Abu Dulaf - an Author from Southern Arabia on the Kyrgyz

Abu Dulaf. "Risale" ("Note") — Kitab asar al-bilad” al-Kazvini. Gottingen, 1848

The author came from Southern Arabia and, for some reason, ended up at the court of the Samanids in Central Asia. Abu Dulaf began his travels in 942 from Bukhara and traveled through the Tian Shan and Eastern Turkestan to China. His "Note" became known to us through the authors of the 13th century, Yakut and al-Kazvini. All of Abu Dulaf's reports about the Kyrgyz are confirmed by other Arab authors of the 9th-10th centuries.

Translation from Arabic by O. Karaev

Text: The land of Khirkhiz. The Khirkhiz are a Turkic tribe. The distance of their land is one month. They have a ruler whom everyone obeys. He is knowledgeable in their affairs: in his presence, only those over 40 years old sit down. They have a special measured speech that they use in prayers. When praying, they turn towards the south.

In their year, there are three holidays. Their banners are green, which they display during the holidays. They venerate Saturn and Venus, while they consider Mars a bad omen.

There are many wild animals in their land. The Khirkhiz feed on millet, rice, beef, mutton, and other (meat), except for camel meat. They have a ritual house and grow reeds, which they use for writing. They are cautious and prudent in their affairs. They do not extinguish the lamp (once lit) until it goes out by itself. In the land of Khirkhiz, there is a stone that glows at night, which (replaces) their lamps.

Comments and Notes

1 Abu Dulaf could have passed through the territories of the Kyrgyz in Eastern Tian Shan.
2 Apparently, this refers to the religion of Islam.
3 Rice is not grown in the Minusinsk Basin. Therefore, this account by Abu Dulaf pertains to the Tian Shan Kyrgyz.
4 Alongside Islam, remnants of shamanism existed among the Kyrgyz.