THE KIREI OF THE ALTAI 369 



To claim Jenghis Khan as his ancestor suits his 

 vanity, as in a similar way many Bokharan nobles claim 

 descent from Alexander the Great ; the truth being 

 that they probably gave their women-folk in marriage 

 to the great Emperor or to his generals. The suffix 

 '* Kam," the title given to us by his own people, is of 

 immense interest. The earliest mention of the King of 

 the Kirei, by Rubruck, describes him as Coir-Cham : 

 " Cham being his title, the word having the meaning of 

 Soothsayer, which is applied to their princes because 

 they govern the people by means of divination." ^ The 

 same term is employed at the present day to denote 

 the Shamman priests. 



The personal get-up of these nomads was extravagant 

 and showy. The men were generally dressed in gay 

 colours, not in the dingy black of the Kara-Kirghiz 

 of the Pamirs or the Western Tian Shan ; but the women 

 always "sported," — if they could afford it, — ^the " Kara- 

 chapan," or black quilted-coat, as well as the high-piled 

 head-gear of white material. In some details their 

 dress differed from that of all other Kirghiz tribes, the 

 chief difference being the boots of tanned leather, with 

 high heels of a rich dark green colour ; it was the fashion 

 also for all Kirei of rank to wear the soft plumes of the 

 Eagle Owl as a crest to their fur-lined caps. 



The yurts of the chief were exceptionally large, and 

 the white felt covering was gaily embroidered with red 

 and blue designs. Hospitality was shown us by means 

 of a liberal supply of kummis and sheep, and promises of 

 everything we wanted ; but, when it came to the actual 

 supply of transport, we were faced by very different 

 methods to those to which we had been accustomed. 



^ The Journey of Friar Rubruck, p. 100 (Hakluyt Society edition). 



