Pilgrimage, Book 4 · Chapter 15
CHAP. XV.
Of other Northerne people adioyning to the Tartars.
ABout the mouth of the riuer Ob, aZlata Baba. Ortel. G. B. B.is said to be an ancient Idoll, in forme of an old woman, holding in each arme a child, and a third at her feet, called by her worshippers (the Iugri, Obdorani and Condorani) Zlata Baba, that is, the golden old wife, to which they offer precious Furres, and sacrifice Harts, besmearing the mouth and eyes of the Idoll with the bloud. In the time of their sacrificing, the Priest demands of the Idoll touching things to come, and sometime receiueth answere.
The Samoyeds are Idolaters and Witches, obseruing diuellish superstitions, as witnesseth Richard Iohnson, who in the fifth of Ianuary, 1557. saw amongst them, as bR. Iohnson, apud Hak.to.1.followeth. The Samoyeds about the banckes of Pechere, are in subiection to the Muscouite, and when they will remoue from one place to another, then they will make sacrifices, in manner following. EueryEvery kindred doth sacrifice in their owne tent, and he that is most ancient, is their Priest. And first the Priest doth begin to play vponupon a thing like to a great fiue, with a skinne on the one end like a drumme; his drumme-sticke is about a span long, and one end is round like a ball, couered with the skin of an Hart. Also the Priest hath as it were a white garland on his head, and his face is couered with a peece of a shirt of male, with many small ribbes, and teeth of fishes and wilde beasts hanging thereon. Then he singeth, as wee vse here in England to hollow, whoope, or shout at Hounds, and the rest of the company answere him with this Outes Igha, Igha, Igha, to which the Priest with his voice replieth. And they answere him with the selfe-same words, so many times, till in the end, he become, as it were, madde, falling downe as he were dead, hauing nothing on him but a shirt, and lying on his backe. I perceiued him yet to breath, and asked why he lay so: they answered, Now doth our GOD tell him what we shall doe, and whither we shall goe. And when he had lien still a little while, they cried thus three times together, Oghao, Oghao, Oghao, and as they vse these three calls, hee riseth with his head, and lieth downe againe; and then he rose vp and sang with like voices as he did before, with the like answere, Igha, Igha, Igha. Then he commaunded them to kill fiue Ollens, or great Deere, and continued singing still, both he and they as before. Then he tooke a sword of a cubit and a spanne long (I did mete it my selfe) and put it into his belly halfe way, and sometime lesse, but no wound was to be seene; they continuing their sweet song still. Then he put the sword into the fire, till it was warme, and so thrust it into the slit of his shirt, and thrust it thorow his bodie, as I thought, in at his nauell, and out at his fundament, the point being out of his shirt behinde, I laid my finger vponupon it. Then he pulled out the sword, and sate downe.
This being done, they set a kettle of water ouer the fire to heate, and when the water doth seeth, the Priest beginneth to sing againe, they answering him. For so long as the water was in seething, they sate and sang not. Then they made a thing being foure square, and in height and squarenes of a chaire, and couered with a gowne very close the fore-part thereof, for the hinder-part stood to the tents side. Their tents are round and are called Chome, in their language, The water still seething on the fire, and this square seat being readie, the Priest put off his shirt, and the thing like a garland, which was on his head, with those things which couered his face, and he had on yet all this while a paire of hosen of Deere-skinnes, with the haire on, which came vp to his buttockes. So he went into the square seat, and sate downe like a Taylor, and sang with a strong voice or hollowing. Then they tooke a small line made of Deere-skinnes of foure fathomes long, and with a small knot the Priest made it fast about his necke, and vnderunder his left arme, and gaue it to two men standing on each side of him, which held the ends together. Then the kettle of hot water was set before him in the square seat, which seat they now couered with a gowne of broad-cloath without lining (such as the Russes vse to weare). Then the two men which did hold the end of the line, still standing there, began to draw, and drew till they had drawn the ends of the line stiffe, and together; and then I heard a thing fall into the kettle of water, which was before him in the tent. I asked what it was, and they answered, his head, shoulder, and left arme, which the line had cut off, I meane the knot, which I saw afterward drawne hard together. Then I rose vp, and would hauehave looked whether it were so or not, but they laid hold on me, and said, that if they should see him with their bodily eyes, they should liue no longer. (And the most part of them can speake the Russian tongue, to be vnderstood, and they tooke me to be a Russian) Then they began to hallow with these words, Oghaoo, Oghaoo, Oghaoo, many times together: in the meane while I saw a thing like a finger of a man, two times together, thrust thorow the gowne from the Priest. I asked them that sate neere to me what it was, that I saw, and they said, not his finger, for he was yet dead; and that which I saw appeare thorow the gowne, was a beast, but what beast they knew not, nor would not tell. And I looked vponupon the gown, and there was no hole to be seene. At last the Priest lifted vp his head, with his shoulder and arme, and all his body, and came out to the fire. Thus farre of their seruice, which I saw during the space of certaine houres. But how they doe worship their Idols, that I saw not: for they put vp their stuffe to remoue from that place where they lay. And I went to him that serued their Priest, and asked him what their GOD said to him, when he lay as dead. He answered, that his owne people doth not know, neither is it for them to know, for they must doe as he commanded.
The Hollanders in the yeare 1594. sent to discouer a way to Cathay and China, by the Northeast, cHak. Voy. to.1. Gerard de Veer ap. De Bry in 3 part. Ind. Orient.which by Master Burrough, Pet and Iacman, English men, had beene long before in vaine attempted. William Barentz was the chiefe pilot for this Discouerie. This yeare dNauig.1.they sailed through the Straits of Vaygats, and thought themselues not farre short of the Riuer Ob. The next yeare they returned for the same discouery. They *Nauig.2.landed in the Samogithians or Samoyeds countrey, and named a place, because they there found Images carued of wood, Idoll-nooke. They gaue names to places long before discouered by the English, as if they had beene the first founders. They learned of certaine Muscouites, that the inhabitants of Noua Zemla, had neither Religion nor Ciuilitie prescribed them by any Law, but worshipped the Sunne, Moone, and North-Starre, and eueryevery yeare offered vntounto them sacrifices of Deere and other things. On the nine and twentieth of August there arose a thicke fogge, whereupon. Oliuer Brunel (which had beene three seuerall yeares sent by the King of Denmarke, for the discouerie of Groenland) reporteth that in threescore and sixteene degrees, he had often obserued such thicke fogges, that some perished therby. These happened most commonly in October and Nouember. The last of August they had speech with the Samoyeds: they were of eDescription of the Samoyeds.short stature, scarcely foure foote high, with long haire, broad faces, great heads, little eyes, short and bow-legs, very swift, clothed with beasts skins, whereof the hairy side was outward. They know no GOD. The Sunne (whose presence they are long depriued of in the Winter, which is recompensed in their nightlesse Summer) is worshipped amongst them. And when the Sunne is declining out of their sight, the Moone, or North-Starre, is his receiuer or successour (if you will) in that tribute of their deuotions. They hauehave, besides, many Idols rudely carued. In times past they had no King, but now they chuse one to that dignitie. They burie their dead, and offer yearely their sacrifices for them to the Sunne, Moone, and NorthStarre, of their Deere, which they burne, except the head and feet. They eat the flesh of wilde beasts, either raw, or dried in the aire; which makes them hauehave very vnsauourie breath. On the sixth of September two of them went on shore, on the continent of Moscouia, and encountred with a Beare, which killed one of them: his crie brought in others of their fellowes (which were also straggling about) to his reskue, but the Beare laid hold also vponupon one of them, and could not be driuen to forsake his prey, till himselfe became a prey in recompence. The two torne carkasses were there buried. They tooke off from one Beare, which they killed, an hundred pound of fat, which serued them for their lampes: the skinne was nine foot large, and seuen wide.
In the yeare 1596. fNauig.3.There were sent other two shippes, to prosequute this Discouerie, which on the fourth of Iune had sight of a triple Sunne, attended and guarded with a double Rain-bow, one encompassing them, the other crossing them ouerthwart. After many dreadfull combates with the ice, and one of the shippes departing from the other, they were forced to Winter in Nona Zemla; where they built them a house to serue them for a fortification against the sauage Beares, tempestuous stormes, continuall snowes, ice, and vnspeakeable cold; and (if worse may be) a worse then all these they endured, a continuall night of many weekes, wherein neither the Sunne, nor any of his courtly traine, the least rayes to bee the harbengers of his desired presence, did present themselues to their eyes: and the fire could scarcely preuaile against the insulting tyrannie of the cold, to warme them. The Beares together with the Sun forsooke them, but plentie of Foxes remained; and with the Sunne the Beares also returned: sometime laying violent siege to their house. From the fourth of Nouember till the seuen and twentieth of Iannarie they saw no Sunne. Their watch also or clocke was by violence of the cold forced to stand still, that they could not measure their times. Thus did they waite i… expectation of the Sunnes returne, that they also (not able further to pursue the voyage) might returne home, which eleuen of them did in October following.
But seeing these North-easterne seas are so frozen and vnpassable, I will therefore in an inkie sea finde an easier passage for the Reader, with more both ease and securitie, to this mightie Kingdome of China, whereof we are next to speake.