Kalmyk monks who write from top to bottom
Editorial contextAt the Moravian colony of Sarepta, Güldenstädt questioned two Moravian Brethren who had spent the summer living with the Kalmyk horde to learn the language. They told him the clergy had smooth-shaven heads, could read, and wrote from top to bottom on silk paper with a pointed stick; they healed only by prayer and might demand a sick man's whole property as an offering to Burchan. Kalmyks dried strips of meat for winter and preferred animals that had died on their own. Güldenstädt keeps the Kalmyks separate from the Tatars throughout.
The clergy are recognised by their completely smooth-shaven heads. They also learn to read and write; they write from top to bottom, usually on silk paper with a pointed little stick. … As payment for their cure they often demand the whole property of the sick, not for themselves but as an offering to their Burchan, as they call their idol.
Working translation
Original wording
Die Geistlichen erkennet man an dem ganz glatt abgeschornen Kopf. Diese lernen auch lesen und schreiben; sie schreiben von oben nach unten, gemeiniglich auf Seidenpapier mit einem spitzigen Stökgen. … Zur Bezahlung ihrer Cur fordern sie öfters das ganze Vermögen von den Kranken, nicht für sich, sondern zum Opfer für ihren Burchan, so nennen sie ihren Gözen.
About Kalmyks (not called Tatars by Güldenstädt)
Keep in mind
Secondhand from missionaries hoping to convert the Kalmyks. Pallas's footnote on the previous page corrects the ‘white’ and ‘black’ division: white meant families of princely blood, black the commoners.