Chapter 5

Turk elements of intermixture in families other than the Turk.—These must be noticed briefly. The facts connected with the question falling under the three following heads:—

1.Turk blood in the ruling families of the East.—The Ghiznivide and Seljukian dynasties of Persia, the Uzbek rulers of Bokhara, the Pasha of Ægypt, the Great Mogul, &c.

2.Turks living in separate communities in countries beyond the Turk area.—Turks of Persia, Armenia, Bokhara, &c.

3.Localities where the Turkish language has been spoken and become extinct.—Parts of Hungary, for which see the notice of theCumani. Other localities, of which by far the most important is Bulgaria. At present the Bulgarian language is Slavonic; and, such being the case, theprimâ facieevidence is in favour of the people being Slavonic also. Reasons, however, for the contrary will be found in the notice of the Slavonians.

By adding, to all this, the statement that at least one nation, the Bashkirs, although speaking Turk, are supposed to be Finnic, and, by recollecting at the same time, the great extent of Turk conquests, like some of those of Tamerlane, less permanent than those enumerated, as well as the effects of the trade in female slaves (preeminently supported by Turk nations), we may arrive at a valuation of the importance of the Turk family as a physical influence in the way of intermixture.

The influences of the Turk family have been material rather than moral.—No portion of the Turk divisionhas ever passed for one of the preeminently intellectual sections of mankind. The steady monotheism, however, of the Koran, they have taken up so generally, that Turk and Mahometan are almost as synonymous as Arab and Mahometan. Their literature is founded on that of Persia. No great idea has ever originated from them, and none but those of the simpler and more straightforward kind been adopted. At the same time the Syriac alphabet of the Nestorian Christians was introduced amongst the Uighur Turks, earlier than in any other quarter equally remote; and fragmentary forms of ancient Turk poetry, anterior to the influences of the Persian, and Arabic, are to be found in Von Hammer.

The verbal truthfulness of the Turk has been praised by most who have had the means of observation. Lying is the vice of the weak; and no nations have so little been slaves, and so much been masters, as the Turk.

The Yakuts.—The isolated Turks, or Yakuts, still stand over for notice. Their centre is the river Lena, whereon they extend at least as far southward as the Aldan. Eastward they are found on the[27]Kolyma, and westward as far as the Yenisey. Here the Yakut tribe is that of the Dolganen, an outlying portion of the section first noticed by Von Middendorf.[28]

That the Yakut are Turk, is placed beyond reasonable doubt; although the only test has been that of language. Respecting this the two most extreme statements which I have met with are the following:—

1st. That it is intelligible at Constantinople.

2nd. That not less than one-third of the words (andsome of them the names of very simple ideas) are other than Turk.[29]

The truth will probably be known when the recent researches of Von Middendorf are published. In either case, however, the language is Turk.

Fig. 5.

With the evidence of language, the evidence of physical confirmation is said to disagree. The Yakuts are essentially Mongolian in physiognomy. The value of the fact must be determined by what has been already said upon the subject.

The locality of the Yakuts is remarkable. It is that ofa weak section of the human race, pressed into an inhospitable climate by a stronger one. Yet the Turks have ever been the people to displace others, rather than to be displaced themselves. On the other hand, the traditions of the country speak expressly to a southern origin.

In respect to the social development of the Yakut, Von Middendorf's distinctions are the most suggestive as well as the most critical. The southernmost Yakuts have the horse, the middlemost the rein-deer, the northernmost the dog. The manners of the southern ones are best known; and these are essentially pastoral. Besides the breeding of herds of horses, the Russian fur-trade has developed an industrial form of the hunter-state; so that, amongst the Yakuts, property accumulates, and we have a higher civilization than will be found elsewhere in the same latitude; Finland and Norway alone being excepted.

Other circumstances make the Yakuts an ethnological study. They are not only Turks who are not Mahometan, but their Christianity is still imperfect: hence they represent the Shamanism of the Turk before he became Moslemized. The details of the Yakut creed, sufficiently numerous to form, along with those of the still pagan Ugrians and Samöeids, an elaborate picture of an old religion, which, in itsessentialcharacters, was common to all the families of High Asia and Siberia, may be best found in Ermann.[30]The simple fact of its representing an early religion, is all that can here be noticed.

1.Present distribution—continuous.—West and East—From Norway to the Yenisey. North and South (South-East)—From the North Cape to the Russian governments of Simbirsk, Saratof, and Astrakhan. The Volga south of its confluence with the Kama.2.Isolated portion.—Hungary.3.Ancient distribution.—Further southwards along the whole frontier,i.e., in Scandinavia, Russia, and Siberia. The Eastward extension probably less than at present.4. As portions of amixedpopulation beyond their proper area—In Sweden and Norway.Religion.—Lutheranism, Romanism, Greek Church, Imperfect Christianity, Shamanism.Physical conformation.—Chief departure from the Mongol type, the frequency of blue eyes, and light (red) hair.Conterminous with.—1. Goths of the Scandinavian group in Norway and Sweden; 2. Slavonians in Russia; 3. Lithuanians in Esthonia; 4, 5, 6. Turks, Yeniseians, and Tungús in Siberia. In Europe, in contact with the North Sea. East of Archangel, separated therefrom by the Samöeids.Divisions.—1. Trans-Uralian Ugrians.—Between the Ural Mountains and the Yenisey.VogulsandOstiaks.2. Permian Finns.—Permians,Siranians,Votiaks.3. Finns of the Volga.—Morduins,Tcheremiss,Tshuvatsh.4. Finlanders of Finland.5. Esthonians of Esthonia.6. Laplanders of Sweden and Finmark.7. Majiars of Hungary.

2.Isolated portion.—Hungary.

3.Ancient distribution.—Further southwards along the whole frontier,i.e., in Scandinavia, Russia, and Siberia. The Eastward extension probably less than at present.

4. As portions of amixedpopulation beyond their proper area—In Sweden and Norway.

Religion.—Lutheranism, Romanism, Greek Church, Imperfect Christianity, Shamanism.

Physical conformation.—Chief departure from the Mongol type, the frequency of blue eyes, and light (red) hair.

Conterminous with.—1. Goths of the Scandinavian group in Norway and Sweden; 2. Slavonians in Russia; 3. Lithuanians in Esthonia; 4, 5, 6. Turks, Yeniseians, and Tungús in Siberia. In Europe, in contact with the North Sea. East of Archangel, separated therefrom by the Samöeids.

Locality.—The northern part of the Uralian range, and the country to the east as far as the Irtish, and Tobol, and as far north as the Soswa a feeder of the Obi. Tradition says that they extended as far westward as the Dwina. Probability that they extended further south.Name.—The Voguls call themselves and the Ostiaks Mansi. They are called by the Siranians Yograyess, and Vagol.Conterminous with.—The Siranians on the west, the Obi Ostiaks on the east, the Bashkirs on the south.Dialects.—The northern Vogul of the Sosva, the southern of the Tura, a tributary of the Tobol.Population.—According to Schubert, one hundred thousand.Religion.—Shamanism, or imperfect Christianity.Physical appearance.—Stature small, complexion light, face broad and round, beard scanty, hair long, black, or brown, sometimes red. The Kalmuk (i.e.Mongolian) character of the Vogul physiognomy is noticed by Pallas.

Name.—The Voguls call themselves and the Ostiaks Mansi. They are called by the Siranians Yograyess, and Vagol.

Conterminous with.—The Siranians on the west, the Obi Ostiaks on the east, the Bashkirs on the south.

Dialects.—The northern Vogul of the Sosva, the southern of the Tura, a tributary of the Tobol.

Population.—According to Schubert, one hundred thousand.

Religion.—Shamanism, or imperfect Christianity.

Physical appearance.—Stature small, complexion light, face broad and round, beard scanty, hair long, black, or brown, sometimes red. The Kalmuk (i.e.Mongolian) character of the Vogul physiognomy is noticed by Pallas.

The Voguls are very nearly on the low level of a tribe of fishers and hunters. Except towards the south, where they are partially Russianized, and where they have also partially adopted the manners of the Bashkirs, there is butlittle pasturage, and no agriculture. The horse is not in use amongst them—the rein-deer being the nearest approach to a domestic animal. Their tribute is paid in its skins.

Locality.—Valley of the Obi—Eastwards to the Yenisey.Name.—Russian, probably originally Bashkir. The native name—Kondycho, Tyakum, or Asyakh. Called by the Samöeids, Thahe; by the Voguls, Mansi.Conterminous with.—The Voguls on the west, the Samöeids on the north, the Barabinsky and other Turkish tribes, and (probably) with the Yeniseians on the south.Numbers.—About one hundred thousand.Dialects.—Numerous.—The Southern mixed with the Vogul, the Northern with the Samöeid.Physical appearance.—Stature short, bones small, muscular strength little; face flat, hair red, or reddish.Religion.—Shamanism in the north, imperfect Christianity in the south.

Locality.—Valley of the Obi—Eastwards to the Yenisey.

Name.—Russian, probably originally Bashkir. The native name—Kondycho, Tyakum, or Asyakh. Called by the Samöeids, Thahe; by the Voguls, Mansi.

Conterminous with.—The Voguls on the west, the Samöeids on the north, the Barabinsky and other Turkish tribes, and (probably) with the Yeniseians on the south.

Numbers.—About one hundred thousand.

Dialects.—Numerous.—The Southern mixed with the Vogul, the Northern with the Samöeid.

Physical appearance.—Stature short, bones small, muscular strength little; face flat, hair red, or reddish.

Religion.—Shamanism in the north, imperfect Christianity in the south.

The Ostiaks are almost wholly a nation of fishers.

That their limits originally extended farther south than at present is highly probable. A tradition concerning their migration from thewestwill be noticed in the section upon the Samöeids.

Notwithstanding the close affinity between the Ostiaks and the Voguls, the two nations were, at the time of the Russian conquest, in continual warfare against each other: the Ostiaks being under the government of petty hereditary chiefs.

In the pagan parts of the Ostiak country polygamy is the custom.

Locality.—The government of Perm; of which they form less than a quarter, the rest being Russians or Russianized Finns.Name.—-Russian, probably taken from the Scandinavian term Bjarma. The native term is Komi-uter, or Komi-murt.Population.—According to Schubert, about thirty-five thousand.

Locality.—The government of Perm; of which they form less than a quarter, the rest being Russians or Russianized Finns.

Name.—-Russian, probably taken from the Scandinavian term Bjarma. The native term is Komi-uter, or Komi-murt.

Population.—According to Schubert, about thirty-five thousand.

Locality.—North of the Permians, about the head-waters of the R. Kama, and R. Vytchegda, a feeder of the Dwina.Native name.—Same as the Permian.Population.—According to Schubert, thirty thousand.Dialects.—Four. The Siranian, itself, however, is rather a dialect of the Permian than a substantive language.

Locality.—North of the Permians, about the head-waters of the R. Kama, and R. Vytchegda, a feeder of the Dwina.

Native name.—Same as the Permian.

Population.—According to Schubert, thirty thousand.

Dialects.—Four. The Siranian, itself, however, is rather a dialect of the Permian than a substantive language.

Locality.—The R. Viatka.Called by the Russians, Viatka." " Turk tribes, Ari." " themselves, Udy or Udmart" " the Tcheremiss, Oda.Religion.—Imperfect Christianity. Probably some remains of Shamanism.

Locality.—The R. Viatka.

Religion.—Imperfect Christianity. Probably some remains of Shamanism.

Of all the Finnic tribes the Votiaks are the most like the Finlanders of Finland; indeed Müller states that there is a tradition among them to the effect that their original country was Finland, and that they are immigrants from thence.

On the other hand, the extent to which they differ from their south-western neighbours, the Tcheremiss, is said to be remarkable.

In respect to the physical conformation of the Votiaks, the evidence of Ermann is favorable, that of Pallas less so. The latter describes them as slight and undersized: the former as strongly built. In no Finnic tribe—perhaps in no other tribe in the world,—is fiery red hair so common as amongst the Votiaks.

They are anagriculturalpopulation, not fishers and hunters.

They are also, most probably, an unmixed population; since none of their neighbours live so exclusively to themselves, (i.e.not in mixed villages, half Russian, or half Bashkir,) as the Votiaks.

The government under petty chiefs, or the heads of tribes, still continues; and it is a privilege of the Votiaks to elect their own village judges or arbiters.

Their population seems on the increase. At the end of the last century it was forty thousand: in 1837 it was one hundred thousand.

Locality.—The left bank of the Middle Volga; fewer on the right. Governments of Kasan, Simbirsk, and Saratov. Recently, settlements in the Government of Astrakan, Conterminous with the Votiaks.Name.—Russian. Native name,Mari=men.Numbers.—According to Schubert, two hundred thousand.Religion.—Imperfect Christianity. Greek Church.Physical appearance.—Stature, middle; hair, light; beard, scanty; face, flat.Habitations.—Small villages, smaller than those of the Votiaks, and Tchuvatch. Habits, agricultural; lately nomadic.

Locality.—The left bank of the Middle Volga; fewer on the right. Governments of Kasan, Simbirsk, and Saratov. Recently, settlements in the Government of Astrakan, Conterminous with the Votiaks.

Name.—Russian. Native name,Mari=men.

Numbers.—According to Schubert, two hundred thousand.

Religion.—Imperfect Christianity. Greek Church.

Physical appearance.—Stature, middle; hair, light; beard, scanty; face, flat.

Habitations.—Small villages, smaller than those of the Votiaks, and Tchuvatch. Habits, agricultural; lately nomadic.

Locality.—The most South-Western of the Finnic tribes, on the right-bank of the Volga, between the R. Sura and R. Oka.Name.—Native.Divisions.—The Morduins of the Oka, are called Ersad; the Morduins of the Sura, Mokshad. A third division, called Karatai, inhabits the neighbourhood of Kasan.Numbers.—In 1837, ninety-two thousand.Dialects.—Two or more—the Ersad and the Mokshad.Religion.—Imperfect Christianity; Greek Church; Shamanism.Physical appearance.—Hair, brown and straight; beard, thin. More Slavonic than any other Finnic tribe. The Ersad oftener red-haired than the Mokshad.

Locality.—The most South-Western of the Finnic tribes, on the right-bank of the Volga, between the R. Sura and R. Oka.

Name.—Native.

Divisions.—The Morduins of the Oka, are called Ersad; the Morduins of the Sura, Mokshad. A third division, called Karatai, inhabits the neighbourhood of Kasan.

Numbers.—In 1837, ninety-two thousand.

Dialects.—Two or more—the Ersad and the Mokshad.

Religion.—Imperfect Christianity; Greek Church; Shamanism.

Physical appearance.—Hair, brown and straight; beard, thin. More Slavonic than any other Finnic tribe. The Ersad oftener red-haired than the Mokshad.

Locality.—Right bank of the Volga, opposite the Tcheremiss, in the neighbourhood of Kasan, in the Government of Simbirsk and Saratov. Recent settlements in the Government of Astrakan.Native Name.—Vereyal, and Khirdiyal, and Vyress:Called by the Russians, Vyress." " Tcheremiss, Kurk-Mari=hill men." " Morduins, Wjedke.Numbers.—According to Schubert, three hundred and seventy thousand.Religion.—Imperfect Christianity. Greek Church. Remains of Shamanism.Physical Appearance.—Height, middle; complexion, light; face, flat; beard, thin; hair,black, and somewhat curled; eyes, grey; eyelids, narrow.Habitations.—Like those of the Turk tribes in their neighbourhood.Dialects.—Two:a.of the Vereyal of the Gornaya;b.of the Khirdiyal of the Lugovaya.

Locality.—Right bank of the Volga, opposite the Tcheremiss, in the neighbourhood of Kasan, in the Government of Simbirsk and Saratov. Recent settlements in the Government of Astrakan.

Native Name.—Vereyal, and Khirdiyal, and Vyress:

Numbers.—According to Schubert, three hundred and seventy thousand.

Religion.—Imperfect Christianity. Greek Church. Remains of Shamanism.

Physical Appearance.—Height, middle; complexion, light; face, flat; beard, thin; hair,black, and somewhat curled; eyes, grey; eyelids, narrow.

Habitations.—Like those of the Turk tribes in their neighbourhood.

Dialects.—Two:a.of the Vereyal of the Gornaya;b.of the Khirdiyal of the Lugovaya.

Localities.—Finland; settlers in Sweden and Norway.Native Name.—Suomolaiset.Swedish.—Finn.Norwegian.—Qwæn.Dialects.—a.Finlandic Proper;b.Savolax, spoken in Savolax, and Carelia.Religion.—Lutheranism.Finnish words.—Kanguri=weaver, seppa=smith, wapa=freeman, orya, palvelya=slave, myyda, ostaa=buy and sell, yuoma=ale, kalya=beer, kandele, youhe-kandele=musical instruments, keria=book, raamattu=writing.

Localities.—Finland; settlers in Sweden and Norway.

Native Name.—Suomolaiset.

Swedish.—Finn.

Norwegian.—Qwæn.

Dialects.—a.Finlandic Proper;b.Savolax, spoken in Savolax, and Carelia.

Religion.—Lutheranism.

Finnish words.—Kanguri=weaver, seppa=smith, wapa=freeman, orya, palvelya=slave, myyda, ostaa=buy and sell, yuoma=ale, kalya=beer, kandele, youhe-kandele=musical instruments, keria=book, raamattu=writing.

Two lists, one of Finlandic, and one of Swedish, words have been placed at the head of the present section, for the sake of serving as an introduction to some of the questions contained in it. They are all taken from Rühs' work onFinland and its inhabitants, where the analysis of the language serves instead of historical testimony. By observing what terms are native, and what are Swedish, we separate the early native civilization of Finland, from the civilization introduced from Sweden. Thus, on looking over the preceding glosses, we find that the only terms applicable to a social or political constitution, are those forslaveandfreeman;king,ruler,judge, &c., being expressed by Swedish words. So also with the industrial trades;weavingwas Finnic from the beginning, and so wassmith's-work; but thecarpenter, thebuilder, theship-builder, are importations, and so on. There are native terms forbuying and selling, forale and beer, and for more than two musical instruments; but there are no native terms forwine, and none fordancing.

For themetals, andagriculture, the terms arealmostalways native.Cheese, however, on the one side, andgold,tin, andlead, on the other, have Swedish names. So haveoatsandrye.

Music, and songs, and a mythology belonged to the early Finlanders; the second being always accompanied by the first, and the three illustrating each other.

The great foreign influence that has affected the Finlanders of Finland, is the Swedish, and this may be considered to have been in steady and continuous operation, from the reign of Eric the Holy, in theA.D.1156. This king, bent upon conquest and conversion, landed in South Finland, and founded what was then a new mission or colony, in the present province of Nyland (Newland). From this point, the power of Sweden gradually spread towards the inner portions of the country; northwards and eastwards: not unopposed, but opposed ineffectually, by the heathens of Tawastaland and Carelia.

Locality.—South of the Baltic, in Esthonia, Livonia, and part of Courland. Conterminous with the Russians, and the Courland Lithuanians.Dialects.—Two: the common Esthonian, and the Esthonian of Dorpat.Native Name.—Rahwas; of the countryMarahwas.

Locality.—South of the Baltic, in Esthonia, Livonia, and part of Courland. Conterminous with the Russians, and the Courland Lithuanians.

Dialects.—Two: the common Esthonian, and the Esthonian of Dorpat.

Native Name.—Rahwas; of the countryMarahwas.

Habits.—Nomadic.Religion.—Imperfect Christianity of the Greek Church with the Russian; imperfect Protestantism with the Swedish and Norwegian Laplanders.Native Name.—Same, Sabome.

Habits.—Nomadic.

Religion.—Imperfect Christianity of the Greek Church with the Russian; imperfect Protestantism with the Swedish and Norwegian Laplanders.

Native Name.—Same, Sabome.

Locality.—Hungary; mixed with German, Slavonic, and Wallachian tribes.Native Name.—Majiar.

Locality.—Hungary; mixed with German, Slavonic, and Wallachian tribes.

Native Name.—Majiar.

The Majiars are Ugrian, the country from which they descended being that of the Bashkirs, conterminous with the southern limits of the present Ugrian area, of which it was once a part. The date of their migration is aboutA.D.900.

From extendingfartherthan Hungary they were prevented by the two great victories of Henry the Fowler in 935A.D.

Those who would connect the present Hungarians with the Huns of Attila, must also make the Huns Ugrian; since no fact is more undeniable than the Ugrian character of the Majiars. The reasons against this have been given already. They are, undoubtedly, scanty. Still they preponderate over those of the other view; which consist only in inferences from the termHungary.

Lest these be over-rated, two facts should be remembered:—

1st.—That the name is Russian andnotnative.

2nd.—That the -n- is no original part of the word; the older Slavonic forms beingUgri,Uhri, and only in the later dialects,Ungri.

The Majiars must necessarily be a very mixed race; their country having been that of the old Pannonian population (probably Slavonic); of the Romans of both the eastern and western empire; of the Goths, the Huns, the Avars, the Gepidæ, and the Comanians.

This is what history suggests. To haveassumedan intermixture, for the sake of accounting for the physical and moral difference between such extreme Ugrian forms as the Majiar and Laplander, would have been illegitimate.

In reality, however, the difference between the Majiar and Lap, is less remarkable than that between the Lap and Finlander; since, in this latter case, the contrast isnearlyas great, whilst the climatologic conditions are less dissimilar.

The Majiar is the only member of the Ugrian family, which has effected, within the historical period, a permanent conquest over any portion of theIapetidæ.

The Ugrians supply a good example of what may be calleda receding frontier. Their area has at one time been greater than at present. Southwards and westwards it was once prolonged. Hence, the Ugrian has been displaced, or encroached upon by others. It is well to note this. It is better still to take it in conjunction (or contrast) with the Turk area. There thefrontier has encroached. At an earlier period it was less extensive than at present.

In one quarter, perhaps in others, the Ugrian frontier has encroached,i.e.on that of the Majiars.

In one quarter, perhaps in others, the Turk frontier has receded,i.e.the Comani have become either extinct or a mixed breed in Hungary.

Nevertheless, as a rule, the Turks frontier has encroached; the Ugrian receded. The practical application of this distinction is wide. When we know whether a given family habitually extends, or habitually contracts its area, we know what will be the probable distribution of the unfixed ancient tribes on the frontier.

In the critical ethnology of the classical writers many problems must be worked in this way; the inferences in the two alternatives being diametrically the reverse of each other.

1. In a people with an habitually encroaching frontier, no tribe described by earlier writers as lyingbeyondits present geographical area, is to be considered as having formed part of it (i.e.the family with an encroaching frontier).

2. In a people with an habitually receding frontier, many tribes described by earlier writers as lying beyond its present geographical area may (and often must) be considered as so doing.

Hence, in the present pair of instances, many localitiesonce other than Turk are now Turk;[32]whilst, on the other hand, many localities once Ugrian are now other than Ugrian.[33]

What, then, was the maximum extension southward of the Ugrian area before its frontier receded under the triple encroachments of the Turks of Russian Asia, the Russians of Russia, and the Norwegians and Swedes of Scandinavia? Possibly over the whole Scandinavian peninsula, possibly as far as the lower Don, Volga, and Dnieper. These, however, are geographical frontiers; frontiers less important, and less capable of solution than the ethnological ones. Were the Ugrians ever conterminous with other divisions of the human race than those which they come in contact with at present? There is no evidence that they were.

What ancient nations were Ugrian? Omitting, for the present, the tribes of Scythia, we may answer that the following were certainly so.

1. TheÆstii.—Modern Esthonians.

2. TheFinniandSkrithifinni.

3. TheSitones.—The Ugrians of the Baltic were known to the classical writers through the Germans. The names prove this. TheÆstiiwere the peopleeastof those who described them. The termFinnis known to no Ugrian, but to their Gothic neighbours only. The notice of Tacitus as to the Sitones is similarly capable of explanation.

The Finland wordkainu=a low country. A portion of the Finlanders call themselvesKainulainen(Singular),Kainulaiset(plural).

Now this sectional name in Finland is the general name in Scandinavia; so that the Danes, Swedes, and Norwegianscall the FinlandersKwæn. In Scandinavian, however,Qvinde=women. Hence, Tacitus was persuaded by his direct or indirect German informants that the Sitones were subject to female government.—"Suionibus Sitonum gentes continuantur. Cætera similes, uno differunt, quod fœmina dominatur."[34]Lest any doubt should remain as to Tacitus having been told of a country of women, I may add that—

a.Alfred[35]speaks of aCvenaland=land of Kwæns.

b.The Norse[35]Sagas of aKænugard=home of Kwæns.

c.Adam[35]of Bremen ofterra fœminarum, andAmazons.

The first two facts prove the name, the second the false interpretation of it.

Far more full, however, than the classical writers are the old Norse Sagas in respect to the Ugrians. Of these the Beormas, or Permians, were wealthy and commercial; men sometimes to be dealt with, sometimes to be robbed. The Laps, on the other hand, were feared as magicians, or as men skilled in metallurgy; and, according to those who have studied the philosophy of mythologies, they have supplied many supernatural elements in the way of dwarfs and goblins.

In the ethnology of Scandinavia—in the skilful and industrious hands of Retzius, Eschricht, Nilson, Kaiser, and others—Ugrian archæology, and Ugrian craniology, are preeminently prominent. The numerous barrows of Scandinavia are attentively studied; and observation has shown that the older the tomb, and the greater the proportion of instruments found within itnotmade of iron (but of greater antiquity than the art of forging that metal) the less dolikhokephalic, and the more brakhykephalic, (or Ugrian,) is the skull. Hence comes the inference that the southwardextension of barrows, containing remains of the sort in question, is a measure of the southward extension of the Ugrian family.

Two other matters are of importance in Ugrian ethnology—the remains of their ancient Shamanism, and the FinlandRunot.

In respect to the former, the Ugrians are the first people wherein we find the original Paganism in more tribes than one; so that it can be studied in its minute differences, as well as in its general character. Its essential identity, however, is remarkable. The Supreme Deity is Yumel, Yubmel, Yumala, or some slightly modified name; and that from the Morduin country to Lapland. Except this notice of the extent to which similarity of creed, as well as similarity of language, connects the Ugrians, no further remarks will be made at present.

TheRunotis the name for the popular poems of Finlanders. In few nations are they more numerous. In none more carefully collected. I believe that the chief one partakes of the nature of an epic, and relates the wars between the Laps and Finlanders. Others are short, lyrical, and adapted to music. The termRunot(the plural form) is suspiciously similar to the Scandinavian word,Runa, with a not dissimilar meaning (furrow,carving,letter,spell,verse,poem). Finland archæologists, however, repudiate this, and claim it as an indigenous word, on the strength of certain derivative forms, likerunionecka=poet. This is not conclusive. Nor is it necessary for the main fact, which is the existence of a home-grown poetical literature of more than average merit, and implying musical taste for the Finlandic portion of the Ugrian branch—of the Turanian group—of the Altaic Mongolidæ.

FOOTNOTES:[9]In Greek,Rhæmata=words.[10]Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.[11]Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. vi. part 2.[12]Prichard, vol. iv.[13]"The Chinese as they are," p. 319.[14]Prichard, vol. iv.[15]Prichard, vol. iv.[16]Buchanan, Asiatic Researches.[17]Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. iv. part 2.[18]Such are the primitive habits, still in use from the Konki to the Monash and which are most worthy of study and record, as being primitive and as being common to two people, the Bodo and Dhimál, though abandoned by the Kámrúpian and most numerous branch of the Bodo.[19]Ai or Aya is the goddess Kámákyá of Kanirup,vis genetrix naturæ, typed by the Bhaga or Yoni.[20]Dhámi, in Bodo.Dom, in other allied dialects.[21]Decline and Fall, vol. viii.[22]Klaproth, Memoires relatifs à l'Asie, iii.[23]Zeuss, v.Avari.[24]Decline and Fall, vol. v.[25]Lucian, Toxaris 31. From Zeuss, v.Alani.[26]1. The determination of the language to which the name of any nation mentioned in history belongs is of primary importance. Perhaps there is not one fourth of the tribes described by writers, either ancient or modern, whereof the name is native;e.g., the termsWelshandGermanare unknown inWalesandGermany; whilst an Englishman is aSaxonin the Principality and in Ireland. For ascertaining whether a name be native or not the two following rules are useful.Rule 1.When two different nations speak of a third by the same name theprimâ facieevidence isin favourof that name being the native one.Rule 2.When one nation speaks of two others under the same name, theprimâ facieevidence isagainstthat name being the native one.Thus, according to Rule 1, if a Chinese and a Greek each call a tribe which invades their country,Hun, it is nearly certain that the invading tribe called itselfHunalso. Of course, in cases, where the two nations using the common term might have borrowed it one of another, or from a third language, the probabilities are modified. Still the general rule holds good.The second rule may be illustrated by the termWelsh. It is given by the nations of the Gothic stock to the Cambrians of Wales, the Italians of Italy, and the Wallachians of Wallachia. Weknowthat with none of these it is native. I consider, however, that, given the geographical position of Germany, Wales, Italy, and Wallachia, the same might have beeninferred.[27]Wrangell, from Prichard, vol. iv.[28]Transactions of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1846.[29]Ermann, from Prichard, vol. iv.[30]Reise um der Erde.[31]Saxon (German) wine.[32]Asia Minor and Thrace.[33]Many parts of Russia.[34]Germania, 45.[35]Zeuss,v.Finni, and p.157.

[9]In Greek,Rhæmata=words.

[10]Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

[11]Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. vi. part 2.

[12]Prichard, vol. iv.

[13]"The Chinese as they are," p. 319.

[14]Prichard, vol. iv.

[15]Prichard, vol. iv.

[16]Buchanan, Asiatic Researches.

[17]Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. iv. part 2.

[18]Such are the primitive habits, still in use from the Konki to the Monash and which are most worthy of study and record, as being primitive and as being common to two people, the Bodo and Dhimál, though abandoned by the Kámrúpian and most numerous branch of the Bodo.

[19]Ai or Aya is the goddess Kámákyá of Kanirup,vis genetrix naturæ, typed by the Bhaga or Yoni.

[20]Dhámi, in Bodo.Dom, in other allied dialects.

[21]Decline and Fall, vol. viii.

[22]Klaproth, Memoires relatifs à l'Asie, iii.

[23]Zeuss, v.Avari.

[24]Decline and Fall, vol. v.

[25]Lucian, Toxaris 31. From Zeuss, v.Alani.

[26]1. The determination of the language to which the name of any nation mentioned in history belongs is of primary importance. Perhaps there is not one fourth of the tribes described by writers, either ancient or modern, whereof the name is native;e.g., the termsWelshandGermanare unknown inWalesandGermany; whilst an Englishman is aSaxonin the Principality and in Ireland. For ascertaining whether a name be native or not the two following rules are useful.Rule 1.When two different nations speak of a third by the same name theprimâ facieevidence isin favourof that name being the native one.Rule 2.When one nation speaks of two others under the same name, theprimâ facieevidence isagainstthat name being the native one.Thus, according to Rule 1, if a Chinese and a Greek each call a tribe which invades their country,Hun, it is nearly certain that the invading tribe called itselfHunalso. Of course, in cases, where the two nations using the common term might have borrowed it one of another, or from a third language, the probabilities are modified. Still the general rule holds good.The second rule may be illustrated by the termWelsh. It is given by the nations of the Gothic stock to the Cambrians of Wales, the Italians of Italy, and the Wallachians of Wallachia. Weknowthat with none of these it is native. I consider, however, that, given the geographical position of Germany, Wales, Italy, and Wallachia, the same might have beeninferred.

Rule 1.When two different nations speak of a third by the same name theprimâ facieevidence isin favourof that name being the native one.

Rule 2.When one nation speaks of two others under the same name, theprimâ facieevidence isagainstthat name being the native one.

Thus, according to Rule 1, if a Chinese and a Greek each call a tribe which invades their country,Hun, it is nearly certain that the invading tribe called itselfHunalso. Of course, in cases, where the two nations using the common term might have borrowed it one of another, or from a third language, the probabilities are modified. Still the general rule holds good.

The second rule may be illustrated by the termWelsh. It is given by the nations of the Gothic stock to the Cambrians of Wales, the Italians of Italy, and the Wallachians of Wallachia. Weknowthat with none of these it is native. I consider, however, that, given the geographical position of Germany, Wales, Italy, and Wallachia, the same might have beeninferred.

[27]Wrangell, from Prichard, vol. iv.

[28]Transactions of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1846.

[29]Ermann, from Prichard, vol. iv.

[30]Reise um der Erde.

[31]Saxon (German) wine.

[32]Asia Minor and Thrace.

[33]Many parts of Russia.

[34]Germania, 45.

[35]Zeuss,v.Finni, and p.157.

The term Dioscurian is taken from the ancient sea-port Dioscurias. Here it was that the chief commerce between the Greeks and Romans, and the natives of the Caucasian range took place. According to Pliny,[36]it was carried on by one hundred and thirty interpreters, so numerous were the languages. Without raising the number thus high, the great multiplicity of mutually unintelligible tongues is still one of the characteristics of the parts in question. And this fact has determined the application of the term. To have used the wordCaucasianwould have been correct, but inconvenient. It is alreadymis-applied in another sense,i.e., for the sake of denoting the so-called Caucasian race, consisting, or said to consist, of Jews, Greeks, Circassians, Scotchmen, ancient Romans, and other heterogeneous elements. In this sense it has been used in more than one celebrated work of fiction. In such, and in such only, it is otherwise than out of place.

Physical Conformation.—Modified Mongol.Languages.—Paurosyllabic,[37]agglutinate; of all the tonguesnotSeriform, the nearest approaching to an aptotic state.Area.—The range of Mount Caucasus.Chief Divisions.—1. The Georgians. 2. The Lesgians. 3. The Mizjeji. 4. The Irôn. 5. The Circassians.

Physical Conformation.—Modified Mongol.

Languages.—Paurosyllabic,[37]agglutinate; of all the tonguesnotSeriform, the nearest approaching to an aptotic state.

Area.—The range of Mount Caucasus.

Chief Divisions.—1. The Georgians. 2. The Lesgians. 3. The Mizjeji. 4. The Irôn. 5. The Circassians.

In few, perhaps, in no part of the present volume, amI on more debateable ground than the present. So long has the term Caucasian been considered to denote a type of physical conformation closely akin to that of the Iapetidæ, (i.e., preeminently European,) that to place the Georgians and Circassians in the midst of the Mongolidæ, is a paradox. Again, the popular notions founded upon the physical beauty of the tribes under notice, are against such a juxtaposition; the typical Mongolians, in this respect, having never been mentioned by either poet or painter in the language of praise.

Lastly, it so happens that some of the latest researches in comparative philology have been undertaken with the special object of making the philological position of the Dioscurians coincide with their anatomical one,i.e., of proving that the languages of the Georgians and the Irôn are to be connected with that of the Greeks and Latins, just as was the case with their skeletons.

For the sake of laying before the reader the amount of fact and argument, in contradistinction to the amount of mere opinion, that is opposed by the position here assumed for the Dioscurians, I will analyse the grounds for the current belief under two heads:—

1.The connexion of the Dioscurian nations with those of Europe, as determined by the evidence of Physical Conformation.—The really scientific portion of these anatomical reasons consists in a single fact; which was as follows.—Blumenbach had a solitary Georgian skull; and that solitary Georgian skull was the finest in his collection: that of a Greek being the next. Hence it was taken as the type of the skull of the more organized divisions of our species. More than this, it gave its name to the type, and introduced the termCaucasian. Never has a single head done more harm to science than wasdone in the way of posthumous mischief, by the head of this well-shaped female from Georgia. I do not say that it was not a fair sample of all Georgian skulls. It might or might not be. I only lay before critics the amount of induction that they have gone upon.

2.The connexion of the Dioscurian nations with those of Europe as determined by the evidence of language.—Here I can only give a sample of the philology which would connect the Georgian with the Indo-European tongues. It consists in the proof that the Georgian numerals are the same as the Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Gothic, Slavonic, and Lithuanic.

One=Es`gu, Suanic=êka, Sanskrit;jek, Persian, the ἑκα- in ἑκά-τερος, and ἕκ-αστος, Greek.

One=erthi, Georgian;arthi, Mingrelian;ar, Lazic. Here the forms are different from the Suanicesg`u, and have a different origin.Esguis a true cardinal, just asoneis a true cardinal. The Georgian, Mingrelian, and Suanic forms, are not originally cardinal, but derivative from the ordinal, just as would be the case in English, if, instead of sayingone,two, &c., we said,first,second, &c. Now the root of the ordinal cardinal of the Georgian, Mingrelian, and Lazicar, is the πρ- in the Greek, πρῶ-τος,thep-r-in the Lithuanicpir-mas, thefr-in the Mœso-Gothic,fr-ums, and thepr-in the Sanskritpr-atamas; the initialphaving been lost, just as the initialsin the Sanskritsru,=toflow, is lost in the Greek ῥέω, and the Latinruo. Hence,arti=, byratimetathesis, just as the Lithuanicpirmas=the Latinprimus. Thetis the τ of πρῶ-τ-ος.

Two=Ori, Georgian;dva, Sanskrit; δι-, Greek;duo, Latin, &c.

Three=sami, Georgian;dschumi, Lazic;tre, Sanskrit; τρία, Greek;tres, Latin;three, English, &c. Heretbecomess,ris ejected, andmis added, upon the assumption ofreflected ordinal.[39]

Four=wors`tcho, Suanic. A transposition oftchowors=the Sanskritćatvâras.—Here, remember the Gothic and Welsh forms,fidvôr, andpedwar, respectively.

Five=wochus`i, Suanic. Thewo-of this form is thepa-of the Sanskritpa-nća, whilst the-chu-is thećaof the same word. The-t-is thetof the Slavonic forms,fya-tj=five;ses-tj=six;devja-ti=nine, anddesja-ti=ten.

Six=ekhwssi, Georgian=sas, Sanskrit;csvas, Zend;achses, Trôn.

Seven=swidi, Georgian. A transposition ofsiwdi=supta, Sanskrit;septem, Latin; ἕπτα, Greek, &c. It is stated of the numberssixandseventhat "their Indo-European origin is preeminently capable of proof."

Eight=rwa,ruo, &c.=as`ta, Sanskrit. Here thesis lost, as in Hindostani, and Bengali,ât`, andât;tbecomesd; anddis changed tor.

The numeralnineis let alone.

Ten=jest, Suanic=das`a, Sanskrit.

I do not say that there may not be letter-changes which make all this feasible. There may or may not be. I only lay before critics, the amount of change assumed.

In 1845, I announced, at the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, that the closest philological affinity of the Dioscurian languages was with the Aptotic ones. This I had brought myself to believe from a comparison of thewordsonly. Soon afterwards, Mr. Norriss, of the Asiatic Society, instead of expressing surprise at my doctrine, said that, upongrammaticalgrounds, he held the same opinion.

How far these views are founded on fact, may be seen from the forthcoming samples of two Dioscurian grammars, and of a short Dioscurian vocabulary, compared with those of the Seriform tongues. The two together form but a small fraction of the evidence that can be adduced. It is as much, however, as is admissible in a work like the present.

Physiological objections, based upon the symmetry of shape, and delicacy of complexion, on the part of the Georgians and Circassians, I am, at present, unable to meet. I can only indicate our want of osteological data, and remind my reader of the peculiar climatologic conditions of the Caucasian range; which is at once temperate, mountainous, wooded, and in the neighbourhood of the sea—in other words, the reverse of all Mongol areas hitherto enumerated. Perhaps, too, I may limit the extent of such objectionsas a matter of fact. It is only amongst the chiefs where the personal beauty of the male portion of the population is at all remarkable. The tillers of the soil are, comparatively speaking, coarse and unshapely.

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