Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1876-05-11
The SuperstitiOus Beliefs of the Kir-

NJ. u. CONWAY writes to the Cincinnati
Commercial that Dr. Eugene Schuyler
Secretary of the United States Legation al
St. Petersburg, was recently in London
having come there to correct the proof.
sheets OF his-werk on Turkistan before
proceeding to his duties at Constantine
pie From advance sheets left in his
possession, Mr. Conway sends the follow
ing extracts giving an account Of the GU
rlous superstitOus notions and customs OF
the people of Turkistan:
During the few days I passed in this
garden learned many proprieties as well
as many superstitions Of Mussulman life.
For instance | was shown how to eat a
melon. According to the Koran, when
an animal is killed for food, its throat
must be cut in order that the blood may
all run out By transfer of ideas the
melon is treated in the same way. First,
its throat is cut-a small incision is made
in the end farthest from the stem: then
its head is cut off by slicing off a small
piece; after that it is cut up Iengthways,
and with one or two dexterous turns OF
the knife the flesh is removed from the
rind and cut into thin, small slices, which
are pushed out alternately by the knife
When a man drinks water, he should first
take one swallow slowly, while repeating
to himself the name Of Allah,
and then take two swallows, after
which he can gulp down as much as
he pleases. When a person hiccough8
it is common to say, You stole some
thing from me- This is supposed to bring
good luck. If you sneeze when l speak
to you, it shows that | am right If 81
person sneeze three times it is very I'M
lucky. Yawning is a most sinful and
dangerous practice, and arises from an
evil place IN your heart, hdz2i S]taltan,
which is getting ready for the reception
of an evil spirit. Mohammed never
yawned, for when he was four years old
ne was one day seized in the desert bv the
angel Gabriel, who bounced upon him
like d bird and cut out the evil place from
his heart. If, therefore, you yaWn, you
should always put up the hand with the
palm outward, SO as to ward off the evil
spirits that will at once come to you.
Among the more puritanical folk laugh
ter is also bad, and it is said that Hanifv,
one of the famous Mussulman doctors,
lost half of Asia for Islam by laughing.
Whistling also is bad If a husband
whistle, something will happen to his
wife; and if children whistle, their father
or mother will die. Whistling, too, is
supposed to bring wind, and the KirghiZ
frequently whistles for that purpose A
buzzing in ones ears shows that a man is
dead, and prayer is always repeated
There is a beautiful legend connected
with this. In heaven there is a tree, on
each leaf of which is written the name of
some soul, and what men call buzzing
IN their ears is a rustling of one Of these
leaves as it falls from the tree. IF the
noise in your ears be aringing as of bells,
then it is Christian soul whose leaf has
fallen, anC who is to die; and so for each
aith the noise is different There also
s5xist many similar superstitions with re
gard 10 the twitchings Of different parts of
the uody, called tentGknaab. There is
little bird named Earlag0tcb, the forked
S'SA4 - N1A1Slh 10 blHSSy 1Cl11UILbS- Ills
tail, If you keep it about you, Will always
ward of i'll luck. 1t is, therefore, very
common part of q woman's head dress.
There is another belief, too, about the
harlGgatchs If when you first see this
bird in the spring you dig deep hole in
the ground under the pig toe of your right
foot, you will linda coal. With this coal
in your hand go and stand in front of
mosque, having also a slim rod. You
then watch everyone who passes, and at
last there will be girl wearing a large
hat. You touch her with the rod, and
make her stop and go into the mosque
with you, and you can then obtain her
hat, which will make you invisible, and
allow you to wander unseen where you
please.
. Among the Kirghiz the magpie (a5a)
is very ominous bird, and they careful
ly watch its comings and goings. If a
hirghiz hears one of these cry, he goes
out to look. If the maybe be on the east
il means guests; if on the west, a jour
ney; if on the north, bad luck; if on the
SOUTH some remarkable event. With re-
gard to.the crow there are similar super
stitions, and, among others, it is said that
the h0rgG, cr ordinary crow, and the 6ob-
barga, or green crow Of the steppes, never
met until the Russians came Before
that the black crow flew away be-
fore the green one came; now both
birds are seen together. Either the STUN
bling or the snorting of horse while on
q journey is considered a sign of good
luck. IL Bukhara, if, in crossing a
stream, ahorse should stumble and let the
rider get wet, it is thought to be the great
est good luck. To meet a woman un-
mounted, or with nothing in>her hands,
is to have bad luck; but if you meet any
one on horseback, especially a young
man, with somethingsin his hands, you
will have good luck. If hare run across
MANS path while he is on journey, it
foreshows Ill luck, and he usually goes
back. s
1T is, however, the sheep which CON
stitutes his chief wealth, that furnishes
the kirghiz with the best material for