A document in Old Mongolian "On the Law of the Qazaqs"

Abstract

This article presents a scholarly transcription and Qazaq translation of a historical document in Old Mongolian, "On the Law of the Qazaqs," stored in the archives of the Institute of History and Ethnography of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. This document was recorded by Tseveen Zhamsranov from Qazaq aqsaqal’s (elders) in the 1930s. The document "On the Law of the Qazaqs", compiled by Qazaqs from twelve clan groups of the Abaq Kerey clan, has the following content: On the Creation of the First Law (article 1), On Marriage (article 2), On Theft with a Confirmed Witness (article 3), On Hospitality in the House of a Noyan and His Wife (article 4), On the Murder of a Woman by a Woman (article 5), On Supporting the Poor and Improving Their Condition (article 6), On Religious Lamas (Mullahs) (article 7), On Insulting and Humiliating Others (article 8), On Debt Collection (article 9), On Adultery and Debauchery (article 10), On Levirate Marriage (article 11), On Sowing and Haymaking (article 12), On Drunken Folly (article 13), ten more articles are not recorded. This publication testifies to the need for further historical and comparative research and scientific commentary on this set of laws.