Hungarian Heritage Review, 1987 (16. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1987-08-01 / 8. szám
to God, themselves eating the flesh, while to God they offer up the hides which are stretched out on willow trees. Some stuff the hides of hares with hay and entreat them as gods to grant fair weather. However, if it happens to rain they whip them severely and cast them into the fire. Corpses are burned or sometimes thrown into the water, according to the planet under which they were born. In the local Hindu temples, however, images of devils are worshiped, and it is said that we must pray to the Devil who is our adversary rather than to God because He is merciful. Corpses are also treated thus: They are burned and the ashes are strewn about with a shovel. When a woman becomes a widow she is not permitted to take unto herself another husband. A pyre is erected on top of which she sits, then the wood all around her is sprinkled with oil and grease applied by herself, and she consumes herself in its flames. Kine are prayed to so that they will give milk and butter, and their stale is valued very highly. Some of these peoples would rather eat carrion than fresh meat, believing that which has been killed by God is better than that killed by men. Some have neither priests nor temples, and no writing. In the realm of the Scythians there are many kinds of Tatars, mighty foes of other nations, who are the Chervis, Chuvas, Harakalpag, Mordva, Barkilts, Kalmük, Kabansk, Trukmantsk, Kivintsk, Karagantsk, Andravits, Chekfentsk, Kimtsk, Cherkets, Bugharts, Giants and Smaburuntsk Tatars, besides the Crimean, Butsak and Nogai Tatars. The pagan Bugharts Tatars, as they jump and leap, make these verbal sounds: Chocksay — Bocksay. Indeed every time one of these jumps he cuts himself in the forehead with a sharp knife. I wondered very much how any one of these could survive his horrible self-inflicted wounds, but after the application of ointment none was the worse three days later. In the year 1720 I visited the city called Moscow, where I observed many rarities. The circumference of this city is 15 miles. There are 1600 churches, 9600 bells, and the circumference of one particularly large bell is 89 spans (measured personally by me). In this city I saw tremendous roaring lions and amazingly huge elephants, each of the latter supporting 30 armed men on its back, or two elephants carrying 60 men, together with food and military equipment. I could write you more, but at this very hour the galley-master has come to me, reporting that a favorable wind is blowing out of the East, and he wants to hoist the sails of the galley. With the help of God we plan to embark westward against the Persians. That is why I have to put my seal abruptly to this letter, offering myself to the providence of God and to the favorable winds. Since the two companions of sea warfare are the wind and fright, and horrendous cascading waves fall one upon another as giant mountains, I am indeed grateful to God that I am as brave on the sea as the grasshopper is on the back of a mare. I remain, to Your Excellencies, your brother, Samuel Turkolyi. Written in Astrakhan, near the Caspian Sea, the second day of April in the year 1725. 1 .............. ".-i.-i Special ^feature "■ 1 AUGUST 1987 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW 27
