Qori

Qori was born on February 21, 990, in a Khitan camp on the Alashan Plateau, where the Liao emperor’s power reached through local chiefs and their client families. His household spoke Turkic in daily talk and kept steppe rites: smoke offerings to Tengri, food set aside for ancestor spirits, and a shaman called when sickness stayed.

His father, Temür, repaired harness, bow parts, and leather bottles for the chief Nayan’s men. Requests came in bursts when riders gathered, and Temür worked close to the fire, cutting thong and stitching until his fingers cramped. Qori’s mother, Esen, milked and strained, boiled and fermented, and carried the baby tucked inside her robe while she scraped hides and hung curds to dry. Ongon, Temür’s mother, lived in the same cluster of felt shelters. She watched Esen’s hands, checked the baby’s skin for chill, and tied a small amulet at his neck after rubbing smoke from burning juniper over his head.

Two children, Boro and Saran, were old enough to help. Boro drove animals and fetched water; Saran soothed Qori when Esen’s arms were full. Ongon spoke of Togul, the firstborn who had died in 982, and warned Esen not to let a baby sleep with damp cloth near his face.

In mid-September, Qori began to cough and pull for breath. Temür rode to find Arqan the healer, who rattled and chanted, then pressed warm fat to the infant’s chest. Qori died on September 22, 990. Ongon wrapped him in felt and placed him in the stony ground beyond the camp, leaving a cup of milk and a strip of dried meat for his spirit.