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Title: A Visit to the SarÖ and Shera YÖgurs

Author: C. G. E. Mannerheim

Language: English

E-text prepared by Jari Koivisto

A VISIT TO THE SARÖ AND SHERA YÖGURS

by

C. G. E. MANNERHEIM

Helsingfors, The Finnish Literary Society, 1911.

Introductory note.

During an expedition made in Central Asia and Northern China in the years 1906-1908 I had the opportunity of spending some days among the SarÖ and Shera YÖgurs, two small tribes which under the common name of "Huang-fan" (the yellow barbarians) inhabit the northern reaches of the Nanshan mountains in the district of Kanchow-Hsuchow, and part of the plain at its foot. In the hope of assisting in spreading some light upon these imperfectly known races, I offer some extracts from my journal, a vocabulary of words noted down parallely, as used by both tribes, some anthropological measurements and a number of photographs, some of which were taken during my expedition, others representing an ethnographical collection which I made.

In making the vocabulary, the words have been taken down phonetically. Dr Ramstedt of the Alexander University at Helsingfors, has kindly supplied the Mongolian equivalent. In my anthropological and ethnographical observations I have followed the directions I found in "Notes and Queries" on Anthropology given by John George Garson, M.D. and Charles Hercules Read, F.S.A., and in "Ethnography", by the latter author.

Unfortunately some of the photographs have been less successful than others owing to the fact that a stress of work obliged me to postpone for some months the developing of some dozen films.

As the principal aim of my expedition lay altogether outside the spheres of anthropology and ethnography, and as I have had no opportunity to revise my more or less casually made observations, it is without the least claim to authority that I present this very unpretentious material to the kind consideration of the reader.

Helsingfors, August 10th 1909.

C.G.E. Mannerheim.