The whole portion of the steppes included between the Volga, the

frontiers of the government of Saratof and the country of the Don

Cossacks, and the 46th degree of north latitude, forms the summer

camping-ground of the following oulousses: Karakousofsky, Iandikofsky,

Great Derbet, belonging to Prince Otshir Kapshukof; Little Derbet,

belonging to Prince Tondoudof, and Ikytsokourofsky, which is now without

a proprietor; its prince having died childless, it is not known who is

to have his inheritance.

The whole territory comprises about 4,105,424 hectares of land; 40,000

were detached from it in 1838 by Prince Tondoudof, and presented to the

Cossacks, in return for which act of generosity the crown conferred on

him the rank of captain. He gave a splendid ball on the occasion at

Astrakhan, which cost upwards of 15,000 rubles. We saw him in that town

at the governor's soirees, where he made a very poor figure; yet he is

the richest of all the Kalmuck princes, for he possesses 4500 tents, and

his income amounts, it is said, to more than 200,000 rubles.

The Kalmucks occupy in all 10,297,587 hectares of land, of which

8,599,415 are in the government of Astrakhan, and 1,598,172 in that of

the Caucasus. These figures which cannot be expected to be

mathematically exact, are the result of my own observations, and of the

assertions of the Kalmucks, compared with some surveys made by order of

the administrative committee.

Besides the Kalmucks, the only legitimate proprietors of the soil, other

nomades also intrude upon these steppes. Such are the Turcomans, called

Troushmens by the Russians. They have their own lands in the government

of the Caucasus, between the Kouma and the Terek; but as the countless

swarms of gnats infesting those regions in summer render them almost

uninhabitable for camels and other cattle, the Turcomans pass the Kouma

of their own authority, with some Nogai hordes, who are in the same

predicament, encamp amidst the Kalmucks, and occupy during all the fine

weather a great part of the steppes between the Kouma and the Manitch.

This intrusion has often been strongly resented by the Kalmucks, and the

authorities have been obliged to interfere to appease the strife. But as

it is absolutely requisite to allot a summer camping-ground to the

Turcomans, the government is not a little perplexed how to cut the

gordian knot. An expedient, however, was adopted during our stay in

Astrakhan. It was determined to take from the Kalmucks a portion of the

territory they possess along the Kalaous, and of which they make no use,

and bestow it upon the Turcomans. This ground being completely isolated,

it was furthermore decided that there should be allowed a road six

kilometres wide (three miles six furlongs) for the passage of their

flocks. Nothing can convey a more striking picture of these arid regions

than this scheme of a road nearly four miles wide, extending for more

than sixty leagues.

The Turcomans entered Russia in the train of the Kalmucks, whose slaves

they appear to have been. They are now much mixed up with the Nogais,

like whom they profess Mohammedanism. They reckon 3838 tents. The only

obligation imposed on them is to convey the corn destined for the army

of the Caucasus. They receive their loads at Koumskaia, where the

vessels from Astrakhan discharge their cargoes, and thence they repair

to the Terek and often to Tiflis in Georgia. This service is regarded by

them as very onerous, and they have long requested permission to pay

their taxes in money. They use in this business carts with two wheels of

large diameter, drawn by oxen, for camels and horses are scarcely ever

employed. The Turcomans have preserved the good old customs of their

native country; they are the greatest plunderers in the steppes, and the

only people whom there is any real cause to regard with distrust. Before

the end of summer, in the latter part of August, the Turcomans begin to

retire behind the Kouma, into the government of the Caucasus.

A Tatar horde called Sirtof likewise encamps on the lands of the

Kalmucks, within sixty miles of Astrakhan, on the road to Kisliar. It

reckons but 112 tents, and as the lands it occupies are of little

importance, no one thinks of troubling it.

Lastly are to be enumerated 500 families of Kalmucks, improperly called

Christians, who occupy the two banks of the Kouma, between Vladimirofka

and the Caspian. Some Russian missionaries attempted their conversion

towards the close of the last century, but their proselytising efforts,

based on force, were fruitless, and produced nothing but revolts. Since

then these Kalmucks, some of whom had suffered themselves to be

baptised, were called Christians, chiefly for the purpose of

distinguishing them from those who are not bound like themselves to

military service. They are chiefly employed in guarding the salt pools,

and belong, under the denomination of Cossacks, to the regiment of

Mosdok. The government feeds them and their horses when they are on

actual service, but they still pay a tax for every head of cattle, the

amount of which goes into the regimental chest. These Kalmucks having no

camping-ground of their own, have long been soliciting to have one

assigned them. The government offered them ground in the environs of

Stavropol, the capital of the Caucasian government, but they refused it

for fear of the incursions of the Circassians. These nominal Christians

are with the Turcomans the most dangerous people in the steppes. Their

attacks are not at all to be feared by day; but at night it is necessary

to keep a sharp look out after one's camels and horses; for in these

deserts to rob a traveller of his means of transport is almost to take

his life.

As will be seen from what we have stated above, the summer encampments

of the Kalmuck hordes are situated in the most northern parts of the

country, where there is the richest pasture, and where the cattle suffer

least from flies in the hot weather. The emigration to the north is

almost general; only a few very needy families, who have no cattle,

remain in the winter camp, keeping as near as possible to the post

stations and inhabited places, in hopes of procuring employment. In the

beginning of the cold season the hordes return to the south, along the

banks of the Caspian and the Kouma, where they fix themselves among the

forests of rushes that supply them with firing and fodder for their

cattle.

In all these regions destitute of forests, reeds are of immense

importance, and nature has liberally distributed them along all the

rivers of the steppes, and in all the numerous bottom lands that flank

the Caspian. The inhabitants of Astrakhan make a regular and systematic

use of them, employing them not only for fuel, but also for roofing

their houses, and for thatching their waggons laden with salt or fish,

which they send into the interior of the country. It is in spring,

before the floods caused by the melting of the snow, that the reeds

begin to sprout. Their stalks, which are as thick as a finger, soon

shoot up to the height of twelve or thirteen feet. Those that grow on

the banks of the Volga are never quite covered in the highest floods.

The beginning of winter is the season for laying in a stock of reeds,

and it is customary to burn all those that are not cut and carried off,

in order that the dead stalks may not hinder the growth of the young

shoots.

The ceremony attending the departure of the hordes in spring is not

without interest. The Kalmuck chiefs never begin a march without making

an offering to the Bourkhan, or god of the river, as an acknowledgment

of the protection vouchsafed to their camp during the winter. To this

end they repair in great pomp to the banks of the Kouma, accompanied by

their families and a large body of priests, and throw several pieces of

silver money into the river, at the same time invoking its future

favours.

According to the official documents communicated to me, the Kalmuck

population does not appear to exceed 15,000 families. On this head,

however, it is impossible to arrive at very exact statistics, for the

princes having themselves to pay the crown dues, have of course an

interest in making the population seem as small as possible. I am

inclined to believe, from sundry facts, that the number of the tents is

scarcely under 20,000. At all events, it seems ascertained that the

Kalmuck population has remained stationary for the last sixty years, a

fact which is owing to the ravages of disease, such as small-pox, and

others of the cutaneous kind.

The Kalmucks, all of them nomades, are exclusively engaged in rearing

cattle, and know nothing whatever of agriculture. They breed camels,

oxen, sheep, and above all, horses, of which they have an excellent

description, small, but strong, agile, and of great endurance. I have

ridden a Kalmuck horse often eighteen and even twenty-five leagues

without once dismounting. The Russian cavalry is mounted chiefly on

horses from the Caspian steppes: the average price of a good horse is

from 80 to 100 rubles. Formerly the Kalmucks used to send their horses

to the great fairs of Poland, paying a duty of 1.75 rubles on every

horse sold; but the duty was raised to 5.25 rubles in 1828, for every

horse arriving in the fair, and this unlucky measure immediately

destroyed all trade with Poland. The business of horse-breeding has

diminished immensely ever since in the Caspian steppes. The government

afterwards returned to the old rate of duty; but the mischief was done,

and the Kalmucks did not again appear in their old markets.

It is impossible to know, even approximately, the amount of cattle

belonging to the tribes, for the Kalmucks are too superstitious ever to

acknowledge the number of their stock. From various data I collected at

Astrakhan, and from the superintendents of the hordes, we may estimate

that the Kalmucks possess on the whole from 250,000 to 300,000 horses,

about 60,000 camels, 180,000 kine, and nearly a million sheep.

Prince Tumene is the only one of the Kalmucks who has engaged in

agriculture, and his attempts have been exceedingly favoured by the

character of the soil in his domains on the left bank of the Volga. His

produce consists of grain, grapes, and all kinds of fruit. He has even

tried to manufacture Champagne wine, but with little success; and when

we visited him, he entreated me to send him a good work on the subject,

that he might begin his operations again on an improved plan.

Prince Tondoudof is also striving to follow in Prince Tumene's

footsteps. He has lately marked out a large space in the steppes for the

fixed residence of a part of his Kalmucks, but I greatly doubt that his

wishes can ever be realised. He has for many years possessed a very

handsome dwelling, but he has not yet been able to give up his tent, so

strong is the attachment of all this race to a nomade life. But the most

potent obstacle to the establishment of a permanent colony consists in

the nature of the soil itself. We have traversed the Kalmuck steppes in

almost all directions, and found everywhere only an argillaceous, sandy,

or salt soil, generally unsuited to agriculture. Where there is pasture,

the grass is so short and thin, that the ground exactly resembles the

appearance of the steppes of the Black Sea, when the grass begins to

grow again after the conflagrations of winter. Hence the Kalmucks are

continually on the move to find fresh pasture for their cattle, and

seldom remain in one spot for more than a month or six weeks. But the

most serious obstacle to agriculture is the want of fresh water. The few

brooks that run through the steppes are dry during the greater part of

the year, and the summers are generally without rain. The cold, too, is

as intolerable as the heat: for four months the thermometer is almost

always steady at twenty-eight degrees of Reaumur in the shade, and very

often it rises to thirty-two; then when winter sets in it falls to

twenty-eight degrees below zero. Thus, there is a difference of nearly

sixty degrees between the winter and the summer temperature. If in

addition to these changes of temperature we consider the total flatness

of the country, exposed without any shelter to the violence of the north

and east winds, it will easily be conceived how unfavourable it must be

to agriculture. A nomade life seems therefore to me a necessity for the

Kalmucks, and until the development of civilisation among them shall

make them feel the need of fixed dwellings, they must be left free to

wander over their steppes. Moreover, in applying themselves exclusively

to pastoral pursuits, they render much greater service to Russia than if

they employed themselves in cultivating a stubborn and thankless soil.

No doubt there are numerous oases scattered over these immense plains,

just as in other deserts, and agriculture might have some success in the

northern parts; but these favourable spots are all situated amid

wildernesses where the cultivators would find no markets for their

produce. In spite of all these drawbacks, the Russian government still

persists in its endeavours to colonise the Kalmucks, and strives with

all its might to introduce among them its system of uniformity. But its

efforts have hitherto been quite fruitless; the hordes are now, perhaps,

more than ever attached to their vagrant way of life, in which they find

at least a compensation for the privileges and the independence of which

they have been deprived.

The Kalmucks, like most other nations, are divided into three orders,

nobles, clergy, and commons; the members of the aristocracy assume the

name of _white bones_, whilst the common people are called _black

bones_. The priests belong indifferently to either class, but those that

issue from the ranks of the people do not easily succeed in effacing the

stain of their origin. The prejudices of noble birth are, however, much

less deeply rooted at this day than formerly, a natural consequence of

the destruction of the power of the khans and the princes, and the

complete subjection of the hordes to the laws and customs of the empire.

Bergmann's account has therefore become quite inapplicable to the

present state of things, and can only give false notions of the

constitution of the Kalmucks.

Among the Asiatic races there is none whose features are so distinctly

characterised as those of the Mongols. Paint one individual and you

paint the whole nation. In 1815, the celebrated painter, Isabey, after

seeing a great number of Kalmucks, observed so striking a resemblance

between them, that having to take the likeness of Prince Tumene, and

perceiving that the prince was very restless at the last sittings, he

begged him to send one of his servants in his stead. In that way the

painter finished the portrait, which turned out to be a most striking

likeness, as I myself can testify. All the Kalmucks have eyes set

obliquely, with eyelids little opened, scanty black eyebrows, noses

deeply depressed near the forehead, prominent cheek-bones, spare beards,

thin moustaches, and a brownish yellow skin. The lips of the men are

thick and fleshy, but the women, particularly those of high rank, have

heart-shaped mouths of no common beauty. All have enormous ears,

projecting strongly from the head, and their hair is invariably black.

The Kalmucks are generally small, but with figures well rounded, and an

easy carriage. Very few deformed persons are seen among them, for with

more good sense than ourselves, they leave the development of their

children's frames entirely to nature, and never put any kind of garment

on them until the age of nine or ten. No sooner are they able to walk,

than they mount on horseback, and apply themselves with all their hearts

to wrestling and riding, the chief amusements of the tribes.

The portrait we have drawn of the Kalmucks is certainly not very

engaging; but their own notions of beauty are very different from ours.

A Kalmuck princess has been named to us, who, though frightfully ugly

in European eyes, nevertheless, passed for such a marvel of loveliness

among her own people, that after having had a host of suitors, she was

at last carried off by force by one of her admirers.

Like all inhabitants of vast plains, the Kalmucks have exceedingly keen

sight. An hour after sunset they can still distinguish a camel at a

distance of three miles or more. Very often when I perceived nothing but

a point barely visible on the horizon, they clearly made out a horseman

armed with his lance and gun. They have also an extraordinary faculty

for wending their way through their pathless wildernesses. Without the

least apparent mark to guide them, they traverse hundreds of miles with

their flocks, without ever wandering from the right course.

The costume of the common Kalmucks is not marked by any very decided

peculiarity, the cap alone excepted. It is invariably of yellow cloth

trimmed with black lambskin, and is worn by both sexes. I am even

tempted to think that there are some superstitious notions connected

with it, seeing the difficulty I experienced in procuring one as a

specimen. The trousers are wide and open below. Persons in good

circumstances wear two long tunics, one of which is tied round the

waist, but the usual dress consists only of trousers and a jacket of

skin with tight sleeves. We have already described the garb of the

women. The men shave a part of their heads, and the rest of the hair is

gathered into a single mass, which hangs on their shoulders. The women

wear two tresses, and this is really the only visible criterion of their

sex. The princes have almost all adopted the Circassian costume, or the

uniform of the Cossacks of Astrakhan, to which body some of them belong.

The ordinary foot gear is red boots with very high heels, and generally

much too short. The Kalmucks, like the Chinese, greatly admire small

feet, and as they are constantly on horseback, their short boots, which

would be torturing to us, cause them no inconvenience. But they are very

bad pedestrians; the form of their boots obliges them to walk on their

toes, and they are exceedingly distressed when they have not a horse to

mount.

They never set out on a journey unarmed. They usually carry a poniard

and a long Asiatic gun, generally a matchlock. The camel is the beast

they commonly ride, guiding it by a string passed through its nostrils,

which gives them complete command over the animal. They have long quite

abandoned the use of bows and arrows; the gun, the lance, and the dagger

being now their only weapons. Cuirasses, too, have become useless to

them. I saw a few admirable specimens at Prince Tumene's, which appeared

to be of Persian manufacture, and were valued at from fifty to a hundred

horses. In spite of the precepts of buddhism which forbid them to kill

any sort of animal, the Kalmucks are skilful sportsmen with hawk and

gun. They almost always shoot in the manner of the old arquebusiers,

resting the gun on a long fork which plays upon an axis fixed at the

extremity of the barrel.

The Kalmucks, like all pastoral people, live very frugally. Dairy

produce forms their chief aliment, and their favourite beverage is tea.

They eat meat also, particularly horse flesh, which they prefer to any

other, but very well done and not raw as some writers have asserted. As

for cereal food, which the natives of Europe prize so highly, the

Kalmucks scarcely know its use; it is only at rare intervals that some

of them buy bread or oatcake from the neighbouring Russians. Their tea

is prepared in a very peculiar manner. It comes to them from China, in

the shape of very hard bricks composed of the leaves and coarsest parts

of the plant. After boiling it a considerable time in water, they add

milk, butter, and salt. The infusion then acquires consistency, and

becomes of a dirty red-yellow colour. We tasted the beverage at Prince

Tumene's, but must confess it was perfectly detestable, and instantly

reminded us of Madame Gibou's incredible preparation. They say, however,

that it is easy to accustom oneself to this tea, and that at last it is

thought delicious. At all events it has one good quality. By strongly

exciting perspiration, it serves as an excellent preservative against

the effects of sudden chills. The Kalmucks drink their tea out of round

shallow little wooden vessels, to which they often attach a very high

value. I have seen several which were priced at two or three horses.

They are generally made of roots brought from Asia. It is superfluous to

say that the Kalmucks, knowing nothing of the use of teakettles, prepare

their infusion in large iron pots. Next to tea there is no beverage they

are so fond of as spirituous liquors. They manufacture a sort of brandy

from mare's or cow's milk; but as it is very weak, and has little action

on the brain, they seek after Russian liquors with intense eagerness, so

that to prevent the pernicious consequences of this passion, the

government has been obliged to prohibit the establishment of any dram

shops among the hordes. The women are as eager after the fatal liquor as

the men, but they have seldom an opportunity to indulge their taste, for

their lords and masters watch them narrowly in this respect. The Kalmuck

kitchen is disgustingly filthy. A housekeeper would think herself

disgraced if she washed her utensils with water. When she has to clean a

vessel, no matter of what sort, she merely empties out its contents, and

polishes the inside with the back of her hand. Often have I had pans of

milk brought to me that had been cleansed in this ingenious manner.

However, as we have already remarked, the interior of the tents by no

means exhibits the filth with which this people has been often charged.

Among the Kalmucks, like most Oriental nations, the stronger sex

considers all household cares derogatory to its dignity, and leaves them

entirely to the women, whose business it is to cook, take care of the

children, keep the tents in order, make up the garments and furs of the

family, and attend to the cattle. The men barely condescend to groom

their horses; they hunt, drink tea or brandy, stretch themselves out on

felts, and smoke or sleep. Add to these daily occupations some games,

such as chess, and that played with knuckle-bones, and you have a

complete picture of the existence of a Kalmuck _pater familias_. The

women are quite habituated to their toilsome life, and make cheerful and

contented housewives; but they grow old fast, and after a few years of

wedlock become frightfully ugly. Their appearance then differs not at

all from that of the men; their masculine forms, the shape of their

features, their swarthy complexion, and the identity of costume often

deceive the most practised eye.

We twice visited the Kalmucks, and the favourable opinion we conceived

of them from the first was never shaken. They are the most pacific

people imaginable; in analysing their physiognomy, it is impossible to

believe that a malicious thought can enter their heads. We invariably

encountered the frankest and most affable hospitality among them, and

our arrival in a camp was always hailed by the joyful shouts of the

whole tribe hurrying to meet us. According to Bergmann's book he seems

not to have fared so well at their hands, and he revenges himself by

painting them in a very odious light. But it must not be forgotten that

Bergmann was, above all things, clerical, and that he could not fail to

be looked on with dislike by the Kalmucks, who had already endured so

many attempts of missionaries to convert them. It is, therefore, by no

means surprising if he was not always treated with the deference he had

a right to exact. As for that pride of the great men and that impudence

of the vulgar, which so deeply stirred the indignation of the Livonian

traveller, these are defects common enough in all countries, and even

among nations that make the greatest boast of their liberality; it would

be unjust, therefore, to visit them too severely in the case of the

Kalmucks.

A very marked characteristic of these tribes is their sociability. They

seldom eat alone, and often entertain each other; it is even their

custom, before tasting their food, to offer a part of it to strangers,

or, if none are present, to children; the act is in their eyes both a

work of charity, and a sort of propitiatory offering in acknowledgment

of the bounty of the Deity.

Their dwellings are felt tents, called _kibitkas_ by the Russians. They

are four or five yards in diameter, cylindrical to the height of a man's

shoulder, with a conical top, open at the apex to let the smoke escape.

The frame is light, and can be taken asunder for the convenience of

carriage. The skeleton of the roof consists of a wooden ring, forming

the aperture for the smoke, and of a great number of small spars

supporting the ring, and resting on the upper circumference of the

cylindrical frame. The whole tent is light enough to be carried by two

camels. A kibitka serves for a whole family; men, women, and children

sleep in it promiscuously without any separation. In the centre there is

always a trivet, on which stands the pot used for cooking tea and meat.

The floor is partly covered with felts, carpets, and mats; the couches

are opposite the door, and the walls of the tent are hung with arms,

leathern vessels, household utensils, quarters of meat, &c.

Among the most important occupations of these people are the

distillation of spirits, and the manufacture of felts, to which a

certain season of the year is appropriated. For the latter operation the

men themselves awake out of their lethargy, and condescend to put their

hands to the work. They make two kinds of felt, grey and white. The

price of the best is ten or twelve rubles for the piece of eight yards

by two. The Kalmucks are also very expert in making leathern vessels for

liquids, of all shapes and sizes, with extremely small throats. The

women tan the skins after a manner which the curious in these matters

will find described by the celebrated traveller, Pallas. The priests,

moreover, manufacture some very peculiar tea-caddies; they are of wood,

their shape a truncated cone, with numerous ornamental hoops of copper.

In other respects industry has made no progress among the Kalmucks,

whose wants are so limited, that none of them has ever felt the need of

applying himself to any distinct trade. Every man can supply his own

wants, and we never found an artisan of any kind among the hordes. At

Astrakhan, there are some Kalmuck journeymen engaged in the fisheries,

and many of them are in high repute as boatmen. On the whole, it is not

for want of intelligence they are without arts, but because they have no

need of them.

We frequently questioned the Kalmucks respecting their wintering under a

tent, and they always assured us that their kabitkas perfectly protected

them from the cold. By day they keep up a fire with reeds and dried

dung; and at night, when there remains only clear coal, they stop up all

the openings to confine the heat. Their felts, besides, as I know from

experience, are so well made, as to shelter them completely from the

most furious tempests.

We have little to say of the education of the Kalmucks. Their princes

and priests alone boast of some learning, but it consists only in a

knowledge of their religious works. The mass of the people grovel in

utter ignorance. Nevertheless, a very notable intellectual movement took

place among the tribes in the beginning of the seventeenth century, at

which period Zaia Pandity, one of their high priests, invented a new

alphabet, and enriched the old Mongol language with many Turkish

elements. Thereupon the Kalmuck nation had a literature of its own, and

soon, under the influence of its numerous traditions, and its

historical, sacred, and political books, it exhibited all the germs of a

hopeful, nascent civilisation; nor was it rare in those days to find men

of decided talent among the aristocracy. But Oubacha's emigration

blighted all these fair hopes. The books were all carried off by the

fugitives; the old traditions, so potent among Asiatic nations,

gradually became extinct, the natural bond that knitted the various

hordes together was broken, and the Kalmucks that remained in Europe

soon relapsed into their old barbarian condition.

FOOTNOTES:

[47] The emperor subjoins in a note: "The nation of the Torgouths

arrived at Ily in total destitution without victuals or clothing. I had

foreseen this, and given orders to Chouhede and others, to lay up the

necessary provisions of all kinds, that they might be promptly

succoured. This was done. The lands were divided, and to each family was

assigned a sufficient portion for its support by tillage or cattle

rearing. Each individual received cloth for garments, a year's supply of

corn, household utensils, and other necessaries, and besides all this

several ounces of silver to provide himself with whatever might have

been forgotten. Particular places, fertile in pasturage, were pointed

out to them, and they were given oxen, sheep, &c., that they might

afterwards labour for their own sustenance and welfare."

CHAPTER XXVI.

BUDDHISM--KALMUCK COSMOGONY--KALMUCK CLERGY--RITES AND

CEREMONIES--POLYGAMY--THE KHIRGHIS.

The Kalmucks, Like most of the other offshoots of the Mongol stock, are

Buddhists, or rather Lamites. According to the opinion of all writers,

Buddhism began in India, and Buddha, afterwards deified by his followers

under the name of Dchakdchamouni, was its founder and first patriarch.

Opposed by the fanaticism of the children of Brahma, the new creed made

little progress, and appears to have been cruelly persecuted in the

beginning. The learned researches of M. Abel Remusat have, however,

demonstrated that there was a succession of twenty-eight Buddhist

patriarchs in India. It was not until about A.D. 495, that

Bodhidharma, impelled no doubt by the persecutions of the Brahmins, set

out for China, where the doctrines of Buddha had already made

considerable progress, as well as in Thibet and great part of Tartary.

Eight centuries, nevertheless, elapsed before the successors of

Bodhidharma emerged from their obscure and precarious condition: it was

to the grand fortunes of the celebrated Genghis Khan they owed that

royal splendour they afterwards enjoyed under the name of Dalai Lama.

According to Klaproth, the first traces of Buddhism are recorded in a

Mongol book, entitled "The Source of the Heart," written in the time of

Genghis Khan. It is there related that the conqueror, when about to

enter the countries occupied by the Buddhists, sent an embassy to their

patriarch with these words: "I have chosen thee for my high priest, and

for that of my empire; repair to me; I give thee charge over the present

and future weal of my people, and I will be thy protector." The desires

of Genghis Khan were quickly fulfilled; from that time forth the

patriarchs often resided at the conqueror's court, and their religion

was at last adopted by the greatest Mongol warriors. In the reign of

Genghis Khan's grandson, Buddhism was already become a power; and then

it was that the high priests, assuming the title of Dalai Lama, fixed

their residence in Thibet, where they continued to be treated as actual

monarchs, until dissensions and rivalries destroyed all the prestige of

their authority, and they became confounded with the other vassals of

the empire of China.

When Buddhism installed itself in Thibet, that country was already

peopled with Christians, and the Nestorians had many monasteries there.

The religious tolerance of the Mongol monarchs was unlimited: all creeds

enjoyed equal protection in their capital. The Christians were

especially numerous in the imperial city, where they had a church with

bells, and were long presided over by an Italian Archbishop. The effect

of this general toleration, and of the potent action of the principles

of Christianity, must necessarily have been to modify Buddhism to an

important degree; and we believe, with M. Remusat, that we must refer to

this period for the origin and explanation of the many points of analogy

between it and the doctrines of Christians.

Pallas and Bergmann have written much on the religious cosmogony of the

Kalmucks; we will follow them in their investigations, and endeavour to

complete them by means of our own observations.

There was in the beginning an immense abyss, called Khoubi Saiagar,

exceeding in length and depth 6,116,000 berez (about 12,000,000

leagues), and out of this abyss the Taingairis, or aerial spirits,

existing from all eternity, drew forth the world. First rose

fiery-coloured clouds, which gathered together until they dissolved into

a heavy rain, every drop of which was as big as a chariot wheel, and

thus was formed the universal sea. Soon afterwards there appeared on the

surface of the waters an immense quantity of foam, white as milk, and

out of it issued all living creatures, including the human race. We will

say nothing of those hurricanes which, arising from the ten parts of the

world, produced in the upper hemisphere that fantastic column, as lofty

as the ocean is deep, round which revolve the various worlds of the

Buddhist universe. But we cannot forbear to mention the ingenious

explanation by which the astronomers of Thibet accounted for the

periodical revolutions of the day. According to their sacred books, the

mystic column has four faces, of different colours, argent, azure, or,

and deep red. At sunrise the rays of the sun fall on the argent side, in

the forenoon they are reflected from the azure, at noon from the gold,

towards the close of day from the red surface, and the concealment of

the orb behind the column is what produces night.

All the books of the Kalmucks speak of four great lands, which are

sometimes spoken of as belonging to the same whole, sometimes as forming

separate worlds. The first of these, lying eastward, is occupied by

giants who are eight cubits high, and live for 150 years; the second,

towards the west, has inhabitants eleven cubits high, whose lifetime is

500 years; the third, placed in the north, is still more favoured, for

its inhabitants, though devoid of souls, live for 1000 years exempt from

all infirmity. Their stature is 230 cubits. When the term of their

existence is arrived, they assemble their families and their friends

around them, and expire calmly at the call of a heavenly voice summoning

them by their name. The fourth earth is that on which we dwell, and on

which all the favours of the Deity are profusely lavished. It has four

great rivers bearing the mystic names of Ganga, Schilda, Baktschou, and

Aipura, which take their rise in the heart of four great mountains,

where dwells an elephant two leagues long, white as snow, and named

Gasar Sakitschin Koven (protector of the earth). This fabulous animal

has thirty-three red heads, each furnished with six trunks, whence spout

forth as many fountains, all surmounted with six stars. On each star

sits a virgin always young and gracefully attired. These virgins are the

daughters of the aerial spirits, one of whom, the most potent of all,

sits astride on the middle of the elephant's head, when the animal

thinks fit to change his quarters.[48]

In the beginning the inhabitants of this privileged earth lived 80,000

years, abounding in health, and incapable of forming a desire that was

not instantly fulfilled. Their eyes shot forth rays of light that

supplied the place of the sun and the stars, and invisible grace stood

them instead of all nourishment. It was during this golden age that most

of the secondary divinities were born, and 1000 Bourkhans were taken up

from the earth to the abode of the blessed. But those blissful times

came to an end, for, as in Genesis, an unlucky fruit, for which mankind

imprudently conceived a liking, was the cause of their downfal. The

human race lost all its precious privileges; its wings failed; physical

wants tormented it; its gigantic stature dwindled down, and the span of

life was contracted to 40,000 years, whilst the luminous rays of the

eyes, the only light of that period, disappeared. Darkness then covered

the face of the earth, until four powerful deities, touched with

compassion, squeezed the mountain hard, and forced from it the sun and

the moon, those two great luminaries which still exist in our day.

The evil did not stop here. To the physical woes that afflicted man was

soon added moral depravation; adultery, homicide, and violence

supplanted the primitive virtues, and disorder reigned over the whole

face of the habitable earth. During this long period of decay the

duration of life underwent successive curtailments, and many bourkhans

descended on earth to correct and ameliorate mankind. The bourkhan

Ebdekchi (the perturber) appeared at the time when the duration of life

did not exceed 40,000 years. Altan Dohidakti, the bourkhan of

incorruptible gold, appeared to the world when men only lived 30,000

years, and those whose years were but 20,000 were visited by the

bourkhan Guerel Sakitchi (the guardian of the world). After him came

Massouschiri. Lastly, the term of human, existence had been reduced to

100 years, when the celebrated bourkhan Dchakdchamouni, the founder of

the existing sect, came upon the earth and preached the faith to

one-and-thirty nations. A great moral revolution then took place in the

world; but unfortunately the new law was variously interpreted, and

thence resulted this great diversity of religions and languages.

Still, however, the degeneration of the human race is far from having

reached its utmost limit. The life and stature of man and of all

animals, will undergo a further considerable diminution in the course of

ages. There will come a time when the horse will be no bigger than the

present race of hares, and men but a few palms high, will live but ten

years, and will marry at the age of five months. Thus the Buddhists have

adopted notions diametrically opposed to those of certain modern

philosophers, who think that we began as oysters and will end with being

gods. Which is the more absurd of these two opinions? We shall not

attempt to decide the question, but leave it to our neighbours beyond

the Rhine, who are more competent than we to deal with such matters. The

extreme limit of physical decay having been once attained, most living

creatures will be destroyed by a mortal malady. But just when the world

seems on the point of relapsing into the chaos from whence it issued,

the voice of the celestial spirits will be heard, and some of the

miserable dwarfs still peopling the earth will seek refuge in dark

caverns; it will then rain swords, spears, and all sorts of deadly

weapons; the ground will be strewed with corpses and red with blood.

Finally, a horrible down-pour of rain will sweep all the corpses and all

the filth into the ocean. This will be the last act of the genius of

destruction, soon after which a fragrant rain will vivify the earth. All

sorts of garments and food will drop from the sky; the dwarfs that have

escaped destruction will come forth from their caverns, and men,

regenerated and virtuous, will at once recover their gigantic stature

and their privilege of living 80,000 years. There will then be a new

decay, and when the bourkhan Maidari appears on earth, men will have

again become dwarfs; but at the voice of that prophet they will be fully

converted, and will attain a high degree of perfection. We will not

follow Lamism through its systems regarding the various epochs of the

world. The notions of the Kalmucks on this head are so confused, that I

have been unable to learn any thing in addition to what is stated by the

learned Pallas. Their sacred books speak of forty-nine epochs, ending by

fire, or deluges, or hurricanes. They are all divided into four great

periods. The first comprises the space of time in which human life

begins with being 80,000 years long, and diminishes to 10,000; during

the second period man perishes; during the third the earth remains

desolate, and in the fourth occurs a hurricane which carries the souls

from hell to the earth.

We have already mentioned that happy epoch in which thousands of holy

beings were raised to the heavens, and deified under the name of

bourkhans. These bourkhans do not all hold the same rank, but differ

from each other both in power and functions. The Kalmucks, who hold them

in great veneration, adore them as the most beneficent deities. Their

images are found in all the temples. The mighty Dchakdchamouni is most

especially worshipped. The bourkhans are supposed to inhabit different

worlds; some dwell in the planets, others in the regions of the air,

others again in the sky; Dchakdchamouni still inhabits the earth. There

is an infinite multitude of legends concerning these secondary

divinities, especially the last named. The following adventure is

related of him in all the religious books of the Lamites, and is known

to all the Kalmucks: One day three bourkhans were praying with great

fervour, and while their eyes were piously cast down, an infernal genius

deposited his excrement in the sacred cup belonging to one of them.

Great was the stupefaction of the bourkhans when they lifted up their

heads. They consulted further what they should do. If they diffused the

pestiferous matter through the air, it would be the destruction of all

the beings that people that element; if they let it fall on the earth,

all its inhabitants would, in like manner, perish. They resolved,

therefore, for the good of mankind, to swallow the dreadful substance.

Dchakdchamouni had the bottom of the cup for his share, and the legend

states that so horrible was the taste, the poor bourkhan's face suddenly

became blue all over. That god has ever since been depicted with a blue

visage.

The aerial spirits are next in importance to the bourkhans; some of them

are beneficent, others malignant. The Kalmucks worship these rather than

the others, because they alone can do harm to mortals, whilst nothing

but good offices are to be expected from the beneficent spirits. These

genii are not immortal, and their power is much less than that of the

bourkhans. The manner in which their race is propagated is very simple,

but singular: an embrace, an exchange of smiles, or of gracious looks is

sufficient with them to produce conception. All these spirits have

divers abodes in the world and in the air; to the malevolent among them,

the Kalmucks attribute all the disorders of the atmosphere, and all

pestilential diseases; the evil genii are particularly active in stormy

weather, wherefore the Kalmucks greatly dread thunder, and always fire

many shots when a storm blows, in order to scare away the demons.

There are also in the Lamite religion a great many fabulous deities

represented by monstrous idols, which appear to be old reminiscences of

a primitive creed anterior to Buddhism. It is remarkable that these

idols have generally female faces. They are almost always decorated with

the scarf of honour, or the bell and sceptre, used by the priests in

their religious ceremonies, are placed in their hands. The priests are

the makers of all these idols, some of which are of curious workmanship.

The materials are baked earth, bronze, silver, or even gold.

Though the Kalmucks address their worship almost exclusively to the host

of secondary deities we have just mentioned, still they acknowledge a

supreme being, to whom the bourkhans and the good and evil genii are but

vassals: if they have no image or idol representing him, it is because

the conception of the one eternal creator passes all the bounds of their

imagination, and they rather apply their thoughts to beings less

incomprehensible and less remote from their own nature. Pallas seems to

think that the Kalmucks follow the system of Epicurus, but the

conversations I have had with many learned princes and priests, have

convinced me of the contrary.

The Kalmucks and the Mongols believe, like the Hindus, in the

transmigration of souls; but Bergmann errs greatly in asserting that

they have no other idea of immortality. I have investigated the popular

notions on this subject, and my conviction is that the Kalmucks consider

the transmigration only as a longer or shorter trial which the soul of

every man, not acknowledged a saint, must pass through before appearing

in presence of the supreme judge. As for those who have been celebrated

for their piety and their virtues, Lamism teaches that they are raised

to the rank of bourkhans, still preserving their former individuality.

Erlik Khan is the great judge of the Kalmuck hell, and before his awful

throne all souls must appear, to be rewarded according to their works.

If they are found just and pure, they are placed on a golden seat

supported on a cloud, and so wafted to the abode of the bourkhans; if

their sins and their good works seem to balance each other, then Erlik

Khan opens his great book in which all the good and evil deeds of men

are minutely recorded, and having cast the dread balance, he finally

pronounces sentence. On the whole this king of hell seems a good-natured

devil enough, for very often to avoid condemning an unfortunate sinner

who has some good qualities to recommend him, he allows him to go back

to earth and live over again in his own form. The Kalmucks, always

logical in their mythological notions, allege that they derive from men

thus resuscitated all the knowledge they possess of hell and the future

life.

The imagination of the Lamite priests has outstripped that of the

Christians, and of all other nations; indeed we know nothing that can be

compared with the Kalmuck hell. Erlik Khan, the judge of the dead, is

likewise sovereign of the realm of the damned. His palace, which always

resounds with the clashing of immense gongs, is situated in a great town

surrounded with white walls, within which spreads a vast sea of urine

and excrement, in which wallow the accursed. An iron causeway traverses

this sea, and when the guilty attempt to pass along it, it narrows

beneath them to a hair's breadth, then snaps asunder, and the wicked

souls, thus tested and convicted, are straightway plunged into hell. Not

far from this place of horror is a sea of blood, on which float many

human heads; this is the place of torture for such as have excited

quarrels and occasioned murders among relations and friends. Further on

is seen the punishment of Tantalus, where a multitude of damned souls

suffer hunger and thirst on a white and arid soil. They dig and turn up

the earth without ceasing; but their unavailing labour only serves to

wear down their arms to the shoulders, after which the stumps grow

again, and their torments begin afresh. Such is the punishment of those

who have neglected to provide for the wants and the jovial habits of the

clergy. It would be tedious to pursue these details further; suffice it

to say, that in describing the various torments of hell, the Lamites

have employed every device which the wildest imagination could conceive.

We must, however, give these priests credit for one thing: they do not

admit the eternity of punishment;[49] but on the other hand, in the

distribution of chastisement they have not forgotten the smallest

offence that can possibly be committed against themselves. Hence they

have immense power over the people, whom they can induce to believe what

they will. Their cupidity is equal to their influence, and they never

forego any opportunity of making their profit of the poor Kalmuck.

From all these particulars of the religious notions of the Kalmucks, it

is plain that the popular mythology of Lamism is like many other

superstitions, only a potent instrument invented by priests to fascinate

and command the multitude. By means of these incredible fables, the

Lamite clergy have made themselves masters of the field, and hold great

and small under their sway. It is to be remarked that in all religions

ecclesiastical supremacy is inseparable from the creation of a hell, and

that the one never exists without the other; in fact among nations where

the idea of eternal punishments has been abandoned, the ministers of

religion have seldom exercised an oppressive power over the people. This

proves how large a part selfishness and the lust of sway have had in the

construction of many religions; but in none has the priesthood evermore

possessed a greater power than in Buddhism; in none has it more

violently opposed all who have sought to shake its sway by proclaiming

the infinite mercy of God.

As a natural consequence of the great prerogatives attached to the

priesthood, the clergy are become extremely numerous among the followers

of Lama. Prince Tumene, whose oulousse is very inconsiderable, has at

least three hundred priests attached to his pagoda.

During our stay in Astrakhan, we had opportunities of confirming, by our

own observation, the truth of what Pallas remarks, that there is much

analogy between the religious ceremonies of the Brahmins and those of

the Kalmucks. Indeed, in studying the theological system of the Lamites,

it becomes clear that their doctrines have been partly borrowed from

religions still in existence. Who can fail to recognise the Biblical

allegory in the fruit _shime_, which the first men were imprudent enough

to taste? Again, that period during which man was only unhappy, but not

criminal, does it not represent the time that elapsed from Adam's

expulsion from Paradise to the murder of Abel? The traditions of the

Greek mythology appear also to have been made use of, for the dread

Erlik Khan seems very like the Pluto of the ancients; and perhaps the

loathsome sea that encompasses his palace is but another form of the

Styx. It is unnecessary to remark that all these religious notions are

familiar only to the priests and some princes; the common people are

content to believe, worship, and submit blindly to the exactions of

their spiritual guides.

People begin, however, to observe a certain falling off in the

observance of the precepts of Lamism. Thus, although a true follower of

Lama has a right to destroy only the carnivorous creatures that hurt his

flocks, the Kalmucks, nevertheless, put to death domestic animals, and

make no scruple of hunting. They urge, it is true, in defence of these

acts, that the prohibition against killing was not made by the gods

themselves, but by one of their high priests who lived several centuries

ago. Nevertheless, there are many priests who would think themselves

guilty of murder if they put to death the smallest insect; and very

often it occurred when we were sporting, that several of them came and

earnestly entreated us to liberate the bird we had just caught. In so

doing they thought they performed an act of charity, and saved a soul.

The modern Kalmuck clergy are divided into four classes. The backshaus

are the chief priests and religious teachers: in the Caspian steppes the

eldest of them is improperly styled the Lama. The ghelungs are the

ordinary priests, and may be compared in rank and functions to the

French country _cures_. The ghetzuls, or deacons, constitute the third

class; and the fourth consists of the mandshis, or musicians. Above all

these grades stands the Dalai Lama of Thibet, the supreme head of the

church. The Russian Kalmucks were formerly in constant communication

with him, but since Oubacha's emigration, the government has put a stop

to this intercourse, which could not fail to thwart its views by keeping

up a spirit of nationality among the Kalmucks, and fostering their

attachment to their religion.

Both the clergy and those in their service enjoy all possible

immunities. They are exempt from all taxes and charges, and the people

are bound to see that they want for nothing. It is true that the priests

are prohibited by the rules of their religion from possessing property,

but the restriction is evaded to a great extent, and the backshaus and

ghelungs all possess numerous herds: if any one wants to buy a good

horse, he must apply to them. The sloth and insolence of these priests

passes all comparison; excepting their religious ceremonies, in which

they chant some prayers and play on their instruments, they do

absolutely nothing but eat, drink, and sleep. The meanest ghelung has

always a retinue of some half dozen of deacons, who look after his

cattle, his table, and his wardrobe.

The ghetzuls are like our deacons, aspirants for the priesthood, and

from their body the chief backshaus select the ghelungs, always having

regard to the wealth of the candidates rather than to their good

character or capacity. The ordination generally takes place towards the

close of the great religious festivals, at which period the new ghelungs

pass the whole night in marching round the priest's camp, chaplet in

hand, barefooted, and with their shaven crowns uncovered. This is the

last exercise preliminary to the commencement of their ministry.

All the members of the clergy of every rank take vows of chastity, which

they are far from observing; for there are few priests who do not

indulge in illicit intercourse with married women. The poor husband does

what he can to prevent this, but when he discovers the actual existence

of the evil, instead of resenting it, he appears to accept his mischance

as an honour, such is his veneration for his spiritual superiors. The

priest, however, is forced to use stratagem for the indulgence of his

passion. The reverend personage usually goes by night and pushes against

the kibitka of the woman on whom his choice has fallen; whereupon she

pretends to believe that some animal is prowling about, gets up, takes a

stick, and goes out to drive it away. The priest then absconds with her,

and the husband suspects nothing. The princes share these privileges

with the priests, only they carry matters with a higher hand. When a

woman strikes their fancy, they take possession of her without ceremony,

and send her back when they are tired of her company. As for the

husband, his resignation under such circumstances is almost always

exemplary. He knows, too, that he may count thenceforth on the patronage

of the amorous prince, and commit sundry peccadilloes on the strength of

it with impunity. The marital policy is the same with regard to the

priests. Pallas, therefore, is wrong to express surprise at the fact

that the Kalmuck hell provides no punishment for the sin of wantonness.

This omission does honour to the sly sagacity of the Lamite priests, and

proves how much they distrust their own virtue. As marriage is forbidden

them, they are the more liable to sin in this way, and therefore it was

not reasonable that in a religious system of their own making, they

should inflict punishment on their own souls.

We have already described the ceremonial garb of the priests, their

ordinary costume consists of a wide tunic with sleeves, and a flat

broad-brimmed hat of cloth. Yellow and red are their favourite colours.

The priests always pitch their tents at a certain distance from the

oulousse to which they are attached, and usually range them in a circle

round a large open space, in the centre of which stand the kibitkas that

serve them for temples. Such a camp is called a khouroul, and every

evening the Kalmucks assemble there in great numbers to perform their

religious duties. The temples are generally adorned with rich silk

hangings, and with a great number of images. Opposite the door stands

the altar with a little bronze image of Dchakdchamouni upon it, and a

profusion of votive cups filled with grain and beans, as customary among

the Brahmins; and one vessel of holy water in which several peacock's

feathers are dipped. Holy water plays an important part in the religious

ceremonies of Lamism; the ghetzuls distribute it in the great festivals

to the people, who swallow some of it and wash their faces with the

rest. It appears to be an infusion of saffron and sugar, but the

Kalmucks attribute to it very marvellous properties. A lamp burns day

and night before the idol, which is generally clad in brilliant silks,

the head and hands alone remaining uncovered. A silk curtain hangs

before the other images, and is only raised at the time of prayer.

The priests practise in a most scandalous manner on the credulity of the

people. The first thing a Kalmuck does when he falls ill, is to have

recourse to the prayers and invocations of his priest. If he is poor he

is usually let off for a pelisse or a cloak, which the ghelung carries

off on the pretext that it is the abode of some evil genius who has

caused all the patient's suffering. But when the sick man is a prince,

the proceedings are in accordance with his fortune. In that case it is

not in a pelisse or a cloak the demon abides; he is lodged in the very

body of the prince, and the business is how to provide him with another

dwelling. The backshau must be paid handsomely for finding a man who

will take the disaster upon himself. This is usually some poor devil who

is brought by fair means or by force into the sick man's tent, where

after a multitude of odd ceremonies, he receives the name of the prince,

and so the evil spirit passes into his body. He is then driven out of

the oulousse with his whole family, and forbidden ever to set foot

within it again. Persons so treated are called _Andin_ (fugitives). They

may join another oulousse, but are always obliged to set up their tents

at a distance from the general camp.

The Kalmucks have three great annual festivals, which they always take

care shall last at least a fortnight each. The chief of the three

called, _Zackan Zara_, is in celebration of the return of spring; the

second (_Urus Zara_), which falls about June, consists in the

benediction of the waters; and the third (_Souloun Zara_, or the feast

of the lamp) takes place in December. An altar is then erected in the

open air, and on it are set a great number of sacred lamps and candles,

which are lighted by the priests at the moment the new moon is visible,

in presence of the whole assembled clergy and laity. I borrow from

Bergmann a description of the feast of Zackan Zara at which he was

present.

"About noon," he says, "the sound of instruments gave token that the

ceremony was about to begin, and I hastened to the khouroul, where the

priests arranged in classes, and drawn up in line, were ready to begin

the procession. The persons who only carried the instruments formed of

themselves a considerable group. On the flanks of all those battalions

of ghelungs, ghetzuls, and mandshis, floated sundry kinds of flags, some

formed of strips of silk of many colours sewn in a ring, resembled the

Roman ensigns; others like our banners were fixed to cross rods

supported on long poles. We had not long to wait ere the chief priests,

carrying with them large chests, came forth from a kibitka, and put

themselves at the head of the multitude. They were closely followed by

many others dressed in their richest attire, who eagerly pressed forward

to assist in carrying the chests, or even to touch them with the tips of

their fingers. As for the instruments, the timbrels were fixed on pieces

of wood, and the great trumpets were supported by rods carried by some

of the common people. The multitude that closed the procession were

scarcely more numerous than the priests, and the old women alone

testified their piety by sighs drawn from the bottom of their hearts. At

some hundred paces from the khouroul, a scaffolding had been erected in

the form of an altar thirteen or fourteen feet high, braced with ropes

before and behind. In front of the altar was a circular space covered

with carpets, and intended for the priests, with an immense red silk

parasol to shade the high priest who filled the functions of Lama. The

procession having reached the altar, the sacred chests were laid at its

foot, and the images it contained were unmuffled. Everything was now

ready to begin the ceremony when the Lama should arrive.

"I availed myself of this pause to examine the sanctuary. On a yellow

cloth richly embroidered with sacred flowers of a red colour, I saw

several votive cups, and the gilded images of some deities. Right and

left of the altar stood the banners, and in front of it, but outside the

carpeted circle, were the instruments. Suddenly the music struck up, and

the Lama arrived, borne in triumph in a palanquin, from which he

alighted at a little distance from the altar. A signal was then given;

the curtain that hung before the images was raised, and the priests, the

princes, and the whole people prostrated themselves three times.

"After this ceremony, the vice-khan Tchoutchei, who was present with his

two sons, marched thrice with his whole suit round the circular space

where the priests were squatted, and at last took his place beside the

Grand Lama under the great parasol. His example was followed by his

wife, only she took up her position outside the clerical circle, under a

reserved pavilion where tea was presented to her. Large wooden vessels

filled with tea, and cakes, were then set before the priests, and a

great number of sheep intended for dinner were slaughtered. The repast,

often interrupted by prayers and other ceremonies, was protracted until

sunset. The images were then rolled up again, and the chests carried

back in procession to the tents whence they had been taken. The same

ceremonies were repeated on the two following days, but other bourkhans

were exhibited to the worshippers."

This feast of Zackan was instituted in honour of a victory achieved by

Djackdjamouni over six false doctors with whom he contended for more

than a week. Besides their great festivals, the Kalmucks have also three

days in every month (the 7th, 15th, and 30th) on which they kill no sort

of animal, but every faithful follower of Lama must live only on milk

diet. The priests spend those days in the temple, praying from morning

till night, and the people generally attend.

The Kalmucks practise family devotions, consisting of prayers chanted

with some degree of harmony, in an alternation of acute and grave sounds

and slow and quick measures. They pray with a rosary somewhat like those

used in Catholic countries, but oftener they perform that business by a

mechanical process that does great honour to the inventive wit of the

Lamites. To invoke Heaven in this way they have a drum or cylinder

covered with Tangout characters, and containing several sacred writings

in its interior, and the whole operation consists in making the cylinder

revolve more or less rapidly by means of a cord. This very simple method

of praying leaves the mind quite free, and does not hinder the Kalmucks

from chatting, smoking, quarrelling, and abusing each other; provided

the cylinder turns, the prayer is worked off of its own accord, and the

bourkhans are quite satisfied. The followers of Lama believe this manual

occupation to be highly meritorious, and imagine that the noise made by

the sacred writings, when the cylinder revolves, rises to the throne of

the deity and brings down his blessing. The princes have a still easier

method of worshipping. Whenever they do not find it convenient to repeat

their prayers orally, they plant before their tent a long pole to which

is attached a flag inscribed with sacred verses; and thus they leave it

to the winds to carry their homage to the throne of the bourkhans.

Lucky or unlucky days are carefully observed by the Kalmucks. If one of

the common people dies on a lucky day, he is buried, almost in the same

way as among ourselves, and a small banner with a sort of epitaph is

planted on his grave. On the contrary, if he dies on an unlucky day his

body is laid on the ground, covered only with a felt or a mat, and the

performance of his obsequies is left to carrion beasts and birds. In

this case the relations or friends of the deceased watch to see by what

kind of creature the corpse is first attacked, and from that fact they

draw inferences as to how the soul fares in the other world. The rule is

different with regard to princes, whose bodies are never exposed above

ground. If they die on an unlucky day they are buried; otherwise they

are burned with great pomp, and on the spot where they have expired a

small chapel is erected, in which their ashes are deposited. The priests

are still better off than the princes: die when they will they are

always granted the honours of burning, provided they have had some

reputation for sanctity in their lifetime; and their ashes are moulded

into a little statue which is carried with great pomp to one of those

small temples, called satzas, of which I have already spoken. The

Kalmucks who greatly venerate the tombs of their priests, try as much as

possible to keep the lamp in each of them perpetually burning. If it

goes out, the first person who passes that way is bound to relight it.

The habits of private life among the Kalmucks are of course in

accordance with their state of civilisation and religious belief, and

are strongly marked by all their gross superstitions. Yet certain of

their customs are serious and affecting, and cannot fail to make an

impression on the traveller. Others are curious for their patriarchal

simplicity. When a woman is in labour, one or more priests are sent for,

and whilst the husband runs round the tent with a big stick to drive

away the evil spirits, the ghelungs stand at the door reciting prayers,

and invoking the favour of the deity on the child about to be born. When

the babe is come into the world, one of the relations goes out of the

tent, and gives it the name of the first object he sees. This is the

practice among all classes. I have known a prince _Little Dog_, and

other individuals bearing the most whimsical names. The women remain

veiled for many days after their delivery, and a certain time must

elapse before they can be present at the religious ceremonies.

The customs observed in marriages are more interesting, particularly

when the young couple belong to the aristocracy. The preliminaries

consist in stipulating the amount in horses, camels, and money, which

the bridegroom is to pay to the bride's father; this being settled the

young man sets out on horseback, accompanied by the chief nobles of his

oulousse, to carry off his bride. A sham resistance is always made by

the people of her camp, in spite of which she fails not to be borne away

on a richly caparisoned horse, with loud shouts and _feux de joie_. When

the party arrive at the spot where the kibitka of the new couple is to

stand, and where the trivet supporting their great pot is already

placed, the bride and bridegroom dismount, kneel down on carpets, and

receive the benediction of their priests; then they rise, and, turning

towards the sun, address their invocations aloud to the four elements.

At this moment the horse on which the bride has been brought home is

stripped of saddle and bridle, and turned loose for any one to catch and

keep who can. The intention of this practice, which is observed only

among the rich, is to signify to the bride that she is thenceforth to

live only with her husband, and not think of returning to her parents.

The setting up of the kibitka concludes the whole ceremony. The bride

remains veiled until the tent is ready, and her husband taking off her

veil, hands her into her new home. There is one curious incident in the

marriages of the wealthy which deserves mention. The bride chooses a

bridesmaid who accompanies her in her abduction; and when they come to

the place for the kibitka, the bride throws her handkerchief among the

men; whoever catches it must marry the bridesmaid. For a year after

marriage the wife must confine herself to the tent, and during all that

time can only receive visits on its threshold, even on the part of her

parents. But when the year is out she is free to do just as she likes.

All marriages are not contracted in this peaceable manner among the

Kalmucks. When the relations cannot agree on the terms, which is no

unusual case, the question is very often settled by force. If the young

man is really enamoured he calls together his comrades and by force or

cunning carries off the girl, who, after she has once entered his tent,

cannot under any pretext be reclaimed by her parents.

Lamism seems in the beginning to have forbidden polygamy and divorce,

but these prohibitions have long become obsolete, and both practices are

now legalised among all the Kalmucks. In case of infidelity on the

wife's part, the repudiation takes place publicly, if the husband

requires it. The most broken down horse that can be found is brought

out, its tail is cut off, the guilty woman is mounted on its bare back,

and hooted out of the oulousse. But these scenes occur very rarely; for

the offended husband usually contents himself with sending his wife away

privately, after giving her a few head of cattle for her support. The

Kalmucks of the Caspian indulge very seldom in polygamy; indeed I never

heard of more than one individual who had two wives. The condition of

women among them is very different from what prevails in Turkey and

great part of Asia; the restrictions of the harem are unknown, and both

wives and maids enjoy the greatest independence, and may freely expose

their faces to view on all occasions.

I have spoken of the efforts made by the Moravian brethren of Sarepta to

convert the Kalmucks, and of the intolerant manner in which the Russian

clergy put a stop to them. Though we are by no means partisans of

spiritual missions, and are of opinion that the apostles of our day

often do more harm than good, still we cannot but regret the decision

adopted by the synod. By their position, their industry, the simplicity

of their religious notions, and their knowledge of the country, the

Moravians are most favourably circumstanced for effecting the

civilisation and social improvement of the Kalmucks; and there are some

men among them who really understand their task. Buddhism, as practised

among the Kalmucks tends to cramp all intellectual growth. Consisting

exclusively in gross and burlesque superstitions, though liberality and

equality were its fundamental principles, that religion can now only

serve to brutalise the people, and retain them under the yoke of a

grasping and fraudulent clergy. In this point of view a conversion to

more rational doctrines would evidently be for the welfare of the

Kalmucks; but the change should not be accomplished under the influence

of so ignorant and superstitious a clergy as that of the Russian church;

for it would be better to leave the Kalmucks to their old creed, and

trust to time for their emancipation from the control of their priests.

After all, the civilisation of these tribes is a difficult problem.

Looking to the arid land in which they dwell, we must confess that it

would be fatal to them were they subjected to our rules of life. I

resided a considerable time among them, and inured myself in a great

degree to their habits; and when on returning to our civilised towns, I

was again a witness of the struggles, passions, vices, and evils that

torment most of the nations of Europe, I could not but wish from my

heart that the Kalmucks may long retain their native habits, and very

long remain safe from that ambitious civilisation that gnaws the souls

of the various classes of our populations.

* * * * *

Oubacha's emigration left the plains of the Ural unoccupied for many

years, and it was not until the beginning of this century that some

Khirghis tribes of the Little Horde entered on possession of them with

the consent of the Russian government. Few at first, their numbers

rapidly increased by new emigrations, and at last Russia conferred upon

the Khirghis colony the entire and authenticated possession of about

7,075,700 hectares of land. More fortunate than the Kalmucks, this

people still enjoys a certain degree of independence, in appearance at

least if not in reality. They have their sovereign khan, pay no tax, and

the only obligation imposed on them is to furnish a corps of cavalry in

time of war.

It is hard to know exactly the number of these Khirghis. The Russian

government is always solicitous to persuade the world of the prosperity

of its subject peoples, and to this end it publishes very fallacious

documents. Thus in a supplement to the journal of the ministry of the

interior, August 30, 1841, the population of the horde is set down at

16,550 tents, whereas the real number is but 8000, as appears from an

extract taken in my presence at Astrakhan from the official documents of

the military governor. But as the editor of the St. Petersburg journal

judiciously remarks, the tribe cannot but have augmented rapidly under

the wise administration of Russia, and it is from his admiration for his

government he deduces the best proof in support of his statistical

statements. Such arguments have not much weight with us, and we even

suspect that the number 8000 is an exaggeration, and that the Khirghis

have remained faithful to Russia only because they cannot do otherwise,

since the government has taken the precaution of imprisoning them

between two lines of Cossacks, those of the Ural and the Volga. Besides,

if I may judge from the facts communicated to me at Astrakhan, the

immigration of the Khirghis was not so free as the government is pleased

to proclaim it to have been. Both force and fraud were employed to make

them settle in regions from which Russia derived no profit since the

flight of the Kalmucks.

The Khirghis are nomades, living in felt tents, and employed in cattle

rearing, like the Kalmucks. But they profess the Mahometan religion,

belong evidently to the Turkish race, and have been from all time

implacable foes to the Mongol hordes. Latterly, however, they appear to

have lived in harmony with the Kalmucks of the Volga. Their khan often

visits Prince Tumene, and in 1836 more than 2000 Khirghis encamped on

the banks of the Volga, and took part in the grand entertainments given

by the Kalmuck chief to the government authorities. But this state of

peace is only the result of imperious necessity; if the hordes were

independent, their old animosities would soon break out again.

The present khan of the Khirghis is Giangour Boukevitch, who is reputed

to be an able man, and desirous of introducing European civilisation

among his people. The Emperor Nicholas had a handsome wooden house

erected for him at the foot of the sand-hills called Ryn Peski, but he

seldom resides in it. A few paltry buildings have been subsequently

erected, through the strenuous intervention of the Russian _employes_,

but it would be extravagant to behold in a score of cabins the elements

of a future capital, as a certain St. Petersburg journal is pleased to

do. The Khirghis will not so readily forsake their nomade ways. Their

territory is hardly better than that of the Kalmucks; and their khan

himself, obliged to camp out during the greater part of the year, in

order to find fodder for his cattle, only returns to his pretended

capital when the inclemency of winter drives him from his felt kibitka.

It is necessary to exercise extreme caution and rigid criticism

respecting all things pertaining to Russia, if we would arrive at the

truth; for otherwise we shall be every moment in danger of mistaking for

an indication of improvement and increased prosperity what is but the

result of arbitrary power. We have repeatedly noticed instances of such

mistakes on the part of travellers who have recently visited the

southern portions of the empire. Never was any power more prodigal of

outward decorations than the Muscovite; Russia is of all countries that

which most lavishly expends its money to please the eye. To Potemkin

belongs the honour of having been the first to play off these

mystifications, when he got up extemporaneous villages and herds of

cattle all along the road travelled by Catherine II. in her journey to

the Crimea. He has had no lack of successors ever since. Alleys of

acacias spring up by enchantment in the new towns; churches and houses

with columns and porticoes; magnificent double eagles bearing the crown

and the sceptre; numerous bureaucratic sign-boards with gilded

inscriptions, &c., are seen on all hands. This mania of wishing to

appear what one is not, which has always characterised the Russians,

seems to us one of their greatest obstacles to all real improvement, and

to be one of the most dangerous maladies of the empire. Certainly it is

a defect not easy to be avoided by a backward people who aspire to put

themselves on a level with their more advanced neighbours; but in

Russia, unhappily, artificial ostentation has been systematised; not

only does it exist among individuals, but it forms the basis of all the

acts of the government; from one end of the empire to the other, in the

towns and in the steppes of the Caspian, its costly stage scenery is

everywhere to be found; it has become the aim and the fixed idea of

every man, from the ministers of state down to the lowest _employe_; and

whilst millions are uselessly expended to adorn the drapery of the

theatre, the framework of the social edifice is allowed to go to ruin.

The future welfare and the real progress of the country are deemed of

little moment, provided the vanity of the day be satisfied, and the

comedy be well played before his majesty and the strangers whom

curiosity induces to visit Russia.

After the Khirghis, we have also on the left bank of the Volga, near its

mouths, a small Tatar horde, called Koundrof, an offshoot of the great

tribe of the Kouban. These Tatars, who number about 1100 tents, were

formerly bestowed by Russia as vassals upon the khans of the Kalmucks,

but they were adroit enough to escape from taking part in Oubacha's

famous emigration. Unavailing attempts have been subsequently made to

colonise them. The governor of Astrakhan made them build two villages

thirty years ago; but they soon abandoned those fixed dwellings, and

resumed their old roving habits.

Lastly, there are the black Nogais, who occupy the banks of the Terek,

to the number of 8432 tents. We shall speak of them in detail in the

next chapter.

_Table of the Nomade Population of the Governments of Astrakhan and the

Caucasus._

Families.

Kalmucks 15,500

Khirghis 8,000

Koundrof Tatars 11,000

Sertof Tatars 112

Black Nogais 8,432

Turcomans 3,838

------

Total 36,982

FOOTNOTES:

[48] After the curious researches of M. Ferdinand Denis, respecting the

cosmography and the fantastic histories of the middle ages, we can no

longer wonder at the singular conceptions of the Kalmucks. The world of

Cosmas has likewise its four great sacred rivers, and he, too, like the

followers of the Dalai Lama, makes the sun and the stars revolve round a

mystic column. We might point out many other analogies between the

Mongol myths and those of the medieval writers; but we will rather refer

the reader to the enchanted world of M. Denis, to those elegant and

poetic pages in which the learned librarian of Sainte Genevieve has so

ably demonstrated the historical importance of all those fabulous

legends, which at first appear to be only the idle ravings of an

extravagant imagination.

[49] The priests, however, have endeavoured to persuade the people that

there are five sins which inevitably draw down everlasting punishment:

these are irreverence towards the gods, thefts committed in the temples,

disrespect to parents, murder, and, of course, offences against the

clergy. These ideas are for all that in contradiction to the sacred

books; but it is not surprising that the ministers of the Grand Lama

have sought to give them vogue amongst the multitude.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE TATARS AND MONGOLS--THE KAPTSHAK--HISTORY AND TRADITIONS

OF THE NOGAIS.

Perhaps no people has given occasion to more discussions than the Tatars

and Mongols, nor is the problem of their origin completely solved in our

day, notwithstanding the most learned investigations. Some admit that

the Tatars and Mongols formed but one nation, others allege that they

are two essentially different races. According to Lesveque d'Herbelot

and Lesur[50] the Tatars are but Turks. Klaproth,[51] while he asserts

that the Tatars and Mongols spring from the same stock, nevertheless

regards the white Tatars, whom Genghis Khan conquered, as Turks. Lastly,

D'Ohson in his remarkable history of the Mongols, treats the Mongols and

Tatars as distinct races, but does not admit the theory of the Turkish

origin. The same uncertainty that hangs over the Mongol and Tatar hordes

of the fourteenth century, prevails with regard to the people who, under

the name of Tatars, now dwell in the southern part of the Russian

empire; and they have been considered sometimes as descendants of the

Turkish tribes that occupied those regions previously to the twelfth

century, sometimes as remnants of the conquering Mongol Tatars. Let us

try to unravel this tangled web of opinions, and see what may be the

least problematical origin of these various nations.

The Chinese writers for the first time make mention of the Tatar people

in the eighth century of our era, under the name of Tata, and consider

them as a branch of the Mongols. The general and historian, Meng

Koung,[52] who died in 1246, and who commanded a Chinese force sent to

aid the Mongols against the Kin, informs us in his memoirs that a part

of the Tatar horde, formerly dispersed or subdued by the Khitans,[53]

quitted the In Chan mountains,[54] where they had taken refuge, and

joined their countrymen, who dwelt north-east of the Khitans. The white

Tatars and the savage or black Tatars then formed the most important

tribes of those regions.

According to D'Ohson, the Chinese comprehended under the name of Tatars

all the nomade hordes that occupied the regions north of the desert of

Sha No, either because the Tatars were the nearest, or because they were

the most powerful of all those tribes. The intercourse of the Chinese

with the west of Asia, would have afterwards served to give currency to

the general denomination by which they designated their nomade vassals;

and thus from the commencement of the power of the Genghis Khan, those

tribes would have been already known by the name of Tatars,[55] which

was propagated from nation to nation until it reached Europe, although

it was repudiated with contempt by the conquerors themselves, as that of

a nation they had exterminated. It is a fact established by the

statements of many writers, and by D'Ohson himself, that Genghis Khan

annihilated the white Tatars, and thus it has come to pass by a most

curious freak of accident, that this extinguished people became

celebrated all over the East by the conquests of its very destroyers.

Jean du Plan de Carpin expresses himself still more positively: "The

country of the Tatars," he says, "bears the name of Mongal,[56] and is

inhabited by four different peoples, the Jeka Mongals, that is to say,

the Great Mongals; the Sou Mongals, or the Fluviatile Mongals, who call

themselves Tatars from the name of the river that flows through their

territory; the Merkit and the Mecrit. All these peoples have the same

personal characteristics and the same language, though belonging to

different provinces, and ruled by divers princes."[57] He then goes on

to speak of the birth of Genghis Khan among the Jeka Mongals, and of his

conflicts with the Sou Mongals and the other _Tatar_ tribes.

On comparing this author with the Chinese writers mentioned and

commented on in the works of de Guignes, Abel Remusat and D'Ohson, it

will appear beyond all question that the Jeka Mongals are none other

than the black Tatars, and that the Sou Mongals are the representatives

of the white Tatars. As for the Merkit and the Mecrit, we confess, with

M. d'Avezac, that our knowledge of them amounts only to conjecture; but,

whatever was their origin, they are of but little importance with regard

to the question we are now discussing.

The old Mohammedan authors, such as Massoudi and Ebn Haoucal, who treat

of the nations of Asia, appear not to have known the Tatars, for they

never speak of them. Their name figures, however, in a Persian

abridgment of universal history, entitled "Modjmel ut Tevarikh el

Coussas;" and Reschyd el Dyn calls the Tatars a people famous throughout

the world; but it would be difficult to extract from these authorities

any precise argument for the solution of our problem. After all, as

previously to the days of Genghis Khan, the most important tribe of

Mongols bore the name of Tatars, it is not surprising that the Mussulman

writers included the whole of that people under this denomination. The

Chinese, on the contrary, being in close intercourse with the Tatars,

their vassals, must of course have known their generic name, and

transmitted it to us.

Now let us recapitulate. If we reflect that Genghis Khan, though born in

the tribe especially designated as black Tatars, yet adopted the

denomination of Mongols for his people; that historians have been

unanimous in calling Genghis Khan's soldiers Mongols; that the Chinese

chroniclers, De Guignes, and many others, have considered the Tatars as

only a branch of the Mongols; that Du Plan de Carpin himself begins his

history with these words: "_Incipit historia Mongalorum quos nos

Tartaros appellamus_," it will not be easy to deny, that previously to

the twelfth century, previously to the great Asiatic invasions, the

Tatars and Mongols were parts of one nation, belonging to one race. If

subsequently the hordes of Genghis renounced their special name, this

circumstance must be ascribed to the sanguinary contest which Jessoukai

and his son, Genghis Khan, had to sustain against their oppressors, the

white Tatars, then the principal tribe in those regions. But the term

Tatar still prevailed in Europe, though it continued to be regarded as

synonymous with Mongol by all the Chinese writers, and by most of those

of other nations.

The religious and political constitution of the various Mongol or Tatar

branches before Genghis Khan, is very imperfectly known to us, and

affords us no manner of ground for presuming a positive separation into

two races. According to the Mongol work, "The Source of the Heart,"

written in the beginning of the thirteenth century it appears that

Lamism was first adopted by Genghis Khan, and that it became under his

successors the prevailing religion of the Mongols proper. Marco Polo's

narrative seems nevertheless to prove, that at the end of the thirteenth

century the Mongols had not yet entirely adopted the creed and rites of

Lamism; we now find it professed by all the Kalmucks of Russia.

In later times, after the invasions by Genghis Khan and his sons, the

Europeans, through ignorance or heedlessness, gave the name of Tatars

not only to the tribes who had figured in those Asiatic irruptions, but

also to the Mahometans, who had once been masters of the regions

adjacent to the Caspian and the Black Sea, and had been subjugated by

those conquerors; hence have arisen in a great measure all the mistakes

and discussions respecting the origin of the Tatars. After the Mongol

torrent had subsided, Europeans persisted in giving the appellation of

Tatars to all those Mussulman nations originally of Turkish origin, that

to this day occupy the territory of Kasan and Astrakhan, the Crimea and

the region called Turcomania, situated between the Belur Mountains, Lake

Aral, and the Caspian Sea; and as all these nations exhibited a

religious, political, and moral character peculiar to themselves, people

were naturally led to distinguish them from the Mongols, and to

attribute to them a special origin. Thus Pallas and many other

travellers, after visiting the Mahometans of Southern Russia, and

comparing them with the Kalmucks, have made of the Tatars and Mongols

two distinct races; and Malte Brun, in his geography, has given the name

of Tatar to all the tribes established in our day in Turkistan, applying

that of Mongol exclusively to the nations inhabiting the central

tableland of Asia, from Lake Palcati and the Belur Mountains to the

great wall of China, and to the Siolky Mountains which separate them

from the Manchous, a tribe of the great race of the Tongouses. All these

writers have failed to observe, that the appellation Tatar lost all

signification in Asia under the destroying power of Genghis Khan, and

has ever since existed only in the European vocabulary.

Doubtless, Genghis Khan and his successors did not achieve all their

conquests by the arms of the Mongols alone; and after having subjugated

all the Mahometan nations occupying the vast regions of Turcomania and a

part of Western Asia, they of course incorporated them with their

hordes, and employed them in their European invasions.

What, then, are we to suppose is the origin of all those tribes who,

under the name of Tatars, now inhabit the south of Russia? We agree

entirely with the opinion put forth in Courtin's "Encyclopedie Moderne,"

that these Tatars are nothing but Turks, Comans, or Petshenegues, who

having been at the commencement of the thirteenth century masters of all

the countries north and west of the Caspian Sea as far the Dniepr, were

afterwards subdued by the sons of Genghis Khan, and contributed towards

the foundation of a new empire comprised between the Dniepr and the

Emba, to which was given the name of Kaptshak, or Kiptshak, a

designation which appears to have been originally that of the territory.

The princes of this empire were Mongols or Tatars, but the majority of

their subjects were Turks. It appears even that the latter formed a

large portion of the armies of Genghis Khan in his late expeditions. The

Turkish language thus remained predominant throughout the Kaptshak,

Little and Great Bokhara, and among the Bashkirs and Tchouvaches. A few

Mongol words are still found in the Turkish dialect of the Russian

Mahometans, but they are extremely rare, and this may be easily

explained. The soldiers of the Mongol army were of course bachelors, and

when they married Kaptshak women, their children adopted the language of

their mothers. The sovereigns themselves of this new empire soon

embraced Mahometanism. Bereke, the brother and successor of Batou, set

the first example; Usbeck Khan, who reigned in 1305, followed in his

steps, and declared himself the protector of Islam, which thenceforth

became the creed of the conquerors as well as of the conquered.

It must not be inferred from the preceding statement that the Turks and

Mongols may not, in more remote times, have belonged to one and the same

race; we are not quite of that opinion; we have considered the Turkish

race only under the conditions in which it appeared in Europe and Asia

about the twelfth century, that is to say, modified by long contact with

the Caucasian nations, and we have left altogether out of view what it

may previously have been. Moreover, if De Guignes is rightly informed,

the inhabitants of the Kaptshak are really of Mongol origin, and the

soldiers of Genghis Khan took pains to prove to them that they were

their countrymen.

Towards the close of the fifteenth century, the empire of the Kaptshak

was divided into several khanats--Kasan, Astrakhan, and the Crimea, the

rulers of which, descended from Genghis, were all Mongols; but then they

had no longer armies drawn from the interior of Asia, and the Turkish

element finally prevailed throughout the whole population. Still, it

cannot be denied that the Mahometan hordes of Russia present some

resemblance to the Mongols, and this tends to confirm the ideas we have

expressed above. But then it is obvious that two nations that served so

long under the same banners, and lived under the same government, must

have intermarried with each other, and that their blood must have been

frequently mingled. Moreover, it is a most remarkable fact, with what

pertinacity the Mongol type maintains its identity in spite of the

mixture of many generations; a few marriages are sufficient to spread

traces of it in the course of a certain time, over a whole nation. I

have seen one example of this in the Cossacks, who have been living

amidst the Kalmucks for about two hundred years.

The Tatars in the mountains of the Crimea more rarely exhibit Mongol

features; the Greek profile is frequently found among them. This

difference is owing to their mixture with the Goths, the Greeks, and the

remnants of other nations that have successively overrun the peninsula.

The Nogais, who inhabit the plains of the Crimea, and the steppes of

the Sea of Azof, are unquestionably the nearest in appearance to the

Mongols of all the Tatars, and generally their physiognomy is such as

cannot be attributed to any other origin. Moreover, according to their

own traditions, they never made part of the Kaptshak, nor did they

arrive in Europe until subsequently to the death of Genghis Khan, after

having dwelt from time immemorial, if not with the Mongols, at least in

their vicinity.

According to Lesveque, the horde of the Nogais, long the most celebrated

of the west after that of the Kaptshak, was constituted in the

thirteenth century by Nogai, a Tatar general, who, after conquering the

countries north of the Black Sea, succeeded in forming a state

independent of the Kaptshak. The traditions I collected among the Nogais

themselves, make no mention whatever of a general of that name; their

chronicles allege that the name of the nation is derived from _neogai_

(which may be translated by the phrase, _mayst thou never know

happiness_), and that it was bestowed on them in their old country, on

account of their precarious and vagabond life.[58] I am inclined to

adopt this opinion; for considering the importance which the Nogais

attach to nobility and to antiquity of race, it would be very

extraordinary that they should not have preserved the name of the

founder of their power. The same traditions relate that after the death

of Genghis Khan, the horde whence the Nogais of the Crimea are

descended, arrived under the command of Djanibek Khan on the Volga, the

left bank of which it kept possession of for many years. Part of this

horde afterwards crossed the river, and advancing to the foot of the

Caucasus, settled on the Kouma and the Terek. The principal tribe of

these Tatars, and the same of which we are about to speak, soon forsook

those regions, and after crossing the Don, the Dniepr, and the Dniestr,

finally settled in Bessarabia, in the country called Boudjiak. There it

remained more than half a century; but being continually harassed by the

Turks and Moldavians, it abandoned its new country, retraced its steps,

and under the command of Jannat Bey, traversed the Crimea and the

Straits of Kertch. After reaching the banks of the Kouban, the horde was

broken up, by internal dissensions, into three branches, the largest of

which remained on the Kouban, and the others recrossed the straits. One

of these tribes fixed itself on the plains of the Crimea, and the other

returned to Bessarabia, partly by land, partly by sea.

The Nogais of the Kouban again divided into several tribes, some of

which connected themselves with the Kalmuck hordes, others with the

mountaineers of the Caucasus. During all these emigrations, they were

successively commanded by Jam Adie, Kani Osman, and Kalil Effendi, the

Tatar of the Crimea. The latter, at the head of one of the principal

tribes the Kouban, marched along the eastern coast of the Sea of Azof,

crossed the Don, and encamped on the banks of the Moloshnia Vodi, where

he died; his tomb still exists near the Nogai village of Keneges, on the

Berda. He was succeeded by Asit Bey, who ruled for seventeen years, and

was the last Tatar chief; he died in 1824. But long before his death, in

the time of Catherine II., these Nogai hordes were completely subjected

to the laws of the empire, and were under the management of Russian

officials. Count Maison, a French emigrant, was appointed their governor

in 1808, and he it was, who by dint of perseverance, made them renounce

their nomade ways, and settle in villages.

The Nogais now occupy the whole region between the Sea of Azof and the

Moloshnia Vodi. They are about 52,000 souls, residing in seventy-six

villages. As long as they were vagrants they remained very poor,

cultivating no grain but millet, which was their usual food, and of this

they could hardly procure a sufficient supply. Turbulent, fickle, and

thievish, they had an insurmountable aversion for all steady toil, and

particularly for agricultural labour; their occupations were tending

cattle, hunting, riding, music, and dancing. They were fond of

assembling and sitting in a ring, smoking and hearing the traditions of

their forefathers. All the cares of the household fell upon the women.

Their clothes, cooking utensils, bread, &c., they procured in exchange

for cattle. They seldom remained many months in one spot; an hour was

enough for them to pack up wife, children, and goods in their araba,[59]

and then moving at random towards some other point of the horizon, they

carried with them all they possessed. "Such is the order established by

God himself," cried the Nogai, "to us he has given wheels, to other

nations fixed dwellings and the plough." There was little wealth among

them in those times, though there was a certain overbearing aristocracy

that monopolised all the gifts of fortune and power to the detriment of

the other members of the community, many of whom, either through

ignorance or sloth, became even slaves of the shrewder and braver. Such

was the origin of the authority of the Mourzas, or noble chiefs of the

_aouls_ (villages, encampments).

The Nogais had for their emigrations, like the Kalmucks, circular tents

of felt, three or four yards in diameter, and conical at top. In winter,

they constructed earthen huts beside their kibitkas. Such cold and damp

dwellings were very prejudicial to health, as was proved by the

multitude of children that died every year.

Under Count Maison's wise and disinterested administration, all these

old habits disappeared by degrees, and the Nogais began to improve their

condition. By dint of patience and zeal they were prevailed on to build

commodious dwellings, and having once established themselves in

villages, their prosperity went on regularly increasing, and every man

had the means of procuring subsistence for his family by his own

labour. Count Maison is still remembered by the Nogais with the most

lively gratitude, but his honesty did not protect him from malevolence

and intrigues; it provoked against him all the subordinate functionaries

whose peculations he prevented; and after enduring disgusts and

annoyances without number, he sent in his resignation to St. Petersburg

in 1821. Since that time the Nogais have had no special governor, but

are under the control of functionaries attached to the ministry of the

interior, who reside in their villages. They have, however, preserved

the judicial authority of their cadis, and the Russian tribunals only

take cognizance of those criminal and civil cases which the cadis cannot

decide. The Nogais are exempt from military service, but they pay money

contributions to the crown, at the rate of thirty rubles for each

family.

For about fifteen years past a Mennonite of the German colonies has of

his own accord continued the work so judiciously begun by Count Maison.

M. Cornies, one of the most remarkable men in New Russia, deservedly

exercises the greatest influence over the Nogais, among whom his advice

and exertions have already produced some excellent results. The

miserable villages of former days have been gradually superseded by

pretty houses in the German style, surrounded with gardens, and

agriculture has made such progress, that a large number of farmers are

now able to export corn.

The Nogais are rather strict observers of the precepts of Islam. Their

country contains eleven mosques, and each village has several houses for

prayer. Their clergy are subject to the mufti of the Crimea and of his

representative, who resides in the aoul of Emmaout; they consist of

effendi mollahs, mollas, and cadis. The mollahs take tithe of all grain,

and a fortieth of the cattle. Their functions are to call the people to

prayer, to pray for the sick, write talismans, preside at sacrifices,

marriages, and funerals, and perform all the rites of public worship.

The effendi mollahs draw up articles of marriage and divorce; and, in

concert with the village elders, they decide all quarrels and suits

between husband and wife, and all questions relative to the sale of the

latter. They also fulfil along with the cadis the duties of interpreters

of the law, and preceptors of the Koran. Circumcision, which boys

undergo at ten or twelve years of age, is performed by the bab (father),

whose office is hereditary. Hadjis, or pilgrims, who have visited the

kaaba of Mecca, though they have no official duties, still possess great

authority, and are consulted on almost all occasions; they are

distinguished by a green or white shawl rolled round their woollen caps.

The pilgrimage to Mecca, is not quite obligatory on the Nogais, who

generally exempt themselves from it by means of offerings and

sacrifices. The new measures adopted by the Russians render this journey

very difficult, and the Tatars must soon renounce it altogether. Every

individual is bound before he sets out to prove that he takes with him

at least 120_l._; his passport costs him nearly 8_l._, and if he does

not return, the whole village where he was born is bound to pay his

quota of taxation until a new census of the population is made.

Expiatory sacrifices are very common among the Nogais: they take place

during the Kourban Bairam, on the occasion of a death, for the

commemoration of deceased persons, on the celebration of a marriage, on

return from a journey, and as an atonement for the omission of any

religious duty. Those who offer them up invite to their houses their

friends and relations, and the poor of the village, to whom they give a

good portion of the victim, which is either a sheep or a cow, according

to the wealth of the individual, or the importance of the occasion.

The great forty days fast of Ramazan is strictly observed only by aged

persons of either sex. Curiously enough the obligation of prayer is

imposed only on persons aged forty or fifty; the seventh day of the

Mussulman week, which corresponds to our Friday, is celebrated only by

the priests and some devout old men. The prohibition against wine is not

at all regarded by the young, especially in travelling. In general the

rising generation of Nogais pay very little heed to the commandments of

Mahomet, and by no means share this religious fanaticism of the Asiatic

Mussulmans. Long and handsome beards are held in great veneration among

them. Old men shave the whole head, but the young leave a small tuft

growing on the top of the crown. This custom obliges them to wear

woollen caps in all seasons.

The Nogais have generally two wives, and some even three, but this is a

very rare case. The plurality and sale of wives frequently occasion

quarrels, brawls, and acts of bloody vengeance.

Charity, which is regarded in the Koran as one of the greatest virtues,

extends only to the poor who beg from door to door, and who are usually

given a little bread and millet. Orphans and old people are left to the

care of their friends or relations, for the Nogais have no public

establishment for the indigent. The fidelity of the Nogais is

proverbial; even the most thievish of them would never betray a trust

reposed in them. As for the ancient hospitality, it is now only

exercised from habit, and very rarely from virtue. Still they invariably

afford the most cordial welcome to every aged Mussulman or hadji, and in

these cases their hospitality is quite patriarchal. Reverence for the

aged is considered by them as a sacred duty.

One of the most striking characteristics of these Tatars is their

excessive vanity with regard to every thing that concerns the nobility

of their ancestors. It shows itself not only towards strangers, but also

in their dealings with each other. They profess likewise the most

profound contempt for the Persians, the Turks, and even for the mountain

Tatars of the Crimea, and deem it a dishonour to intermarry with those

nations, which yet are of the same creed, if not of the same origin with

themselves.

The Nogai alternates between total supineness and extraordinary

exertion, so that to make any profit of him he must be employed by task

work and not by the day. This sloth, however, is not so much a vice

inherent in the character of the nation as a result of its old vagrant

and precarious existence, and of its limited wants. On the other hand,

the nomade habits of other days have developed the capacity of this

people in a remarkable degree, and whether as artisans or journeymen,

agriculturists or manufacturers, the Nogais invariably give proof of

great ability and skill.

The Nogai is of moderate stature, but well proportioned; his movements

are free and unembarrassed, and his attitude is never awkward under any

circumstances. The women are, like all those of the East, comely when

young; but when old they are horribly ugly. Neither sex exhibits any

decided national physiognomy; countenances both of the Circassian and

the Mongol type are very common among them.

The Nogai constructs his own cottage with bricks dried in the sun, and

whitewashes it regularly once a year within and without. Its dimensions

are scarcely more than two or three-and-thirty feet by thirteen. The

roof consists of a few rafters on which are laid reeds and branches of

trees loaded with earth and ashes. A dwelling of this kind hardly costs

more than 100 rubles; others of a larger size, with a floor and ceiling

of wood, cost from 400 to 500 rubles. Each dwelling consists of two

rooms, the kitchen, which is next the entrance, and the family room. The

kitchen contains a fireplace, an iron pot, wooden vessels for milk and

butter, harness and agricultural implements; the second room, which

serves as a dormitory, is furnished with felt carpets, quilts, a pile of

cushions, boxes containing clothes, and a dozen of napkins embroidered

with coloured silk or cotton, according to the fortune of the family,

and hung round the room. When the Nogai has two or more wives he

constructs his house in such a manner that each of them may have her

separate room.

The costume of the Nogais is commodious. It consists of wide trousers, a

cotton or woollen shirt, and a short caftan, fastened round the waist

with a leathern girdle. Their head-dress is a cylindrical cap of

lamb's-skin. In the winter they wear a sheep's-skin over the caftan, and

in snowy weather they muffle themselves in a bashlik, or hood, which

conceals their head and shoulders.

The women wear a shift, a cloth caftan, belted above the hips with a

broad girdle adorned with large metal buckles, Turkish trousers and

slippers. Their head-dress is a white veil fastened to the crown of the

head, with the two ends hanging gracefully on the shoulders. They wear

little silver finger and nose rings, and heavy earrings often connected

by a chain passing under the chin. Young girls part their hair into a

multitude of tresses, and instead of the veil wear a little red

skull-cap bedizened with bits of metal and all sorts of gewgaws.

The Nogais eat mutton, beef, mares' flesh, &c., fish, and dairy

produce. They prepare koumiss from mares' milk, and esteem it above all

other liquors. They also kill sick horses for food, and very often do

not disdain the flesh of one that has died a natural death. Mares'

flesh, minced, forms the chief part of a national dish called _tarama_,

which the men eat with their friends in token of sincerity and

brotherhood. The women are not allowed to partake of these repasts.

Their favourite dish is millet boiled in water, with a little sour milk

called _tchourtzch_. Kalmuck tea is also much esteemed, and since the

improvement of agriculture, the use of bread, which was formerly

unknown, is gradually spreading among them.

Their most common diseases are fever, small-pox, ulcers, itch, and

syphilis. No one takes any means either to avoid or cure them. Charms

are the only medicine known to the Nogais, and they are even quite

indifferent to certain maladies which they attribute to fatality. They

attribute great medicinal virtues to pepper, alum, sugar, and honey. The

mortality of infants is frightful among them, and accounts for the

stationary condition in which the population has long remained.

No system of education as yet exists among the Nogais; their children

grow up like the young of animals. Every village, indeed, possesses a

cabin decorated with the name of school, in which the clergy give some

imperfect lessons in the Tatar language and writing; but the rest of

their teaching, which is exclusively religious, consists in the reading

of Arabic books, which the teachers understand no better than the

pupils.

The rearing of cattle, particularly horses, forms the chief occupation

of the Nogais. Their horses are of the Kalmuck Khirghis race, nimble and

robust, though of moderate size, and usually fetch from 100 to 120

rubles: they pass the whole year in the steppe, and have to find their

food under the snow in winter. The horned cattle is small. The cows sell

for twenty or thirty rubles; they give little milk, and are generally

unprofitable. Camels are little used and seldom seen.

In Count Maison's time the Nogais were required to sow, at least, two

tchetverts of corn per head, which made a total of about 40,000

tchetverts for the whole population. A year after the count's

retirement, the seed sown in the whole territory did not exceed 19,000

tchetverts, and the quantity went on diminishing from year to year. But

since the disastrous winters, for cattle, of 1836 and 1837, the Nogais

have been induced, by M. Cornies, to apply themselves again to

agriculture, and the women have taken a part with the men in field

labours.

Their mode of cultivating the ground is extremely defective; they have

bad ploughs drawn by four or five pair of oxen, whilst their neighbours,

the Germans, do infinitely more work with but two. The harvest generally

takes place in July, and is a season of great jollity. Gipsy musicians

stroll over the country at that period, and collect an ample store of

wheat and millet. The corn is trodden out by horses in the open air: the

best, which is called _arnaout_, sells at from seven to twelve rubles

the tchetvert. The territory of the Nogais is still common property, and

the want of finite boundaries occasions many quarrels, especially at

harvest time.

As usual, among eastern nations, the Nogai women do all the household

drudgery, for the men think it beneath them to take part in it. The poor

mother of the family is therefore obliged to prepare the victuals with

her own hands, to wash the linen, milk the cows and mares, keep the

house in repair, churn butter, &c., and take care of the children. She

must also gather the firewood, prepare all the drinkables, make candles

and soap, and dress the sheep-skins to make pelisses for all the family.

This is hard drudgery, and a few years of such married life suffice to

make her old. Under such circumstances it is not surprising that the

Nogai cannot content himself with one wife, and that the purchase of

young girls is so important and costly an affair among them.

A man usually chooses his wife from a remote village; for every young

man makes it a point of honour not to have seen his wife before

marriage. The only particulars he is anxious to learn indirectly is

whether the lady is plump and has long hair. When his choice is fixed,

he bargains with the father or the relations of the girl for the price

he is to pay for her. A handsome girl of good family costs four or five

hundred rubles, besides a couple of score of cows and a few other

beasts. Young widows are cheaper, and old women are to be had for

nothing. The bride's price is paid on the spot by the wooer, and a horse

and two oxen are reckoned equivalent to a couple of cows. The girl's

inclinations are never consulted, and she submits to her lot with

stoical indifference; she is given dresses, mattresses, and cushions by

way of dower. Matches are often made when the bride is still in her

cradle, the bridegroom's father paying down a part of the stipulated

sum, and when the girl has attained the age of thirteen or fourteen, the

marriage takes place without any opposition on the young man's part. But

this traffic in girls often occasions long lawsuits between families.

Various accidents occur to prevent the espousals, such as mutilation,

loss of health or beauty, and, above all, bad faith, and hence arise

animosities that are often transmitted from one generation to another.

The women of the mountain race of Tatars of the Crimea, and the Kalmuck

women, cost less than young Nogai girls, and are purchased by the poorer

classes.

On the day appointed for the wedding, the young people, who have not yet

seen each other, choose each of them a deputy, who exchange hands on

their behalf, and thus the marriage rite is accomplished. The day is

spent in merriment, and in the evening the bride is veiled, and escorted

by a troop of women to the conjugal abode, where she sees her husband

for the first time.

The young wife must remain shut up at home for a whole year, and see no

men, conversing only with her husband and his relations. After this her

emancipation is celebrated by a grand banquet. The Nogai women are very

timid, for the jealousy of their husbands is extreme. When a married man

dies, his brothers inherit his widows, and may keep or sell them as they

please. A husband may repudiate his wife whenever he chooses, but she is

entitled to marry again after the legalisation of the divorce. When a

Nogai has many wives, the first retains peculiar privileges so long as

she is young and handsome, but when her beauty fades, a younger rival

always gains the good graces of the husband. Hence arise interminable

quarrels, and domestic peace is only maintained by the kantshouk or whip

of the lord of the mansion. On the whole, the women endure a hard

slavery; but their ignorance of a better state of things makes their

chains set light on them, and they are insensible of the degraded

condition in which they are kept by their absolute lords.

It would be difficult to predict with accuracy the fate reserved for all

this Mahometan population. The Nogais have doubtless made great progress

within the last twenty years; but their religious notions and their

moral and political constitution will long impede their complete

reformation, and it will need many a generation to eradicate from among

them all those prejudices and all those old habits of a wandering life,

which so fatally obstruct their prosperity and their intellectual

growth. Besides, it is now impossible to mistake the tendency of the

policy adopted by the Russian government towards the foreign races:

there is every reason to think that they will at last be entirely

absorbed by the Slavic population.

FOOTNOTES:

[50] Histoire de la Russie, par Lesveque. Bibliotheque Orientale, par

d'Herbelot. Hist. des Cosaques, par Lesur.

[51] Voyage au Caucase, par Klaproth, en 1807 et 1808.

[52] See Klaproth, Asia Polyglotta, p. 202.

[53] The Kitans occupied the country north of the Chinese provinces of

Tschy Li and Ching-Ching, watered by the Charamuin, or Liao Ho and its

confluents. Ibid.

[54] The chain of mountains called In Chan, begins north of the country

of the Ordos, or of the most northern curve of the Hoang Ho, or Yellow

River, and extends eastward to the sources of the rivers that fall into

the western part of the Gulf of Pekin.

[55] We have entirely rejected from our discussion the word _Tartar_,

which owes its origin only to a _jeu de mots_, of which St. Louis was

the author.

[56] _Mongal_ is the most frequent reading in the MSS.; and where the

more exact reading, _Mongal_, occurs, it is probably a correction by the

copyists. _Mongal_ is the form prevalent among the Russians; and we have

already had occasion to remark, that in transcribing proper names, Du

Plan de Carpin generally adopts the Slavonic pronunciation, as he had it

from his companion and interpreter, Benedict of Poland. (Extract from

the interesting treatise of M. D'Avezac, on the travels of Du P. de C.)

[57] Terra quadam est in partibus Orientis de qua dictum est supra, quae

Mongal nominatur. Haec terra quondam populos quatuor habuit: unus Yeka

Mongal, id est magni Mongali vocabantur; secundus Su Mongal, id est

aquatici Mongali vocabantur; sibi autem se ipsos Tartaros appellabant, a

quodam fluvio qui currit per terram illorum qui Tatar nominatur. Alius

appellabatur Merkit; quartus Mecrit. Hi populi omnes unam formani

personarum et unam linguam habebant, quamvis inter se per provincias et

principes essent divisi.

In terra Jeka Mongal fuit quidam qui vocabatur Chingis; este incepit

esse robustus venator coram domino: dedicit enim homines furari, rapere

praedam. Ibat autem ad alias terras et quoscumque poterat capere et sibi

associare non demittebat; homines autem suae gentes ad se inclinavit, qui

tanquam ducem ipsum sequebantur ad omnia malefacta. Hic autem incepit

pugnare cum Su Mongal sive Tartaris, postquam plures homines

aggregaverat sibi, et interfecit ducem eorum, et multo bello sibi omnes

Tataros subjugavit et in suam servitutem recepit ac redegit. Post haec

cum omnibus istis pugnavit cum Merkitis, qui erant positi juxta terram

Tartarorum, quas etiam sibi bello subjecit. Inde procedens pugnavit

contra Mecritas et etiam illos devicit.

[58] The name _Nogai_ appears to me to have occasioned the same mistakes

as Tatar; misled by the conspicuous part played for some time by the

Nogai hordes, most writers have comprehended under that name all the

Mussulman tribes of the provinces of Astrakhan and Kasan.

[59] A large four-wheeled vehicle covered with felt. The wheels are

never greased, and the noise they make can often be heard at a distance

of several versts.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

BANKS OF THE KOUMA; VLADIMIROFKA--M. REBROF'S REPULSE OF A

CIRCASSIAN FORAY--BOURGON MADJAR--JOURNEY ALONG THE KOUMA--

VIEW OF THE CAUCASIAN MOUNTAINS--CRITICAL SITUATION--GEORGIEF

--ADVENTURE WITH A RUSSIAN COLONEL--STORY OF A CIRCASSIAN CHIEF.

Notwithstanding the dangers and hardships that had attended our desert

wanderings, it was not without some degree of regret we bade a final

adieu to the Kalmucks, whose patriarchal simplicity of life we had

shared for more than a month. But as we approached Vladimirofka, and

beheld the clear waters of the Kouma, its wooded banks, and the lovely

scenery around, the change was indescribably delightful to eyes long

accustomed to the blank and arid wilderness.

In front of us stood a handsome dwelling on a gentle slope, flanked

with two turrets, and surmounted by a belvedere rising above the trees.

Behind us lay the Kalmuck camps and their herds of camels, resembling in

the distance those effects of the mirage that are so common in the

desert. A little to the left, the village, picturesquely situated at the

foot of the mansion, descended in terraces to the margin of the Kouma,

displaying its pretty workshops, and its houses parted from each other

by plantations of mulberries, hazels, and Lombardy poplars, tinted with

the varied hues of autumn. All the enchantments that opulence could call

forth from a fruitful soil, were there assembled, as a bountiful

compensation for our past fatigues. The camel-drivers and the Cossacks

of our escort fully shared our delight, and remained like ourselves

wonder-stricken before that brilliant apparition.

Soon afterwards we entered the yard of the mansion, which was soon

crowded with _employes_ and servants, all greatly puzzled to conceive

whence could have come so strange a caravan. Our appearance might well

excite their astonishment. The britchka, drawn by three camels, preceded

a little troop composed of four or five Cossacks, armed to the teeth,

and several Kalmucks leading other camels loaded with all our nomadic

gear. Our Cossack officer, with his falcon on his fist, and his long

rifle slung behind him, rode close to the door of the carriage, ready,

with Russian precision, to transmit our orders to the escort, and to

gallop off at the slightest signal; whilst our dragoman, lolling on the

box-seat with Italian _nonchalance_, looked down with profound disdain

on the bustling throng around us, and did not condescend to answer one

word to their thousand questions.

M. Rebrof, the proprietor of Vladimirofka, having been waited on by our

officer, came out and welcomed us in the most polite and cordial manner,

and showed us into delightful apartments on the ground floor, looking

out on a large, handsome garden, and containing a billiard-table and

several numbers of the _Revue Etrangere_. Then, after empowering us to

make free use of his servants, his garden, his horses, and all his

property, our host left us to ourselves, with a delicate tact not always

displayed even by well-bred persons.