Christmas in Kargalik

Christmas in Kargalik

We arrived in Kargalik on Christmas eve of 1896 after having made the tiresome journey from the great city of Kashgar. Upon our arrival we were eagerly greeted by a group of local townspeople who insisted that we shall reside in the residence of a well off local merchant from Korkand. A massive feast had been prepared in our honour. Large quantities of apples, pears, raisins, almonds and the largest assortment of sweetmeats I had ever seen were laid out before us. It was just like Christmas dinner back in Sweden except the entire meal took place while we were seated on the floor and of course the majority of participants where not Christian. Upon the conclusion of the feast we were treated to a majestic performance put on by a troupe of 10 local dancers that was followed up with the presentation of a variety of useful gifts and offerings from the local amban (Chinese governor) such as sheep, rice, wheat, maize, petrol and provisions for our horses.

Immediately following the conclusion of this spectacular evening, I retired to my bedroom to finish up my notes and accounts of the days adventures. As I finished up my writing I glanced quickly over at the clock was located upon the mantle and realized that it was midnight and thus Christmas! Normally Christmas is a most joyous occasion for any Swede but this year I found my self feeling quite melancholy. I had not received any mail or news from Sweden in over a year and my previous Christmas’s in Asia had been spent in Kashgar enjoying the company of Father Hendricks and Mr. and Mrs. Macartney. Tis a true shame that my two travel companions my loyal servant Islam-Bai and his trusted acquaintance Kerim Jamm are not Christian but in fact practitioners of the Islamic faith.

Over the years me and Islam Bai in particular have take part in countless adventures that have taken us across Asia and no matter the situation or event Islam’s devotion to his faith has held dear. I still remember a few years ago during our traverse of the Trans-Alai mountain range when we made the decision to summit the majestic Mount Kauffman  and cross through the treacherous Kizil-art pass despite the threat of predation from a local pack of wolves. The men wished to visit the burial cairn of a local Islamic Saint Kizil-art in order to pray and make offerings in order to ensure the continued success of our expedition. Kizil-art is though to of been the first individual to successfully traverse and map out the mountain pass and as a result is greatly revered within the region. Reaching the shrine of Kizil-art is not a task for those faint of heart as it is located at an altitude of 14,015 feet! The offerings placed consisted of cotton cloth, antelope horns and a special type of local offering known as a tagh that seemed to consist of a stick with some sort of rag or clothe that had been tightly woven around it. The men’s devotion and commitment to the fulfillment of this pilgrimage was most inspiring and would later influence my decision to “acquire” a teskereh, which is a form of Islamic holy text chronicling the history of a region from the tomb of Imam Jafer Sadik. Which I happed upon while travelling in Northern Niya. Now my men would have a holy text with which they could both practice their religion and at the same time inform me of the past histories of the region travelled it was a near perfect scenario!

The next morning, I awoke to the most joyous of news! The local amban who had so graciously showered me with praise and gifts the evening prior had invited me to an evening feast that was to take place within his residence. This is precisely the type of event that I needed that would distract me spending Christmas so far from home for my 3rd consecutive year.
Source

Hedin, Sven Anders, and J. T. Bealby. 1899. Through Asia. New York and London: Harper and Bros. This book is Sven Hedin’s first-hand account of what is known as his first large expedition throughout Central Asia. The chapter’s used for this entry are chapter’s XI “Over the Tras-Alai” and chapter LXII “History of Khotan”.

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