Jump to content

1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Ustarana

From Wikisource

USTARANA, a Pathan tribe who inhabit the outer hills opposite the extreme south portion of Dera Ismail Khan district in the North-West Frontier Province of India. Originally the Ustaranas were entirely a pastoral and trading tribe; but a quarrel with their neighbours, the Musa Khel, put a stop to their annual westward immigration, and they were forced to take to agriculture, and have since acquired a good deal of the plain country below the hills. Their territory includes only the eastern slopes of the Suliman mountains, the crest of the range being held by the Musa Khel, Isots and Zmarais (see Suliman Hills). The Ustaranas are venturesome traders, carrying goods from Kandahar as far as Bengal. They are a fine manly race, quiet and well-behaved, and many of them enlist in the Indian army and police.