Al-Marwazi. "Taba'i al-hayawan" ("The Nature of Animals").
Materials from the fund of the Institute of Literature and Art of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic. Inv. No. 1820
There is very little information about the life and activities of the court physician of the Seljuk sultans, Al-Marwazi. By nisba, he was a native of the city of Merv and completed his book in 1120.
Although Al-Marwazi's work is mainly devoted to zoology, it contains reports about various peoples, countries, and geography, including excerpts about Turkic tribes — the Guzz, Turkmen, Kyrgyz, Yagma, Karluks, and others. The author has very interesting information about the religious beliefs and territory occupied by the Kyrgyz.
Translation from Arabic by O. Karaev
Text: Among them (the Turks) are the Khirghiz, a numerous people living between the east and the north. The Kimaks (live) to the north of them, the Yagma and the Karluks — to the west, and the Kudza and Ark (are located relative to them) between the winter west and the south.
Among the Khirghiz, it is customary to burn their dead; they claim that fire purifies and makes them clean. This has been their custom since ancient times, but when they became neighbors of the Muslims, they began to bury the dead.
Among the Khirghiz, there is a man from the common people who is called Faginun. He is summoned every year on a certain day, singers, pipers, and others gather around him, and they begin to drink and celebrate wildly. And when (everyone) in the community becomes in a good mood, this man loses consciousness and falls as if struck down. Then he is asked about all the events that are supposed to happen this year, and he informs them whether there will be a harvest or a famine, about rain, drought, and so on, and they believe that what he says is true.
On the land of the Khirghiz, there are four rivers that flow into one large river, which runs between the mountains and dark gorges. It is said that a certain man from the Khirghiz got into a boat and set it adrift in this river, and it carried him for three days in darkness so that during this time he saw neither the sun, nor the stars, nor any light. Then he emerged into the light in an open place and got out of the boat; hearing the sound of hooves of animals, he climbed a tree to wait and see what would happen. And behold, three tall horsemen, each as tall as a long spear, with dogs the size of bulls. When they approached him and saw him, they took pity on him, and one of them took him (down from the tree) and put him on his horse, hiding him from the dogs, fearing that they would tear him apart. They brought him to their camp, seated him at the top of the tent, fed him their food, and began to look at him with amazement, as if they had never seen anyone like him. Then one of them took him and brought him close to his (Khirghiz) dwelling, showing him the way until he returned to his home. And no one knows who they were and to which tribe of people they belonged.
Comments and Notes
1 That is, northeast.
2 Kudza — Kucha.
3 Ark — a geographical object in Eastern Turkestan, near Kucha.
4 That is, southwest.
5 In the 9th century, some of the Yenisei Kyrgyz migrated to the Eastern Tian Shan and became direct neighbors of the Karakhanid Kaganate, whose state religion was Islam. The Kyrgyz adopted the Muslim religion at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries and began to bury their dead according to Islamic customs.