I cannot tell you much about Thibet; and the reason is, that so few
travellers have been there. And why have so few been there? Is it because
the mountains are so steep and high, the paths so narrow and dangerous?
All this is true; but it is not mountains that keep travellers out of
Thibet; it is the Chinese government; for Thibet belongs to China, and
you know how carefully the emperor of China keeps strangers out of his
empire.
How did the Chinese get possession of Thibet? A long while ago, a Hindoo
army invaded the land, and the people in their fright sent to China for
help. The Chinese came, drove away the Hindoos, and stayed themselves.
They are not hard masters, they govern very mildly; only they require a
sum of money to be sent every year to Pekin, as tribute.
But though Thibet belongs to China, the Chinese language is not spoken
there.
The people are like the Tartars in appearance; they have the same bony
face, sharp black eye, and straight black hair; but a much fresher
complexion, owing to the fresh mountain air they breathe.
The Himalaya mountains, the highest in Asia, lie between Thibet and
Hindostan. Their peaks are always covered with snow, and rapid streams
pour down the rugged sides. The snow on the mountain-tops makes Thibet
very cold; but there are warm valleys where grapes, and even rice
flourish.
The people build their houses in the warmest spots they can find; they
try to find a place sheltered from the north wind, by a high rock, and
lying open to the south sun. Their dwellings are only made of stones,
heaped together, and the roofs are flat. Their riches consist in flocks
of sheep and goats. They have, another animal, which is not known in
England, and yet a very useful creature, because, like a cow, it yields
rich milk, and like a horse, it carries burdens. This animal is called
the Yak, and resembles both a horse and a cow. Its chief beauty is its
tail, which is much finer than a horse's tail, and is black, and glossy,
soft and flowing. Many of these tails are sent to India, where they are
used as fly-flappers.
The sheep and goats of Thibet are more useful than ours; for they are
taught to carry burdens over the mountains. They may be seen following
each other in long trains, with large packs fastened on their little
backs, and climbing up very narrow and steep paths.
And what is in these packs? Wool: not sheep's wool, but goat's wool: for
the goats of Thibet have very fine wool under their hair. No such wool is
found on any other goats. But though the people of Thibet can weave
common cloth, they cannot weave this beautiful wool, as it deserves to be
woven. Therefore they send it to a country the other side of the Himalaya
mountains, called Cashmere; and there it is woven into the most beautiful
shawls in all the world.
But wool is not the only riches of Thibet. There is gold to be found
there; some in large pieces, and some in small dust. There are also large
mines of copper. And what use is made of these riches? The worst in the
world. With the gold and copper many IDOLS are made; for Thibet is a land
of idols. The religion is the same there as in China,--the Buddhist;--and
that is a religion of idols.
But there is an idol in Thibet, which there is not in China. It is a
LIVING IDOL. He is called the Grand Lama. There are Lamas in Tartary, but
the GRAND Lama is in Thibet. He is looked up to as the greatest being in
the world, by all the Lamas in Tartary, and by all the people of the
Buddhist religion. There are more people,--a _great many_ more,--who
honor _him_, than who honor our GREAT GOD.
But this man leads a miserable life. When one Lama dies, another is
chosen;--some little baby,--and he is placed in a very grand palace, and
worshipped as a god all his life long. I have heard of one of these baby
Lamas, who, when only eighteen months old, sat up with great majesty on
his pile of cushions. When strangers entered, he looked at them kindly,
and when they made a speech to him, he bowed his little head very
graciously. What a sad fate for this poor infant! To be set up as a god,
and taught to think himself a god--while all the time he is a helpless,
foolish, sinful, dying creature!