so where did steppe folk "do their business"?

[snafu]

As in bathroom business. Obviously it was outside (since gers have no plumbing) but did they all just go wherever they felt like it? Or were there designated areas (like a pit)? And what about when it was really cold outside? Did they do their business indoors in a pot or some container and then just dump it outside later? Has this aspect of their daily life been chronicled anywhere?

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

I also wonder about this. Didn't come across with any accounts

[snafu]

Yeah it's weird. You'd think some chronicler would've been curious!

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

Yes The only information I saw so far comes from Ibn Fadlan, who wrote that after "doing their business", the Oghuz did not clean (because of the cult of water).

I was talking about this with one of our members (İLTERİŞ) and he said that in his hometown near the Taurus Mountains, in the highlands, if there isn't a constructed toilet around, people select a special area in the woods or hills and "do their business" there. Maybe that was the case with all steppe peoples.

[sarmat]

;D ;D ;D I don't know why, but I can't help laughing while reading this thread.

[hjernespiser]

Sarmat,

That's because all this time you've been wondering too, but never thought to ask. I'm guilty of this as well!

[kenmirzz]

Perhaps spending time with nomadic Mongol or Kazakh nowadays can enlighten us a bit. I did spend one night inside a Ger in Mongolia but unfortunately it's a hotel-made Ger and there are toilets nearby.

[H. İhsan Erkoç]

LOL sarmat & hjernespiser ;D ;D

Seriously, I'm wondering about that 'cos I wonder how it will be when I'll visit Mongolia

[snafu]

Jan 20, 2010 14:01:18 GMT 3 H. İhsan Erkoç said:

Yes The only information I saw so far comes from Ibn Fadlan, who wrote that after "doing their business", the Oghuz did not clean (because of the cult of water).

I was talking about this with one of our members (İLTERİŞ) and he said that in his hometown near the Taurus Mountains, in the highlands, if there isn't a constructed toilet around, people select a special area in the woods or hills and "do their business" there. Maybe that was the case with all steppe peoples.

Yeah I'm guessing there had to be special designated areas. Steppe folk were so superstitious about offending nature spirits they probably had a lot of taboos about where you could and couldn't relieve yourself.

[hjernespiser]

yagitani.jpn.cx/tel/megumi_en01.htm

"What perplexed me when I first visited their house was the bathroom. There was no fixed place for the bathroom; if it was outside the house, anywhere was fine. Though in the barren desert, one can hide behind the rise of the earth. The first time I went to the bathroom at night, I was accompanied by another woman, since I might have been attacked by the pasture watchdog.

However, one day, I woke up in the middle of the night with a severe stomachache from the camel milk I had drunk that afternoon. At the time I remembered reading a book that had warned, "The first time you drink camel milk it will cause severe diarrhea." As everyone was sleeping soundly, this time I obviously went to the toilet alone. In one hand, I was carrying tissue paper, and in the other a stone to throw at the watchdog in case it tried to attack. Under the shining stars, frightened by the howls I could hear off in the distance, I laughed, imagining myself the only woman in the world squatting out in the middle of the night in the desert suffering a stomachache. "

[hjernespiser]

www.metacafe.com/watch/867730/last_one_standing_going_to_the_bathroom_in_mongolia/

"Last One Standing: Going To The Bathroom In Mongolia"

[hjernespiser]

These guys are a bunch of buffoons: www.metacafe.com/watch/867736/last_one_standing_testicle_soup/

[hjernespiser]

khubilai.tripod.com/gobi/id2.html

"If you want to go to the bathroom it's everywhere outside"

[hjernespiser]

I imagine that what is meant is "everywhere but the sacred areas".

[snafu]

pretty interesting.