JOY AND SORROW.
Joy and sorrow are undoubtedly the mirror, in which not only is
the character of a people clearly reflected, but which likewise
offers the most faithful image of their manners and customs. In joy
and sorrow every sign of dissimulation vanishes, man shows himself
in his true colours, and the lights and shades of his temperament
become at once apparent; for, in any matter of real feeling, it is
vain to try to speak and act differently to the dictates of this
potent voice within us. And nowhere is a better opportunity offered
for studying the various features of joy and sorrow, than at a
birth, marriage, and death,--those three stages in the great family
of mankind. The main outlines are no doubt everywhere the same, but
in the colouring and composition a variety is produced, not found
even among civilized nations. Ethnography has frequently thrown
light on this subject in different parts of the world; but we must
confess that Central Asia in this respect is wrapt in considerable
obscurity. To attempt to dispel this darkness may therefore not be
deemed superfluous; and, the savage Polynesian and Central African
having resisted vainly the spirit of inquiry, we will in like manner
raise the veil from the rude and suspicious Œzbeg. It is a first
attempt, and consequently a feeble one.
1. BIRTH.
As soon as a woman in Central Asia (I refer to a settled family),
about to become a mother, feels the first pangs of childbirth, she
sends for her neighbour, her nearest relations, a midwife, and a
nurse for the child. A new felt or carpet is spread out in the tent
or room, and upon this the woman is placed, with her legs doubled
under her. As the pains increase, her nearest relations squat round
her; and she, flinging both her arms round the neck of two of her
most intimate friends, the midwife seizes her by the thighs, and
moves her about, until she has been delivered of the child. She is
now placed upon a bed, the relations taking the mother under their
care, and the midwife having charge of the child. The former is
restored to strength by friction on the temples and pulse, whilst
the midwife sets about cutting out swaddling-clothes from a new
piece of linen, in which she wraps the infant, strictly observing
the various superstitious customs. Then taking the remainder of
the linen to the mother, she informs her of the sex and appearance
of her child; she also is the bearer of the happy tidings to the
father, from whom she receives a present on this occasion. In
fact, the kindik kesen (swaddling-clothes maker) plays a very
important part in the whole affair. For three days the child is
invisible to every one, during which time it is frequently smeared
over with butter, and, to prevent any redness in them, which is
considered extremely objectionable, the eyes are washed with salt
water. It is then clothed in a little shirt, and finally it is
laid upon a pillow of camel's hair, and exhibited. Now all the
friends and acquaintances pay their visits, and the husband offers
a present to his wife, who is anxious to hear from her guests their
prognostications as to the future of her child, which experienced
matrons draw from the limbs and movements of its little body. Thus
for instance, it is a bad sign, if it has entered the world with
the left foot or hand first; a small apple of the eye augurs that
her offspring will be a thief; a broad forehead denotes valour; a
restless kicking of the feet future wealth, and so forth. Every
one scrutinizes the infant with insignificant gestures; and well
might the fear of the evil eye make the mother uneasy, but that she
herself has tied the white magic-stone on the left arm of her child.
After the chille (forty days) have elapsed, festivities begin.
In the case of a girl, not much is done; but if the child be a
boy, even the poorest make every effort to gather round them a
considerable number of guests, and to feast them as sumptuously as
possible. Grand banquets, horse-racing, wrestling and music, are the
order of the day; and finally, a special celebration in honour of
the birth, the so-called Altin Kabak, takes place, which consists
in hanging up a golden or silver ball on the top of a high tree,
and whosoever brings it down at the first shot, with either ball or
arrow, gains this prize, together with a certain number of sheep,
and often even camels and horses.
During the first year the greatest care is taken to guard the
child against cats, evil spirits, and other dangerous influences,
after which time the above-mentioned white stone is replaced by a
round-shaped bone, and on his little cap are hung the argushtek (a
piece of wood, carved and dyed mysteriously), a nusha (amulet),
which must be written by the hand of some learned man, several
corals, the tooth of an hyæna, and, if circumstances permit, a small
bag with holy earth from the grave of Mohamed. All these things,
together, often make up a considerable weight, which presses very
heavily on the head of the poor little creature; but this is not
taken into consideration. On the contrary; the mother examines with
jealous care to see that not a single thing be found wanting, each
being looked upon as a certain means of protection against so many
dangers.
In Central Asia, as throughout the whole East, children are allowed
but a very few years to devote merely to play. Girls are early
taught to spin, weave, sew, to make cheese, &c.; and boys are put on
horseback, and learn to ride as early as their fifth year, and are
employed as horsemen in sham fights, and as jockeys in horse races
in, and even before, their tenth year. It is only the more wealthy
parents who give their children in charge of a Mollah. When they
have learned to read, the Korantoy, or the festival of the Koran,
is celebrated, which is of the same nature as the Chatemdüyünü of
the Osmanlis, with this difference: that the latter takes place when
the lad has, for the first time, read through the sacred book of
Mohamed, and here, when he begins reading.
2. MARRIAGE.
Although childhood is of short duration among the Œzbegs, yet a
youth does not receive the name of yighid (a mature youth) until
his eighteenth year, nor the girl that of kïz (virgin) before she
is sixteen years old. In the country the intercourse between the
two sexes is not in the least degree influenced by the Koran. Here,
as in Western countries, we see the "rosy play of love" represented
with all its joys and sorrows, all its fascination and enthusiasm.
At first I felt amazed that the tenderest of feelings should find
room in the heart of a man in Central Asia, accustomed as he is
from his earliest youth to robbery and murder, and hardened to the
tears of widows, orphans and slaves. But I had the opportunity of
convincing myself, that love is here more frequently the cause of
the most extraordinary adventures than in other Mahomedan countries.
The Œzbeg is passionately devoted to music and poetry, and hence
it is but natural that his heart should be susceptible to the
emotions of love.
When two young people have formed a mutual attachment the secret
is entrusted to their parents, and if these make no objections,
the young man opens the transaction by despatching two female
ambassadors, Soutchi Khatin, to ask them formally for the hand of
their daughter. The parents, for the most part, have been previously
informed of the demand, and receiving the embassy with honour and
distinction, they express their satisfaction at the offer, but
refrain from giving any decisive answer. To pronounce a regular
straightforward "yes," is contrary to the rules of propriety, and
the young man has to interpret, from trivial allusions, whether his
suit will be granted or not. The next thing is to talk over the
kalim (marriage portion) which the man is ready or able to give
for his future wife. The question is always, how many times nine,
i.e., how many times nine sheep, cows, camels or horses, or how
many times nine ducats, as is the custom in a town, the father is
to receive for giving up his daughter. The less wealthy give twice
nine, the wealthier six times nine, and the Khan alone has to pay
nine times nine, for the purchase of his bride. The kalim having
been settled, the next question to be considered is one of great
importance, the eginbash (present in ornaments) to be presented by
the future husband. It consists of eight rings, yüzük, a semi-tiara
(sheghendjin), a tiara (shekergül), a bracelet (bilezik), ear-rings
(isirga), nose-rings (arabek), and ornaments for the neck (öngülük).
This whole set of ornaments must be presented complete, and not a
single article wanting; it is also previously settled, whether it is
to consist of gold or silver. No doubt a man in Central Asia has to
pay dearly for his wife. The negotiations are generally a protracted
business; and finally, when every thing is definitely settled,
neighbours and relations are invited to the fatiha toy (feast of
promise), which is celebrated for two days in the home of the future
bride, and two more in that of the future husband. The Mollah, or
some grey-beard, announces the new arrangement to the guests. He
tells them the exact purchase-price for the girl, and when the
wedding is to take place, and concludes his short address with a
fatiha, after which the festivities begin and are continued for four
days. In entertainments of this kind, called toy, all the guests are
assembled in one and the same apartment, but form different groups.
The upper part of the room is occupied by the elderly people; the
women range themselves along the right side of the wall and the
girls and lads sit down in some corner, generally near the musicians
and singers. The toy consists not merely in eating and drinking,
but there is also music and singing, and above all, horse-racing,
which latter forms the chief part of all festivities in Central
Asia. Prizes of considerable value are given, and young and old take
the most lively interest in the sport. The race-course varies from
one to three fersakh in length; on the former only two year olds
are admitted, on the latter full-grown strong horses. Two villages
are chosen, lying at this distance apart, and whilst the crowd are
assembling in one of them, a toy emini, steward, is appointed in
the other. It is his duty to see that a fair start is effected,
and that horse is proclaimed the winner, who first passes the goal
which is fixed at the entrance of the opposite village. The horses
are trained for several weeks for the race, and are ridden by young
boys, who wear on this occasion short and tight-fitting clothes,
very similar to those worn by jockeys in England.
The interval between the fatiha toy and the marriage is fixed
according to the age of the "promessa." A week before the wedding,
the toyluk (food for the wedding) is sent by the man to the house
of his future wife; and consists of meat, flour, rice, fat, sugar
and fruit. Soon after, his mother and nearest female relations
arrive, who have been invited as guests for several weeks. Two days
before the beginning of the festival the future husband mounts his
horse, and, surrounded by his friends, all of whom, as well as their
horses, are decked out in the gayest colours, goes also to the home
of her parents, his father alone remaining behind, not for the sake
of taking care of the house, but in order to make all necessary
preparations for the due reception of the newly-married couple on
their return.
Meanwhile, in the house of the future wife, where the first days
of the marriage-feast are celebrated, the greatest bustle and
activity prevails. The young girls have to do the cooking, and are
fully employed with their gigantic cauldrons. The quantity of food
brought together for an Œzbeg wedding is as enormous as the
appetite of the numerous guests. Whilst the young girls are busy at
cooking and baking, the young swains carry on a lively flirtation
with them. The galant homme, who is lucky enough to obtain from his
beloved a bone or some tit-bit out of the cauldron, regards the gift
as a signal sign of favour, but still more lucky is he who gets a
few sharp raps with the cooking ladle, the highest of all favours,
and appreciated far above the daintiest morsels. Men and women
gather round the fire-place in groups, laughing, talking, joking and
shrieking, whilst musicians play and sing, and children shout and
yell. These noises are mingled with the bleating of sheep, barking
of dogs, neighing of horses and braying of donkeys, while loud above
the general hubbub is heard the clown's stentorian voice in coarse
sallies of Œzbeg wit and humour. He is the very life of the whole
party. His gesticulations, the grimaces with which he accompanies
his jests, give rise to continual bursts of laughter. Now he mimics
this person or that, now he tells of some droll prank or merry
adventure, or whistles like a bird and mews like a cat, and thus he
has to continue without interruption, although from sheer exertion
the perspiration runs down his face in streams.
It is a strange custom that, for the last few days before his
wedding, the young man is not allowed to leave his tent, the young
girl and her companions watching it, meanwhile, with looks of the
utmost curiosity. It is said that friends and relations sometimes
assist in bringing about a secret _tête-à-tête_, but not until after
the marriage ceremony is he permitted to mix with the company.
This ceremony takes place at the end of the second day, in the
presence of the whole assembly. Each party is represented by two
witnesses, to whom the Mollah puts the question, whether the two
young people mutually agree as to the marriage. He then proceeds at
once to perform the ceremony, when the witnesses of the young girl
put in their veto. They declare (with a feigned reluctance) their
unwillingness to give up the treasure entrusted to them, unless
the young man should present them with a certain sum of money, or
some other present. He finds the demand exorbitant, and now begins
a bargaining and haggling, which continues until both parties are
satisfied, when the solemn ceremony is at last performed. The
Mollah reads aloud the permission of the reis (religious chief,)
the witnesses attest on oath, and with significant gestures, the
marriage compact, a short prayer is read, and the ceremony is over.
The bride now hands round fruit and a rich cake, and distributes
white kerchiefs, garments, or other presents among the Mollahs,
grey-beards, and above all, the young men who have acted as
witnesses.
The bridegroom now makes his appearance, but is not permitted to
approach the company nearer than a few steps from the door! and
all having partaken of an enormous repast, the festivities in the
bride's home terminate.
The elderly, as well as the married folk, now take their departure,
but the young people remain, and pack the bride and her marriage
portion on a sort of carriage, and thus accompanied by her female
companions and friends, she sets out for the home of her husband.
The journey, called bolush, is protracted as much as possible, and
often when the distance is short, one or two long circuits are
made, in order to have the opportunity of continuing the amusements
on the road. The bride sits in the first carriage with her future
sister-in-law, the young men accompany the procession on horseback,
and he who can manage to force his way first to the front, riding
full gallop, receives from her a handkerchief as the prize. The
others try to snatch it from him, he flies and is pursued, and
the chase does not cease till he has reached the carriage again.
The handkerchiefs thus gained are tied to the horse's head, and
preserved a long time as valuable trophies.[11] Whenever the
procession passes a village on the route, they are generally
stopped, and a toll is demanded. The sister-in-law sitting next
the bride distributes cake, and the passage is again free. Amidst
continued sport and chaff the bride arrives at the home of her
husband, and no sooner does she draw near it, than she wraps her
veil around her, changing her merry expression of face to one of
the utmost gravity. Her father-in-law lifts her from the carriage,
conducts her into the room, and leads her to a tent improvised with
curtains and carpets in a corner of the apartment. The husband
soon follows her, and for the second time raises her veil in the
presence of his father, who compliments his daughter-in-law on her
charming appearance, the first sight of which he has to requite with
presents. The young couple are left alone, but have to endure for
some time the jokes of the noisy crowd assembled outside the tent,
who are eager to exhibit on these occasions their slender store of
wit and humour. They disperse late at night, and at last all is
quiet.
[11] In Hungary we find the same practice prevailing at the present
day, for the custom of tying coloured handkerchiefs to the heads of
the horses at marriage feasts most probably has its origin in this
ancient usage.
Among the Turkomans and Kirghis it is customary for newly-married
people to be separated for a whole year, after they have lived
together for a few days, and although the husband is allowed to make
his appearance in the house of his wife, it must be only at night
and in the most clandestine manner. In the opinion of the nomads,
married life, in its beginning, is made all the more pleasant by
acting up to the proverb, "stolen kisses taste the sweetest," and
hence also the belief, that the first born child must always be
handsome and vigorous.
The great national festival, called noruz (new year), of the
Œzbegs, has been transmitted to them by the Persians, and is
celebrated in Central Asia with the same pomp which distinguishes
it in Persia, with this only difference, that the Œzbegs have
an old and a new noruz. The latter, however, is of no especial
importance. There is no lack of amusing games, but it is very
remarkable that some have degenerated into the most pernicious
gambling. Playing cards (sokti) are introduced from Russia (without
the court cards), but have not yet come into general use. The
favourite game is the Ashik-game (Ashik--the anklebones of sheep),
which is played in the manner of European dice with the four
anklebones of a sheep, and with a degree of passionate excitement
of which one can form no idea. The upper part of the bone is called
tava, the lower altchi, and the two sides yantarap. The player
takes these four little bones into the palm of his hand, throws
them up and receives half of the stake, if two tava or two altchi,
and the whole of the stake, if all four tava or altchi turn up. The
advantage to be gained arises entirely from dexterity in throwing;
trickery is impossible, since the bones are frequently changed.
This game is equally popular with the dweller in settlements as
with the nomad; and although apparently a trivial amusement, it
not unfrequently happens that the Ashik player, in the heat of his
passion, stakes the whole of his possessions, nay, even his wife.
Mankind, in fact, are everywhere the same. The refined European
makes his offerings at rouge et noir upon the green table; the
Œzbeg on the sandy ground with four anklebones.
3. DEATH.
Whenever a member of a family is on the point of death, his nearest
relations usually leave the house or tent. The Mollah, or the
elderly among the neighbours, surround the dying man, watching for
the last breath and repeating the customary prayers, while outside
the air is filled with wailing and lamentations. If he should have
been lying speechless for some time, some wool is moistened by his
friends, and water dropped into his mouth, for fear lest, deprived
of his speech, he might die of thirst. The rolling of the eyes and
the contraction of the nose are regarded as symptoms of death; and
no sooner has the dying man drawn his last breath than his jaws are
tied up, and the body is stripped and then covered over. The clothes
are destroyed, for even the poorest Œzbeg could not be persuaded
to put on anything worn by a dying man.
The corpse is not allowed to be kept longer than twelve or fifteen
hours, in accordance with the custom among all Mahomedan nations.
It is not washed upon a board, but on a mat (buria), which is
immediately after burnt; and the relations and neighbours, nay,
often the whole population of the place, having wept and wailed
their fill, the body is taken to be buried. The settled inhabitants
of Central Asia possess cemeteries for their dead, but among the
nomads each dead body is buried singly in the desert; and if he has
been a man of influence and consideration, a large mound (tumulus)
is generally raised over his grave, in the construction of which all
the male members of the tribe are expected to take part. The more
honoured the person, the higher and larger the mound (yoska). The
surviving relations look upon it with pride; on certain festivals,
and on the anniversary of the death, food or other presents are
placed upon it for the benefit of the poor; and no sooner does the
nomad come in sight of it, however great the distance may be, than
he mutters a short prayer for the repose of the dead.
Men that fall in battle are neither undressed nor washed. The blood
of a brave soldier being regarded as his greatest adornment, is
consequently not removed.
The funeral feast begins immediately after the burial with a simple
repast, at which the iyis (bread baked in fat) is distributed among
rich and poor, and must be eaten by everybody. The feast is repeated
on the third, seventh, and fortieth day after the death took place,
besides which the anniversary is celebrated in like manner,--a duty
which even the poorest would not omit to perform, for fear lest,
by neglecting it, the departed might appear to them at night, and,
exhorting the survivors, complain that they had forgotten to invite
those of this world who are to pray for the welfare of his soul.
Among the nomads, the funeral feast occupies a more important
part. Once every week, throughout the first year, a repast is
prepared on the day of the death, and daily, as mentioned already
in our "Travels among the Turkomans," the women sing the song of
lamentation at the hour in which the member of the family breathed
his last. With the latter, moreover, the memory of a dead person
is held in the highest regard, and peculiar respect is paid to his
grave for a long time after, if he has fallen in battle, or on some
marauding expedition. The shaft of his lance is planted upon it,
and decked with various-coloured pieces of stuff, ram's horns, a
horse's tail, or like mementos,--friends and members of the same
tribe contributing, as a matter of course, every time they pass it.
The "yoskas" are called by the name of those that repose beneath;
children play around, but, however playfully inclined, are careful
not to climb upon them. It is even said, that horses go to visit
the yoskas of their former masters, and are seen standing before
them, with heads bent downward in mourning; and young warriors
habitually look with veneration on these mounds, and draw from them
the inspiration to their greatest deeds of valour.
Whenever we happened to meet one of these graves in our travels in
the steppes of Central Asia, each member of our caravan was obliged
to tear off a little piece of his clothes and fasten it to the
shaft, or to a bench, or all joined in a hymn sung in his praise,
Karavan bashi saying every time: "He who does not honour the dead
will never receive honour from the living."