A Tatar lament: 'five Cossacks'
Editorial contextAt the mouth of the Ishim there was a fierce hand-to-hand fight in which five of Yermak's Cossacks died. The chronicle says the Tatars still sang about it at their gatherings, weeping, with the refrain 'yanym, yanym, bish kazak', which it translates as 'warriors, warriors, five men defeated and ruined'; the song was called 'the tsaritsa's lament'. The Tatar words more likely mean 'my soul, my soul, five Cossacks'.
and about those five men the Tatars sing with weeping at their gatherings, in songs with the refrain: 'yanym, yanym, bish kazak, bish kazak', that is: 'warriors, warriors, five, five men defeated and destroyed'. And this song is called the tsaritsa's lament.
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и о тѣхъ пяти человѣкахъ Татара поютъ съ плачемъ при бесѣдахъ въ пѣсняхъ припѣваючи: янымъ, янымъ, бишь казакъ, бишь казакъ, сирѣчь: воины, воины, пять пять человѣкъ побѣдиша и разориша. И ся пѣсня и словетъ царицынъ плачь.
About Siberian Tatars; Yermak's Cossacks
Keep in mind
The chronicler's translation of the Tatar refrain is loose; the song itself is reported, not transcribed in full.
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Round reed huts for summer, other houses for winter
Editorial contextThree versts from Kuznetsk Gmelin visited a village of Teleut Tatars with two kinds of houses, one for summer and one for winter. The summer huts were round and pointed, about three fathoms across, with a small door on the east side, a smoke hole at the top, benches all round and a cooking hollow in the middle. They were built of reeds woven onto thin poles, with birch bark tucked in against the rain.
The village consists of two kinds of houses: in the one they live in summer, in the other in winter... The summer huts are round in shape and pointed at the top... The building material of these houses is reed, woven onto thin poles bound together on the inside
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Das Dorf bestehet aus zweyerley Art Häusern, in der einen wohnen sie des Sommers, in der andern des Winters. … Die Sommerhütten sind von Figur rund, und oben zugespitzt … Der Bauzeug dieser Häuser ist Schilf, welches an die inwendig zusammen verbundenen dünnen Stöcke angeflochten
About Teleut Tatars
Continue in this sourceGmelin's journey through Siberia, volume 11733 to 1743 · 15 passagesHairy wild people in Siberia
Editorial contextRiding with Edigü and Prince Chekre into 'Ibissibur' (this is one of the earliest uses of the name Siberia), Schiltberger heard of a mountain range that ends in a desert at the end of the earth, and of hairy wild people who eat grass. A captured wild man and woman were sent to Edigü. He also describes sled dogs as big as donkeys.
On the same mountain there are savages, who are not like other people, and they live there. They are covered all over the body with hair, except the hands and face, and run about like other wild beasts in the mountain, and also eat leaves and grass, and any thing they can find.
About Peoples of Siberia under Edigü's campaign
Keep in mind
The 'end of the earth' desert is what locals told him; the wild people may be his garbled view of forest peoples or a traveller's tale.
Tsar On and a commoner called Chingis
Editorial contextEsipov's history of the Siberian rulers begins with a Muslim 'tsar named On' on the Ishim river, overthrown by a man 'from the simple people' named Chingis, who killed him 'like a robber' and took his realm. A servant saved On's son Taibuga, founder of the Taibugid princes. In this local legend the world conqueror Chinggis Khan has become a Siberian upstart, and the 'Ong Khan' of Mongol history has become a Muslim tsar.
on this river Ishim there was a tsar of Muhammad's law named On. And there rose against him, of his own realm, from the simple people, one named Chingis, and he went against him like a robber with others, and killed Tsar On, and Chingis himself took the realm.
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на сей же рѣцѣ Ишимѣ бѣ царь Моаметова закону именемъ Онъ. И воста на него его же державы отъ простыхъ людей именемъ Чингисъ, и шедъ на него, яко разбойникъ, съ прочими, и уби царя Она, и царство самъ приемлетъ Чингисъ.
About Early rulers of the Siberian Tatars: 'Tsar On', 'Chingis', Taibuga
Keep in mind
A dynastic legend told among Siberian Tatars and retold by a Russian; it garbles Chinggis Khan and Ong Khan of the Kereit.
Siberia asks to pay tribute: a sable per man
Editorial contextEnvoys came to Moscow from Ediger, 'prince of Siberia', and from 'all the Siberian land'. They congratulated Ivan IV on taking Kazan and Astrakhan and asked him to take Siberia under his protection and set tribute. They agreed on one sable per 'black' (tax-paying) man, plus a squirrel skin for the collector, and said they had 30,700 such men. This is the first Moscow record of the Siberian khanate that Yermak would later conquer.
they petitioned the sovereign on behalf of Prince Ediger and of all the land, that the sovereign take their prince and all the Siberian land in his name, and defend them from all sides, and lay his tribute on them … and they said they had 30,700 black [tax-paying] people.
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били челомъ государю ото князя Едигеря и ото всей земли, чтобы государь ихъ князя и всю землю Сибирьскую взялъ во свое имя и отъ сторонъ ото всѣхъ заступилъ и дань свою на нихъ положилъ … а черныхъ у собя людей сказали 30 тысящь семъсотъ человѣкъ.
About Ediger, prince of Siberia, and his envoys Tiagriul and Paniady
Keep in mind
Ediger was a Taibugid prince, not a Chinggisid; the head count is what the envoys stated.
Steppe nomads who flee from smallpox
Editorial contextChappe was told by several people that the nomadic 'Tartars' south of Siberia hardly knew smallpox and dreaded it so much that a sick person was left alone in a tent with food while the camp moved elsewhere. Those who came into Siberia caught it at once, and many died. Chappe says he checked the story as best he could but could only rest it on trustworthy witnesses.
Various people assured me of the singular fact that the wandering Tartars south of Siberia hardly know this cruel disease at all. They have such a horror of it that if someone catches it, he is left alone in a tent with provisions, and the others go and camp elsewhere. The Tartars who come into Siberia are attacked by it almost at once
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Différentes personnes m'ont attesté le fait singulier, que les Tartares vagabonds situés au Midi de la Sibérie ne connoissent presque point cette cruelle maladie. Ils en ont une si grande horreur, que si quelqu'un en est attaqué, on le laisse seul dans une tente, avec des provisions de vivres, & l'on va camper ailleurs. Les Tartares qui pénetrent dans la Sibérie en sont attaqués presque aussi-tôt
About 'wandering Tartars' of the steppe south of Siberia
Keep in mind
Hearsay, as Chappe admits. 'Tartares vagabonds' probably means Kazakh and other nomads of the steppe frontier.
The golden old woman and the monstrous people beyond the Ob
Editorial contextGerritsz explains that earlier knowledge of the road to the Ob came from a Russian itinerary published by Herberstein, into which 'innumerable fables' had been mixed: the Zolotaya Baba or golden old woman with her children, and monstrous people beyond the Ob. He offers Massa's newer information as a correction.
a travel from the Moscow to Colmogro, described by the Russians and thence on Petzora where the nations received the Christian faith in the year 1518, and further to the Ovy, and still a little further onward, in which innumerable fables have been mixed up of Slatababa, the golden old woman with her children, and the monstruous people beyond the Oby.
About legendary peoples of northern Tartary
Continue in this sourceMassa's report on the Russian road into Siberia, 'in Tartary'c. 1605 to 1609 · 8 passagesTatars keep the law of Muhammad; the Kalmyks, 'I do not know'
Editorial contextEsipov opens with the peoples living along the Tobol, Irtysh and Ob: Tatars, Kalmyks, Mongols, the 'Piebald Horde' (Selkups), Ostyaks and Samoyeds. The Tatars, he says, keep Muhammad's law; as for the Kalmyks, he honestly does not know their faith, since he found nothing written and could not find out. The Ostyaks and Samoyeds, he adds, have no law and worship idols.
Along these rivers live many peoples: Tatars, Kalmyks, Mongols, the Piebald Horde, Ostyaks, Samoyeds and other peoples. The Tatars keep the law of Muhammad; which law or tradition of their fathers the Kalmyks keep, I do not know, since I found nothing written about it and could not find out.
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По сихъ же рѣкахъ жителствуютъ мнози языцы: Тотаровя, Колмыки, Мугалы, Пѣгая орда, Остяки, Самоядь и прочая языцы. Тотаровя законъ Моаметовъ держатъ; Колмыки же который законъ или отецъ своихъ преданіе держатъ, невѣмъ, понеже писменно о семъ не обретохъ ни испытати возмогохъ.
About Tatars, Kalmyks, Mongols, the 'Piebald Horde', Ostyaks, Samoyeds
Keep in mind
The editors restore some words from other copies (printed in brackets in the edition).
The scan is too rough to double-check this quote by machine. Compare it with the page.
A stuffed horse on four birch poles, facing east
Editorial contextThe Teleuts, Gmelin notes, were not Muslims; each morning they turned to the rising sun and prayed 'do not strike me dead'. By the village stood their 'taülga', four birch posts in a square. Once or more a year they killed a horse, ate it in a circle, stuffed the skin and set it on the posts facing east. They now built these close to the village, he says, because they had noticed the Russians knew better uses for the hides.
They slaughter a horse, strip off its skin and eat the flesh near the taülga... They stuff the skin and set the horse... on top of the taülga... They have noticed that the Russians know how to make better use of their skins, so they now always build their taülga close to the village.
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Sie schlachten ein Pferd, ziehen demselben die Haut ab und verzehren das Fleisch nahe bey dem Taülga … Die Haut stopfen sie aus, und setzen das Pferd … oben auf den Taülga … Sie haben gemerckt, daß die Russen ihre Häute besser zu gebrauchen wissen, deswegen bauen sie ihre Taülga jetzo allzeit nahe bey dem Dorfe.
About Teleut Tatars (not Muslim)
Continue in this sourceGmelin's journey through Siberia, volume 11733 to 1743 · 15 passagesA funeral like a wedding
Editorial contextHe describes the funeral of a young unmarried man: the body in his best clothes on a bier under a canopy, musicians and young people in finery, feasting and merrymaking at the grave while the parents weep, so that it becomes the wedding he never had. He adds firmly: 'All this I have seen.'
It is also the custom in the country, that when a young man, who has not had a wife, dies, he is dressed in his best clothes, and players carry him, and he is laid on a bier, and a canopy is placed over him.
About Peoples of Siberia called 'Ugine' (probably Uighur-influenced)
Keep in mind
On the same pages he calls these people Christians who worship a nativity picture; editor Neumann suggests they were Buddhists he mistook for Christians.
Kuznetsk, a Russian town among 'blacksmith Tatars'
Editorial contextDescribing the Kuznetsk mountains, Humboldt notes that the Russian town of Kuznetsk on the Tom was founded in 1618 in the midst of Tartars, or Turks, who worked iron. A footnote explains the name: the Russians called them 'Kuznetsk Tatars', from kuznets, blacksmith. He adds that the first Russian foundations of Tobolsk, near the old Tatar capital of Isker or Sibir, and of Tiumen were only some thirty years older.
the town of Kuznetsk (in the midst of Tartars, or Turks who were iron-smiths) was founded in 1618, that is, already 31 or 32 years after the first Russian foundations of Tobolsk (near the old Isker and Sibir) and of Tiumen.
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la ville de Kousnetsk (au milieu de Tartares ou Turcs forgerons en fer) fut fondée en 1618, c'est-à-dire déjà 31 ou 32 ans après les premières fondations russes de Tobolsk (près de l'ancien Isker et Sibir) et de Tiumen.
About Kuznetsk Tatars (Turkic iron-smiths of the Tom valley)
Continue in this sourceHumboldt's Central Asia1829 · 10 passagesA Khan who spread Islam by force
Editorial contextCoxe gives one reason Kuchum's khanate was fragile: much of it was newly conquered, and he had alienated his 'idolatrous' (shamanist) subjects by pushing Islam on them with intolerant zeal. It is a useful reminder that 'Tartar' Siberia was religiously mixed, with Islam still spreading in the sixteenth century.
He had newly acquired a large part of his territories by conquest; and had, in a great measure, alienated the affections of his idolatrous subjects by the intolerant zeal, with which he introduced and disseminated the Mahometan religion.
About Siberian Tatars and their subject peoples
Keep in mind
'Idolatrous' is the source's word for the region's shamanist peoples.
A Khan descended from Genghis
Editorial contextCoxe describes Muscovy's early raids into western Siberia, when 'Tartar tribes' paid tribute, and one chief, Yediger, promised a thousand sables a year. Yediger was then overthrown by Kuchum Khan, whom Coxe identifies as a direct descendant of Genghis Khan who had only recently founded his realm there.
Some Tartar tribes were indeed laid under contribution; and a chief, whose name was Yediger, consented to pay an annual tribute of a thousand sables. But this expedition was not productive of any lasting effects; for soon afterwards Yediger was defeated, and taken prisoner by Kutchum Chan; the latter was a lineal descendant of the celebrated Zinghis Chan
About Siberian Tatars
Continue in this sourceWilliam Coxe on the Russian conquest of Siberia and the China trade1780 · 11 passagesTatars by the rivers, reindeer people to the north, camel herders on the steppe
Editorial contextWhat Yermak is said to have heard about Siberia before setting out: a map in words that sorts the peoples. The Tatars live along the Tura, Tobol and Irtysh and travel by boat and horse; the Ostyaks and Samoyeds of the Ob ride reindeer and dogs and live on fish; Kalmyks, Mongols and the Kazakh horde ride camels on the steppe. 'Tatar' here is one people among many, not a label for all Siberians.
and along the Tura and the Tobol live Tatars, who travel in boats and on horses. The Tobol falls into the Irtysh; and on the Irtysh near its mouth is a tsardom and many Tatars; the Irtysh falls into the Ob, and the Ob falls into the sea by two mouths, and along it live Ostyaks and Samoyeds, who ride reindeer and dogs and feed on fish; and on the steppe the Kalmyks and Mongols and the Kazakh horde, who ride camels
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по Турѣ же и по Тоболу живутъ Татара, ѣздятъ въ лодкахъ и на коняхъ. А Тоболъ палъ въ Иртышъ; и на Иртышѣ царство близь устья и многіе Татара, и Иртышъ палъ въ Обь, а Обь рѣка пала въ море двѣма устьи, а по ней живутъ Остяки и Самоѣдь, ѣздятъ на оленяхъ и псахъ и кормятся рыбами; а по степи Калмыки и Мунгалы и казачья орда, ѣздятъ на вельбудахъ
About Siberian Tatars, Voguls, Ostyaks, Samoyeds, Kalmyks, Mongols, Kazakhs
Keep in mind
Framed as hearsay Yermak gathered from people on the Chusovaya; written down long afterwards.
Tartars and Samoyeds who keep cattle and boats
Editorial contextOn the route down the Tura below Verkhoturye, Massa notes that the country is now inhabited by Tartars and Samoyeds who live by keeping cattle and also have boats. On the page before he mentions 'wild Tartars and Samoyeds' in the Ural forests who hunt costly furs for the Muscovites.
This place is now inhabited by Tartars and Samoyeds, who keep cattle as a means of subsistence, and have boats besides.
About Siberian Tatars and Samoyeds
Continue in this sourceMassa's report on the Russian road into Siberia, 'in Tartary'c. 1605 to 1609 · 8 passages
