Certaine notes unperfectly written by Richard Johnson servant to Master Richard Chancelour, which was in the discoverie of Vaigatz and Nova Zembla, with Steven Burrowe in the Serchthrift 1556. and afterwarde among the Samoedes, whose devilish rites hee describeth.
FIRST, after we departed out of England we fell with
Norway
, and on that coste lieth Northbern or Northbergen, and this people are under the King of Denmarke:
But they differ in their speech from the Danes, for they
speake Norsh. And North of Northbern lie the
Isles of
Roste and Lofoot, and these Islands pertaine unto Finmarke, and they keepe the lawes and speake the language
of the Islanders. And at the Eastermost part of that land
is a castle which is called the Ward house, and the King
of Denmarke doeth fortifie it with men of warre: and the
Russes may not goe to the Westward of that castle. And
East Southeast from that castle is a lande called Lappia :
in which lande be two maner of people, that is to say, the
Lappians, and the Scrickfinnes, which Scrickfinnes are
a wilde people which neither know God, nor yet good
order: and these people live in tents made of Deares
skinnes: and they have no certaine habitations, but
continue in heards and companies by one hundred and
two hundreds. And they are a people of small stature,
and are clothed in Deares skinnes, and drinke nothing
but water, and eate no bread but flesh all raw. And the
Lappians bee a people adjoyning to them & be much like
to them in al conditions: but the Emperour of Russia
hath of late overcome manie of them, and they are in
subjection to him. And this people will say that they
beleeve in the Russes God. And they live in tents as
the other doe. And Southeast and by South from Lappia
lyeth a province called Corelia, and these people are
called Kerilli. And South southeast from Corelia lyeth a
countrey called Novogardia. And these three nations are
under the Emperour of Russia, and the Russes keepe the
Lawe of the Greekes in their Churches, and write somewhat like as the Greekes write, and they speake their
owne language, and they abhorre the Latine tongue,
neither have they to doe with the Pope of Rome, and
they holde it not good to worshippe any carved Image,
yet they will worshippe paynted Images on tables or
boordes. And in Russia
their Churches, steeples, and
houses are all of wood: and their shippes that they have
are sowed with withes and have no nayles. The Kerilles,
Russians and Moscovians bee much alike in all conditions. And South from the Moscovians lye the
Tartarians, which bee Mahumetans, and live in tentes
and wagons, and keepe in heardes and companies: and
they holde it not good to abide long in one place, for
they will say, when they will curse any of their children,
I woulde thou mightest tary so long in a place that thou
mightest smell thine owne dung, as the Christians doe:
and this is the greatest curse that they have. And East
Northeast of Russia
lieth Lampas, which is a place where
the Russes, Tartars and Samoeds meete twise a yeere,
and make the faire to barter wares for wares. And
Northeast from Lampas lieth the countrey of the Samoeds,
which be about the river of Pechere, and these Samoeds
bee in subjection to the Emperour of Russia, and they lie
in tentes made of Deere skinnes, and they use much
witchcraft, and shoot well in bowes. And Northeast from
the river Pechere lieth Vaygatz, and there are the wilde
Samoeds which will not suffer the Russes to land out of
the Sea, but they will kill them and eate them, as wee are
tolde by the Russes: and they live in heards, and have all
their carriages with deere, for they have no horses.
Beyond Vaygatz lyeth a lande called Nova Zembla, which
is a great lande, but wee sawe no people, and there wee
had Foule inough, and there wee sawe white Foxes and
white Beares. And the sayde Samoeds which are about
the bankes of Pechere, which are in subjection to the
Emperour of Russia, when they will remove from one
place to another, then they will make sacrifices in manner
following. Everie kinred doeth sacrifice in their owne
tent, and hee that is most auncient is their Priest. And
first the Priest doeth beginne to playe upon a thing like to
a great sieve, with a skinne on the one ende like a
drumme: and the sticke that he playeth with is about a
spanne long, and one ende is round like a ball, covered
with the skinne of an Harte. Also the Priest hath upon
his head a thing of white like a garlande, and his face is
covered with a piece of a shirt of maile, with manie small
ribbes, and teeth of fishes, and wilde beastes hanging on
the same maile. Then hee singeth as wee use heere in
Englande to hallow, whope, or showte at houndes, and the
rest of the company answere him with this Owtis, Igha,
Igha, Igha, and then the Priest replieth againe with his
voyces. And they answere him with the selfesame wordes
so manie times, that in the ende he becommeth as it were
madde, and falling downe as hee were dead, having
nothing on him but a shirt, lying upon his backe I might
perceive him to breathe. I asked them why hee lay so,
and they answered mee, Nowe doeth our God tell him
what wee shall doe, and whither wee shall goe. And
when he had lyen still a litle while, they cried thus three
times together, Oghao, Oghao, Oghao, and as they use
these three calles, hee riseth with his head and lieth downe
againe, and then hee rose up and sang with like voyces as
hee did before: and his audience answered him, Igha,
Igha, Igha. Then hee commaunded them to kill five
Olens or great Deere, and continued singing still both hee
and they as before. Then hee tooke a sworde of a cubite
and a spanne long, (I did mete it my selfe) and put it into
his bellie halfeway and sometime lesse, but no wounde was
to bee seene, (they continuing in their sweete song still)
Then he put the sworde into the fire till it was warme,
and so thrust it into the slitte of his shirte and thrust it
through his bodie, as I thought, in at his navill and out at
his fundament: the poynt beeing out of his shirt behinde,
I layde my finger upon it, then hee pulled out the sworde
and sate downe. This beeing done, they set a kettle of
water over the fire to heate, and when the water doeth
seethe, the Priest beginneth to sing againe they answering
him, for so long as the water was in heating, they sate
and sang not. Then they made a thing being foure
square, and in height and squarenesse of a chaire, and
covered with a gown very close the forepart therof, for
the hinder part stood to the tents side. Their tents are
rounde and are called Chome in their language. The
water still seething on the fire, and this square seate being
ready, the Priest put off his shirt, and the thing like a
garland which was on his head, with those things which
covered his face, & he had on yet all this while a paire of
hosen of deeres skins with ye haire on, which came up to
his buttocks. So he went into the square seat, and sate
down like a tailour and sang with a strong voyce or
halowing. Then they tooke a small line made of deeres
skinnes of foure fathoms long, and with a smal knotte the
Priest made it fast about his necke, and under his left
arme, and gave it unto two men standing on both sides of
him, which held the ends together. Then the kettle of
hote water was set before him in the spare seat,
al this time the square seat was not covered, and
then it was covered wt a gown of broad cloth
without lining, such as the Russes do weare. Then
the 2. men which did hold ye ends of the line stil
standing there, began to draw, & drew til they had drawn
the ends of the line stiffe and together, and then I hearde
a thing fall into the kettle of water which was before him
in the tent. Thereupon I asked them that sate by me
what it was that fell into the water that stoode before
him. And they answered me, that it was his head, his
shoulder and left arme, which the line had cut off, I meane
the knot which I sawe afterwarde drawen hard together.
Then I rose up and would have looked whether it were so
or not, but they laid hold on me, and said, that if they
should see him with their bodily eyes, they shoulde live no
longer. And the most part of them can speake the Russe
tongue to bee understood: and they tooke me to be a
Russian. Then they beganne to hallow with these wordes,
Oghaoo, Oghaoo, Oghaoo, many times together. And
as they were thus singing & out calling, I sawe a thing
like a finger of a man two times together thrust through
the gowne from the Priest. I asked them that sate next
to me what it was that I sawe, and they saide, not his
finger; for he was yet dead: and that which I saw appeare
through the gowne was a beast, but what beast they knew
not nor would not tell. And I looked upon the gowne,
and there was no hole to bee seene: and then at the last
the Priest lifted up his head with his shoulder and arme,
and all his bodie, and came forth to the fire. Thus farre
of their service which I sawe during the space of certaine
houres : but how they doe worship their Idoles that I saw
not: for they put up their stuffe for to remove from that
place where they lay. And I went to him that served the
Priest, and asked him what their God saide to him when
he lay as dead. Hee answered, that his owne people
doeth not know: neither is it for them to know: for they
must doe as he commanded. This I saw the fift day of
Januarie in the yere of our Lord 1556. after the English
account.
