Page 40 - PERSIAN 2 1879_1883

28 administration report or tub Persian gulp political

Supplementary Litl.
In addition to the above the following districts contain mules in
the possession of villagers, a^ few bred among the villages, but the
majority purchased from the Eeliyals above described. These mules arc
used on the several routes os well as for local work : —

Estimated num­
Names of districts. ber of mule*. -Rbmabks.

Bch!>eban
Seerawi
Koodasht
Zaidan 1,300 No herds.
Hindiyan
Ida’sboor
Cha'ab
See wand 400
Dashti 400
Tangistrn 200 Ditto.
Dashti^tan 800
Arba'a 200

It will be s\*eu from the above list that the three great tribes of the
Ka-hkai, with its numerous subdivisions, the Bakhtyari and the Abu
Ghadddreh, arc the chief breeders and suppliers of mules to the rest of
Persia.
The Kashkai are of Turk origin, and are scattered pretty well
throughout the whole province of Fdrs; wintering in the lowlands and
spending the summer in the elevated tracks between Shiraz and Isfahan.
The Bakhtyari, also of Turk origin, are a very powerful and in­
dependent tribe rendering feudal allegiance to their Eel-Khani and
caring very little for the Central Government at Teheran. They are
divided into two principal divisions, the Haftlang and the Charlang
with several subdivisions. Their summer quarters are the mountain
pastures in the vicinity of Isfahan, the head-quarters being at Chukakore
in the Chharmahal district about four farsakbs from Isfahan. In winter
they pitch their camps in the lowlands about Shuster and Dizful, their
head-quarters being three stages from the former place.
The Abu Gbadd^reh are a Kurd tribe living near the borders of
Turkish Kurdistan, their head-quarters being not far from Zobab.
The number of mules given in the above estimates are quite
separate from the mules belonging to the professional muleteers, and
employed by them on the principal trade routes. These latter are
purchased from the Eeliyat tribes. They are generally purchased when
three or between three and four years old. The price paid varies a good
deal; a Chanvadar (muleteer) informed me he generally paid from SO