626 
SAM 
SAM 
arranged. The dress of the men differs little from that of 
the Ostiaks; some shave their head in whole or in part; 
others wear mustachios; and some leave a small part of the 
beard on each side of the chin. Many particulars are 
observed in the dress of the females, peculiar to themselves, 
and not borrowed from any other nation. They do not, 
like the Ostiak females, wear any veil; they keep the head 
.and face uncovered, unless during their winter journies; their 
hair is formed into two tresses, which hang behind, and are 
never combed down ; they wear ear-rings made of grains of 
coral; their gown is patched of different pieces, those in 
front of their breast, and in the back, being usually formed 
of the skins of young rein-deer. The lower part is garnished 
all round by three belts of fine furs. This gown is open in 
front; they put the two extremities over each other, and 
fasten them by a large iron ring, instead of buckles. They 
wear breeches of rein-deer skin, prepared like our deer skins. 
They never put off their dress, even when going to bed. 
The Samoyedes are reckoned more savage than the 
Ostiaks, who hold much communication with the Russians, 
have adopted many of their customs, and are in regular 
subjection to them. The Samoyedes, on the contrary, 
though nominally included within the limits of the empire, 
are left to roam almost at perfect liberty. The vast extent 
and poverty of their deserts present nothing which could 
defray the expense of occupying them by a military force. 
They live by hunting, and move continually from place to 
place in their sledges, drawn by rein-deer. These animals, 
when tamed, scarcely serve any other purpose, as they do 
not milk them, and seldom kill them for the sake of food. 
In this view they chiefly seek the wild rein-deer, whom they 
have various modes of catching. They eat their flesh, make 
clothes of their skins, and use the nerves as thread for sewing. 
When they are upon the seashore, they feed upon the flesh 
of the bear, upon that of the dead whales who are thrown 
ashore, and of other marine animals. They also fish in the 
lakes and gulfs of the sea, forming nets aud cords from the 
bark and twigs of the willow. In autumn their principal 
occupation is the hunting of the white fox, in which men, 
women and children, are all alike employed. Some lay 
snares for them, while others alarm them out of their con¬ 
cealments, and kill them by repeated blows. Some rich 
Samoyedes make their residence in summer on the banks of 
the Obi, to enjoy the pleasure of fishing in that river, leaving 
their herds in the mean time to be tended by their children 
or servants. 
The Samoyedes, like most savage nations, are extremely 
superstitious. Their rites seem derived, with some modifi¬ 
cations, from the widely extended system of Shamanism 
prevalent over all the north and east of Asia. They ac¬ 
knowledge a supreme being called Noun, ruler of heaven 
and earth, and who cannot be represented by any image. 
Under him, however, are numberless inferior deities, spirits, 
and demigods, called Tadeptzies. These are divided into 
celestial and terrestrial, and are the beings who distribute 
good and evil to men. They are represented by little wooden 
idols, fiuely clothed and ornamented. These idols, called 
Khae, are placed in the woods, or in the houses, and are 
sometimes transported from one place to another. Sacrifices 
are offered only in acknowledgement of a good which they 
are supposed to have conferred, or of an evil which is be¬ 
lieved to have been averted by their interposition. They 
have the magicians or shamahs, who are general through 
Northern Asia, distinguished by their drum, and by a dress 
adorned with rings and pieces of iron. These persons, 
among the Samoyedes, have something terrific in their 
aspect which frightens, even the Russians, accustomed to 
see similar characters among all their subject states. They 
seem to work themselves into such an irritable state of nerves, 
that a sudden cry, a blow, or even a touch, throws them 
into a species of frenzy. They seize an axe, a knife, or 
whatever is under their hand, to massacre the person who is 
the cause of this agitation. By way of curing this real or 
imaginary malady, a piece of deer-skin is burned, and they 
are made t<$ inhale the smoke. This remedy is said to throw 
them into a state .of torpor and lassitude, which lasts, for 
twenty-four hours, at the end of which time they wake in 
full possession of their senses. This people have many su¬ 
perstitions on the subject of death. They cover the deceased 
with all his clothes, put a cauldron over his head, and wrap 
the whole in deer skins, closely fastened with cords. This 
they drag out by an opening made in the tent for the express 
purpose, not by the door, as in that case it is supposed that 
the dead person would drag several of the inhabitants after 
him. In summer they place the body in a ditch, which, 
however, has so little depth, that it is necessary to heap 
wood and branches over the body, in order to cover it. In 
winter, a wooden cottage is constructed, in which they place 
the dead, with his axe, knife, bow, arrows, tobacco, and 
pipe. The consequence of this slight interment is, that the 
bodies are often devoured by wild beasts. The appearance 
of ghosts is a subject of superstitious dread ; and in this case 
they have recourse to the magicians, who having arrayed 
themselves in all their charms, address the spirit, exhorting 
him not to disturb those who are left on earth, nor to envy 
them the possession of his- fonner successful spots of hunting 
and fishing. It is also considered of evil omen to pronounce 
the name of the deceased, and the doing so is considered by 
his relations as the most deadly injury. 
The Samoyedes appear in general to be a quiet, harmless, 
and peaceable race. They are said to be prone to intoxica¬ 
tion, and passionately fond of tobacco. Their favourite 
amusements are wrestling and dancing. The latter is per¬ 
formed by very slow movements, and consists chiefly of 
throwing themselves into various attitudes. 
SAMP, in America, a name given to a sort of bread made 
of the maize, or Indian com. 
They first water the com for about half an hour, and then 
beat it in a mortar, or grind it in a hand-mill; afterwards they 
sift out the flour, and winnow the husks from it; they then 
mix this into a thin paste with water, and bake it in flat 
loaves, which they call samp-loaves, or samp-bread. 
Beside this, they have another dish prepared of this corn,, 
which they esteem a great delicacy, and call by the name of 
samp, without the addition of loaf or bread. To make this, 
they only bruise or grind the com to the size of rice, and 
then winnowing away the husks, they boil it gently till it 
is thoroughly tender, and then add to it milk and butter 
and sugar: this is not only a very wholesome, but a very- 
pleasant dish. It was the first diet of our planters when 
newly settled there, and is still in use, as an innocent food 
in sickness as well as health. 
The Indians, who feed on this sort of food, are found 
never to be subject to the stone, and to escape several other 
painful diseases. 
The English have found a way of making a very good 
sort of beer of the grain of this Indian corn: they do this 
either by using the bread made of it, or else by malting it as 
we do our own corn. When they make the beer of the 
maize-bread, they break or cut it into lumps as big as a man’s 
fist; they mash these in the same manner that we do malt, 
and boil up the wort in the same manner, either with or 
without hops. Phil. Trans. 
SAMPACCA, in Botany.- SeeMiCHELiA. 
SAMPAKA, a town of Ludamar, in Central Africa, 
ceded to it by Bambarra, near which gunpowder is made, 
though much inferior to that of Europe; 55 miles east of 
Benowm. 
SAMPANMANGO, Cape, the north-west point of the 
island of Borneo. Lat. 7. N. long. 116.52. E. 
SAMPARA, a town on the west coast of the island of 
Celebes. Lat. 2. 21. S. long. 119. 10. E. 
SAMP AT, the name of a fabulous bird, introduced among 
the mythological machinery of the Hindoos, and principally 
in the Ramayana, where it is made to resist the tyrant Ravana 
in his rape of Sita. The faithful bird lpst his life in the 
attempt, and had magnificent obsequies performed in his 
honour, by his grateful master Rama. Sampat was endowed 
with 
