ASIA Wasm GN635 TSRoO® Dp Goruell University Library Sthara, New York CHARLES WILLIAM WASON COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE THE GIFT OF CHARLES WILLIAM WASON CLASS OF 1876 1918 35 é on cn tC NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. BASED ON THE COLLECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. BY WILLIAM WOODVILLE ROCKHILL, Gold Medalist of the Royal Geographical Society, Corresponding Member of the Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde, etc., etc., ete. “py Wl asm GNb35 TSR 6 \N 2619 II. III. IV. VI. “ VII. VIII. IX. . Religion—Lamas—Religious architecture—Objects connected with relig- SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS. . Tibet—Origin of the name—Limits—History of its civilization derived from Tibetan and Chinese sources..-.......---2---.02.-2-5 20202 e ee eee Character of the country and people.....-. ree at tata etal, oda tee Organization—Consanguineal—Political—Industrial. ......-....--.---- Dress and personal .adornment........---....----- Jit Sea eence obese . Habitations—Household utensils—F'ood—Tobacco. ..........----.----- Agriculture—Weapons—Hunting—Music—Dancing .........-.--.----- Transportation oc: 20 cesses sete veda seg ce diss cae ee eet se eiticneccsie seen Monetary system—Mediums of exchange—Writing—Printing—Time reckoning—Medical knowledge......-..----.---- 2-22-2222 - eee eee en ee Birth—Marriage—Death ..-.-. 22222-2222 eee eee ee cee eee eee cee eee ious worship—Miscellaneous objects from the Chinese border lands. . 667 Page. 716 718 724 730 NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. [BasED ON COLLECTIONS IN THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM. ] By WILLIAM WoopvILLE ROCKHILL. I. TIBET—ORIGIN OF THE NAME—LIMITS—HISTORY OF ITS CIVILIZA- TION DERIVED FROM TIBETAN AND CHINESE SOURCES. The word “Tibet,” also frequently though erroneously written Thibet, represents two Tibetan words,* meaning “Upper Bod,” by which name the central and western portions of Tibet are occasionally called by the natives, to distinguish them from the eastern portion, which is some- times referred to as Méin-Bod (Sman Bod), meaning “ Lower Bod.” As to the meaning of the word Bod, different explanations have been offered by European scholars—that which has been most gener- ally accepted, though on insufficient grounds, I think, derives it from the verb hbod-pa (pronounced bodpa) “to call, to speak,” and attention has been called to the fact that the name Slav has a similar meaning. t Schiagintweit says the name is derived from a word meanin g ‘‘ force,” ard Vigne (Travels in Kashmir, 11, p. 248) thinks it comes from the turkic and means nothing less than “the mountains of the people pro- fessing the Buddhist religion.” {. However this may be, Tibetans from whatever part of the country they come speak of themselves as Bod-pa, pronounced in some dis- tricts Beuba, in others, Bopa, and even Gopa. In colloquial Tibetan the country is called Beu lumba, Beu sa-ch’a or Beu yul, all meaning “the Beu (ba) country. ’ The earliest mention I have found of the word “Tibet” is in the Arab Istakhri’s works (circa 590 A. D.), where it is used underthe form Tobbat. Other Arab authors of a later date transcribe the word Tobbat, Tubbat, Tibbat, Tibat,and Thabbat. The earliest use of the * Stod and Bod (pronounced Teu-beu). tSee Amédée Thierry, Histoire @’Attila et de ses successeurs, 1, p. 284. }This paper also embodies the personal observations made by the author during two journeys to Tibet in 1888-89 and 1891-’92. 670 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. word by an European author is found in Plano Carpini’s Historia Mon- galorum (A. D. 1247), where it occurs under the form Thabet; Rubruk in his Itinerarium uses the form Tebet, as does also Marco Polo. (See H. Yule, Glossary of Anglo-Indian words, pp. 332, 698.)* Mongols speak of Tibet as Tangut, and Tibetans they call Tan- gutu, and this is the origin of another appellation for this people and country sometimes used by European authors, Tangast (Theophy- lactus) and Tangut (Prjevalsky), which should, however, be discarded as useless and misleading, as the people inhabiting this section of country are pure Tibetans. Tibet is geographically, roughly speaking, that section of central Asia which extends between the 76° and 102° of east longitude and from the 28° to 36° of north latitude, and, with the exception of its extreme western, southwestern, and southern portions, it forms an integral por- tion of the Chinese Empire. Elisée Reclus (Géographie Universelle, vii, p. 20 et seg.) says that Tibet forms a vast half circle with a radius of 800 kilometers, and that it is one of the best defined natural regions in the world. He roughly estimates its area, rightly including in it the Kokonor Tibetan region ~ on the northeast, and the other Tibetan-speaking countries on the west and south, at about 2,000,000 square kilometers. It would be premature at the present stage of our researches into the question to give any opinion on the varied affinities of the Tibetans. Philologically they belong to the same linguistic family as the Bur- mese. Their national records have been so badly kept that they are of little service to us in solving the problem of their early home, and the Chinese annals do not enable us to go back earlier than the eighth century, A. D., at which time the Chinese came in contact with tribes of this race, then scattered throughout the northeast corner of Tibet between the upper Yang-tzii kiang, the Kokonor, and the western section of Kan-su and Ssii-ch’uan as far east as the river Min, in the latter province. The purest type of Tibetan is still to be found among the pastoral tribes of that race, and when proper allowance has been made for foreign influences, everything points to a time when the whole Tibetan race lead a purely pastoral life, and it would seem that the early home of the Tibetan must be sought, not as they claim, in the valleys to the south of the city of Lh’asa, but to the northeast section of the country, somewhere near the Kokonor, to which region they probably came, as Chinese annals lead us to believe, from the east. Reference has been made to Tibetan historical works as a guide in the intricate question of their national origin, but it is believed that these works are of little, if any, assistance. Asa means of studying *Throughout this paper Tibetan words are written phonetically, consonants are pronounced as in English and vowels have the sound of the corresponding Italian ones. NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 671 the growth of the country and its advance in civilization they are fortunately of a little more use. I will here briefly give the principal data bearing on the subject which interests us, contained in a “Book of Kings,” or Gyal-rabs sal-vai mé-long (Dr. Emil Schlagintweit’s edition, 1866), which it must, however, be admitted is of comparatively modern origin and was unquestionably compiled under Chinese influence. From this work we learn that in the first century B. C. there appeared in Tibet, in the valley of the Tsangpo ch’u and to the south of the city of Lh’asa, a marvelously endowed child whom the wild natives thought heaven had sent to rule them, and whom they took as their chief. This would point to intercourse with India during the earliest days of their national existence, but as the work goes on to show that this prince was a direct descendant of the Buddha Gautama, a descent than which none could be higher in the eyes of the devout Tibetans, we may doubt the accuracy of the record on this point. In the reign of this first prince’s seventh successor, consequently sometime in the second century A. D., it is stated that charcoal was made for the first time, and iron, copper, and silver were extracted from the ore, plows were introduced, and the irrigation of fields made known. In the fifth century A. D., in the reign ot Tri-nyan zung-tin, fields were for the first time fenced-in, skin garments were made, walnut trees were planted, and reservoirs dug to supply water for irrigating the fields. In the reign of his successor the yak was crossed with the domestic cow and the valuable cross-breed called djo obtained. Mules were imported into the country and the people were taught how to make . bundles of hay. From the fact that grass is still at the present day twisted into heavy cables and allowed to dry in this shape and is so kept, both in Kashmir (see W. Moorcroft, Travels, IT, 153) and in Tibet, it is probable that this method of bundling hay was learned from the former country. In the seventh century Srong-tsan gambo ascended the throne of Tibet and in his long reign the country made rapid strides in civiliza- tion. Under his rule Tibet became an aggressive power and its armies attacked all the neighboring countries, China not excepted. The King sent T’onmi Samb’ota to India to there find a system of writing applicable to the Tibetan language, and also to open negotia- tions for his marriage with a Nepalese princess. T’onmi brought back an alphabet based on the nagari in use at the time in Kashmir, and composed of 30 consonants, 24 of which repro- duced more or less closely their prototypes, and 6 were invented for sounds which did not exist in Sanskrit. — Tt is recorded in the Bodhimur (I. J. Schmidt, Geschichte der Ost Mongolen, p. 329) that the King wrote a treatise on horse breeding, besides several other lighter works. 672 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. With the Nepalese consort he had taken to himself, Buddhism, which had probably been known to, though not adopted to any extent by, the Tibetans prior to this date, became the state religion, and the form of that religion obtaining in Nepaul was adopted by the Tibetans, though a number of ceremonies and customs peculiar to their national Boénbo religion were retained by them and incorporated in the new faith. With the Chinese princess who was married to Srong-tsan-gambo, somewhere about 635 A. D., many Chinese customs and valuable inven- tions found their way into Tibet. The Tibetan history from which most of the preceding data are obtained says that rice wine (samshu) and barley wine (ch’ang), butter, and cheese then for the first time became known in Tibet, the people learned how to make pottery, and water mills and looms were introduced into the country. Chinese history tells us that when the king took the princess Wen- ch’eng to his capital, which he had but recently transferred to Lh’asa from a point further south, at or near the capital of the first king, Nya- tri tsanpo, he built her a palace in Chinese style, But the princess, disliking the reddish-brown color with which the people were in the habit of coating their faces,* the king forbade the practise throughout the realm. He himself, discarding his felt and sheepskin garments, wore fine silks and brocades, and gradually adopted Chinese customs. He sent the children of his chief men to attend the schools of China, there to study the classics, and his official communications to the Emperor were written in Chinese. He asked the Emperor to send him silkworm eggs, wine presses, paper and ink makers. These things, together with the imperial almanack, were all sent him. (Wei-Tsang t’u chih, in Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., n. s., XXIII, p. 191.) But more than anything else the introduction of, and the rapid con- quest of the country, by Buddhist missionaries from Nepal, Kashmir, . and China helped to mold the culture of the country into its present form, in which the arts and customs of India and China are found side by side overlaying the rude native civilization, though the latter is never entirely hidden from view. Under the reign of the grandson of Srong-tsan gambo, Gung-srong du.jé by name, tea was introduced into Tibet from China, and earrings and new modes of hairdressing were brought there from India. A little later on it is said that works on astronomy and astrology, medicine and surgery, were translated from Sanskrit and Chinese into the stilted, artificial literary Tibetan which had grown up since the introduction of the alphabet and the adoption of Buddhism in the country. (See W. W. Rockhill, Life of the Buddha, p. 201 et seq.) At this point in the history of the civilization in Tibet, Chinese and native works alike fail us, but enough has been got from them to show *Tibetan women at the present day cover their faces with a black paste made of catechu and grease, to protect the skin, which in such a dry and windy country would, without it, be badly cracked. (See Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., n. 8., XXII, p. 225, and ‘W. W. Rockhill, Land of the Lamas, p. 214.) NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 673 us that the present civilization and rather advanced degree of culture is entirely borrowed from China, India, and, I may add, possibly Turke- stan, and that Tibet has only contributed the simple arts of the tent- dwelling herdsman. What history has partially disclosed to us will be more fully demonstrated by an examination of the Museum’s Tibetan collections, and by a comparison of the habits and customs of the country with those of the people living beyond its eastern and southern borders. Il. CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE. Tibet is naturally divided into three parts, according to the altitude of the country above sea level and the trend of the valleys: (1) The northern plateaux, extending over more than 12° of longi- tude (from east longitude 80° to 92°) and over 6° of latitude (from 30° north to 36°), which are over an average altitude of 15,000 feet above sea level and are inhabited by a scanty population of seminomadic pastoral tribes called Drupa (Hbrog-pa.) (2) Valleys which run either parallel to the southern edge of this great northern plateau or which, having their heads on its eastern edge, trend in an easterly dinection for a few hundred miles, and which nowhere descend below an altitude of.10,000 feet above the level of the sea. (3) Valleys trending approximately north and south in the eastern portion of this country and which descend to an altitude of 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. In the country comprised in these last two regions permanent habi- tations and cultivation are found up to an average altitude of about 13,500 feet, which is also approximately the height of the timber line in this latitude. The northern and southern trend of the valleys in the eastern portion of this third region, opposing no barrier to the moisture-laden clouds driven by the southwest monsoon, the region around the Kokonor and all the country to the southwest of it has probably a much heavier rainfall than any other part of Tibet, and the lower portions of all tne valleys in this region are consequently much more fertile than others of the same altitude, but trending east and west, along the northern slope of the Himalaya. All these natural conditions have exercised marked influence on the degree of culture and on the peopling of the different sections of this country, and must not be lost sight of in any study of the inhabitants and their relationship and intercourse with other tribes and peoples. With the exception of the extreme northern and northeastern por- tions of the. region here called Tibet, the population belongs essentially to one race, and, as elsewhere*mentioned, the purest representatives of this stock are to be found among the pastoral tribes, or Drupa, which, H. Mis. 184, pt. 2——43 674 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. whether found around the Kokonor, in eastern, western, or central Tibet, offer a uniform type which may be called the Drupa type. The second type of the Tibetan race is found in those sections of the country in which there are permanent habitations. It is a mixed race, becoming more Chinese as one goes toward China, or more Indian (Nepalese or Kashmiri) as one travels southward or westward. The reason of the very pronounced departure of this portion of the present Tibetan population from its original type is easily accounted for in the custom of foreign traders, soldiers, pilgrims, or officials inhabiting the country, of never bringing their wives into Tibet, but taking native concubines, a custom, by the way, common in most parts of Asia, In as small a population as that of Tibet, which does not probably exceed 3,000,000 (Journ. Roy. Asiat. Soc., n. 8., XXIII, p. 14), where the principal centers of population are and have been inhabited by com- paratively large numbers of foreigners for several centuries at least, this profound alteration of the primitive type is easily accounted for in this manner. Among the Drupa Tibetans the males measure about 5 feet 5 inches; the females not appreciably less.* The head is brachycephalic; the hair, when worn, is nearly invariably wavy; the eyes are usually of a clear brown, in some cases even hazel; the cheek bones are high, but not as high as with the Mongols; the nose is thick, sometimes depressed at the root, in other cases prominent, even aquiiine, but usually narrow, but the nostrils are broad; the teeth are strong, but irregular; the ears, with tolerably large lobes, stand out from the head, but to a less degree than with the Mongols; the mouth is broad, the lips not very full, and among the people in the lower regions decidedly thin; the beard is very thin and, with the exception of the mustache, which is sometimes worn, especially in central Tibet, it is carefully plucked out with tweezers. Though 1 have seen a few men in central Tibet, at Draya and Ch’amdo, for instance, with tolerably heavy beards and hair all over their bodies, as a general rule Tibetans have no hair on their limbs or chests. The shoulders are broad, the arms normal; the legs not well developed, the calf especially small. The foot is large, the hand coarse. The women are usually stouter than the men, their faces much fuller; their breasts are not large, nor are they very pendent. They do not appear to be very prolific; I have never seen in any one family more than six or seven children; many are barren. They do not entirely lose their good looks before 30 or 35. They are as strong, or perhaps even stronger than the men; because, obliged to do hard work from child- hood, their muscles are more fully developed than those of the men, who neither carry water on their backs, work at the looms, nor tend the cattle. The women’s hair is long and coarse, but not very thick; it remains black, or only mixed with a little white to extreme old age. I have rarely seen one with white hair; this remark applies also to the men. *See Brian H. Hodgson, miscellaneous essays relating to Indian subjects, 11, p. 95. NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 675 There is very little, if any, perceptible odor about the Tibetan’s per- son, save that which is readily traced to dirty clothes. Partial baldness in bothsexesis notuncommon. Their heads they keep tolerably clean by frequently anointing the hair and scalp with butter, but vermin is com- mon among them, especially with the women, and it is a very common sight to see a number of them crouching before their houses in the sun cleaning the head of a husband, a child, or a friend; all captures belong to the original owner, who eats them with relish, saying, “As they live on me, they can not be unclean food for me, though they might be for anyone else.” Washing the body is never, or hardly ever, indulged in, except involuntarily when fording a stream or when drenched by the rain.* The skin of the Tibetan is coarse and greasy. Its color is a light brown, frequently nearly white, except where exposed to the weather, when it becomes a dark brown, nearly the color of our American Indians. Rosy cheeks are quite common among the younger women. The Tibetans’ voices are powerful, those of the men deep; those of the women full and not very shrill. Their hearing is good, and they can converse freely from one side of a valley to the other, a distance of fully a half a mile, without ever having to repeat phrases or per- ceptibly raise the voice. In singing their voices are pitched in a lower key than is usual among Chinese or Mongols, and in their church serv- ices the voices are always a deep bass. Their sight does not appear to be exceptionally sharp, but I have seen few nearsighted persons among them, though blindness, resulting generally from cataracts, is rather common, also opthalmia, attributable in a great measure to their using hats but rarely, and to the pungency of the smoke in their dwellings. They can endure exposure without any apparent inconvenience. In the coldest weather I have seen them slip the upper part of their bodies out of their sheepskin gowns to perform any kind of work requir- ing freedom of motion. The women do nearly all their work with the the right side of the body completely exposed, and they put no clothes on very small children except in the coldest weather, allowing them to move about naked, or with only a pair of boots on. Hunger they can also endure, and they are at all times small eaters. Eating a little whenever they drink their tea, they never take a hearty meal, but stave off continually the pangs of hunger. Though the nature of the food they use is such that they can not endure absolute privation from all food for any considerable length of time, they can with ease travel for long periods on starvation rations. The average length of life is not very much shorter in Tibet than among the Mongols, though it is certainly lower than among the Chinese. I have seen but few old men among them, and they were not * Speaking of their neighbors, the Mongols, William of Rubruk remarks: “ Vestes nunquam lavant quia dicunt quod Deus tune irascitur, et quod fiat tonitrua si suspendantur ad siccandum. Immo lavantes, verberant, et eis auferunt.” (Itinera- rium, Edit. Soc. G4og. de Paris, p. 234.) 676 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. over 80 years of age. A man of 70 is held to be very old, and I have not seen a woman of that age. The age of puberty is reached in the males about the fifteenth year, and among the girls possibly a little sooner. The women bear until at least 35. The mothers never wean their babies; a child continues to suckle until another comes to take its place; I have repeatedly seen children of 4 years of age walk up to their mother and take her breast... Among the natives married to Chinese infanticide is sometimes practiced, as I have been assured by the husbands themselves, but as a general rule the Tibetan women are good mothers, and the fathers show great fondness for their offspring. The most common abnormality I have noticed among Tibetan men is a supplementary finger, usually growing from the thumb, and in one case from the side of the palm nearest the little finger. This is also a common deformity in China. I have seen two cases of men having club feet, or an imperfectly developed foot with a shortened leg. One case of distortion of the spine and one of supernumerary teeth (or double row of lower teeth), have also come to my notice, and Ashley Eden (Report on the state of Bootan, p. 76) mentions three albinos in a family of Tibetans in Bhutan. Father Désideri, who lived in Tibet for thirteen years (A. D. 1716- 1729), says that ‘“‘The Tibetans are naturally gentle, but uncultivated and coarse” (Markham’s Narrative of the mission of George Bogle, p. 306); and Father Horacio della Penna, another missionary to that country in the eighteenth century, says: The Tibetans, speaking as a rule, are inclined to vindictiveness; but they know well how to dissemble, and when opportunity offers will not fail to revenge them- selves. They are timid and greatly fear justice. * * * If, however, they are protected by some great lord, they lay aside all fear and become arrogant and proud. They are greedy of money; * * * they are alsosomewhat giventolust; * * * they are addicted to habits of intoxication; * * * they are but slightly loyal to their chiefs; * * * they are also dirty and nasty and without refinement. (Ibid, p. 318.) ' Father Desgodins, who has been living in Tibet since 1856, thus describes the Tibetan: It appears to me that the Tibetan, no matter who he may be, is essentially a slave to human respect. If he believes you great, powerful, and rich, there is nothing he will not do te obtain your good will, your favors, your money, or even asimple mark of your approval. If he has only something to hope for, he will receive you with all the signs of the most profound submission or of the most generous cordiality, accord- ing to circumstances, and will make you interminable compliments, using the most fulsome and the most honied expressions that the human mind has been able to invent. In this line he might give points to the most accomplished flatterer of Europe. If, on the contrary, he thinks you of low station, he will only show you stiffness, or at the most, formal, unwilling politeness. Should your fortune change, have you become a beggar in his eyes, abandoned and without authority, he at once turns against you, treats you as a slave, takes the side of your enemies, without being ashamed at the remembrance of his former protestations of devotion and friendship, without listening to the dictates of gratitude. A slave toward the great, a despot to the small, whoever they may be, dutiful or treacherous, according to circum- stances, looking always for somo way to cheat, and lying shamelessly to attain his end. Ina word, naturally and essentially a false character. Such is, I think, the Tibetan of the cultivated countries of the south, who considers himself much more NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 677 civilized than the shepherd or herdsman of the north, with whom I have had but little intercourse, and of whom I do not pretend to draw the portrait. One readily understands that with such w character, with dissolute habits, the Tibetan becomes easily cruel and vindictive. Often discussion, begun in laughter and usually while drinking, ends with drawn knives. If he has not appeased his anger, he never forgives. Revenge alone can pacify him if he believes himself insulted. But he does not show it at first. On the contrary, he affects to live on good terms with his enemy. He invites him, trades in preference with him, but he will put a ball in his chest after a good dinner, during which he has shown himself most friendly and has sworn the other lasting friendship. Such are the principal faults of the Tibetan. Whatarehis virtues? I believe his mind is instinctively religious, and this leads him to willingly perform certain external devotional practices and even to go on long and trying pilgrimages, which cost him, however, but little money. As to religious convictions, he has absolutely none, a result of the profound ignorance in which the lamas leave the people, either on account of their incapacity to teach them, or perhaps so as to keep the business of worship in their own hands, as it insures them a large revenue. The religious acts of the people are only performed through routine; they do not understand them or care to understand them; hence ignorance in the lower classes, scepticism and indif- ference in the others, principally among the mandarins and lamas. The Tibetan’s other virtues are nearly all material ones, if I may use such an expression; thus, he bears with ease and for long periods cold, fatigue, hunger, and thirst; but if he finds good compensation for his sutferings, he will never overlookit. He is generally active, but less industrious than the Chinese, and arts have advanced much less in Tibet than in China. While at work, he sings without a care; at a fest, he goes gossiping about and drinking with his friends; he sings, dances, and drinks during the night without a recollection of the sorrows of the day before, or without think- ing of the cares of the morrow. Such is the Tibetan as Ihave known him. (C. H. Desgodins, Le Thibet, pp. 251-253.) Though Father Desgodins has lived longer among Tibetans than any other foreigner of whom I know, still the opinions of other travelers must not be overlooked. Turner (Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama, p. 350) says: The Tibetans are a very humane, kind people; I have personally had numerous opportunities of observing their disposition. Humanity, and an unartificial gentleness of disposition, are the constant inheri- tance of a Tibetan. I never saw these qualities preserved by any people in a more eminent degree. Without being servilely officious, they are always obliging; the higher ranks are unassuming; the inferior, respectful in their behavior; nor are they at all deficient in their attentions to the female sex; but, as we find them moderate in all their passions, in this respect also their conduct is equally remote from rude- ness and adulation. Capt. Turner, it is not amiss to remark, attributes these pleasing qualities of the Tibetan to the much-abused practice of polyandry. Though I would not care to put up my opinion against men who have had so much more experience than I of the native character, I can not but think that the Tibetan’s character is not as black as Horace della Penna and Desgodins have painted it. Intercourse with these people extending over six years leads me to believe that the Tibetan is kind- hearted, affectionate, and law-abiding, and that many of the most objec- tionable features in his character, those on which Desgodins chiefly dwells, only appear in his intercourse with foreigners with whom he has had hardly any relations, and whom he instinctively fears and 678 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. mistrusts, in view of the open hostility shown them by the official class throughout the country. Let us finish this sketch of Tibetan character by quoting what they say of themselves, and we need not judge them more harshly than the author of the Mani Kambum: The earliest inhabitants of Tibet descended from a king of monkeys and a female hobgoblin, and the character of the race partakes of those of its first parents; from the king of monkeys (he was an incarnate god) they have religious faith and kind- heartedness, intelligence, and application, devotion toreligion and to religious debate ; from the hobgoblin, their ancestress, they get cruelty, fondness for trade and money making, great bodily strength, lustfulness, fondness for gossip, and carniverous instincts. (Land of the Lamas, p. 359.) II. ORGANIZATION—CONSANGUINEAL—POLITICAL—INDUSTRIAL. Our present knowledge of Tibetan society is still too imperfect to justify touching on this subject except with extreme caution. As far as I have been able to ascertain during my residence among the Drupa or tent-dwelling tribes of Tibet, which, as previously stated, I am led to believe represent the purest type of that race, and in which the earliest form of Tibetan civilization has been well preserved, all the members of a clan have no family name except that of the chief or clan which is prefixed to their own. Thus, there are the Konsa, Chamri, | Arik, Nyam-ts’o, Chu, Su, Na, etc., clans, and individuals of these clans ‘are spoken of as Chamri Solo, Nyam-ts’o Purdung, Konsa Arabtan, ete. While a man may marry a woman either of his own tribal name or one of another, he may nota relative within at least three degrees, and ‘chiefs do not marry, I think, in their clans. The looseness of the mar- ‘riage relations, the difficulty of identifying people who are only known by surnames, such as Lobzang, Dorjé, Drolma, etc., all names of Bud- dhist origin, together with the habit of never using a person’s name when addressing him or her, and the very marked disinclination of this people, in common with most Asiatics, I may remark, of speaking of their families or family affairs, make researches on this subject extremely difficult. The fact that throughout Tibet not only polyandry but also polygamy obtains, adds wonderfully to the confusion in which the question of consanguineal organization is involved. Sarat Chandra Das (Narrative of a journey round Lake Yamdo, p. 73) says: In Tibet there are no social restrictions or hindrances to marriage. The rich may bestow their daughters on the poor, the daughter of a poor man may become the pride of the proudest noble of the country. The Annals of the T’ang Dynasty (T’ang shu, Bk., 221, quoted in Land of the Lamas, p. 338) speaking uf the T’ang-hsiang, a pure Tib- etan tribe living in the seventh or eighth century, A. D., somewhere near the western border of the Chinese province of Kan-su, says of them: NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 679 A son may marry his deceased father’s or uncle’s wife (or wives); a younger brother his deceased brother’s wife, but he may not marry 4 person of the same cog- nomen as himself. Speaking of the Eastern Kingdom of women (Tung nii kuo), also a principality of eastern Tibet of the same period, and of which the people may have been Tibetans, the same work remarks that “the sons take the family name of their mothers.” (Land of the Lamas, p. 341.) ' In the more highly civilized portions of Tibet there is no trace of family or tribal organization, nor is there any of castes. Certain fami- lies in each district, town, or city have acquired wealth, and numbers of them have held official positions—some in the church, others in the state—for many geherations past. Around them, or on the land granted them by the state (jaghirs, they call such grants in India), live numer- ous tenants, serfs (misser), or slaves in some parts of the country, but they are held as members of the family they serve, and the misser at least are not bound to the land, but may move where they please. Butchers, those who cut up corpses, beggars, and criminals, are the only persons at the present day who do not enjoy the same social priv- ileges as are granted to the highest classes. Dyers and workers in metal are also, in some localities, looked down on, and the ostracism of these two latter classes is in all probability a result of continued inter- course with India. As further bearing on the subject of relationship, it is interesting to note that, while the Tibetan language is comparatively rich in words expressing “father,” “mother,” “brothers,” in relation to age, or to sisters, uncles, and aunts, it has. only one word for “nephew” or “niece,” and this is also used for ‘‘ grandson” and “ granddaughter,” and it has none to express “cousin,” but the word pon (spun), “brothers,” or “brothers and sisters,” is sometimes used to express this relationship. (Land of the Lamas, p. 213.) The following table gives all the names for the various degrees of relationship that I have been able to note, in the Lh’asan and the east- ern Tibetan dialects: * English. Lh’asan. : East Tibetan. Grandfather .... Grandmother . 5 Father......-- Ap’a. Mother .....-.-. eee Ama. : Father's brother. 2022 s Be o o ga F “3 nO sy = oO 38 Og. & 3 s ow Do qo f Ba 3 ae 2 goa F eAjgo Son soda Cass gPeS gage Bane BS 3 Bo Ro a One aeas BS be sBom oP aS ia} a EXPLANATION OF PLATE 22. SWORDS AND SCABBARDS. Fig. 1. DERG SWORD AND SCABBARD. Large coral beads set in handle and scab- bard. Ornamentation in silver. Iron guards along the edge of the scab- bard. Dergé. (Cat. No. 131321, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 2. SwoRD AND WOODEN ScCaBBARD. Handle, of repoussé brass. Dawo. (Cat. No. 131041, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 3. SWORD AND ScaBBaRD. Scabbard and handle of sword covered in shagreen. Scabbard ornamented with bands of silver aud with iron guards. Poyul. (Cat. No. 167301, U.S. N. M.) Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. PLATE 22, * SWORDS AND SCABBARDS. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 238. GUN AND ACCOUTREMENTS, Fig. 1. MatcuLtock with Fork. Ts’aidam, (Cat. No. 131042, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 2. Rep LeaTHEeR BELT. Studded with brass nails, with bullet pouch and bag for powder horn, etc. Dergé. (Cat. No. 167261, U.S. N. M ) Fig. 3. Brass CHarGers. Ts’aidam. Fig. 4. Powprer Friask. Made of Ovis poli horn. Ts’aidam. (Cat. No. 167260, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 5. Powper Horn, LEATHER. Covered with felt. Ts’aidam. (Cat. No. 167285, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 6. Powper Horn. Made of boiled leather. Ts’aidam. (Cat. No, 131183, U. S.N. M.) Tig. 7. HoRN Primer. Eastern Tibet. (Cat. No. 167285, U.S. N. M.) PLATE 23. Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. “SLNSWSYLNOOOV GNV NN‘) NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 713 being used this fork rests on the ground and the marksman shoots kneeling or even lying down. Most Tibetans carry a number of horn or brass chargers around their necks or in their bosoms, and in a leather bag hanging from a belt on their right side is a horn primer, which can be opened by a bit of thin elastic horn which covers the end, also a powder horn, frequently made of the horn of an ovis poli, or of wood covered with leather. In another small pouch hanging from the same belt, but on the left side, is kept a supply of leaden bullets. The gun described is a good specimen of the matchlocks used in eastern Tibet and among the Ts’aidam Mongols. Guns mounted by these latter people are much prized in parts of Tibet, as they are much lighter than any others. The stock and lower end of the gun are kept wrapped in a waterproof case of different colored woolen cloths or in a case of pulo or one made of marmot skin or simply in a piece of felt. The barrels of all Tibetan guns .are imported from either China or India, the Tibetans not being able apparently to make them, though those I have seen were of very rough workmanship and far from being true.* Dr. Griffiths (Journal, p. 166) says that the matchlocks used in Bhutan are of Chinese manutacture but gun forks are not used among this people. Nain Singh, speaking of the nomads of northwestern Tibet, says: : Most families possess a matchlock, generally of Nepal manufacture, and the men of the Rudokh district seldom move about without either a gun or a bow and arrows, in the use of which latter they are very expert. (Journ. Roy Geog. Soc., xLv1I, p. 93.) To the fork of their gun Tibetans often attach a small piece of white cotton cloth on which are printed magic formulas, and it is customary among the wilder tribes to smear the stock of the gun with some of the blood of any animal they may kill. This, as explained to me, was “ for good luck.” ‘ The spear (dung) is a weapon in common use in Tibet, especially among the black-tent people. It varies in length from 74 feet to 10 or 12 feet. One in my possession (See Diary of a Journey, etc., p. 170), made in Poyul, has a shaft 5 feet 74 inches long; the point is of iron, the shaft fitting into a socket at its end. The point isa long, nar- row two-edged blade. The butt of the shaft has a heavy iron shoe. A strong band of iron is coiled around the shaft its whole length; this device is resorted to throughout the country to strengthen the shaft, for making which the country supplies no good wood. The shaft of the spear in my possession appears to be of cocoanut wood. *Kashmir produces fine gun barrels. ,In all likelihood many are imported into Tibet. On their manufacture, see Moorcroft, Travels, 11, 203-213. 714 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. The Tibetans are very expert in using the sling (oria, or gudo, accord- ing to Jaeschke), and among the tent dwellers and the people of the more remote localities, one is always seen hanging from the belt of both men and women. It is made of wool and hair mixed; one string ter. minatesin a leash, and the instrument is also used as a whip in driving sheep or cattle (see Diary of a Journey, etc., p. 264). I have seen time and again a stone thrown a distance of over 300 yards from one of these slings. Hunting is not allowed in many parts of Tibet, it being forbidden by the religion of the country to take animal life. In the remoter parts and in eastern Tibet generally, the people hunt, however, yak, deer, antelope, and especially musk deer. Nain Singh says: The Champas are keen in the pursuit of game, which they kill in large quantities, partly with firearms and bows and arrows, but chicfly with a kind of trap called Redokh chum, very similar in principle to an English rat trap. It consists of a ring made of rope, to whose inner surface are attached elastic sharp-pointed slips of wood converging toward the center of the ring, where a space is left sufficiently large to allow the passage through it of the animal’s foot. Small holes are dug in the ground near the water which the wild animals are known to frequent. These traps are placed at the top, hidden from view by a covering of earth, and attached by a strong rope, also concealed from view, to a stout peg, which is driven into the ground at a considerable distance off. The animals on their way to the water pass over the holes, and the weight of the body drives the foot through the ring. Once through, it is impossible for the animal to free his foot from the trap, and he soon. falls a victim to the sword and spear of the hunter, who lies concealed somewhere in the neighborhood. Great numbers of wild horses, sheep, and antelopes are killed in this manner. (Journ. Roy. Geo. Soc., XLVU, p. 94.)* Capt. Samuel Turner says of the father of the then Panchen Rin- poché lama of Tashilunpo: I found Gyap to be not only 4 lover of manly sports and martial exercises, but also a perfect connoisseur on the subject of arms. His collection was exhibited, and he liberally descanted on the peculiar merits of each weapon. ‘There were arrows famed for their remote and steady flight, which had names inscribed on each of them, and places assigned to them in a quiver, in separate cells. He honored me with a present of three of these, and a large Chinese bow, near 5 feet in length, made of the horns of buffaloes, which he had used, he said, for many years. * * * His own favorite bows were of bamboo, a species produced in the mountains bor- dering upon Tibet, of great strength, and almost entirely solid. The bow is framed from two pieces of bamboo, split off next the outside; the inner sides of which, after being well fitted, are united together by many strong bands. Gyap put one of these bows into my hands, which, when bent, was of extreme tension. I was unable to draw the arrow, but taking it himself, he pointed it at a mark upon the opposite hill, at a distance, as I judged, of 500 or 600 yards. I could not trace the flight of the arrow, though steadily intent upon it, when he discharged it. * * * He mentioned also the dexterity with which a horseman here would dismount his adver- sary, particularly when in pursuit, by means ot a running noose, (Turner, Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama, pp. 341, 342.) *One of these traps is figured in Capt. H. Bower’s Diary of a Journey through Tibet, p.117. From this we further learn that the converging slips in the trap are not of wood but of horn. It is interesting to find an identical trap used by the Shulj near Khartum on the Nile. (F, Ratzel, Volkerkunde, 1, p. 504.) NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 715 Musical instruments.—Exclusive of the musical instruments used in religious worship, which will be described in another section, the only instruments I have seen or heard of among the Tibetans are, first, the whistle (ling-bu), (pl. 24, figs. 1-3) made of bamboo or the bone of an eagle’s wing, and with 6 or 7 keyholes; second, the jew’s-harp (k’a-pi) (figs. 4-6) and third, the banjo or guitar (piwang, kopong, or dra-nyan), with 3 or more strings. The jew’s-harp is made not by the Tibetans, but by the Lissus and other non-Tibetan tribes inhabiting southeast Tibet, and is a.favorite instrument in eastern Tibet, where nearly all the women carry one suspended from their girdles. Three harps are used simultaneously, each giving a different note; the deepest note is called p’o ké or “ male sound,” the intermediate one ding kd or *‘ middle sound,” the sharpest one mo ké or “female sound.” They are held the one below the other in the order above given between the thumb and the indéx of the left hand; and struck with all the fingers of the right hand, the one after the other. These /’api are carried in small bamboo cases ornamented with little rings of bamboo, often dyed, and also with geometric carv- ings, which are also colored. They are shown in the lower portion of this plate.* The banjo or guitar is similar to that instrument in China and Kash- mir, being round-bodied and long-armed.. Desgodins (Le Thibet, p. 393) mentions a rude one with only 2 strings, which are struck by means of a plectrum. Capt. Turner, in the work previously cited (p. 343), says: Gyap gave into my hand a flageolet, and desired me to use it. I was unable. He then took it, and accompanied Gyeung upon the cittaur (a stringed instrument, something resembling a guitar) and they played several pleasing airs together. At length, Gyeung accompanied the instruments with her voice, which was by no means inharmonious; and Jam not ashamed to own that the song she sung was more pleasing to my ear than an Italian air. * * * Gyap regretted his inability to entertain me with a great variety of instrumental music, saying that he was obliged to leave behind him his collection on leaving Lassa. * * * He told me that their music was written down in characters, which they learnt. The statement made at the end of the preceding quotation is highly interesting, but I fancy that Turner’s host only referred to church music, which is recorded by an ingenious system of descriptive uota- tion. (See Land of the Lamas, p. 88.) Vocal music is an amusement of which all Tibetans are very fond, and the power and sweetness of their voices have been noted by most travelers. (Dr. J.D. Hooker, Himalayan Journals, I, p. 304, C. H. Des- godins, Le Thibet, p. 393, etc.) Tibetan dancing (tra-chyam or chyam) is of the most primitive kind. * Jew’s harps similar to those used in Tibot are found among the Ainu and in New Guinea, but in many other countries whgre a bamboo harp is used, the sound is pro- duced by jerking the harp by a string—this is the case in Assam, in parts of Sumatra, among the Yakuts, the tribe of Torres Straits, etc. ‘ 716 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. Single female dancers sometimes perform while playing on the jew’s-harp, In this dance they shuffle slowly about, without raising the feet, and keeping time to their music. In other dances five or ten men stand on one side holding hands, and facing them stand as many women. One line sings a verse while slowly moving forward and backward, then the other side does likewise. (See C. H. Desgodins, op. sup. cit., 394, and Land of the Lamas, p. 247.)* George Bogle thus describes a dance he witnessed near Shigatsé. The court held about 30 dancers, half of them men, half of them women. The men were dressed in different and party-colored clothes, with their large sheep’s- wool bonnets, a bit of culored silk in one hand, and a leather machine, something in shape of, but rather less than, a fiddle at their side. The women had their faces washed, and clean clothes, abundance of rings upon their fingers, and of coral, amber beads, bugles, etc., on their heads and necks, and each wore a small round hat, covered with circlesof white beads. They formed a ring, the men being alto- gether, the women altogether, and five men were in the middle of it. They danced to their own singing, moving slowly round in a sort of half-hop step, keeping time with their hands, while the five in the center twisted round and cut capers, with many strange and indescribable motions. The secoud part of the entertainment was performed by four or five men, with winged rainbow-colored caps, who jumped and twisted about, to the clashing of cymbals and the beating of tabors. Among the rest was a merry Andrew with a mask stuck over with cowries, and a clown with a large stick in his hand. These two men were more alike than the others, and between whiles carried on a dialogue, and the grimace and conversation gave great entertainment to those who understoodit. (C. R. Markham, Narrative of the Mis- sion, etc., p. 92.) VIL. TRANSPORTATION. Wheeled vehicles are practically unknown in Tibet; all traveling is done on horse or mule back or on foot, and freight is carried by yaks, mules, horses, donkeys, or sheep, hardly ever by men, except for short distances over exceptionally rough or steep ground. The Tibetan riding saddle (taga) differs but little from that used in China; in eastern Tibet those most prized are made in Dergé (see Diary of a Journey, etc., p. 192.), and in central Tibet saddles of Chinese make, but ornamented with silver and precious stones in Tibetan style, are much sought after. Pl. 25 shows a Kokonor pony equipped with a good Dérgé saddle. The tree is made of four pieces of birchwood, covered on the outside before and behind with shagreen and trimmed with polished iron bands. The seat is of several thicknesses of felt covered with pulo. The stirrup straps are of plaited rawhide, the stirrup irons of Chinese make. The girth passes over the saddle; frequently a hind girth is used. A broad crupper and a breast band are generally used. From the lat- ter hangs, when the rider is an official, a long red tassel or dom, (called ch’i-hsiin in Chinese), such as are worn in China by military * The religious dances of Tibet, of which there are quite a large variety, have been so frequently and minutely described by different writers that they require no men- tion here. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 24. I ee WHISTLES AND JEW’S-HARPS. Fig..1. BAMBOO WHISTLE. Bat’ang. (Cat. No. 167165a, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 2. BAMBOO WHISTLE. Bat’ang. Strap to tie to girdle. (Cat. No. 167165b. U. S. N. M.} Fig. 3. EAGLE BoNnE WHISTLE. Kokonor Tibetans. (Cat. No. 167166, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 4 and 5. BaMBoo JEW’s-HARP CaSEs. Bat’ang. (Cat. Nos. 167168e and 168168c, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 6. BAMBOO JEW’S-HARP AND Cask. Bat’ang. (Cat. No. 167168b, U.S. N. M.) Report of National Museum, 1893,—Rockhill. PLATE 24. WHISTLES AND JEW’S-HARPS. PLaTe 25. Rockhill. Report of National Museum, 1893. “1oqyNe oy Aq qde13oj0yd B WOdy “SSENYVH ONV 310Gd0vVS NVL3alL HLIM ‘ANOd YONOMOM NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 717 officers. The bit used throughout Tibet is a very light, large-ringed snaffle, and the headstall and reins are of either rawhide or plaited hair. A long plaited rawhide rope is usually carried, tied to the sad- dle, one end attached to the ring of the bit. Under the saddle are two pads made of felt and covered with ornamented leather facings; those of this saddle were made in Poyul. These pads, which do not quite touch along the upper edge, keep the saddle well off the horse’s back. Underneath them is a large blanket or a felt rug which extends nearly to the horse’s tail. Sometimes, especially in eastern Tibet, the whole saddle is covered with a green cloth cover with a felt lining. ‘Woolen saddle bags (sata), varying in size and in fineness of texture, are used by most Tibetans when traveling; in them they carry all their provisions’. Some of them are so closely woven that they are quite waterproof. The Tibetans use rawhide and yak hair hobbles, with which they fasten the two fore feet and one hind foot of their horses and mules. Sometimes iron chain hobbles fastened with a padlock are used. This latter kind of hobble is of Chinese make. The pack saddle, used alike on mules, horses, and yaks, consists of two light wooden wings with a light wooden arch at each end, as seen in pl. 26. On either side are two parallel sticks projecting about .3 inches beyond the arches. The girth, which is of wool, is fastened to the lower stick, and the hair or rawhide ropes with which the load is fastened on, passes over and under the upper one. When carrying loads done up in rawhide so as to protect them from the weather (and in this way all the tea and other valuable merchandise is carried), short rawhide loops fastened to the loads by means of sticks fitting in small slits made in the rawhide are passed over the end of the upper stick of the saddle and the load hung by them. Crupper sticks, as well as cruppers and broad breast straps of wool, are always used. The form of pack saddle used in eastern Tibet and the Kokonor is a little larger and heavier than that used in other parts of the country. Two rec- tangular felt pads covered with coarse cloth (lawa) are tied to the saddle, and under these again are oneor more felt rugs. (See Diary of a Journey, etc., p. 108.) The Tibetans do not generally use riding whips; the end of the rope tied to the bridle is used in its stead; when they do, it is made with a short wooden handle to which is tied a heavy lash about.i8 inches long. Pilgrims traveling on foot usually have on tl sir backs a light wooden framework about 20 inches high, made of a cuuple of small twigs bent into a rectangular shape; on this they tie their small load of baggage, a similar frame tied to the lower part of the first one folds up against it and holds the load in place, and woolen straps pass over the bearer’s shoulders. This contrivance is called a K’ur-shing. Women carrying water in the léng narrow wooden barrels in use throughout Tibet for that purpose, rest the bottom of the barrel on the thick folds of their gown gathered above the waist, and passing a strap 718 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. around the top of the barrel and across their breasts, thus ascend the steepest hills, their arms folded before thei. Boats.—The only purely Tibetan boat [ have seen or heard of is the skin coracle or ku-dru. It is composed of yak hides stretched over a few bent twigs with a slightly heavier piece of wood bent around the top to which the skin is firmly sewn. So frail is it that one-must be careful not to put one’s foot on the hide, but only on the ribs, for the least direct pressure on the skins makes the seams give way. A man kneeling in the bow paddles or stears with a short paddle, crossing the river diagonally, and then carrying his boat on his back upstream so as to come back to his starting point when swept across again. These coracles are about 5 feet long, 4 broad, and 30 inches deep; two or three men and a couple of hundred pounds of goods can be carried in oue. When leaking slightly the holes are filled with butter. With these skin boats we may compare the “ bull boats” used by the Mandans on the Upper Missouri, which are, however, slightly smaller than the Tibetan ones, though identical with.them in all other respects. , All other boats used in Tibet are. made by the Chinese. On some of their rivers the Tibetans use heavy rafts, which four or six men paddle across. They are about 12 feet long and 6 feet broad, made of heavy squared logs held together by a pinned crosspiece in front and behind. Vill. MONETARY SYSTEM—MEDIUMS OF EXCHANGE—WRITING—PRINT- ING—TIME RECKONING—MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE—MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS. A Chinese author, called Wei Yiian, in his work entitled Sheng-wa chi (Book XIv, p. 53), says that in ancient times the Tibetans used cow- rie shells and knife-shaped coins, but that since the Sung, Chin, and Ming periods (i. e., since the twelfth century) they have used silver. He further adds that since the Cheng- -tung period of the Ming (A. D. 1436) they have paid their'taxes (or tribute to China) in silver coins. As far as my information goes the present coinage of Tibet has been in use since the middle of the eighteenth century. It comprises only one coin, a Silver one called tranka, of the nominal value of about 16 cents of our money. Fractional currency is made by cutting the tranka into pieces. (Land of the Lamas, p. 207.) The only mint I know of in Tibet is at Lh’asa. The trankas minted there bear on the obverse the inscription Jyal-wai Gadiin p’odrang chyog-las, “From the Jyal-wa’s castle of Gadan,”—Jyal-wa standing for Jyal-wa jya-mts’o, the usual title of the Tale lama. On the reverse are theeight sigus of good luck, each inclosed in a small circle, and in the center is what I take to be alotus flower. These trankas are colloquially called Gadéin tranka. Coins of similar value, but minted in Nepaul, Indian rupees and Chinese bullion, are also in use, and rupees, from their purity and the impossibility of counterfeiting them, are in much greater demand than PLATE 26. Report of National Museum, 1893,.—Rockhill, ‘zoyine a3 Aq ydeasojoyud v wo. SNVL3GIL YONOMOY “310q0VS OVd HILIM ‘VA Gagua JWH EXPLANATION OF PLATE 27. Money, Money SCALES AND POUCHES. Figs. 1 and 2. Mongy ScaLes AND WooDEN Casus. China. (Cat. No. 131027, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 3. TANKA AND FRACTIONS OF TANKA. (Cat. No. 131027, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 4. Buckskin Monty Baa. Dergé. (Cat. No. 131028, U. 8. N. M.) Fig. 5. Rep LeaTHER PoucH. Ornamented with brass studs. Dergé. (Cat. No. 167153, U.S. N. M.) : Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. PLATE 27. Money, MONEY SCALES, AND POUCHES. * Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. PLATE 28, MONGOL MONEY SCALES AND CASE. Cat. No. 167249, U.S. N. M. Taichinar Ts'aidam. NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 719 the native coins or even Chinese bullion, the purity of which the people have no means of testing. In the Museum collection is a full set of Tibetan coins (see also pl. 27, fig. 3); all the older ones, bearing Chinese and Tibetan inscriptions, are plaster casts obtained from the British Museum cabinet. Chinese money scales (jama) are used by the Tibetans and in Mon- golia. The form met with throughout China is shown on pl. 27, fig.1, and pl. 28 shows arough copy made in Taichinér Ts’aidam. In the latter the wooden beam is roughly indented to indicate ounces, tenths, and hundredths of ounces (in Tibetan called srang, djo, and karma); instead of a brass tray one of buckskin suspended by horse-hairs is used, and the weight is a bullet roughly flattened out. These scales fit in a wooden trough roughly whittled out with a knife. Money (see fig. 3) is carried either in a small leather bag (pl. 27, fig. 4) with along buckskin string by which it is tied to the gown, or in a small pouch with a leather loop through which the girdle passes (fig. 5). At Lh’asa the people use portemonnaies of semicircular form made of red leather embossed and with an ornamental border. They have two pockets and close with a hook, with a large silver boss on the flap. In most parts of the country money is but little used, the people bartering for most of the things they require. Brick tea is used to such an extent in their mercantile transactions that itis, for all practical pur- poses, a unitof'value. Salt, tsamba, boots in the Kokonor, pulo, cotton cloth, and even walnuts (in the Bat’ang country), are accepted without a murmur instead of silver, and in most places one or any of these articles are preferred to it. Writing.—Tibetans write from left to right in horizontal lines, using a bamboo pen or nyugu (pl. 29, fig. 8), which they carry in pen cases (nyu-shu) of metal, brass, copper, or silver (figs. 6 and 7), in form like a sheath, with a sliding top and rings on either side, by whichit may be suspended by a cord from the girdle. Hanging from the same string is a small ink pot (napang) also of metal, in which they carry dissolved india ink (natsa). In fig. 7 is shown a Lh’asan silver pen case and ink pot finely chased. The brass pen-case sliown in fig. 6, made at Litang, has the eight signs of good luck in repoussé work on it. A small cast brass ink pot from Lh’asa is shown in fig. 3. Chinese paper is usually used for letter writing, but when copying books or when printing the Tibetans use paper made in Nepaul and Bhutan from the bark of various species of Daphne, and especially of Edgeworthia gardneri, which has been previously washed with a little wilk and water, so that it may not blot. They also manufacture them- selves a paper from the root of a small shrub, which is of a much thicker texture and more durable than Daphne paper. In western Tibet this paper is manufactured with a species of Astragalus, the whole shrub being reduced to pulp. (J.D. Hooker, Himalayan Journals, 11, 162.)* * See also B. H. Hodgson, Miscellaneous essays relating to Indian subjects, 11, p. 251. 720 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. Printing. —Printing is done in Tibet exactly as in China. The manu. script, written on very thin paper, is pasted over a smooth, thin block of wood, and with a small chisel the surface of the block around the letters is carefully removed to a depth of about one-eighth of an inch. Inkis rubbed lightly over the block, a sheet of paper is then placed on it and a brush lightly passed over the sheet, which is, when removed, left to dry, when the other side is printed in like manner from another block, The Tibetans distinguish nine or ten different styles of writing, but these may be reduced to three, capitals (wu-chén), small capitals (wu-méd), and running hand (chyug-yig). Books are usually written in the first, and the two other forms are used in correspondence and for all the ordinary purposes of life.* Like most Asiatics the Tibetans never sign their letters but seal them, nearly every one, even those who can not write, carrying a small seal (titsé) suspended from his girdle. These seals have on them a letter or a religious symbol surrounded by an ornamental design. They are cut in iron and are frequently of very delicate workmanship. In pl. 29, fig. 4, is shown a seal made in Dérgé; it is cylindrical, 24 inches long, terminates in a knob head, and is bored out, chased, and fretted. The design is a swastika or ‘hooked cross” in the center of a foliated motive. Letters and packages are sealed with wax (lajya) made of lac, and on the wax is an impress of the sender’s seal. A piece of wax is carried suspended to the girdle with the seal, as shown in the figs. 1, 2, and 5. Time reckoning.—“ The Tibetans received their astronomical science from their neighbors in India and China, the Chinese also becoming their teachers in the art of divination. Their acquaintance with the astronomical and calendrical systems of these nations coincides with the propagation of the Buddhist religion by the Chinese and Indian priests, to whom they are also indebted for the respective systems of defining the year. Both systems are based upon a unit of sixty years, differing, however, in the modes of denominating the years.” (Emil Schlagintweit, Buddhism in Tibet, 273.) In these cycles of sixty years, when numbered according to the Indian principle, each year has its particular name, but when the Chinese mode is used, the names used in the Chinese duodecimal cycle are used five times, coupled with the names of the five elements or their respective colors, each of the latter being introduced in the series twice in immediate succession. A masculine and feminine are also frequently added to the above, represented alternately by p’o (male) and mo (female). *For further details on the subject and for specimens of all the various Tibetan scripts, I must refer the reader whom the subject interests to Sarat Chandra Das’ paper on ‘‘ The sacred and ornamental characters of Tibet,” in Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Lv, part 1, pp. 41-48, and to the Appendix in Csoma de Kérés’ Tibetan grammar. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 29. WRITING IMPLEMENTS. Figs. land 2. Skatinc Wax. Ts’arang. (Cat. No. 131022, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 3. Brass Ink Por. Wooden stopper. Lh’asa. (Cat. No. 167164, U.8.N. M.) Fig. 4. S—aL oF WRouGHT Iron. Dergé. (Cat. No. 131317, U.S.N. M.) Fig. 5. SkaLInG Wax. Provided with thong to hang to belt. Ts’arong. (Cat. No, 131022, U.S. N.M.) Fig. 6. Brass PEN Case. Lit’ang. (Cat. No. 167162, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 7. Cuasep SILVER PEN CaAsE anp Ink Por. Lh’asa. (Cat. No. 130401, U. 8. N. M.) Fig. 8. BAMBOO PEN AND INDIA INK; WoopEN PEN AND INK CasK. ‘Ts’aidam. (Cat. No, 167163, U.S. N. M.) Report ot National Museum, 1893 —Rockhill. PLATE 29. WRITING IMPLEMENTS. NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 721 The first year of the first cycle of sixty years is A. D. 1026, conse- quently 1894 is the twenty-ninth year of the fifteenth cycle, or the ‘Wood Horse” (shing ta) year of the fifteenth cycle. The cycle of twelve years is copied on the Chinese, and needs no description here. This cycle is, in Tibet as in China, the one most commonly used, and in both countries to ask a person’s age they say “to what sign (of the duodecimal cycle) do you belong ?” Schlagintweit (Op. cit., p. 276) says: In books as well as in conversation, the dates of past events are not unfrequently determined by counting back from the current year. For instance, the present year being 1863, the birth of Tsongkhapa, which occurred in 1355 A. D., would be said to have taken place five hundred and eight years ago. I may add that in conversation events which have occurred more than three or four years ago are invariably spoken of as having hap- peved in “olden times” or ‘a long while ago.” Sometimes an event is referred to such and such a year of the reign of such and such a Talé-lama. On the whole Tibetans care very little about chronology of any kind. Another method of counting, but very little used, is that based on a cycle of two hundred and fifty-two years made by a combination of the five elements, 12 animals of the duodecimal system, and the masculine and feminine particles previously referred to. (Schlagintweit, op. cit., p. 287.) ; The Tibetan year (lo) is divided into twelve lunar months (dawa), named “first month,” “second month,” ete. Every three years an inter- calary month (da lh’ag) isadded to compensate for the difference between the solar and the lunar year. The days are divided into twelve hours, as they are among the Chinese, from whom they have borrowed these divisions.* Medical knowledge.—As with their astronomy and other sciences, so with their medical science, the Tibetans have borrowed it from India and China. While nearly all their medical works are translations from Indian originals (see.Csoma de Kérés, Journ. Bengal Asiatic Soc., Iv, 1 et seq.), their pharmacopeia is largely borrowed from China, and is nearly entirely vegetable. The Chinese derive a great number of their most valued simples from Tibet, and the large lamaseries of that country have medical faculties and pharmacies attached to them which supply not only their own people with drugs, but nearly the whole of Mongolia. The Museum contains a few samples of Tibetan drugs, among which I will only mention the chyar-tsa gong-bu (Cordyceps sinensis), tsampaka seed, or pod of the orxylum (Colosanthus indica, Blum.), and the yadro (Anemarhena asphodeloides, Hanbury). “For farther details on Tibetan chronology and astrology I must refer the reader to Emil Schlagintweit, Buddhism in Tibet, pp. 273-328; Csoma de Kérés, Grammar of the Tibetan Language, 148 et seq.; Ph..E. Foucaux, Grainmaire Tibétaine, and Journ. Roy. Asiat. Soc., n. s., XXII, p- 206. H. Mis. 184, pt. 2 46 722 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. Rhubarb (djim-tsa), though used sometimes for a dye, is never employed as a medicine in Tibet. Among the Mongols its medicinal properties are known, but its use is confined to camels. Ophthalmia is one of the commonest diseases in Tibet. When go affected the sufferer either wears Chinese smoked glasses or eye shades (migra) of horsehair (pl. 30, fig. 1). These eye shades consist in a band of closely-woven horadhiit about 24 inches broad, The ends are sewed into bits of embroidered flannel. Some of these shades are convex over the eyes, but 1 believe that these are not made in Tibet, but on the Kan-su frontier, by Chinese. The eye shades are carried suspended from the girdle in a cylindrical cotton case, which can be pulled out of another case of similar material, but usually handsomely embroidered, which slides over it. Pl. 30, tig. 1, shows a migra and case made in eastern Tibet. The Chinese form of eye shade (fig. 2) is also occasionally used by Tibetans, It is interesting to note that a similar horsehair shade is worn by Persians in some parts of their country. (John Bell, Lives of Cele- brated Travellers, 17, p. 133.) Miscellaneous objects—In Tibet sewing is about equally divided between the two sexes, the men making most of their own clothes and all tailors being men. They use scissors and needles of Chinese make and woolen thread which they twist themselves. They sew toward the body. The men do not use a thimble, but women have a small ring made of copper resembling a seal ring, but where the stone should be there is lead. They put this ring on the forefinger and press the needle againstit. Itis used in parts of Mongolia (Ts’aidam) as well as in Tibet, but the Chinese thimble, in shape like our tailor’s thimble, is rapidly superseding it in popular favor. A fly brush, made of the tail of a small yak, is shown in fig. 2, pl. 31. The hair of the upper part of the tail has been scraped off and a handle made of the hardened hide. The hair is dyed a light red. The other fly brush (fig. 1) is of coir, and is in use in China. Rouge pads of felt which have been soaked in a red coloring matter are used by Mongol and Tibetan women. A portion of this is readily transferred to the cheek by slightly moistening the pad. These pads are prepared in China. The Monguls use them much more commonly than do the Tibetans, who have naturally rosy cheeks. Loosely woven scarfs of silk, called in Tibetan Watag (k’a-btags), are in common use. Some of them have Buddhist symbols or images of the Buddha woven in the texture; others are of less value and are stiffened with plaster or rice powder. The usual color of these Watag is light-blue or white. The smaller ones are about 20 inches long and 6 inches wide, and are worth a few copper cash apiece. The largest are frequently 40 or 50 feet long and of proportionately greater value. Most of these W’atag are made in Ch’eng-tu in Ssii-ch’uan for the Tibetan and Mongol markets. Huc thus describes the use of the Kutag: EXPLANATION OF PLATE 30. Eves SHADES. Fig. 1. Horseaair Eye SHapE AND Casx. Eastern Tibet. (Cat. No. 131053, U. S. N. M.) Fig. 2. CHINESE EYE SHADE AND CASE. (Cat. No. 167159, U. 8. N. M.) PLate 30. Rockhill. Report of National Museum, 1893. od : 3 ; 5 = Eye SHADES. * EXPLANATION OF PLATE 31. FLY BRUSHES. Fig. 1. Corr Fty BrusH witH BamBoo HaNnpLy. Used by Buddhist priests in China. (Cat. No. 151283, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 2. Yax Tar, Fry Brusw. Hair dyed red. Bat’ang. (Cat. No, 151283, U. S. N. M.) Report of National Museum, 1893,.—Rockhill. PLATE 31. Fry BRUSHES. NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 723 The khata or scarf of felicitation plays such an important role in Tibetan life that itis in place to say something of it. The khata is a piece of silk, nearly as fine as gauze. Its color is a bluish white. Its length is about three times its width; the two extremities usually terminate in fringes. There are khatas of every size and price; for it is an object that the poor as well as the rich can not do without. No one ever goes anywhere without carrying a small supply of them with him. When one pays a formal visit, when one has a service to ask of some one, or to thank a person, the first thing to do is to unroll a khata; itis taken in both hands and offered to the person one wishes to honor. If two friends, not having met for some time, suddenly run across each other, the first thing they do is to offer each other a khata. It is done with as much empressement and as promptly as one shakes hands in Europe. It is also customary when one writes a letter to fold up in it a little khata. Itis incredible what importance the Tibetans, Si-Fan, Hung-Mao-Eul, and all the people living to the west of the Blue Sea attach to the khata ceremony. It is among them the purest and sincerest expression of all noble sentiments. The finest words, the most costly presents, are nothing without the khata. With it, on the contrary, the most ordinary object acquires immense value. If some one asks a favor of you, a khata in his band, it is impossible to refuse it, unless one wishes to show contempt for all rules of propriety. (Huc, Souvenirs d’un voyage, U, p. 88.) Besides these everyday usages referred to by Huc to which the Watag is put, it is the most ordinary form of offering to the gods. Hundreds and thousands of them are suspended on the statues of the gods iu every temple or shrine in Tibet and Mongolia, and in some sections of the country a #’atag of a certain quality, called by the Chinese wu chai shou-pa, is a recognized standard of value in commercial transactious. (Land of the Lamas, pp. 66, 105, and p. 122, note.*) Ceremonial scarfs appear to have been at one time used among the Chinese. In 1575 Mendoza visited Fu-chou, in the province of Fu-kien, and was received with several other missionaries by the viceroy, who— commanded in his presence to put about the neckes of the friers, in manner of a scarfe, to eyther of them sixe peeces of silke and unto the shoulders of their com- panions, and unto Omoncon and Suisay, each of them foure peeces and to every one of their servantes two apeece * * * so with the silke about their neckes, and with the branches in their hands, they returned out of the hall and downe the staires the way they came, and through the cuurt into the streetes. (Mendoza, History of China, Hakluyt Soc. Edit., 11, p. 83.) A similar custom would appear to have existed in India in olden times; for we read in early Buddhist works of a piece of light stutf being put over the shoulders or around the neck of an honored person. Games and toys.—I have given much time, while traveling in Tibet, to inquiring concerning toys for children and games, and have also carefully examined nearly all the works of Asiatic and European trav- elers for information on these subjects, but I have failed to hear of or learn anything of any importance on these subjects. What I wrote in The Land of the Lamas (p. 248) concerning the Tibetans of the Horba country seems applicable to the whole land: *See also Journ. Roy. Asiat. Soc., n,s., XXIII, p. 228, and Turner, Embassy to Court of Teshoo Lama, p. 233. 124 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. Inoticed but few games of chance among them. Dice they have, but they are for divining purposes, not for gambling. A few men who had passed much of their time among the Chinese played cards, and chess is also known among them, but both are of foreign importation, and I could hear of no national game. Ihave seen children amusing themselves with rag dolls and little bows and arrows, and Dr. Hooker (Himalayan Journals, 1, p. 317), speaking of a place in upper Sikkim, says: Iwas much amused here by watching a child playing with a popgun, made of bamboo, similar to that of quill, with which most English children are familiar, which propels pellets by means of a spring trigger made of the upper part ofthe quill. Jack stones, or knuckle bones, is the only game I have seen played in the country, and that only on two or three occasions. This game is also known in China and Mongolia and, in fact, throughout eastern Asia. (See Bergmann, Voy. chez les Kalmuks, p. 151.) In Ladak and Balti the men play polo, which some authors say is a game of Tibetan origin. It was once very popular under the name of chaogan in India, in which country it was introduced by the Mussulman conquerors toward the end of the twelfth century, but after Baber’s time it gradually became obsolete. (Alexander Cunningham, Ladak, p. 311.) Dr. Hooker (Himalayan Journals, 1, p. 317) says that the Lepchas play at quoits, using slate for the purpose, and at the Highland game of “putting the stone” and ‘drawing the stone.” The game of quoits is also played in the adjacent country of Bhutan and, I believe, in other portions of southern Tibet. Wrestling is also a popular amusement in most parts of Tibet; it is, I believe, that known among us as Greco- Roman. IX. BIRTH—MARRIAGE— DEATH. Birth.—“ They (the Tibetans) do not wash and bathe a newly-born child, but the mother licks it as soon as itis born. After three days they smear the child’s body all over with butter and expose it to the sun’s rays for several days. Children are fed on parched meal (tsamba) mixed with soup, the greater part of them getting no milk whatever.” (Journ. Roy. Asiat. Soc., n. s., XXIII, p. 231.) As a general rule the name given the children is chosen by a lama, who also casts the child’s horoscope, and no festivities attend this nam- ing. The name chosen is usually a Buddhist term, such as Lozang, “the intelligent,” or Dorjé, “the thunderbolt (vadjra),” for a boy, while Padma, ‘the lotus,” and Drolma, the name of the goddess Tara, who was incarnated in the Chinese and Nepalese consorts of King Srong-tsan gambo, are favorite names for women. Frequently two sons of a same mother will have the same name, and CW’en, “the big one, senior,” and Ch’ung, ‘the little one, junior,” will be added to their names. There are no family names. Cunningham says that in Ladak they celebrate a “birth feast” (Tsas- Ton) and a “naming feast” (Ming-Ton). NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 725 The birth-feast (Tsas-Ton) is held one week after the mother’s confinement, when all the relatives assemble at her home to celebrate the child’s birth. All the guests make presents to the mother, according to their means, of pieces of elgth and food, and occasionally of money. The party then dines, and the entertainment ends with a bowl of chang. The mother remains at Home for one month. The naming-feast (Ming-Ton), which answers to our christening, is held just one year after the birth. The child is then taken before some great lama, to whom an offering is made of a rupee or a quantity of wheat or barley, according to the means of the parties. The lama pronounces a name, and the relatives retire to the usual entertainment of dinner and chang. (Alex. Cunningham, Ladak, p. 307.) Marriage.—Marriage by capture still survives in portions of western Tibet, in Spiti, in Sikkim, and Bhutan, where the bridegroom and ls friends, when they go to bring the bride from her father’s home, are met by a party of the bride’s friends and relations who stop the path; hereupon a sham fight of a very rough description ensues, in which the: bridegroom and his friends, before they are allowed to pass, are well drubbed with good thick switches. In other parts of Tibet the preliminaries of marriage are very simi- lar to those of China. Go-betweens (Bar mi or Long mi) on the part of*the man make overtures to the family of the girl, and if these are well received, astrologers are consulted to see whether the horoscope of the man and woman do not antagonize each other, and “if the good and evil of the life of the male harmonize in the calculation with those of the hfe of the female, longevity is counted upon. If not, the happi- ness of the couple will be short-lived.” : As soon as the astrologer declares that the Thun-tsi, i. e., the circumstances of har- mony necessary in the marriage, are favorable, the parents consult their friends and relations in order to ascertain the suitability of the match, and send one or two Bar mi (go-betweens) to.ascertain the views of the maternal uncle of the maiden selected regarding her marriage. He generally withholds his opinion under various excuses. According to the customs of the country the Shangpo (maternal uncle) of a maiden is the real arbiter of her fate in the matter of marriage. Nothing can be settled without reference to him. When his leave is secured the marriage proposal can be formally made to the maiden’s parents. * The Bar mi, with the permission of the Shangpo, on an auspicious day during the increasing lunation of the month, proceed to the home of the parents of the maiden to present them with the Long chang, and therewith formally make the proposal of marriage. * * * The parents of the maiden receive the Bar mi with politeness, and.serve them with wine and tea. After emptying one or two cups of tea the Bar mi present them with a scarf, and beg leave to state their mission. Then they pour out chang, but before the parents will partake of it, the maternal uncle of the girl must be got to give his consent, and as soon as he has, the parents drink the chang and the betrothal is made. The marriage festivities generally last for three days at the home of the bride’s parents, when the friends and relatives make her presents and the parents give her a dowry of cattle, clothes, jewelry, furniture, etc. Before leaving the bridesmaid’s house the domestic dieties are propitiated by a Bonbo lama, and here also is performed the ceremony of trash tré-wa, or calling down blessings and long life on her. After this the bride rides to her husband’s house *This seems to point to a survival of the custom of reckoning descent through the females. 726 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. preceded by a man in white riding a white horse.* Onarriving there she is received with other ceremonies, especially noticeable among which is that of driving away any evil spirits which may have accompanied her from her parents’ house. The mother of the groom advances now toward the bride and presents her with a Watag, tsamba mixed with butter, and a jar of niilk. There is after this a marriage dinner and the friends and relatives of the groom present them with k’atag and presents, and it is they who supply the provisions for the marriage feast. After this a Bonbo priest gives the bride a new name which she is henceforth to bear, connecting it in some manner with the name of her mother-in-law. When this is performed a small piece of wood about 6 inches long is held to the lips of the bridegroom. The bride now sits in front of her husband, and takes the other end of the wood between her lips. In the meantime a tuft of wool is placed in the hands of the bridegroom, who draws out the fibers to some length. The bride takes it from his hands and twists itinto a thread. This is called the ceremony of the first work of harmonious union. Then the party of the bride separate from that of the bridegroom, and sitting m rows of seats facing each other sing repartee songs. When the festivities terminate the bridegroom dismisses the kyel mi (the men who have escorted the bride from her home) with suitable presents. (Sarat Chandra Das, Marriage Customs in Tibet, Journ, Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1, 1893, Pt. 11, pp. 6-31.t) Although the ceremonies in different parts of Tibet vary somewhat from the above, they are analogous, as the betrothal and the marriage ceremonies, which are nothing but a long feast, are their essential fea- tures. Chandra Das, in the interesting articles from which the preced- ing facts are derived, describes the ceremonies as they are performed in Ladak, Sikkim, and central Tibet, and I must refer the reader'whom the subject interests to his paper for further details on the subject. So much has been written about Tibetan polyandry that it is only necessary to touch on it here. As far as my information goes the husbands of a given woman are always brothers, the elder brother choosing the woman and the younger brothers cohabiting with her. Whatever may have been the origin of polyandry, there can be no doubt that poverty, a desire to keep down population and to keep property undivided in families, supply suffi- cient reasons to justify its continuance. The same motives explain its existence among the lower castes of Malabar, among the Jat (Sikhs) of the Punjab, among the Todas, and probably in most other countries in which this custom prevails. Polygamy is not uncommon among the wealthier classes of Tibet throughout the whole extent of the land, and monogamy is, naturally enough, frequently met with, especially among the Drupa tent dwellers, where it is in fact the invariable rule, I believe.t 7 Among the Mongols it is deemed proper when inviting a guest to one’s tent to send him a white horse to ride. +See aiso Journ. Roy. Asiat Soc.,n. 8., XXII, pp. 228-230, and Alex. Cunningham, Ladak, p. 207. }See, on this subject, Sarat Chandra Das, Narr. of First Journey to Tashilhunpo in 1879, p. 34; Col. Edw. Parke in Journ. Anthropol. Institute, v111, 195 et seg., and Land of the Lamas, pp. 190, 212 et seq. NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 727 Sarat Chandra Das, in his paper on Marriage Customs of Tibet, says (quoting Crooke’s Notes and Queries): In Spiti polyandry is not recognized, as only the elder brother marries and the younger ones become monks. But there is not the least aversion to the idea of two brothers cohabiting with the same woman, and I believe it often happens in an unrecognized way, particularly among the landless classes, who send no sons into the monasteries.t * * * In Spiti there is a regular ceremony of divorce which is sometimes used when both parties consent. Husband and wife hold the ends of a thread, repeating meanwhile, ‘‘Our father and our mother gave, another father and mother took away. As it was not our fate to agree, we separate with mutual good will.” The thread is then severed by applying a light to the middle. After a divorce a woman is at liberty to marry whom she pleases. I do not believe that in other parts of the country divorce or second marriage exist, though among the Kokonor Tibetans, at least, it some- times happens that a wife deserts her husband to cohabit with another man or a husband his wife for another woman. Death— Mortuary ceremonies.—Speaking of the T’ang-hsiang, the Sui shu says: When people of eighty or over die the relatives do not mourn, for they say that they had reached the end of their allotted time, but if a young person dies they cry and lament, saying that it is a great wrong. (Sui shu, Book, 83; Conf. T’ang shu, Book, 221.) The T’ang shu (Book, 221), speaking of the Tung nii kuo, which embraced in the seventh or eighth century the greater part of north- eastern Tibet, says: They wear mourning for three years, not changing their clothes and not washing. When a man of wealth dies they remove the skin from the body and put it aside; the flesh and bones they place in an earthen vase, mixed with gold dust, and this they carefully bury. When the sovereign is buried several tens of persons follow the dead into the tomb. Early European travelers in eastern Asia tell us that the Tibetans used to devour the bodies of their dead parents. Thus William of Rubruk (Itinerarium, Edit. Soc. Geo. de Paris, p. 289) says: Post istos sunt Tebec, homines solentes comedere parentes suos defunctos, ut causa pietatis non facerent aliud sepulcrum eis nisi viscera sua. Modo tamen hoc demise- runt, quia abhominabiles erant omni nationi. Tamen ad hue faciunt pulcros ciphos de capitibus parentum, ut illis bibentes habeant memoriam eorum in jocunditate sua. Hoc dixit michi qui viderat. Plano Carpini (Historia Mongalorum, IX, p. 658) says: Venit ad terram Burithabet * * * quisunti pagani. Quiconsuetudinem mira- bilem imo potius miserabilem habent: quia cum alicujus pater humane nature debitum solvit, omnem congregant parentelam, et comedunt eum sicnt nobis diceba- tur pro certo. Friar Odoric, who was the first European traveler to visit Tibet, gives a different account of their mortuary customs, and one more in *It is a difficult matter to say where polyandry begins and cohabitation ends in Tibet. ‘These terms seem nearly interchangeable. : 728 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. accordance with what we know to have obtained among the Tibetans for some centuries back. Charges of cannibalism against a remote people only known to the informants of the writer of a narrative by hearsay are not uncommon. To only mention one, I find that the early Arab travelers in China charged the Chinese of the 7th century, A. D., with eating all their enemies killed in war.* Altogether, I think there is very little foundation for the charge made by Rubruk and du Plan Carpin. It is probably the result of a jumbled-up account of the true methods of disposing of the dead, which will be described farther on. Friar Odoric says (H. Yule, Cathay and the Way Thither, 1, p. 151): Suppose such an one’s father to die, then the son will say, ‘‘I desire to pay respect to my father’s memory;” and so he calls together all.the priests and monks and players in the country round, and likewise all the neighbors and kinsfolk, and they carry the body into the country with great rejoicings. And they have a great table in readiness, upon which the priests cut off the head, and then this is presented to the son, and the son and all the company raise a chant and make many prayers for thedead. Then the priests cut the whole of the body to pieces, and when they have done so they go up again to the city with the whole company, praying for him as they go. After this the eagles and vultures come down from the mountains, and every one takes his morsel and carries it away. Then all the company shout aloud, saying, ‘‘Behold! the man isasaint. For the angels of God come and carry him to paradise.” And in this way the son deems himself to be honored in no small degree, seeing that his father is borne off in this creditable manner by the angels. And so he takes his father’s head and straightway cooks it and eats it, and of the skull he maketh a goblet, from which he and all the family always drink devoutly to the memory of the deceased father. And they say that by eating in this way they show their great respect for their father. Colonel Yule, commenting on the preceding passage, says: Klaproth quotes passages showing a knowledge of this mode of disposing of the dead from Strabo, Cicero’s Tusculan Questions, and Justin. Strabo also ascribes to the Caspii the opinion that those whose bodies the birds appropriated were blessed. Herodotus and Mela ascribe such practices to the Issedonians and Scythians, ‘‘Cor- pora ipsa laniata et cesis pecorum visceribus immista epulando consumunt. Capita ubi fabri expolivere auro vincta pro poculis gerunt.” (Pomp. Mela, II, p. 1.)t Ihave shown in my paper “On the use of skulls in lamaist cere- monies” (Proc. Amer. Orient. Soc.. Oct., 1888, p. XXII) the notions pre- vailing in Tibet on this subject. As further elucidating the above pass- age from Odoric’s travels, I may mention that the rapidity with which the body of the dead is devoured by the birds or other animals to whom it is fed is held to be a proof of the good luck (or karma) of the deceased, and therefore the skull of one who has been so devoured is a good one out of which to make a libation bow]. Chinese authors describe as follows Tibetan mortuary customs: When a person dies in Tibet the corpse is tied up with ropes, the face being put between the knees and the hands stuck under the legs. The body is wrapped in the everyday clothes of the deceased and put in a rawhide bag. The men and women having lamented in common over their loss, suspend the corpse by means of *See Reinaud. Relation des voyages faits par les Arabes, etc., 1, pp.52, 68, 70. tConf. Strabo’s remarks about the Hibernians and the Massagete. Bk. v. 4 and Bk. x1, 8. Also Ammianus Marcellinus, xxvu, 4, and Herodotus rv, 65. NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 729 ropes from the rafters and request the lamas to come read the sacred books. * * * A few days later the body is carried to the corpse cutter’s place, where it is tied to a stake and the flesh cut off and given to dogs to eat. This is called a “terrestrial burial.” The bones are crushed in a stone mortar, mixed with tsamba, made into balls, and also given to the dogs or thrown to the vultures, and this latter mode of disposing of them is called a “celestial burial.” Both these methods are considered highly desirable. The poor dead are buried in the streams, the corpse being simply thrownin. This is not an esteemed mode of burial. The bodies of lamas are burnt and cairns erected over their remains. (Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., n.s,, XXII, pp. 231-232; Conf. Land of the Lamas, pp. 81, and 286-287.)* Georgi (op. cit., p. 443) gives some interesting details, which I have not seen noticed elsewhere. He says: Mos est etiam, ut Summorum Lhamarum, aliorumque paucorum cadavera vel san- dalo, quodcum aloes ligno nonnulli confundunt, comburantur, vel balsamo condita sacris in loculis reponantur. * “ * Vulgaris quoque ac fere quotidiana consul- tudo in Civibus, honestisque hominibus sepeliendis ist haec servatur. Lhama, vel Traba quivis aninam, ut somniant, e summo capite cadaveris ad huc tepescentis primum educit. Educit autem hoc pacto cutem verticis digitis arcte prehendam, et corrugatam tam celeriac vehementi succussionis impetu attrahit, ut eam uno momento subsilire, ac crepitarefaciat. Tum vero, inquiunt, anima defuncti erupisse creditur. Capt. Samuel Turner (Embassy, p. 260) says: It is the custom of Tibet to preserve entire the mortal remains of their sovereign lama only; every other corpse is either consumed by fire or given to be the pro- miscuous food of beasts and birds of prey. As soon as life has left the body of a lama itis placed upright, sitting in an attitude of devotion, his legs being folded before him, with the instep resting upon each thigh and the soles of the feet turned upward. * *“ * The right hand is rested with its back upon the thigh, with the thumb bent across the palm. The left arm is bent and held close to the body, the hand being open and the thumb at right angles with the fingers touching the point of the shoulder. This is the attitude of abstracted meditation. If we seek for mortuary customs similar to those of the Tibetans we have not far to go to find them among other Buddhist people, who may probably have seen in the custom of having their dead bodies fed to birds or beasts a supreme act of charity, for which Gautama Buddha himself set the example when, in several of his births, prior to his reaching Buddhahood, as related in the Jataka, he gave his body as food to hungry tiger whelps or other famished animais. In Siam it is not uncommon for a person to direct that his body after death shall be cut up and fed to vultures and crows (Sir John Bow- ring, The Kingdom and People of Siam, I, p. 122), and in Koreait is cus- tomary, after the bodies of lamas have been consumed by fire, to mix the ashes with rice flour and feed them to birds. The “towers of silence” of the Parsees in which the bodies of the dead are devoured by birds is another analogous method, but the reasons which have called this custom into existence with them, are, of course, quite different.t * For a vivid description of a ‘“ terrestrial burial,” see Annales de la Propagation de la Foi, 1865, p. 289; Conf. also Georgi, Alph. Tibet., p. 441 et seq. +The Kafirs put their dead in boxes and expose them on the tops of high moun- tains (Sir P. Lumsden, Jour, Anth. Inst. 111, p. 361. 730 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. In Ladak bodies are burned fifteen or twenty days after death, during which time prayers are said by lamas. In the case of a very wealthy man or a chief, after the body has been burned in a metal vessel, the ashes are carefully collected and made into an image of the deceased. A ch’iirten or pyramid is erected for the ashes, and in it are placed various kinds of grain, precious stones and metal, rolls of prayers and incense. The body of a great lama is interred in a sitting posture with his clothes and all the’ implements of worship he was accustomed to use daily. The coffin is deposited in a ch’iirten, before which for some time food and water are offered daily, and alight is kept burning every night. (Alex. Cunningham, Ladak, p. 309.) As to their signs of mourning, Chinese authors tell us that the Tibe- tans, both “‘men and women put on mourning clothes, and for one hundred days they wear no colored clothes, and during that period they neither comb their hair nor wash. The women do not wear their earrings and put away their prayer beads, and these are the only changes (in dress) they make. The rich invite lamas at short intervals to come and read the sacred books, so as to procure for the deceased the joys of the nether world. After one year it is all at an end.” (Journ. Roy. Asiat. Soc., u.8., XXII, p. 233.) RELIGION-LAMAS-RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE-OBJECTS CONNECTED WITH RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. It does not enter into the plan of this paper to describe even cur- sorily the religious beliefs of the Tibetans. Many works have already been written on the subject, but much remains yet to be done before we possess a thorough knowledge of it. Buddhism, which was intro- duced into the country in the seventh century A. D., has remained since then the religion of Tibet. It is that form of Buddhism which is known as Mahayana Buddhism, in which magic demonolatry and mys- ticism have become such commanding features that it is with difficulty that we can trace in the forms of worship obtaining at present in Tibet any of the simplicity characteristic of early Buddhism and still to be found, to a certain extent, among the Buddhists of Southern Asia.* The Buddhism of Tibet is usually called Lamaism, the word “lama,” written bla-ma and meaning “the superior one,” being that given by Chinese and foreigners generally to the members of the Buddhist monastic order in Tibet. In Tibet, however, this word is reserved for * Primitive Lamaism may be defined as a priestly mixture of Shivaic mysticism, magic and Indo-Tibetan demonolatry overlaid by the thinnest veneer of Mahayana Buddhism. And to the present day Lamaism still retains these features. * * * But neither in the essentials of Lamaism itself nor in its sectarian aspects do the truly Buddhist doctrines, as taught by Sakya Mum, play any leading part. (L.A. Waddell, Lamaism and its Sects, in Imp, and Asiatic Quarterly Review, vu. and his Buddhism of Tibet, p. 17.) NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET, 7381 those monks who have not only taken the highest theological degrees, but who have also led a saintly life and become famed for their knowl- edge. The word draba is used by Tibetans as a generic term for all persons connected with the order, monks as well as lay brethren.* _ The usual dress of the lamas consists in a kilt reaching down to a little above the ankle, a close-fitting waistcoat, similar to that wore by the laity (see p. 687), and a shawl passed around the body, and the left arm, the end thrown over the right forearm, so as to leave the right shoulder and arm uncovered. The head is shaved and the lamas wear no head covering except during church ceremonies or when traveling; in the latter case they wear the same kind of hats as the laity and also the same kind of clothes; and in the former, hats of yellow or red color, varying in shape according to the school or sect to which their convent belongs. Gélugpa lamas usually wear a high yellow hat witha fringe, closely resembling the helmets worn by carabiniers. (pl.32.) It is called dja-ser or “ yellow hat.” + The clothes of the wealthier lamas are made of tirma (see p. 699), on which are neatly sewed a few little patches, as it is forbidden them to wear any but torn or worn-out stutts. Those of the poorer Jamas are of prukt Emil Schlagintweit (Buddhism in Tibet, pp. 170-173) says of the dress of lamas (he in all probability refers to those of Ladak) that “ their caps are made of double felt or cloth, between which are put charms. The shape of the cap varies considerably, but it is curious that they . are all of Chinese or Mongolian fashion, whilst the form of the robes has been adopted from the Hindus.’ Most of the caps are conical with a large flap, which is generally doubled up, but is let down over the ears in cold weather. The head lamas wear a particular cap, generally low and conical, and some head priests of western Tibet have an hexagonal hat formed of pasteboard, and showing four steps diminishing toward the top.” § Others wear a miter of red cloth ornamented with flowers of gold worked in the stuff. This latter kind of cap bears a remarkable resemblance to the miters of Roman Catholic bishops. The gown reaches to the calves, and is fastened round the waist by a slender gir- dle; it has an upright collar and is closely buttoned up at the neck. In Sikkim the lamas occasionally wear, slung round the shoulders, a kind of red and yellow striped woolen stole. The inner vest has no sleeves and reaches to the haunches. The trousers are fastened to the waist by a sort of lace running ina drawing hem. In winter they * For a general knowledge of lamaic worship, I must refer the reader to C.F. Keppen, Die Religion des Buddha, Vol.11, and Emil Schlagintweit, Buddhism in Tibet, where a full account of the various religious ceremonies will be found; also, for various interesting details, to Sarat Chandra Das, Indian Pundits in the Land of Snow, apd to Dr. L. A. Waddell’s, The Buddhism of Tibet, now the standard work on this subject. tDr. Waddell, op. cit., p. 196, shows 20 styles of lama’s hats and cowls. $On the Gelugpa Sect, see Dr. Waddell, op. cit., p. 38. § See for an illustration of this cap, Alex. Cunningham, Ladak, pl. 26. 132 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. are worn over the larger gown as a better protection against the cold. In Bhutan the lamas wear, instead of trousers, philibegs hanging nearly as far as the knee, The cloak is worn, in the way previously described, by all lamas; it is their distinctive ecclesiastical dress. _ The costume of the nuns (ant) is in all essential particulars the same as that of the monks; in fact, it is quite difficult to tell an old ani from aman when one meets her with shaved head, a prayer-wheel in one hand and alms bowl in the other, wandering from house to house begging. Other styles of headdress, as worn in eastern Tibet, are described in my Land of the Lamas, p. 238. (See also Alex. Cunningham, Ladak, p. 372.) The boots of lamas are of the kind previously described (p. 686), the only peculiarity being as there stated, that the vamps are of white cloth and the tops of red pulo. The costume worn by lamas in Tibet is, with slight modifications, the same as that still worn in Nepal by Buddhist monks, and which was originally the national costume of the inhabitants of that country, and was probably borrowed from the latter by the early Tibetan monks. At religious ceremonies the priests wear * * * a close-fitting jacket called the “‘chivasa” and along skirt or petticoat called the “nivasa,” which reaches to the ankles, and which is gathered at the waist into a number of small plaits or folds. The chivasa and nivasa are joined together into one dress at the waist, round which there is wrapped an ordinary “ kammerband” or thick-rolled waistcoat. (H. A. Oldfield, Sketches from Nepal, 11, 140.) Religious buildings. —Religious buildings and monuments in Tibet com- prise, (1) Gonba or monasteries; (2) Lh’a-k’ang or temples; (3) Mch’od- rten (pronounced ci’iirten), literally “offerings receptacle,” and perhaps better known by their Indian name of chaitya, and tsa-tsa ’ang,-recep- tacles for offerings called tsa-tsa; (4) Mani walls, or piles of stones on which are incised prayers or magic formulas; (5) Lab-tsé, or heaps of stones on the summits of mountain passes. The monasteries usually consist of rows of small houses of the usual Tibetan style of architecture, built in close proximity to, and commonly around, one or more temples. These houses consist of a dwelling, gen- erally two stories high, a storehouse and a small courtyard. The ground floor of the dwelling is used as a stable. The outside walls of the houses are painted white, and those of the dwellings of high lama dignitaries red. These houses belong to individual lamas, who. rent portions of them to pilgrims or to resident lamas who have no homes of their own. Around the whole monastery is usually a high wall, and the approach to the main entrance is marked by rows of ch’iirtens and mani walls. All lamas-residing within a gonba are entered on a register, and are obliged, when duly qualified after a period of study, to take part in the daily ceremonies performed in the house of assembly (dud’ang). In Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. PLATE 32 YELLOW HAT, WORN BY LAMAS OF. THE GELUG SECT IN CHURCH CEREMONIES. Cat. No. 131181, U.S. N. M. Kumbum. ’ Fig. Fig. Fig. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 33. CEREMONIAL OBJECTS. . WoopEN Mop. Used in certain religious ceremonies, depicting a man driving a loaded yak and followed by a dog. Ts’aidam. (Cat. No. 131018, U. 8. N. M.) . COPPER WATER BOTTLE. With red truk cover; used by Lamas. Kumbum. (Cat. No. 167167, U.S. N. MM.) . CLay Tsa-Tsa. Image of Tsongkapa. gs gkap (Cat. No. 167170c, U.S. N.M.) . CLAY Tsa-Tsa. Image of Tsépamed. (Cat. No. 167170a, U.S. N. M.) . CLay Tsa-Tsa. Teun images of Tsépamed (?) ch’urtens on either side of each row of images. (Cat. No. 167170b, U.S. N. M.) Report of National Museum, 1893,—Rockhill. PLATE 33. CEREMONIAL OBJECTS. co NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 733 consideration of this they are supplied daily with tea, and aiso receive an annual allowance of barley. The lamas partake of their first meal after noon, until which time they are only allowed to moisten their lips with water. For this purpose they carry in their belts a little copper or silver bottle sewed in a bit of truk (see pl. 33, fig. 2). This one has two brass bands around the mouth; it has a brass stopper, on the top of which is a hole, through this passes a leather string, by which the stopper is held in place. The temples (lh’a-k’ang) are throughout Tibet of a Chinese style of architecture, the roofs being, however, flat, dirt covered ones, except in some of the larger and more famous temples, where Chinese tiles, yellow or blue, have been used. The orientation of the temples does not appear to be a matter of much importance, as I have seen some facing south, others facing east, but I do not remember having ever heard of any tacing west. Schlagintweit (op. cit., p. 188) says: The walls of the temples look toward the four quarters of heaven, and each side should be painted with a particular color, viz, the north side with green, the south side with yellow, the east side with white, and the west side with red, but this rule seems not to be strictly adhered to. ‘Most temples, as a matter of fact, are painted red, and the columns in front of them are also frequently painted of the same color. As to the interior arrangement of the temples, I must refer the reader to Dr. Waddell’s work (p. 287 et seq.) and to Georgi’s Alphabetum Tibet- anum (p. 406 e¢ seq.), in which latter work will be found a very detailed description of the great temple of Lh’asa (the Jo k’ang). The ch’iirten or ‘receptacles for offerings” are built over the remains -of revered lamas, or else they are simply decorative or commemorate some important event. When simply used as receptacles for offerings they are filled with tsa-tsa, that being the name given to a small clay cone which the Tibetans make in incalculable thousands in molds and deposit in these ch’tirtens. In some parts of the country they build little hutches of rough logs for this purpose. These are called tsa-tsa Kang. These tsa-tsa are usually conical, in imitation of the form of the ch’iir- en. In figs. 3, 4, and 5, of pl. 33, are depicted another variety of tsa- tsa, flat and in the shape ofa shrine. In one of these, which is 3 inches long and about 2 wide, are 10 figures of gods in velief; in another is Tsépamed (Amitayus), and in a third Tsongkapa is represented. The form of the chortens varies much more than that of their prototypes, the stupas. The base of the stupa is a cylinder or cube, upon which a body shaped like a cupola is set up. Stupas which have been broken down have been found to be solid buildings, with a little shrine in the center only, in which has been deposited the burnt bones of a human being, together with coins, jewels, and inscribed slabs. The bones are sometimes inclosed in small cases made of the precious metals. In the Tibetan chortens this form has in general undergone considerable modifica- tions. The unaltered ancient type has remained limited to the smaller chortens put up in the temples. The principal difference between a stupa and chorten is that in 734 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. the latter the cupola is either surmounted by a cone or that itis inverted. The most general style is the following: The base is a cube, upon which rests the inverted cupola. This cupola is the principal part. It incloses the objects enshrined, and in it is the hole leading to the space for the offerings. A graduated pinnacle rises above it, and this is either a cone of stones or a wooden spire. It is surmounted by a disk placed horizontally and a spear-shaped point, or, instead of it, by a crescent supporting a globe and the pear upon that. * * * The materials used for the chortens in the open air are rough stones, bricks, or clay; they are almost all of solid masonry. The outer surfaces are thickly plastered with mortar, which is colored red with the dust of pounded bricks, * * * The height of the chorten is in general from 8 to 15 feet, though a few considerably exceed this latter height. * * * Those set up in the temples are molded from metal, or, more generally, from clay mixed with chopped straw. Occasionally they are carved of wood, but such chorten scarcely ever exceed 4 feet. They are often not higher than as many inches. (Emil. Schlagintweit, Buddhism in Tibet, pp. 192- 196.)* There is in the Museum collection a photograph of the celebrated jamaist sanctuarv of Wu-t/ai shan (Ri-vo tsé na), in Shan-hsi, in northern China, which shows a very fine ch’iirten, probably 60 feet high, with a large gilt spire of the horizontal circle and vertical disk and crescent style described by Schlagintweit. In this ch’iirten is said to be kept a body relic of the Buddha Gautama. , Mani walls.—This name is given to long, low walls of rough stones, on the surface of which are incised sacred formulas, usually the famous six-syllable formula Omi mani padmé him. The name given the wall is derived from the name of this prayer, which is col- loquially called ‘the mani.” They are also known as mendong, prob- ably written mang dong, “many stones.” Frequently images of gods are incised on the stones, aud I have also seen long passages of the Scriptures on them. Frequently a whole mani wall will be covered with slabs on which are inscribed one of the long theological works in which lamas so delight, sometimes the Pradjua paramita in 8,000 verses. Plate 34 shows an inscribed stone from a mani wall in a Bonbo country of northeastern Tibet (Jyadé). It is of slate, is painted red, and the mantra incised on it is Om, matrimuyé sale hdu, a favorite one of the Bonbos. Schlagintweit (op. cit., p. 197) says the longest mani wall known of is 2,200 feet long. Some, he says, have a kind of tower at either end, occasionally in the form of a ch’iirten, with a sacred image in front, aud a large pole to which flags with prayers are attached are also not unfrequent at the ends of manis. Travelers, when passing along these mani walls, leave them on their left side if they are true believers, and on their right if they belong to the Bonbo faith.} Lab-tsé or heaps of stones, also called dobong, and in Mongol obo, are to be seen on the summit of every pass in Tibet, and frequently at the *The shape of the ch’iirten is symbolical, but I can not enter into an explanation of it here. See Dr. Waddell, op. cit., p. 262 et seq. t See also on ch’iirtens, H. A. Oldfield, Sketches from Nipal, 11, 211. PLATE 34, Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. ‘opese “WN ‘S “1 ‘TLTZ9T “ON “FeO "ZOVAIUNS NO G3SIONI zunivyp HIM ‘LSIHOG G3Y JO 393ld NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET 135 mouths of the valleys leading up to them. Though in all probability they had no religious signification originally, they have acquired one, and the stone which every traveler as he passes by does not fail to throw on the heap, is now put there as an offering to the gods, and when throwing it down each one makes a short prayer, which ends with, ‘Lha jya-lo, lha jya-lo” “Gods, (give me) a hundred years; gods, (give me) a hundred years.” In these stone heaps are usually stuck large bunches of pradiiwoed and also frequently huge wooden arrows, the meaning of which latter I have failed to ascertain. Bits of wool, rags, and pieces of cotton on which are stamped mantras and dhdranis flutter from the branches or hang in long rows from strings tied to them and to some big stone fifty or more feet off.* Stone heaps similar in shape and built for similar purposes are found in the Navajo and Moqui countries in Arizona. Speaking of the Moqui, Fewkes says: Ma-sau-wuh shrines are simply heaps of sticks or piles of stones, and it is cus- tomary for an Indian toiling up the trail with a heavy bundle of wood on the back to throw a small fragment from the load upon these shrines or to cast a stone upon them as he goes to his farm. These are offerings to Ma-sau-wuh, the fire god, or deity of the surface of earth. (J. Walter Fewkes, Journ. Amer. Ethnology and Archeology, Iv, p. 41.) The custom of making offerings on mountain tops is too common in other countries, especially in South America, to require more than a passing reference here. Acosta, in his History of the Indies (11, p. 309, Hakluyt Soc. Edit.), says of the Peruvians; They have used as they goe by the way, to cast in the crosse ways, on the hilles, and toppes of mountaines, which they call Apachitas, olde shooes, feathers, and coca chewed, being an herb they use much. And when they have nothing left, they cast a stone as an offering, that they might passe freely, and have greater force, the which they say euoreasett by this means. * * * They used another offering no lesse absurd, pulling the hair trom the eyebrowes to offer it to the Sunne, hills, Apachitas, to the winds, or to any other thing they feare. We also find this custom of offering rags at sacred shrines in Ire. land and among the Mohammedan peoples of northern Africa. The custom of walking around a sacred building or monument, a custom called Korwa in Tibetan, was followed in India in the early days of Buddhism as well as by the wild Turkish tribes which inhab- ited northern and northeastern Asia in the second century B.C. Thus in the Ch’ien Han shu, book 94, it is said that the Hsiung-nu and the Sien-pi, at the great autumnal sacrifice to heaven, rode three times around a little clump of trees. It is also common in parts of Africa, as, for example, among the Oromo of Abyssinia (Borelli, L’Ethiopie méridionale, p. 210), and was followed centuries ago in northern Europe and in other parts of the world. (See Land of the Lamas, p. 67.) *On this subject the reader should also consult Emil Schlagintweit’s valuable work, pp 198-200. 136 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. A Tibetan history of the sandal-wood image of the Buddha, known as the Tsandan Jovo and now preserved in the Chan-tan ssti at Pekin g, referring to the benefits to be derived from walking round sacred monn. ments, says (p. 14 e¢ seq.): He who walks around a ch’iirten, In all circumstances of life, By gods, nagas, and yakshas, As by rakshas, shall be honored. Whoever makes a ceremonial circle Of the ch’iirten of the Lord of the world [i.e., the Buddha} Acquires more [wight] than by reciting Charms during a million of world periods. Fire and poisun and weapons Shall never bring about his death; Living in wisdom, in the fullness of time— When his life is run, he shall die. He who circumambulates a ch’iirten Shall have wealth of castles, wealth of land, Of villages a goodly store; He shall reach the summit of worldly bliss. While walking round the ch’iirten he must repeat the following Saus. krit charm: Namo Bhagavate ratna ketu radjaya Tathagathayu aryate samyak-sam-Buddhaya tatyatha. Om ratne, ratne, maha ratna, ratna vidzaya. Swaha. Objects connected with religious worship.—The rosary (treng-wa) is not only an essential part of the lama’s dress but of that of nearly allthe laity, male and female, in Tibet. Asa Buddhist article [says Dr. Waddell] the rosary is especially peculiar to the northern school of Buddhists, and the outcome of the esoteric teachings of the Mahayana school, instilling belief in the potency of muttering mystic spells and other strange formulas. (L. A. Waddell, Jour. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, LXx1, p. 24, et eeq.) On pl. 35 is shown the form of rosary in common use among lamas. It contains 108 discoidal shell beads, of uniform size, divided into four groups of 27 beads each by 3 red coral beads; where the two ends of the string of beads come together they are passed through a large amber bead, a smaller discoidal, and a conical one, so that the two look hke a fat, long-necked vase. These last two beads are called do-dzin (rdog-hdzin), “retaining or seizing beads.” Four short leather thongs strung on the rosary beside the do-dzin by silver rings have silver beads on each of them, and at the lower end of one there is a little silver dorjé. These strings are used as counters (drang-dzin) in the following fashion: When a certain charm has been recited 108 times the first bead on the string, to which is attached the dorjé, is slid up the string, and so on for each series of 108 repetitions till the tenth time; then the first bead on the string next to the dorjé string is slid up, and so on for the four strings of counters. Usually the string Report of National Museum, 1893,—Rockhill. PLATE 35 * Te i ra of é Qaeerente ROSARY OF SHELL BEADS; COUNTERS OF SILVER. Cat. No. 167271, U.S. N. M. Kumbum. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 36. ROSARIES. Fig. 1. Roszwoop Rosary. Ta-chien-lu (Cat. No. 167267, U. S. N. M.) Fig. 2. YeEttow Woop Rosary. Bat’ang. (Cat. No. 131058, U. S. N. M.) Fig. 3. MoHamMMEDAN Rosary. Of bone and date seeds. Hsi-ning Fu. (Cat. No. 167300, U. S. N. M.) PLATE 36. Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill, erro TT Pu eceescectet Dp hd Poe By a PT ad ROSARIES. . NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 137 next to the one on which is hung the dorjé has a bell (drilbu) attached to it; the third string has a magic peg (purbu) on it, and the fourth a wheel (k’or-lo). Rosaries are frequently ornamented with small coral or turquoise - beads hanging from them, and it is usual to put narrow silver rings on either side of the large coral beads dividing the successive groups of beads in the string. Another treng-wa, the beads of which are sections of human skulls, and the dividing beads pieces of conch shell, is in the Museum collec- tion. The do-dzin are two in number, a large amber bead and a small wooden one. Such rosaries, Dr. Waddell remarks (loc. sup. cit.), are especially used for the worship of Dorjé jig-ch’é (Yama), the King of the Dead. One set of small beads, of narrow discs of rosewood, with four red coral beads, is shown in fig. 1 of pl. 36. In this set the coral beads have to be counted, so as to complete the number of 108. This string is as it came from the dealer, and has no counters on it. Such rosaries are apparently of the class called “ red sandal-wood rosary” by Dr. Wad- dell, which, he says, are used only in the worship of the fierce deity Tamdrin, a special protector of lamaism. Fig. 2 shows a rosary of discoidal beads of yellow wood, in which narrow lines of lighter color radiate from the center to near the circum- ference. The dividing beads are of the same material as the rest of the rosary but slightly larger and thicker. This rosary belongs to the class called ser-treng, or “yellow rosary,” and is the special rosary of the Gélupa, or reformed school of lamaism. It may be used for all kinds of worship, including that of the furies. On pl. 37 is shown a Chinese rosary of 18 olive-shaped beads of some hard, light-brown wood (or seeds); each bead is cut into an image of one of the 18 Lohan (Arhats). This is the usual number of beads used in rosaries (su-chu) in China, Another Chinese rosary, made-of some kind of rough brown seed, possibly the same as that used in Tibet for rosaries, and there called Bodhi shing, isin the Museum collection.* Dr. Waddell (op. sup. cit., 28) says the tree which bears this seed grows in the outer Himalayas. Besides the materials used in the manufacture of rosaries mentioned by Dr. Waddell, I found that the Tibetans greatly prized for this pur- pose two varieties of seeds, the one, called by the Chinese feng-yen po-ti mu or “ Bodhi wood with phoenix eyes,” the other hsing yiieh mu or ‘‘ wood with the stars and meon onit.” These seeds are turned spher- ical and then polished. The feng-yen kuo is, I believe, the same as the Pin-po of the Cantonese, identified, if I am not wrong, with Sterculia lagceolata. Rosaries made at Wu-t’aishan, the famous lamaist sanctuary of northern China, are turned from pieces of poplar wood and stained - Not illustrated in this paper. H. Mis. 184, pt. 2- 738 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. yellow. Great quantities are carried away from this place every year by Mongol and Tibetan pilgrims. Pl, 36, fig. 3 shows a rosary of 99 bone beads divided into three series of 33 beads each by date stones. The two ends of the string pass through a large bead made of a piece of conch shell. This is the style of rosary used by Mohammedans in China. The number 99 corresponds to the number of the names or attributes of Allah.* Prayer-wheels—Thé same teachings which caused the northern Bud- dhists to believe in the efficacy of continually mumbling unintelligible formulas must be held responsible for the invention of the ingenious mechanical contrivance known as a “ prayer wheel” or “ prayer-barrel,” which, when turned the right way—from left to right—is as efiicacious as if the person turning it, or who had it built, recited himself all the prayers inclosed in it on printed slips of paper. Each complete revo. lution of the wheel counts as one repetition of all the prayers contained in the barrel. Alexander Cunningham (Ladak, p. 375) says that the earliest men- tion of the prayer-wheel is found in the Records of the Western World of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Fa-hsien, who visited India in the fifth century of our era. This, however, is an error resulting from a mis- translation in Abel Remusat’s rendering of the Chinese text. Gen. Cunningham also gives a medal of Hushka (first century A. D.) on which is a man holding in his hand what he takes to be a prayer wheel. At all events the prayer wheel is and has been for five or six centuries at least a popular instrument in not only Tibet but in Korea and Japan, in which two latter countries, however, only the larger ch’és Wor-lo are found. (See on this subject Emil Schlagintweit, Bud- dhism in Tibet, p. 229 et seq. and Land of the Lamas, p. 334.) . The prayer-wheel is of two kinds: The first comprises hand wheels, wheels turned by the wind or by water, and small stationary wheels or barrels placed either in a house or in rows near a temple or along an interior gallery of a house or the base of a ch’iirten. The second class are much larger machines and are only found in temples. They are sometimes 30 or 40 feet high and 15 or 20 feet in diameter. In them is placed a collection of the canonical books of lamaism (Kandjur), and by means of bars fixed in the lower extremity of the axis of the barrel itis putin motion. These wheels, from the works in them being “the law” (ch’6s), are called ch’és k’or-lo, while the first class of wheels hav- ing usually only the formula om mani padme hum (colloquially called “the mani”) printed on the pages wrapped up in them, are known as mani k’or-lo. The prayer-wheel consists of a cylinder of metal, or, in the larger wheels, of leather or even wood, through which runs an axle of woed or iron around which it pivots. In the interior are arranged, one on * On Burmese Buddhist rosaries, see Dr. L. A. Waddell, Proc. Asiatic Soc. of Bengal, December, 1892. Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. PLATE 37 CHINESE ROSARY. Each bead cut to represent one of the eighteen Lohan. Cat. No. 130388, U. 8S. N. M. Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. / PLATE 38. PRAYER WHEEL COVERED WITH RED COTTON CLOTH. Roughly carved wooden handle. Cat. No. 167169, U.S. N. M. Ts’aidam. Fig. la. Fig. 1b. Fig. le. Fig. 1d. Fig. 2a. Fig. 2b. Fig. 2c. Fig. 2e. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 39. PRAYER-WHEEL AND PARTS OF PRAYER-WHEEL. STATIONARY PRAYER-WHEFL. Druin of brass. (Cat. No. 130393, U.S. N. M.) Tor or STATIONARY PkKAYER-WHEEL. (Cat. No. 130393, U.S. N. M.) Bottom OF STATIONARY PRAYER-WHEEL. (Cat. No. 130393, U.S. N. M.) PRAYER SHEETS. (Cat. No. 131014, U. S. N. M.) Bopy oF BRONZE PRAYER-WHEEL. With silver ornamentation. (Cat. No. 130392, U. S.N.M.) Top oF BRONZE PRAYER-WHEEL. With silver ornamentation. (Cat. No. 130392, U.S. N. M.) Borrom or BRONZE PRAYER-WHEEL, (Cat. No. 130392. U.S. N.M.) . PRAYERS WRAPPED ROUND AXLE. (Cat. No. 130392, U. 8. N. M.) HANDLE OF PRAYER-WHEEL. With knob of silver on top. (Cat. No. 130392, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 3. Brass HAND PRAYER-WHEEL. From Darjeeling. (Cat. No. 74493, U.S. N. M.) PLATE 39. Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. i PRAYER WHEEL AND PARTS OF PRAYER WHEEL. NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 739 top of the other, sheets of paper or leaves of a book on which “the mani” or some other spell is printed in very fine characters, the finer the better. The sheets are wound on the axle from right to left, aud the wheel when set in motion must revolve in the opposite way, so chat the writing passes in front of the person turning the wheel in the way in which itis to read, i. e., from left to right. A roughly made hand prayer-wheel with a felt barrel covered with coarse woolen cloth is represented in pl. 38. An iron pivot runs through the barrel and fits in a roughly carved wooden handle. The cylinder is covered with a piece of red cotton:cloth, to the corners of which are attached glass beads. On pl. 39, fig. 2is shown a hand prayer-wheel. The cylinder is of bronze,.the top being ornamented with a silver wheel decorated with coral and turquoise beads. The bottom has four dorjé, and on the sides is the six-syllable spell in landza characters in silver. Ona band above this are dorjé, and on a band around the bottom are lotus leaves, On the top is a wheel in silver in which are set coral and turquoise beads. This is a very fine specimen of Tibetan workmanship. The top of the axis terminates in a silver ornament of pineapple shape. On this plate is also represented a small stationary table or wheel (fig. 1), the axle of which projects above the top, so that it may be put in motion without moving it from the stand on which it rests. The cylin- der is of bronze with raised ornamentation of dorjé, and the mani prayer in Nepalese Sanskrit characters. In fig. 1 there is also represented a strip of Chinese paper on one side of which is printed the formula Om, mani padme, him. This formula is repeated nearly 400 times on this sheet, and in one of the small prayer-wheels previously described about 100 pages can be wrapped in the cylinder. Consequently a complete revolution of the wheel is equiv- alent to repeating the formula 40,000 times. A prayer-wheel complete, from Darjeeling, India, is also shown in fig. 3. The cups used with the small prayer-wheels turned by the force of the wind are cut out of pieces of pine wood and are in shape exactly like the cups of an anemometer. (See Smithsonian Report, 1892, p. 676, where is also shown a prayer-wheel turned by water.) Bits of cotton with prayers printed on them and tied to strings or to high poles placed over houses, and known as la-der, belong to the same class of objects as the prayer-wheels; each time these bits of stuff flutter in the breeze it is as if the prayer written on them had been recited. The figure of a horse is frequently stamped on these pieces of cloth and around it is along formula. These are called lung ta, or “wind horses,” and are, among many other uses, for the special protection of travelers. (See Emil Schlagintweit, Buddhism in Tibet, p. 253 et seq., and Waddell, op. cit., p. 408 et seq.) The principal objects used by lamas in church ceremonies, or while reading the sacred books, are the small hand drum (damaru), frequently made of children’s skulls and covered with snake skin, the bell (drilbu), 740 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. and the dorjé (the Indian vajra or Indra’s thunderbolt). Next in impor- tance to them come the holy-water vase (bumba), the mirror (mé-long), the triangular nail (purbu), and the skull bow] (?édpa). On pl. 40, fig. 2 is shown a damaru, made of two skulls attached together by a wooden disk cemented to them. Heads of devils and skulls are painted on them in red and blue. A small cotton band covers the disk between the two heads and projects a few inches, so that the person using the drum may hold it in his hand, his thumb and forefinger being placed around the disk of wood between the drum- heads. There are two small knobs covered with cloth depending from this band by short strings of such length that when the drum is twirled sharply around they strike the heads. This damaru was collected by Rev. C. H. A. Dall. The other figure on the same plate represents a damaru rather smaller than the preceding one. The skulls of which it is made are not deco- rated, but the band by which it is ‘held in the hand is of embroidered satin decorated with elaborately knotted silk tassels of Chinese make. The bell (dril-bu) of the amas is of bronze and usually about 23 inches in diameter. In pl. 41, fig. 4 is shown a bell having on its outer surface near the handle certain mystic syllables, eight in number. On the interior surface are three mystic syllables and a 7-petalled flower inthe dome. The handle is cylindrical and has a head of Dharma sur- mounted by a dorjé. This bell was made in Dérgé, which country is famous for the clear toned bells cast there. Similar to the preceding, except that the head of Dharma does not appear in the handle, which is only a half dorjé, is the bell shown in fig. 5. This bell comes from the famous lamasery of Dolon nor, in eastern Mongolia. The usual position in which the bell is held is in the left hand, the opening of the bell pointed towards the body, the thumb against the handle and the fingers around the body of the bell. (For description of lamaist bells see Alex. Cunningham, Ladak, p. 373.) The dorjé, or thunderbolt, is generally used with the ‘bell, 1t being customary to hold it in the right hand between the thumb and imdex, the other fingers extended. It was looked upon in early times in India as a saered symbol of Indra, and in Nepal it has become symbolical of the Buddha and his religion. Possibly this symbolism is known to the Tibetans, but I have not seen it mentioned in any of their sacred books The Nepalese scriptures say that a contest once occurred between Buddha and Indra, in which the latter was defeated, and had wrested from him his chief and peculiar instrument of power, the vajra or thunderbolt, which was appropriated as 4 trophy by the victor, and has ever since been adopted by his followers as the favorite emblem of their religion. * * * The Vajra and the ghanta or bell have a peculiar symbolic meaning attached to them by Buddhists, similar to that attached by Hindus to the Linga and Yoni. The Vajra represents Buddha and corresponds to the Linga; the ghanta represents Prajna Devi or Dharma, whose head is often figured on its handle, and corresponds to the Yoni. (H. A. Oldfield, Sketches from Nipal, 1, 199—200.) EXPLANATION OF PLATE 40. DRUMS MADE OF HUMAN SKULLS; USED IN RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. Fig.1. DamaRu, oR HAND Drum oF SKULLS. Silk tassels. Kumbum. (Cat. No. 130385, U. S. N. M.) Fig.2. Damarvu. Painted white and red with heads of demons, skulls, ete. (Cat. No. 153363, U.S. N. M.) Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rocknill, PLATE 40, DRUMS MADE OF HUMAN SKULLS, USED IN RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 41. Dorvé AND BELLS USED IN RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. ’ Fig. 1. JAPANESE Donut. (Cat. No. 180390, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 2. JAPANESE DorJi. (Cat. No. 167172, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 3. TIBETAN Doruk. (Cat. No. 167268, U. 8. N. M.) Fig. 4. CuurcH Beit. Dergé. (Cat. No. 131011, U.8.N.M.) Fig. 5. Cuurcu BELL. Dolon nor. (Cat. No, 130389, U.S. N. M.) Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. PuaTe 41. DorvEé AND BELLS USED IN RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 42. LIBATION BOWL AND HOLY-WATER VESSELS. Fig.1, Hoty WatrER Vase. Kumbum. (Cat. No. 130402, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 2a. SkuLL BowL. Kumbum. (Cat. No. 130384, U.S. N. M.) Fig. 2b. Cover or BowL. Made of copper, gilded. (Cat. No. 130384, U. S. N. M.) ' Fig. 2c. BasE or BOWL. Made of brass, gilded. Heads at corners painted. (Cat. No. 130384, U.S. N. M.) i Report of National Museum, 1893,—Rockhill. PLATE 42 PHOTO. ENSLD IEYS LIBATION BOWL AND HOLY-WATER VESSEL. NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 741 The usual form given the dorjé in Tibet is shown in fig. 3. It is of bronze and about 5 inches long. Exactly the same form is found in Japan (fig. 2). Fig. 1 is another form of the dorjé used by certain sects in Japan. Here there are but three prongs at each end instead of five, as in the more commonly used one. The holy-water vase (bumba or ts’é bum) is used in certain lamaic cere- monies connected with the worship of Ts’é-pa-med.* On pl. 42, fig 1, is shown one of these vases made of brass, with the spout, top, and base heavily gilded. The vase is of Persian shape, with a large spherical body and slender bent spout. The neck is short and narrow and terminates in a flaring mouth, in shape like an‘over- turned bowl. In the top of this is a small circular opening, in which a chased metal tube fits, reaching far down into the vase and having in its upper end a bunch of kusa grass and some peacock feathers—this instrument is the aspergil. The vase has a covering of silk fastened around the neck so as to completely hide the vase. Such coverings are not only put on these vases but on most objects used in chureh worship, on the sacred images, books, etc., probably as a mode of honoring these sacred objects. The water used in these vases has a little saffron in it and sometimes a little sugar. The vase is 64 inches high and elabo- rately chased where exposed to view. The portion of the vase under the silk covering (nabeé or “gown”) is roughly beaten copper. Fre- quently these vases are of silver and finely chased over the whole of their surface. The Tuisol, “to pray for ablution,” ranks among the most sacred of the Buddhist rites, and is performed at every solemn assembly for the washing away of sins. Water is poured out from a vessel similar to a teapot, called mangu, and also bumpa, over the vessel’s well-cleaned cover, called yanga, or a particular metallic mirror, melong, which is held so that it reflects the image of Sakyamuni, which stands on the altar. The water falls down into a flat vessel, called dorma, placed upon a tripod. (Emil Schlagintweit, Buddhism in Tibet, p. 239, and T. W. Rhys Davids, Buddhism, p. 248 et seq.) See also Waddell, loc. sup. cit., in which he describes the ceremony called ‘‘The obtaining of long life;” also W. W. Rockhill, On the lamaist ceremony called ‘‘The making of mani pills” (Journ. Amer. Orient. Soc., X1II), which is a cere- mony of the same class as that described by Dr. Waddell. The purbu or nailis a triangular nail ending in a sharp point. The handle is in the shape of a half dorjé, with a human head terminating it. It is used in exorcising evil spirits. (See Waddell, Buddhism of Tibet, pp. 483 and 488). The skull bow] is used in worshiping Ts’é-pa-med, when it is filled with, nectar brewed from ch’ang. After the ceremony it is drunk by those present. It may be noted that various gods—among others Ts’é-pa-med and Paldin-lh’amo—are represented with skulls in their hands filled with ambrosia (dud-tsi, literally “ devil’s juice”). The custom of using skulls as holy vessels, or even as eating bowls, is a very old one in Asia; *See L. A. Waddell, The so-called ‘‘eucharist” of the lamas, in Asiatic Quarterly Review, April, 1894, and Buddhism of Tibet, p. 298, 444 et seq. 742 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. a certain class of lamas use them for the latter purpose at the present time. We find, however, in the Buddhist Vinaya or canon law, which dates from the early days of Buddhism, that monks were forbidden using skulls as alms-bowls as being then used by devil worshippers. (Sacred Books of the East, vol. xx, p. 89.) Fig. 2, on pl. 42, represents a libation bowl made of a human skull(a); it has alining of iron, with an ornamented copper gilt rim fitting on it. The cover (b) is finely and intricately chased; on each side is a landza character—or rather monogram—the mystic syllable om, with an ara- besque design surrounding it. The top is surmounted with four half dorjé at right angles, a fifth and larger one forming a handle. The stand (c) on which the skull rests is of gilt copper and triangular in shape. At the three angles are human heads painted white, red, and green. The triangular design on the face of the base seems to be flames, and the Chinese symbol of the yang and the yin (the two principles of nature) appear in the middle of each side. For further particulars bearing on the mode of selecting and consecrating such skulls, I must. refer the reader to my paper “On the use of skulls in lamaist ceremonies.” (Proc. Amer. Oriental Society, Oct. 1888, p. XXIV, et seq.) The Museum collection contains also a few images of gods of the finest workmanship. They are made of copper, cast and then very finely gilt, chased, and polished. Theinterior, which is hollow, is filled with some of the same articles as are putin ch’iirtens (see Cunning- ham, Ladak, p. 309). When the image rests on a circular base of the open lotus flower style, these articles are inclosed init. These images are all distinctly Brahmanic—a peculiarity of nearly all lamaist images—with the exception of the heads, which are usually made with terrifying features colored red, blue, or green. Pl. 43 represents a small gilt image of Jambyang, the “sweet singer” (Manjushri) of the Indians. He is here represented seated, holding in his right hand the sword of wisdom with a flaming point, to dissipate darkness among men, and a noose in his left. Behind his left arm is an open flower, in which rests a book. Jambyang is the god of wisdom, and his principal sanctuary is at Wu-t/ai-shan, in the Chinese province of Shan-hsi. Pl. 44 is an image of Drolma, “The Savioress,” called in Sanskrit Tara. It is [says Dr. Waddell] to this attribute of being ever ready to help and ever approachable that she owes her popularity; for most of the other deities of “northern Buddhism” can not be appruached without the mediation of a lama, while the poorest layman or woman may secure the immediate attention of Tara by simply appealing to her direct. She has the attributes of a female Avalokita, and in Tibet she is expressly regarded in her most popular forms as the Sakti or female energy of Avalokitesvara. (Dr. L. A. Waddell, Journ Roy Asiat Soc., 1894, p. 63 et seq.) This image was made at Cl’amdo in eastern Tibet. Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. PLATE 43 GILT IMAGE OF JAMBYANG (MANJUHSRI. Cat. No. 130396, U. S. N. M. Lh’'asa. Report of National Museum, 1893,—Rockhill. PLATE 44 * GILT IMAGE OF DROLMA (TARA). Cat. No. 130395, U. S. N. M. Ch'amdo Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill, Pate 45. * GILT IMAGE OF TS’E-PA-MED (AMITAYUS). Cat. No. 130400, U. S. N. M. Dolon Nor. NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 743 Pl. 45 represents an image of Ts’é-pa-med, the “god of endless life;” in Sansknt, Amitayus. This god is also known as Wu-pa-med, or «“ Endless light;” in Sanskrit, Amitabha. Under the name of Ts’é-pa- med he is implored for longevity. The god is represented seated, hold- ing before him in his right hand a bow] (often a skull) filled with the water of life; the left hand rests with upturned palm in his lap under the right. Pl. 46 represents Tamdrin; in Sanskrit, Hayagriva. This god is one of the Drag-shed or gods who protect man against evil spirits. He is here represented with three faces of hideous expression and on his head isa crown of flames. He has six arms and two legs, and around his waist is a girdle of leaves. In his upper right hand he holds a noose, and in the lower an arrow; in his upper left hand is a 3-leaved flower(?) and in his lower left a bow. The middle right hand, which he holds before him, has in it a cross dorjé. The middle left hand is empty, the thumb touching the second and third fingers, the index and little finger held extended. A long rosary hangs around his neck, and he is kneeling on his left knee. He has three eyes in each face, the third eye upon the forehead being that of wisdom.* Pl. 47 shows a remarkably fine specimen of work, representing the god of wealth or god protector of treasures (Gunkar yijin norbu), also a Drag-shed. The god is three-faced, with a crown of flames. He stands erect on two elephants, and has six arms. The middle ones are held before him with offerings in them. The upper right hand holds a dorjé, the upper left a béchon or club. The lower right holds a damaru or small hand drum, and the lower left a snare (dzagpa). This image was made at Lh’asa. Pl. 48 is supposed to represent Ch’és-bjin jamba. The saint is clothed in a mantle falling over the arms, while his hands are held in the position of prayer or supplication. The earrings are peculiar and unusual. This image and the following were bought at the great lama- sery of Kumbum, and are not of as fine workmanship as the three pre- ceding ones. Pl. 49 represents the image of some holy man, apparently a Chinese; but I have not been able to identify him. One of the principal treasures of the great lamasery of Kumbum is the so-called white sandal wood, sprung from the hair of Tsongk’apa, - the founder of the “Yellow church,” who was born at this place toward the middle of the fourteenth century of our era. The leaves of this tree are carefully collected and sold to pilgrims, who use them as medicine or wear them as charms in their gawo. Abbé Huc says that when he saw the tree, characters of the Tibetan alphabet were visible on every leaf and in the bark. At present it is said that images of Tsongk’apa are sometimes visible on some of the leaves, when the person * Wherever seen in images of gods, the third eye in the middle of the forehead is the eye of wisdom, or foreknowledge. 744 REPORT OF NATIONAL’ MUSEUM, 1893. looking for them has sufficient faith.* The tree is probably a lilac. (Syringa villosa, Vahl.) A lot of leaves of this tree were bought by me at Kumbum in 1891. Trees sprung from the hair of saints are quite numerous in Tibet. Explorer U— G— saw, on the left bank of Tsangpo ch’u, below Chét’ang and near the Sangri Khama monastery, a hill overshadowed by cypress trees, “‘all of which sprung from the scattered hairs of a saint, which were cast to the winds hereabouts.” (Report of Explorations in Tibet, Bhutan, etc., p. 28.) ‘Sarat Chandra Das saw at Tashil’unpo a juniper bush in which the hair of Gédundrub, the founder of the lamasery, is still “said to exist.” The Arab traveler Ibn Batutah saw, in the fourteenth century, at Deh Fattan, on the Malabar coast, a tree on the leaf of which there appeared every year, ‘written by the pen of divine power,” the words, “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is the envoy of Allah,” (1bn Batutah, Travels, Defrémery’s edition, Iv, p. 88.) This last-men- tioned tree was probably, according to Mr. T. Dyer, a graftophylium. A small mold of wood with a number of figures of a loaded yak, of a man, a dog, etc., and Buddhist emblems cut in it, may be found in pl. 33, fig. 1. It is used to mold figures in samba, which are afterwards colored and figure in certain ceremonies for expelling the demon of sickness.t} The two most commonly used kinds of incense (spés) are the larger sticks of the shakama pds or saffron-colored incense, also known as jambling kun-jyab or “world pervading,” on account of the great strength of the perfume, and a smaller variety which is of a deep violet color, and is in common use in all temples and for household worship. Great quantities of it are manufactured in central Tibet (Lh’asa and Shigatsé) and exported to China, Mongolia, and every corner of Tibet.t A frequently used substitute for incense consists in dried spines of the juniper (shuka) mixed with a little butter and salt, these ingredients making the spines burn more readily and completely. This kind of incense is very extensively used throughout Tibet and parts of Mongolia. Pl. 50 shows a pitcher 6 inches high, of cast brass, in the shape of an ewer. It is roughly ornamented with a series of lines and dots, and around the base is written in Tibetan characters a mantra. The handle is large and cast at the same time as the body. The use to which this ewer is put is not known, but it is certainly not a household utensil. It is a rough piece of work; probably in an unfinished state. Musical instruments.—Music, both instrumental and vocal, is a promi- nent feature in lamaic ceremonies. The principal instruments used are the drum, trumpet, flageolet, cymbals, and conch shell. The drums . “See Prince Henri d’Orleans, Le pére Huc et ses critiques, pp. 34-42. tFor a full account of these ceremonies, the reader is referred to Emil Schlagint- weit, Buddhism in Tibet, p. 269 et seq. +See also Journ. Roy. Asiat. Soc., n.s, XX111, p. 281. Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill PLaTe 46 LLL PP Pee oe SA is bdt iLL eT) BOO CCC EL ET EE® GILT IMAGE OF TAMDRIN (HAYAGRIVA). Cat. No. 130398, U.S. M. N. Lh’asa. Report of Nationa! Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. PLATE 47 GILT IMAGE OF THE GoD OF RICHES (GUNKAR YIN NORBU). Cat. No. 130399, U.S. N. M. Lh’asa. Report of National Museum, 1893 —Rockhill. PLaTe 48. GILT IMAGE OF CH’OS-BuIN-JAMBA. Cat. No. 167270, U.S. N. M. Kumbum. Report of National Museum, .1893.—Rockhill. PLATE 49 GILT IMAGE OF A HOLY MAN—PROBABLY CHINESE BUDDHIST. Cat. No. 167269, U.S. N.M. Kumbum. Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill. PLaTE 50 PITCHER OF CAST BRASS. Cat. No. 167292, U.S. N. M. Lh’asa. * Tunquny, “WN ‘8S “f “22608F “ON "380 “SHOIAUSS HOUNHO LSIVWV1 NI G3sn ‘3YOOS AAILdIHOSIQ Pate 51. ered x ° ° * a a 0 € 3 o 2 3 = 6 c 3 & z 3 ne 3 a ® ec NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 745 are of two kinds—the small hand drum previously described, and the large drum (cl’érna), which is cylindrical, about 2 feet in diameter and 8 or 10 inches high. To it is fastened a handle about 3 feet long, by which it is held erect. It is struck by means of a stick shaped like a sickle, with a long handle. This drum and also the hand drum are apparently copied from two well-known kinds of Chinese drums. (See J. A. Van Aalst, Chinese Music, p. 76.) The big trumpet or dung-ch’en is from 6 to 8 feet long, made of cop- per, and is slightly bent so that the end may rest flat on the ground. A smaller trumpet is made of a human tibia, and is called kang-dung “leg-bone trumpet.” No. 130386 is one of these.* A piece of skin (supposed to be human) is sewed around it, and a plaited lash about 20 inches long hangs from its end. Such trumpets are used in exorcising ceremonies. Another form of kang-dung is made with the mouthpiece and the lower portion of chased copper, the central part only being of bone. The hautboy (jyeling) used by the lamas is of Chinese origin and pat- tern, and calls for no particular remark beyond stating that most of them have loose or sliding tubes by which means the sounds are modulated. The cymbals (sinyen) used are also Chinese in shape and probably man- ufacture. A small kind of cymbal called ding-sha, the disks of which are about 2 inches in diameter and suspended horizontally by a short string so that their edges may be struck together, is also used by the lamas— not in church ceremonies, but only when reading prayers in their - houses. This latter instrument is the Indian mandira, used to measure time in musical performances. Conch shells are used to call to prayers and for other purposes similar to those for which the big trumpets are used. They have fre- quently a metallic mouthpiece and are handsomely ornamented around the rims. Thereis a most beautiful specimen of such a conch shell] with inscriptions on it in Chinese, Tibetan, Mongol, and Manchu in the Brit- ish Museum. Conch shells with whorls turning to the right are espe- cially prized, and a lamasery which is so fortunate as to possess one is famed throughout the land. (Land of the Lamas, p. 110.) A system of musical notation is used by the lamas to teach chant- ing and accompanying liturgies. These books, called yang yig, ‘“ hymnor song books,” contain akind of descriptive score, consisting of wavy lines, showing when and for what space of time the voice should rise or fall. Plate 51 shows several pages of this music. Where the conch shells should be sounded or the drum beaten is shown by a figure ofa shell or a drumstick. This system of notation is specially interesting from the fact that it is, so far as I am aware, the only one found in eastern or central Asia. (Plate 51, and Land of the Lamas, p. 88, also Waddell, Buddhism of Tibet, p. 432.) t *Not illustrated in this paper. + On lamaic musical instruments, see also Georgi, Alphabetum tibetanum,p.404. 746 ‘REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS FROM THE CHINESE BORDER LANDS. In fig. 1 of pl. 52 is shown a shoe made of oxhide and in shape some- what like an Indian moccasin. The sole is turned up all round the vamp, which latter has a tongue coming over the instep. These shoes, called p’i-hai in Chinese, are worn in the extreme western part of Kan-su by the poorer classes. Inside these shoes coarse woolen socks, knit of sheep’s wool, are worn (fig. 2), These socks are invariably knit by the men. It is, by the way, no uncommon thing in Mohammedan countries for the men to knit. Ihave noticed it in Algeria, and Friar Odoric, speaking of the people of Huz in Khuzistan (Persia), remarks of them “and ’tis the custom for the meu to knit and spin, and not the women.” (H. Yule, Cathay and the way thither, I, p. 53.) Sandals made of hemp (figs. 3 and 4) are known as ma hat in western Kan-su where they are made and worn. They closely resemble the Ssii-ch’uanese sandal (figs. 5 and 6), woven of rice straw over hempen cords, with some slight difference in the width of the piece in front to protect the great toe. The Kan-su sandal is in all respects like the Korean one. In all these sandals a string passes through loops fast- ened to the sole and heel and is tied around the ankle. In western Ssii-ch’uan, where these sandals are the only foot gear worn by hill porters, iron clamps or crampons, consisting in an oval plate of iron with four short flat points on them, are tied to the middle of the foot when the ground is wet or slippery. The collection contains a brass saucepan 9 inches in diameter, the back and handle beaten out of the same piece. It is used by Mongol and Chinese traders when traveling, not only as a pan but as a ladle. A copper tea-kettle with top fitting closely in it is also in the collec- tion. It is egg-shaped, with a rude handle, and is without a spout. It is manufactured by the Chinese of Hsi-ning and Tankar in western Kan-su for the Tibetans and Mongols of the Kokonor. A wooden pail in the collection, made of numerous wooden staves held together by three brass hoops, is from the Ordos Mongols. It has a brass ear and ring on each side and through this passes a yak hair handle. It is a little larger at the bottom than at the top. Such pails are very much valued by these Mongols, and the handles are frequently decorated with cowrie shells or beads. In the collection is a fine blanket of mixed goat hair and sheep’s wool dyed a clear brown color. It is made of four strips, each 18 inches wide. Such blankets are woven by the border Chinese for travelers and are practically waterproof. This one was bought in Kuei-hua Ch’eng (eastern Mongolia). Fig. 15 of pl. 5 represents a breast ornament worn by Mongol women. It is in the shape of two of the eight signs of good luck, “the fishes,” and the “chest-mark” (or “intestines,” as the Chinese call them). It EXPLANATION OF PLATE 52. TIBETAN FooT WEAR. Fig. 1. LEATHER Moccasin. Kan-sn. (Cat. No. 131202, U.S. N.M.) Fig. 2. WooLEeNn Socks, Kan-sn. (Cat. No. 131199, U.S. N. M.) Figs. 3 and 4. HEMPEN SanpaLs. Kan-su. (Cat. No, 131198, U.S. N, M.) Figs. 5 and 6. Straw Sanpazs. Ssi-ch’uan. (Cat. No. 167181, U.S. N. M.) Report of National Museum, 1893.—Rockhill PLATE 52. FOOTWEAR OF KAN-SU AND SSU-CH’UAN BORDER LANDS. NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 147 is of brass. heavily gilt, and in the center of it is an ornament in coral and turquoises. Three rings are fastened to it; by one a string passes by which it is suspended around the neck, and to the other two are fastened the ends of long strings of coral beads, the other ends of which are attached to the earrings. The Museum collection also contains a curious picture executed by some Chinese painter, probably in the latter part of the eighteenth century. It represents a town in Chinese Turkestan, and gives a vivid picture of the people of that province, their niode of living, their various occupations and amusements. It is 30 feet long and about 30 inches broad, and deserves careful and detailed study, it being replete with valuable ethnological data. It was purchased in Peking in 1887. i ae ie te Shy EEA x mitre Raicis aye As + ; a ee