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The nomads were barbarians, according to the unanimous opinion of researchers representing sedentary civilizations, both medieval European authors and representatives of sedentary civilizations of Asia, from the ancient Chin, Sin (China) to Persia and the Iranian world.

The word nomads, nomadism, has a similar, but not identical, meaning, and it is precisely because of this similarity of meanings that in the Russian-speaking and possibly other linguistically and culturally dissimilar sedentary societies (Persian, Sino-Chinese, and many others that historically suffered from military expansions of nomadic peoples) there is a sedentarist phenomenon of underlying historical animosity, which has led to the apparently deliberate terminological confusion "nomad-cattleman", "nomad-traveler", Irish-English-Scottish "traveler-traveler", etc.

The nomadic way of life is historically led by the Turkic and Mongolian ethnic groups, and other peoples of the Ural-Altaic language family, who were in the area of ​​nomadic civilizations. Based on the genetic linguistic proximity to the Ural-Altaic family, the ancestors of modern Japanese, ancient horse archer warriors who conquered the Japanese islands, people from the Ural-Altaic nomadic environment, historians and geneticists also consider Koreans to have separated from the proto-Altaic peoples.

The contribution, both ancient and medieval, and relatively recent, of nomads to the northern and southern Sin (ancient name), Han or Chinese ethnogenesis is probably quite large.

The last Qing Dynasty was of nomadic, Manchu origin.

The national currency of China, the yuan, is named after the nomadic Yuan dynasty, which was founded by Genghisid Kubilai Khan.

Livelihood nomads could receive from a variety of sources - nomadic cattle breeding, trade, various crafts, fishing, hunting, various types of art (gypsies), hired labor or even military robbery, or "military conquests". Ordinary theft was unworthy of a nomadic warrior, including a child or a woman, since all members of a nomadic society were warriors of a kind or ale, and even more so of a nomadic aristocrat. Like others, considered unworthy, like theft, the features of a settled civilization were unthinkable for any nomad. For example, among nomads, prostitution would be absurd, that is, absolutely unacceptable. This is not so much a consequence of the tribal military system of society and the state, but rather the moral principles of a nomadic society.

If one adheres to a sedentary view, then “every family and people in one way or another move from place to place”, lead a “nomadic” lifestyle, that is, they can be classified in the modern Russian-speaking sense as nomads (in the order of traditional terminological confusion), or nomads, if avoid this confusion. [ ]

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nomadic peoples

Nomadic peoples are migratory peoples who live off pastoralism. Some nomadic peoples, in addition, are engaged in hunting or, like some sea nomads in southeast Asia, in fishing. Term nomad camp used in the Slavic translation of the Bible in relation to the villages of the Ishmaelites (Gen.).

Transhumance based on seasonal transhumance of livestock over relatively short distances. Cattle are usually driven to highland pastures in summer and to lowland valleys in winter. The drovers have permanent dwellings, usually in the valleys.

The life of many peoples traditionally attributed to nomadic, for example, the Altai ancient Turks, in fact, can be characterized precisely as transhumance, since their migrations were seasonal in nature and were carried out within a clearly defined territory belonging to the genus; often they had permanent buildings that served to harvest hay for the winter for livestock and shelter disabled elderly members of the group, while young people migrated with livestock to the foothills (jeilau) for the summer. In particular, the rhythms of seasonal vertical nomadism are common in rural areas in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkey.

In the scientific sense, nomadism (nomadism, from the Greek. νομάδες , nomades- nomads) - a special type of economic activity and the sociocultural characteristics associated with it, in which the majority of the population is engaged in extensive nomadic pastoralism. In some cases, nomads refer to all those who lead a mobile lifestyle (wandering hunter-gatherers, a number of slash-and-burn farmers and sea peoples of Southeast Asia, migratory populations such as gypsies, etc.).

Etymology of the word

The word "nomad" comes from the Turkic word qoch, qosh, kosh. This word is, for example, in the Kazakh language.

The term “koshovoy ataman” and the Ukrainian (so-called Cossack) and South Russian (so-called Cossack) surname Koshevoy are of the same root.

Definition

Far from all pastoralists are nomads (although, first of all, it was necessary to distinguish between the use of the term nomad and nomad in Russian, in other words, nomads are far from the same as ordinary nomads, and far from all nomadic peoples are nomads, and the cultural phenomenon is interesting , consisting in the fact that any attempt to eliminate intentional terminological confusion - "nomad" and "nomad", traditionally existing in modern Russian, stumbles upon traditional ignorance). It is advisable to associate nomadism with three main features:

1. extensive cattle breeding (Pastoralism) as the main type of economic activity;
2. periodic migrations of most of the population and livestock;
3. special material culture and worldview of the steppe societies.

Nomads lived in arid steppes and semi-deserts [doubtful information] or high-mountainous regions where cattle breeding is the most optimal type of economic activity (in Mongolia, for example, land suitable for agriculture is 2% [doubtful information], in Turkmenistan - 3%, in Kazakhstan - 13% [doubtful information], etc.). The main food of the nomads was various types of dairy products, animal meat, hunting prey, agricultural and gathering products. Drought, snowstorms, frosts, epizootics and other natural disasters could quickly deprive the nomad of all means of subsistence. To counteract natural disasters, pastoralists developed an effective system of mutual assistance - each of the tribesmen supplied the victim with several heads of cattle.

Life and culture of nomads

Since the animals were constantly in need of new pastures, pastoralists were forced to move from one place to another several times a year. The most common type of dwelling among nomads were various types of collapsible, easily portable structures, usually covered with wool or leather (yurt, tent or tent). Household utensils and dishes were most often made of unbreakable materials (wood, leather). Clothes and shoes were usually made of leather, wool and fur, but also of silk and other expensive and rare fabrics and materials. The phenomenon of "horsemanship" (that is, the presence of a large number of horses or camels) gave the nomads significant advantages in military affairs. Nomads did not exist in isolation from the agricultural world, but they did not particularly need the products of agricultural peoples. Nomads are characterized by a special mentality, which involves a specific perception of space and time, hospitality customs, unpretentiousness and endurance, the presence of war cults among ancient and medieval nomads, a warrior-rider, heroized ancestors, who, in turn, found reflection, as in oral art ( heroic epic), and in the visual arts (animal style), a cult attitude towards cattle - the main source of existence for nomads. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that there are few so-called “pure” nomads (permanently nomads) (some of the nomads of Arabia and the Sahara, the Mongols and some other peoples of the Eurasian steppes).

Origin of nomadism

The question of the origin of nomadism has not yet had an unambiguous interpretation. Even in modern times, the concept of the origin of cattle breeding in hunter societies was put forward. According to another, now more popular point of view, nomadism was formed as an alternative to agriculture in the unfavorable zones of the Old World, where part of the population with a manufacturing economy was forced out. The latter were forced to adapt to new conditions and specialize in cattle breeding. There are other points of view. No less debatable is the question of the time of the formation of nomadism. Some researchers are inclined to believe that nomadism developed in the Middle East on the periphery of the first civilizations as early as the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e. Some even tend to note traces of nomadism in the Levant at the turn of the 9th-8th millennium BC. e. Others believe that it is too early to talk about real nomadism here. Even the domestication of the horse (4th millennium BC) and the appearance of chariots (2nd millennium BC) do not yet speak of a transition from an integrated agricultural and pastoral economy to real nomadism. According to this group of scientists, the transition to nomadism took place not earlier than the turn of the II-I millennium BC. e. in the Eurasian steppes.

Classification of nomadism

There are many different classifications of nomadism. The most common schemes are based on the identification of the degree of settlement and economic activity:

• nomadic,
• semi-nomadic, semi-sedentary (when agriculture already prevails) economy,
• distillate,
• Zhailau, kystau (Turks.) "- winter and summer pasture).

In some other constructions, the type of nomadism is also taken into account:

• vertical (mountains, plains),
• horizontal, which can be latitudinal, meridional, circular, etc.

In a geographical context, we can talk about six large zones where nomadism is widespread.

1. the Eurasian steppes, where the so-called “five types of livestock” are bred (horse, cattle, sheep, goat, camel), but the horse is considered the most important animal (Turks, Mongols, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, etc.). The nomads of this zone created powerful steppe empires (Scythians, Xiongnu, Turks, Mongols, etc.);
2. Middle East, where nomads breed small horned livestock, and horses, camels and donkeys (Bakhtiyars, Basseri, Kurds, Pashtuns, etc.) are used as transport;
3. Arabian desert and Sahara, where camel breeders predominate (Bedouins, Tuareg, etc.);
4. East Africa, savannas south of the Sahara, inhabited by peoples who raise cattle (Nuer, Dinka, Maasai, etc.);
5. high mountain plateaus of Inner Asia (Tibet, Pamir) and South America (Andes), where the local population specializes in breeding such animals as yak (Asia), llama, alpaca (South America), etc.;
6. northern, mostly subarctic zones, where the population is engaged in reindeer herding (Saami, Chukchi, Evenki, etc.).

Rise of nomadism

During the Xiongnu period, direct contacts were established between China and Rome. The Mongol conquests played a particularly important role. As a result, a single chain of international trade, technological and cultural exchanges was formed. Apparently, as a result of these processes, gunpowder, compass and book printing came to Western Europe. In some works, this period is called "medieval globalization".

Modernization and decline

With the beginning of modernization, the nomads were unable to compete with the industrial economy. The appearance of repeating firearms and artillery gradually put an end to their military power. Nomads began to be involved in modernization processes as a subordinate party. As a result, the nomadic economy began to change, the social organization was deformed, and painful acculturation processes began. In the XX century. in the socialist countries, attempts were made to carry out forced collectivization and sedenterization, which ended in failure. After the collapse of the socialist system in many countries there was a nomadization of the way of life of pastoralists, a return to semi-natural methods of farming. In countries with a market economy, the processes of adaptation of nomads are also very painful, accompanied by the ruin of pastoralists, erosion of pastures, rising unemployment and poverty. Currently, approximately 35-40 million people. continues to engage in nomadic pastoralism (Northern, Central and Inner Asia, the Middle East, Africa). In countries such as Niger, Somalia, Mauritania and others, pastoral nomads make up the majority of the population.

In everyday consciousness, the point of view prevails that the nomads were only a source of aggression and robbery. In reality, there was a wide range of different forms of contacts between the settled and the steppe world, from military confrontation and conquest to peaceful trade contacts. Nomads have played an important role in human history. They contributed to the development of little habitable territories. Thanks to their intermediary activities, trade relations were established between civilizations, technological, cultural and other innovations were spread. Many nomad societies have contributed to the treasury of world culture, the ethnic history of the world. However, having a huge military potential, the nomads also had a significant destructive impact on the historical process; as a result of their destructive invasions, many cultural values, peoples and civilizations were destroyed. A number of modern cultures are rooted in nomadic traditions, but the nomadic way of life is gradually disappearing - even in developing countries. Many of the nomadic peoples today are under the threat of assimilation and loss of identity, since in the rights for the use of land they can hardly compete with settled neighbors.

Nomadism and sedentary lifestyle

All the nomads of the Eurasian steppe belt went through the tabor stage of development or the stage of invasion. Displaced from their pastures, they mercilessly destroyed everything in their path as they moved in search of new lands. ... For the neighboring agricultural peoples, the nomads of the tabor stage of development have always been in a state of "permanent invasion". At the second stage of nomadism (semi-settled), wintering and summer camps appear, the pastures of each horde have strict boundaries, and cattle are driven along certain seasonal routes. The second stage of nomadism was the most profitable for pastoralists.

V. BODRUKHIN, candidate of historical sciences.

However, a sedentary lifestyle, of course, has its advantages over a nomadic one, and the emergence of cities - fortresses and other cultural centers, and first of all - the creation of regular armies, often built on a nomadic model: Iranian and Roman cataphracts adopted from the Parthians; Chinese armored cavalry, built on the model of the Hunnic and Turkic; the Russian noble cavalry, which absorbed the traditions of the Tatar army along with emigrants from the Golden Horde, which was experiencing turmoil; etc., over time, made it possible for sedentary peoples to successfully resist the raids of nomads, who never sought to completely destroy settled peoples, since they could not fully exist without a dependent settled population and exchange with it, voluntary or forced, of agricultural products, cattle breeding and crafts . Omelyan Pritsak gives the following explanation for the constant raids of nomads on settled territories:

“The reasons for this phenomenon should not be sought in the innate tendency of nomads to robbery and bloodshed. Rather, we are talking about a well-thought-out economic policy.”

Meanwhile, in epochs of internal weakening, even highly developed civilizations often perished or were significantly weakened as a result of massive raids by nomads. Although for the most part the aggression of the nomadic tribes was directed towards their neighbors, the nomads, often the raids on the settled tribes ended in the assertion of the dominance of the nomadic nobility over the agricultural peoples. For example, the rule of nomads over certain parts of China, and sometimes over all of China, was repeated many times in its history.

Another well-known example of this is the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, which fell under the onslaught of "barbarians" during the "great migration of peoples", mainly in the past of settled tribes, and not the nomads themselves, from whom they fled in the territory of their Roman allies, however, the end result was catastrophic for the Western Roman Empire, which remained under the control of the barbarians despite all the attempts of the Eastern Roman Empire to return these territories in the VIth century, which for the most part was also the result of the onslaught of nomads (Arabs) on the eastern borders of the Empire.

Nomadism not related to pastoralism

In various countries, there are ethnic minorities leading a nomadic lifestyle, but engaged not in cattle breeding, but in various crafts, trade, divination, professional performance of songs and dances. These are gypsies, yenishes, Irish travelers and others. Such "nomads" travel in camps, usually living in vehicles or random premises, often non-residential. In relation to such citizens, the authorities often used measures aimed at forcible assimilation into a "civilized" society. Measures are currently being taken by the authorities of various countries to monitor the performance of such persons in their parental responsibilities in relation to young children who, as a result of their parents' lifestyle, do not always receive the benefits that are due to them in the field of education and health.

Before the Swiss federal authorities, the interests of the Yenish are represented by the founded in 1975 year (de: Radgenossenschaft der Landstrasse), which, along with the Yenish, also represents other "nomadic" peoples - Roma and Sinti. The Company receives subventions (target subsidies) from the state. Since 1979 the Society has been a member of the International Union of Gypsies (English), IRU. Despite this, the official position of the society is to defend the interests of the Yenish as a separate people.

According to Swiss international treaties and the verdict of the Federal Court, the cantonal authorities are obliged to provide the nomadic Yenish groups with a place to camp and move, as well as to ensure the possibility of school attendance for school-age children.

The nomadic peoples are

• Australian Aboriginals [ ]
• Tibetans [ ]
• Tuvans, in particular, Todzhans
• Reindeer herders of the taiga and tundra zones of Eurasia

Historical nomadic peoples.

Our ancient ancestors, the Turks, led the mobile, i.e. nomadic, way of life, moving from one place of residence to another. That is why they were called nomads. Ancient written sources, historical works describing the way of life of nomads have been preserved. In some writings they are called bold, courageous, united nomadic pastoralists, brave warriors, while in others, on the contrary, they are represented as savages, barbarians, invaders of other peoples.

Why did the Turks lead a nomadic lifestyle? As mentioned above, the basis of their economy was cattle breeding. They mainly raised horses, kept large and small cattle, as well as camels. Animals were grazing throughout the year. People were forced to move to a new place when the old pastures were depleted. Thus, two or three times a year the places of parking - nomad camps - changed.

To lead such a lifestyle, large expanses were required. Therefore, the Turks mastered more and more new lands. The nomadic way of life was a peculiar way of nature protection. If the cattle were always in the same place, then the steppe meadows would soon be completely destroyed. For the same reason, it was difficult to engage in agriculture in the steppe, a thin fertile layer quickly collapsed. As a result of the migrations, the soil did not have time to be depleted, but on the contrary, by the time of the new return, the meadows were again covered with thick grass.

Yurt nomads

We all know very well that people did not always live, as we do now, in large stone apartment buildings with all amenities. The Turks, leading a nomadic lifestyle, lived in yurts. There was little wood in the steppe, but there was an abundance of livestock that provided wool. Not surprisingly, the walls of the yurt were made of felt (compressed wool), dressed on a wooden lattice frame. Two or three people could very quickly, in just an hour, assemble or dismantle the yurt. The dismantled yurt was easily transported on horses or camels.

The way of arrangement and internal structure of the yurt were strictly determined by traditions. The yurt was always installed on a flat open sunny place. She served the Turks not only as a dwelling, but also as a kind of sundial. For this, the dwellings of the ancient Turks were oriented with the door to the east. With this arrangement, the doors also served as an additional source of light. The fact is that there were no windows in the yurts and on warm days the doors of the dwelling were open.

Interior decoration of the yurt of nomads

The inner space of the yurt was conditionally divided into two parts. Usually, the side to the left of the entrance was considered male. The owner's belongings, his weapons and tools, horse harness were kept here. The opposite side was considered to be female, dishes and other household utensils, women's and children's things were stored there. This division was also observed during feasts. In some yurts, special curtains were used to separate the female part from the male part.

There was a hearth in the very center of the yurt. In the center of the vault, directly above the hearth, there was a smoke hole (chimney), which was the only "window" of the nomadic dwelling. The walls of the yurt were decorated with felt and woolen carpets, colorful fabrics. In rich and prosperous families, silk fabrics were hung. The floor was earthen, so it was covered with felt mats and animal skins.

The part of the yurt opposite the entrance was considered the most honorable. Family heirlooms were exhibited there; old people and especially honored guests were invited to this part. The hosts usually sat with their legs crossed, and the guests were offered small stools or sat them directly on the floor, on bedding skins or felt mats. The yurts could also have low tables.

Rules of conduct in the yurt

The ancient Turks had their own customs and traditions associated with the rules of behavior in the yurt, and everyone in the family tried to observe them. Their violation was considered bad form, a sign of bad manners, and sometimes even could offend the owners. For example, at the entrance it was impossible to step on the threshold, sit on it. A guest who deliberately stepped on the threshold was considered an enemy, announcing his evil intentions to the host. The Turks tried to instill in their children a respectful attitude to the fire of the hearth. It was forbidden to pour water, and even more so to spit into the fire, it was impossible to stick a knife into the hearth, touch the fire with a knife or a sharp object, throw garbage, rags into it. It was believed that this offends the spirit of the hearth. It was forbidden to transfer the fire of the hearth to another yurt. It was believed that then happiness could leave the house.

Transition to settled life

Over time, when the ancient Turks, in addition to cattle breeding, began to engage in other types of economic activity, their living conditions also changed. Many of them begin to lead a sedentary lifestyle. Now yurts alone were not enough for them. There are also other types of housing that are more consistent with a settled way of life. Using reeds or wood, they begin to build dugouts that go one meter deep into the ground.

Steps made of stone or wood led into the house. If the doorway was small, then it was closed with a wooden door. Wide openings were hung with animal skins or a felt blanket. In the hut, bunks and beds were made, traditionally located along the front of the hut. The floors were earthen. Mats woven from bast were laid on them. Felt mats were placed over the matting. Shelves were used to store dishes and other household utensils. The dugouts were lit with fat and oil lamps made of clay. As a rule, there was no heating in dugouts, very rarely traces of a hearth are found in them. Perhaps their inhabitants were warmed by the heat of braziers in winter.

Such a dwelling required constant cleaning and airing to protect it from dampness, dust and soot. Our ancestors sought to keep clean not only their homes, but also the territory surrounding the house. In Bulgar, archaeologists have found small streets covered with wooden flooring.

The first wooden houses of nomads

Gradually, houses begin to be built from oak or pine logs in the form of a log house. As a rule, people of the same profession settled in the neighborhood, the masters lived near their workshops. This is how settlements of potters, tanners, blacksmiths, etc. arose. The Bulgars engaged in agriculture had cellars (grain pits sheathed with boards) and hand mills in almost every household. They baked bread and other flour products themselves. Archaeologists find traces of semicircular stoves in the excavations of the Bulgar settlements, in which food was cooked, with which the dwelling was heated.

The tradition of dividing the dwelling into two parts, common among nomadic peoples, was preserved at that time. The main part of the house was occupied by the front part of the house with a stove - "tur yak". The basis of the situation was bunks (wide plank platform), located along the front wall. At night they slept on them, during the day, removing the bedding, they laid the table on them. Duvet covers, large pillows and quilts were stacked on one side of the bunks against the side wall. If there was a table, it was usually placed against the side wall near the window or in the wall between the windows. At this time, tables, as a rule, were used only for storing clean dishes.

Chests were used to store festive clothes and decorations. They were placed near the stove. Honored guests were usually placed on these chests. Behind the stove was the female half, where there were also couches. During the day, food was prepared here, and at night, women and children slept. Outsiders were not allowed to enter this part of the house. Of the men, only the husband and father-in-law could enter here, as well as, in special cases, mullahs and doctors.

Tableware. The ancient Turks used mainly wooden or earthenware, and in more prosperous families - metal. Most families made clay and wooden utensils with their own hands. But gradually, with the development of crafts, craftsmen engaged in the manufacture of dishes for sale appeared. They met both in large cities and in villages. Pottery was originally shaped by hand, but then the potter's wheel began to be used. Masters used local raw materials - clean, well-mixed clay. Pitchers, kumgans, piggy banks, dishes and even water pipes were made from clay. Dishes fired in special ovens were decorated with extruded ornaments and painted with bright colors.

Khans' palaces

When the Turks led a semi-nomadic lifestyle, the khan had two dwellings. Winter palace made of stone and summer yurt. Of course, the Khan's palace was distinguished by its large size and interior decoration. It had many rooms and a throne room.

In the front corner of the throne room was a luxurious royal throne, covered with expensive overseas fabrics. The left side of the royal throne was considered honorable, therefore, during the ceremonies, the wife of the khan and the most dear guests sat on the left hand of the khan. On the right hand of the khan were the leaders of the tribes. Guests, entering the throne room, as a sign of respect, had to remove their hats and kneel, thus welcoming the ruler.
During feasts, the ruler himself was to taste the dishes first, and then treat his guests in turn. He personally handed out a piece of meat to each of the guests, according to seniority.

Only after that it was possible to proceed to the feast. The festive feasts of the Bulgar nobility continued for a long time. Here they read poems, competed in eloquence, sang, danced and played various musical instruments. Thus, the Turks were able to adapt to a variety of living conditions. As the environment changed, so did the way of life, and even the types of housing. Love for work and loyalty to the customs and traditions of their ancestors remained unchanged.

The nomads were barbarians, according to the unanimous opinion of researchers representing sedentary civilizations, both medieval European authors and representatives of sedentary civilizations of Asia, from the ancient Chin, Sin (China) to Persia and the Iranian world.

The word nomads, nomadism, has a similar, but not identical, meaning, and it is precisely because of this similarity of meanings that in the Russian-speaking and possibly other linguistically and culturally dissimilar sedentary societies (Persian, Sino-Chinese, and many others that historically suffered from military expansions of nomadic peoples) there is a sedentarist phenomenon of underlying historical animosity, which has led to the apparently deliberate terminological confusion "nomad-cattleman", "nomad-traveler", Irish-English-Scottish "traveler-traveler", etc.

The nomadic way of life is historically led by the Turkic and Mongolian ethnic groups, and other peoples of the Ural-Altaic language family, who were in the area of ​​nomadic civilizations. Based on the genetic linguistic proximity to the Ural-Altaic family, the ancestors of modern Japanese, ancient horse archer warriors who conquered the Japanese islands, people from the Ural-Altaic nomadic environment, historians and geneticists also consider Koreans to have separated from the proto-Altaic peoples.

The contribution, both ancient and medieval, and relatively recent, of nomads to the northern and southern Sin (ancient name), Han or Chinese ethnogenesis is probably quite large.

The last Qing Dynasty was of nomadic, Manchu origin.

The national currency of China, the yuan, is named after the nomadic Yuan dynasty, which was founded by Genghisid Kubilai Khan.

Livelihood nomads could receive from a variety of sources - nomadic cattle breeding, trade, various crafts, fishing, hunting, various types of art (gypsies), hired labor or even military robbery, or "military conquests". Ordinary theft was unworthy of a nomadic warrior, including a child or a woman, since all members of a nomadic society were warriors of a kind or ale, and even more so of a nomadic aristocrat. Like others, considered unworthy, like theft, the features of a settled civilization were unthinkable for any nomad. For example, among nomads, prostitution would be absurd, that is, absolutely unacceptable. This is not so much a consequence of the tribal military system of society and the state, but rather the moral principles of a nomadic society.

If one adheres to a sedentary view, then “every family and people in one way or another move from place to place”, lead a “nomadic” lifestyle, that is, they can be classified in the modern Russian-speaking sense as nomads (in the order of traditional terminological confusion), or nomads, if avoid this confusion. [ ]

nomadic peoples

Economy and life of nomads

The main occupation of the nomads of Desht-i Kipchak was grazing. Here, perhaps, it is appropriate to recall that the Russian word for "nomad" is orientalism. It comes from the Turkish k?h (k?sh) - moving, resettlement, nomadism, as well as camping during hostilities and moving from one parking lot to another, that is, the daily rate of marching movement. K?chetmek, k?chmek- to move, to migrate. Respectively to?- nomad, nomad (and this is the ancient Greek name for nomads). As the leading St. Petersburg Russianist Anatoly Alekseevich Alekseev (St. Petersburg State University) showed in his research, formations such as “cattle breeder”, “cattle breeding”, etc. first appeared in the Russian language only in the 18th century. Trediakovsky and Radishchev [Alekseev, 1977, p. 104, note. 22].

Turkic word transformation to? into the Russian "nomad" should not surprise us at all. The centuries-old interaction of the Eastern Slavs and the Turks of the Great Steppe left a noticeable mark in the life of these peoples. The abundance of common Turkic-Slavic, or rather, Muslim-Slavic vocabulary is a fact well known in science. I will only remind you of a dozen common words and a number of Russian surnames of eastern origin.

Watermelon, chieftain, lasso, balyk, golden eagle, arba, blockhead, watch, treasury, guard, caftan, dagger, dome, barrow, money, shop, hard labor, bondage, wagon, kiosk, pencil, pouch, bludgeon, hearth, hat, cap, herd, tariff, cart, axe, braid, goods, map, jacket, sack, shooting gallery, fog, dressing gown, shawl, tent, stockings, sofa, trap, shack, earring, sheepskin coat, hut, iron, check and, finally , youth word buzz; buzz is a Persian word in origin, which means “well-being”, “cheerful mood”, otherwise you can’t even say in one word - buzz!

And here are some famous Russian surnames of eastern origin: Bulgakov, Bukharin, Sheremet, Apraksin, Saltykov, Turgenev, Karamzin, Sharapov, Timiryazev, Chapaev, Kolchak and others. In particular, the Turkic word kalchak(short form - kalcha) means "thigh".

However, let us return to Desht-i Kipchak.

Livestock, the main wealth of the nomads, provided them with food, material for clothing and housing, and also served as transport. It was also a means of exchange for basic necessities with neighboring peoples. It seems that it is impossible to more accurately point out the importance of livestock in the life of nomads than did Ch. Ch. Valikhanov, who wrote that “the nomadic steppe dweller eats, drinks, and dresses like livestock, for him livestock is dearer than his peace of mind. As you know, the Kyrgyz begin their first greeting with the following phrase: are your cattle and your family healthy? This care, with which families inquire about livestock in advance, characterizes the life of nomads more than entire pages of descriptions” [Valikhanov, vol. 2, p. 28]. And here is what we read about the country of “Uzbek-Cossacks” in the work of the observant and judicious Ibn Ruzbikhan. Having described the delights of the Kipchak steppe and noting the abundance of livestock there, the author of Notes of a Bukhara Guest embarks on such a discussion. “It seems,” he writes, “with a little processing, the food of this area turns into life, and life even more quickly turns into a beast. This must be one of the features of the countries of the north - the rapid transition of one complex compound to another, because their vegetable food quickly turns into an animal, an animal into a person, and soil and water also seem to quickly turn into food ”[Ibn Ruzbihan, p. . 94].

The Kazakhs bred mainly sheep, horses and camels; cattle occupied an insignificant place in the economy of the Kazakhs, since they are not adapted to the conditions of year-round grazing, and especially to getting food in winter from under the snow. At the same time, the leading place in terms of economic importance among the Kazakhs was occupied by sheep. The meat and milk of sheep served as food, the skin and wool were used to make clothes, shoes, dishes and many other household items. From mutton fat and ashes of fragrant herbs, the Kazakhs made laundry soap, which had a blackish color and the ability to cleanly remove all kinds of stains from linen.

Steppe Kipchak sheep, according to eyewitnesses, were distinguished by endurance, large size and good meat and dairy qualities. So, I. Barbaro, a Venetian merchant of the 15th century, who lived in Tana for several years, wrote about the main types of livestock bred by the Desht nomads: with such tails that some weigh up to twelve pounds each. I saw similar rams, which dragged a wheel behind them, and their tail was tied to it. The Tatars season their food with lard from these tails; it serves them instead of butter and does not freeze in the mouth” [Barbaro and Contarini, p. 149]. Visited in the middle of the XVI century. steppe expanses of the Aral Sea region, the Englishman A. Jenkinson also noted that the local rams are very large, with large fat tails, weighing 60–80 pounds. At the beginning of the XIX century. A. Levshin, who, being an official, spent several years in the Kazakh steppes, also noted the peculiarity of Kazakh sheep - fat tail - and wrote: a sheep sometimes weighs from 4 to 5 pounds and gives fat up to 2 pounds; they are generally so strong, strong and tall that 10-12-year-old children can ride them for fun on horseback.

In connection with the last message of A. Levshin about Kazakh sheep, the most curious stories of Mirza Khaidar Dughlat about Tibet and Tibetans are recalled. In 1532–1533 he personally visited Western Tibet, and ten years later he wrote in his Tarikh-i Rashidi. The population of Tibet is divided into two parts: one of them is called yulpa, i.e. "village dweller", another janpa, i.e. "inhabitant of the steppe". The way of life of the nomads of Tibet is amazing, such as no other nation has. First, they eat meat and any other food raw and never boil it. Second, they give horses meat instead of grain. Third: they load weights and burdens on the rams, and the ram lifts about twelve Sharia manns of the load (about 3–3.5 kg). They sew saddlebags, tie a helmet to them, a chest strap and put them on a ram, and until needed, they do not remove the load from them, so that in winter and summer it is on the ram's back. In winter, the Janpas go to India and bring Tibetan and Chinese goods there. And from India they load the rams with Indian goods and go to Tibet in the spring. Slowly, constantly grazing sheep along the way, they reach China by winter. So, the goods that they load on sheep in China, they remove from them in India, and what they load in India, they remove in China [Sultanov, 1977, p. 140-142].

However, "let's get back to our sheep." In written sources, it is constantly noted that the nomads of the Kipchak steppe have "a lot of sheep." However, the number of people engaged in grazing and guarding small cattle on pastures was very small. To designate shepherds, Muslim authors of the Middle Ages usually use the Persian-Turkic word chupan or choban(the Kazakhs have a more common word koishi). The main contingent of sheep herders were slaves from among the captives, orphans and crippled children. Sheep herders were traditionally the lowest stratum in nomadic society.

Needless to say, what a horse meant in the life of nomads. As al-Jahiz, the famous Arab author of the 9th century, noted, “if you studied the duration of the life of a Turk and counted its days, you would find that he sat on the back of his horse more than on the surface of the earth.” Indeed, the nomad is inseparable from the horse; he will not walk even a short distance. The horse, according to the concept of a nomad, elevates a person. From here, a rule was established, noted by the orientalist N. I. Veselovsky, according to which one who wants to show respect when meeting another person must get off his horse to the ground; only equals with equals can greet each other while remaining on horseback.

The nomads not only used the horse for riding and cartage, they ate and dressed with it. Not a single holiday could do without equestrian competitions; at leisure, the inhabitants of the steppe admired the herd of free horses with the long-maned handsome stallion rushing ahead. In this regard, the words that the author of "Tarikh-i Rashidi" puts into the mouth of the Kazakh Khan Kasim (d. 1518) are very remarkable. “We are the inhabitants of the steppe; we have neither rare nor expensive things, nor goods,” he said to the Mughal leader Sultan Said, “our main wealth is in horses; their meat and skins serve us as the best food and clothing, and the most pleasant drink for us is their milk and what is prepared from it, in our land there are neither gardens nor buildings; the place of our entertainment is the pastures of cattle and herds of horses, and we go to the herds to admire the spectacle of horses” [MIKH, p. 226].

The words of the Kazakh Khan confirm the position already established in science that the main wealth of the nomads was not so much cattle in general, but the number of horses available in this state.

Steppe horses were distinguished by great endurance, unpretentiousness and relatively easily endured the harsh conditions of year-round foraging from under the snow or ice crust. According to I. Barbaro, Desht horses are not shod, they are undersized, with a large belly and do not eat oats. Approximately the same words describe the horses of the Kazakhs and A. Levshin: they are small in stature, rarely beautiful in articles, the wool is different, but lighter. At the same time, according to him, in the northern part of the Kazakh steppes, horses are stronger and more numerous than in the southern.

Horses were divided into pack (draft, workers), riding and argamak horses. The sources emphasize that the country of Desht-i Kipchak does not produce very thoroughbred horses, and thoroughbred horses with a long neck have always been a rarity in the Kipchak steppes. The Mughal Khan Said told about his trip to the headquarters of the Kazakh Kasim Khan in 1513 to the future author of Tarikh-i Rashidi. When we arrived, the khan showed us all his cattle and horses and said: "I have two horses, which alone are worth the entire herd." They were brought, and Sultan Said Khan repeatedly deigned to tell Mirza Haidar that he had never seen horses like these two in his life. Kasim, when the horses were brought, turned to Said Khan and said: “People of the steppes without a horse can’t even live; these two horses are the most reliable and worthy for me. I can't give both; but since you are a dear guest, choose for yourself anyone that you like - I will be pleased, just leave the other to me. Qasim Khan described the virtues of both horses. Sultan Said Khan took one for himself. And this horse was called Oglan-Toruk. According to Muhammad Haydar Dughlat, he also never had to see such a horse.

Nomadic pastoralism is characterized by herd keeping of horses. Herd horse is called jylky, Unlike am- a horse, a pack horse, and a horse in general. A herd of mares (usually numbering 12–15) without fail with one stallion makes up a joint ( uyir). The stallion serves in a herd of mares instead of a strict shepherd and drives them together. If any mare separates from him and gets caught up with another stallion, then the former one no longer lets her near his herd. Several herds (usually three, i.e. three stallions and 40–50 mares) make up a horse herd. (Here, by the way, note that the Turkic-Mongolian word herd or tabyn denotes in general any group of 40–50 units.) When driving from several (usually three) small horse herds, a large herd is formed. For each small herd, one shepherd is allocated. Tabuns are of three kinds. In some, they keep foals, in others - geldings, in the third - queens, which are guarded by stallions instead of shepherds. Judging by written sources, the shepherd of horses (horseman) was called by different words, namely: keleban, ulakshi, akhtachi, yamshi; in the modern Kazakh language, a shepherd with a horse herd is called jylkyshy.

A significant place in the economy of the Kazakhs was occupied by camel breeding: camels were indispensable for migrations and transportation of goods. According to Ibn Ruzbikhan, these animals, as well as bulls, were used by the Kazakhs to transport wagon houses put on wheels. In addition, wool was removed from camels, and a high-calorie and tasty drink made from camel milk ( shubat) was valued on a par with koumiss. The Kazakhs, like all the nomads of Desht-i Kipchak, bred hairy two-humped camels. One-humped camels ( bunk) Kazakhs rarely keep because, wrote A. Levshin, they consider their climate to be too harsh for them, and in severe cold they sheathe the two-humped with felt. Most of all they were bred in the sandy areas of the southern strip of Kazakhstan.

The camel was a symbol of peace. In this country, A. Jenkinson wrote about Desht-i Kipchak in his “Journey to Central Asia”, peaceful people travel only in caravans, in which there are many camels, and therefore fresh tracks of horses without camels inspire fear. By the way, about the caravan. Caravan, (actually carvan) is a chain, row, string ( Qatar) camels. Each small caravan has strictly one bell. In other words, a caravan is a line of camels, in the row of which the ringing of a metal bell is heard; usually it is a string of 7-8 camels. A large caravan could consist of several dozen, as well as 400-500 and even one or two thousand camels. camel drivers ( tuyekesh, deveji) obeyed the head, the foreman of the caravan (in Turkic: karvanbashi; in Persian: carvancalar). The caravan leaders were chosen from among people known for their honesty and influence; they represented to the merchants a guarantee of the conscientiousness of the drovers. Karvanbashi, usually leading the caravan with the first camel, was responsible for the correctness of the path, the choice of the place and time of halt and lodging for the night, for the feeding and watering of the animals at the stops of the caravan; disputes between camel drivers were also resolved by karvanbash.

Along with sheep breeding, horse breeding and camel breeding, Kazakhs were also engaged in breeding cattle and goats. But the breeding of these animals was of the least importance in the economy.

The cattle were private family property. But the right of communal use of pastures ( adjournment) belonged to all free members of the nomadic society. However, the communal use of the grazing territory did not violate the customs of hereditary ownership of pastures by the clans and tribes that made up the population of the ulus, and each ulus sultan "stayed with his peoples - according to a source of the 16th century. - in any locality, an ancient yurt", located and occupying places on the territory of the khanate "according to Yasa of Genghis Khan". Only the owners of the herds migrated, while the poor, who had almost no livestock, refused to migrate and usually remained all year round on the banks of the rivers. The rules of migrations, developed by centuries of experience, were based on accounting for the grass cover in a particular area in accordance with the seasons of the year. The entire pasture area was divided into four types of seasonal pastures: winter ( kystau), spring ( cocktail), summer ( jailau) and autumn ( kuzeu). So the inhabitants of the Kipchak steppe were not wanderers, passively following their herds and herds from one field to another throughout the year in search of fresh grass and water, as other men of science imagined them to be. The then inhabitants of the Kazakh steppes, in essence, led a semi-nomadic lifestyle: they were pastoralists who, observing the pastoral culture developed over the centuries, migrated from a well-known summer to a familiar wintering.

Places for wintering were most often chosen near rivers. This is mainly due to the fact that on their banks there were dense thickets of reeds and shrubs, which served as fodder for livestock in the harsh winter season and well protected it from snow blizzards and blizzards, besides, they gave the nomads fuel. The richer in pastures the river coast was, the greater the number of nomads settled on it and the longer they remained on the banks of the river. According to Ibn Ruzbikhan, some rivers were especially fond of nomads. Among the Kazakhs, such a river was the Syr Darya, especially rich in winter pastures of the valley and the steppes of its middle and lower reaches. “The place of their (i.e. Kazakhs) winter quarters is the coast of the Seyhun River, which is called the Syr River,” he writes. - As we explained above, all the surroundings of Seykhun are covered with thickets of nai [reeds], which in Turkic is called reeds, are rich in fodder for livestock and fuel ... When the Kazakhs arrive at winter quarters, they are located along the Seyhun River, the banks of Seyhun, on which they settle, exceeds three hundred farsakhs. Wintering of the Kazakhs in the XVI century. were also located in Kara-Kum, on the banks of the lake. Balkhash, Ural rivers, etc.

In winter, the nomads were accommodated as spaciously as possible, so that near each wintering there was a fairly large fodder area for grazing livestock. Therefore, communication between the uluses was fraught with many difficulties. “There are sometimes long distances between the camps and their winter camps,” the source says. “Due to snowfall, ice and severe cold, they have absolutely no information and news about each other’s situation.” The winter camps of the Kipchak nomads were of all kinds. But usually these are yurts and wagons placed on small depressions-pits and covered with snowdrifts, in which a fire is continuously lit. For cattle, pens were built in advance (the term is used in the sources agyl; in modern Kazakh language - bark), most often from reeds, kyi, mutton droppings.

In December, the nomads were engaged sogum- slaughter of cattle, done once a year to supply oneself with food for the winter. It should be specially noted here that at the same time, the butchering of cattle among the Turks (by the way, to this day) goes strictly on the joints, bones are not chopped. Each half of the carcass - left and right - is usually divided into six parts. Common name of the part - vein, and the Kazakhs call a separate part of each half of the carcass as follows: 1) curry vein, 2) kun zhilik, 3) zhauyryn, 4) asykty vein, 5) ortan eyuilik, 6) jambas.

The size of the sogum depended on the state, and a person of good income slaughtered ten horses or more for the winter, not counting sheep. Sogum days were days of winter games and entertainment, feasts and mutual treats. But, everything ends. The most difficult months for the economy and the most disturbing for the nomads were coming - January and February: the cattle fell asleep from the body, weakened and required more supervision, and the frosts intensified and reached their climax, the snowstorm season began - the steppe snowstorm. Winter, with its gloomy face and tough temper, was not only a difficult time of the year for the economy of nomads, but also militarily the most dangerous: as far as can be judged from the sources, campaigns against nomads were usually undertaken precisely in winter, when the uluses were located, according to Ibn Ruzbi- khan, "scattered" and the distance between the winter camps was, "must be fifteen days' journey."

With the onset of spring, which the nomads always met with admiration, the Kazakhs migrated to the spring pastures. Here, unlike winter camps, yurts and wagons were mostly set up on hills and hills; here the nomads spent the whole daylight hours outside their living quarters, under the open sky; here, the cattle, emaciated during the winter, gained weight, sheep, mares and camels brought offspring. Sheep, camels, two- and three-year-old single mares were sheared in spring.

On summer days, "when the heat comes Tammuz(July heat) and the time of many fires and combustion, - writes Ibn Ruzbikhan, - the Kazakh people occupy places on the outskirts, on the sides and borders of the steppe. They lived more closely together in summer camps than in winter, and life on jailau was the most free time. Weddings were celebrated here, games were held, horse races for a prize ( baygi), a competition of wrestlers, singers, musicians and storytellers was arranged.

With the onset of autumn, pastoralists went to autumn pastures, which in most cases coincided with spring ones. Here the autumn shearing of sheep was carried out; here, wrote A. Levshin, there are festivities; here, for the most part, rams are also produced, which are facilitated by the darkness of the nights and the fact that the horses are then in the body and are able to withstand fast and long hauls. From the autumn pastures, the nomads usually made the most distant raids on their neighbors. In the autumn, people's meetings were held with the participation of all adult men of Kazakh society, at which matters important for the country were decided.

Distances between winter quarters and places of seasonal roaming amounted to hundreds of kilometers and amounted to a journey of several months. Such a large length of the path also determined some features of the life of the inhabitants of Desht-i Kipchak, which consisted, in particular, in the fact that then they did not roam in separate auls (as in the 18th–19th centuries, having loaded all the property and a felt house on camels and making halts through every 25–30 km), but in whole uluses, that is, tens and hundreds of thousands of people and animals slowly moved across the steppe at the same time. Since there were many people and a huge number of animals, it was necessary to move in a wide front so that those walking in front did not destroy all the grass and bushes necessary for those who walked behind. The gap between the phalanxes of the "moving people" was, according to I. Barbaro, up to 120 miles (190 km and even more).

Another feature of the life of the nomadic population of Desht-i Kipchak was that their migration was movement on wheels with whole houses. We have no shortage of examples describing this extraordinary spectacle. “So,” writes Wilhelm de Rubruck, describing his journey through Komapia to Mongolia in 1253-1255, “in the morning we met the carts of Skatan (one of Batu’s relatives) loaded with houses, and it seemed to me that a large city. I was also amazed at the number of herds of bulls and horses and flocks of sheep” [Wilhelm de Rubruck, p. 104]. Having left the Perevolka and moving further south along the steppe, to Central Asia, an English traveler of the 16th century wrote. A. Jenkinson, we saw a large concentration of Nogais grazing their herds; “there were about more than 1000 camels harnessed to carts with dwellings on them in the form of strange-looking tents, which seemed from afar to be a city” [Jenkinson, p. 171].

And here is what he wrote about the way of movement of the Kazakhs in the XVI century. Ibn Ruzbikhan. Since sometimes there is not enough water for their huge herds on the route of the Kazakhs to winter quarters, they, of necessity, set off on their journey when the roads are covered with snow; their dwellings are built in the form of carts and put on wheels, and camels and horses carry them from camp to camp, stretching out like a caravan; “if they go continuously one after another, then they stretch for a distance of one hundred Mongolian farsakhs, and the gap between them will be no more than a step”; their carts are quite suitable for moving across the steppes and even for passing through a snow crust, without which the Kazakhs would be in danger of dying from thirst and lack of water.

Since we are talking about carts, I will give here some information from sources about this type of transport and the dwellings of the nomads of Desht-i Kipchak.

In the book of the famous Arab traveler of the XIV century. Ibn Battuta, entitled “A gift to observers in terms of the wonders of countries and wonders of travel”, there is a whole story about the carts of the nomads of Desht-i Kipchak. Given the importance of the information he provides, I quote almost the entire passage.

“This area, in which we stopped, belongs to the steppe, known under the name Desht-Kipchak. Desht - (this word is written through w and t) - in the Turkic language means "steppe". This steppe is green, blooming, but there is no tree, no mountain, no hill, no rise on it. There is no firewood on it, and they (its inhabitants) burn only dry droppings, which they call tezek- written through h(= kizik, dung). You see how even their elders pick it up and put it in the hem of their clothes. They travel across this steppe only in carts ...

About the carts that are driven around this country. They call the cart Arab (= arba), written through a, ra and ba. Each of the carts has 4 large wheels; there are carts between them that are pulled by only two horses, but there are also those that pull more than this. They are also carried by oxen and camels, depending on the weight or lightness of the cart. The one who drives the cart sits astride one of the horses carrying it, on which there is a saddle. In his hand is a whip, which he sets in motion for the chase, and a large pole with which he guides her (the cart) when she turns off the path. A kind of vault is placed on the cart, made of twigs of a tree, tied one to another with thin leather straps. This is a light burden; it is covered with felt or blanket; there are lattice windows in it, and the one who sits in it sees people, but they do not see him; he turns around in it as he likes, sleeps and eats; reads and writes while driving. On those of these carts, on which heavy travel and food supplies are carried, there is a similar wagon, which we talked about, but with a lock.

... The headquarters of the Sultan, which they call Urdu- With at- (= Horde), and we saw a large city moving with its inhabitants; in it are mosques and bazaars, and smoke from kitchens rising through the air; they cook their food while they ride, and the horses carry carts with them. When they reach the place of rest, the tents are removed from the carts and put on the ground, as they are easily carried. In the same way they arrange mosques and shops.

About khatuns and their orders. Each khatun (i.e., queen) rides them in a cart; in the wagon in which she is located, a canopy made of gilded silver or of decorated wood. The horses that carry her arba are adorned with gilded silk covers. The driver of the cart, who sits astride one of the horses, a young guy called ulakshi.... Behind the cart of Khatuni there are about 100 other carts. In each arba there are three or four servants, large and small, in silk robes and with caps on their heads. These carts are followed by up to 300 carts, to which camels and oxen are harnessed. They are carrying the treasury of the khatuni, her property, clothes, belongings and food supplies.

... Every person sleeps and eats only in his cart while driving” [SMIZO, vol. 1, p. 279, 281, 289, 292, 308].

Araba (= arba) - Turkic word; according to the observations of V. V. Bartold, it is not found in the literature before the Mongols. In other sources, the words telegen, gardune.

The carts of the nomadic population of Desht-i Kipchak were of two kinds: a two-wheeler and a cart on four large wheels. Depending on the severity or lightness of the carts, horses, oxen and camels carried carts. The skeleton and wheel of the carts were usually made of birch; carts were made in April and May, when the tree bends easily. The building itself was carried out in the summer. Strong and strong carts had at least a twofold purpose: during the defense, the nomads formed a fortification, surrounding their camp with carts placed in a row; such a barricade, made of wagons, was called arab tour; the dwelling of the steppes was placed on the carts - “tents”, which are called the Turkic word in the work of Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi kutarme. The dwelling of the steppes in this boundless desert, he reported, describing Timur's campaign in Desht-i Kipchak in 1391, are "tents kutarme”, which make it so that they are not dismantled, but put and removed as a whole, and during movement and migrations they go, putting them on carts. Here's another example. In the winter of 1509, the leader of the nomadic Uzbeks, Sheibani Khan, led an army against the Kazakhs, we read in Ibn Ruzbikhan's Mihman-name-yi Bukhara; when the Khan's troops reached the vicinity of the Janish-Sultan ulus, "wagons became visible, which the Kazakhs set up on wheels when moving."

These "houses on wheels", covered wagons of the inhabitants of Desht-i Kipchak, were described by many authors of the Middle Ages. “Oh, what tents! - exclaims, for example, Ibn Ruzbihan. "Castles erected high, houses built of wood in the air." According to the description of I. Barbaro, the skeleton of such wagon houses was built as follows. They took a wooden hoop with a diameter of one and a half steps and installed several half-hoops on it, intersecting in the center; the gaps were covered with reed mats, which were covered with either felt or cloth, depending on wealth. When the Kipchak nomads want to stop for a halt, I. Barbaro writes further, they take these houses off the wagon and live in them.

In front and behind these "mobile houses", as Ibn Ruzbihan calls them, lattice windows were made; the windows were curtained with "felt curtains, very beautiful and skillful." The size, furnishings of the “cart houses” and their number reflected the nobility and wealth of the owners. The “wagon houses” that belonged to the sultans and the nobility were skillfully and beautifully furnished and could accommodate twenty or more people at the same time. Such a large tent was strengthened on a wagon, several camels were harnessed to the wagon and carried. "Wagon houses" of ordinary Kazakhs "made an oblong shape." They were also made with genuine craftsmanship, but they were much smaller, they were carried by one, sometimes several camels. These mobile, "standing on a high foundation of the house" were so excellent that "the mind is amazed and dizzy from beauty, skill and grace."

According to eyewitnesses, the nomads of the Kipchak steppe rode their carts “with confidence that knew no fear,” although the inhabitants of the tent on wheels were mostly women. The one who ran the big cart, mounted one of the horses (camels) carrying it, on which there was a saddle. In his hands he had a whip for driving and a large pole, with which he controlled the cart when it was necessary to turn off the path. The carts were usually accompanied by riders, who, in particular, during the ascent, having tied the ropes to the shafts of the carts, helped to drag them up the mountain, and during the descent, they braked the wheels, thus ensuring the safety and peace of the inhabitants of the tents. They also provided a crossing over the rivers. It was, according to the traveler A. Contarini, a beautiful and quick undertaking, but, of course, very dangerous, he concludes. And here is how the crossing of the Don by the hordes of the Golden Horde Khan Ulug-Muhammad, whose name was repeatedly mentioned above, when describing the military-political events that took place in the 1920s, looks like in the record of I. Barbaro. 15th century

Ulug-Muhammad came to the Don in June 1436 and crossed the river for two days with his numerous people, with carts, with cattle and with all his property. “Believing this is amazing, but even more amazing to see it yourself! - exclaims I. Barbaro. - They crossed without any noise, with such confidence, as if they were walking on the ground. The method of crossing is as follows: the chiefs send their people ahead and order them to make rafts from the dry forest, which is very numerous along the rivers. Then they are ordered to make bundles of reeds, which are fitted under the rafts and under the carts. In this way they cross, and the horses swim, dragging these rafts and carts, and naked people help the horses ”[Barbaro and Contarini, p. 150–151].

House-carts, as the main type of dwelling and transport, disappeared from the nomads of Desht-i Kipchak in the 17th century: by the beginning of the 17th century. include the latest reports known to us about the use of wagon houses by the inhabitants of Kipchak, and later sources mention only two-wheeled carts and contain only descriptions, although often large in size, but collapsible yurts and portable wagons. The widespread transition from roaming in wagons on wheels to collapsible yurts was a major change in the life of the nomadic population of Desht-i Kipchak, and it can be assumed that the reasons for this change should be sought in socio-economic processes. Economic decline in a nomadic economy can be caused primarily by a decrease in pastures and the number of livestock. In the history of the Kazakhs, this period falls precisely on the 17th century and is associated primarily with their fierce struggle with the Oirats over the possession of pastures.

It seems appropriate to complete the section on carts and wagon houses of nomads with a brief description yurts- still the most common type of dwelling for pastoralists. This is a convenient, simple structure that is quickly dismantled, repaired and transported on pack animals. Its size and gravity can be judged by the fact that a dismantled yurt can fit on one camel. The wooden frame of the yurt consists of three parts: kerege- gratings made of willow, the links of which - rope(from 4 to 12) - make up the circumference of the yurt; wookie- curved rods-arrows that make up the vault of the yurt; changarak- a wooden circle for the passage of smoke and light. The wooden frame of the yurt is covered with felt and tied with ropes. In winter, to keep warm, the yurt is lined with a double layer of felt, sprinkled with earth or snow from below, and kerege are dressed on the outside between it and the felt mat. chiem- thin steppe reed, wrapped in different colored wool. The floor of the yurt is usually covered with felt, skins, and carpets. In the center of the nomad's felt house there is a hearth - an oasis of warmth and comfort in the autumn bad weather and the winter cold.

According to Ch. Ch. Valikhanov (1835–1865), in his time, the Kazakhs had two more types of yurt. One was called braid, or zholym-uy(road house). The kos differed from the standard yurt in its straight uuks, the absence of a changarak, and its conical shape; the braid was rarely more than two links of lattices. This small and light, but well protected from cold and heat, felt tent was used by herdsmen of horses, warriors during a long campaign and merchants during a caravan. The third kind of yurt was called kalmak-uy or torgout-uy and differed from the traditional Kazakh yurt in that it had a more conical shape.

Separate reports of sources say that the Kazakhs were also engaged in agriculture. But the development of agriculture in different areas of the territory of the Kazakh Khanate was extremely uneven: in the vast majority of areas, the agricultural economy still remained underdeveloped or completely absent. However, in some areas it was of great economic importance, and this primarily applies to those areas of the territory of the Kazakh possessions, where centers of agricultural culture have long existed, namely in Semirechie and South Kazakhstan. But settled agriculture in these areas was carried out by people who had mastered the agricultural economy for a long time. As for the Kazakhs themselves, who roamed this territory, they, according to the Russian ambassador F. Skibin, “all live for arable land in nomadic lands, and their arable land is scarce, there are many horses and sheep, but few cows; feed on meat and milk. “But they don’t have standing bread,” V. Kobyakov adds, “and they keep it at home, only what would be the soak for a year.”

Kazakhs mainly grew millet ( containers). The following reports from sources testify to the traditional nature of this culture in the economy of the nomads of Desht-i Kipchak. Al-Omari (XIV century), noting that most of the subjects of the Golden Horde Khan are “inhabitants of tents living in the steppes”, wrote: “They have few crops, and the least of all is wheat and barley, and beans are almost impossible to find. Most often they have crops of millet; they feed on them." I. Barbaro also wrote about millet crops. At the same time, he noted that when a Desht nomad is going on a long journey, he takes with him “a small bag made of a goat’s skin” filled with sifted millet flour, kneaded into dough with a small amount of honey. Stocks of this food allowed both individual riders and guard detachments to move away from "their people at a distance of a good ten, sixteen, or even twenty days of travel." According to A. Levshin, who visited the Kazakh steppes, a grain of millet, according to the Kazakhs' own assurances, "with a good harvest gives them from 50 to 60 grains."

In science, it is considered established that the transition of nomads to agriculture is carried out everywhere under the pressure of economic necessity, and that it was the poor who did not have the opportunity to move to settled down. The Turkic word Jatak(lit.: ?lying’) or oturak(lit.: ?sitting’). It is characteristic that the impoverished nomads, at the first opportunity to acquire the necessary amount of livestock, easily abandoned forced arable farming and willingly took up their usual cattle breeding. The ability to roam has always been considered by the nomads as a sign of prosperity, and this purely steppe idea of ​​wealth is remarkably simply expressed by the lips of a Kazakh nomad who said in a conversation with a representative of science: “Mama-ake has so many cattle that she can roam.”

The vast expanses of Desht-i Kipchak with a diverse wildlife gave the nomads great opportunities for individual and collective hunting. Medieval authors who knew this country well note that the Desht nomads “are excellent at hunting, using mainly bows.” Ibn Ruzbikhan also writes about this in the section “Description of the joy of the country of Turkestan”:

“All the desert steppes of that blessed country are full of game. Saigas from the abundance of meadow pastures in that steppe, like fat cows, are unable to run, and the hunter in that area, chasing game, never drove the horse of diligence. From many reliable people who were trustworthy messengers, there was a rumor in those places that in this area it happens when a respected guest becomes a kunak in someone's house and the owner of the house in relation to him fulfills the rules of hospitality and treats, - which is the custom of the inhabitants of Turkestan, then, if there was a need for meat, the owner immediately, throwing a powerful bow with several arrows over his shoulder, went hunting to cook dinner for the guest. He set off for the steppe and immediately with a skillful thumb made a fat kulan the target of his hunting arrow. From his fat and meat, having prepared in a worthy manner the permitted food to treat the guest, he returned home with plentiful game.

It also speaks of herds of gazelles grazing in the steppe expanses, which were hunted by nomads.

There were several types of hunting: with birds of prey, with greyhounds, hunting with a corral, etc. Of the hunting birds, hawks, golden eagles, gyrfalcons, falcons, etc. were used. Hunting with birds of prey was widely practiced in Kazakhstan until the beginning of the 20th century. A description of the Kazakhs hunting for saigas by a corral we find in A. Levshin. At the watering places for saigas, hunters built a semicircular fence of reeds, sticking reeds in such a way that part of them was pointed inside the fence. The hunters hid in an ambush. As soon as the saigas came to the watering place, they were frightened. Animals rushed into the passage left by the watering place in the fence and, trying to jump over the fence, stumbled upon pointed reeds. Wounded saigas were finished off with knives.

Among the nomads of Desht-i Kipchak, however, hunting was not an independent occupation, but was only an aid to cattle breeding, although it was apparently of considerable importance in the subsistence economy of the steppes. According to the author of the XIV century. al-Omari, the Kipchak nomads do not sell or buy meat.

“Most of their food consists of meat obtained through hunting, from milk, lard and millet. When one of their cattle begins to rot, such as a horse, or a cow, or a sheep, then he slaughters it and, together with his household, eats part of it and gives part of it to his neighbors, and when the neighbors also spoil a sheep or a cow, or horse, they slaughter it and give it to those who gave them. For this reason, there is never a shortage of meat in their homes. This custom was so established between them, as if the donation of meat was an obligatory decree” [SMIZO, vol. 1, p. 230–231].

Traveling in the 18th century P. Pallas also notes that the inhabitants of the Caspian and Aral steppes do not lack meat, because they go hunting, they also “kill damaged or crippled cattle, and therefore they have enough meat.” Own livestock needlessly slaughtered, “including only feasting, is revered as an extraordinary deed,” he writes.

A significant place in the economy of the Kazakhs was occupied by various crafts and household crafts, most of which were associated with the processing of livestock products. Kazakhs have long been able to make leather and felt and dye them in different colors, they skillfully mastered the technique of embossing, appliqué and patterned sewing. According to Ibn Ruzbikhan, the Kazakhs "produced multi-colored felts with unusual patterns and rifled belts, very beautiful and elegant." The fact that the home craft of the Kazakhs of the XVI century. (as, for example, leather dressing) was at a high stage of development, confirm, in particular, the data of the Ottoman author of the 16th century. Seifi Chelebi, which were first brought to consideration by Academician V.V. Bartold. However, in the printed text of his "Essay on the history of Semirechie" there are inaccuracies and there are some omissions in the translation of the source, which are explained by the fact that he did not have the opportunity to correct the typesetting text of his "Essay". Since most of the authors of modern historical and ethnographic studies about the Kazakhs refer to this place from the work of V.V. Bartold: the information reported in it is so important, it seems necessary to provide a translation made from a microfilm of the original stored in the Leiden University Library.

“They (Kazakhs. - T.S.) many rams, horses and camels, their dwellings are placed on carts. Their kaftans are made of sheepskin, they are dyed in different colors and look like satin. They are brought to Bukhara, where they are sold at the same price as satin caftans, they are so elegant and beautiful. They also have amazing capes made from the same sheepskin. They are completely waterproof and are not afraid of dampness; this comes from the properties of certain herbs growing there, which are used to treat the skin ”[Safi, l. 23ab].

Description of the manufacturing technology of soft leather capes, which so surprised the Ottoman author of the 16th century. with their properties, we find in P. Pallas (part 1, pp. 569–571), who visited the Kazakhs, who then roamed around Yaik, in the summer of 1769, and in the work of A. Levshin, a Russian official of the border commission and a great science enthusiast, rightly named for his thorough research on the nomads of the Aral Sea region "Herodotus of the Kazakh people". Here is what, in particular, A. Levshin wrote:

"Sheep and goat skins, used for clothing called daha or jaha, are prepared as follows: after cutting off the wool, they sprinkle them with warm water, roll them up into a tube and put them in a warm place, where they keep them until the hair roots become dry and begin to crawl out. Here they scrape the wool with knives, dry the skin in the air and then put it in sour milk for three or four days. Taken out of milk, dried in the shade, crumpled with hands, smoked in smoke, again crumpled with hands until they give the proper softness, and finally painted in dark yellow color, made from rhubarb roots or stone tea, with alum and mutton fat. This composition is thick, like gruel, and the skins, which are smeared with it on both sides for two or three days, are dried and wrinkled after each time, from which they get the property not to let moisture through themselves and to wash like a sheet, without losing color "[Levshin, part 3, p. 210–211].

All these labour-intensive and physically hard work: felt rolling, skin processing, leather dressing, sewing of leather products, etc. - in a nomadic society, from beginning to end, were performed by women. At the same time, women participated in grazing sheep and goats, set up and dismantled yurts, were engaged in livestock milking, processing of livestock products, cooking and other household chores; women also had to take care of young children. In short, among the nomads, the share of women's participation in economic activities significantly exceeded the labor contribution of men. Such a ratio of male and female labor in everyday life is explained by the fact that among nomads, as a rule, physical labor associated with the processing of livestock products and housekeeping was considered unworthy of a free man and therefore was completely assigned to women, and, if possible, to slaves. However, this does not mean, of course, that men did nothing at all in everyday life. Free men of the nomadic society made weapons, harness, saddles, carts, built houses, sewed boots for themselves and for women, “had some care for the herds”, practiced shooting, hunted animals and birds. The most important duty of men was to protect the family and property, to wage war.