The career of this Mongol is unique in the world, unapproachable, since its object was unmixed and immediate and his success in attaining it was so great that it seems, we might say, super-human.
The account which is given us of Temudjin’s origin is a myth tale, excepting a few generations directly preceding him. Genealogy in the form of a myth tale is no exception in the case of any people,—no wonder. It is the rule and inevitable, the one method used by each primitive folk to explain its own origin. All early men in their own accounts are descended from gods who are either divine mythic animals, or elements, or forces, or phenomena which become later on the progenitors of nations, or their totems.
The first mythic parents or founders of Temudjin’s family were a blue wolf and a gray doe. These two swam across a lake, reached the river Onon near its sources and settled down permanently at the foot of Mount Burhan, where a son called Batachi was born to them. Ninth in descent from Batachi were Duva Sohor, and Doben. The former had only one eye which was fixed in the middle of his forehead, but with that eye he saw beyond three mountain ranges. Once these two brothers climbed up Mount Burhan, and were gazing at the world from the top of it when Duva Sohor beheld many people moving down the Tungeli. “There is the wife for my brother, unless she is married,” thought Duva. “Go and see her,” said he then to Doben. Doben went to the new people straightway and learned that the woman was single and that her name was Alan Goa. The moving people were dependents of one Horilartai.
In time before that Bargudai, who owned Bargudjin on Lake Baikal, had a daughter whom he gave to Horilartai of Horntumadun. From this marriage came Alan Goa, born at Alih Usun. They had left their old place since the hunting of ermine and squirrels had been stopped there. Horilartai removed to Mount Burhan, where game was abundant. He joined Shinchi Boyan, the master of Mount Burhan, and began the clan Horilar. Thus Doben found Alan Goa, who bore him two sons, Bugundai and Bailgun Etai.
Duva the one-eyed had four sons. The two brothers and their [[5]]six sons lived in one company till Duva’s death; after that Duva’s four sons deserted their uncle, and founded the clan known as Dorbian.
One day while Doben was hunting he found in the forest a man roasting venison and straightway asked meat of him. The man kept one flank and the lungs, and gave the remainder to Doben who tied what he got to his saddle, and started off homeward. He met on the road a poor man and a small boy. “Who art thou?” inquired Doben. “I am of the Malish Boyandai,” said the poor man, “I am in need, give me venison, I pray thee, I will give thee my son in return for it.” Doben gave the man a deer leg, took the boy home, and made him his attendant.
Some years passed, the boy grew, and Doben died. The boy, now a man, served the widow. While a widow Alan Goa bore three sons; the eldest was Buga Hatagi, the second Tusalchi, the third Boduanchar. The two sons born of Doben said once to each other: “Our mother has no husband, no brother of our father has ever been in this yurta, still she has three sons. There is only one man in the house, he has lived with us always; is he not their father?”
Alan Goa learned that the two elder brothers were curious concerning the other three, so one day she called in her five sons and seating them together gave each one an arrow and told him to break it. Each broke his arrow. She then bound five arrows firmly together and commanded to break them—not one of the brothers could break the five arrows when tied in a bundle.
“Ye are in doubt,” said she then to her eldest and second son, “as to who is the father of my third, fourth and fifth sons. Ye wonder, and with reason, for ye know not that a golden hued man makes his way to this yurta. He enters through the door by which light comes, he enters in through the smoke hole like sunshine. The brightness which comes from him fills me when I look at him. Going off on the rays of the sun or the moon he runs like a swift yellow dog till he vanishes. Cease talking idly. Your three youngest brothers are children of Heaven, and no one may liken them to common men. When they are khans ye will know this.”
Alan Goa instructed her sons then, and said to them: “Ye all are my children, ye are all sons of mine. If ye stand apart like those five broken arrows it will be very easy to break you, but if ye [[6]]keep one mind and one spirit no man on earth will be able to injure you, ye will be like those five arrows in the bundle.”