Travels of Marco Polo Part 20

The Travels of Marco Colo, Chapter 55, of the Laws, and of an Imaginary Kind of Marriage Between Deceased Children. Justice is administered by them in the following manner. When a person is convicted of a robbery not meriting the punishment of death, he is condemned to receive a certain number of strokes with a rod 7, 17, and 27, 37, 47, or as many as 107 according to the value of the article stolen and the circumstances of the theft. Many die from this punishment. When a man is condemned to death for stealing a horse or other article, a sentence is executed by cutting his body in two with a sword. But if the thief can pay nine times the value of the property stolen, he escapes all further punishment. It is usual for every chief of a tribe or other person possessing cattle, such as horses, mares, camels, oxen, or cows, to distinguish them by his mark and then to allow them to graze at large in any part of the plains or mountains without herdsmen to look after them. If any of them should happen to mix with the cattle of other proprietors, they are restored to the person whose brand they bear. Sheep and goats, however, have shepherds to tend them. Their cattle of every kind are good-sized, fat, and exceedingly handsome. When one man has had a son and another man a daughter, although both have been dead for seven years, they have a custom of arranging a marriage between their deceased children and of bestowing the girl upon the youth. At the same time, they paint upon pieces of paper human figures representing servants with horses and other animals, dresses of all kinds, money, and furniture, and all these together with the which is regularly drawn up. They commit to the flames in order that, through the smoke, these things may be conveyed to their children in the other world, that they may become husband and wife in due form. After this ceremony, the fathers and mothers consider themselves mutually related, just as if a real connection had taken place between their living children. Having thus given an account of the manners and customs of the Tartars, although not yet of the brilliant acts and enterprises of their great Khan who was lord of all the Tartars, we shall now return to our former subject, that is, to the wide plain which we were crossing when we stopped to relate the history of this people. Chapter 56 of the Plain of Bargu, its inhabitants, the ocean, and the falcons in this country. Upon leaving Karakorum and the mountains of Altai, the burial place, as has been said, of the imperial Tartar family, you proceed in a northerly direction through the country called the Plain of Bargu, around Lake Baika in Siberia, extending to a distance of about forty days' journey. The people who dwell there are called Matriks, a rude tribe who live upon the flesh of animals, the largest of which are like stags, and these they also use for the purpose of traveling. They likewise feed upon the birds that live in their numerous lakes and marshes, as well as upon flesh. At the molting season, or during the summer, the birds seek these waters, and, being then unable to fly for lack of feathers, they are taken by the natives without difficulty. This plain borders on the ocean, Lake Baika, at its northern extremity. The customs and manners of the people resemble those of the Tartars that have been described, and they are subjects of the Great Khan. They have neither corn nor wine, and although in summer they live on what they can catch, in winter the cold is so excessive that neither birds nor beasts can remain there. Upon traveling forty days, as was said, you reach the ocean. On a mountain near this, as well as in the neighboring plains, vultures and peregrine falcons have their nests. Neither men nor cattle are found there, and of birds there is only a species called Fagerlach, and the falcons which prey on them. The former are about the size of a partridge, have tails like the swallow, and claws like those of the parrot, and are swift of flight. When the Great Khan wants a brood of peregrine falcons, he sends to this place for them. Girafalcons are found in such numbers in an island lying off the coast that his majesty may be supplied with as many of them as he pleases. It must not be supposed that the girafalcons sent from Europe for the use of the Tartars go to the court of the Great Khan. They go only to some Tartar or other chief of the Levant, bordering on the countries of the This island is situated so far to the north that the North Star appears to be behind you, and you have, in part, a southerly bearing. Having thus spoken of the regions in the vicinity of the Northern Ocean, we shall now describe provinces lying nearer to the residence of the Great Khan, returning to that of Kampechu, which has already been mentioned. Chapter 57 of the Kingdom of Ergenul and the Province of Sinju, and of the customs of that country and the beauty of the women. Upon leaving Kampechu, Kanchao, and proceeding five days' journey towards the east, in course of which travelers are frequently terrified at night by the voices of spirits, they reach a kingdom named Ergenul, Kukonor, subject to the Great Khan and included in the province of Tangut. Within the limits of this kingdom are several principalities, the inhabitants of which are in general idolaters, with some few Nestorian Christians and worshippers of Mahomet. Among many cities and strong places, the principal one is Ergenul. Proceeding thence in a southeasterly direction, the road takes you to Kethe, and on that route you find a city called Tingui, in a district of the same name. It has many towns and castles, also belonging to the Tangut and under the dominion of the Great Khan. The population of this country consists chiefly of idolaters, but there are also some Mahometans and Christians. Here are found many wild cattle, wild yaks, that in point of size may be compared to the elephant. Their color is a mixture of white and black, and they are very beautiful. The hair on their bodies lies flat, excepting upon the shoulders, where it stands up to the height of about three palms. This hair, or rather wool, is white and more soft and delicate than silk. Marco Polo carried some of it to Venice as a great curiosity. As such, it was esteemed by all who saw it. Many of these cattle, taken wild, have been domesticated, and the breed produced between them and the common cow are noble animals and better able to resist fatigue than any other kind. They are accustomed to carry heavier burdens and to do twice as much work as the ordinary sort, being both active and powerful. It is in this country that the finest and most valuable musk is procured. The animal which yields it is no larger than the female goat, but in form resembles the antelope. It is called gutter in the Tartar language. Its coat is like that of the larger kind of deer. Its feet and tail are those of the antelope, but it does not have horns. It has four projecting teeth, or tufts, each three inches in length, two in the upper jaw pointing downward and two in the lower jaw pointing upward. They are small in proportion to their length and as white as ivory. Upon the whole, it is a handsome creature. The musk is obtained in the following manner. At the time when the moon is at the full, a bag or sack of coagulated blood forms around the navel. Those whose occupation it is to take the animal avail themselves of moonlight for that purpose. Cut off the membrane and afterwards dry it with its contents in the sun. It provides the finest musk and produces that powerful perfume. Great numbers are caught and the meat is esteemed good to eat. Marco Polo brought with him to Venice a dry head and the feet of one of them. The inhabitants of this country occupy themselves in trade and manufacture. They have grain in abundance. The extent of the province is 25 days journey. Pheasants are found in it that are twice the size of ours, but somewhat smaller than the peacock and with tail feathers eight or ten palms in length. There are also other pheasants in size and appearance like our own, as well as a great variety of other birds, some of which have beautiful plumage. The inhabitants are idolaters. In person they are inclined to be fat and their noses are small. Their hair is black and they have scarcely any beard or only a few scattered hairs on the chin. The women of the upper class are similarly free from superfluous hairs. Their skin is fair and they are well formed. The men like female company and according to their laws and customs they may have as many wives as they please, provided they are able to maintain them. If a young woman is poor but attractive and a rich man wants to marry her, he must make valuable presents for parents and relations, beauty alone being the quality held in high esteem. We shall now take leave of this district and proceed to speak of another situated further to the eastward.