The Folk-Lore Journal/Volume 4/Folk-Lore in Mongolia

FOLK-LORE IN MONGOLIA.

(Continued from vol. iii. page 328.)

14. The Cuckoo.

IN one house were two maidens. The elder married; a horse of the brother-in-law was lost; the younger sister—that is, his sister-in-law—(Balduiz in Kirghis) went forth to look for it and lost herself. Now she only screeches "At djok (there's no horse) kukuk!" When she started on the search she wore on one foot her own black shoe, on the other foot the shoe of her brother-in-law, which was made of red felt (balgarui). — (The same as No. 13. See Folk-Lore Journal for October 1885.)

15. The Bee.

The king of the birds, Khan Garudē, sent two birds, Uran shēba (the Messenger of Poland^[1]) and Khatuin-Kharatsē, or Altuin Kharatsē (the swallow), and the bee, to dine upon the earth and find out whose flesh was best eating. On their return they met Bur khan; ^[2] he asked them whose flesh is best to eat? They replied, "Human flesh." Bur khan, to save man, persuaded them not to tell the bird Khan Garudē. The birds agreed; but not believing that the bee would keep silence they cut out her tongue.

When they flew up, the first said to Khan Garudē that the most delicious flesh was the snake's, for so Bur khan had advised them to say. The bee then flew up; but to the question of Garudē she could only give out an unintelligible buzzing. — (Dorchkē, a Khalka man of the Baru tribe from the mouth of the Orkhon River.)

16. The Messenger of Poland Bird and the Snake.

Formerly there was war between the Messenger of Poland and the snake (Djēlan Kurkul taiga Uch buladui). The snake's young ate the commander of the Messenger of Poland (Kurkulgai duin tiurênui). After this the Messenger of Poland (Kurkulgai) built his nest over the water on the end of a branch. — (Siēr Bai, a Kirghis of Tarbagatai.)

In former times the snake was crooked, and destroyed much people and animals ; the Messenger of Poland, out of fright, built herself a nest over the water and hid herself. A priest came to the land and met a man. "Whither goest thou ?" asked he him. "To complain to God," replied he, "of the snake who destroys men and animals." The priest said, "I will overcome her by fraud." Then the priest went to the snake, and said : "If thou wishest, snake, I will make thee straight — thou shalt run still faster." The snake agreed ; the priest pressed her under a press, and drew her out under a sickle. From this time she became straight, slippery, and without strength. — (Raēs, a Kirghis of Chubaraigir, clan of Tarbagatai.)

17. Olbē^[3] Letyaga.

Not only was it no sin to kill Letyaga, but, by his death, fortune came to the sky itself. In grey antiquity the son of the sky came upon the earth ; him Olbē saw. God's son slept under a tree. Then Olbē bit through his throat. Therefore, a Mongol deems it a good deed to slay Olbē and hang him upon a tree. The sky destroyed Olbē with thundering lightning ^[4] and now, whenever a storm rages on the earth, the thunder-stroke is directed to that quarter where sits Olbē.^[5] — (Tabuin Sakhal, a Shaman of the Mongol Uryankhait race, in the Altai mountains.) To slay Olbē is considered a meritorious action. If slain, Olbē people take courage, and form a cross from his hide which they place at the junction of two roads, and fasten it to the ground with nails. — (Sambo, of the Tabuin Khotoghait tribe on the lake Sanghin Dalai.)

18. Short sayings about Animals.

"The wicked magpie pecks the back,
 But the Shabe tea decoction." —

(A Khalka man.)

Abta Kherem, in winter, lives by the water like a bird ; but in summer changes himself into a mouse. — (A Uryankhait in Cobdo.)

The animal "Orongo" has only one horn on the head. — (Same as above.)

The flying mouse does not carry taxes and fines to the Khan Garēd, the king of the birds ; the other birds all do. — (Tabuin Sakhal, a Mongol Uryankhait Shaman, in the Altai mountains.)

19. Accounts of the origins of Nations.

In ancient times the Diurbiuts had no khan; ten men wished to have a khan ; they saw in a dream that of the tree Urun^[6] and the bird Urun was born a divine son who became their khan. His name was Urun molon êkētai (having for mother the tree Urun), Urun shēbo êtseqtai (having for his father the bird Urun), Udontai Bodontai Gurbushtên Têngriēn Ku (Buēn-dotkho, a Diurbiut, from the valley of the River Cobdo.)

The father of all the Mongols or the race (bone) of Tsagan tuk, was the dog Noka, the mother Odun modun, the tree Odun; the father of the Mongols was born of a tree, and a dog suckled him. The mother of Tanguto was Tents and Sword, and the father, Manguis. — (Tabiun Sakhal, a Mongol Uryankhait, in the Altai mountain, who assumed to belong to the race (bone)^[7] of Tsagan tuk.)

The father of the Bersēt race was a wolf, living in a wood by a lake, with whom lived Moralukha (the reindeer). From them was born a son, the progenitor of the Bersēts. — (Aiusha, a Khalka man of the Bersēt tribe, a race of Adjē Bogdo mountains, Eastern Altai.)

The Mongol race descends from the maid Udul (Kukiun Udul). — (A Shama in the Eastern Altai mountains.)

In ancient times there was a great shama (Buddhist priest). He took a handful of earth, spit upon it, and threw it away — out came the Chinese nation. He gathered grass, spit upon it, and threw it away — out came the Russian nation. He took four stones, spit upon them, and threw them away — out came the four Mongol encampments. Others say the Chinese were made of earth, and the Mongols of moat ; because the Chinese bury their dead in the ground, while the Mongols expose them to be devoured by dogs and birds. — (Chērēn Dorckē, a Khalka man of Zain Shabēn, from the Tamēr River.)

In ancient times two khans warred among themselves, and destroyed the whole nation ; only one woman was left alive. She met a bull in a field, and begat of him two daughters, from whom the Mongol nation multiplied. — (The same as above.)

The daughter of the khan of the Kotons, taking with her forty of her maids, went into a field to gather Djemuis (a wild edible vegetable product). Wishing to drink, they went to the water. In the middle of the water there was a drop of blood. The khan's daughter alone saw it and drank it up. From this she became pregnant ; fearing to return home she remained on the steppe. The khan asked the forty maidens — "Where is my daughter ?" They told him they had drank water, and with this water the khan's daughter had become pregnant and was ashamed. The khan said : "Lay stones on your bosoms and ye shall thus perhaps become pregnant, and say to her, 'We also are pregnant' ; then shall she come (home)." Thus it was. The khan only said to them all, "Ye are all pregnant," and drove them away. The maidens went away to a place where a birch-tree grew. They had no food with them. The khan's daughter gave birth to a boy child ; but the famished mother had no milk. At that time there came to them an old man tending cows. "Why do you live here ?" asked he. The khan's daughter told him her history. Then the old man plucked the birch and gave the end of it to the baby to suck. The baby was then all right. Afterwards the old man went to the khan, and said, "There is a child, Uēl shēbo êpēgtai urgo modon êkhetai (having for mother the bird Uēl, and for his father the tree Urgo). The khan sent him with some nobles to fetch the child. The old man brought the child in his arms and threw him inside the tent. The child fell right on the khan's seat with folded legs as though he were going to sit ; from that they understood that he was destined to be khan. And he was made khan. The mother of the child threw herself in the water. Therefore, the men of the Koton tribe, on the approach of a flood, kill a black ram and throw it into the water; besides this, they also throw into the water hairs from their beard, and believe that the waters marry them. Of the forty maidens who served the khan's daughter were born forty sons, who became chiefs of the Buruts.^[8] From them multiplied the tribes (êl) of Sarabash.^[9] The son of the khan's daughter was Gelgentē.— (Khodja Gul, of Koton tribe south of Ubs Lake).

The father of the Russians, Kirghis, and Chinese, was Au ata, and their mother, Au ênê. They had forty daughters and forty sons. From the youngest son and youngest daughter sprung the Kirghis nation ; from the eldest children, the Chinese ; from the middle, the Russians. — (Têngis hai, a Kirghis of the Chubaraigir race of Tarbagatai). Three women in their labour clutched — the first, the earth ; the second, a tree; the third, the mane of a horse; from them were born: from the first, the Chinaman, whose land is vast and people numerous ; from the second, the Russian, whose forests are many, and whose people are numerous ; but it was not so with the third ; from the third came the Kasak, who has but little hair on the mane, and is but a little people. — (The same as above.)

God, when he made man, ordered them to choose what suited them. The Chinaman seized the earth; the Russian, a tree; the Kazak (Kirghis), the herb hētêgê (Festuca ovina). Therefore, the Chinese is a husbandman; the Russian, a huntsman; and the Kirghis, a herdsman. — (A Kirghis of Tarbagatai.)

20. Khukhu bukha (the grey Ox), the Father of the Mongol Nation.

There were two maidens blooming with colour. Them a lake divided from a grey calf. A tiger lived with a calf and protected him. When the tiger went to the mountains for food he hung a bell on the calf. To the calf came one of the maidens ; the calf was frightened and ran away ; at the sound of the bell up rushed the tiger and threw the maiden into the lake. On the second maid the bull begat a four-footed son, who was left to browse at the entrance to the gorge ; at the entrance of a neighbouring gorge browsed a mare ; the son of the maiden of the bull ate in one day as much as the mare ate in seven. Therefore, they cut off his fore feet ; and he stood up to eat not grass but meat. — (Ochêr, a Khalka, near Cobdo. The story was translated in a confused way.)

21. Êldjēg (the Ass), the Father of the Chinese Nation.

There was once a poor Bandē. He had nothing to drink or to eat. The Bandē went on the road and met two men quarrelling over a precious-stone as big as a sheep's eye. Bandē said to them that they should hand him the stone, and that he should run with it, and whoever first caught him should be given the stone. They prepared to race; then Bandē swallowed the stone and disappeared. He came to the territory of a certain khan. In a poor tent lived an old man and an old woman; he lived with them; the old man adopted him as a son to his house. Bandē spit and vomited gold. The old man took the gold to the khan to ask him for his daughter for wife to Bandē. The khan wished to see Bandē himself with his own eyes. Bandē vomited out some gold before the face of the khan. The daughter of the khan ordered him to be bound with a horse-girth, and, having given him salt water, flogs him with a whip; out flew the stone from him. The khan's daughter seized the stone and swallowed it. Bandē returned to his old man and said that he had lost the power of procuring gold. "What are we to do now?" says the old man. "Make an ass's saddle and bridle," said Bandē. When the things were prepared Bandē went to a tree and sat down. At that time the khan's daughter with twenty virgins went out to play with the white tree. Then Bandē began to read a writing which had been read out to him in his sleep, when he in the time of his poverty had once slept in the road under the tree. By this reading, the khan's daughter, who was pregnant because she had swallowed the precious-stone, was changed into a she-ass. Then the other maidens seeing only the she-ass, and not seeing the khan's daughter, were frightened; but Bandē saddled the ass and rode off; he rode for a month; then the ass was wearied out and could go no farther. Bandē left her and proceeded on foot to a certain town where he became a Lhama (a Buddhist priest). The ass which he left behind gave birth to two boys—one good, the other evil. The following generations were all likewise twins. They all became rich, had much gold, silver, cloth, tea, &c. From them came the Chinese nation.—(Daba, a Khalka man of Khêbē Tushe gun Gachoun, on the north slope of Tsastu Bogdo.)

 

22. Gakhai (the Pig), the Father of the Kirghis Nation.

Ginghis Khan built a Pēr; then his son made a house of the materials. Some bad women smeared the back of the thief with soot. In the morning the thief was recognised, and the father drove him into Gobi. On his departure, the criminal stole and took with him a stirring-stick, with which kourmiss is stirred, in a leather sack, and together with it he carried off the luck of the Mongol nation. In Gobi he came to a river, on the banks of which he met a pig. Out of the pig he begat children, from whom the Kirghis have multiplied. The Kirghis are rich in cattle and possessions, because the Beliur of the Mongol nation was taken to the Kirghis Ulus.^[10]—(The same as above.)

The Kirghis^[11] themselves, especially those living in Tarbagatai and Altai, also say that they are descended from the pig—"Kazaknuin Akêsui Chusko." Therefore, said they, "We do not eat pork."

23. The First People.

In former times a mare with her foal and a woman and her son fed entirely upon grass; but the woman and her son did not bite the grass, but tore it up by the root with their hands, so that where they fed grass no longer grew, and the land became desert; therefore succeeding people were commanded to eat not grass but meat.—(Uchja, a Tourgout of Tarbagatai.)

At first only four men and four animals were made, the camel, horse, ox, and sheep, and all were ordered to live on grass. But the men pulled up the grass by the root, made a store of it, and laded their arms with it. Then the animals complained to God that man was thus destroying all the grass; and God asked them, "If I forbid men to eat grass will you consent that they should sell, buy, slaughter and eat you?" The animals consented.—(Siēr Dai, a Kirghis of Tarbagatai.)

24. Karagan.

People wished to kill the saint Elias; he fled to the wilderness and built himself a tent and a bed, and lived by hunting wild animals. To him came the fox and said, "Feed me with the meat thou hast captured, and I will find thee a wife." Elias fed her, and the fox really brought him a wife, and then ran away. No sooner had she hid herself than the wife changed into a trembling karagan (caragana frutescens). Elias said, "May I never see thee again, O fox!"—(Djak sui hai, a Kirghis of the Baidjêget race, of Tarbagatai.)

25. Legends of the Swan, the Widgeon, and the Crow,
explaining why it is wicked to kill them.

Khong, the swan. In ancient times there was only water, there was no land. A Lhama came from the sky and began to stir the ocean with an iron rod. The ocean, like butter, grew thick from the wind and melted from the fire. From this stirring in the centre of the ocean there thickened a ball of earth, and from the stirring of the more distant part of the ocean the earth grew hard in the form of a square. After this, from the sky to that land, came two swans; the Lhama made from the nails of the female a woman, and from the nails of the male a man. From these two the first of men sprung the human race; for this cause the Mongols do not kill the swan. The swan has yellow cheeks, a white body, and black feet; therefore the Tangūt Lhamas all wear yellow clothes. The body is bigger than the head; therefore the White Khan (Russian Emperor) rules over ten tongues. The feet are black,^[12] therefore people living by the sea-shore know little of books. Thus too the Tangūts^[13] know more than them all (for the tongue is nearest of all to the head).—(Chērēn Dorchkē, a Khalka man by the River Tamēr.).

Arigur, the widgeon. In ancient times there was a poor man. He had only five goats. While tending them he saw seven Lhamas sitting down drinking tea. He took them a little goat's milk; the Lhamas accepted the milk and said to him, "Be rich for seven centuries." After that those seven Lhamas flew away in the form of widgeons; and indeed that man became rich, he lived for a century, died, was born again and again, became rich. That very man lives now in Tachjēn Uryankhai Gachoun, his name is Khun Taichjē.

According to another account, people do not kill the widgeon because he is yellow, and there is yellowness on the cheek of the swan.—(Daba, a Khalka man of Kêhē tushē gun Gachoun.)

Kēre the crow. In olden times there was a Lhama (the narrator thought it was the same Lhama who stirred the ocean with his rod). He created all the animals and the birds and among them the crow. Having drawn some beautiful water in a cup he gave it to the crow and said, "Pour this water, drop by drop, on the head of each man, that they may become immortal." The crow flew away, and sat in a certain place on a cedar tree. She croaked, the precious cup fell in consequence, the water was spilt. In that place grew three plants, always green, always fresh, that never die, the kosh (Pinus cembra), the djergene (ephedra) and the artsa (juniper). Other trees, like men, are mortal, they die each winter. The crow returned to the Lhama; he asked her, "Where is the water?" "Spilt." Then the Lhama said to the crow, "For this thy name shall be Khara kēre (black crow). Thou shalt have no other food than the eyes of dead men."

By another account people do not kill the crow because she is all black, and the swan has black feet.—(Chērēn Dorchkē, a Khalka man by the River Tamēr.)

26. The Hare's Tail.

In former times people who died rose again after three days. This has ceased to be so, from the following circumstance: a man died who had only a wife and one daughter. The widow went to and fro in the tent. At that time daughter wanted to steal some of the provisions, so that she might eat them without her mother's knowledge. In comes the corpse of the father and says, "Why do you steal?" Then the daughter said to him, "Must the dead indeed rise again?" and she struck him with the poker, that is, the stick burnt at the end, which lay close to the stove to stir the charcoal with. That is why the hare has a black mark on his tail.^[14]—(Udja, a Torgout of Tarbagatai.)

27. The Camel and the Moral (Reindeer).

In olden days a Lhama who understood magic made a living machine, and thought to subdue all the khans on the earth, and be himself sole khan. With this view he made a beast which could when it ate destroy men. This was the camel, which had then the horns of the reindeer. He struck men with his horns and bit them with his teeth. The camel destroyed many nations, until a khan who was then Guigên^[15] placed in his nose a wooden stick, and fastened to it a rein, and, calling the wild beast "Têmên" (camel), subdued him thus, "Bear henceforth wood argal" (fuel made of dung), said the khan. Then the camel began to carry argal, and man began to lead him by the nose to drink.

Once, when the camel was browsing on grass, the reindeer (Cervus Elephas) came to him. The reindeer then had only horns, like the Tsa (Cervus Tarandus, northern deer). The reindeer said, "Give me thy horns: to-day is the marriage of the lion and tiger. To-morrow, when thou comest to the drinking-place, I will return them to thee." The camel gave his horns. On the morrow he went to the drinking-place, but there was no reindeer; so the camel was left without horns, for the reindeer had tricked him. That is why the camel now, when he drinks water, looks about to right and left, and lifts his head high—he is trying to see where the reindeer is. The reindeer also sheds his horns every year, because they do not belong to him. — (Cheren Dorchkē, a Khalka man by the River Tamēr.)

28. The Fox and the Wolf.

The wolf and the fox found on the road a skin full of fat. "Hand it over; let us eat it," said the wolf. "That won't do here. Here people are going backwards and forwards; we must carry it to the top of a mountain and eat it there. Do thou carry it." The wolf carried the fat to a great mountain. The fox says, "There's not enough fat for us both, it's not worth dividing; let one of us eat the whole." "Which of us?" asks the wolf. "Let the elder eat it," said the fox; "pray how old art thou?" The wolf thought a while, and determined to invent a lie, so as to cheat the fox. "When," says he, "I was a youngster the Mount Sumêru was only a clot of earth in a bog, and the ocean only a puddle." The fox lay down and wept. "Why weepest thou?" "I wept because I once had two cubs, and the youngest was just your age"; so the fox cheated the wolf, and the wolf was so ashamed that he ran away.—(Daba, a Khalka man from Kheke tushe gun Gachoun.)

29. Legends about Sheduir Van.

There were four Djan djēn^[16] to the four aimaks, and Shêduir Van was one of them. He purposed to free the Mongols.^[17] Ui Djan djen was in the same council, but thought differently, and informed Êdzên Khan^[18] of Shêduir Van's designs. Shêduir Van had an officer (mêrên) named Donduk, who had only one eye; he warned Shêduir Van. "Do not trust Ui Djan djen, he says one thing but thinks another." Shêduir Van did not believe him, and said, "Donduk has only one eye, he sees badly and counsels badly." When the plot was discovered, and there remained nothing to do but to escape, Shêduir Van went northwards. Donduk again gave him good advice: "Do not cross Khan Khoro, but cross Khonēn daban."^[19] Again Shêduir Van did not heed the advice. Khan Khoro proved to be impassable. He turned back, and at the exit of a narrow gorge was met by the Chinese army.—(A Mongol of the Khotogait clan.)

 

A Khotogait man told me that there is a saying of an ancient Shaman. "Khun taidjē êtsēgtai, Khongre notuktai Khonēn daba dzamtai," that is, "I am a descendant of Khun taidjē, a native of the country of Khongre, and having a road across Khonēn daban." Perhaps the saying refers to Shêduir Van.

Shêduir Van was the ancestor of Bēshērēltui Van, one of the five princes of Khotagaitu. Not more than a hundred years ago three men plotted to pay no more tribute to the Emperor of China. These three men were Amursan, Shêduir Van, and Noi-on Khutukta. They agreed at Êrchēmuin-nuru to establish a Mongol army, and to collect taxes for their own benefit. The Emperor heard of the plot, and sent an army. The three Noions were put to flight. Amursan fled straight on, crossed the Altai mountains and escaped into Russia; Noi-on Khutuktu was left in the present Darkhatsk territory. Shêduir Van was taken, carried to Peking, and there executed. Noi-on Khutuktu started for Peking with contrite face and bribes; in the village of Kalgau he met a carriage with a hearse, and learnt that it was carrying the bones and corpse of the executed Shêduir Van to his family. Noi-on Khutuktu remained, closed the hole through which the smoke escapes and the door, and recited prayers, having clothed himself all in black from head to foot. The Emperor, hearing where he was, sent to seize him; but Khutuktu resisted. The Emperor intended to send an army; but his wise men told him that Khutuku would pray to the sky for help, and the sky would send him an army of the sky chērēks, of whom each would be able to slay 1,000 Chinese. The Emperor rescinded his order, and then the clothes of Khutuktu became yellow; only on the neck was any black left; that is why the Lhamas now wear yellow coats with black collars.

Shêduir Van, before his execution, said: "I am to be executed; but that is no misfortune; my soul shall enter the womb of the wife of the Emperor." Shêduir Van was beheaded. The Empress was pregnant, and gave birth to a son who had a cicatrice on the neck. The Emperor asked his wise men what that signified. They told him the soul of Shêduir Van had entered the womb of the Empress. The Emperor ordered that the child should be slain, and that pieces of flesh as large as money should be plucked off. After this the Empress conceived again, and bore a son with a scar. Again the Emperor asked his wise men, who told him that this, also, was again the soul of Shêduir Van. Then the Emperor ordered the babe to be thrown in the fire; the charcoal went out and changed into water. After this the soul of Shêduir Van did not again enter the womb of the Empress, but revealed itself in a hairless bay mare; the skin of this mare is preserved to the present day ; but it is not known in what Gachoun or in what Khurê it is. In the Gachoun of Bēshēnēltu. Van is secretly kept the standard of the Mongol nation. It will only be unfurled on the day Mongolia is freed from the Chinese yoke.—(Chēnēn, a Khalka man of the River Tamēr.)

 

A Diurbiut, named Buen Dotkhs, translated to me very briefly another story about Shêduir Van, which only, however, differed from the preceding story that in the place of Noi-on Khutuktu here figures Kuukiun (saintly virgin) Khutuktu. That, say the Mongols, is the gêgên, who is on alternate days of the male and female sex.

 

30. Sartaktai.

Sartaktai lived in ancient days by the sources of the River Êder; from thence he rode in one day on his piebald horse without a tail right to Barun tszu (Tibet); he had a wife and eight children; he slew many wild beasts and caught fishes. The coats and clothes of his family were very bad. Sartaktai himself wished to join the lake Subsennor to the Khara usu; he began to dig; he throws away a scoop of earth dug from the canal. There's a mountain—another—another mountain. Thirty-three times he scoops and throws away the scoopfull. Thirty-three mountains rear themselves; they are the thirty-three mountains of the Khankhn Khêi range. Yet the water did not flow from the Ubsa Lake; after each dig with his spade the water gushes from the lake, but flows back directly. Then Sartaktai got into a rage, threw aside his work, and said: "Be thy name Subsennor." Bad wine, the dregs of the spirit that comes from the still, is called sybsa.—(Chērēn Dorhkē, a Khalka man by the River Tamēr.)

 

Near the town of Cobdo, in the valley of the Khara usu, on the right bank of the River Cobdo, there is a peculiar gulley stretching in the direction away from the river. This gulley is attributed by the local inhabitants to Sartaktai-Batuir,^[20] who once dug a canal from the Khara usu lake to Peking, and traversed the distance between the two in a single day.—(Muno, a Torgout.)

 

According to the inhabitants of the Altai, somewhere on the Katune, below the ford of Kort Kēstu, there is a place where the imprint of Sartaktai's sitting down is apparent.

 

31. Boroltai Ku.

Boroltai Ku lived in a hut on grass, and was clothed in a felt coat. His only possession was a girdle; once he saw a fox's hole, and dug out the fox. She said to him: "Don't kill me, and I will marry thee to a khan's daughter, and will make thee a khan." Boroltai Ku let the fox go. She ran to Gurbushtên Khan, and says: "Boroltai Ku, the rich khan, wishes to marry thy daughter." "If Boroltai Ku is indeed a rich khan then let him procure me a leopard, a lion, and an elephant," said Gurbushtên Khan. The fox ran to Boroltai Ku, and said : "Give me three strings." Boroltai Ku took from his girdle three strings. The fox took them and went at first to the leopard and said: "Gurbushtên Khan and Boroltai Ku, the rich khan, prepare a summer feast; and, as you are a famous animal, the khan wishes to invite you." She placed on the leopard the string and led him forth. In like manner she bridled the lion and the elephant, and led them to Gurbushtên Khan. The khan ordered an iron Baishēn-house to be built, which was enclosed by three walls, and fettered the beasts with chains. Then he said: "If Boroltai Ku is indeed a rich khan, then let him drive his cattle and come here." The fox ordered Boroltai Ku to follow in her footsteps. Boroltai Ku went on foot in his bad coat. On the road to the khan they came to a river; the fox ordered Boroltai Ku to stay by the river, and herself ran on before to Gurbushtên Khan, and says: "Boroltai Ku, the rich khan, is close at hand; but a misfortune has befallen him; all his cattle, his southern camels, all his silk garments and gold, at the time of his crossing sank—Boroltai is left naked. Send him quickly silken raiment in which he may visit you." Silken raiment they sent; Boroltai Ku came to the khan's camp. The khan gave him his daughter and let him go home, and as a guide gave him his Noi-on^[21] The fox ran on ahead, and begged each herdsman on the road if a passer-by should ask them whose is this cattle? to reply, "It is the cattle of Boroltai Ku, the rich khan." The Noi-on despatched by the khan received the same answer all along the road. The fox ran to the tent of the Khan Manguis, lay down at the door and groans. The khan asks—"What art thou groaning at, O fox?" "A misfortune will befall unfortunate me," said the fox; "a storm is coming." "Oh, dear, that is a misfortune to me, too," says the Khan Manguis. "How to you?" says the fox; "you can order a hole ten fathoms deep to be dug, and can hide in it." So he did. Boroltai Ku appeared in the tent of the Khan Manguis, as if it was his own. The fox assured the Noi-on of Gurbushtên Khan that it was the house of Boroltai Ku, the rich khan. "There is only one defect here," says she. *' What is that?" "Under the tent under the earth a demon inhabits. Won't you bring down lightning to slay him?" The Noi-on brought down lightning and it struck the Khan Manguis who was sitting in the hole; and Boroltai Ku became khan, and took all the possessions, the cattle, and the people of Manguis, and lived near Gurbushtên Khan.—(Daba, a Khalka man of Kêbe tushe gun Gachoun.)

 

In ancient times, before the baptising of the inhabitants of the Altai, the khan ordered all the Kamas (Shamans) to be burnt because he found out that they were all cheats. They collected all the Kamas to the number of 250, and made for them a tent of straw in which they placed 249 of them, and the remaining one in a similar tent separately. This they did because they considered him to be very strong. The tent with the 249 Shamans in it was completely consumed; but the fire was only able just to reach the great Kama (when it went out), he perspired so much. Again they constructed a tent, set fire to it—the same thing happened. A third time they collected and heaped up still more wood and grass in the hope that the Kama would not be able to withstand the heat a third time. As soon as the fire began to reach the Kama he flew from the fire a bird straight to the mountains; his home is still there. One can reach the place on horseback. The place is somewhere near the source of the River Kuiērluiky (in the upper part of the valley of the River Uruoul.)—(Alexis, a Christian Altai man.)

 

The Diurbuts and the Bulugunsk Uryankhaits (who speak Mongolian) have a blade of grass of the heroes Galtuma and Shuno.—(A Zain Shabēn man.)

 

Asser Karbustu, to procure fire, to plough fields, to heat iron, &c.—(Same as above.)

 

In ancient days, before Ginghis Khan, existed Prēntêi Êbugên,^[22] who had nine sons, from whom descended ninety-nine grandsons.—(Same as above.)

 

In ancient days lived the khans Shambolên and Khunker; about the latter, people believe he still lives; his nation eats fish.—(A man of Zain Shabēn.)

Ginghis Khan was the Son of the Sky.^[23] He appeared on the earth as a babe at the time of building a village. A woman who was collecting fuel of dung heard a child's cry, found him, and brought him up. He married, and had seven sons, of whom six had children, and the seventh not. From the six sons, and from Ginghis Khan himself, proceeded the seven Gachouns.—(A Khalka man of Tachjēn Uryankhai Gachoun.)

 

The men of the Altai are divided into three tribes—Kaldjan ērkhuit, Sarui ērkhuit, and Kara ērkhuit. When they gave them the names a cunning man divided meat among the three tribes in the following manner: to the first he gave the first joints of the neck, to the second the second joints of the neck (the meat was not roasted nor boiled), to the third he gave soft flesh, "kara êt," that is, black or boiled food. It was thus the three tribes received their names.—(Alexis, a Christian Altai man.)

 

There lived a khan named Gander Uriuha. He waged war a great deal, once he was at war for three years. At that time his wife was left at home. In the capital where she was left there lived a great Lhama. On his return home Khan Gander Uriuha found his wife had a child, and he suspected it must be the son of the Lhama. He ordered them both to be banished to a mountain. There they lived, the Lhama under one rock, the woman under another; while she cooked the food or fetched water and firewood he looked after the baby. Once when the woman had gone to fetch water, the Lhama, having closed his eyes to recite his prayers, did not observe that the child had run off to the river for something or other. Opening his eyes, and not seeing the child, the Lhama was distressed out of pity for the mother; and, so as to avoid causing her sorrow, he mixed some dough and made of it just such an other second child: he gave it life, and placed it by himself. The mother comes to the Lhama and finds the new babe. To her question whence it had come the Lhama told her the fact. The woman then brought up both children.

After the lapse of three years Khan Gander Uriuha sent a man to the mountain where those he had banished lived, and said, "If after three years a new child is come, that is a sign that the elder child belongs to them, and in such case they are to be slain. If, on the other hand, there is only with them one child, as before, then they are innocent." The messenger saw the mode of life of the banished ones, and said to the khan "His was the deed." The khan sent an army to slay them. When the woman saw the army coming she ran to the Lhama and said, "An army surrounds the mountain." The Lhama ordered her to pluck a quantity of grass and bring it to him. Then he breathed upon the grass, and it became a numerous army, which put the khan's warriors to flight. The khan's city was besieged. Then the khan said, "This Lhama is a great miracle worker: he cannot be a sinner." So he sent an embassy to him with the prayer that the Lhama would throw himself into the city.—(A Khalka man from the Khêhē tushe gun Gachoun.)

 

There was a great city, in which lived an amban (Chinese military governor). In the city, in the market, appeared an expensive handkerchief. The amban asked who made it; it was made by a woman who lived in great poverty on the shore of the lake. When the amban knew that the kerchief was worn by the husband of the woman he ordered him to build him a palace. The old man returned to his wife and wept. The wife said to him, "Do not weep, but go to the lake and call the white man who lives at the bottom of the lake and say the word, "Khêl mêrchēn." From the lake came forth a man all in white clothes and with white hair, and took him to the bottom of the lake, where there was a beautiful town. In that town he said the word, " Khêl mêrchēn." Then the white man gave him sand from the bottom of the lake. The man thought, "What good will this sand do me?" he nevertheless took his lap full of sand to his wife. She said, "This is Khêl mêrchēn," and she threw it there where the amban had ordered a palace to be built. In that place sprang up a beautiful tower. Next morning the amban saw it and was delighted; he ordered, "Let that man make five golden towers, otherwise I will cut off his head." The old man returned to his wife and wept. The wife ordered him again to go to the lake and call forth the white man to accompany him to the city under the water, and to say there the word, "Tohugu tachēn." When he pronounced that word the white man gave him a small iron box. His wife again told him the box was "Tohugu tachēn." She opened the box and said, "Let there come forth 500 soldiers and 500 horses." This army went to the town, took it, and killed the amban. After this the army returned to the box. The woman kept the little box for herself. Whatever army she wished for she could draw from the box.^[24] The narrator added that she was the Empress of Russia.—(The same as above.)

 

32. Khovugu and Khaduin-Dziuge.^[25]

Khovugu was a tremendous hero. He leant against the mountain Sumbur and drank of the ocean Sum Dalai. His tent had 1,500 stanchions; the screen for the hole that let out the smoke was of white Taipuin. He sat on a chair of red "Dzanduin." Ten men could not lift up his black "Domba Asuir," five men could not lift his grey cup "Batuir." He hunted in the three mountains, the Altai, the Khanghai, and the Khukhêi; his steed was the grey "Solongo."^[26] Besides him he had two dogs, Aisuir and Bassuir, and two birds, Aigan and Taigan. On the Khangai mountains browsed his herds of black horses, on the Khukhei mountains his herds of grey horses, and on the Altai his herds of piebald horses. His whip Koshyak was thirty fathoms long; his saddle was like a mountain pass. Without smoke he made a red fire; without steam he boiled red tea. He hunted on the three mountains, the Altai, the Khangai, and the Khukèi; he watered his cattle at the water of Iusun sur. He had a mother and a sister older than himself.

A tremendous dust rose in the south-west. When the dust drew near it appeared that a black-bearded man, thirty years old, on a bay horse, had arrived. To the question of Khovugu who he was he replied that he was the subject living in the south-west of the country of Balai Khan, and that his name was Khaduin-Dziugê. Khovugu seized him, bound him, and placed him on the bank of Isun sur. He ordered his sister to go to guard him, and again went off to hunt. His sister did not submit. She went indeed to guard him; but when she saw the hero she unbound him, took him to the tent, and feasted him. When Khovugu returned home his sister hid Khaduin-dziugê, and herself feigned to be ill, and said that the heart of Abruik the snake could cure her. To get it, it would be necessary to ride for seventy years. Khovugu goes forth, and on the road he comes across a tent, in which three maidens live. "Go not forth," they advise him, "or thou wilt perish." But Khovugu did not delay, he did not even drink tea, he rode further. Ten years passed he in one day. Reaching Abruik the snake he slew him. For three years he cut up his flesh, until he arrived at the heart. On his return he passed by the maidens and they stole from him the heart of the snake, and in its place laid the heart of an ox. The sister of Khovugu ate it, and said she had recovered. Khovugu again went out hunting; when he returned his sister again feigned illness, and said it was necessary to procure her the heart of the twenty-five headed Khara Manguis.

Khovugu again rode past the white tent, but did not stay there even to drink tea. He slew Khara Manguis, and on his return rides to the white tent. The maidens take out the heart of Khara Manguis, and place in his sack the heart of a male camel. When Khovugu arrived home he felt weary, and therefore laid down to sleep. Then the man who was hidden in the box of Khovugu leapt forth and began to strike him. Khovugu also got up; but in strength they were well matched. Then the sister strewed under the feet of her brother frozen camel-dung, and flour under the feet of Khaduin Dziugê. Khovugu fell, but Khaduin-Dziugê was not able to pierce him. He asks the sister for something wherewith he may pierce her brother, and she gave him the knife of Khovugu himself. Having cut up Khovugu they buried his body. They took all his cattle, his property, and his tent, and started for the land of Balai Khan, but they could not force the grey mare Solongo, the dogs Aisuir and Bassuir, or the birds Aigan and Taigan, to go with them; for as soon as Khaduin-Dziuge turned from them they all returned back.

When Khaduin-Dziugê was at a distance the grey mare Solongo told her companions to wait at the tomb while she went to the white tent to beg some healing-charm. The three maidens all together sat on the grey mare Solongo, and rode to the tomb of Khovugu. Solongo struck the tomb with her hoof, and from the blow the stones thereof were scattered in every direction. Again she struck with her hoof, and the bones revealed themselves. The three maidens first pronounced a charm, the bones of Khovugu clothed themselves with flesh. They pronounced a second charm, he stood up. "How soundly I have slept," said he. " Thou didst not sleep, but Khaduin-Dziugê slew thee," said the maidens. Then Khovugu changed himself into a tiny man, and changed his steed into a scabby foal. Water ran from Khovugu's nose. In this wise he rode to the south-west country, whither Khaduin-Dziugê had withdrawn himself. He stands at the tent, round him is much cattle and a numerous nation — these were formerly his cattle and his nation. The old man who lived in the tent feasted him and slew a sheep for him. Khovugu asked the old man, "Where is the mother of Khovugu?" He replied, "A little further to the south." Khovugu rode along the indicated road, and found a poor tent and in it an old woman. Of all the things in the tent one only was his former property, the cup which it took five men to lift. The old woman gave him tea in this cup, and he drank it up. "Where is Khaduin-Dziugê?" asked Khovugu of the old woman. "A little further to the south," replied the old woman. Khovugu rode to the place indicated. Khaduin-Dziuge was living in his great tent. Khovugu entered it and asked his sister, "Where is Khaduin-Dziugê?" His sister replied that he had gone to amuse himself at shooting from a bow with Apban Batuir. When Khaduin-Dziugê returned home and saw Khovugu, not knowing him, he asked, "What man is this ?" Khovugu replied, "I am a beggar." "Can you shoot?" "Badly." Khaduin-Dziugê invited him to show his skill. Khovugu made a bow from a reed and an arrow from Deres. He shot, but the arrow falls close to the bow, and does not fly far. "If I had a good bow I could shoot better," said Khovugu.

They ordered the old bow of Khovugu to be brought in a cart, for it was so large. Then Khovugu again assumed his former appearance of a giant, seized Khaduin-Dziugê, and cut him in ten pieces. His sister he bound to the tail of nine horses and tore her in pieces. He took his cattle, his people, and his mother, and returned home. He married the middle one of the maidens, that is, Nogon-darēkhu.

The narrator at the end of his story only remarked the three maidens were, Tsagan Darēkhu, Nogon Darēkhu, and Nar Khandjēt.—(A Khotogait from the Bai-Bulik guard-station.)

33. Erēn tsain and Bai gu ê ider Khan.

In the North country lived Bai gu ê ider Khan; in the East country, Erēn tsain mêrgên. Once upon a time, Bai gu ê ider Khan ordered to beat the drum; they beat on the big drum; big people collected together; they beat on the little drum; little people collected together. To the assembly Bai gu ê ider Khan gave the order—"I have heard that there is a certain Erēn tsain mêrgên who has many horses, cattle, and nations; let three men go forth and spy the wealth of Erēn tsain mêrgên."

Three mêrgên (officers) went forth to the land of Erēn tsain mêrgên. They rode for a month, till they came to the plain in which were the herds of horses of Erēn tsain mêrgên; they took ten days to ride through the herds of horses; five days and nights to ride through the herds of camels; twenty days and nights to ride through the flocks of sheep. After that they met an old man quite white; he was the father of Erēn tsain; he was seated on an enormous roan horse, and was clothed in a cloak made from sixty-eight sheep, and in a hat of eighteen foxes' skins. Still further, on a small plain, stood the mare of Erēn tsain; then, on a large plain, they saw a great tent with eighteen stanchions, and by it a stable which had on one side the image of Tsonkabē; on the second, of Ochēr Van; on the third, of Mandjēshēre; on the fourth, of Khonēsuin-bodēsattêi. In the tent with Erēn tsain mêrgên were two dogs, Asuir and Basuir, besides them, other animals, Shar êrên mogoe, Khar ēren mogoe, Altuin dziugêi, and Mengun dziugêi. When the messengers returned he ordered the drum to be beaten, collected the nation, and went to war against Erēn tsain mêrgên. The father of Erēn tsain, from a snowy white mountain, saw the thousand troops, and rode off to tell Erēn tsain; but he was asleep at that time; he slept three years at a stretch. At last, having heard the prayer of his father, he woke, sprung up, saddled and bridled his steed, drank a cup of tea, ate, sat on his steed, rode forth and defeated the whole army only with his whip "Kungkhai." Bai gu ê ider Khan was changed into a hare and fled to the mountains. Erēn tsain took all his nation and feasted for sixty days.—(Chērēn Dorchkê, a man of Zain Shabēn.)

34. The White Khan and Gunuin Khara.

In the dominions of the White Khan lived Êlsuin êbugên (the aged); the old man lived with his old woman; ten kinds of cattle had they. Each day the old man guarded his cattle, and watered them from the lake Khuntai. Once, whilst he was standing at the guard-station, the old man thought—"I have ten kinds of cattle; when I die to whom will they go? I will go to Êlguin Ulan Khada, to the hero Shartzur Khan, and I will beg of him a son." He hastily rode home and told his old woman his design and intention. "Wait," said the old woman, "the course of three days in the herd and then come again." Having passed three days with his herds, Êlsuin the aged returned home; his wife was with child. In the course of a year she gave birth to a babe; a day he lived, and the skin of one sheep was not large enough to cover him; five days the boy lived, five sheep-skins were too small; ten days he lived, ten sheep-skins were too small. The old people rejoiced that so fine a boy had been born to them. They made him a saddle and bridle, and a bow with arrows; they gave him for a horse a chestnut colt born of a mare the same day he was born. Now Êlsuin the aged had two relatives who served as advisers to the White Khan, and had hoped to inherit the wealth of the old man if he were to die without children. Having heard that to him was born a big, strong son, they counselled to destroy him, and said to the White Khan: "Êlsuin the aged has a son who will be a danger to thee. It is necessary to destroy him. To-morrow call him and say: ‘In the South country is the fifty-headed Altuir Kharni Manguis; if he can be got it is well; there is no other man like thee, and there is no other horse on which to ride like thy chestnut. Go and bring Manguis here!’ He will not return alive from Manguis."

On the morrow the White Khan required the son of Êlsuin the aged, so he saddled his chestnut horse and rode to the khan. The khan he did not salute; he did not salute the khan's lady; he demanded that they should at once tell him what they needed. The khan said: "There is no man like thee; there is no horse like thy chestnut; ride to the South country and bring hither the fifty-headed Manguis. If thou bringest him I will give thee the name of Erēn tsain Gunuin Khara!" Having heard these words the hero rejoiced, and rode to the South country. A year of riding he changed into a month; a month of riding he changed into one day. On the road he met a white tent in which lived an old woman. "Who art thou, and whence comest thou?" asked the old woman. "I go to obtain Manguis," replied the son of Elsuin the aged. "Thou wilt perish," said she; "Manguis is strong, and thou wilt not overcome him." The hero rode further; all at once his horse stopped. "Why hast thou stopped?" said the son of Elsuin the aged. "See that black spot; what is it, in your opinion?" asked the horse. "I think it is far, far away—some mountain-ridge." "No; that is Manguis!" The horse told the hero to tie himself to her by a rope eighty-eight fathoms long, and himself to sit in a well, and that when Manguis fell upon his horse to catch him while he was fleeing and spurring the steed.^[27] The son of Êlsuin the aged seized him (Manguis) and led him to the khan. When the wind blew in the khan's country, and the rain came, old people said, "That is Manguis going about; Gunuin Khara is leading him."

Fifty-six days after Manguis was taken to the khan terror seized the khan, and he ordered Gunuin Khara to let him go. A month passed. The two councillors again came to the khan and began to advise him to send Gunuin Khara to a far country—"Order him to ride to the South country and procure for thee the daughter of Erēb suin Khan, the maiden Saikhan sangē Abakhai." On the morrow the khan calls Gunuin Khara. Gunuin Khara appears; the khan he did not salute; he did not salute the khan's lady. He demanded that they should at once tell him their command. The khan said: "There is no man like thee; there is no horse like thy chestnut. Bring from the South country the daughter of Erēb suin Khan, namely, Saikhan sangē Abakhai, and I will make thee khan." The hero rejoiced. His father and mother stopped him, and said that on the road he would meet a great red river, then a yellow sea. Whoever drank their water died; neither man nor beast was able to swim them. Still the hero rode on. A year of riding turned he into a month; and a month of riding into a single day; he rode to the great red river; he rode down it seven days, and up it he rode seven days, but did not find a ford. He sat on the river-bank and saw two clouds of dust approaching him; the one was his father and mother; the other Manguis. Manguis warned him of the scheme which his relatives had plotted, but he would not return. He begs Manguis during his absence to protect his father and mother, and to keep guard over his cattle. Saying these words, Gunuin Khara rode further. When he rode down to the river his horse leapt across it. Further on the Sea Khort Shar Dalai was in his way; across this, also, the horse leapt, but she hurt herself. Gunuin Khara wept. The horse said to him: "Do not weep! Wait fifteen days and I will get well." Fifteen days Gunuin Khara remained in the one place, and occupied himself in hunting wild animals. Then he rode farther, and came to the land of Ereb suin Khan. Here he found a multitude of tents, and a nation was assembled. Gunuin Khara asked a man what the assembly means, and receives the reply that Têngriēn Khu têkhiě shatsgai and Urtu Shanē Khun were to compete in three games as to which should possess Saikhan sangē Abakhai; for such was the custom of that country. When Gunuin Khara came to the tent of the khan, the khan asked—"Who art thou, whence comest thou, and whither dost thou go?" "I am from the North country," replied Gunuin Khara, "a subject of the White Khan, the son of Élsuin the aged; my name is Erēn tsain Gunuin Khara. Having heard that in thy country it is the custom that he who wishes to receive Saikhan sangē Abakhai must contend in three games, I have come hither." "Tsa !" ^[28] said the khan. "Contend !" The three games were shooting, wrestling, and racing. On the morrow the three competitors began to shoot. There were appointed a black stone as big as a cow in the near distance, and a white stone as big as a sheep in the far distance ; these were the targets. Têngriēn Khu and Urtu Sharē Khun shot short. Gunuin Khara" shot his arrow, not only reached the target, but flew straight to the mountains on the other side of the target. In wrestling Gunuin Khan laid both competitors on the ground ; in racing, also, the chestnut horse came in first. Erēbsuin Khan had to give him Sangē Abakhai. Three days they feasted. Sangē Abakhai cautioned Gunuin Khara that when gifts were brought him he should not accept the mares, the cows, the camels, the rams ; but should ask that they might foal, calve, produce young camels and lambs. So Gunuin Khara did, and when he started, after them a whole herd stretched. On his arrival in his own country he became khan. — (Chērēn Dorchja, a native of Zain Shabēn.)

35. Khabul-dêi Mêrgên and Bogu (the Stag).

There was a stag with 220 deer. In the same time lived Khabul-dêi Mêrgên, who had a grey horse and a white dog. Once the stag went to the mountain Ulan Baidzē, where Khabul-dêi was then hunting ; seeing the stag, the hunter shot an arrow, and the stag fled home with a broken leg. His mother said to him: "Thou hast been to the mountain Ulan Baidzē ; do not go there ; do not run in the shady wood ; the cold water of streams that do not freeze thou must not drink." With these words she died. Nevertheless, the stag determined to go to Ulan Baidzē. The sound of an arrow was heard. The stag looked first to one side and then to the other ; one-half of his 220 deer were gone. "Where can they have gone?" thinks the stag. He ran in the shady wood. Again shooting is heard, and the remaining deer are gone. Then Khobul-dêi, riding his grey horse, and leading his white dog in a leash, began to pursue the stag. The stag fled. On the way he drank water from an unfreezing stream. He could not run fast, so Khobul-dêi catches him. The stag said to the mêrgên (hunter), "Thou hast killed all my people. When thou killest me, give my flesh to the seven-four animals, and lay my head in the valley of the Khunk." Having said this, the stag died. The mêrgên gave his flesh to the seven-four animals; they ate, but did not eat it all up. The head he laid in the valley. When they came there was no head; in place of it lay Êlguin ulan khada.^[29]—(The same as above.)

The River Tes was a bride; the Askhuit was her bridegroom. In the place where they meet lies a peculiar cliff, the Tunchē Tologoē. Tunchē is the name given to the tent that is erected for a newly-married couple. The cliff is so called because it is there that the two rivers enter into marriage.—(A Khotogait man.)

The River Tes is a foal, and the beautiful River Têrkh (flowing into the Chagan nor) a beautiful maiden.—(A Khalka man.)

1. "Messenger of Poland," Ægithalus Pendulinus. (Potanin.)
2. Bur khan, king of the storm. (C.T.G.)
3. Olbe, giant. (Potanin.)
4. M. Potanin, in a note, adds : "The Russian peasants believe the lightning strikes the Pulsatilla patens because Satan hid himself behind that plant when God ordered Michael to drive him from heaven."
5. i.e. towards the trees. (C.T.G.)
6. Urun, perhaps Spermaphylus Duricus. (Potanin.)
7. Mr. Baber mentions that the Lolos in West Szechuan call themselves white bones and black bones. (C.T.G.)
8. Buruts, districts in Mongolia. (C.T.G.)
9. Sarabash, tribes in the Altai Mountains. (Potanin.)
10. Ulus, nomad villages. (C.T.G.)
11. The Kirghis are influenced by Arabs Mahommedans, and therefore do not eat pork. A Chinaman has explained to me, "Mahommedans do not eat pork because the pig is a sacred animal." (C.T.G.)
12. Khava, black, also means desert, and by metaphor intellectual darkness. (C.T.G.)
13. The tanguts, being the cheek of the swan, contain the tongue, language written and spoken. (C.T.G.)
14. Certain superstitions attach to the hare in China as being connected with ghosts. (C.T.G.)
15. Guigên, Buddhist high priest.
16. Djan djen, perhaps chin chiang chun, general. (C.T.G.)
17. From Chinese yoke. (C.T.G.)
18. Êdzên Khan, Emperor of China. (C.T.G.)
19. Khonen daban, modern Russian province of Yeneseisk. (Potanin.)
20. Batuir. Can this be Arabic Badur?
21. Noi-on, perhaps Chinese Nei jen, attendant, one who holds office in the palace (?) (C.T.G.)
22. Êbugên, the aged. (Potanin.)
23. Son of sky, perhaps same as Chinese Tientze, Son of Heaven, or Emperor (?) (C. T. G.)
24. The Mongols call the Tsar "the White Khan," and believe he is a woman. They confound him with the White Khan of mythology. (Potanin.)
25. Khovugu, the Hare (?), Khaduin, the Hare (?), Dziugu, the Glutton. (Potanin.)
26. Solongo perhaps weazel? (Potanin.)
27. This is not clear. (C.T.G.)
28. Tsa, perhaps same as Manchu Chá ! "All right !" (C.T.G.)
29. Elguin ulan khada, explained by narrator to be a smooth red rock. (Potanin.)