Geographic Zones

Water

Domestic Animals

Domesticated plants in Afghanistan

Fauna in Afghanistan

Medical Plants in Afghanistan

Calenders used in Afghanistan

Horses (asp, Dan; as, Pashto, male; aspa, Pashto, female):

Prestige animals, horses exist all over Afghanistan. The largest, about 14 hands are found in the Herat region. Horses in Turkestan, Qatagban, and Badakhshan ate little mare than overgrown ponies, but are as surefooted as mountain goats on precipitous trails. Hazarajat horses and some in the Turkestan plains may have an Arab strain. Highly prized Waziri horses (with diagnostic inward, crooked ears) are raised in Ghazni and Katawaz. Pack horses or small ponies, yabu, raised most commonly in Turkestan, can carry loads up to 200 pounds (91 kilos) at about 3% miles (5.5 kilometers) per hour.

Donkeys (khar, D.; k/tar, P., male; khira, P., fem.):

The most popular beast of burden in Afghanistan is the donkey. These little animals can transport about 150 pounds (58 kilos) at 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) per hour. They graze anywhere and require little fodder. The best breed is reputedly raised near Qandahar. Many villagers transport large loads on donkeys to town bazaars for salt and return riding bareback.

Mules (jater, D; kacher, P.):

The army uses mules to haul its mountain artillery units. In the southern foothills Afghans use mules as pack animals. Two types occur: the heavier pindi (named after the mules of the Punjab, i.e., Rawalpindi) and the lighter kashmiri. Both are raised in Chakari, a village of specialists in the Logar valley.

Camels (shotor, D, ukh P. male ukha P fem.):

The classic transport of the central Asian nomad is the camel, usually the one-humped dromedary. These nasty-tempered beasts can carry loads of 400 pounds (182 kilos) in the plains and 300 pounds (137 kilos) in the mountains. Some Bactrian, or two-humped, camels can be found in Badakhshan and Wakhan. Another famous breed of camel, the Baluchi, raised by the Baluch nomads of the southwest and west and noted for their endurance and speed, participated in the nineteenth-century, long-range raiding caravans of the Baluch into Central Asia. The British brought pax Britannica into the area and ended the raiding.

Sheep (Gusfand, D. Peseh, P., male; maygah, P., fem):

Fat-tailed sheep and the more usual short-tailed sheep (turki) are common in Afghanistan. Most sheep usually have monochromatic black, white, gray, or brown wool; white sheep appear to be more common in the south and west. The Persian lamb (qarakul) of the north, one of Afghanistan's major exports, is black, brown, gray or occasionally, white. The golden-brown is the most highly prized among the Afghans for making prestige hats.

Goats (buz D.; wuz, P., male; wuza, P., fem.):

Afghan goats, short-horned and long-haired, are indiscriminately herded with sheep.

Cattle (gaw, D.; ghwa, P., male, ghwaya, P., fem.):

Cattle types vary in geographic regions. On the eastern slopes of the Hindu Kush, they resemble the small-humped hill-cattle of India The cows are good milkers, though the oxen, too small for heavy work, are used as light transport, plowing, and threshing. (Afghan peasants also use the horse and even the camel—sometimes in combination—for threshing.) In the north, cattle are larger, and the oxen prove to be good draft animals; the cows are poor milkers compared to those in the mountains. Cattle in Qandahar and Farah lowlands more closely resemble American breeds in type and- milk potential.

Water Buffalo (gawmash, 1).; maykh, P., male; maykha P., fem.):

Water buffalo exist primarily as plow animals in the Jalalabnd and Qandahar areas. Twentieth-century Pushtun migrations to northern Afghanistan brought small herds of water buffalo into the Qataghan-Kunduz area.

Yak:

Only the Kirghiz and other Pamiri peoples use the yak, mainly east of Qala Panja, the geographic dividing line between the Wakhan Corridor and the Pamir Mountains.

Chickens (morgh, D., general term; horus, D, rooster; churgh and horas, P., rooster; churgha, P., hen):

Both villagers and nomads keep a rather scrawny variety of chicken. Eggs (tokhm, Persian; hagheyeh, P) arc important in the diet of the Afghan, and chicken is often an essential ingredient in pilau.

Ducks (morghabi, D.; heylai, P., one term):

Occasionally, Afghans raise ducks, particularly the Peking duck, introduced in the 1950s by I. Christy Wilson, Jr., Protestant minister to the foreign community in Kabul.

Turkeys (filmorgh, literally, "elephant bird;" D.; no Pashto term exists): Afghan farmers near Kabul raise turkeys mainly to grace the plates of foreigners.

Dogs (sag, D.; spay, P., male; spie, P., fem.):

The Afghans seldom treat dogs kindly, because Muslim custom considers dogs unclean. Europeans have been known to spend time in local jails for taking issue with an Afghan flogging his dog. Three general types of Afghan dogs exist. Large mastiff-type creatures live itr villages and travel with caravans as watchdLgs. Two names are used for these dogs: sage~ramak (da ramay spay, P.), "dog of the herd" or sag-i-turkestani, or Turkestan dog. The Afghan nomads sometimes paint the sag-i-ramah with the same ownership designs as sheep in order, so they say, to confuse wolves and other predators. Vicious animals, sag-i-ramah sometimes attack a man on horseback. In nomadic camps, a nomad cannot approach another man’s tent in safety unless the owner holds his dog. These dogs, however, are afraid of rocks, and anyone approached should not panic and run, for he will be attacked immediately. The best defense is to pick up a large rock, or pretend to pick up a rock if none can be found. Usually, the dog stops advancing, but continues to snarl and howl. The owner will always come to check on the noise.

Afghans train sag-i-ramah for fighting, and often fight among themselves over disputed decisions or if anyone injures their dogs, an exception to their usual dislike of dogs.

An urban pet, called papi, at least superficially resembles the spitz of southern Siberia and farther north. The Afghan hound, tazi, exists in, Afghanistan primarily as a desert hunting-dog and will be discussed later.

Packs of dogs nocturnally roam the streets of the larger cities, particularly Kabul. Periodically, the police liberally distribute poisoned meat throughout Kabul. The survivors, however, live quite well off the land. I tend to grade the level of poverty in Asian cities by examining the state of the urban dog-population. Those in Kabul appear ‘fatter and healthier than most I have seen elsewhere in Asia.

Cats (peshak, D.; peshi, P., male; peshei, P., fem.):

The alley cat is most common, and usually subjected to the same treatment as dogs. Afghans prize true Persian cats, which receive the same good treatment, accorded the Afghan bound.