File:Ghilzai nomad women of Afghanistan in 1839-42.jpg

Original file (976 × 696 pixels, file size: 210 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Summary

Description

Ghiljie women in the lower orders

This lithograph is taken from plate 6 of 'Afghaunistan' by Lieutenant James Rattray. This sketch was made on one of Rattray's journeys from Kabul to Kandahar with an Afghan escort. Rattray was uncomfortably aware that his companions could easily and quietly dispose of him, given the length of the journey and the remoteness of some of the places they passed through.

Rattray's group often came across roving bands of western Ghilzais, who lived a nomadic life from season to season, searching for pasture for their flocks. Their black felt tents stretched over twigs resembled a "flock of enormous bats skimming over the flat surface of the plain". Their women drove their camels, bullocks and donkeys, "laden sky-high with the most singular mix of goods and chattels". The unmarried Ghilzai women bore a peculiar badge of virginity on their foreheads: "[bringing] the whole of their hair to the front of their face, and kneading it into a compact cake with an admixture of dung and mud, ornament it with beads, bits of metal and coloured glass." Some of them were very pretty, Rattray observed, but others were squint-eyed from peering around the sides of their "odious distinction".
Date (published)
Source The British Library - Online Gallery
Author James Rattray (1818-1854)

Licensing

Public domain
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929.

Public domain works must be out of copyright in both the United States and in the source country of the work in order to be hosted on the Commons. If the work is not a U.S. work, the file must have an additional copyright tag indicating the copyright status in the source country.
Note: This tag should not be used for sound recordings.PD-1923Public domain in the United States//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ghilzai_nomad_women_of_Afghanistan_in_1839-42.jpg
Public domain

This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer.


You must also include a United States public domain tag to indicate why this work is in the public domain in the United States.
This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.

Captions

Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents

Items portrayed in this file

depicts

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current11:58, 19 October 2008Thumbnail for version as of 11:58, 19 October 2008976 × 696 (210 KB)Officer{{Information |Description='''Ghiljie women in the lower orders''' This lithograph is taken from plate 6 of 'Afghaunistan' by Lieutenant James Rattray. This sketch was made on one of Rattray's journeys from Kabul to Kandahar with an Afghan escort. Ratt
13:54, 4 June 2008Thumbnail for version as of 13:54, 4 June 2008976 × 696 (228 KB)Officer{{Information |Description='''Ghiljie women in the lower orders''' This lithograph is taken from plate 6 of 'Afghaunistan' by Lieutenant James Rattray. This sketch was made on one of Rattray's journeys from Kabul to Kandahar with an Afghan escort. Ratt

The following page uses this file:

Global file usage

The following other wikis use this file:

Metadata