ON THE NOMAD TRIBES OF ASIA MINOR. 539 
and houses and cliffs like all savage races, but they believe in nothing 
that harms them, and have no special dread of ruins. In the mountains 
where rain-water has settled they say that if a wild animal—an ibex or 
* a bear—has drunk there, and a man from civilisation drinks after it, he will 
become wild like they are, and this is how they became Yourouks. Where 
the Yourouk is sedentary and produces crops his tools are of the most 
primitive nature: the threshing-machine of pine wood, set with flint 
stones at the bottom fixed along the grain of the wood—ef. Isaiah xli. 15: 
‘The new sharp threshing instrument having teeth.’ On this the man 
sits and is dragged by bullocks round and round. Their spade is the 
old Roman bipalium, and their sheep are the fat-tailed ones such as 
_ Herodotus described as being ‘one cubitin width’ (Herod. ui. § 113), and 
such as one sees on the bas-reliefs of Persepolis. Their churns are skins 
hung on three sticks, and stirred with a dasher. Wooden utensils are 
the most generally in use, a wooden mortar for pounding cofiee, wooden 
dishes, bowls, &c.; but then each tent has its heirlooms of copper 
utensils, which are mended with great care and handed down for 
generations. 
The Yourouks are believers in magic, and have prophets among them, 
who look in water, open books, and from the grain of wood can tell who 
has stolen a goat and where it is. The evil eye, too, they strongiy believe 
in, and the efficacy of an onion hung up in the tent to keep it oii. Their 
games are mostly rough, and consist of wrestling and feats of strength. 
Yourouk women often mark their bread with the sign of the cross, 
haying seen Christian women doing so, and believe it brings good luck. 
They cut the ears of goats, camels, and cows, so that each may know 
his own cattle by its mark, and some of the marks have a very grotesque 
effect. 
; It is difficult to obtain from their tradition any idea of the origin of 
the Yourouks. They will always tell you that they are the descendanis ot 
those who inhabited the ruins amongst which they now dwell, and that 
their kind ancestors put up letters on the walls to inform them concerniag 
_ treasure they had concealed. I have seen a Yourouk hard at work with 
_ a chisel making his way into a column in which he is sure gold is hidden, 
I have seen them dig holes below Greek inscriptions with the same 
object in view. 
Each tribe has its Agha, or chief, who is held responsibie by the 
Government for the good conduct of the tribe. Practically he is their 
legislator, and settles all disputes, for a Yourouk never thinks of taking 
his grievances before the Turkish law courts. 
The advent of the Yourouks into Asia Minor and their origin is lost 
in obscurity. Bertrandon de la Broquiére tells us how two waves of 
them spread over Asia Minor in the fifteenth century, the first settling in 
the towns and blending with the Turks, the second preferring to keep up 
the nomad habits of their forefathers. The great number of Persian 
_ words in the dialect of Turkish that they speak—words never used by 
_ other Turks, such as beruh, ‘be off,’ shwma for ‘you,’ pool for ‘money,’ 
_ &c.—stamps them as originally having used that language and coming 
_ from the Persian mountains. In features and colour they are more akin 
=. to the Kourds than the Persians or the Armenians. Their skin is fairer, 
2 and their cast of countenance would argue that they are of northern 
_ origin, perhaps from the mountainous district east of the Caspian. 
_. The physical nature of the country they inhabit to the south of the 
a 
"y 
