File:The boy travellers in the Russian empire- adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across Siberia.. (1886) (14787215233).jpg

Identifier: boytravellersinr00knox (find matches)
Title: The boy travellers in the Russian empire: adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across Siberia..
Year: 1886 (1880s)
Authors: Knox, Thomas Wallace, 1835-1896
Subjects: Soviet Union -- Description and travel Siberia (Russia)
Publisher: New York : Harper & brothers
Contributing Library: New York Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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arties, and theability of the purchaser to pay for the property. Among nearly all thenomad tribes of Turkestan the marriage ceremony includes a race for thebride; the game is called Kolchuri (green wolf), and is decidedly interesting. The irirl is mounted on a swift horse, and carries the carcass of a lambbefore her on the saddle. She is given a certain start in advance of thebridegroom and his friends; they follow on horseback, and unless thebridegroom can take the lamb from her hands during the race the matchis off. She makes a show of resistance, and generally leads the party a WOMEN OF TURKESTAN. 447 long distance, but the affair having been negotiated beforehand, is prettysure to end in the surrender of the lamb. In some tribes the girl must belifted from the saddle by the bridegroom, who carries her on his ownhorse back to the point of starting. There is this difference in the treatment of the women of Turkestanand those of most other Moslem countries, the Doctor continued, that
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KOKBURI—A RACE FOR A BRIDE they are not required to cover their faces. In Turkey, Egypt, and Arabiathe Moslem w^oman who leaves her face uncovered commits an act of greatimpropriety, but this is not the case in Turkestan. Many of the womenare quite pretty in their youth, but their good looks do not last long. Themen are of good height and figure, and their manners are grave and.digni-fied. The hair and beard are dark, and the complexion may be set downas a light shade of brown. Frank asked how many tribes and people were included in Turkestanor Central Asia, and how great was the population. 448 THE BOY TEAAELLERS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. That is a very difficult question to answer, said tlie Doctor, in factit is impossible to do so exactly. The census-taker is unknown in CentralAsia, except in the cities and towns; even there he does not enumeratethe whole population, but only the heads of families and the men capableof bearing arms. Turkestan includes all the country between the Cas

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