and when they will remoue from one place to another, then they will make sa∣crifices,
in manner following. Euery kindred doth sacrifice in their owne tent, and he
that is most ancient, is their Priest. And first the Priest doth begin to play vpon a thing
like to a great fiue, with a skinne on the one end like a drumme; his drumme-sticke is
about a span long, and one end is round like a ball, couered with the skin of an Hart.
Also the Priest hath as it were a white garland on his head, and his face is couered with
a peece of a shirt of male, with many small ribbes, and teeth of fishes and wilde beasts
hanging thereon. Then he singeth, as wee vse here in England to hollow, whoope,
or shout at Hounds, and the rest of the company answere him with this Outes Igha,
Igha, Igha, to which the Priest with his voice replieth. And they answere him with
the selfe-same words, so many times, till in the end, he become, as it were, madde,
falling downe as he were dead, hauing nothing on him but a shirt, and lying on his
backe. I perceiued him yet to breath, and asked why he lay so: they answered, Now
doth our GOD tell him what we shall doe, and whither we shall goe. And when
he had lien still a little while, they cried thus three times together, Oghao, Oghao,
Oghao, and as they vse these three calls, hee riseth with his head, and lieth downe a∣gaine;
and then he rose vp and sang with like voices as he did before, with the like
answere, Igha, Igha, Igha. Then he commaunded them to kill fiue Ollens, or great
Deere, and continued singing still, both he and they as before. Then he tooke a sword
of a cubit and a spanne long (I did mete it my selfe) and put it into his belly halfe
way, and sometime lesse, but no wound was to be seene; they continuing their sweet
song still. Then he put the sword into the fire, till it was warme, and so thrust it into
the slit of his shirt, and thrust it thorow his bodie, as I thought, in at his nauell, and out
at his fundament, the point being out of his shirt behinde, I laid my finger vpon it.
Then he pulled out the sword, and sate downe.
This being done, they set a kettle of water ouer the fire to heate, and when the wa∣ter
doth seeth, the Priest beginneth to sing againe, they answering him. For so long as
the water was in seething, they sate and sang not. Then they made a thing being foure
square, and in height and squarenes of a chaire, and couered with a gowne very close
the fore-part thereof, for the hinder-part stood to the tents side. Their tents are round
and are called Chome, in their language, The water still seething on the fire, and this
square seat being readie, the Priest put off his shirt, and the thing like a garland, which
was on his head, with those things which couered his face, and he had on yet all this
while a paire of hosen of Deere-skinnes, with the haire on, which came vp to his but∣tockes.
So he went into the square seat, and sate downe like a Taylor, and sang with
a strong voice or hollowing. Then they tooke a small line made of Deere-skinnes of
foure fathomes long, and with a small knot the Priest made it fast about his necke, and
vnder his left arme, and gaue it to two men standing on each side of him, which held
the ends together. Then the kettle of hot water was set before him in the square seat,
which seat they now couered with a gowne of broad-cloath without lining (such as
the Russes vse to weare). Then the two men which did hold the end of the line, still
standing there, began to draw, and drew till they had drawn the ends of the line stiffe,
and together; and then I heard a thing fall into the kettle of water, which was before
him in the tent. I asked what it was, and they answered, his head, shoulder, and left
arme, which the line had cut off, I meane the knot, which I saw afterward drawne
hard together. Then I rose vp, and would haue 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
should liue no longer. (And the most part of them can speake the Russian tongue, to be
vnderstood, and they tooke me to be a Russian) Then they began to hallow with these
words, Oghaoo, Oghaoo, Oghaoo, many times together: in the meane while I saw a
thing like a finger of a man, two times together, thrust thorow the gowne from the
Priest. I asked them that sate neere to me what it was, that I saw, and they said, not his
finger, for he was yet dead; and that which I saw appeare thorow the gowne, was a
beast, but what beast they knew not, nor would not tell. And I looked vpon the gown,
and there was no hole to be seene. At last the Priest lifted vp his head, with his shoulder