Evening star., 1929-12-14
BY BJORN BUNKHOLDT.

OSLO, Norway Prof. Georg Nor
genstjerne has returned to Oslo after
a prolonged expedition to the north
western borders of India on behalf Of
the Institute for Comparative Research
in Human Culture. His expedition
brings back remarkable results-espe-
cially from the small native country of
Chitra, which is still inhabited by the
last descendants of the Kafirs. The
kafirs, according to Prof. Morgen-
stjerne, live in their own world, both in
regard to language and religion. Mo-
hammedanism surrounds them every
where, and every other day few Kafirs
are converted to Islam.
"It was the last opportunity to col
lect information about this tribe" Prof
Morgenstierne said, land I am glad
that my task was successful. I got
several objects Of considerable eth
nographic interest-sculptures, utensils,
etc. was able to study their language
and take some of their songs on gramo-
phone records, and was also allowed
to take motion pictures of heathen re-
ligiouS ceremonies.
HSlT ldIlSUdSc CopCCAd14y Wdo A4ASAhS
interesting, and some of the words in
everyday speech were even older than
Sanskrit. Generally speaking, one may
say that the Kaflrs' culture, religion
"and language have been canned and
preserved unaltered for thousands OF
years"
The Kafirs live in villages scattered
over a comparatively wide area, ac-
cording to Prof. Morgenstjerne, and
each tribe has been isolated by nature
itself by mountain ridges $4,000 to
10000 feet high. Narrow passes. are the
only means of communication with the
outside world. Nature has created
sort of reservation, and the result is
a bewildering mass of dialects. In
valley in Afghanistan there are five
villages, with a total of about 1000
inhabitants. Each of these villages had
its own dialect, so different from the
neighboring one that a man going 10
miles from his native place could not
make himself understood.
Prof. MorgenStjerne'S expedition
started from Peshawar and was eS-
corted by soldiers because of the fire.
uuent attacks of robbers in these dis
trictS, but no robbers were seen, and
on arriving in Chitra the party was
amicably received by the tribes there.
X X X
at got permission to take a film of
the queer dances which the Kafirs use
during their religious ceremonies"
the professor said They dance to
the music of flute and drum, and
the musical result strongly reminds
one of the African tom-tom. There
are no human. sacrifices and few
idols. Instead of idols the KaflrS put
up long rows of images of their an
ceStors cut in wood. The most power
full of these ancestors are seated on
wooden horses, and some of them have
two horses, one for a servant. The
servants are always made on q smaller
scale than the masters.
1T is most remarkable fact that
the Kafirs place their forefathers on
horses, as there Is not a single horse
in the whole of Chitra. and hardly
any living Kafir has seen or heard
about a horse. My personal opinion
is that the horse is a sort of heraldic
animal used as we In Europe use lions.
At least horse is stranger animal
to Kafir than lion is to a European.
u y y
zone Of the chiefs sang some Of his
religious songs for me and recorded
his song on my gramophone without
his noticing 1t, When later made
the gramophone repeat the song his
eyes nearly protruded from his head,
Each of the tribes has its own mys-
tic man. seer and truth-teller, who
goes into frances and says all sorts
OF things, tried 10 speak TO one
of the SccrS, II was easy to see that
he was All epileptic, and during our
conversation he iell into fit and be-
gan to murinur mcoherently. Many
men had 60 hold him down while the
attack lasted. lt often happens dur
ing the fpliEteuS dances that the men
after he,sfS of wild movements coll
lapse ana go into frances.
''rhe kaiirs put their dead In cofins
and place the coffins on the surface
Of the ground, IN our day this may
be oil right In so far as the tribes