To him the Obi is a source of life. With its salmon and sturgeon he pays his taxes and debts, and buys his few luxuries; while the fishes of inferior quality which get entangled in his net he keeps for his own consumption and that of his faithful dog, eating them mostly raw, so that the perch not seldom feels his teeth as soon as it is pulled out of the water. In spring, when the Obi and its tributaries burst their bonds of ice, and the floods sweep over the plains, the Ostiak is frequently driven into the woods, where he finds but little to appease his hunger. At length, however, the waters subside, the flat banks of the river appear above their surface, and the savage erects his summer hut close to its stream. This hovel has generally a quadrangular form, low walls, and a high-pointed roof, made of willow branches covered with large pieces of bark. These, having first been softened by boiling, are sewed together, so as to form large mats or carpets, easily rolled up and transported. The hearth, a mere hole inclosed by a few stones, is in the centre, and the smoke escapes through an aperture at the top. Close to the hut there is also, generally, a small store-house erected on high poles, as in Lapland; for the provisions must be secured against the attacks of the glutton, the wolf, or the owner’s dogs.
At the beginning of winter the Ostiaks retire into the woods, where they find, at least, some protection against the Arctic blasts, and are busy hunting the sable or squirrel; but as fishing affords them at all times their chief food, they take care to establish their winter huts on some eminence above the reach of the spring inundations, near some small river, which, through holes made in the ice, affords their nets and anglers a precarious supply. Their winter yourt is somewhat more solidly constructed than their summer residence, as it is not removed every year. It is low and small, and its walls are plastered with clay. Light is admitted through a piece of ice inserted in the wall or on the roof.
Besides those who live solely upon fishes and birds of passage, there are other Ostiaks who possess reindeer herds, and wander in summer to the border of the Polar Sea, where they also catch seals and fish. When winter approaches, they slowly return to the woods. Finally, in the more southerly districts, there are some Ostiaks who, having entirely adopted the Russian mode of life, cultivate the soil, keep cattle, or earn their livelihood as carriers.
In general, however, the Ostiak, like the Samoïede, obstinately withstands all innovations, and remains true to the customs of his forefathers. He has been so often deceived by the Russians that he is loth to receive the gifts of civilization from their hands. He fears that if his children learn to read and write, they will no longer be satisfied to live like their parents, and that the school will deprive him of the support of his age. He is no less obstinately attached to the religion of his fathers, which in all essential points is identical with that of the Samoïedes. In some of the southern districts, along the Irtysch, at Surgut, he has indeed been baptized, and hangs up the image of a saint in his hut, as his Russian pope or priest has instructed him to do; but his Christianity extends no further. Along the tributaries of the Obi, and below Obdorsk, he is still plunged in Schamanism.
Like the Samoïedes, the Ostiaks, whose entire number amounts to about 25,000, are subdivided into tribes, reminding one of the Highland clans. Each tribe consists of a number of families, of a common descent, and sometimes comprising many hundred individuals, who, however distantly related, consider it a duty to assist each other in distress.
The Ostiaks are excellent archers, and, like all the other hunting tribes of Siberia, use variously constructed arrows for the different objects of their chase.
They are generally of a small stature, and most of them are dark-complexioned, with raven-black hair like the Samoïedes; some of them, however, have a fairer skin and light-colored hair. They are a good-natured, indolent, honest race; and though they are extremely dirty, yet their smoky huts are not more filthy than those of the Norwegian or Icelandic fishermen.
As among the Samoïedes, the women are in a very degraded condition, the father always giving his daughter in marriage to the highest bidder. The price is very different, and rises or falls according to the circumstances of the parent; for while the rich man asks fifty reindeer for his child, the poor fisherman is glad to part with his daughter for a few squirrel-skins and dried sturgeon.
CHAPTER CXLVIII.
INDIA.
THE SOWRAHS AND KHONDS.
LOCALITY OF THE SOWRAH TRIBE — GENERAL APPEARANCE — THE TARTAR CHARACTER OF THE FEATURES — DRESS OF THE MEN, THEIR SCANTY COSTUME AND PLENTIFUL ORNAMENTS — CURIOUS EAR-RINGS — DRESS OF THE WOMEN — MODE OF OBTAINING CLOTHES FOR WINTER USE — WEAPONS OF THE SOWRAHS — THEIR COURAGE, AND THE APPREHENSION WHICH THEY EXCITE — A SOWRAH WEDDING — RELIGIOUS SYSTEM OF THE SOWRAHS — THEIR TRUTHFULNESS — THE KHONDS — DRESS AND APPEARANCE — THE KHOND POCKET — FEATURES OF THE WOMEN — THE MERIAH SACRIFICE AND ITS OBJECT — PROCURING OF THE VICTIM — VARIOUS MODES OF PERFORMING THE SACRIFICE — SUBSTITUTE FOR THE MERIAH — STRANGE USE OF BRACELETS — THE MERIAHS’ INDIFFERENCE TO THEIR FATE — INFANTICIDE — WEAPONS OF THE KHONDS — DEATH OF A BEAR — PRIDE OF THE KHONDS — SUPERSTITION — BELIEF IN THE POWER OF TRANSFORMATION — A KHOND MARRIAGE.