The inhabitants of Afghanistan are itinerant herders, or they have permanent residences and are engaged in agriculture. Trade and industry have few friends. They are in the cities almost entirely in the hands of foreigners, of Hindus, Jews and Armenians. Herding is still very much honored there, especially in the west, where the tribe of the Dorans roams with their flocks in the mountains between Herat and Sedshestan. The tribe of Nassir, to which belong more than 30,000 families, does not even own certain pastures, but tends its cattle and sheep in the territory of other tribes. In the spring the shepherds scatter in small groups over the land, and pitch their tents in the glorious fertile valleys, on the banks of the rivers, in the most charming spots. In the summer they climb higher to the Alpine pastures, and in the winter they unite in the plain and form a circle with their dark-colored tents about their chieftain’s castle. In the farming tribes the land is divided among the families, and from time to time a new division takes place. This is especially the case with the tribe of the Yusoffi, who migrated there from Baluchistan in the 14th century. According to Elphinstone , there are 41/3 million Afghans, 52/3 million Hindus, 11/5 million Turks, 11/2 million Tajiks (Persians), 1 million Beloods, and 1/3 million belonging to other tribes. The Afghan has a strong, coarse-legged, lean body. He has a hooked nose, jutting cheekbones, coarse black hair shaved at the top of the head, a black beard, and dark skin, while his countenance and perseverance are written on his countenance. He is patriotic and freedom-loving, shrewd and prudent, and very hospitable even to his enemies. His language is a sister of Persian, his religion is Mohammedan. His towns consist of tall houses with flat roofs, which form narrow streets or are surrounded by gardens with fountains. His small villages hang with their small dwellings on the slopes of the mountains in the shade of fertile orchards. To the tribes of the Afghans belong the Berdorans with the Yusoffi, the Kheiber, etc., the Dorans the Beludsen and Brahoei, the Hindus, who mainly live in the cities, the Turks, the Usbeks, who have their own khan, the Eimaks, the Hazareh, the Turkomans, the Tajiks, etc. See homeagerly for Afghanistan democracy and rights.
