FAMILY AND SOCIAL LIFE AMONG THE KIRGHIZ. 499 



is blossoming into womanhood, and prefers a request for her in the 

 name of the father of a marriageable youth. If the bride's father 

 is agreeable, he demands that the sender of the message, with the 

 elders of his aul, shall come to treat with him on the subject. These 

 comply, and, according to custom, rein in their horses within sight 

 of the aul. A messenger from the bride's father rides to meet them, 

 greets them formally, and conducts them to the festive yurt deco- 

 rated in their honour. There they are at once regaled with koumiss, 

 and a bard arrives to contribute to their entertainment. He is 

 rewarded by loud applause, and incited to further effort by magnifi- 

 cent promises. They praise the depth of his thought, the finished 

 style of his execution; they promise him a horse, an lamba, or four 

 pounds of uncoined silver as his reward. The master of the yurt 

 protests against this, insisting that he alone has the right to reward 

 the singer; but the guests promise so much the more, for they know 

 that their host will not permit the fulfilment of their promises. 

 When the song is ended a lively conversation takes place between 

 the host and his neighbours and guests; they talk about everything 

 imaginable except the object of the visit, and at length they disperse, 

 and the guests ride to their homes again. 



The next morning the father of the bride with his train return 

 the visit, and after being greeted and feasted in the same manner, 

 request to see the young man's mother. They at once repair to the 

 yurt of the housewife, and greet her with much ceremony and 

 courtesy. Then the father produces the roasted brisket of a sheep, 

 and distributes pieces of this much-prized meat to his guests with 

 the words, " Let this sheep's breast be a pledge that our plans will 

 be successfully carried out". Then begins a discussion over the 

 amount of the "kaliim" or price to be paid for the bride. A mare of 

 from three to five years of age is the unit of calculation; an ambler 

 or a camel is considered equivalent to five mares, and six or seven 

 sheep or goats make up the value of one. 



The bride's father demands 77 mares, but lets himself be beaten 

 down to 57, 47, 37, 27, according to his means and those of the 

 bridegroom's father. If both are poor they come even farther down 

 till they are agreed. As soon as the bargain is concluded, the bride's 



