[cldyangel]

Who exactly is the guy with the glasses? He has light hair and wears glasses, so he doesn't seem to be from the village. Plus, he takes notes on stuff in a notebook. Is he perhaps a researcher or just another family member (maybe mixed blood)?

[clm]

I am pretty sure he's an outsider doing some kind of research. Anthropologist, linguist, something like those things?

[umlando]

Originally Posted by clm

I am pretty sure he's an outsider doing some kind of research. Anthropologist, linguist, something like those things?

Also, he seems to be dressed in modern, western clothes. I wonder when this story is set - aside from that guy, it could be a couple millennia ago.

[Iffy]

Originally Posted by clm

I am pretty sure he's an outsider doing some kind of research. Anthropologist, linguist, something like those things?

Yeah.. that pretty much answers the question.. he's some western dude whose name I don't know..

[RenW]

Originally Posted by umlando

Also, he seems to be dressed in modern, western clothes. I wonder when this story is set - aside from that guy, it could be a couple millennia ago.

I would guess the story is set either in the late 15th century to early 16th century, or during the 1800s (mid to late).

The late 15th century was the during height of the Silk Road period, which fits with the story. Also, our lovely main character is most definitely a Kazakh, and clan members mention movement from Northerners into their region. Russia began making incursions into the region during the reign of Ivan the Terrible and had conquered (in a very lose sense of the word) a lot of present-day Kazakhstan by the 1600s.

However, that guy might also be a British anthropologist or whatever, moving up from India or other British colonies in the region, which would fit better with the Victorian era as the timeline. His clothes seem to fit this time frame. While I feel like the first time period is more correct, these cultures were pretty much untouched until the mid-20th century, when the Soviets decided to forcibly modernize the Central Asian peoples.

And this is why history class is useful for knowing manga, I guess!

[umlando]

Originally Posted by RenW

I would guess the story is set either in the late 15th century to early 16th century, or during the 1800s (mid to late).

The late 15th century was the during height of the Silk Road period, which fits with the story. Also, our lovely main character is most definitely a Kazakh, and clan members mention movement from Northerners into their region. Russia began making incursions into the region during the reign of Ivan the Terrible and had conquered (in a very lose sense of the word) a lot of present-day Kazakhstan by the 1600s.

However, that guy might also be a British anthropologist or whatever, moving up from India or other British colonies in the region, which would fit better with the Victorian era as the timeline. His clothes seem to fit this time frame. While I feel like the first time period is more correct, these cultures were pretty much untouched until the mid-20th century, when the Soviets decided to forcibly modernize the Central Asian peoples.

And this is why history class is useful for knowing manga, I guess!

Right, well the glasses could go back to at least the 17th century, but his clothes seem modern. It's the anthropological approach that set me to thinking it was after the decline of the Silk Road, probably late 19th century at earliest, and that is because anthropology was a Victorian (and initially English) invention. This particular person's methods seem like participant-observation, which has its modern roots in the late 19th century (pointless personal note: at college I walked by Kroeber Hall every day...Alfred Kroeber was the student around 1900 of Franz Boas, an originator of participant observation; even more pointless: I went to high school with Boas' great-granddaughter...).

I wonder who the northerners will turn out to be? Ottoman or Russian empire? That would help explain the presence of a British anthropologist.

There's also the possibility that we're overanalyzing. Sometimes, having studied a bunch of history makes reading manga really frustrating.

[PiNkFaIrYbOi]

Well on page 18 of Chapter 5: Cold the guy with glasses is going thru his case and mentions several drugs/medicines/etc... and one of them is analgesic and if that is the correct translation, then it could be non earlier then the 19th century. Also the mention of disinfectants would also be around the same time period when they started to come into use.

Then the clothing styles, ornaments, living spaces, other artifacts that are drawn. We would put it probably from mid 19th century to non later then early 20th century.

We would have to go over the chapters to see if we could narrow it down more, but we are too lazy for that right now. But oh well it matters not.

But we would go along with most of the other guesses that he is some sort of Westerner that is an anthropologist.

Went thru some of it and in Chapter 1: Bride And Groom, page 4 it says Central Asia near Caspian Sea in the 19th century.

[Mogura]

I love this story, too, and I'm glad that I found this forum.

My favorite scene is page 15 in chapter 4, where this guy with glasses kindly handing an arrow to Amiru's grandmother when she tries to shoot away Amiru's brothers. It's just hilarious!!

BTW, his name will become clear in the coming chapter(chapter 7).
As you guys already guessed, he seems to be a researcher and have a very common English surname.

[taesu]

Originally Posted by Mogura

BTW, his name will become clear in the coming chapter(chapter 7).
As you guys already guessed, he seems to be a researcher and have a very common English surname.

Let me guess: Smith.

My guess is mid 19th century to just before World War II.

[umlando]

Originally Posted by taesu

Let me guess: Smith.

My guess is mid 19th century to just before World War II.

Well, definitely before WWII!

I missed it, too, but since I love to reread good manga (and this is VERY good, so I read it over and over...), I finally did catch that it's set in the 19th century near the Caspian Sea.