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The animals
they raise consist mainly of horses, cows, and sheep, but include
such rare beasts as camels, asses, mules, and the wild horses known
as t'ao-t'u and t'o-chi. They move about in search of water and
pasture and have no walled cities or fixed dwellings, nor do they
engage in any kind of agriculture. Their lands, however, are divided
into regions under the control of various leaders. They have no
writing, and even promises and agreements are only verbal. The little
boys start out by learning to ride sheep and shoot birds and rats
with a bow and arrow, and when they get a little older they shoot
foxes and hares, which are used for food. Thus all the young men
are able to use a bow and act as armed cavalry in time of war. It
is their custom to herd their flocks in times of peace and make
their living by hunting, but in periods of crisis they take up arms
and go off on plundering and marauding expeditions. This seems to
be their inborn nature. For long-range weapons they use bows and
arrows, and swords and spears at close range. If the battle is going
well for them they will advance, but if not, they will retreat,
for they do not consider it a disgrace to run away. Their only concern
is self-advantage, and they know nothing of propriety or righteousness.
From the chiefs of the tribe on down, everyone eats the meat of
the domestic animals and wears clothes of hide or wraps made of
felt or fur. The young men eat the richest and best food, while
the old get what is left over, since the tribe honors those who
are young and strong and despises the weak and aged. On the death
of his father, a son will marry his stepmother, and when brothers
die, the remaining brothers will take the widows for their own wives.
They have no polite names but only personal names, and they observe
no taboos in the use of personal names.
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