Pata Khazana

Pata Khazana

Paṭa Khazāna (Pashto: پټه خزانه‎, "The Hidden Treasure") is the title of a disputed manuscript written in Pashto language. According to its supposed discoverer Abdul Hay Habibi, the script contains an anthology of Pashto poetry, starting from the time of Amir Kror Suri in the early Ghurid period (eighth century), up to the Hotak period (eighteenth century). The original book, allegedly written in 1729 by a scholar named Mohammad Hotak under the patronage of the Pashtun (Afghan) emperor Hussain Hotak, contains three parts. The first part is about the life and works of various earlier Pashto poets from the eighth century up to the sixteenth century, the second is about the contemporary poets of the period, and the third is about female poets, followed by a conclusion. At the end of the book, Mohammad Hotak briefly discusses his own life and works.

Discovery

The Afghan scholar Habibi claimed to have discovered the manuscript in 1944. According to him, the discovered manuscript was hand-written in 1886 and kept in a village mosque. It was a copy of an anthology of Pashto poetry, originally written in 1729 by the scholar Mohammad Hotak under the patronage of the Pashtun (Afghan) emperor Hussain Hotak (son of Mirwais Hotak who founded the Hotak dynasty). The anthology is a compilation of works of several poets, starting from Amir Kror Suri of the early Ghurid period (eighth century). Habibi published the manuscript as a facsimile with detailed footnotes, annotations, and historical notes.

Reception

The first translation of Pata Khazana into a European language, with a detailed critical commentary, appeared in 1987, written by the Italian iranologist Lucia Serena Loi. Loi considers the manuscript a forgery of the late 19th century.[1] The Iranologist David Neil MacKenzie concludes from the alleged anachronisms that the document was fabricated only shortly before its claimed discovery in 1944.[2] An intensive critical occupation with the manuscript among Pashtun scholars was published by the poet Qalandar Momand in 1988.

Literature

  • Khushal Habibi (translator): Hidden Treasure (Pata Khazana). University Press of America 1997, ISBN 0-7618-0265-7
  • Lucia Serena Loi: Il tesoro nascosto degli Afghani. Il Cavaliere azzurro, Bologna 1987, ISBN 88-85661-21-1 (in Italian)
  • Qalandar Mohmand: Pata khazāna fi'l mīzān. Da chap jae, Peshawar 1988 (in Pashto)

References

  1. ↑ Lucia Serena Loi: Il tesoro nascosto degli Afghani. Il Cavaliere azzurro, Bologna 1987, p. 33
  2. ↑ David Neil MacKenzie: David N. Mackenzie: The Development of the Pashto Script. In: Shirin Akiner (Editor): Languages and Scripts of Central Asia. School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ. of London, London 1997, ISBN 978-0-7286-0272-4. p. 142
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.