Next the Gujars, a tribe of eastern Tartary, the herdsmen of the lower hills and riverain lowlands. Among the minor tribes are Qhakkars, Shiah immigrants from Khorassan, long Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. INSEAD, on 24 Jul 2018 at 10:32:40, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00165566 PANJAB LITERATURE AND FOLKLORE. 375 dominant in the Salt Range ; Tdj'ak aboriginals from Iran ; Mughal descendants from the soldiery of Baber; Ahits from the west coast of Bombay; Khaggas and Qoreshis from Arabia; Meoft and Minas, pre-Arian races from the Aravalli hills. Its central grazing grounds are occupied by Kdthias, Kharrals and other nomad tribes of great antiquity ; its hills, by Bogras, Kanets, Thakors and other races peculiar to the Province; while scattered through its towns and villages, are the Khatris, Aroras, SMhs, Bhdbras and Pardchas, who conduct its commerce. Lastly, on the North-West frontier is the Pathan or Afghan of India, whose nationality is still a puzzle, bigoted, vindictive, faithless, unamenable to chiefs' control, but hospitable, and with a charm of manner which makes one almost forget his treacherous nature; and the Biloch of Persian stock, revengeful and predatory, and, like the Pathan, hospitable, but, unlike his Pathan neighbour, devoted to his tribal chiefs; less turbulent, perhaps, less treacherous, less fanatical, or, to quote the words of Mr. Ibbetson, " with less of God in his creed and less of the devil in his nature." So much for the land and the people,—I add a few words on their past history. In pre-historic times the Panjab was the scene of the great conflict which forms the main incident of the Mahdbhdrata. In history it first appears as the scene of Alexander's latest exploit, and the rude semblances of triremes which still ply on the waters of the Satlaj are, perhaps, a reminiscence of the conqueror's fleet. After a blank interval of eighty years we find the Panjab—or part of it—under the sway of the Greek Satraps of Bactria. The legends of their coins, first Greek, then Greek and Pali, attest their conciliatory policy, and we trace their civilizing influence in fragments of artistic statuary and sculpture from the ruined Buddhist monasteries of Swat and Tusufzai. But it was not to last. Successive swarms of Scythian immigrants from the arid plateaus of the Oxus, the Xantii of Strabo, the Iatii of Ptolemy and Pliny, the Jats of modern times, first filled the valley of the Indus, Downloadedthe fromn https://www.cambridge.org/corestreamed into the Panjab. INSEAD., on 24B yJul 2018isolatin at 10:32:40g Indi, subjecta tofro them Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00165566 376 PANJAB LITEEATUEE AND FOLKLORE. Greece, they changed the course of history. But they gave the Panjab its best cultivators. To this day their favourite legendary hero is a Scythian warrior, and in their sturdy in- dependence, their innate love of horses and strong drink, and their use of the bow as the symbol of sovereignty and homage, they preserve some traces of the life and habits of their ancestors. Eight hundred years elapse. The Panjab is under Rajput chiefs, and Islam appears upon the scene. I will not weary you with an account of the Muhammadan dynasties of the Panjab. Suffice it to say that the Province was the scene of the struggles which first gave India to the Muhammadans, which in turn transferred the empire of Hindustan from the Lodi to the Mughal dynasty, and from the Mughals to the Mahrattas, which shook the power of the Mahrattas at Panipat, and finally crushed it at Dehli and made us masters of northern India. Meanwhile Sikhism in its militant form was developing, and culminated in the chiefship of Maharaja Ran jit Singh, who died, in 1839, Lord of the Panjab from the Sulimani mountains to the Satlaj, and from Kashmir to beyond Multan. In 1849 the Panjab was annexed to the British Empire, and thus, in the language of a local ballad, " sorrow was silenced and the Sikh Empire became a story of the past." Let us now approach more closely the main subject of the paper, and enquire what are the languages spoken in this region of mingled nationalities? According to the returns of the last census of the Panjab, the number of eastern languages spoken in the province is ten. The inhabitants of the central plain—three-fifths of the entire population—speak Punjabi, a language closely akin to the Hindi, but sufficiently distinct in its phonetic system and vocabulary to admit of its being recognized as a separate tongue, as separate, perhaps, as Flemish from Dutch, or Catalan from Provencal; as such it is included by Mr. Beames among the seven modern Arian languages of India, —languages bearing the same relation to the Sanskrit as the DownloadedRomanc from https://www.cambridge.org/coree languages of Europ. INSEADe to th, one 24Lati Jul 2018n o fat Cicer10:32:40o, subjector Csesar to the. Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00165566 PANJAB LITERATURE AND FOLKLORE. 377 The peasantry of the eastern districts speak the western dialect of Hindi known as the Brij Bhdsha, and the Persianized form of that language known as Urdu or Hindu- stani is spoken as a vernacular by all the better classes resident in towns, and is further used as a lingua franca throughout the province. The language-field of Hindi (within and without the Panjab) is said to cover 240,000 square miles, and the number speaking it is estimated to exceed 50,000,000 persons; but of these not more than 2,000,000 reside in the Panjab.

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