POVINDAH are a trading tribe on the N.W. frontier of British India, conducting all the mercan tile transactions between British India and Central Asia. They are pastoral in their habits, but portions of their clans carry goods to Dehli, Cawnpur, Benares, and other parts of India, and to Ghazni, Kalat-i-Ghilzai, Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat. Their chief clans are the Lohani, Nasar, Niazi, Daotani, Mian Khel, and Karoti, and these have subdivisions.
They bring to India dried fruits, drugs, spices, silks, woollens, pashminas, felts, horses, cattle, and camels, and carry away British and Indian manu factures of every kind. Camels, of which they have great numbers, are their ordinary carriage. Their imports and exports at the Indus ferries of the Dehra-i-Isinail Khan district in 1867-68 was stated by them to be 25 lakhs of rupees; in 1868-69 they named 292 lakhs ; and in 1869-70, lakhs ; but 50 lakhs, or half a million sterling, is the amount at which the British authorities estimated the value of the trade conducted by the Povindah. They are wealthy, have tine horses, mid can muster about 14,000 fighting men. They are in reality soldier merchants. Between Kabul and Kattywnz their Klan or caravan can travel separately ; but from Kattywaz to the British frontier they have to travel in one great mass for mutual protection. They move in bodies of 5000 to 10,000 strong, heavily armed, under an elected chief with the title of khan, marching like an army, with advanced guard and rear guard and flanking parties, in some parts with daily skirmishes, occasionally pitched battles, and when halting at night sentries are posted and pickets thrown out. In a region so full of wars, the perseverance with which they continue their successful enterprise merits all praise. • Major Edwardes said he had hardly ever seen a Povindah who had not one or more wounds on his body ; and the loss of an eye, broken noses, scarred skulls, lame legs, and mutilated arms are almost as common as freckles in England.
Their great enemies are the Waziri tribe. The Karoti section of the Povindah, to the west and north-west of the 1Vaziri, have 1500 tents. Their climate in winter is very severe. In spring they live on milk, ghi or clarified butter, cheese, and kurut or dried buttermilk. They are very fair for Asiatics. The Nasar section are the strongest of the Povindah clans. Their numbers are not accurately known, and the estimates made have ranged at from 1850 to 12,000 families. They are migratory, dwelling in summer among the Toni and Ohtak clans of the Ghilzai tribe, and moving in winter to the Dehrajat. They depend chiefly for food, clothing, and tents on their flocks and herds, and trade less than other sections. Their sheep and camels are numerous. They are small of stature, ugly, and black, are rude and squalid in their general appearance, and barbarous in their manners. The Lohani section have three branches,—the Pani, Daulat Khel, and Mian Khel. The first two and part of the 3hian Khel have settled to agriculture. The remainder of the Allan Khel are traders. In summer the men visit I3okhara, Samarcand, and Kiibul, a guard being left to protect the women in their felt tents. In the winter they move through the Gomel pass to the Dehrajat, when some of them proceed to Lahore and Benares, returning in April in order to revisit Karabagh and Panah.
The Povindah are not the sole travelling mer chants of Central Asia. The Parancha are a tribe of merchants, who are said to have come from Baghdad, and settled in various parts of the frontier districts of Kohat and Peshawur. They claim to be descended from Nushirwan. They trade from Bombay and Calcutta to Bokhara, taking tea, indigo, chocolate, and cloths, starting about September. From Bokhara they start afresh for Yarkand, Tashkand, and Orenburg, and go also to the fair at Nijni Novgorod, which they call Makraia, and they bring back unwrought silk, Tilla (6s. 8d.) and Ratiska, or Russian coins.