Although Khutu is an animal product, yet people like it and collect it
as a treasure. It is held in considerable regard in China and eastern Turkistan. It is of the family of badzahr. People like it because if a person is
brought close to it, it begins to "perspire", as is said of the peacock.
Whenever any poisonous food comes before it, it begins to quiver and
shake.
When I enquired about the Khutu from the members of the diplomatic mission which had come from Qata'i Khan, they said: "The only
merit about it is that it lets out perspiration when any poison comes into
contact with it. This is why it is held in such esteem. It is the bone of
forehead of a bull".
This is what has been said in books, although the only additional information which we could get is that this bull is found in Khirkhiz. its
forehead is thicker than two fingers which would show that it cannot be
the forehead of the Turkish bull, as it is smaller-bodied. But it could
well be the horn. As for the belief that it is the forehead of a bull, it
would be forehead of the mountain goats of Khirkiz. Only they can
have such foreheads. It is not brought from "Iraq and Khurasan.
Some say it is the forehead of the hippopotamus which is also called
aquatic elephant. It has patterns described over it and bears resemblance
to the pith of the teeth of the fish which the Bulgarians bring to
Khwarazm from North Sea which is adjacent to the ocean. It is bigger
than the hand in size and the pith is longer in the middle.
It is known as the essence of the teeth (jawahar al-sann).
A Khwarazmian happened to find a tooth which was very white on
the sides. He had hasps of daggers and knives made from it. The natural
patterns described upon it were very thin, white and pale. It resembled
the down of the cucumber if peeled in such a manner that the seed grains
are also cut off. This Khwarazmian carried it to Makka, passed it off as
(the tooth of) the khutu and sold it at a high price to the Egyptians.
If the peeled portion of the Khutu is thrown into fire, it gives out a
fishy smell. This fact would show it to be a marine creature. It is said
that the fumes of its smoke are good for piles just as the fish-bone is
good for them.
A tradition which runs about it — and it is extremely difficult to
check the veracity of the factual truth behind this tradition — has it that
it is the forehead of a big bird. When it dies and falls upon an island, its
flesh putrifies and scatters, but people preserve its forehead. Someone
has mentioned that he was travelling in the wilderness of China along
with some natives. The sky suddenly darkened and the people dismounting from their horses, prostrated themselves. They did not raise them-
