Pata Khazana
Encyclopedia
Pata Khazāna is the title of a disputed manuscript written in Pashto language. According to its discoverer Abdul Hay Habibi
, the script contains an anthology
of Pashto poetry, which precedes the earliest known pieces of Pashto literature
by a couple of hundred years. The claimed discovery of the script caused a controversy about its genuineness. The manuscript could not be authenticated and is considered forgery by most scholars of Iranian Studies
.
by Shah Hussain Hotak. The anthology is a compilation of works of hitherto unknown poets dating back to the eighth century. Habibi published the manuscript as a facsimile
in 1975 but did not make the original document available to the public.
As the original manuscript is not available to the public, the authenticity of the document could only be checked by analysing the orthography and style of the facsimile. Due to the large number of errors and anachronism
s found in the script, the authenticity of the manuscript is widely excluded among scholars of Iranian studies. Some scholars, however, do not want to rule rule out completely an authenticity of at least parts of some poems compiled in the manuscript.
There is no consensus on the time of fabrication. Loi considers the manuscript a forgery of the late 19th century, while the Iranologist David Neil MacKenzie
concludes from the anachronisms that the document was fabricated only shortly before its claimed discovery in 1944. MacKenzies central argument refers to the use of the modern Pashto letters Dze (ځ [dz]) and Nur (ڼ [ɳ]) throughout the script. These letters were only introduced into the Pashto alphabet in 1936 when the Afghan government reformed the Pashto orthography. The two letters have never been found simultaneously in any genuine manuscript before 1935.
Abdul Hay Habibi
Abdul Hai Habibi was a prominent Afghan historian for much of his lifetime as well as a member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan during the reign of King Zahir Shah...
, the script contains an anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of Pashto poetry, which precedes the earliest known pieces of Pashto literature
Pashto literature
Pashto media includes Pashto literature, Pashto language newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations, as well as Pashto films and Pashto internet...
by a couple of hundred years. The claimed discovery of the script caused a controversy about its genuineness. The manuscript could not be authenticated and is considered forgery by most scholars of Iranian Studies
Iranian Studies
Iranian studies , is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of history, literature, art and culture of the Iranian people. It is a part of the wider field of Oriental studies....
.
Discovery
The Afghan scholar Habibi claimed to have discovered the manuscript in 1944. He professed that the script be a 19th century copy of an anthology of Pashto poetry written in 1729 in KandaharKandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
by Shah Hussain Hotak. The anthology is a compilation of works of hitherto unknown poets dating back to the eighth century. Habibi published the manuscript as a facsimile
Facsimile
A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of reproduction by attempting to replicate the source as accurately as possible in terms of scale,...
in 1975 but did not make the original document available to the public.
Reception
The earliest known document written in Pashto is dated to the sixteenth century. The poems compiled in the Pata Khazana therefore extend the history of Pashto literature by about 800 years. The claimed discovery of the manuscript thus caused a controversy, its authenticity was disputed from the beginning. The first translation into a European language, with a detailed critical commentary, only appeared in 1987, written by the Italian iranologist Lucia Serena Loi. The most intensive critical occupation with the manuscript among Pashto scholars was published by the Pakistani scholar Qalandar Mohmand in 1988.As the original manuscript is not available to the public, the authenticity of the document could only be checked by analysing the orthography and style of the facsimile. Due to the large number of errors and anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
s found in the script, the authenticity of the manuscript is widely excluded among scholars of Iranian studies. Some scholars, however, do not want to rule rule out completely an authenticity of at least parts of some poems compiled in the manuscript.
There is no consensus on the time of fabrication. Loi considers the manuscript a forgery of the late 19th century, while the Iranologist David Neil MacKenzie
David Neil MacKenzie
David Neil MacKenzie FBA was a reputed scholar of Iranian languages.-Biography:Neil MacKenzie was born in London in 1926 and attended a succession of schools in Southern England. In 1943, aged 17, he enlisted in the British Army...
concludes from the anachronisms that the document was fabricated only shortly before its claimed discovery in 1944. MacKenzies central argument refers to the use of the modern Pashto letters Dze (ځ [dz]) and Nur (ڼ [ɳ]) throughout the script. These letters were only introduced into the Pashto alphabet in 1936 when the Afghan government reformed the Pashto orthography. The two letters have never been found simultaneously in any genuine manuscript before 1935.
Literature
- Khushal Habibi (translator): Hidden Treasure (Pata Khazana). University Press of America 1997, ISBN 0761802657
- Lucia Serena Loi: Il tesoro nascosto degli Afghani. Il Cavaliere azzurro, Bologna 1987, ISBN 8885661211 (in Italian)
- Qalandar Mohmand: Pata ckazāna fi'l mīzān. Da chap jae, Peshawar 1988 (in Pashto)