Source: "The people of India" by Watson and Kaye.
The British author of the above-mentioned book writes: "Of the above Hazara tribe, the Tanaolees or Turnowlees are the most powerful, and, with their chief, they possess a principality with an area of 250 square miles. Its chief retains the right of internal jurisdiction, and the original grant, by Maharajah Golab Singh, of Cashmere, has been confirmed by the British Government. He is bound by his tenure to furnish a quota of militia for local service, when called upon; and the tribe of Hazara can supply at least 30,000 good soldiers, if they are required. The present Tanaolee chief personally, is loyal and faithful, and is powerful enough to rule his tribe and prevent misconduct. But the Tanaolees have been occasionally restless, and the intrigues of fanatical priests have not progressed without bad effects on portions of them. On the tribe of the Hazara, the Sikh government, while it existed, was never able to make impression, any more than its predecessor, the government of the Moghul emperors; and it has remained to that of the British to introduce order, where before, and for centuries past, utter lawlessness has prevailed.
According to the official description, the Tanaolees, or Turnowlees, pretend to trace the origin of their tribe to the Caliph Abbas, the paternal uncle of Mahomed, whose son, they say, was driven from Medina, and went to seek his fortune in foreign lands; and his descendants found their way through Baghdad and Egypt to Meshed, and thence, by toilsome steps and through many hardships, to Swat, in the mountains of the extreme north-west corner of the Punjab. Finally, about eleven generations ago, Baba Beer Deo, their acknowledged ancestor, emerges from the mists of a fabulous genealogy in a glen, to which the name of Tanawal Durra is ascribed, somewhere, it is said, beyond the Khyber. His name would seem to indicate a Hindoo or Boodhist extraction, "and to clear their pedigree of so unpleasant a suspicion, the Tanaolees, by an easy substitution of 'M' for 'B,' and of 'Khan' for 'Deo,' and by the omission of Baba altogether, give him the alias of Meer Khan, and introduce him into the Pathan family.
The first political transaction with the Tanaolee chief occurred in 1851, when Mr. Carne and Mr. Tapp, of the Customs Department, were attacked and murdered within the Tanaolee boundary, by a party of Hussunzyes, the adjoining tribe. The Tanaolee chief was called upon to act, and he delivered up a number of Hussunzyes as hostages, and being attacked by that tribe, suffered severely. The Tanaolee chief now demanded British aid, and a force, under Colonel Mackeson, invaded the Hussunzye country in 1853, and burnt many of their villages. This punishment had a very salutary effect, and while the prompt assistance to him secured the loyalty of the Tanaolee chief, the Hussunzyes have been materially restrained.
It is more probable, perhaps, that the Tanaolees as Bactrians, or Boodhists, became early converts to Mahomedanism among the other Afghan tribes who threw off idolatry and embraced that faith, possibly about a thousand years ago. From Tanawal Durra, their chief, with his family and their followers, emigrated to the right bank of the Indus, below the great Mahabun mountain, and made their first settlement at Ushra, a village nearly opposite to Kirplia. Thence, as their numbers increased, they crossed to Delira, below Kirplia, and gradually extended their possessions on both sides of the river. The tribe subsequently divided into two portions, or clans, Hindwal and Palal, each, in former days, owing allegiance to a chief, who ruled them as a feudal lord, and to whom they paid revenue for their lands, and rendered military service; but among the Palais disorders and feuds divided the clan, and contests for the chieftainship have left two claimants to the now almost empty honour.
The Tanaolees now inhabit the mountainous tract lying along the left bank of the Indus, from the black mountain of the Hussunzye Pathans, to Torbeyla, and also hold a tract of country, to which Umb, the seat of the Hindwal chief, gives its name, out of British territory. It is situated on the right bank of the Indus, enclosed on three sides by the Ootmanzye, Amazye, and Muddakhel branches of the Yoosufzye tribe, and bounded on the fourth side by the river. The Tanaolees support themselves almost exclusively by agriculture, and their principal food is unleavened bread with buttermilk and butter; but fowls, eggs, fish, and game are also articles of diet. Of those who live in the hills, many are as fair as Italians, with eyes of light hazel or greyish blue, and frequently brown hair and reddish beards. Those who live on the low-lying lands near the Indus are darker. All are stout and active men, and have the reputation of being good soldiers and staunch partizans. They are hardy and simple in their habits, generally free from the vices of thieving and debauchery; but credulous, obstinate, and unforgiving." ["The people of India", volume 5]
Read also: History of the Tanoli tribe of Hazara
.webp "Nawab of Amb and followers, Kaim Gulli, 1888")
