nets. They also built canoes from logs
and bark. The Kootenai also hunted. In
the 1700s they got horses. They rode
their horses east over the Rockies to
hunt bison (buffalo) on the Great Plains.
The Kootenai adopted some customs of
the other Indians they met there. Like
Plains Indians, the Kootenai wore clothing
made from animal skins and lived in
tepees while hunting.
In the early 1800s U.S. traders began
arriving in Kootenai territory. The
Kootenai were friendly to the newcomers.
In 1846 the border of the United
States and Canada was set. The border
split Kootenai land between the two
countries. Some Kootenai on the U.S.
side moved north to Canada. Others
settled on reservations in Idaho and
Montana. The Canadian Kootenai
settled in British Columbia.
At the end of the 20th century there
were about 1,200 Kootenai. Half lived
in the United States and half lived in
Canada.
#More to explore
Native Americans
Koran
The Koran (or Qur#an) is the holy book
of Islam. According to Muslim
tradition, God revealed the Koran to
the prophet Muhammad in visions and
messages over a period of 20 years. In
Islam, the book is regarded as the true
word of Allah, or God. It is the final
authority in Islamic social, religious,
and legal matters.
A Kootenai group poses in front of a tepee
in the early 1900s.
Each chapter
of the Koran
has a title
taken from
an important
word in the
chapter,
such as
“The Poets.”
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Koran 77
The Koran was written in Arabic. It is
divided into 114 chapters called suras,
each of which includes a prayer and
verses.
Message
During the time of Muhammad, Arabs
worshipped many gods. The Koran
emphasizes that there is only one God,
Allah. Allah’s message to Muhammad is
both a warning and a promise. The
warning is to all who refuse to believe in
the one God. Those who believe in
Allah and do Allah’s will are promised a
reward that will last forever.
Resurrection, or rising from the dead, is
an important subject of the Koran.
Other topics include angels and devils
and heaven and hell. There are also
chapters about marriage and divorce
laws. Other sections tell the duties of
parents to their children, of masters to
their servants, and of the rich to the
poor. The Koran also includes stories
about prophets and people in the Bible.
History
Islam teaches that Muhammad received
his first vision in AD 610. From time to
time he received more messages from
God, until he died in 632. Muhammad
and his followers memorized the
messages and sometimes wrote them
down.
The year after Muhammad’s death,
many people who knew the Koran by
heart were killed in a battle. Muslims
feared that knowledge of the Koran
would be lost, so they collected all the
messages and wrote them down.
#More to explore
Islam • Muhammad
A woman reads the Koran.
A page of the Koran has been
beautifully decorated and written
out by hand. Artists have taken
great care in producing special
copies of the holy book.
78 Koran BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Korea, North
The Korean peninsula is a block of land
that sticks out from East Asia. The
nation of North Korea sits on the
northern half of the peninsula. South
Korea covers the southern half. The
people of North Korea and South
Korea share a long history and a
common language. However, the two
Koreas have been enemies since the late
1940s. North Korea’s capital is
Pyongyang.
Geography
North Korea shares borders with China,
Russia, and South Korea. The East Sea,
which is also called the Sea of Japan,
forms North Korea’s east coast. The
Yellow Sea forms the country’s west
coast.
Mountains and valleys cover most of
North Korea. The country’s highest
point, Mount Paektu, is in the northeast.
North Korea’s two longest rivers
are the Yalu and the Tumen. They run
along the border with China.
The winters in North Korea are long,
cold, and snowy. The summers are warm
and rainy. Tropical storms called
typhoons sometimes strike during the
rainy season.
Plants and Animals
Forests of fir, spruce, larch, and pine
trees grow in the northern mountains.
In the southern mountains there are
forests of oak, pine, elm, beech, and
poplar trees.
Small numbers of deer, mountain antelope,
goats, tigers, and leopards live in
the forests. Many birds, including wild
pigeons, herons, and cranes, live in the
valleys. Rabbits and other small mammals
are common. In the rivers there are
many carp and eels.
People
Nearly all the people of North Korea are
ethnic Koreans. A tiny number of Chinese
also live in the country. All Koreans
speak the Korean language. More than
half of the people live in cities.
Most North Koreans follow no religion.
Smaller groups of people follow traditional
Korean beliefs or a religion called
Chondogyo. Chondogyo combines
Buddhism, Christianity, and Confucianism
(ancient Chinese teachings).
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Korea, North 79
Economy
The North Korean government controls
the economy. Most of the people work
in factories or on farms. The factories
produce iron and steel, chemicals,
machinery, food products, cloth, and
other goods.
North Korea’s farms produce mainly
rice. Other crops include potatoes, corn,
