The khan strikes the red-hot iron
Editorial contextTo remember the escape from Irgana-kon, Abu'l Ghazi says, the Mongols held a yearly ceremony: a piece of iron was heated red-hot, the khan struck it first with a hammer, then the tribal chiefs and officers in order of rank, then the common people. It ties Mongol kingship to smithing and iron.
They kindle upon that Day a great Fire, wherein they put a Piece of Iron to make it red-hot; after which the Chan gives the first Stroke with a Hammer upon the Piece of Iron, and then all the Heads of the Tribes and other Officers of Distinction, each according to his Rank, give it a Stroke with a Hammer
About Mongols
Keep in mind
He says the Mongols 'still' observe it, but gives no date or place for the rite.
Transcribed from the page image (corpus OCR for this volume is unreadable); long s normalized.
Only craftsmen spared; 'houses of the dead' for nobles
Editorial contextDescribing Mongol ways of war and burial, Hammer says they killed all prisoners of war except the craftsmen, whom they dragged off as slaves: a key point for who built things in the Mongol empire. Princes' funerals included the killing of concubines and captives; burial places were kept secret, but those of the great were marked by stone monuments or 'houses of the dead'. A stallion, a mare and a foal went into the grave so the dead would ride and have mare's milk in the next life, and a stuffed horse hide was set up over the grave.
Prisoners taken in war they killed, all except the craftsmen, whom they dragged off with them as slaves. … Their burial place was kept secret, but that of the nobles was marked by stone monuments or houses of the dead. A stallion, a mare and a foal were given to the dead man in the grave, so that in the other life he would at once have a mount and not lack mare's milk.
Working translation
Original wording
Die im Kriege Gefangenen tödteten sie alle, bis auf die Handwerker, die sie als Sclaven mit sich schleppten. … Ihr Begräbnissort wurde geheim gehalten, aber den der Vornehmen bezeichneten steinerne Denkmahle oder Häuser der Todten. Ein Hengst, eine Stute und ein Füllen wurden dem Todten ins Grab mitgegeben, damit er im andern Leben sogleich beritten sey, und dass es ihm an Stutenmilch nicht fehle.
About Mongols (Tatars); captive craftsmen
Keep in mind
Hammer blends peoples and centuries: his note for the 'stone houses of the dead' cites a Byzantine source, and the same passage compares a 6th-century Turkish prince, so that detail may not describe the Mongols at all.
Subjects of five colours, Amazons and dog-heads
Editorial contextListing the peoples conquered from Chinggis to Khubilai, the chronicle gives the 'five colours': blue Mongols, red Chinese, black Tibetans, yellow Sartagul (Central Asian Muslims) and white Solongos (Koreans). Then come four more peoples: Amazons, one other, people with an eye on the chest, and dog-headed people. Old wonder-lore sits beside a real map of the empire.
The blue Mongols, over four hundred thousand households; the red Chinese; the black Tibetans; the yellow Sartagul; the white Solongos... and four further peoples: the Tsug-te Amazons, the Yon-ru, those with one eye on the chest, and those with dogs' heads.
Working translation
Original wording
Die blauen Mongolen, über vierhunderttausend Häuser, die roten Chinesen, die schwarzen Tibeter, die gelben Sart'agwol, die weissen Solongwos … ferner vier weitere Völkerschaften: die T sug-te- Amazonen, die j/Yon-ru, die mit einem Auge auf der Brust und die mit Hundeköpfen.
About Peoples subject to the Mongol khans
Keep in mind
The marvellous peoples are traditional lore repeated by the author, not observation.
Felt idols, the god Natagai, and a smiths' New Year
Editorial contextHammer gathers the old Mongol religion from Rubruck, Marco Polo and Rashid al-Din: idols of felt and silk, offered the heart of each slaughtered animal; prayer facing south; worship of sun, stars and elements, with food and drink dedicated before meals; a chief god Natagai honoured with his whole family; libations to the four quarters outside the tent. He lists three yearly feasts: the smiths' festival recalling the exodus from Ergene Kun, the khan's birthday, and the herd festival with mare's milk poured for Khubilai's ten thousand white horses. In a footnote he quotes Rashid al-Din that on New Year's night Chinggis Khan's family hammered iron on an anvil and gave thanks.
The Mongols had idols of felt and silk. When they slaughtered an animal, the heart was offered to the idols, and they prayed facing south, as the Muslims face the Kaaba. They worshipped the sun and the stars together with the elements … Their principal god was called Natagai, and he was worshipped with his whole family by all Tatars.
Working translation
Original wording
Die Mongolen hatten Götzenbilder aus Filz und Seide. Wenn sie ein Thier schlachteten, wurde den Götzenbildern das Herz dargebracht, und sie betheten gegen Mittag gewandt, wie die Moslimen gegen die Kaaba. Sie betheten die Sonne und die Sterne sammt den Elementen an … Ihr vorzüglicher Gott hiess Natagai, und ward mit seiner ganzen Familie von allen Tataren verehrt.
About Mongols ('all Tatars') before their conversion to Islam
Keep in mind
A patchwork of travellers' reports; Schmidt objected in the margin that no trace of the smiths' feast survived among Mongols, and Hammer answered with Rashid al-Din.
