In August, 1985, I had the excellent fortune of working with Ghâziuddin Khân and Muhammad Musharaf, two prominent and enthusiastic brothers from the phaTakê' clan of Açharê't. Although most of my brief research with them concentrated on the lexicon and phonology of the language of Açharê't, I was able to make a short tape recording of an extemporaneous account of the history of the Açhar'îta (the people of Açharê't), given by Ghâziuddin Khân. The transcription of that account appears below, with an English translation. Poor recording circumstances rendered the tape difficult to transcribe in some places; bracketed question marks follow phrases whose transcription or translation are best guesses.
| cilâs'î be, tarbûrânô'm_sang'i, zm'uka bilôSTâ', hukum'at bilôSTâ', asâ'm šik'ast de b'e uDhêw'i yh'ôla, Chatr'ôla the. Chatr'ôla maji bi x'âs açharê't thani zh'ai, be muq'îm bhila. muq'îm bhili pah'urta, b'e inda he˜s'ila de; rais'î hukumat'î dî muxad'uši be yh'ôla w'ânda. t'âi pah'urta bâ, aRas'î, xayrull'aî hukum'at yh'ôlo. xayrull'a patu bâ, kaTur'eî hukum'at yh'ôlo. açharêt'a_as'î, d'ôda, âbâ't the, kâl'âSam dî, ghin'i, âbâ't the, an'i watan'i h'ino ta, taqrib'an 'âST n'û sowa kâl'î, w'axt. | Having fought with our agnates over land and government, we were defeated, and we fled and came from Chilâs to Chitrâl. Then in Chitrâl we became residents in a place called Açharêt. After becoming residents, we remained here. We had come before the Rais government. After that came the government of Khairullah. After Khairullah came the KaTuré government. Our grandfathers took Açharêt from the Kalashas, developed it, and have been in this homeland for approximately eight or nine hundred years' time. |
| g'iD, hâraN'û, hâraNdhrô'k asî d'ôda f'atah th'îlo. raisân'ômî, aR'â bândi, madat'i bândi, as'î d'ôdo axer'i dôdo, mitra'i, giD'ûcamî bhêNp'utr de. tân'im bâ, d'ui asî d'ôdo mher'i, qal'ang gih'âna [?] than'î. 'â mitra'i ghini g'ia ghini g'ia pah'urta, asî d'ôdo gêD'îlo ta t'as dî khoj'ôlo, ki th'î bâbu n'a hino [?] t'u, g'oî yhêw [?] ani phar [?] asâ'm bhanjay'ânu ya girgiray'ânu. t'î teNi y'êi dî khojâ', teNi b'âbî duSman'a sa'î the, putr'â [?] b'eh [?], rais'a kêci b'e, â kâ'l nokar'i the, êtaî', tas'î mad'at, ghin'i wha'i, g'iD, hâraN'û lâmburb'aT, hâraNdhrô'k, râmr'am. ph'atah th'îlo. ph'atah th'îli pah'urta, wap'as yh'ôlo. yh'e açharêt'a yhei [?] muq'îm bhîlo. | Our grandfathers conquered Gid, Harandu, and the Harandu Valley, with the assistance of the Raises. Our ultimate grandfather, Mitra'i, was a sister's son of the Gid people. They killed another of our grandfathers while he was getting [?] the grazing fee, and carried off this one Mitra'i. After they carried him off, when our grandfather grew up, he was asked, "Isn't it so [?], that your father is coming over from there and hitting us or going around [?] to us? Having asked his mother and ascertained that [they were] his father's enemies, the son [?] went over to the Raises, did one year's service, and from there got that assistance, came down, and conquered Gid, Harandu, Langurbat, the Harandu Valley, and Râmram. After having conquered them, he came back. He came to Açharêt and became a resident. |
| b'e âšr'et, mitra'i awl'ât taqrib'an tr'ô zara âbâd'î. trô thy'âDa zara âbâd'î xalak, t'ipa bî be. açharêt'a âb'âd hina. G'ar bi as'î s'an bi as'î. t'âi pah'urta. b'e t'ipa tî, an'i taqrib'an aSn'û sawa kâl'a teN'i watan'i zindag'i thâna š'ina qôm as'î awel'î dôdî n'ô, maCô'k, maCô'ka patu âxer'i açharêt'i asî âxer'i dôdî n'ô, mitra'i. b'e ani watan'i t'ipa bi zindag'i thâna asî zab'ân š'ina. 'â be cilâs'î xalaka. asl'i, be cilâs'î. t'î maj'i bi b'e aRas sangi, as'î q'ôm, S'îng qôma sangi tal'oq hino. gilgit'a maji bi. b'e asl'i S'îng qômî awl'at tas'î ba. p'ûtro p'utr_de êRo, maCô'k, sa maCôk'î awlêd'î maji ba be. b'as. | We in Ashret, the offspring of Mitra'i, are approximately three, three-and-a-half thousand inhabitants now. We are flourishing in Açharêt. The mountains and the mountain pastures are ours. From then until now we have been living in our own homeland for these approximately eight or nine hundred years as the Shina tribe; our first grandfather's name was MaCô'k. After MaCô'k the name of our ultimate grandfather in Açharêt was Mitra'i. We are still making our lives in this homeland, and our language is Shina. We are one people from Chilâs; originally, we are from Chilâs. From among them we, our tribe, are attached to the Shîng tribe, from within Gilgit. We are originally the offspring of the Shîng tribe; from that, through one son to another to MaCo'k, we are among MaCôk's offspring. Enough. |
| [Click here to hear the recording (MP3 format, 714 Kb) of the following paragraph.] | |
| b'e, cilâs'î, g'upusî pânda de, l'aspura the yh'ôla. l'aspura c'ûr brhâw'u de; c'ûr bhrâw'u yhe 'â bhro ta lasp'ura dhar'îto. t'â rais'a xân sangi as'î d'ôdam sangi b'îDi, aR'a the, b'îDi iz'at asî d'ôdamî the asâ'm 'â bhrâw'u ta zhâ'i diti, l'aspuru; 'âka ta d'iti šiš'i dâra aR'â, kalâ's thani d'îš hino t'â; 'âka ta d'iti açharêt'a. 'âka ta bâ, xayrull'aî waxtî, xayrull'aî jang'î waxt'î âDa bhrâw'u as'î an'î we be, aR'â tî, ghin'i, caxasar'ai tî ghin'i, â dîš, k'i tas'î nô sâ'w. as'î âDa bhrâw'u ba t'â dhar'îta. se b'e c'ûr bhrâw'u êRa tarixa bânde ani watan'i yh'e, 'inda bheši h'ina. t'ipa bi hina. | We came from Chilâs via the Gupis route to Laspur. In Laspur there were four brothers. The four brothers came, and one brother remained in Laspur. There our grandfathers made much honor with the Rais Khân, and one of our brothers was given a place at Laspur. One was given [a place] in the Shishi Valley; there's a town called Kalâ's there. One was given [a place] in Açharêt. Around the time of Khairullah's war half of our brothers down here went and seized [the country] down to Chagha Sarai, and half of our brothers remained there in one town, whose name is Sâu. Those four brothers went and came to this homeland with that history, and [we] are still settled here, even now. |
Another version that I was told, which was recorded in my notes in English but not on tape, goes as follows:
The ancestors of the people of Açharê't were driven out of Chilâs to Tangir, because thay had a fight among themselves over leadership. There the faction from Chilâs attacked and drove them out of Tangir. They fled to Laspur. There were three brothers: l'aphur, Cô'k, and maCô'k. Laphur remained in Laspur, Cô'k came to Açharê't, and MaCô'k went on to Sâu. This was in the time of Khairullah, a mehtar who lived before [sic!] the time of the Rais mehtars.
The refugees were at that time kâfirs, and the area around Açharê't was inhabited by the Kalash, ruled by Naghar Shah, who gave the refugees shelter. Later he imposed a grazing tax on them. They paid for a while; but the burden became too great, and the refugees decided to get rid of Naghar Shah. They sent a woman crying to Naghar Shah's fort at Mirkhani, to say that everyone had fled to Dir because they could no longer pay the tax. He got angry and set out in pursuit, only to fall into an ambush. The Açhar'îta killed him, and his blood still stains the place where he fell. They routed the Kalash from the valley, which thenceforth was theirs. One Kalash family remained in hiding. Later they were found, and they settled with the Açhar'îta. Their descendants live in Açharê't today, about thirty families. Today the Açhar'îta comprise about seven hundred families. They are called Dangar'iks because they came from Dang'ari, a valley by Chilâs.