Finished extracting
After his ‘A Dictionary of Kashmiri Proverbs and Sayings: A Classified Collection Explained and Illustrated from the Rich and Interesting Folklore of the Valley’ (1885) [here] and before his mammoth ‘Folk-tales of Kashmir (1888)’, in 1887 Knowles also compiled a list of Kashmiri riddles based on his interaction with locals, both Pandits and Muslims of various class. The work containing 140 riddles was published in Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, No. III, 1887.
Kashmiri Riddles by J. Hinton Knowles (1887)
[now available at archive.org]
Sample:
92. “Abah gan gan, babah gan gan, kapar kichih kichih,” son sikah bachah sairas drav.
(It cries) “abah gan gan, babah gan gan, kapar kichih kichil ” (and) our Sikh boy goes out for a walk.
Ans. Yindar, a spinning-wheel.
The words in inverted commas are supposed to represent the sound the wheel makes when revolving. A Sikh boy is here mentioned became the top and bottom of the yandartul, (the little wheel of the spinning- wheel on which the thread being spun is wound) are fastened together with long hair ; and a Sikh boy has long hair.
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A collection of 51 Kashmiri riddles presented by Pandit Anand Koul in February 1933 issue of ‘Indian Antiquary’ magazine. Among other things, the interesting bits in this work are the sayings of Lal Ded which were popular as riddles. It was this simple act that helped preserve the legacy of Lal Ded in popular Kashmiri culture.
Kashmiri Riddles By Pandit Anand Koul (1933)
[now available at archive.org]
Sample:
12
Baras peth kala-shahmar
Lat ta as milavit;
Ora ayas kenkalat,
Lat ninas gilavit.
A black snake is on the door
With tail and mouth joined;
A lizard came up;
It twisted away its tail.
Answer: padlock and key
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