Obviously, Genghis Khan (or, more appropriately, Chingghis Khan) aka Temujin, has loomed large in my radar lately. I read Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World a while ago. A fascinating read, even if I hadn’t been moving to Mongolia. Most surprising info: the last Khan died as recently as 1920’s.
Now I’m working on The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire. I’m only a few chapters in, but this little tidbit seemed worth sharing:
Women piled their hair high on their head and packed it with animal fat to prevent lice.
Now, I don’t know about you, but it would be a toss up for me whether lice or hair packed with yak fat was the lesser of two evils. And wouldn’t the fat melt and run down their face? Blecch!!
Nor were the women the only ones with bizarre hair fetishes.
By contrast, men wore a small clump of bangs in the middle of the forehead directly above the nose. Aside from the bangs, men shaved most of the head except for two large clumps above each ear. They never cut these tufts, but instead braided them into “horns” that hung down to the shoulders and often grew so long they had to be looped back over the ear.
What an image! I read that to G last night, and he thought I was reading a science-fiction or fantasy novel.
Interestingly enough, I was walking Addison at the dog park the other day, and ended up talking to a guy who recommended a series of novels on Genghis Khan by Conn Iggulden. (He’s one of the authors of the Dangerous Book for Boys. Hmmmmm. Sense any connection?). Fortunately, they’re available for the Kindle App, as my excess baggage pile is growing distressingly large. (mini-gripe: I really like the iBook app better than the Kindle app, but can hardly find any of the books I want on it. grrrrr….)
Hard to believe this time next week I’ll be at the airport!
Hmm..ancient Egyptian women wore perfumed cones atop their heads so that when it was hot, the cones would gradually melt and perfume both the women and the air, I guess. You can see the cones in wall paintings. I don’t know what the cones consisted of, but they might well have been made with some sort of animal fat.
Whatever, it still means stuff dripping down your face and body. I wonder how the yak fat smelled.
I think I’ll research the cones some more. I can’t believe it’s so close to your departure!
Wow, I’d forgotten all about those cones. Don’t you wonder what in the world made them think dripping fat would cool you down? Not to mention all the insects it would attract. And let me tell you, the one thing that made me think the plagues of Egypt really happened, is that the flies are still there!
LOL–though that reminds me, they had a locust invasion once while I was there. Absolutely Biblical.
The cones were made of ox-tallow and myrrh and gradually melted – worn at parties, not all the time. And lice was such a problem that most wealthy Egyptians, men and women, shaved their heads and wore elaborate wigs. Some wore little lifters between their heads and the wigs so that air could pass through!
Beat that, Mongol Queens!