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MANSEL Longworth Dames (1850-1922) was a strange fellow: he learnt several eastern languages, such as Balochi and Pashto; wrote books on Baloch race, Baloch history, Balochi language and folklore; took part in Second Anglo-Afghan War; studied Buddhist art; collected Buddhist relics (though he finally took those relics to the UK).
Dames was a scholar of Portuguese but as an officer of the Indian Civil Service during the Raj, he was posted in Punjab. At Dera Ghazi Khan, he met some Balochi-speaking people who fascinated him much and he began learning the language. Later on, he wrote on Baloch people and the language they spoke.
After his retirement, Dames contributed several articles to Encyclopaedia of Islam. He became active member of several organisations and societies in the UK, including Royal Asiatic Society, that were researching history, relics, folklores, religions and languages of the East. Dames was instrumental in reorganising Buddhist enclosures at the British Museum.
His contributions to several fields were remarkable, but what Dames did for Balochi language and literature can never be forgotten: he penned at least six books on Balochi language and literature in an era when Balochi literature consisted mostly of oral tradition and written specimens of the language were hard to come by.
The books that Dames penned are considered among the earliest works on Balochi language and literature.
In his book A Sketch of the Northern Balochi Language (1881), he included grammar, vocabulary and specimens of the language as well. In 1891, Dames published A Textbook of Balochi Language and it included some Balochi stories, poems and legends. More importantly it carried a ‘Balochi-English Vocabulary’.
Another important work by Dames is Popular Poetry of Baloches [sic]. Published in 1907, it preserved some valuable samples of Balochi poetry.
Dr Riazat Burro, a scholar form Larkana, has mentioned in one of his articles that despite these pioneering efforts in Balochi dictionary-writing by Dames, Balochi lexicography could not make much progress for several reasons and except for a couple of small Balochi dictionaries no major Balochi dictionary was compiled in the next several decades.
On the basis of Balochi-English vocabulary included in Dames’ two books, a new book titled Vocabulary of the Balochi Language was published by Government of Punjab Printing Press in 1922, that is, the year Dames died.
According to Dr Burro, this 216-page book has a Balochi vocabulary spreading over 100 pages. Some believe this 1922 book was the first Balochi-English dictionary, but the fact is Dames’ vocabulary included in his 1881 book was, sort of, the first-ever Balochi-English dictionary.
Some scholars of Balochi have criticised The Vocabulary of the Balochi Language (1922) for its limited scope as it largely covers vocabulary of the Eastern dialect of Balochi and the words from the other dialects of Balochi were generally left out. But Dr Burro defends Dames, saying that Dames has mentioned in the intro that the “Balochi language belongs to the Iranian branch of the Aryan family [of languages]. It is found in two distinct forms: the Northern dialect which is here treated of; and the Southern or Makrani dialect which has been lately dealt with in Major Mockler’s Grammar”.
But Balochi lexicography has not received as much attention as it deserved. Some efforts have been made to capture the Balochi vocabulary, but a few Balochi dictionary projects were either shelved or the manuscripts remained unpublished.
In 1978, Haft Zabani Lughat (dictionary in seven languages) was published by Urdu Science Board, Lahore, and it included Balochi vocabulary. Now that book has been revised and has appeared in the shape of No Zabani Lughat (dictionary in nine languages).
But the need for a more comprehensive Balochi dictionary was always felt. Luckily, a new dictionary in four languages — Balochi, Sindhi, Brahvi and Urdu — has just been published and since it is a 1300-page tome, it may rank among the most comprehensive of Balochi vocabularies.
Compiled by Panah Baloch, the dictionary is named Lavz Ganj, or, literally, the treasure of words.
It has four columns and the first column lists Balochi words with their pronunciation given in Urdu script, enabling the readers to pronounce the Balochi words properly. The second column gives the Sindhi equivalent in Sindhi script. The pronunciation of Sindhi words is also given in Urdu script. The third column gives the Brahvi equivalents and the last column lists the Urdu synonyms of the three languages.
One must acknowledge that it is a labour of love and lot of back-breaking effort must have gone into it. Quetta’s Balochi Academy, working since 1961 for the promotion of Balochi language and literature, must be congratulated for publishing such a remarkable work.
Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2022
