are front-faced and two-legged,
Who have the reins on their backs,
To strengthen the family of Kun-Aiyy,
To bless the relatives of Aiyy-Khan.
She was settled at the top
Of the three restless Worlds,
On the changeable side
Of the bloodthirsty eastern sky,
To sit and turn
Like a wood-grouse
With a speckled breast,
Looking around attentively.
Since that time,
They had life-long prosperous dwellings.
They started their progeny,
Having put on their best clothes,
Thinking: ‘Our Mother Ekhsit Khotun
Herself is coming for us’,
Beaming and laughing with joy,
Caressing their tender silver cheeks67
With their generous and warm hands…
If the thirty-five mischievous
And lively tribes
With belts fastened around their waists,
Who settled in the Middle World,
Step onto the thick salt marsh
Abundant with delicious cream,
Tread on the yellow ilgeh
Abundant with delicious butter,
They will become the Urankhai.
They will grow up
To be famous people,
They will be fair-faced Sakha.
Nelbeng Aiyyhyt, Neleghelji-Kuo,
Dear Aiyyhyt Khan Khotun,68
Was destined to bless and help them.
The copper surface of the Earth,
Was decorated with yellow chechir,
They imbued scissors
With the soul of a girl,
They imbued a bow
With the soul of a boy
So that the tribes would prosper from
The overwhelming wealth,
The overabundance
Of the blessed Middle World,
The multitude of cattle
On the double yellow surface,
On the lower smooth side
Of the blissful eastern sky…
Since the time
They dwelt in the Middle World,
They built fences for cattle,
Honoured Aiyyhyt Khan Khotun,
With a choron69 of kumis70
With young birch trees blessing her…
I should add some further detail to the story:
A noble woman, Khotun Aan-Alakhchyn71 –
White72 Mankhalyn was her name –
Was destined to become the mother
Of the spirits of grass and trees,
So she settled in the Middle World.
She had free will,
A gentle nature,
An honest heart.
Her breasts were ample
Like the biggest vessels
Full of kumis;
She came to this world wearing
On her white shoulders
A coat made of the best lynx fur.
Her high fur hat
Made of three sable skins
Was worn on her head, tossed back,
As if she were singing.
She was destined to create
The blessed surface
Of the Primordial Motherland,
Its bright and smooth yellow expanse.
The great lively folk
Of the Middle World
Respected to her name,
Bowed to her image,
Begged for her blessings
When the day of parting
With their native land came,
To defend their homeland from enemies
From the Under and Upper Worlds.
They swore this oath to the supreme deities:
If someone from the Under or Upper tribes
Shakes the vast space
Of the wide resonant sky,
If someone tramples under his fiery feet
He shall receive the severest sentence
Of the great court.
If someone touches the axis
Of the three restless Worlds,
Where the three superior tribes were born,
Even if he is cunning and sly,
Even
