SIT fLT RIVRI' CANAL, I87
Kohistân are well populated ; but before I8gq the Swâti Pathârys had
not the reputation of being a fighting race, and owing to the un-
healthiness of the valley their physique is inferior to that of Pathâns
generally. The language of the people is the pure YCISUfzai I?ashtû,
except in the Kohistân, where the '1 orwâls and Garhwis speak dialects
of their own, which is said to resemble very closely the dialect of
Hindki used by the Gûjars of Hazâra.
The people are by religion Muhammadans of the Sunni sect, those
of the Kohistân, as recent converts, being peculiarly ignorant and
fanatical. The shrine of the great Akhund of Swât, at Saidu, is one of
the most important in Northern India. Born of C~ûjar parents, probably
in Upper Swât, Abdul Ghafûr began life as a herd-boy, but soon
acquired the titles of Akhund and Buzurg by his sanctity, and for
many years resided at Saidu, where he exercised an irresistible influence
over the Ycisufzai and their neighbours His grandsons have inherited
some of his spiritual influence. 1'he offerings at the Akhund shrine
and subscriptions received from their followers afford them a consider-
able income. A still living religious leader is the Mullâ Mastân, or
` Mad Mullâ' (also called the sartor or ` bare,' literally ' black-headed,'
fakir), Sad-ullah Khân. By birth the son of a Bunerwâ;l matik and a
great athlete in his youth, he spent some years at Ajmel~ and returned
to Buner in 1895. His piety soon made him widely known in the
Swât and Indus Kohistân, and his religious fervour earned hiln his title
of Mastân.
Swât River (Sanskrit, Suvastu ; Greek, Souastos or Souastênê).-
River of the North-West Frontier Province, formed by t:he junction at
Kalân in the Swât Kohistân of the C7abral and Ushu. The former
rises on the east of the Badugai pass, and the latter comes down from
the higher hills of Bashkâr to the north. From Kalân 1:he Swât river
flows almost due south for about 68 miles, but at M:anglaur turns
abruptly to the south-west and west for z4 miles until it is joined by
the Panjkora. The united waters then sweep in a greatt curve south-
westwards to Abâzai in Peshâwar District, where they (:merge to the
north of the Mohmand hills into the Peshâwar valley. Here the river
spreads south-east in several streams over the plain, joining the Kâbul
river at Nisatta after a total course of about 40o miles. Fed by
glaciers and snow, it has a considerable volume in the summer months,
but shrinks after the middle of September, until in midwinter it is
fordable almost everywhere. In Peshâwar District the Swnz RIVER
CANAL takes off from the river, and a :>cheme for tunnelling under the
Malakand Pass and bringing its waters to the eastern part of Yûsufzai
is under consideration.
Swât River Canal.-A perennial irrigation work in Peshâwar
District, North-West Frontier Province, taking off from the right
VOI,. XXIII. N
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