Samoyedes, Province

1694. The great historical, geographical and poetical dictionary by Louis Moreri.

Samoid, a Province of the Northern Muscovy on the mouth of the River Oby, whence the People are called Samoides, it was formerly part of Tartaria Deserta, but is now in some measure subject to the Duke of Muscovy, yet for the most part independent. It lyes on the Northern and Tartarian Sea; it was a part of the ancient Scythia, and called Samoid by the Russians because the Inhabitants were Cannibals, and are said to eat the Flesh of their nearest Relations with a mixture of Venison; to this day they have no Cities but live in Huts, whereof one half is above and the other under ground, having a hole at top which serves for Chimny and Door. The Snow falls sometimes the depth of a Pike, and then they have passages under ground from Hut to Hut; one half of the Year is all Night, the other half all Day. Their Victuals are dry'd Fish, Hony and Venison; their Cloaths the Skins of Beasts with the Fur on, sow'd with the Nerves of Beasts instead of Thread; and by mixing various colours they represent Forest work, or Flowers on their Habits. They are low sized, large and flat faced, little ey'd, short leg'd and long hair'd, and have neither Wool nor Corn. In 1595 when the Dutch discovered these Coasts, they found abundance of their Idols on the Shoar, but they would suffer none to be carried off: Since that time the Russians sent Uladimer, one of their Bishops, who converted them. Olearius. See Samoyeda. Samoyeda, a Province in the North East of Moscovia upon the Frozen Sea, lying on both sides of the River Obb, near the Streight of Waigats; the Inhabitants whereof go to pass their Summer in Nova Zembla, and the Land of Waigat. They are less in Stature than the Nova Zemblians, and more square and thick set than those of Lapland, have great Heads, platter Faces, and their Noses broader and flatter. They have almost no Hair at all, and their Faces are of a tawney colour; their Clothing are Beasts Skins, with the Furr turned inwards in the Winter, and outwards in the Summer; they have furr'd Cowles that cover their Heads, and their great Lords have Caps of Bever Skins, or Cloth, on their Heads, to the top of which they tye a Cloth of divers Colours: and when they salute any one, they take off their Cowles or Bonnets, bowing themselves to the ground. The ordinary Habit of Men is a round Bonnet of Frize or shagg'd Cloth like a Lambs-skin, a Doublet, and a Gown or long Coat of white Bears skin, which reacheth only to their Knees, girt below their Bellies with a Girdle about four fingers broad; their Shoes and Stockings are of the same skin, the Furr turn'd outwards, and under their Shoes they have a kind of Skates or Pattins two foot long, made of the Bark of Trees, in the form of a Gondola, with the help of which they run very swiftly over the Snow, which lies in great drifts and very deep in their Country. Their Women are very nimble, and take much pains to teach their Children to hunt. They are clothed like the Men, save only that they have no skin upon their Shoulders: They go a hunting with a Quiver full of Arrows, and a Bow in their Hands: They make use of Sleds drawn by Rangifers, (which are a sort of wild Deer of that Country, extreamly swift) to carry them in their Journeys. They eat raw Flesh after that it hath been a while dried in the Air. Blaeu's Geography.

1698. The antient and present state of Muscovy by Jodocus Crull.

THE Samoyedes or Samogedes, inhabit that Tract of Ground, which lies North-East of Siberia, on both sides of the River Oby, extending to the Streight of Weigats in the Frozen Sea; their Habitation being under the frigid Zone it self. This Country was first discovered to the Muscovites, by a Russian Merchant, whose name was Oneke, who having for a considerable time traded with the Inhabitants in rich Furrs, and gathered great Wealth, at last made a Discovery of it to the Czar of Muscovy, who having sent thither a splendid Embassy, they soon persuaded them to submit to His Czarish Majesty, paying a certain number of Sable Skins for their yearly Tribute. They were formerly comprehended under the name of those the Antients, called Shytes or Sarmates, it being certain, that the word Samoyedes, is a Muscovian Word, signifying as much as self-eaters, composed out of Sam, which signifies ones self, and Geda to eat, because they used to eat the Bodies of their dead Friends, mixed with their Venison, in the last of which, this Country abounds, and always was, and is to this day, their ordinary Food. Some would have them to be the same Abii, of which Curtius speaks, that they sent Ambassadors to Alexander the Great, and that they were called Obii from the River Oby. Tho' they have no Cities, yet do they not live a Vagabond-life, like most of the Tartars, but have their settled Habitations, which are certain Cabans or Huts, some Foot deep under the Ground, of a circular Figure, built Vault-wise a top, having in the middle of it a Hole, underneath which is the Fire-place, round about which they lie during the Winter; it serves both for a Chimney, and sometimes for a Door, thro' which they let in the Air, when the others are stopt up by the Snow, which falls here often six or seven Foot high. During this Season, which lasts six Months, and keeps them in continual Darkness; their Correspondence is maintain'd betwixt them by the Trenches or Walks under Ground from one Hut to another, by which means they visit one another, the absence of the Sun being supplied by the melancholy light of Lamps, fed with Oil, drawn of a certain Fish, of which as well as of all other Necessaries, they make provision in the Summer; which Season begins here, as soon as the Sun comes to the Equinoctial Line, and enters into the Septentrional Signs of the Zodiack, and rejoyces them with a Day as long, but not so tedious, as the Night had been before. It is then they leave their doleful Huts, and apply themselves to their usual Employments, which is chiefly Hunting. I am apt to believe that it is upon the Account of these Samoyedes, that some have founded their fabulous Narrations of a certain People that sleep six Months in the year, or that die in the beginning of Winter, and rise up again in the Spring, like the Swallows or Frogs; as that, what has been related of some of the Northern Countreys, to wit, that there are People there without Heads, having their Eyes in their Breasts; That they have Feet so big, as that one of them shades the whole Body, and being thus covered with their Feet, neither Sun nor Rain can come at them, questionless owes its Origin to their Garments and Pattins they make use of in the Winter. For, their upper Garments are made like Vests, or rather Cosaques, falling down to the mid-leg, border'd below with Furr, open only at the bottom (by which they get into them) and in the upper part, where they put out their Faces; when the Cold is excessive, they cover their Heads with a certain Cap, like to the Capuchines, made in the same Fashion with the Head of a Man. So in the Winter-time, these Samoyedes, as well as the Laplanders, and Finlanders, wear a kind of Shooes or Pattins, made of Bark of Trees, or some very thin Wood; Those that are worn by the Samoyedes, are an Ell and a half long towards the Toe, but those of the Laplanders and Finlanders, are as long to the Heels as to the Toes; they use them with so much Agility upon the Snow, that down a Hill, they will out-do in swiftness some Horses. For the rest, their Garments are made of the Skins of the Reens, the Nerves and Veins of these Beasts serving them for Thread to sow their Cloaths; At the end of the Sleeves of their Cosaques they have their Muffs sowed on, which they either let hang loose, or make use of to cover their Hands, as occasion requires. Under these Cosaques they wear Shirts made of the Skins of young Reens or Rain-Deer, which, having very short Hair, are softer than Linnen, and under these Shirts they wear their Drawers. Upon their Heads they wear very large Caps or Bonnets, which hang down round about their Necks; they are commonly made by the Muscovites, of Cloath of several Colours, lin'd with Furr, and sold to the Samoyedes. They wear also Boots with the Furr on the out-side, which makes them appear at first sght, more like Savage Beasts than Men. They have a way of scraping the inside of the Bark of Beech as fine as the Shavings of Ivory, which serves them for Handkerchiefs, for they take a Handful of it at a time, to wipe their Faces, Noses or Hands. The length of the Winter Season making their Ground not fit for Tillage, they have no Corn nor Cattle, so that they are contented, to live upon what Nature affords them: their Food being Fish dry'd in the Wind and Sun, instead of Bread, Honey and Venison; and the Flesh of young Whelps or Puppies, is esteem'd a dainty Fare among them. Their Stature is very low and mean, having very short Legs, almost like the Groenlanders, of whom we shall have occasion to speak anon; their faces large and flat without Beards, and their Eyes very little, like the Tartars, but not so sparkling. The Women here are very ugly, so that by their Faces and Cloaths, which are exactly like to the Men's, their Sex is not to be distinguished at first sight. Notwithstanding which, they are very jealous of them, being extreamly nice in preserving their Wives for their own Use. For this reason they buy them at the Age of six or seven from their Parents, without daring to look upon them before the Bargain is made, the usual payment is a certain number of Deers, the only valuable Commodity their Country affords, thus thinking themselves assured of their Virginity, they keep them very close, nay more strict than in Italy, both before and after Marriage, and there is some who affirm, that when they go abroad a Hunting, they make 〈◊〉 a certain Engine to preserve their Chastity; a convincing Instance, that Ugliness is no preservative against Jealousie.

Their Language and Laws are equally unknown to Strangers, the latter being altogether established by Custom, before they submitted themselves to the Muscovite Government. He that is the best Magician, is considered among them as the most excellent Man; if they happen to sell any of their Deer to Strangers, they reserve to themselves the Entrails, which they keep for their own eating. Their Arms are no other than a Bow and Arrows, which they make use of when they go abroad a Hunting, which being their continual Exercise, they are most excellent at Shooting; they have also a certain way of Dancing, but the most ridiculous in the World. They were formerly all Pagans and Idolaters; for when the Hollanders in the Year 1595. in their Voyage to the North, landed some of their Men near the Streight of Weigats, they found near the Sea-side abundance of Idols, for which the Samoyedes had so much Affection, that they would not allow the Dutch, tho' never so much entreated, to carry away one of them. But, in this Age the Christian Religion was planted there by the help of a Russian Bishop of Wolodimer, who having been sent thither with some Priests, brought most of them over to the Greek Religion.

But before we take our leave of these Northern Parts belonging to the Grand Czar of Muscovy's Dominions, it will perhaps not be amiss to say something concerning a certain Conjecture some of the most Curious among the Russians have of the nearness of America to these Northern Parts. They say, there is beyond the Oby a very large River, call'd Kawoina, into which another River, named Lepa, emptying it self, they discharge themselves into the Frozen Sea. Near the Mouth of this River is a very spacious Island, well peopled, whose chief Employment is Hunting, but especially after a certain Animal, call'd Behemot, of which we shall say something anon; The Muscovites say, that this Creature being very difficult to Hunt most generally upon the sides of the Frozen Sea, they oftentimes are obliged to carry their Families along with them; so, that happening many times to be surprized by a sudden Thaw, they are upon huge pieces of Ice, that break from one another, carried at a great distance; They perswade themselves that it were some of these Hunters, who being carried upon these floating pieces of Ice to the most Northern Parts of America, which is not far from that part of Asia, which juts out into the Tartarian Sea, settled the first Colonies there. They alledge, for the confirmation of this Opinion, that the Inhabitants of the most Northern Parts of America, bordering on that Sea, have the same Features with those Hunting Islanders, and that some Creatures are very frequent in the Northern America, which are commonly to be found on the Muscovian side, especially Beavers, all which they believe to have been transported thither in the same manner.

As to what relates to the Behemot; it is an amphibious Animal, as big as a Crocodile, and as dangerous to Hunt. But what makes these Islanders so Industrious, even so as to venture their Lives, in the search after this Creature, which is usually found in the above-mentioned River Lena, and upon the Shoar of the Tartarian Sea, is its Teeth, which being ten Inches long, and two in Diameter at the Root, exceed in every respect the Elephant's Teeth, being incomparably whiter and smoother than the Ivory which is brought from the Indies, and in very high Esteem amongst the Turks and Persians, who use them in making their Hafts of Scymitars and Daggers, which they prefer before Silver or Gold; being perswaded, that it has a most Specifick Property to stanch Blood in those that carry it about them.

The Consonancy there is betwixt the Groenlanders and the Samoyedes, and also the Tartars, we have spoken of before, may be a sufficient inducement to say something of their Country, before we leave the North. Groenland is generally now a days believed to be a Continent bordering upon Tartary on the East, and on America Westward; They are a People Savage, Stubborn, and Indisciplinable, without any Civility, knowledge of Vertue or Shame; especially in the most Northern Parts, they being somewhat more docile towards the South-West.

They are all Pagans or Idolaters; Their Idols being for the most part made of a piece of Wood of one Foot and a half high, covered either with Feathers, or with some Skin or another, the hairy side outward. They prostrate themselves at Sunrising, which seems to intimate that they adore the Sun. There were about Forty Years ago some few of these Groenlanders brought into Denmark, in whom there was observed some remnants of Religion, or rather Superstition, forasmuch as one of them refused to eat of the Flesh of some Beasts, as being held unclean, are not eaten in Europe.

Their Cloaths are made of the Skins of Sea-Dogs, Sea-Calves, and Reens, not unlike to those of the Samoyedes, but that they wear under their Cosaques Wastcoats, made of the Skins of Birds, such as Swans, Geese, Wild Ducks, or Teals, turning the Feathers either inward or outward, according to the difference of the Season. The difference of both Sexes is not easily distinguished in their Garments, but that the Breeches of the Women do not reach quite down to the Knees, whereas they wear theirs below them. They live all in an equal degree, not knowing any Superiority among one another, those being esteemed the richest, who have the most Children, most Bows and Arrows, and kill the most Venison or Wild Fowl, the only Reward of their Industry and Skill.

They are low of Stature, but strong and well-set, their Faces broad, with little Eyes, but very lively; their Hands and Feet short, almost like the Nagajan Tartars, but that they are more swarthy, and their Skin much softer. Their Hair is blacker than Jet, which they roll together, and bind it up on their Crowns. Some of them wear certain Trinkets in their Ears. The Women as well as the Maids have their Breasts flagging and falling down to their Bellies, the Nipples being as black as a Coal. They suckle their Children over their shoulders, and it is very remarkable, that those Women that were some Years ago brought into Denmark, were observed to have no Hair in any other Part, but the Head, and to be free from the Monthly Courses of Women. They are, for the rest, very like the Samoyedes, except that they do not make the same account of Chastity, but in that Point Act according to the Natural State of Freedom, both Men and Women exercising the Venereal Act without controul or shame, even in the Presence of a great many standers-by, the Young Wenches being only obliged to ask their Parents consent, which they rarely deny them. This was verified by two Instances, in the Voyage of the Danes to Groenland, we have mentioned before; one of these Women, that was to take a merry Bout with a Seaman, having by this means, with several others, that were to be Witnesses to the consummation of the Bargain, been trapan'd under Deck, they were carried into Norway, and from thence into Holstein. Being arrived at Bergves in Norwegen, there was no small concourse of People to take a view of these Savages, and among the rest a Lady of Quality approaching nearer to the Groenland Man, he, without any further Ceremony, attempted to Board her, making the best way he could to find out with his Hands, what was hidden under her Petticoats.

Their Language is altogether unknown to Strangers, unless it be some few Words, which are said to have some resemblance with Latin and Greek, which must be accidental. They speak very fast, and in the Throat, and pronounce, not without difficulty, the Words that have a G in them; they never pronounce the R (as do also the Tartars) but always turn it into L. They are unacquainted with Gold or Silver; their Commerce is performed by Trucking: They put such Commodities, as they offer to sell, together; and on the other hand, they pick out of what is brought to them, what they like best, so that the Buyer and Seller add and diminish, till such time that both Parties are content with the Bargain.

The most valuable Commodity this Country affords, is the Teeth of the Fish Towack, which being twisted round, and sharp at the end, not unlike a Horn, has been for a considerable time imposed upon the World in lieu of that of the Unicorn of the Antients, till Experience has sufficiently evidenced the contrary. This, with the Fat and Oyl of Whales, Skins of Sea-Dogs and Sea-Calves, they truck for Knives, Scissars, Needles, Looking-Glasses, Iron, and Steel. Besides which, Groenland affords Talk, Marble of all colours; and, according to the report of some, also Silver Oar.

They have a particular way of catching the Whales. They make use of a very long Thong, cut out of the Whale's Skin, unto this they fasten to one end a Hook, made out of the Tooth of the before-mentioned Fish Towack, and at the other end the Skin of a Sea-Dog, or Sea-Calf, blown up; this being thrown at, and having wounded the Whale, by its floating upon the surface of the Water, discovers the Tract of the wounded Whale. If they believe the Wound not Mortal, they dart several more at her, till such time they perceiving that the strength begins to fail her with the loss of Blood, they come up to her with their Boats, kill her, and draw her on Shoar.

The Fat of the Whales, but especially their Oyl, is the greatest Dainty they have, which they prefer before our Sugar, Spices, or Vinegar, which they have been observed to refuse; as they also shew'd more satisfaction in their ordinary Food of Sea-Dogs, Calves, Reens, Foxes, House-Dogs, and Fish, but especially Stock-fish, than in any of our Dishes.

The swarthy colour of these Inhabitants of the coldest Climate in the World, might very well furnish us with an Opportunity to make a Digression here, in contradiction of what is affirm'd by Pliny, to wit,That the heat of the Sun burns the Skin, as on the contrary, the Cold whitens it, if Natural Philosophy were not at present beyond our scope; wherefore we will pursue the Tract of our History, and give a short Description of Livonia.