478 



C I R C A S S I A. 



r of thdr oomttnt expedition*, and equestrian ram- 

 ble*, they are obliged at any lime to remain for a teatot 

 stationary. 



It it an ettablithed usage beret that each male of the 

 peasantry ii obliged to work three day* at hay-making 

 rtther lor the prince or nobleman, to cut wood in the fo- 

 rett for three day*, to carry both the hay and wood to 

 their habitation*, and for every bullock that he posse SKI 

 to deliver a can load or seven tacki of millet. A bride- 

 groom of this claw it under the necessity also of giving 

 to the lord of the manor two cows and two oxen, in re- 

 turn for obtaining hit consent to marry. The inhabitants 

 of the mountains, consisting of several subordinate tribes, 

 which the Circassian princes have succeeded in subjecting 

 more or less to their authority, give, in general, for each 

 family, only one sheep, or its value in felts, felt-cloaks, 

 cloths, copper vessels, or other articles like these, of pri- 

 mary and indispensible use. Every boor who possesses 

 beep, whether his flock be large or small, is required 

 during the encampment in summer, to contribute one 

 sheep to the prince's household, who is thus enabled to 

 maintain continual hospitality. It will be understood, 

 that the Circassians, like the other Tartars in their vi- 

 cinity, are accustomed to quit their towns in summer, and 

 to encamp in the fields, occasionally shifting their sta- 

 tions, along with their flocks and herds. In these excur- 

 sions, the women and children are carried in waggons, 

 which are a kind of travelling houses, and drawn by 

 oxen or camels ; horses, notwithstanding the excellent 

 breeds of these animals in this country, are never used 

 here for draught. 



Tillages. The Circassians usually dwell in villages, which, partly 

 On account of the increasing tilth, partly from the insuf- 

 ficient security which they afford, or other causes, they 

 from time to time desert. On such occasions, the dwell- 

 ing places are demolished, the timber together with the 

 household furniture is carried off, and what cannot be 

 removed is burnt. The attention of the migrating horde 

 is next directed to the choice of a convenient situation, 

 on which to erect a new village. If the spot chosen for 

 this purpose is at a distance from water, they conduct 

 with much ingenuity a canal from the next rivulet, by 

 sneans of it to obtain a supply of this essential article. 

 The houses are built contiguous to each other, in the 

 form either of a circle or square, and so that the inner 

 space serves as a common large cattle yard, provided with 

 only one gate, while it is altogether inclosed, and as it 

 were defended by the circumjacent houses. The dwell- 

 ing of the Utden, which is commonly large and commo- 

 dious, and fitted up in such a manner as to afford to 

 the occupants every desirable convenience, stands apart 

 from this group of buildings, destined for the use of the 

 general mass of the population. Small solitary houses, 

 or rather square rooms, with every suitable appendage, 

 are built here and there for the accommodation of visi- 

 tor*. This is all that occurs in these parti, in the cha- 

 racter of public inns, which indeed are unnecessary among 

 a people whose hospitality is such, that they will con- 

 tend with each other who snail entertain any stranger that 

 happen* to come among them. There arc alto erected 

 occasionally in the opeu fields, round huts of wicker 

 work, containing a pit to be used as a place of retreat. 

 In the vicinity of the village are placed black, of hay and 

 cor* provided with a fence, and the corn that has been 

 thrashed i* sometimes preserved in large baskets, fixed 

 .at purpose on the ground, and secured \ 



How*. ' ' 1C houtr* of the Circastiant are constructed in the 



form of oblong squares, and are commotJy not more than 



from four to five fathom* in length, and about nine feet fircauia. 

 broad. The walls are made of close wicker-work, care- S ~"~Y~^ 

 fully plastered on both sides with clay ; and on the posts 

 which support the walls the flat roof is placcd,[consistiDg 

 of light rafters rovered with long grass. The female 

 and the male parts of the family commonly occupy 

 their separate and appropriate parts in the dwelling ; and, 

 generally, both in their nouses and villages, as well as in 

 respect to their clothes, diet, and other matters of do- 

 mestic or individual economy and arrangement, much 

 attention is paid to neatness, cleanliness, and order. The Drcu. 

 dress worn here by the men, is neat, light, and becoming. 

 Above the lower part of it, which is made of a sort of 

 light stuff, persons of distinction wear sometimes a short 

 rich waistcoat, as it were to supply the place of armour, 

 and this either with or without a great coat. The up- 

 per dress, consisting either of cloth or other strong wo- 

 ven stuff, is somewhat shorter than the under garment ; 

 the sleeves are slit open, and frequently bordered with 

 furs. The breeches are provided with knee-straps, and 

 the seams bound with small lace or embroidery, which 

 the women very skilfully manufacture of gold and silver 

 threads. The upper garment is regularly furnished with 

 a small embroidered pocket on each side of the breast, 

 for containing cartridges. The whiskers are suffered to 

 grow ; and on the head, which is shorn in the Polish 

 fashion, there is worn an embroidered cap, quilted with 

 cotton in the form of a melon, but occasionally lower, 

 and, amongst the wealthy especially, ornamented with 

 various gold and silver laces. It is a custom of this 

 country, that the girls, between the 10th and 12th years 

 of their age, arc provided with laced stays, or a broad 

 girdle made of untanned leather ; which singular coat of 

 mail, as they are obliged to wear it till their wedding- 

 night, is among the common people tightly sewed round 

 the waist, or in the higher classes fastened with silver 

 hooks. The gordian knot thus formed, the bridegroom, 

 at the time specified, undoes with a sharp-cutting dag- 

 ger : a ceremony not unfrequently attended with danger. 

 Over the shift the younger females wear a laced jacket, 

 because the petticoat, which reaches to the ankles, it 

 open along the whole front, and resembles that of a 

 man ; but married women dress in wide breeches. The 

 cloaks worn by the women are longer than those, in 

 other respects generally of a similar description, that are 

 in use among the men. They are likewise frequently 

 white ; a colour of which those of the men never are. 

 The head-dress worn in earlier years, consists of a simple 

 cap, somewhat similar in form to that used by the male?. 

 This is usually of a red or rose colour, but varying 

 as to richness and decorations with the rank of the par- 

 ties. Under it the hair is turned up in a thick queue, 

 which is covered with linen. This mode of dressing is 

 continued till after the female has been delivered of her 

 first child, when she begins to cover the head with a 

 white handkerchief, drawn close over the forehead, and 

 fastened under the chin. When females have occ 

 to leave the house, they wear a sort of wooden cloge, 

 to keep their feet clean, and at the same lime make use 

 of mittens on their tender hands. Painting the face ii 

 considered as an indication of the want of chastity ; but 

 it is allowed to girls to dye the nails of their fingers with 

 the flowers of the balsamina, which, in the language of 

 the country, is known by the name of Kn.i. 



When a prince, or Ubden, pays a visit in full dress, he 

 is arrayi-d in all his accoutrements and c<>at oi arms, with 

 sometimes alio au additional jacket of mail. Those coats 

 of mail arc manufactured of } ! ringt, and 



