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AFGHANISTAN
THE TRIBES AND HOUNDS
By Lt Cdr Dennis Smith USN (Retired)
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Libraries around the world overflow with detailed histories of 19th century Afghanistan, all of which are superior to anything which could be created here. Sufficient time has passed to permit scholars and historians, both eastern and western to review events and add their perspectives. As we move forward yet another one hundred years, to the present, another century is about to close, indeed, a millennium, and still Afghanistan remains at war with itself, aided overtly and covertly by neighbors to the east, north and west. Another invasion was only recently risked. It, like all the others failed, bringing with it the destruction and suffering which always accompanies an outsiders' enthusiastic abandon in subordinating the conquered. But as with past invasions, Afghanistan threw off this latest invader, and as another period of "peace" was to come in the early 1990's, Mr. Miller's description of 1809 could easily have come from a popular news magazine of today, subject only to a few name changes.
It is this ravaged land and rancorous history that gave birth to our wonderful hounds. Indeed, their very presence in the west is a result of "The Great Game" as all the original imports to London were made by serving officers of the British Army and their wives. Major & Mrs. Bell-Murray and Major & Mrs. Amps come immediately to mind. From the whirling mass of tribes and clans fermenting internal subterfuge to neighbors on three sides plotting their own agendas for Afghanistan, comes our breed, like the region, so utterly unique, so striking in appearance, with a clouded history and a troubled future. What is this dog and why does it look so different? Why does it behave like no other? Are it's carriage and gaze to the distance really so different, or is it a romantic rationalization for our lack of understanding of such a "foreign" place?
Strangers on the street today invariably recognize Afghan Hounds as "show dogs". Like so many diplomats past and present, these individuals rarely ask the important follow-on questions relating to who or what the dog really is and what it was bred for. They simply call it a show dog because it's expedient. Since their arrival in the west, Afghan Hounds have been on constant display, usually in the show ring. They seem to have attracted persons out of the mainstream, those for whom expedience matters little, as proven by the ownership requirements of grooming, patience and special understanding. This dog doesn't bring your slippers, he eats them. WHY? Because he wants to! Like the tribesmen who bred his ancestors, he will not be dominated and generally will conduct himself in a manner which he believes to be in his interest at the time. For such behavior he is often punished by a new owner. The same person who, once obsessed with "the look", never bothered to ask the follow-on question. This intractable Afghan Hound is often not punished directly by beating, but simply by being turned out of the home which had previously promised to care for him, just as many nations have announced their intentions of looking after Afghanistan, only to abandon them when expedient. As Afghanis have suffered homeless on the streets for centuries during seemingly endless wars, both of domination and of the internal variety, so our dogs suffer on the streets of the west and languish in rescue shelters. Homeless, hungry and living amongst the rubble of war or abandonment, the integrity of both Afghani man and Hound remains resolute and defiant.
As larger nations have historically pulled at the various tribal groups in Afghanistan with specific geopolitical motives in mind, so today we find groups of Afghan Hound enthusiasts drawn to specific aspects of this amazing creature while ignoring those portions of the whole considered less desirable. As the ruling classes disdained the "unlettered bearded sharpshooters" that were the tribesmen, preferring to conduct all activities with the Shah and his family, so today we find the show obsessed crowd disdainful of many of the "hound" aspects of the Afghan Hound. Like the tribesman, this is a rough animal. It was bred to cover some of the most hostile ground in the world, relentlessly at high speeds, and to maneuver at will in response to it's prey's flight. Killing is the end game. Killing is easy and plentiful in Afghanistan. It has become one of the land's legacies. Intelligent and efficient killers in battle often emerge as heroes in the battles of men. The bravest warriors become tribal leaders, and top killing dogs emerged as the Alpha Dog of the pack, and were prized by their respective tribes. This instinct of pursuit and killing remains strong in our dogs today as anyone who has seen their Afghan Hound in the presence of small mammals knows. Disdain is a two way street, and it was the warrior tribesman who likewise traditionally disdained the political machinations and obsessions with material beauty of the ruling class. Such obsessions often bringing another war or attempted invasion in which the fighting was left to the tribesmen. Families were lost and bitterness grew until finally the various factions who called themselves rulers all found their backing suspect. Opposing the show obsessed owners today are the tribesmen's counterparts who own and breed their Afghan Hounds to live exclusively in pursuit of prey in the killing fields. They disdain anything which speaks of the beauty, regal nature, and innate abilities in the show ring in Afghan Hounds which the breed carries like no other. Nothing matters but efficiency. In this world The Standard is a concept and a document of the show ring and of those organizations whose charter is the support of the ring, with no apparent relation to the field Afghan Hound and his prey. An ancient argument of form versus function. The gap continues to grow until today we see form in the ring and function in the field and little chance of the two factions discussing a middle road. What good is a beautiful graceful Afghan Hound that can't or won't hunt? What good is the greatest hunting Afghan Hound in the field if it doesn't have the look or construction of an Afghan Hound as dictated by The Standard?
Lt Cdr Dennis J Smith USN (Retired)
Copyright(c) Sep 1997
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