By Sir Terence Clark - Society for the Perpetuation of Desert Bred

SOCIETY FOR THE PERPETUATION OF THE
DESERT BRED SALUKI WINTER 2007
www.desertbred.org
©2007 photo by V. Beregovoy
1
Officers Chairman- Julia Holder
Vice- Chr- Linda Fowler
Treasurer- Ken Stahli
Sec-y- Denise Como
Board of DirectorsCarolyn Brown
Dr. John Burchard
Sir Terence Clark
Elizabeth Dawsari- Registrar
Dr. Gertrude Hinsch- Newsletter Editor
Lois Kincaid- Internet list
Jonneth Santschi
Susan Schroeder
Monica Stoner- Archivist
Herb Wells
Elaine Yerty
Carla Wykoff- web master
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………...2
Color, Coat types Revisited G. W. Hinsch……………………..……………………………………….. ..3
Hunting Hounds along the Silk Road- which way did they go? Sir Terence Clark………………………..5
Caravan Hound- Rashmin Khandekar & Neil Trilokekar………………………………………………..13
Eastern Greyhounds- H.W. Bush………………………………………………………………………….17
Book Review- Exploring Iran:The Photography of Erich F. Schmidt, 1930-1940- A.Gursan-Salzman…..21
Critique History: 1974-1986, and a little beyond. A 2006 trip down memory lane. Elizabeth Al-Hazam
Dawsari……………………………………….21
New CNRs…………………………………………………………………………………………………26
COO hounds- Uzbekistan- photos by M. Ratcliffe………………………………………………………..27
SPDBS Business………………………………………………………………………………………….28
This Newsletter is a member benefit for the Society’s support group. The opinions expressed by authors
in the Newsletter of The Society for the Perpetuation of Desert Bred Salukis do not necessarily reflect the
policies of The Society or the opinions of the officers, directors or membership.
Copyright © 2007, The Society for the Perpetuation of Desert Bred Salukis.
Copyright to content herein contained is retained by the content contributors. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission from the Society and/or authors and/or photographers
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2
Society for the Perpetuation of the
March 2007
Officers:
Chairman -Julia Holder
6110 W. 750 S.
Jamestown, IN 46147
H: 765/676-5834
indianajh@earthlink.net
Treasurer -Ken Stahli
3527 W. Bluefield Avenue
Glendale, AZ 85308
H: (602) 439-2008
KENNETH.STAHLI@gte.net
Vice Chairman -Linda K. Fowler, CPA
227 East Mano Drive
New River ,AZ 85087-7915
Voice: 623.465.9711
Fax: 623.465.7566
Either of these email addresses:
Linda@LKFCPA.com
LKFcpa@fastQ.com (alt)
Secretary -Denise Como
Wolfwind Farm
381 Elwood Rd
Fort Plain NY 13339
(518) 993-3724 home/voicemail
(518) 993-3743 fax
(732) 513-4633 cell (which I only use on
weekends)
wolfwindbz@frontiernet.net
Board of Directors:
Carolyn M Brown
PO Box 187
Washburn TN 37888
muyamman@earthlink.net
Carolyn.M.Brown@state.tn.us
Dr John Burchard
PO Box 96
Alpaugh, CA93201
559 949.8061
saluqi@ix.netcom.com
Sir Terence Clark
29 Westleigh Avenue
London SW15 6RQ , UK
tel. 0044 20 8788 4021
fax 0044 20 8788 4021
Sirterenceclark@aol.com
Elizabeth Dawsari, Registrar
1313 E. Circle Mountain Road
New River, Arizona 85087
H: 623 / 465-0568
ARABHORSES@aol.com
Dr. Gertrude Hinsch,
Newsletter Editor
12005 Knights-Griffin Rd.
Thonotosassa, Fl. 33592
Phone (813) 986-2175
ghinsch@tampabay.rr.com
Monica Stoner, Archivist
PO Box 1708
Edgewood, NM87015
505 286-2797
tsent@ix.netcom.com
Lois Kincaid, Internet List
Manager
433 Mansfield Rd.
Hollister, Calif. 95023
H. 831 636-1737
grasslnd@razzolink.com
Herb Wells
P.O. Box 345
Alpaugh, CA 93201
H: 559/949-8558
herbwells@wildblue.net
Jonneth E Santschi
444 Washington Ave
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
573 335-0916
HyeKatuSlqi@sbcglobal.net
Susan Schroeder
PO Box 40
Carbondale, KS66414
785 836-9371
ashshira@siriusenterprises.com
Carla Wykoff, Web Master
17696 Corazon Place
San Diego, CA 92127
Phone 858 613-1146
FAX 858 673-7274
cangelawykoff@sbcglobal.net
Elaine Yerty
28471 Waller Gladish Rd
Waller TX 77484
springmeadowarab@pdq.net
COLOR, COAT TYPES REVISITED
Gertrude W. Hinsch ©
In earlier issues (2004-5) coat type and patterns were discussed. In salukis, two coat types
are present- the feathered and the smooth. The smooth is caused by a dominant gene while the
recessive feathered condition needs two recessive genes for type to be expressed. Even in smooth
salukis there is a variation in the length and density of body hairs. These characteristics are
determined by additional genes. Coat color is often a determining in influencing the length and
density of hair growth. Smooth salukis from heavily feathered lines are more likely to shown some
brush on their tails.
Coat colors are also seen to form a continuum of patterns grading from the solid
colored salukis with little to no white to one which ultimately could be all white in color.
When a saluki has a great deal of white on its legs, a blaze and some semblance of a collar it
is said to be Irish-marked. As the white becomes more apparent the body blanket with
progressively become broken into patches of color surrounded by white = particolor. A
particolor may have almost a solid blanket with a few small white patches within it at the
top of the scale to one with a single patch surrounding one of the eyes and perhaps one ear.
In the Society registration process, we are fortunate in that we require four pictures
of each salukis for registration purposes. With digital and color pictures we have practical
evidence of the color of each saluki. Owners can/have been very creative in describing the
colors of their salukis. As a result of this, a great many of the colors listed in the AKC stud
are of little or not value to a person who is interested in the inheritance of coat color. There
is a great deal of information on the specific genes associated with this. However, I will not
go into that detail here.
From time to time people question how they should register the color of their saluki.
In addition to the pictures which we use, there are some simple ways to do so. We should
keep in mind that CRN gen-3s are eligible for AKC registration and so I will keep that in
mind here. In color registration for the AKC, individuals are asked to chose in two main
categories. The first is pattern- solid, Irish-marked, particolor, grizzle, sable. Only one can
be checked. The second is color, A number of colors are listed and it is here that problems
arise. When possible keep it simple. If you list something the clerk at AKC does not like,
think right, he/she is very likely to write asking for pictures and then will be the person
making the determination. This can be a disaster.
So what do you do with the list of colors?
Black- until the recent import of a black saluki, we did not have a solid black. Even
these dogs have some bit of white when born. White toes, spots, narrow blazes on
the newborn have a way of disappearing as the pup get older.
Black and tan- to date almost all of the salukis who are born with a black coat are
genetically black and tan. This then is what owners should check for color. If there
is sufficient white for the start of a collar, Black and tan coupled with the pattern
Irish-marked would cover the white parts of the body. Black and tan particolor
means a dog with black patches….you do not need to state black and white
particolor. Many owners get hung up on the tan part of the description. That tan
can mean anything from rust red to pale cream/silver as some would call it. We
don’t know enough about the number of dilution factors that might be present for it
to be of value.
Reds, golds, creams to almost white. Again dilution factors are involved. Some reds
fade as the saluki grows older, some creams darken with age. As a result, the time
at which a saluki is registered may determine it registered color. Some reds for
3
instance go through what might be called the “dirty browns” at two-three months of
age. Indeed, the AKC stud book is filled with the designation of brown dogs.
Early fanciers unfortunately coined the term grizzle for dogs who have a
lighter face mask and extremities visible with a darker overlay. Grizzle by
definition is a grey color not a pattern. Grizzles as such are genetically the color of
their face and extremities. So the color checked should be of that part of the body
not of the overlay. In general, puppies which are to be what we call grizzles are
born with the face mask and lighter feet and legs.
For years fanciers have called many reds black fringed. The term sable has
now been chosen to identify these salukis. Sable saluki puppies look black when
they are born. Their faces and legs appear black to dark gray at birth. As they
grow older most of them will lose most of the black overlay while retaining the black
fringes on the ears and often black down the sides of the neck. Some of them will
not lose this black overlay at all, will retain the black muzzle as well. Their upper
ear fringes will be the color of the dog genetically…..generally red or tan. Any
trace of black fringes on the ears indicates the sable condition.
Registering pattern and color tells us a great deal about the saluki. On
SPDBS registration papers we also indicate coat type, something not considered
important by the AKC. One further point which we might consider it listing the
color of the pigment of the nose and eye liner- black or liver. The importance of
this is that currently when a person states red or fawn sable they are giving the coat
color but not the color of the overlay. If a saluki has a liver nose, the overlay with
be liver/chocolate. If the nose is black so will be the overlay.
With this simple color registration, one can attempt to predict the color of
puppies expected in a litter. We cannot predict how much white an individual pup
might exhibit, we cannot predict the shade of red, gold, cream. These are in a
continuum. We cannot truly predict whether we will have “bittersweet chocolate,
mocha, latte, etc” simply because we do know how many dilution factors are
present. The chocolate is a recessive of the black which can then be diluted to
produce several different shades.
Can we predict color expected? Yes we can with some degree of accuracy as
to main colors. The red sables are the dominant form and are the most likely to
produce the rainbow litters. Black and tans are the next step down in the series.
The reds grade down to the pale creams. The creams and grizzles are at the
recessive end of the scale. People who breed creams to creams will only have creams
and grizzles. Grizzle to grizzle produces grizzles with occasional creams or solid
colored dogs who are as dark as the darkest face of the grizzle parent.
So try to keep things simple. That way you provide the greatest amount of
information of some accuracy. Don’t do as fanciers for years did, create bambideer-lion, etc. grizzles. Leave your creams and golds that and don’t be creative with
peanut butter, etc.
For individuals wanting more details of color at this time, you can visit the
SCOA color committee report on the SCOA website.
4
Hunting hounds along the Silk Road – which way
did they go?
By Sir Terence Clark
In 2001 I journeyed for the first time along part of the Silk Road from Khiva to Bukhara,
Samarkand, Tashkent, Bishkek, Lake Issykul and Almaty to realise an ambition I had nurtured
since studying Russian at Cambridge years before. The following year I journeyed along another
part from Bishkek over the Tien Shan to Kashgar, then through the oasis towns on the southern
side of the Taklimakan before crossing the desert to the northern oases and on to Dun Huang,
finally leaving via Urumchi to Almaty. During these journeys I came across various hunting
hounds peculiar to Central Asia but similar in many aspects to the Saluki, the hunting hound of
the Middle East, where I had spent much of my professional career. I was curious to know
whether there was indeed a relationship between them and, if so, whether these hounds owed
their origins to Western or Central Asia.
Hunting hounds of the Saluki
family, characterised by their
long limbs, deep chest, tucked
up waist, wedge-shaped head
on a long neck, pendulous ears
and whippy tail, have been
known to exist in Western Asia
since at least the fourth
millennium BC.
Archaeological evidence from
this period in the shape of seal
impressions from Tepe Gawra
Fig.1 Smooth haired Saluki from Iraq
in northern Iraq shows representations of such hounds in pursuit of cervidae.1 Similar
hounds, though with distinctive pricked ears and a tail curled over the back and generally
known as Tesem also occur in Ancient Egypt from c. 3,750-3,400 BC.2 In the absence of
evidence elsewhere to the contrary it would seem likely that the Saluki type of hunting
hound emerged first on the great plains of Mesopotamia, where they were used for
hunting mainly by sight the whole range of the abundant game then to be found there, as
well as predators such as fox, jackal and wolf. However it cannot be excluded that among
the nomadic tribes of Central Asia, who may have left few tangible clues, similar
requirements for a hunting hound on the steppes and semi-deserts there may have shaped
a similar kind of hound, possibly with a denser coat to protect it from the colder climate.
1
Clark, T, in the Saluqi: Coursing Hound of the East, ed. G Goodman, Midbar Inc., Apache
Junction, AZ, USA, 1995, p.132.
2
Brewer, D, in Dogs in Antiquity by D Brewer, T Clark and A Phillips, Aris & Phillips,
Warminster, UK, 2001, p.32.
5
Fig.2 – Central Asian Tazy from
Kazakhstan
It has been shown in recently
published research that the dog was
first domesticated from the wolf in
Eastern Asia and spread outwards from there across the world probably
about 15,000 years ago or possibly 40,000 years ago.3 According to the Russian cynologist V A
Gorodtsov (1940) hunting and other types of specialised dogs emerged in Central Asia in the
Neolithic period (8-10,000 BC).4 This accords with archaeological evidence in Western Asia and
leaves a considerable period of millennia for distinctive breeds of hunting hounds to have
developed before the advent of the Arabian Saluki to Central Asia, which Russian cynologists,
such L P Sabaneev (1895), A A Sludsky (1939, 1965) and E I Shereshevsky (1953), generally
agree came in the wake of the Muslim conquests in the 7th and 8th centuries and was crossed with
local breeds to produce the Central Asian Tazy.5 Sabaneev says that the admixture of blood from
these local breeds brought about a change in the smooth-haired Saluki’s appearance to a longer
coat, fringes, pendulous ears and a generally coarser build. He does not specify what these local
breeds were but only that they were longhaired mountain dogs with pendulous ears.6
However this attribution of the
origin of the Tazy to the eastward
movement of Salukis with the
conquering Arabs seems to
overlook other evidence that
suggests the presence of very
similar smooth-haired hunting
hounds in the region at much
earlier dates, which might
equally have contributed to the
development of the Tazy. There
are for example petroglyphs from
the 1st and 2nd millennium in
Fig. 3 Petroglyph from Kazakhstan. © Renato Sala.
3
Savolainen, P & others, Genetic evidence for an East Asian origin of domestic dogs, Science, 298, 16101613.
4
Plahov K N & Shelestova, AC, Borzye Tazy i ohota s nimi(in Russian), awaiting publication in Almaty,
Kazakhstan.
5
Plahov, ibid.
6
Sabaneev, LP, Sobaki ohotnich’i (in Russian), Terra, Moscow, ed. of 1993. p.13.
6
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan that show stylised dogs
in hunting scenes, though in general they appear to
have pricked ears and an upward curling tail more
like the Tesem of Ancient Egypt (see petroglyph of c.
1100 BC from Tamgaly in the Chu-Ili mountains
northwest of Almaty, Kazakhstan). In the 4th century
BC Alexander the Great and his Seleucid successors
had established an empire from the Mediterranean to
Afghanistan and the Indus. It is known that the
Greeks used Saluki-like hounds for hunting. Indeed
there are grounds for believing that the very name
Saluki comes from the Arabic word Saluqi for
Fig.4 – Tang dynasty figurine
Seleucid.7 The Greeks traded with western Central Asia and their influence can be seen in
some of the Scythians’ splendid examples of the goldsmith’s art, including the famous
pectoral from the Tolstaya Mogila, showing smooth-haired hounds with either pricked or
cropped ears in pursuit of hare.8 The Seleucids’ capital at Seleucia in contemporary Iraq
was retained by their successors – the Parthians, though the following Sasanians built a
new town at Ctesiphon on the opposite side of the Tigris in 226 AD – and was the great
hub controlling international trade from Rome to China that became known as the Silk
Road.9 Much of this trade for some 500 years was in the hands of the Sogdians, based
around Bukhara, Samarkand and the Ferghana valley, who were for long exposed to
Hellenistic influence, not least since Alexander’s wife Roxanne was a Sogdian.10 So it is
entirely possible that Saluki hounds were being conveyed eastwards along
China in the Qin Period (221-207 BC) we find funerary bricks from noble tombs with
graphic examples of smooth-haired hunting hounds with cropped or pricked ears in
hunting scenes.11 Similar hounds appear on stamped bricks12 and in stone reliefs13 later in
the Han Period (206-220 AD).
Be that as it may, it is clear that by the 7th century hounds looking remarkably like
contemporary Salukis were being represented in art across Central Asia and China. In a
remarkable exhibition at the British Library on the Silk Road in 2004 there were two 7th
century Tang dynasty terra cotta figurines of such hounds in unmistakable poses: one
sitting upright and the other crouching on the crupper of a horse behind its huntsman
master (see Fig. 5). A magnificent mural in an imperial 7th century Tang tomb near
Chang’an shows a falconer with a Sparrowhawk on his arm accompanied by a beautifully
represented feathered Saluki.14 A painted scroll in the British Museum of the Paradise of
7
Smith, GR, Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies, Univ. of London, vol. XLIII, part 3,
1980.
8
Przezdziecki, X, Our Levriers, Les Amis de xavier Przezdziecki, Nice, 2001, p.67.
9
Valtz Fino, E, in The Looting of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, ed. Mpolk & AMH Schuster, Abrams Inc.,
New York, Chapt. VIII, p.149.
10
The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, ed. D Sinor, CUP, Cambridge, 1990, p.175.
11
Przezdziecki, p.98.
12
Ibid, p.98.
13
Schafer, EH, The Golden Peaches of Samarkand, University of California Press, Berkeley, paperback
edition, 1985, p.77.
14
Whitfield, S, Life along the Silk Road, John Murray, London, 1999, p.89.
7
.
Bhasajyagure from Dun Huang of the 9th century Tang dynasty shows a smooth-haired
hound Saluki reaching for a piece of meat. Another Tang painting shows two Salukis in a
butcher’s shop, while a Song dynasty colour and ink on silk painting from the 10th
century shows three mounted hunters carrying unmistakable Salukis on their horses.15
Much later a Jesuit painter resident in Beijing in the mid-18th century painted several
Salukis for a presentation album to the Qianlong Emperor, though it is suggested that
foreign dignitaries may have given them as tribute.16
Against this academic evidence I set off to explore for facts on the ground today.
The start in the walled oasis
town of Khiva in western
Uzbekistan appeared
auspicious as I spotted a
Berkut or Golden Eagle
sitting on a stand. The Berkut
is traditionally used for
hunting right across Central
Asia and is often used in
tandem with Tazys. My
hopes were soon dashed
however as it turned out to be
a mere tourist attraction. We
Fig. 5 Mounted Berkkkkutchis and Tazys in Kyrgyzstan
crossed the Oxus or Amur Darya as it is now called and drove parallel with it along the
southern side of the Kyzyl Kum in ideal hunting country but without success, apart from
some information about an oasis town far from our road that was described as the centre
for hunting with Tazys. However I noticed on the map an area outside Bukhara that was
designated as a gazelle nature reserve. I reasoned that if gazelle were indigenous there
hunting hounds might also be found there. We stopped at the entrance to the reserve and I
went in with our guide to speak to the Director in charge, but bounding to meet us came
the familiar form of what I supposed to be a smooth fawn Saluki. On closer inspection it
proved to have turned back ears, which are more commonly associated with Greyhounds,
though it definitely was not a Greyhound; yet it was not a Saluki either. All their keeper
could tell us was that this hound and all the others we saw there had come originally from
Russia and that he used them for seeking out fallen gazelle in the reserve. During a visit
to Russia in 2004 I saw many similar hounds, which were called Hortaya. Some Russians
believe that this breed may have descended from those smooth-haired hunting hounds
shown in the early Scythian representations mentioned above.
15
Waters, H&D, The Saluki in History, Art and Sport, Hoflin, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, USA, 2nd edition
1984, pp. 92 & 40.
16
The Royal Academy of Arts’ s catalogue of China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005,
pp.188-91& 410-11.
8
After taking in the many delights of
Bukhara, Shakhrisabz and Samarkand, we drove
on via Tashkent and Bishkek deep into
Kyrgyzstan. Our destination was a yurt in the
Tien Shan Mountains near the former
Fig. 6. Russian Hortaya in Uzbekistan
Silk Road caravanserai at Tash Rabat. All along our route I had been told about the
decline in hunting with hounds, particularly since the departure of many of the ethnic
Russian population, and I had given up all thought of seeing any more hunting hounds. It
was therefore a pleasant surprise to be greeted on arrival in Tash Rabat by a hound with a
dense black coat that the local Kyrgyz called a Taigan (Fig. 8). This breed is particular to
the high mountains where it has developed the ability to hunt all manner of animals in the
rare atmosphere above 2,500 m even in the depths of winter. It appears to be related to
the Saluki but with a broader head, a stockier build and a dense coat.
[Fig. 7- Taigan]
It proved to be the first of a
number of such hounds that we
were to see. We took a walk up
into the mountains hoping to see
into China and on the way came
across a yurt that was protected by
a red and white Taigan. A woman
emerged from the yurt and she
turned out to be someone to whom
we had given a lift earlier. She
welcomed us into her yurt and
Fig. 7 Taigan at Tash Rabat
showed us a tiny black Taigan puppy. Her husband appeared and said that he hunted
marmot and mountain goat for the pot and the hounds were very affective even when the
temperature fell to –30 degrees C. As we explored further in the area we passed near
another yurt from which a man hailed us, offering us hospitality. We declined but asked
if there were any Taigans nearby. He indicated a valley where we would find some. We
splashed through icy mountain stream up the valley and around a bend came on another
yurt and a mud-brick house under construction. As we approached three Taigans rushed
out to greet us. They were very friendly and looked in good condition: one of them was
heavily pregnant and was due to give birth within a few days. All, we were told, were
excellent hunters. A little further on I saw another Taigan on the other side of a stream by
a small house. As soon as we stopped to get a better look, the door of the house flew open
and some young lads rushed out, jumped onto horses and raced across the stream towards
us, followed by a very lively Taigan puppy. It was only with difficulty that we managed
to extricate ourselves from their pressing invitations to their house. We did relent further
on where a woman appeared from a small house with a plate of different dairy products:
kaimak (a sweet thick cream), curds and cheese with delicious fresh bread. As we
descended from the mountains the next day we passed many yurts and great herds of
horses, sheep and cattle – and even a few yaks. We stopped at one where a woman was
making little round cheeses that she was setting out to dry and harden in the sun. She
9
showed us round her beautifully decorated yurt, from the roof of which hung a fur from a
fox caught by her Taigan. Further on we came across a young lad walking by the
roadside with a beautiful black and tan hound that had something of the old-fashioned
Bell-Murray type of Afghan Hound about it [Fig.8). Nearby I spotted out of the corner of
my eye a familiar shape gliding along the base of a farmhouse wall. We made a little
detour and were warmly welcomed by the farmer’s wife and her small bright-eyed
daughter, who proudly showed us the black and white Taigan bitch, rather strangely
called Tarzan, and her five tiny puppies. The bitch gave a warning growl when I stepped
too near to take a picture of the puppies and the next thing I knew was that she had bitten
me in the ankle, to the mortification of her owner! No serious harm was done and I was
assured that the bitch had been vaccinated against rabies, but it was a warning not to mess
with a Taigan with puppies. It was clear from all these encounters that the Taigan, like
the Saluki in the Middle East, is held in a position of high esteem both as a pot-filler and
as a companion. However, as in other parts of the region, the pressures of modern life on
the habitat of the hunting hound’s prey is leading to a decline in the numbers of the
Taigan and, according to local sources, the carelessness of some of the hunters has
resulted in some crossing with other breeds. Nevertheless in my short exploration I had
seen enough of the breed to form
the impression that it is still
hanging on successfully in this area
of Kyrgyzstan.
By the time of my next trip along
the Silk Road a year later I had
established via the Internet contact
with people in Kyrgyzstan and
Kazakhstan so that my search for
Central Asian hunting hounds was
less haphazard. This time my
earlier impression of the situation
of these hounds was reinforced
both factually and visually. Our
guide, Almaz Kurmankulov, was a
founder of the Kyrgyz Taigan
Fig. 8
Afghan Hound?
Society, which had recorded about 200 purebred Taigans and was encouraging breeders
to preserve the breed as part of the nation’s heritage. Starting in Bishkek he we took us
first to meet a well-known horse and Taigan breeder on his farm. Here we saw a number
of his breeding stock, all of them black and white, with the distinctive ring at the end of
the tail where the last two vertebrae are fused together. One bitch was surrounded by a
litter of lively puppies, two of which were due to be presented later to King Juan Carlos
of Spain. We had intended to see one of the kennels on Lake Issyk-kul but all the hounds
were away in the mountains where they spend the summer months with the flocks and
herds. As we were to see later this is the bountiful time for Taigans when marmots are
abundant, which they catch to feed their puppies. Instead we made a diversion high into
the mountains to visit Zarnai Sagenbai, one of the few remaining Berkutchis in
Kyrgyzstan. We found him and his wife at their yurt outside of which sat a screaming
Berkut. Zarnai put on a demonstration of his skill, flying the Berkut from his horse to a
10
lure in the valley below. He and his sons still flew their eagles to hunt mainly hare for
food and fox for fur but also for wolf to protect their livestock. In the past they used to fly
them in tandem with Tazys, as an old photograph in the
Cholpan-Ata Museum illustrated.
As on our last trip we made for Tash Rabat from
where we planned to drive over the Torugart Pass into
the Uighur Region of China. As we arrived at our yurts
we were greeted with the news that there was a Kyrgyz
community some 30 km away with Taigans that Almaz
was keen to register. So he and I and a local Russian
driver set off to find them. Before long we found
ourselves at a military checkpoint before the border
with China and the prospects of passing it did not look
too good as neither of my companions had passports
with them. However a friendly officer pointed to a
white house a few hundred metres away where he said
we would find many Taigans
Fig. 9. Kyrgyz Berkutchi
and allowed us to pass. Sure enough we found several mature hounds there, some with
young puppies that kept popping out of deep holes in the ground where they lived,
protected from the biting wind and predators. Almaz duly measured them and recorded
their details. A young lad came up and asked if we would like to see some more. So
under his guidance we set off in our ancient car across country where there was not so
much as a dirt track. After some while we stopped at the top of a bluff from where we
could see below a yurt belching smoke from its chimney: we had arrived. Scrambling
down we were met by several Taigans of different ages and sizes and in no time Almaz
was submerged in a heap of playful puppies, grown fat on regurgitated marmot meat
from their parents. The lady of the yurt dragged out from her underground den a very
reluctant bitch to show us her recently born puppies. There could be no doubt that in
these remote parts Taigans still formed an essential part of the Kyrgyz nomads’ way of
life.
[Insert #10 – Mural in Khotan Museum]
Fascinating though the journey along the Silk Road through the Uighur Region proved to
be, in terms of hunting hounds it was totally unrewarding. Contact by foreigners with the
local Kyrgyz is forbidden, so I could not make enquiries there and among the Uighur and
Han Chinese I met only blank looks when I showed them photographs of the hounds. Yet
a contemporary mural in the Khotan Museum illustrating medieval travellers on the Silk
Road showed in the central foreground an unmistakable Tazy. How different was the
reception at our final destination in Kazakhstan! In Almaty Konstantin Plahov, a biologist
at the Institute of Zoology and a champion of Kazakhstan’s native breeds, came to the
hotel and took me to call on Askar Raibayev, President of the Dog Breeding Federation
of Kazakhstan. As I entered his house I almost fell over Roshan, a beautiful Tazy that
occupied much of the centre of the room with her eight puppies. Askar described the
considerable efforts being made to preserve not only the Tazy but also the Tobet (photo #
11), a huge shepherd guard dog, of which I was shortly to see some specimens at my next
stop – the Sunkar Breeding Centre in a beautiful setting outside the town. The Centre
11
contains a large number of raptors of different kinds, some of which are there for
breeding and some for rehabilitation after being found injured and release into the wild.
Running loose were several mature Tazys and puppies, while in well-designed kennels
some Tobets padded massively up and down. Both the Tazy and the Tobet has suffered
from a decline in numbers and in quality and the Centre is endeavouring to preserve the
breeds and to encourage their wider distribution. It is hard to judge its success. Certainly I
heard of some Kazakhs who maintained quite large kennels of Tazys for hunting on their
estates and on the steppe and I met some Tazy breeders in Almaty, but the problem is
also one of changing lifestyles. There is no longer the same need to hunt for food or for
fur and younger people are more interested in computer games than hunting in the often
harsh conditions of the steppe.
Throughout my
tours I was collecting
here and there from the
various hunting hounds
both mtDNA and DNA
samples to send to Dr
Peter Savolainen in
Sweden, who is
undertaking research
into the origins of dogs.
The research, which has
of course important
Fig. 10
Kazakh Tobet
implications for the history of mankind in this region, continues and in due course it may
lead to an answer to my initial question about the western or central Asian origins of
these hunting hounds along the Silk Road.
[This article was first published in the Silk Road Foundation Newsletter, Vol.4, No.2,
Winter 2006-2007]
12
Caravan Hound: Sighthound of the Deccan
by Rashmin Khandekar & Neil Trilokekar ©
The exact origins of the Caravan remain largely unknown, and the vast majority
of information available in this regard is mere speculation. It has been suggested that the
Caravan is a direct descendant of the Saluki; his appearance, in combination with the
proximity of the Middle East to India, seem to give some validity to this claim. He may
also just be a variation of the Saluki, as the habitat of the Saluki includes the entire region
stretching from North Africa to, reportedly, China. Naturally, the characteristics of the
dog vary somewhat throughout this incredibly wide range.
The Saluki first reached India with Arab traders, who brought them across the
Arabian Sea along with horses, hawks, and other goods from the Arab world. Salukis also
accompanied invaders and mercenaries from Persia and Afghanistan, and were well
established in India at the height of the Mogul Empire. It also quite plausible that Salukis
were present in India up to five centuries prior to the coming of the Moguls, as trade
relations between India and its Middle Eastern neighbours were strong, with much in the
way of exchange of gifts and goods ongoing since time immemorial.
It was during Emperor Aurangzeb’s Deccan campaigns against the Marathas, in
the latter half of the sixteenth century, that the Caravan came to prominence. The
Marathas, experts at the art of guerilla warfare, were not successfully contained by
Aurangzeb’s large standing army. Therefore, he had villages set up all along his borders,
and the peoples he chose to inhabit these villages were warriors from the North West
Frontier and Afghanistan. The dogs were, and continue to be, loyal guardians, pot-fillers
par excellence, and true companions. They came to be called ‘Karwani’, meaning ‘of the
caravans’, having followed the
caravans down from Afghanistan.
Today they are found
throughout the Deccan Plateau of
Central India, encompassing the
states of Maharashtra, Karnataka,
and to a lesser degree, Andhra
Pradesh. The Caravan was officially
recognized by the Kennel Club of
India (an FCI affiliated registry) in
1972, thanks to the efforts of the
Late Nawab Masihuddin, and Nawab
Nazeer Yar Jung, members of the
famous Paigah family of Hyderabad.
It was then that the breed’s name was anglicized to Caravan Hound. Unfortunately, the
breed has not received the patronage and respect it deserves, due to the negative attitude
of the majority of Indian dog ‘fanciers’ towards the indigenous breeds. Furthermore,
since recognition, the breed has been split into two – the Mudhol Hound and the Caravan
– due to a difference of opinion between KCI board members. The feathered variety, the
Pashmi, still goes unrecognized, although many are registered as Salukis.
The folk who keep this dog have their own theories on its raising and management.
Young dogs, those under twelve or eighteen months of age, are not taken for hunting, as it is felt
13
that if severely exercised in its growing stage, the development will be retarded. In some
localities, a bitch is not bred from until she reaches seven or eight years of age, the belief being
that after having pups, she would be useless for hunting and thus they like to get the best out of
her in the field before breeding her. The dogs are often branded with a hot iron on the thighs and
brisket, this practice is thought to immunize the dog against disease and make it stronger for the
hunt. It is said that a Caravan’s quality and purity can be ascertained if a bangle (bracelet made
of glass) can pass from its mouth up to its
forehead.
Although the Caravan can course game all
year round, the prime season for hunting is at the
beginning of winter, after the summer rains, when
the fields are harvested and the weather is cooler.
He is used to pursue both large and small game,
from hare to blackbuck, and a slightly different
style of dog is required for coursing different
game species, The terrain over which the Caravan
is called upon to work is rough and perilous, a
mixture of scrub, sharp rocks, and uneven ground.
When the dog is taken for hunting, he becomes
very excited and alert, and seems to know what is
in order. The dogs are usually released in pairs or
threes, in order to run the game down and
dispatch it. If the hunt is indeed a successful
venture, it is a hard earned victory. Afterwards
the dogs may be taken to a shaded area to rest, and perhaps offered some water or cool
milk.
Although an indigenous Indian breed, with the exception of a handful of
dedicated breeders, the Caravan is not well cared for. It’s a pity that most Indians,
including those who follow the dog scene, have either not heard about this breed or not
found it ‘venturesome’ to breed seriously. This eventually leads to the degeneration and
the genuine breed therefore might peter out in an alarmingly short time, as the rural
lifestyle is fast disappearing. It is unfortunate that this elegant dog has not got the
recognition and respect it deserves. Some breeders, to further their dilettantism and to
make the dog a ‘show dog’, compromise on several indispensable requisites while the
others are hardly bothered about the quality of the dog. The former happens when the
breeders are victims of the ‘dog show phenomenon’, where the desire to win ribbons and
trophies overtakes any desire to preserve the breed’s original form and function. The
latter is due to ignorance, lack of adequate funds and facilities to breed the dog
professionally. It is especially in the metropolitan cities of India that people are
completely unaware about the existence of this, or any other, exquisite indigenous breed.
The conservation of this breed in its authentic form has now become a sine qua
non. In northern India, particularly the Punjab, Greyhound racing is practiced on a large
scale. Dogs are imported from the United Kingdom and Ireland by individuals and
through the strong breed club and competitions are held regularly. Although most of
these dogs are racing-line Greyhounds, there are also a few Whippets amongst them.
Show Greyhounds are a rarity in India, but not non-existent. Unfortunately, a growing
14
number of these dogs are making
their way into the Deccan, where
they are bred to Caravans. Let it be
known that while we are not
against the breeding of Longdogs
in general, we are against the
breeding of Longdogs when it is
done in a dishonest manner, and
with a breed already threatened
with extinction. It is unfortunate
that some owners and breeders,
including those who are known in
kennel club circles, are unwilling
to admit their dogs’ true lineage,
and label Longdogs as ‘Caravans’. Some of these, particularly when crossed with show
Greyhounds, have gone on to achieve numerous wins at dog shows, where they are
popular for their extreme looks. We believe however that the perpetuation of Longdogs
as Caravans is a great disservice to the breed, and that it ruins the original qualities of our
beloved hounds.
Space is certainly a scarcity in the major cities in India and it is not disputed
that this breed needs sufficient space and a tremendous amount of exercise to remain
physically and mentally sound. But what must be condemned is the lack of knowledge of
its very existence. This breed is extremely sturdy, and can survive on nearly any
sustenance. It needs no special grooming or any special attention but, as with any
sighthound, one does have to be careful with anesthesia. It can be used as a good guarddog, working dog and, if treated with kindness and respect, can make a most loyal
companion. It is generally a ‘one man/woman/family’ dog, just as many sighthounds, and
tends to be aloof. It will not be as affectionate with strangers; indeed, many will not allow
strangers to lay hands on them. The Caravan is intelligent, but in a different way. Most
people will measure ‘intelligence’ on the basis of how well the dog follows commands –
slavish obedience is called ‘intelligence’. But we think this breed is highly adept in its
own ways. We believe that one can never compare the intelligence of the working or
sporting dogs with the hounds. The Caravan is often immersed in his own self and of
course it is gifted with fantastic eyesight. If the mood strikes him, he can take off without
a care, but if he is treated well and respected, he will not forsake his master under even
the direst of circumstances. In all, the characteristics are very similar to those of other
hounds, especially, the Saluki.
About the Authors
Neil Trilokekar was born and raised in Mumbai, India. The neighbours owned
Afghan Hounds – not the Western show dogs, these were real “Tazis”. Neil spent
countless hours studying them, captivated by their grace and elegance, their artistic
beauty, simple and yet so extreme, delicate yet extraordinarily resilient and immensely
powerful. He has since been a committed sighthound fancier, attending his first dog show
15
held by the INKC at the tender age of four. It was there where he first met the Saluki and
the Caravan, the two breeds he loves most today.
He now lives in Canada, at home in Toronto, and studies at McGill University in
Montreal. In 2004 he imported a Caravan Hound, a young female called Rukmani, in
order to present this exquisite hound to the world. Neil and “Rukhee” have since been
seen at dog events across Southern Ontario. In fact, they made history in June 2005, when
they won Reserve Best in Show at the Erie Shores Kennel Club RBCSWO show, the first
time any Indian breed had been shown and won outside of India.
Neil is dedicated to preserving the breed in its natural state, as a true hunting
hound, and believes that it is in the coursing field, not the show ring, where the qualities
of the Caravan can best be tested. He may be reached by email at sundarban@gmail.com
or by telephone at (514) 262-9844.
Rashmin Khandekar was born in Solapur and raised in Mumbai, India. His
fascination for sighthounds dates back to the time when he was 10 years old, when his
father bought him a two-and-a-half month old Pashmi from Mr. H. R. Gupte. Thoroughly
elated, Rashmin registered the dog as a Saluki and it took a mere three shows for the pup
“Sonu”, to become Ch. Inca Gold, with Rashmin also bagging a few Best Junior Handler
awards along the way. The beauty of the Pashmi, combined with his love for his own
dog, made him curious about the breed. In the process, he also educated himself on other
Indian breeds, and realized that he had developed a keen interest in all sighthounds.
While on vacation in England in the late part of ’99/early 2000, Rashmin saw his
first Western-bred Salukis at a dog show in Birmingham. He therefore continued his
dilettantism, which, before he could realize, became his obsession. In India, Rashmin is
well known in the circle of “Caravan Hound” owners. In 2005, he welcomed into his
home another Pashmi, a bitch called Rhea. She was also registered with the KCI as a
Saluki and was awarded a CC at her first show. Rashmin is a student of law and studies at
the Government Law College, Mumbai.
Disclaimer: Please note that all of the above is simply the opinion of the authors, and in
no way do the authors suggest that their opinion is the only one. The reader is
encouraged to do his/her own research, and form his/her own conclusions. We are more
than happy to help you in any way we can. Please do not reproduce any of the text or
images presented here without the prior, written, expressed permission of both the
authors. Thank You, Sincerely, Neil Trilokekar & Rashmin Khandekar.
16
From our Archivist.
This is from Volume 2 of "The Kennel Encyclopedia" published 1908.
Edited by J.Sidney Turner MRCS, FLS, FZS, etc
From the chapter Greyhounds (Eastern) written by H. W. Bush
The best-known breed of Greyhounds indigenous to India is the Rampur hound,* so
called from the Native State in the United Provinces, which is its place of origin. As to this
origin no clear facts can be obtained, but the breed is known to have existed in Rampur for
over 200 years. From the general conformation, the long ears, and feet, the breed was evidently
started from Arab or Persian hounds imported into the State. As Rampur is a Mohammedan
State, there would naturally be some communication between it and Persia, and probably it was
more or less regularly visited by caravans from
the North. What, therefore, would be more
natural than for the Head-man to bring a present
to the Nawab of a brace of the Greyhounds,
which were so valued in his own land ?
Compare for a moment the photographs of the
smooth Arab hound and the Rampur, and a very
strong likeness will be seen. It is, of course,
probable that the Rampur was crossed with
some other hound in the past, which would also
account for its greater size. The Rampur has
been largely crossed with the English
Greyhound by sportsmen in the past, not only to give
more stamina to the English hounds' progeny, but
also to improve the feet. The pure Rampur is slower
than the English hound, but it will last when the latter
has had to give up, not only from exhaustion, but
from lacerated feet. The pure Rampur, now hard to
obtain, has several very distinctive features. The head
is more massive than the Persian hound's, jaws more
powerful, the general build more suggestive of
strength and endurance than very great speed. The
eyes are yellow, and have the most uninviting look
when the animal " means business." The loins are
generally well arched, and the tail is carried gaily, but
not over the back. Of coat there is practically none,
the resemblance to a recently clipped and singed
horse is remarkable; the skin can be seen, and the hair
can be felt sharp and prickly. The colour is therefore
the colour of the skin, which is mouse-colour. Patches of hair are sometimes seen on dogs kept
in colder regions, and that hair is almost invariably fawn. Sometimes also little patches of
pinky-white skin are seen, just as if something had been upset on the hound which took the
17
colour out. In disposition the breed resembles all the others, savage and treacherous to the last
degree. However, if properly brought up with Europeans, and allowed liberty, none of the vile
characteristics seem to appear. In size they average between 26 and 28^4 inches; we have never
seen one higher than 28^, but they run heavier than the other hounds, owing to their more solid
build. Here a curious thing may be noticed, and that is the remarkable prepotency of the
Rampur blood ; it seems to stick for generations, and it is always possible to pick out a
Greyhound that has a Rampur amongst its ancestors. It is the same with the Arab or Persian
blood—it seems to remain in evidence always. The illustration shows a very typical specimen.
In fact, so good was he considered, that he won the Dholpur Challenge for the Best Dog in the
Show at Lahore, December, 1903,beating among others the recently imported wire Fox Terrier,
Champion Dusky Gleaner, then in her prime. He was a very gentle and quiet dog, and always
had his liberty. It is now very difficult to get really good Rampurs, except from the State, and
even then, as is natural, the best are not parted with. There are plenty of bad ones—ugly,
misshapen things with splay-feet, and vile tempers, showing all the bad points that a bad
Greyhound can show. A very beautiful bitch was shown a few years ago by Colonel Garstin.
She stood 26^ inches, and won many prizes in her day ; she is now, unfortunately, dead, and
her owner has retired from the Army. From a photograph taken of her with the Native dog-boy,
Messrs. Dobson and Sons made a handsome silver model, known as The Dobson Trophy,
which is competed for once a year at Lahore by the dogs imported into India during the
previous year. She and Sambhar were considered about as perfect specimens as one could find
anywhere. Eileen, for such was her name, was presented to Colonel Garstin by the Nawab of
Rampur, who was an Honorary Lieutenant in his regiment, the gth Hodson's Horse.
A breed which is also, as some suppose, a descendant of the Arab or Persian Greyhound,
is the Banjara, so called because it is the dog of the Banjaras, a wandering tribe, once the
sole carriers of merchandise in India, but whose occupation is practically now gone, since
railways run everywhere. This tribe is found chiefly in Central India and Rajputana,
where they camp out, because they are still nomads and grain carriers. In all probability
the progenitors of the Banjara breed were brought down from Persia, and after a cross or
two with some hairy, hardy other breed, have developed into what we now find them.
Undoubtedly they must be recognised as a distinct breed, for they breed true to type in
every way. As far back as the late sixties they are mentioned by Captain Forsyth in his
work, " Highlands of Central India," where he writes:^-" At other times I havehad
excellent sport with the fine breed of dogs possessed by the Banjara carriers referred to
in a former chapter .A real specimen of the Banjara, should, however, be selected, and
this is not easy, the breed having got much mixed with the common village pariah dog.
The true Banjara is a fine, up-standing hound about 28 inches high, generally black,
mottled with grey or blue, with a rough but silky coat, a high-bred, hound-like head, and
well-feathered on ears, leg's and tail. He shows a good deal of resemblance to the Persian
Greyhound, but is stouter built, and with a squarer muzzle. Probably this wandering race
of gipsies may have brought the originals with them from Western Asia, the subsequent
modification being due to a cross with some of the indigenous breeds. The Banjara breed
possesses indomitable pluck, can go about as fast as a Foxhound, and will run all day. His
nose is superior to that of any other domestic breed in a hot climate, but he wants better
speed for coursing deer, and attachment to Europeans."
Writing in The Indian Kennel Gazette on this breed in February, 1903, Mr. Lionel
Jacob says :—" How the breed originated it is almost impossible to conjecture. There is
18
undoubtedly a something in the Banjara that suggests a smack of the Eastern hound, but
no more, perhaps less, than the similarity between the Skye or Scottish Terrier and the
Dandy Dinmont. In the hands of a scientific breeder, such a dog- as the Banjara might
possibly be manufactured from a cross between some variety of the Persian Greyhound,
such as the Arab or Afghan hound, and some variety of the Terrier, such as the Irish or
Bedlington. But Eastern sportsmen have never yet, within the memory of Englishmen, set
themselves to consistently manufacture a breed for a special purpose. And if it had been a
mere chance production, it is probable that it would long ago have broken up into its
original elements. Natives have always disclaimed such insinuations. They maintain that
the Banjara is a pure and distinct breed, and that it existed and was prized for its value in
its special line of sport long before any Terrier that could have assisted in its production
was imported into India."
At the present day the Banjara does not appear to be so high as mentioned by
Captain Forsyth, but varies between 20 to 23 inches, nor is the tail feathered to the extent
that he says. We have seen a specimen, perfect in every way, but with very little hair on
the tail at all. Without being domed, the head is not unlike that of the other hounds, jaw
powerful, ears feathered, carried rather low and often loose. Natives are given to cutting
the ears. The legs, feet and front are those of a Foxhound, the pads being very thick.
Chest deep with a fair spring of ribs, while in quarters they more nearly resemble the
Greyhound than in any other point. Coat, heavy, especially in winter. This is curious, as
the climate of their particular part of India is not very cold in winter.
It is probable that in fifty years the breed has lost some of its size, and perhaps
altered in other ways. The predominant colours appear to be sandies, fawns and light
greys, though blacks are occasionally met with. In disposition and in their behaviour
towards Europeans, the Banjaras differ considerably from the other Eastern breeds. They
are less snappish, and will allow themselves to be freely handled. Yet withal they are
more plucky, for they are chiefly used by those who own them in hunting pig and
panther, when wounded. A pack of these dogs accompany a shooting party, and if the
quarry is wounded, they are immediately loosed, and quickly bring a panther or pig to
bay, and have been known to kill either of them before the hunters can arrive. With
wonderful pluck they will attack again and again, and a Banjara that has been regularly
used for such work is pretty well a mass of scars. Neither pig nor panther are gentle in
their methods of self-defence, especially when wounded. Another breed of hound used
for hunting panther and pig is
the Mahratta hound, now
exceedingly rare. It used to
be kept by the Chieftains
solely for hunting, and a good
specimen is said to be able to
pull down a black buck ; this,
however, we are rather
sceptical about, unless the
animal was badly wounded.
We have seen a wounded
buck going on three legs
only, the other swinging
19
about by the skin, galloping at such a pace as to outrun a light-weight rider mounted on a
fleet Arab horse. These hounds are used both in the hills and the plains, and will go
through a tremendous amount of work in the hot weather. They stand about 22 inches
high. The specimen in the illustration was blue and tan in colour, very obedient and quiet
with his owner, but savage with strangers. He had assisted at the deaths of many pig and
panther. The breed evidently is of Persian or Arab origin, as will be seen from the photo,
and by some it has been confused with the Banjara above described, but they are not in
reality a bit alike. In speaking of hunting "pig" with these hounds, we, of course, mean
the Indian wild boar, or sow. A good boar will stand from 30 to 36 inches, with tushes
five or six inches long; even a sow has small tushes, and both are formidable antagonists,
and full of pluck, and can inflict terrible gashes on any foe. Even the tiger is said to treat
a boar with considerable respect, though he is partial to pork in the shape of a nice young
"squeaker" culled on the sly from a "sounder."
The last of the Eastern Greyhounds is the Poligar, called also by some the
Pertabgarh hound. It is closely allied to the Rampur, being also hairless, but is smaller
and stouter built,—in fact, it might be easily taken for an undersized Rampur, which
probably it really is. We have been told that some specimens have a tuft of hair on the
skull, after the fashion of the Chinese crested dog, but not so marked; but this has not
been fully corroborated. It is very hard now to find a good one; they have been so mixed
up with other breeds, and in time they will almost cease to be a separate variety. Perhaps
they are the Zulfi Rampurs mentioned in the footnote on page 753. We have dealt with
all the recognised breeds of Eastern Hounds known in India and Persia, Afghanistan and
Arabia, and we have tried to trace the origin of each breed from what we consider the true
source, namely, the Arab hound. The various illustrations bear out our contentions very
considerably. For its peculiar breeds, India is undoubtedly indebted to the Banjara
carriers, who in the early days probably brought down with their caravans hounds from
Arabia and Persia. These dogs were crossed with some indigenous breeds, and climatic
influences helped to work further changes, but through all the Arab blood is traceable.
The light yellow eye so noticeable in Rampurs, Banjaras, and others is, it seems to us,
entirely due to climatic influences, for even Persians and Arabs whose eyes are naturally
dark in colour, though occasionally light and even china eyes are found, will, when bred
in India, after a generation or two begin to throw pups with yellow eyes. It may be that
such eyes have greater power to resist the terrible glare of the plains of India.
H. W. BUSH.
>>>>>* According to information obtained several years ago, but which it has been
impossible to verify, there are three breeds of Rampur hounds. (i) Lalbebarliar— Black
muzzle, no hair on the body. These are great tacklers, and very savage: one has been said
to kill a wolf single-handed. (2) Zulfi—Black muzzle, tufts of hair on the ears, point of
elbow and tail. The general colour " mehndi," i.e, red. (3) Goitria— Short hair, yellow
eye, dark colour. The first two are the valuable ones, and now hard to obtain, as the late
General Azim-uddin, when in charge of the Rampur Kennels, introduced both Greyhound
and Deerhound crosses,—H.W.B.
From the Registrar
20
Book Review
Exploring Iran : the Photography of Erich F. Schmidt, 1930-1940
Ayse Gursan-Salzmann
208 pp. 64 b/w figures, CD-ROM of 88 images
ISBN 1-931707-96-0 February 2007
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
$29.95
The Penn Museum’s first archaeological expedition to Iran took place in 1931, when
Erich F. Schmidt excavated the Bronze Age site of Tepe Hissar near the town of
Damghan and the monumental buildings of the pre-Islamic Sasanian Palace.
In this part of his adventurous and courageous life Schmidt, then a young German World
War I veteran who had received his Ph.D. under Franz Boas at Columbia University,
documented the project with nearly 2,600 culturally significant photos, many taken under
far from ideal conditions. Here are images of desert and mountain tribes, the sites,
government administrators, and a full panoply of the people Schmidt encountered from
Fara (Iraq), Damghan, Tepe Hissar, and Persepolis, including aerial reconnaissance shots.
Gursan-Salzmann has selected 64 memorable and instructive prints from the Museum’s
Archives for the book’s interior and has assembled dozens more from the Schmidt
Collection, from Chicago’s Oriental Institute, and from family members for an
accompanying CD-ROM. She helps readers interpret the cultural and physical landscapes
of the Iran and Iraq of nearly 75 years ago as their ethnographic and historical treasures
came to light.
Ayse Gursan-Salzmann, a graduate of Robert College (Istanbul), is a Research
Associate of the Penn Museum.
Critique History : 1974 – 1986, and a Little Beyond:
A 2006 Trip Down Memory Lane
By Elizabeth Al-Hazam Dawsari
The Desert Bred Saluki Critique Program administered by The Society for
the Perpetuation of Desert Bred Salukis originated in the early 1970s. The
methodology utilized then and further refined in subsequent years—three
critiques, or evaluations, during which each Saluki was judged according to
the Saluki Standard accepted by the American Kennel Club by a qualified
AKC, performance, or breeder judge—was based upon the European F.C.I.
model and procedure. From the first organized Desert Bred critique
conducted in 1974 through the forty-fourth critique in 1986, Critique Case
Numbers (CCNs) were assigned consecutively to each Saluki presented to the
judges for evaluation.
21
The original listing of CCNs was referred to as a “Roster.” Later, in the
early 1990s, CCNs were reissued as Critique Registration Numbers (CRNs)
as The Society for the Perpetuation of Desert Bred Salukis developed a
registry for critiqued Salukis imported directly from the Middle East or of
direct Middle Eastern descent. This change occurred because owners of
Middle Eastern descent Salukis wanted to enter their hounds in organized
open field and lure coursing competition. In order to do so, their Salukis had
to have registration numbers. Heretofore, their Salukis had been competing
with Indefinite Listing Privilege (ILP) numbers issued by the American
Kennel Club (AKC). However, on September 1, 1989, the AKC instituted a
requirement that ILP-registered dogs (of all breeds) had to be altered so as to
become unbreedable. This, plus the failure of a Saluki Club of America
Desert Bred to AKC registration proposal, showed the need for the
establishment for an independent Desert Bred registry. Hence, in the period
between 1986 and 1992, CCNs were phased out and replaced by CRNs.
From the autumn of 1974 through January of 1986, a total of 141 Desert
Bred Salukis were assigned Critique Case Numbers (CCNs) in one
informally arranged critique and forty-three critiques sponsored by various
associations. The clubs and organizations which participated in this program
were: The American Saluki Association, Arizona Half-Arabian Horse
Association, Desert Saluki Coursing Association (now Central Arizona
Saluki Association), Empire Saluki Club, Garden State Saluki Club, North
Clairemont Recreation Council in San Diego, Potomac Saluki Club, Saluki
Club of America, Saluki Club of Sacramento, San Angeles Saluki Club,
Southwest Desert Saluki Club, and an informally arranged critique in
Stockton, California.
The first critique was conducted in the fall of 1974 by the Empire Saluki
Club. Two Salukis were entered, the imported *Rualla’s Saya’ad Ibn Shihan CCN
001 and *Rualla’s Dhaba’an Ibn Shihan CCN 002. Subsequently, the numbers of
Salukis presented for critiquing at the various events ranged from one Saluki
only, at the Garden State Saluki Club, October 21, 1978, all the way to twentyone Salukis, at the Arizona Half-Arabian Horse Association / Saluki Club of
America, September 30, 1984.
Along the way, fourteen Salukis were pre-entered in critiques but their
owners did not present them to the judges. Hence, no critiques were written or
information otherwise permanently recorded for CCNs 22, 31, 32, 33, 34, 50, 51,
55, 56, 58, 72, 78, 124 and 125. Of the first 141 Salukis assigned CCNs, forty
were imports from the Middle East. However, five of the imports (CCNs 22, 32,
34, 50, and 78), although among the first forty imported Salukis listed, were not
permanently registered. Therefore, only thirty-five of the imports among the first
141 Desert Bred Salukis originally entered into the Critique program have been
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permanently recorded in the CRN Stud Book and, thus, are counted statistically
herein.
Of the first 141 Salukis critiqued, five, in retrospect, have been declared
ineligible for permanent CRN registration. Subsequently, their CCNs were
cancelled. (CCNs 21, 61, 62, 91, and 133)
As a result of the above stated attrition, only 122 of the first 141 Salukis
listed in the CCN roster were entered into and permanently registered in the CRN
Stud Book of The Society for the Perpetuation of Desert Bred Salukis. The first
thirty-five imports represent 24.8 percent of the total number of Salukis listed,
and 28.6 percent of the total number of Salukis actually registered in the CRN
Stud Book up to that number in the Stud Book.
Of the first 122 permanently CRN registered Salukis:
five (CRNs 1, 2, 6, 27 and 69) were whelped in Iran;
nineteen (CRNs 3, 5, 24, 28, 35, 36, 41, 48, 74, 75, 86, 88, 89, 90,
102,
104, 120, 121, and 131) were whelped in Saudi Arabia;
four (CRNs 16, 20, 79, and 116) were whelped in Bahrain;
two (CRNs 18 and 63) were imported from Lebanon;
one (CRN 19) was whelped in Egypt;
one (CRN 8) was whelped in Iraq;
one (CRN 33) was whelped in Israel;
one (CRN 40) was whelped in Jordan, and;
one (CRN 138) was whelped in Turkey.
One of the nineteen Saudi Arabian Salukis was imported in utero.
However, his dam was never critiqued.
Of the thirty-five imported Salukis, ten were positively confirmed and
identified as having been bred by local / native / tribal breeders (CRNs 5, 18, 19,
35, 36, 86, 102, 104, 131, and 138). The remaining twenty-five were either bred
by someone unknown to the recorded owner of the Saluki, or were bred by
American, British or European expatriates living in one of the various Middle
Eastern countries. One of the Iranian imports (CRN 69) was descended from
registered Bahraini Salukis. One of the Lebanese imports (CRN 18) was
exported from Saudi Arabia to Lebanon and, thence, exported from Lebanon to
the United States. All were presumed by their recorded owners to be descended
from Salukis indigenous to the Middle East with no admixture of British,
European, or American Saluki breeding.
Thirteen (CRNs 1, 3, 8, 18, 20, 63, 75, 86, 89, 104, 120, 131 and 138) of
the first thirty-five Desert Bred Salukis imported to the United States
subsequently have bred on. Only four of these thirteen (CRNs 86, 104, 131, and
138) had themselves been tribally or native bred. A total of five of the thirteen
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imports (CRNs 20, 86, 104, 131 and 138) today, in 2006, have living
descendents registered either in part or entirely through the Desert Bred Saluki
Critique Program. They are:
*Hamra Al-Bahrein CRN 20 (Shahin x Sheba), a red feathered bitch
whelped in Bahrain on December 19, 1975, was bred by Mrs. Rhoda Stroud.
**Hamra Al-Bahrein’s daughter, Mex. CH. Rualla’s Caria of Sarahin C.D., was
co-bred and owned solely by Mrs. Eugenia Kissinger. Mex. CH. Rualla’s Caria of
Sarahin C.D.’s descendents entered the AKC Stud Book through the Mexican
Kennel Club.
*Brandi Bint Dawsari CRN 86 (Ibn Al-Batal x Sun-X Bint La’aban), a cream
smooth bitch whelped in Thuqbah, Saudi Arabia on February 20, 1979, was bred
by Muhammad Dawsari, a member of the Dawsari tribe, and sent to the United
States by Fahad Saqr Al-Hazzam Addawsari, Ph.D. *Brandi Bint Dawsari was
bred at the direction of the Dawsari tribe to a Qahtani-bred Saudi import.
Descendents of her daughter Kahaylah min Bani Dawsari CRN 134 entered the
AKC Stud Book through the Desert Bred Saluki Critique Program.
*Sattam min al-Qahtani CRN 104, a silver grizzle smooth dog whelped
near Na’ariyyah, Saudi Arabia during May 1981, was bred by the Qahtani tribe,
and sent to the United States by Fahad Saqr Al-Hazzam Addawsari, Ph.D.
*Sattam min al-Qahtani was bred to *Brandi Bint Dawsari CRN 86 and was the
sire of the above-mentioned Kahaylah min Bani Dawsari CRN 134, whose
descendents entered the AKC Stud Book through the Desert Bred Saluki Critique
Program.
*Samir Turki al-Fanni al-Fanni CRN 131, a red grizzle feathered dog
whelped during July 1978 in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, was bred
by Bedouin. *Samir Turki al-Fanni al-Fanni, owned by former Aramco
employee Tom Miller, was bred to the above-mentioned Kahaylah min Bani
Dawsari CRN 134, whose descendents entered the AKC Stud Book through
the Desert Bred Saluki Critique Program.
*Tek Kulak’s Tazi Var CRN 138, a black tri feathered bitch whelped during
July 1984 in Adiyaman Province, Turkey, was bred by Mustafa Yardim.
*Tek Kulak’s Tazi Var, owned by Janet Jones, was bred to another Turkish
import *Tek Kulak Acik Gos CRN 155. Her descendents through her
daughter, Tek Kulak’s Pafta of Melik CRN 160, owned by Mary Beth
Rogers, entered the AKC Stud Book through the Desert Bred Saluki Critique
Program.
Of the first 141 Desert Bred Salukis pre-entered or actually participating in
the Critique program, only five Salukis—two dogs and three bitches—3.5
percent—have two or more generations of descendents recorded in the CRN
Stud Book of The Society for the Perpetuation of Desert Bred Salukis. All
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five have descendents currently registered in the Stud Book of the American
Kennel Club. Of the 35 original imports—14.3 percent have descendents that
have bred on into the twenty-first century.
Only one of the two imported Bedouin-bred sire lines (*Sattam min alQahtani CRN 104 and *Samir Turki al-Fanni al-Fanni CRN 131) has been
continued into the twenty-first century. (*Sattam min al-Qahtani CRN 104
has no living direct male descendents. The last one whelped was recorded in
the CRN Stud Book in 1993. (*Sattam min al-Qahtani’s CRN 104 sire line
has become extinct although his influence has continued through other CRN
registered descendents. Living direct male descendents of *Samir Turki alFanni al-Fanni CRN 131 have been recorded or are pending registration in
the CRN Stud Book.
Of the three imported dam lines, (*Hamra Al-Bahrein CRNs 20, *Brandi
Bint Dawsari CRN 86 and *Tek Kulak’s Tazi Var 138), *Tek Kulak’s Tazi
Var CRN 138 currently has living direct female descendents registered in the
CRN Stud Book. Two subsequent generations of *Hamra Al-Bahrein’s CRN
20 direct female descendents appear in the CRN Stud Book. This line,
however, became registered in the AKC Stud Book through the Mexican
Kennel Club. Subsequent generations of *Hamra Al-Bahrein’s CRN 20
descendents have not been recorded in the CRN Stud Book since 1983. The
dam line of *Brandi Bint Dawsari CRN 86 became extinct in 1987 although
her influence has continued through other CRN registered descendents.
Today, in 2006, the presence of heritable traits descending from the first 141
CCNs listed in the Desert Bred Roster between the years 1974 and 1986 is
relatively negligible. This influence is limited to descendents of one Bahraini,
three Saudi Arabian, and one Turkish Saluki.
Sources:
Kissinger, Eugenia. Recapitulation: Desert Bred Saluki Critiques and Competitions,
1974-1986. Undated.
Society for the Perpetuation of Desert Bred Salukis. SPDBS CRN Stud Book. 2006.
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SANTANA CLARK UZIDUZIT KENT. Dog. CRN 0536-007-2.
October 21, 2005- . Black tan and white, Smooth.
Whelped in White City, Oregon.
BREEDER: Warren and Victoria Cook. 000-13
By CH Moshire RFR Red Sky CC, CM AKC HM704788/02 x
Hlynn's Santana Boushra CRN 0396-001-1
OWNER:
Victoria L. Clarke. 007-01
SANTANA HEY UZIDUZIT JUDE. Dog. CRN 0537-007-2.
October 21, 2005- . Cream w/white, Smooth.
Whelped in White City, Oregon.
BREEDER: Warren and Victoria Cook. 000-13
By CH Moshire RFR Red Sky CC, CM AKC HM704788/02 x
Hlynn's Santana Boushra CRN 0396-001-1
OWNER:
Victoria L. Clarke. 007-01
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COO hounds-
Uzbekistan Photos © by Mike Ratcliffe
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