The besteaccount of, the habits of the Vofrouls-is, advetebv'1
M. Erman; of it the an abstract :*
“ The-rVognleS-are a handsome- people; they c h a n ^ theift
abodes after muchlpn^gcirintervals than many tribes-ofiSiberia,
being ’/only induced-to remove from, their quarters by-a wish,
to spare the game. There- are_ never more- than five hti%
to which the Russians give the* Tartar name^of yurti, in one?
station,^and as fhe wild ^animals would! be -seared by .top. much
smoke, two. such camps are never seen at a less.^tfistanee' t-hafr
fifteen wersts from each other. ft is worth while t6 remark,-
that alTibiir observations on thebstyle of building in. these
yurts, -and in the arrangement of their fireplaces*, agrees pie1-"
cisely with whEtt ^fe afterwards nOted^amhng^^ie 5Oatigl1k4;
Reindeers -serve them as domestic animals., and in summfer
draw their light sledges, over smooth mar&^^pttnds'. >Wihter
is, however, their season for labour, for^ti^vetlm^l^d^'as^em-
bling together^ It is then that they are>bccu?|j)i^S^ith tWe
hunt for peltry, with which they carry on a very-profitable
barter with their neighbours the 'Hsfciqks,•- Sam^^ es^/and
Russians:, For this teaffic'th^makepfe^^Ahi»b::^ ^ ^ ^ p :
towards the; norih-eastr In the yyarm. months the i#®guile&
^ y e themselfes up to peep and repose from their \viu1cH-t™8 |
when, for the protection against flies and g-nate Afforded5 by
the smoke of their y urts, they seldom quit their. I habitation SU
Here they consume, a t leisure thedbfp&Jpf the winter/’ ><
M. E rman collected a vocabulary of Vogoulian words, which;
compared with the:idiom of the Ostiaks, display so much resemblance
as fully to prove that the two nations mi^ht hold
converse-together. It is remarkable at the same time, that
out of twenty-two Vogoulian words collected, not one has atey
affinity to a Tartar root, while four indicate a striking' analogy
to the speech of the Kamschatkans.
M. Erman describes the features of a Vogoul, the only individual
of the race whom h e had an opportunity of seeing
when on the borders of their country* which he visited at the*
season when they seldom quit their huts. He says that the
features were so distinct as to be striking even in.a man clothed
in a Russian dress., “ A-peculiar dark expression—ein eigen-
* Reise um der Erde von Adolph Erman, bd. i.
thumlich fnistecgr, Bli^k-p-of the.eygs, which are deeply set in
their orbit§r)1tpgp|her Y4,th that typA^qf^countenance which is
gpperpj^Af^.kidqrpd./..a&f<pharacter4stic. of the Mongolian na-
|iqn§,'w^fh cheekjhqngp, extremely pjoj^gtipg,.are traits of the
yogu^Sf*^ A m^ri^yigo^uSi|:ame,,of middleweight, stronger
■Jaomaa q®d d - ' f t , demeanor serjdus and!&fy
rn.o-jt dejj^te/lvjdis^pgu^.h tlfem^icte-i^£r^mBthc.Tscheremisses
and TscbuvasA e|:,but^rimmdedj us^of the external appearances
. WPhav|^e^s|information conqerning^the?,,mpral character-
isfips of t-hre V^Qg/au Is. ^ w hM%$o unt'r y in'the;: northern tracts of
the I lr a L ^ ^ o u ^ ^ th e path . of .interequrse, than ,respecting
iS-Q^P^iaks., Ysbrandt ldjg%dp$pribes their whole religious
/ ‘ in iin p k y a an offering^qpge-a year, when"
theyisjfo.,ing,prowds^mtQ the woo<$% .and- killing one of each
.|ngmejf qf beasts,,,,they fle a ^ ff .the sj&ins, hang up the car-,
cases oma^qpj and fa llin g ^ ^ tra te ornth e, earth , offer up their
prayers after which . they ^ea^the flesh and retire*, home,*
whiclOje-ing».,^^6! are from the tro u b le ^ ’ praying
fpr that ye,ar?' They [acknowledged a Gpd> who reigns.over the
sun, moon-, .andr stars, antd likeWjfse ^ re suryctionfrom the dead.-
When,any qf them die thqy lament over t|ierearps%in a dismal
manner. With the. body theytb.ury all the bed, apparel and
qrnarQe^t.S<0pf. the deceased^ with some money/’.,*
They marry as many wives as they can keep,, The husband
purchasps-.the bride of her fatjier,.^ They never marry within
thq fourth degree, of consanguinity. They have no priests, v;
The,,same traveller has given a curious account,of the,religious
rites of the, Ostiaks:.v Hey says, “ they worship gods
made of wood, or earth in various, forms: yet they acknowledge
a supreme God who governs all things,- but, to him they pay
« Other.writers might be ci(ed who agree in ascribing to.the Vogouls a precisely
Mongolian type of features. The following is the account grvefi of them in the
journal of Laurence Lange, who was sent on a mission from St. Petersburg to the
Emperor of China in 1715 : “ We found in the mountains of Werchoturia another
sptt of people, who call themselves ^o g u lte g ; they are liko the Kalmuks, with
broadf%egs, short and thick noses, and small eyes.; They can gite no accounthow
they came thither; nor is their language the same as that of the Kalmuks.’’ (Laurence
Lange’s Journey to Pekin.) ■
-j- Erman, i. 384.