The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1 / Page 555 (Color Image)

0555	The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1

CHAI". LII. TITI, CUSTOMS OF THE TARTARS

253

The husband gives a marriage payment to his wife's

mother, and the wife brings nothing to her husband.

They have more children than other people, because

they have so many wives. They may marry their

cousins, and if a father dies, his son may take any of the

wives, his own mother always excepted ; that is to say

the eldest son may do this, but no other. A man may

also take the wife of his own brother after the latter's

death. Their weddings are celebrated with great ado,5

NOTE i.—The word here in the G. T. is "fames," which seems usually to mean ropes and in fact Pauthier's text reads : "II ont mesons de verges et les cueitvre;zt de

cordes." Ramusio's text has feltroiri, and both and the Latin of the S. G.
have filtro. This is certainly the right reading. But whether fenizes was ever used as a form of feltres (as pennes means peltry) I cannot discover. Perhaps some words have dropped out. A good description of a Kirghiz hut (35 feet in diameter), and exactly corresponding to Polo's account, will be found in A1tkinrson's Siberia, and another in VámbJry's Travels. How comfortable and civilised the aspect of such a but may be, can be seen also in Burnes's account of a Turkoman dwelling of this kind. This description of hut or tent is common to nearly all. the nomade tribes of Central Asia. The trellis-work forming the skeleton of the tent-walls is (at least among the Turkomans) loosely pivoted, so as to draw out and compress like " lazy-tongs."

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Dressing up a tent.

Rubruquis, Pallas, Timkowsl:i, and others, notice the custom of turning the door to the south ; the reason is obvious. (Atkinson, 285 ; Vdmb. 316 ; Burnes, III. 51 ; Conolly, I. 96.) But throughout the Altai, Mr. Ney Elias informs me, K'alkas,

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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

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National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

Citation Information

OCR Text

National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books