[158] The Tibetans neither kill nor will they eat hares. All wild fowl
are equally safe from their guns.—(W. R.)
[159] A. K. says of this place (which he reached on August 21, 1878):
“Giangche, a small town on the right bank of the Pena Nang Chu river.
The town is situated about two small hills which lie east and west, and
are united by a saddle; the western hill is further connected with the
chain of mountains to the north. On the eastern hill, which is about
600 feet above the surrounding plain, is a large fort, ... and on the
western hill a Gomba inhabited by five hundred Dabas. In this Gomba
there is a Chiorten, called Pangon Chiorten, which is considered by the
Tibetans a most holy place. Besides the fort and temple, there are
about one thousand dwelling-houses on three sides of the double hill.
Woollen cloth called Nhambu is manufactured. There is a large market;
and traders from Nepal and China reside here.” See ‘Report on the
Explorations in Great Tibet,’ by A. K., p. 31.
[160] But women throughout Tibet do most of the selling in the shops
and the markets.—(W. R.)
[161] Ta Laoyeh is the honorific appellation claimed by all subordinate
Chinese officers in Tibet, from the rank of Pa-tsung (sergeant) to that
of Shou-pei, or major. The Chinese officer in command of the post of
Gyantse is, I believe, a Chien-tsung, or lieutenant. On the Tibetan
military organization, see chap. vii. p. 180.—(W. R.)
[162] The ordinary kang is a measure of land in which about 400 lbs. of
seed-grain can be sown. The State tax on each kang is 50 srang (or
ounces of silver) a year.—(S. C. D.)
[163] On the pay and allowances of the Chinese troops in Tibet, see
J.R.A.S., n.s. xxiii., p. 276–278. In many places along the route
between Lhasa and Tachienlu the Chinese soldiers are never paid in
cash, but only receive brick-tea, the value of which is arbitrarily
fixed by the paymaster, who cheats the poor devils most disgracefully.
A srang is an ounce of silver, the Chinese tael.—(W. R.)
[164] Georgi, op. cit., p. 451, says of this town, Kiangse: “Civitas
præclara et planire ad radius montium. Ad Urbis, præsidium Arx est
inædificata rupi, musis, et fossis aquæ vivæ circumvallata. Cœnobium
vero adeo vastum, et magnificum, ut quum millia aliquot Xacaitarum
contineat, alterius cujusdam civitatis speciem præreferre videatur.”
[165] Born in A.D. 1595 in S.E. Tibet (see Waddell, op. cit., p.
4).—(W. R.)
[166] Probably an error for Dorje chyak, Vadjrapani.—(W. R.)
[167] In the Lhobrak country lama Ugyen-gyatso visited the celebrated
shrine of Seh Guru Chhoi wang, built after the model of the famous
monastery of Nalendra, in Magadha. “The shrine ... contains some
important relics, among others a stuffed horse of great sanctity
(belonging to the Great Guru), which is called Jamling ninkhore, or
‘the horse that can go round the world in a day.’ Observing that the
horse was bereft of his left leg, U. G. inquired the cause, and was
told how the leg had been stolen by a Khamba pilgrim with a view of
enchanting the ponies of Kham.” See ‘Report of Explorations from
1856–86,’ p. 23. Probably the objects seen at Gyantse by our author
were originally votive offerings, and now simply curios.—(W. R.)
[168] Probably written Ston ran-pa, “one who may teach; a doctor.” See
‘Indian Pundits in the Land of Snow.’ It is probably the same degree as
Ge-she.—(W. R.).
[169] Both Bogle (op. cit., p. 107) and Captain Turner (op. cit., p.
284) mention the fondness of the Tibetans of Shigatse for
palmistry.—(W. R.)
[170] All these are Chinese dishes.—(W. R.)
[171] Gong khang means “upper house.”—(W. R.)
[172] Most likely imported into the country by some Chinese. I have
never seen a greyhound in Tibet, and they are rare even in China and
Mongolia.—(W. R.)
[173] Apparently we should read “husbands,” for the author has told us
that this accomplished young woman was the wife of the two sons of the
Chyag-dso-pa.—(W. R.)
[174] Jaeschke, ‘Tib.-Engl. Dict.’ s.v. oug-pa, says this word is used
to designate a medicinal plant. It usually, however, means “hand.” Soap
is known and occasionally used in Tibet, though not manufactured there.
It is usually called langle (written “glang-glad”). It is brought there
from India or China, the former kind being the best.—(W. R.)
[175] See chap. vii. p. 171.
[176] Shar-li means, literally, “Eastern bell-metal;” and Nub-li,
“Western bell-metal.”—(W. R.)
[177] On July 31, 1879, the thirteenth incarnation of the Dalai lama
was placed on the throne of Lhasa. Chandra Das speaks of this event in
the following terms: “The princely infant, into whose person the spirit
of the late Dalai had passed, had been brought up till now in a small
palace of Gyal-kup, near Lhasa. Last year the Tashi lama, at the
invitation of the Emperor of China and the high officials of Tibet, had
gone to Lhasa to examine the infant Dalai, and report if the spirit of
the last Dalai had really passed into his person. For several days
oracles were consulted, the result being to establish beyond doubt that
the infant was the incarnate Shenrazig, the patron of Tibet. On the day
when he pronounced the infant’s claim to the pontifical throne to be
good and valid, a magnificent rainbow is said to have appeared over the
palace of Potala. The Tashi lama had fixed July 31 for the Dalai’s
accession to the throne” (see ‘Narrative of a Journey to Tashilhunpo,’
p. 25).
[178] The Khamba are much dreaded throughout Tibet; frequent mentions
are made in the narratives of the Indian explorers of their lawless
ways. For fuller particulars regarding them and their country, I must
refer the reader to my ‘Land of the Lamas’ and to the narrative of A.
K.’s journey.—(W. R.)
[179] See supra, p. 75.
[180] De-le of our maps.—(W. R.)
[181] Speaking of the dances of Tibet, our author says elsewhere that
Padma Sambhava, in the eighth century, A.D., is the reputed originator
of religious dances in Tibet. He introduced the war-dance and the
famous masqued dance, or bag chams (hbag hchams), the former being but
a modification of the latter. At present the great religious dance of
Tibet is the black-hat dance (Dza nag cham), which was introduced in
the eleventh century, A.D., to commemorate the assassination of the
iconoclast King Langdarma by Lama Lhalun Paldor, the murderer having
disguised himself in black when seeking to approach the king. The
ordinary dance of Tibet (dzabs bro) is performed by men and women on
all or any occasion of rejoicing. Sometimes they dance in pairs,
sometimes in a ring, and at others the women hand-in-hand on one side,
the men in like fashion on the other. (S. C. D.) Cf. Markham, ‘Tibet,’
p. 92; E. F. Knight, ‘Where Three Empires Meet,’ p. 202 et sqq.;
Waddell, ‘Buddhism of Tibet,’ pp. 34, 477, 515 et sqq.
[182] Cf. infra, p. 116.
[183] The office here mentioned is well known in Sikkim. See the Sikhim
Gazetteer, p. 304, vi. The amged, as colloquially pronounced, is the
active ruler of the monastery, and often a very important person.
[184] This Chinese Buddhist monk (or ho-shang) came to Tibet in the
reign of King Srong-btsan gambo (A.D. 629–698). He is usually called
Mahadeva, not Dharmatala.—(W. R.)
[185] Geo. Bogle, op. cit., p. 106, witnessed a somewhat similar dance
at Tashilhunpo on New Year’s Day. An effigy of the devil was likewise
burnt. Tibetans use the word atsara much as the Chinese do yang
kuei-tzŭ, or “foreign devils,” though it was originally the name given
to learned Indian pilgrims. The word is Sanskrit, acharya.—(W. R.)
[186] See Captain Samuel Turner, ‘Embassy,’ p. 314.
[187] According to Chinese authorities, this, or a similar feast, is
celebrated at Lhasa in the second moon of the year. Another analogous
festival is held on the 30th day of the sixth moon. See J.R.A.S.,
xxiii. pp. 212, 213.—(W. R.)
[188] The Chang-tang is not an uninhabited desert, for numerous tribes
of Drupa pasture their herds there the year long, and keep up a
considerable trade with Lhasa and Shigatse, which they supply with
salt. It has been repeatedly crossed by European explorers.—(W. R.)
[189] Cf. the legend of the miraculous tree sprung from the hair of
Tsongkhapa, and still growing in the courtyard of Kumbum gomba. ‘The
Land of the Lamas,’ pp. 67, 68.
[190] On the new year festivities, see Waddell, op. cit., p. 513.
[191] On lamaist monachism, see Sarat Chandra Das’s ‘Indian Pundits in
the Land of Snow,’ and Waddell, op. cit., pp. 169 et sqq.
[192] In the narrative of his journey in 1879 (p. 26), S. C. D. thus
describes the headdress of the ladies of wealth and fashion at a
festival at Tashilhunpo: “Their headdresses struck me much. The
prevailing form consisted of two, or sometimes three, circular bands of
plaited hair placed across the head and richly studded with pearls,
cat’s-eyes, small rubies, emeralds, diamonds, coral and turquoise beads
as large as hens’ eggs, pearl drops, and various sorts of amber and
jade encircled their heads, like the halo of light round the heads of
goddesses. These circles were attached to a circular headband, from
which six or eight short strings of pearls and regularly shaped pieces
of turquoise and other precious stones hung down over the forehead.”
[193] Farther on (p. 138), our author tells us that the incarnate
goddess Dorje phagmo also wore her hair long.
[194] See my ‘Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet,’ p. 256,
where two such tea-churns are shown.—(W. R.)
[195] I think our author was misinformed. Rampa (Polygonum viviparum,
L.) does not grow as described here. Rampa seed is eaten, after being
parched and ground, mixed with tsamba. Choma (Potentilla anserina),
also eaten all over Tibet wherever it occurs, is dug out of the ground;
it is not a grain, however, but a small root. I think Chandra Das must
refer to choma, though it is a small tuber not over 1½ inches long.—(W.
R.)
[196] Lama Serap gyatsho says there are three different kinds of Lobas,
viz. Lo Karpo, Lo Nagpo, and Lo Tawa, or Lo Khabta. The Lo Karpo means
“white, and little civilized.” The Lo Nagpo means “black, and little
civilized.” The Lo Tawas, or stripped Lobas, meaning “quite barbarous
Lobas,” live on the lower part of the Tsangpo, on the east bank. They
are said to kill the mother of the bride in performing their marriage
ceremony, when they do not find any wild men, and eat her flesh. Report
on Explorations, etc., p. 7. See also ibid., pp. 16, 17; and Pundit
Nain Singh’s Journey, in Jour. Roy. Geo. Soc., vol. xlvii. p. 120.
[197] Og khang means “lower house,” as opposed to Gong khang, “upper
house, or story.”—(W. R.)
[198] Torma offerings are cones made of tsamba, butter, treacle, and
sugar, and not unfrequently of cardboard, and sometimes painted red,
blue, or green. They are placed in front of the images of malignant
gods as propitiatory offerings. See Waddell, op. cit., 297. On the word
nyihok, see supra, p. 77.—(W. R.)
[199] One of these libation bowls is represented on p. 90 of ‘Land of
the Lamas.’—(W. R.)
[200] Lha-sre is the usual title of sons of very high officials. It
means, literally, “son of a god,” but may be conveniently translated by
“prince.”—(W. R.)
[201] See note 1, p. 115.
[202] The “presiding deity” was probably Dorje sempa or Vajrasattva.
The Kala Chakra mysticism and its standard work in the Tibetan Tanjur,
called ‘Dus-gi khorlo,’ which I once tried to read, have remained
beyond my comprehension. Emil Schlagintweit, ‘Buddhism in Tibet,’ pp.
46–57, and p. 242 et sqq., gives many details on the subject. See also
Waddell, op. cit., 15, 144, 397.—(W. R.)
[203] This official is referred to, p. 94.—(W. R.)
[204] Chandra Das’s experience recalls to my mind the prophecy made me
in 1889 by an incarnate lama in the Tsaidam. ‘Land of the Lamas,’ pp.
164, 165.
[205] Rong usually means a fertile valley where cultivation is
possible, or which is cultivated.—(W. R.)
[206] Gab zi on the maps. It must be the same as A. K.’s Upsi village,
where, he says, there is a large Chinese stage-house.—(W. R.)
[207] Called Shetot on the map.—(W. R.)
[208] A. K. says that there is also at this village a large Chinese
post station. These post stations are called tang in Chinese; the
building itself is a kung kuan. On the Dugpa sect, see Waddell, op.
cit. He says it originated in the XIIth century.—(W. R.)
[209] Also known as Ralung la, according to A. K.—(W. R.)
[210] Jaeschke, Dict., s.v. o-ma., says that this name designates the
plain on which Lhasa stands. Georgi, op. cit., p. 451, mentions between
Gyantse and Nangartse, Lhomar and Lhamentung. The first place I do not
find on any maps at my disposal. The latter, however, corresponds with
the Langma of the maps. According to the maps, the Karo la is 16,600
feet high.—(W. R.)
[211] On such religious services, see Waddell, op. cit., 353, 494 et
sqq.—(W. R.)
[212] The name is written Bsam-lding, meaning, apparently, “fancy
floating.” It was founded, according to Chandra Das’s authorities, by
Shon-nu drupa.—(W. R.)
[213] Tibetan, Mongol, and Chinese doctors ask their patients but few,
if any, questions. They are supposed to diagnose the disease by the
general appearance of the patient and by his pulse and the condition of
his urine.—(W. R.)
[214] Khyab-gong and Khyab-gong rinpoche are titles given all the
higher incarnate lamas. The word means “protector.”—(W. R.)
[215] Such pills are usually called mani rilbu. On the ceremonies
performed in making them, I must refer the reader to my paper on the
subject in Proceedings of the American Oriental Society, October, 1888,
p. xxii. On the subject of “general teas,” see Huc, ‘Souvenirs,’ vol.
ii. p. 122; ‘Land of the Lamas,’ p. 104; and Waddell, ‘Buddhism of
Tibet,’ p. 191.—(W. R.)
[216] Sa-ga is the name of the 15th lunar mansion (gyu-kar), and also
of a month of the year. Dao is Da-wa, “a month.” On the new moon
festivals, see Waddell, op. cit., 501.
[217] This custom prevails in China, where it is called fang sheng, “to
let go living creatures.”—(W. R.)
[218] See ‘Land of the Lamas,’ p. 164.
[219] Gurkum is saffron. Chusum may be rhubarb.—(W. R.)
[220] Cf., however, note, p. 131, where he says that the founder of
this lamasery was Shon-nu drupa.—(W. R.)
[221] See ‘Land of the Lamas,’ p. 106. On Tamdrin, see Waddell, op.
cit., 62 and 364.
[222] Georgi, ‘Alph. Tibet.,’ p. 451 says, “In Australi eorum (montium)
latere Monasterium, et Sedes est Magnæ Renatæ Lhamissæ Turcepamò. Eam
Indi quoque Nekpallenses, tanquam ipsissimam Deam Bavani venerantur et
colunt.” Mr. Geo. Bogle visited her at Tashilhunpo in 1775: “The mother
went with me into the apartment of Durjay Paumo, who was attired in a
gylong’s dress, her arms bare from the shoulders, and sitting
cross-legged upon a low cushion. She is also the daughter of the lama’s
brother, but by a different wife. She is about seven and twenty, with
small Chinese features, delicate, though not regular, fine eyes and
teeth.... She wears her hair—a privilege granted to no other vestal I
have seen; it is combed back, without any ornaments, and falls in
tresses upon her shoulders.... I never visited her but this time. Mr.
Hamilton used to be there almost every day.” Markham, ‘Tibet,’ pp. 105,
108, 109.
[223] Hailo must be the Hang of the maps.—(W. R.)
[224] Georgi, ‘Alph. Tibet.,’ p. 451, speaking of Lake Palti, says,
“Palti: Lacus, alias Jamdro aut Jang-so nuncupatus. Maximæ amplitudinis
est, quam homo pedibus, uti indigene tradunt, nonnisi octodecim dierum
spatio circumire queat. Sic totus ambitus 300. circiter milliariorum
esset.” A. K. calls the town Pete Jong, and on the maps it figures as
Pe de Jong, or Piahte-Jong. The Chinese call it Pai-ti, but I have been
told by Tibetans that the name is Pé-di (written Spe-di).—(W. R.)
[225] The name is also written Sha-ma-lung and Demalung.—(W. R.)
[226] The Khamba barchi of the native explorers. It is also called
Kampa lacha.—Khamba chyang tang means “Plain north of Khamba.”—(W. R.)
[227] A. K. thus describes this bridge: “The bridge is formed of two
iron chains, one on each side; from the chains thick ropes are
suspended to the depth of four yards; by these ropes planks, three feet
long and one foot broad, are supported lengthwise, so as only to admit
of one person crossing at a time. The chains are stretched very tight,
and are fastened around huge blocks of wood buried beneath immense
piles of stone; the length of the bridge is about 100 paces.” ‘Report
on the Explorations,’ p. 31. This is the usual style of Chinese
suspension bridge common throughout Western China and Tibet. This one
was in all likelihood built by the Chinese in the eighteenth century. I
am not aware that the Tibetans ever build this style of bridge; theirs
are usually of wood and of the cantilever description. See my ‘Diary of
a Journey,’ p. 304.—(W. R.)
[228] Chinese authors say that convicts used to be confined at this
place. See Jour. Roy. As. Soc., 1891, p. 78.—(W. R.)
[229] On the maps this place is called Tsha-bu-na.—(W. R.)
[230] Called Chiang-li by the Chinese.—(W. R.)
[231] The name is also written Nyer-tam. The Chinese call it Yeh-tang.
Atisha came from India to Tibet in A.D. 1083. His proper Indian name
was Dipankara Srijnana.—(W. R.)
[232] What the Chinese call chan. They are ridiculously short on the
high-road between Lhasa and China, and probably elsewhere. This is so
as to make the ula less oppressive, and I suspect it has something to
do with the allowances of the Chinese officers who have to travel over
it, and which are regulated by stages, not by miles travelled.—(W. R.)
[233] I have always heard policemen called sa sung (srung) pa by
Tibetans. The word used by our author seems to be khor che (byed) pa,
which would correspond to “patrol-men.” Huc says that Lhasa is about
two leagues in circumference, and A. K. that it is about six miles.—(W.
R.)
[234] Doring (or rdo ring) means “ancient stone,” or “stone from long
ago.” On the inscription here referred to, see Jour. Roy. As. Soc. (new
series), vol. xii. 486 et sqq.; and vol. xxiii. p. 264. Yu-tog zamba
means “blue roofed bridge.”—(W. R.)
[235] Better known by its popular name of Cho or Jo khang, or Lhasa
Jo-wo khang. A. K. calls it Jhio. He also mentions Azimabad (Patna)
merchants as having shops in Lhasa.—‘Report on the Explorations,’ p.
32. See also Waddell, op. cit., 300 et sqq.
[236] These “fringes” are cotton strips on which are printed charms
(mantras). Usually the figure of a horse occupies the middle of the
strip. They are called lung-ta, or “wind-horse.” E. Schlagintweit,
‘Buddhism in Tibet,’ p. 253, and plate xi. The “inscribed banners”
belong to the same class of objects, and have also prayers or passages
from the scriptures printed on them. Georgi, ‘Alph. Tibet.,’ p. 509,
refers to these “flag-poles” as being called Tarpo che (tar-pai
shing?), “Arbor salutaris, depulsoria mali.” See also Waddell, op.
cit., 468 et sqq.
[237] Mutton fat is a common substitute for butter in tea among the
Tibetans, and is not always used as a pis aller, but in preference to
butter.—(W. R.)
[238] A dzo is a tenth of an ounce (sang), or about two-thirds of a
rupee in weight. In India its equivalent is a tola.—(W. R.)
[239] The Buddha’s death is said to have occurred on the 15th of the
4th month, which only occasionally falls on June 1.—(W. R.)
[240] “Outside the gate (of the Jo khang) there is a stone pillar in a
poor state of preservation: it is the tablet containing the alliance of
Tang Te-tsung with his nephew. On either side of the pillar are old
willows, whose aged trunks are bent and twisted like writhing dragons.
It is said that they date from the Tang period.” Jour. Roy. As. Soc.
(new series), vol. xxiii. p. 264. This inscription bears date A.D.
783.—(W. R.)
[241] See I. J. Schmidt, ‘Geschichte der Ost-Mongolen von Ssanang
Ssetsen,’ p. 35. According to Tibetan historians, this same princess
(or Kung chu, her name was Chin-Cheng), the wife of King Srong-btsan
gambo, introduced into Tibet, among other things, the art of pottery,
grist-mills, looms, etc. Emil Schlagintweit, ‘Die Könige von Tibet,’ p.
49. Chinese authors (see Jour. Roy. As. Soc., vol. xxiii. p. 191)
attribute to her influence the first use of winepresses, paper, ink,
the Chinese almanac, and the introduction of the silkworm. This
princess was not a daughter of the Emperor Tai-tsung, but a member of
his family. She appears to have travelled from China to Lhasa by the
Hsi-ning road, which passes by the sources of the Yellow River.—(W. R.)
[242] On the various celebrated images of the Buddha, see ‘Land of the
Lamas,’ p. 105, note 2. Kunyer is the “keeper of images.”—(W. R.)
[243] Maitreya (Chyamba, in Tibetan) is the Buddha to come in the last
period of this cycle, and Dipankara (Mar-me dzad) is the Buddha of the
first period. The historical Buddha, or Sachya tubpa, is the Buddha of
the present era.—(W. R.)
[244] Our author calls it “a fossil rock ... discovered in a rock
cavern in Tibet.” I can offer no explanation of the nature of this
relic.—(W. R.)
[245] A river of Magadha famous in early Buddhist history, and in which
the Buddha is said to have bathed after attaining omniscience.—(W. R.)
[246] This king reigned over Tibet at the end of the ninth century,
A.D. He appears to have been a fervent follower of the Bonbo religion.
He was murdered in 900 by a lama who had disguised himself so as to be
able to approach the king, and went through clownish tricks and dances.
The murder of the king is still fêted by dances, in which the
participants wear costumes resembling those of the murderer of the
iconoclast. See supra, p. 114.—(S. C. D.)
[247] Presumably Chyi (phyi), “outside;” and ra-wa, “an enclosure.”
[248] I suppose this name means “innumerable beings; legions of beings
(gro-vo); a host in himself.” The title To-wo or, “Angry,” applies to a
whole class of deities of the Protector (or Chos-gyong) class.—(W. R.)
[249] A wandering lama and saint who lived in Southern Tibet in the
eleventh century, and who taught by parables and songs, some of which
have considerable literary merit. The two principal works ascribed to
him are an autobiography, or ‘Nam-tar,’ and a collection of tracts
called ‘Lu bum,’ or “the myriad songs.” They are still among the most
popular books in Tibet. See Nineteenth Century, Oct., 1899, pp.
613–632.—(W. R.)
[250] Though I have not a copy of Milarapa’s ‘Lu bum’ with me, I feel
sure that this anecdote is taken from it.—(W. R.)
[251] Ramoche means “a large enclosure”; it was probably the name of
the locality on which the famous temple was built, and not the original
name of that structure.—(W. R.)
[252] A. K. (op. cit., p. 33) mentions this chorten which he calls
Giang Bimmoche, “erected in honour of a Tibetan hero who is said to
have killed 100,000 of his enemies (Chinese) on the spot.”—(W. R.)
[253] The princess is said to have been buried in this temple.—(W. R.)
[254] Georgi, ‘Alph. Tibet.,’ p. 242, says, “Magiæ Doctores Nga Rambà
dicti, diabolicæ hujus sapientiæ mysteriis initiantur, Magica Laurea
solemniter ornantur in duobus Lhassæ Cœnobiis Ramoie Chintopà & Morù
Chinpà nuncupatis.... Oracula sunt tum publica tum domestica, quæ
Populi, quæ Cives, quæ sacri ac profani Magistratus adeant responsa
capturi.”
[255] Or Ta-chien-lu, on the border of Sze-chuen.—(W. R.)
[256] Pomda appears to be Pungde, a little post-station two days’ ride
from Chamdo, and south-east of that town. It is called by the Chinese
Pao-tun. See my ‘Diary of a Journey,’ p. 316.—(W. R.)
[257] Amdo is that portion of the western border-land of the Chinese
province of Kansu and Sze-chuen which is occupied by Tibetan tribes.
This anecdote is also found in Ugyen-gyatso’s relation of his
exploration, ‘Report on Explorations from 1856 to 1886,’ p. 31.
[258] Cf. Huc, ‘Souvenirs d’un voyage dans la Tartarie et le Thibet,’
vol. ii. p. 258; and ‘Land of the Lamas,’ p. 214.
[259] Georgi, op. cit., p. 406 et sqq., describes very fully and
accurately this famous temple, of which he also gives a ground plan. He
calls it the Lahpranga Lhassensi. This description agrees very closely
with that of our author, and is highly interesting, as the analogies
between its style of architecture and that of Christian churches are
discussed.—(W. R.).
[260] Phagpa was given the government of Tibet by the Emperor Kublai in
A.D. 1260. The first of the Phagmodu kings was Nyakri btsan-po, who is
said to have ascended the throne of Tibet (then a little principality
south of the Tsangpo, in the Yarlung valley) B.C. 313. See I. J.
Schmidt, op. sup. cit., p. 23; and Emil Schlagintweit, ‘Die Könige von
Tibet,’ pp. 39–41. From B.C. 313 to A.D. 1260 is such a long period of
time, that we are hardly able to say that the date of the introduction
of tea into Tibet has been fixed. It is probable that the Tibetans did
not use tea before the eighth century, at the earliest, and its use
only became common in recent times. No mention, I believe, is made of
tea in the works of Milarapa (eleventh century), nor in any of the
older books known to us in the Tibetan language.—(W. R.)
[261] According to Chinese authors, the selection of incarnate lamas by
the drawing of lots from a golden vase dates from 1793. See Jour. Roy.
As. Soc., vol. xxiii.; ‘Land of the Lamas,’ p. 290; Waddell, op. cit.,
245 et sqq. and 279, note 2; also Huc, op. cit., vol. ii. p. 348.
François Bernier, in his ‘Voyages’ (1723), vol. ii. p. 310, gives some
interesting details about the reincarnation of the Grand Lama, as told
him by an attaché to a mission from the King of Little Tibet to
Aureng-Zeb.—(W. R.)
[262] Among the strange events which occur on the birth of a
reincarnation of the Tale lama may be mentioned “the blossoming, in the
immediate vicinity of the birthplace, of fruit-trees some months before
their usual season; the casting of two or more young by animals which
as a rule do not cast so many at a birth; and the sudden recovery from
fatal illnesses of persons coming in contact with the newborn child.”
See ‘Report on Explorations,’ made by A. K., p. 32.—(W. R.)
[263] See Waddell, op. cit., p. 478. He calls him “the
Necromancer-in-Ordinary to the Government.” He was first brought to
Tibet by Padma-sambhava, the founder of Lamaism in the middle of the
eighth century.—(W. R.)
[264] A small and fertile district a little to the east of Lhasa. The
chief town in this district is usually called Kong-po gyamda. Explorer
K. P. visited it in 1883 (?). He says that “there are about twenty
Nepalese shops and fifteen shops of Tibetans at this place.” See
‘Report of Explorations in Butan and Tibet,’ p. 15.—(W. R.)
[265] Cf. Ugyen-gyatso’s account of this discovery in ‘Report on the
Explorations,’ p. 31. The place of his birth was “Paruchude, near Nam
Jong, in Takpo,” according to the explorer K. P., op. sup. cit., p.
8.—(W. R.)
[266] I.e. “foreigners;” literally, “outside-country.” The word has no
connection, as was once supposed, with Feranghi or Franks.—(W. R.)
[267] Our author tells us further on (p. 216) of a woman married to two
men not related. Elsewhere he makes mention of a lamasery in which
monks and nuns cohabit, and bring up their children in their
profession. Polygamy also obtains among the wealthier Tibetans, who
have probably adopted it from the Chinese, and monogamy has a few
votaries. See ‘Land of the Lamas,’ p. 211 et sqq.
[268] Meaning, literally, “pillars of southern wood.” The “southern
wood” is probably the same as the nan mu or teak of the Chinese.—(W.
R.)
[269] The term yang-yig usually means “musical score,” the lamas using
sometimes a descriptive score to teach chanting.—(W. R.) Lu kang means
“Snakehouse.”
[270] A medicinal plant.—(S. C. D.)
[271] See Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., xxiii. p. 70, and Huc, op. cit., ii.
p. 194.—(W. R.)
[272] “In the faubourgs there is a quarter where the houses are built
entirely with horns of oxen and sheep. These curious buildings are
extremely solid, and present a rather pleasing aspect. The ox-horns
being smooth and whitish, and the sheep-horns, on the contrary, black
and rough, these strange building materials lend themselves
marvellously well to endless combinations, and form on the walls
designs of infinite variety; the spaces between the horns are filled
with mortar. These houses are the only ones which are not whitewashed.”
Huc, ‘Souvenirs d’un voyage,’ vol. ii. p. 254.
[273] The Kung-chu came to Tibet A.D. 639 (see I. J. Schmidt, op. cit.,
p. 341). He there says (translating from the Bodhimur) that when the
princess reached the spot where the Ramoche temple now stands, the cart
on which was the image of the Buddha (Jo-vo) stopped of itself, and
could not be made to move forward.—(W. R.)
[274] Dolma, or Drolma (Sanskrit Tara). The two wives of King
Srong-btsan gambo are worshipped under this name. The Chinese princess
is called Dol-kar, or “the white Dolma,” and the Nepalese princess
Dol-jang, or “the green Dolma.” The latter is prayed to by women for
fecundity. On the worship of Dolma, see Waddell, op. cit., p. 435 et
sqq.
[275] The god of eternal life; in Sanskrit, Amitāyus.
[276] The Ka-dro (mkah-hgro) are nymphs or fairies, all friendly to
man. In Sanskrit they are called Dakini. See Waddell, op. cit., p. 366.
[277] Mumen, “a precious stone of dark blue, but inferior to the azure
stone, occasionally used for rosaries.” Mention is also made of mumen
dmar-po (“red mumen”). Jaeschke, ‘Tib.-Engl. Dict.,’ s.v. mu-men.
[278] From what the author says a little later, it would appear that,
on the contrary, the Tale lama is very accessible. Manning called
repeatedly on him in 1811, and Huc tells us there was no difficulty
about being admitted to his presence.—(W. R.)
[279] Cf. Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., xxiii. p. 285.
[280] The earliest name of Mount Potala was Marpo ri, “the red hill.”
King Srong-btsan gambo is said to have built a palace on its summit,
and it was occupied by the kings of Tibet down to the time of the fifth
Tale lama, who built about the middle of the seventeenth century the
present palace. See Emil Schlagintweit, ‘Die Könige von Tibet,’ p. 49.
Our author says the palace was built “by the fifth Dalai lama and his
illustrious Regent Desi Sangye-gyatso.” In connection with our author’s
audience of the Grand Lama, it is interesting to read Manning’s
account, which agrees with it very closely.—(W. R.)
[281] Manning says of the then Tale lama (Lozang lung-tog-gyatso by
name), “The lama’s beautiful and interesting face and manner engrossed
almost all my attention. He was at that time about seven years old; had
the simple and unaffected manners of a well-educated princely child.
His face was, I thought, poetically and affectingly beautiful.... I was
extremely affected by this interview with the lama. I could have wept
through strangeness of sensation.” See Markham, op, cit., pp. 265, 266.
I am sorry I have not now access to Nain Singh’s report of his
interview with the Tale lama in 1866; but, if I remember rightly, it
contains some interesting details on his audience with the Dalai lama
Trin-las-gyatso.—(W. R.)
[282] Water used for oblations in Tibet is usually coloured (or
perfumed?) with saffron. See Waddell, op. cit., p. 298.—(W. R.)
[283] Manning says (op. cit., p. 265), “The ceremony of presentation
being over, Munshi and I sat down on two cushions not far from the
lama’s throne, and had suchi brought us. It was most excellent, and I
meant to have mended my draught and emptied the cup, but it was whipped
away suddenly, before I was aware of it.” Suchi is sol (gsol) ja, the
polite term for “tea.” “Perfumed tea” is the Chinese hsiang pien
ch’a.—(W. R.)
[284] Tonmi Sambhota introduced the alphabet of India into Tibet, and
negotiated the king’s marriages with his two famous consorts. Gar
(Mgar) was an equally famous general of the same epoch, and Prince
Gungri gung-tsan is, I think, Srong-btsan gambo’s grandson. See Emil
Schlagintweit, ‘Die Könige von Tibet,’ p. 47 et sqq.—(W. R.)
[285] There are seventy-five gods bearing this name. The gon-po
(mgon-po) are the fiercest of the terrifying type of divinities.—(W.
R.)
[286] On this famous Tibetan statesman (“Tisri vir ingenii
sagacissimi,” as Georgi, op. cit., p. 329, calls him), see Georgi’s
notice, loc. cit., and Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., xxiii. p. 186.
[287] Meaning “the ornament of the world.”
[288] Pronounced Tale lama. This Mongol name is in common use in Tibet.
He is also known as Gyal-wa-gyatso, or Kyab-gong Rinpoche; but this
latter title is applied likewise to all very high incarnate lamas. A.
K.’s Kiamkun Ringboche is but an inaccurate transcription of Kyab-gong
Rinpoche, which means “the Precious Protector.”—(W. R.)
[289] Or rather De-wa-chan, “the happy (place)” in Sanskrit Sukavati;
also called Nub-chyog Dewachan, or “the western abode of bliss.”—(W.
R.)
[290] On the Tale lamas, see Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., xxiii. p. 285 et
sqq., and Waddell, op. cit., p. 227; the dates given in the former work
are derived from Chinese sources, and differ by a year or two from
those usually accepted by Tibetans.—(W. R.)
[291] I believe that the Lhasa mint is in this Gadan phodang. Tibetan
silver coins (tanka) are inscribed Nam-gyal Gadan phodang chyog-las,
“From the Gadan phodang of the Victorious (Tale lama).” See Lacouperie,
‘The silver coinage of Tibet.’—(W. R.)
[292] Manning calls the King “Ti-mu-fu, or Hu-lu-tu.” See Markham,
‘Tibet,’ p. 264. I am unable to explain satisfactorily these names,
though the first has a rather Chinese tournure. The second may be the
Mongol Hutuketu, “incarnate saint of the first rank.” The Chinese call
the Regent Tsang Wang, or “King of Tibet.” See also, on the selection
of this functionary, ‘Land of the Lamas,’ p. 289, and ‘Report on
Explorations, 1856–1886,’ p. 31.
[293] In this connection the following is interesting: “Some few years
ago the Grand Council of Lhasa (Caphyn) was composed of three men,
named Semeling, Tengeling, and Kunduling. A man of influence named Sape
Satya complained to the Emperor of China of the oppressive and
inefficient rule of these men. The Chinese commissioner, ‘Kissen,’ came
from China, apprehended Semeling, and took him off as a prisoner to
China.”—Ashley Eden, ‘Report on the State of Bootan,’ p. 131; cf. Huc.,
op. cit., ii. 287 et sqq.
[294] He is also called Chyi-lon Hutuketu. He is Chancellor of the
Exchequer; the Chinese Amban is his colleague, and his approval of any
expenditure is necessary.—(W. R.)
[295] See Huc., op. cit., ii. 286.
[296] Our author’s informant must have written ja tsag, meaning
“tea-strainer”; but Chasag is spelt rgyal tsab, and means “viceroy.”
The Lhasa Amban is in like manner called Gong-ma tsab, “the Emperor’s
deputy.”—(W. R.)
[297] Cf. Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., xxiii. pp. 11, 220, 239, 242. The
nominees to these positions are confirmed by the Emperor of China.—(W.
R.)
[298] This button is given them by the Emperor (or rather the Amban).
The lama minister does not wear one. According to Chinese authorities,
the Kalon have only 3rd class, or blue, buttons. The coral button
belongs to the 1st class.—(W. R.)
[299] On the Dungkhor, see Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., xxiii. pp. 220, 243.
[300] Our author forgets the “squeezes,” which swell all salaries to
very respectable sizes.—(W. R.)
[301] A lama (Tse-dung) and a layman.—(S. C. D.)
[302] On the military inspections made by the Amban, see Peking
Gazette, January 24, 1886, and Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., xxiii, p. 216.
[303] Of course most of the Djongpon only attend to a very few of these
duties. They squeeze the people under them, exact as much service as
possible, and, together with the lamas, get everything they can out of
them, and only stop when their exactions appear likely to cause serious
trouble.—(W. R.)
[304] In Chinese, called Liang-tai. On the Chinese military
establishment in Tibet, see Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., xxiii, p. 275 et
sqq.; and on the Amban’s duties, ibid., p. 7 et sqq.
[305] In the Anglo-Tibetan war there were four Magpons or Mafeas, and
eight Dahpons.
[306] Thos. Manning (Markham, ‘Tibet.,’ p. 274) says, “It is very bad
policy thus perpetually to send men of bad character to govern Tibet.
It no doubt displeases the Grand Lama and Tibetans in general, and
tends to prevent their affections from settling in favour of the
Chinese Government. I cannot help thinking, from what I have seen and
heard, that they would view the Chinese influence in Tibet overthrown
without many emotions of regret.”—(W. R.)
[307] This is not correct. Traders only have a permit issued either at
Ta-chien-lu by the Chun-liang-fu or at Lhasa by the Amban allowing them
to enter or leave Tibet. All officials, even common soldiers—the latter
only when going to Tibet or when on duty—have ula supplied them.—(W.
R.)
[308] A kang is a piece of land to sow which 10 yak-loads of barley are
used, or one which pays 50 to 55 ounces of silver a year as taxes.—(S.
C. D.)
[309] The 4th Panchen rinpoche was called Pal-dan Tan-pai nyi-ma. He
was born in 1782. He died in the early fifties. Turner, ‘Embassy,’ p.
230.—(W. R.)
[310] Chamdo, in Eastern Tibet. It is an ecclesiastical fief under the
rule of a high dignitary of the Gelugpa sect who bears the title of
Phapa lha.—(W. R.)
[311] In other words, he should take all he can possibly get without
forcing the misser to open revolt.—(W. R.)
[312] This seems impossible, in view of the large flocks owned by most
of the people. One in a thousand would already be a heavy tax.—(W. R.)
[313] A pretty good allowance, one would think. Cf., on this courier
service, Huc, op. cit., vol. ii. p. 450.—(W. R.)
[314] In China most of the couriers are opium-smokers.—(W. R.)
[315] A lebor is, says our author, equal to 720 yards. It is the
Chinese li, but I have heard the word always pronounced leu. A li,
however, is about 600 yards.—(W. R.)
[316] I fancy our author means rearrange or remove his dress. A
travelling Tibetan never changes his dress.—(W. R.)
[317] There are cases on record in which a despatch from Lhasa has been
delivered in Peking within a month.—(W. R.)
[318] Cf., however, Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc. xxiii. pp. 216–218. See also
‘Report on Explorations made by A. K.,’ p. 33. The Chinese punishment
of the cangue is now adopted throughout Tibet, the criminals wearing it
being also heavily chained. The cangue is called in Tibetan,
tse-go.—(W. R.)
[319] This, I fancy, is hearsay testimony, and, I think, should be
taken with several grains of salt. The Tibetans are not cruel, though,
like all Asiatics, they believe in deterring from crime by the terror
of the punishment.—(W. R.)
[320] All this does not add materially to our knowledge of Tibetan
business methods. It would seem that the Tibetans follow the rules
concerning loans which obtain in China and India, but the text is not
very clear.—(W. R.)
[321] See Hooker’s ‘Himalayan Journals,’ vol. i. p. 117, and vol. ii.
p. 202 et sqq. He says, in speaking of the Dewan, “Considering,
however, his energy, a rare quality in these countries, I should not be
surprised at his cutting a figure in Bhutan, if not in Sikkim itself”
(op. cit., vol. ii. p. 241).—(W. R.)
[322] I fancy our author refers to the hsiang pien cha usually drunk by
Chinese in Peking and elsewhere in the north. Jasmine flowers are dried
with the tea, and impart to it a strong and agreeable perfume.—(W. R.)
[323] It is strange that our author tells us nothing of this famous
lamasery of Chagpori. We know, however, that it is one of the oldest in
Tibet, that the medical school is attended by some 300 students, and
that it supplies with medicines, most of which are simples collected by
the lamas themselves, not only Lhasa, but remote parts of Tibet and
Mongolia. I have seen remedies bought at Chagpori used in the Tsaidam,
the Koko Nor, and all over Eastern Tibet.—(W. R.)
[324] Amdo being used here in its broadest sense as including all
North-east Tibet. These Golok (or Golog) trade with Kumbum, Sungpan (in
North-west Sze-chuen), and with the Lhasa country. “At Pherchode (near
Namdjong in Takpo) many traders called ‘Golokpas’ come with large herds
of yaks to trade, and annually visit this place in the months of
October and November with merchandise, chiefly consisting of salt and
wool.” ‘Report on the Exploration, from 1856 to 1886,’ p. 8.
[325] This is at all events a good story, but I doubt whether the
Golok, any more than the Chinese, Mongols, or other Tibetan tribes,
kiss in public.—(W. R.)
[326] I have never heard of any district of this name. This mode of
saluting is a Mohammedan one.—(W. R.)
[327] Tsongkhapa, the great lama reformer in the 14th century,
instituted these annual prayer meetings. The most important one is the
“great prayer meeting” (mon-lam chen-po) in the early part of the
year.—(W. R.)
[328] Chinese authors make mention of a similar festival, held at Lhasa
yearly, beginning on the latter part of the second moon (middle March),
and lasting for a month. Another of like description is held in the
sixth moon. See Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., xxiii. pp. 212, 213.
[329] See supra, p. 70.
[330] This game is one of the very few national games of Tibet, but is
probably of foreign origin. I have never seen it played in Northern or
Eastern Tibet. In Bhutan the people appear to be specially skilful at
it.—(W. R.)
[331] Seng chen is a Chinese title, meaning “the Monk Minister.”—(W.
R.)
[332] Huc, op. cit., vol. ii. p. 338, tells us of the pleasure the
Regent of Lhasa found in learning from him the Roman alphabet. I myself
have found it the one subject which never failed to interest Tibetans,
lamas, and laymen.—(W. R.)
[333] On this ceremony of burnt-offering, chin (sbyin), “alms;” sreg,
“to burn up,” see Emil Schlagintweit, ‘Buddhism in Tibet,’ p. 249 et
sqq.; and Waddell, op. cit., p. 498.
[334] See supra, p. 66.
[335] Ding means something like “village.” It is a very common
termination to names of places throughout Tibet.—(W. R.)
[336] Daba, or Draba, is the name applied to all lamas irrespective of
rank. The word lama is only used when speaking of some high dignitary
in the church, or of a gelong, or “priest.”—(W. R.)
[337] The Gyade country, which extends from the high-road from
Nagchukha to Hsi-ning in Kansu and to Chamdo, is not under the rule of
Lhasa, it is a purely Bonbo country. I traversed this region from west
to east in 1892. Khams Gyarong refers to the Chin chuan, a small region
on the Upper Ta-tung river, in North-west Sze-chuen, where this
religion has many adherents.—(W. R.)
[338] The present Bonbo religion is hardly distinguishable from Tibetan
Buddhism, except in a few peculiar reversals of lamaist customs, and in
the names of the gods. See ‘Land of the Lamas,’ p. 217. Schiefner,
Sarat Chandra, and Laufer have published translations and texts of some
Bonbo works.—(W. R.)
[339] Not a very intelligible or satisfactory explanation. See Waddell,
op. cit., p. 287.
[340] The little water-bottle carried by gelongs, and with which they
moisten their mouths in the forenoon when they are not allowed to eat
or drink. Waddell, op. cit., 201.—(W. R.)
[341] The Sham-tab is a plaited petticoat of red pulo; it is worn by
all lamas. The tongu is the upper shawl.
[342] By which he means, I suppose, the Chang tang Bonbos of Gyade.—(W.
R.)
[343] This is also done among Buddhists, as in the Palti lake country.
See supra, p. 139.
[344] Moorcroft, ‘Travels,’ ii. 68, refers to Bonbo lamas when he
describes the lamas of Pin (in Ladak), who allow their hair to grow and
become matted, and who wear black. Nain Singh makes mention of the
Bonbo country of North Tibet, which he calls “the Ombo, or Pembo
country,” Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, xlvii. p. 107.—(W.
R.)
[345] I have heard of Chinese claims to the discovery of the telephone,
but never before of Tibetan. I fancy the lama had heard of the Morse
transmitter, which may have been taken for a little hammer struck on a
board.—(W. R.)
[346] Visited by Ugyen-gyatso in 1883.
[347] Our author farther on (p. 241) says that these volumes are about
six feet long by eighteen inches broad. This appears more likely. The
age of the Chinese books is certainly greatly exaggerated.—(W. R.)
[348] Dob-tha jong of the map. Our author passed through it when
returning to Darjiling, see infra, p. 244.
[349] About five miles from Khamba djong.—(W. R.)
[350] The same road followed by him and Chandra Das when going to
Shigatse.—(W. R.)
[351] It is a shrub (Symplocos) common in Sikkim. See Hooker,
‘Himalayan Journals,’ ii. 41. Tso (or Tsos) is not, I believe, the
Tibetan name of the plant, but only means “dye.”—(W. R.)
[352] See infra, p. 256; the details there given do not quite agree
with what he says on this occasion.—(W. R.)
[353] Our author gives several pages of text on the ethics, etc., of
the Bonbo, but they are so technical that I have been obliged to omit
them. The Bonbo terminology used by him is practically the same as that
of the lamas. He tells us that the Bonbo are divided into six sects,
the most popular of which is the Tu lug, to which the people of the
Chang tang and Gyade belong. The Shen-tsang lug is the second in
importance. See also supra, 208.—(W. R.)
[354] Ta, “horse;” lung, “valley.” On the name Yamdok tso, see Journ.
Buddh. Text. Soc. of India, IV. Pt. III. p.t.—(W. R.)
[355] The Choi-khor-tse of the map.—(W. R.)
[356] Certain dancers represent the celestial musicians or kinnara,
called in Tibetan mi ham-chi. These are probably what S. C. D. refers
to. Ri-o-tag Jong of the map.—(W. R.)
[357] Probably Nyema lung of the map.—(W. R.)
[358] Called Loh-bu Jong on the maps.—(W. R.)
[359] Tang-da of the maps.—(W. R.)
[360] Ton namgyalling Jong of the maps. Altitude 12,430 feet.—(W. R.)
[361] Tibetans from North-east Tibet. These were more probably Changpa
from the Chang tang, for the Horba do not bring salt to Central
Tibet.—(W. R.)
[362] Kedesho Jong of the maps. A. K., who passed through it the same
year, only a fortnight before our author, calls it Chitishio Jong. He
says there are about a thousand houses in it.—‘Report on the Explor.
made by A. K.,’ p. 84.—(W. R.)
[363] Shanpa means “boatman,” not boat.—(W. R.)
[364] Ta-chien-lu, on the border of Sze-chuen. The Dorje-tag (Rdo-rje
brag) lamasery has given its name to a sect. See Waddell, op. cit., 73.
[365] This seems to be the same custom as obtains in Eastern Tibet,
where all corpses are kept until the crops have been reaped, and then
either fed to vultures, burnt or otherwise disposed of. See ‘Land of
the Lamas,’ p. 286. The text is not quite clear, for it does not state
whether or not the corpses are kept permanently in the houses of the
parents.—(W. R.)
[366] Called Tsong-ka on the maps. All this route was again gone over
by Ugyen-gyatso in 1883. See ‘Report on Explorations from 1856 to
1886,’ p. 28 et sqq. He says (p. 29) that the river at Tsong-ka is over
a mile broad. King Me agtsoms was the father of Tisrong detsan, of whom
our author has so often occasion to speak. He reigned over Tibet in the
latter half of the seventh century, A.D.—(W. R.)
[367] The Gokhar la crossed by Nain Singh in 1873. Dechen djong is on
the Kyi chu, a day’s journey east of Lhasa.—(W. R.)
[368] Chyema (bye-ma) means “sand,” nagshu probably means “black.”—(W.
R.)
[369] I cannot conceive how a chorten can resemble a dorje (vajra). The
comparison is not a happy one.—(W. R.)
[370] Perhaps she came from Litang. The women there wear a large silver
plaque on either side of the head, which meet over the crown in a
point, so that, from a distance, the head-dress looks not unlike a
pointed cap.—(W. R.)
[371] These are the subjects usually seen in such frescoes throughout
Tibet and Mongolia.—(W. R.)
[372] Behor must be Bihar gyalpo, one of the five great patron saints
or Chu-gyong, of Tibet. Noijinhamara may be the god of wealth.—(W. R.)
[373] Wu-khang would appear to mean “central room or house.” I have
never heard of bottling up the breath or spirit of the dead among any
Buddhist people. This must be a survival of some pre-Buddhist
superstition.—(W. R.)
[374] Tibetan historians inform us that Padma Sambhava (Peme
chyung-nas) was called to Tibet from Kafiristan (O-rgyan) by Santa
Rakshita (Dji-wa tso), who could not withstand the onslaught of the
Bonbos. See Emil Schlagintweit, ‘Die Könige von Tibet,’ p. 52 et sqq.
[375] Written Bsam-yas. I do not believe that this interpretation of
the word Samye is correct. San yang, it is true, means “three styles”
in Chinese, but Chinese yang would never be pronounced ye in Tibetan.
Waddell, op. cit., 266, translates the name, “the academy for obtaining
the heap of unchanging meditation.” Nain Singh visited Samye (he calls
it Sama-ye Gomba) in 1873. “It is surrounded by a very high circular
wall, 1½ mile in circumference, with gates facing the four points of
the compass. On the top of this wall the Pundit counted 1030 chhartans
(chorten) made of burnt bricks.... The interiors of the (stone) walls
of these temples are covered with very beautiful writing in enormous
Hindi (Sanscrit) characters....” Jour. Roy. Geog. Soc., xlvii. p. 114.
Sarat Chandra says that a work, entitled ‘Pama Kahthang’ (‘Peme
Katang’?), contains a full description of this famous lamasery. See
also Waddell, op. cit., 266–268.
[376] This iconoclast, who appears to have been born in A.D. 861,
interdicted the Buddhist religion in Tibet in 899, and was murdered in
900. See Csoma, ‘Tib. Grammar,’ p. 183. Cf. Emil Schlagintweit, op.
cit., p. 59, and I. J. Schmidt, ‘Geschichte der Ost Mongolen,’ pp. 49,
362, et sqq. In the last work is the history of the murder of the king
by the hermit, Lha-lung palgyi dorje. It agrees with what our author
has told us supra, p. 153, when describing the origin of the “black
hat” dance.—(W. R.)
[377] Our author says, only “in the year fire-tiger of the thirteenth
cycle,” and “again, after a period of ten years, in the month of May
(fire-tiger of the fourteenth cycle).” This is impossible, as
fire-tiger is the third year in the cycle of sixty years. Assuming the
first date to be correct, the second must be A.D. 1808. Waddell, op.
cit., 267, says the library was destroyed about 1816.—(W. R.)
[378] Nain Singh speaks of a town called Sawe, where the Tibetan
treasury is kept. See Markham’s ‘Tibet,’ p. cxiii. This is Samye.
Explorer A. K. passed here in October, 1882, but his notes contain
nothing about this celebrated place. Ugyen-gyatso visited it in
October, 1883, but his report also contains little of interest. See
‘Report on Exploration from 1856 to 1886,’ pp. 28, 29. Csoma, ‘Tib.
Grammar,’ p. 183, says it was founded A.D. 749. Cf. Emil Schlagintweit,
‘Die Könige von Tibet,’ p. 53. Ssanang Ssetsen (I. J. Schmidt,
‘Geschichte der Ost Mongolen’), p. 41, says the building of the temple
was begun in A.D. 811, and finished in 823. The date given by Csoma is
probably correct, as King Tisrong detsan’s father was a contemporary of
the Tang Emperor Chang-tsung, who reigned in 684. Tisrong reigned from
740 to 786. He was born, according to Csoma, A.D. 728.—(W. R.)
[379] Ugyen-gyatso also speaks of the woods and gardens, and especially
the walnut trees of this section of country. He refers also to the
excellent roads. See ‘Report on the Explor. from 1856 to 1886,’ p. 28.
A. K. speaks of the village of Do as Dushio. Tso (shio) means village,
and is an abbreviation from grong-tso (pr. drong-tso).—(W. R.)
[380] There is a Reting gomba on the big broad between Lhasa and
Hsi-ning, not far from Nagchukha. The party referred to may have come
from this neighbourhood, though the Dokpa of that region are not
Horba.—(W. R.)
[381] Phamu bub of the maps.—(W. R.)
[382] Jang on the maps.—(W. R.)
[383] Quoting from the Dsamling yeshe, our author says elsewhere that
there are here eighteen silver tombs of the successive Phagmodu lama
rinpoche.
[384] Trees sprung from the hair of saints or deities are frequently
found in Tibet and in other Buddhist countries. The most famous is the
“white sandalwood tree” of Kumbum, described by Huc and other
travellers. Chandra Das tells us (supra, p. 117) of a juniper within
the walls of Tashilhunpo, which had sprung from the hair of Gedun-dub,
the first Panchen rinpoche. Explorer Ugyen-gyatso (‘Report on Explor.
from 1856 to 1886,’ p. 28) refers also to the Densatil forest. Csoma,
‘Tib. Gram.,’ p. 185, says the Dän-sa tel (gdan-sa tel) monastery was
founded in A.D. 1156.—(W. R.)
[385] The Dsamling yeshe calls it Zangri khang mar.—(S. C. D.)
[386] Elsewhere called Labkyi Donma.—(S. C. D.)
[387] From Sangri khamar the traveller turned westward along the
river-bank till he came in front of Logang (or Lu-kang-tu), where there
is a ferry-boat.—(W. R.)
[388] Nyen on the maps. I find no mention of this bridge in the reports
of other explorers.—(W. R.)
[389] Called Chethang by all the other explorers. A. K. calls it “a
large town containing 1000 houses, a bazar, a gomba, and a fort,”
‘Report of Explor. made by A. K.,’ p. 83. Explorer Ugyen-gyatso, who
visited in October, 1883, says, “Mahomedan shops were found in the
market in which wheat and meat soup were sold. It is curious that the
lama notes that pork is specially cheap at this place, three annas
being the price paid for a pig’s head, and eight annas for a quarter.
Radishes, carrots, and yak’s flesh are also sold in the public market,”
‘Report of Explor. from 1856 to 1886,’ p. 27. Nain Singh, who visited
Chetang in 1873, says there are 700 lamas in the two monasteries, see
Jour. Roy. Geog. Soc., xlvii. 117.—(W. R.)
[390] This legend is told in the thirty-fourth chapter of the ‘Mani
kambum,’ and our author gives an abstract of it. I have translated the
full original text in my ‘Land of the Lamas,’ p. 355 et sqq.—(W. R.)
[391] Called on the maps Zomba Lha khang (“Ancient Palace”). The name
is variously written U-bu la-gang, Ombo lang-gang. See Emil
Schlagintweit, ‘Die Könige von Tibet,’ p. 42. It is said to have been
built by King Nya-kri tsanpo (IVth century, B.C.?), or by King Totori
nyan-tsan (IIIrd century, A.D.). I. J. Schmidt, op. cit., p. 317
(quoting the Bodhimur), says it was called Ombre lang-ti.—(W. R.)
[392] Tag chhen Pomda on the maps.—(W. R.)
[393] The young monk was certainly misinformed. Potatoes were
introduced into Bhutan by Warren Hastings, and spread from there into
Tibet within the last hundred years. On the eastern border of Tibet
potatoes have been introduced by the Chinese and the French
missionaries.—(W. R.)
[394] Ras-chung Dorje gragspa, or “Dorje drapa of Rachung,” was born in
1083. This lamasery, which he founded, is also called Ras-chung phug
gomba, “the lamasery of the cave of Ras-chung.”—(W. R.)
[395] Probably porphyry.—(W. R.)
[396] This is a common practice in the Nyingma sect. Explorer K. P.
found at Thum Tsung (Lower Tsangpo valley) a monastery in which “both
men and women are allowed to preach and live together.” He found the
same practice in the adjacent village of Bhal gonpa and Marpung.
‘Report on Explor. from 1856 to 1886,’ pp. 9 and 12.—(W. R.)
[397] These blue tiles are certainly of Chinese manufacture.—(W. R.)
[398] For this legend see I. J. Schmidt, op. cit., pp. 21 and 316. Also
Emil Schlagintweit, ‘Die Könige von Tibet,’ p. 39 et sqq. Ugyen-gyatso
visited this spot in 1883, and refers to this legend, op. cit., p.
27.—(W. R.)
[399] Called Bya (pronounced Chya). It is called Cha Sa on the maps. A.
K. speaks of it as “the temple of Chyasa (Cheuse) Lhakhang.”—(W. R.)
[400] Tong-shoi on the maps. A. K. mentions, 1½ miles west of this
point, the Gerpa Duga ferry.—(W. R.)
[401] Or Tsong du ta-tsang, according to Ugyen-gyatso.—(W. R.)
[402] This lamasery shares with Dorje-tag, previously referred to, the
honour of being the supreme one of this sect. Waddell, op. cit.,
277.—(W. R.)
[403] Ugyen-gyatso says that should the married member of the Tertaling
family die without issue, “the throne” Lama, in spite of his vows, is
expected to marry the widow, and raise up his own heirs to govern. A
total failure of heirs is attended by widespread calamities—war,
famine, and general disaster. ‘Report of Explor. from 1856 to 1886,’ p.
29.
[404] A. K. says there are 600 houses in Gong-kha Jong and 200 around
the Gongkha Chorten (i.e. Gong-kar chosde).—(W. R.)
[405] Chiakri on the maps.—(W. R.)
[406] Called Lingbo chen on the maps. Our author’s narrative is not at
all clear in this part. If, as he states, the Re chu (Shab chu) flows
by Samdong, the maps are wrong, for they make this river to flow seven
miles east of that village (San chong on the map). It is probable that
the brook (?) which flows by Samdong is an affluent of the Shab chu,
but the maps do not show any watercourse at this point.—(W. R.)
[407] Usually Tibetans drink their chang cold. Heating it is the
Chinese fashion.—(W. R.)
[408] Chong la on the maps.—(W. R.)
[409] I am unable to follow on the maps our author’s route from the
Chong la to Sakya. He appears to have taken a very roundabout way.—(W.
R.)
[410] This, our author has told us elsewhere, is a distinguishing sign
of all Nyingma religious and lay buildings.—(W. R.)
[411] Labrang means literally “dwelling of a lama dignitary.” Phodrang
is a palace or residence of a secular officer.—(W. R.)
[412] Phagpa (or Dro-gon Phagpa) is said to have been born A.D. 1233,
and became ruler of Tibet in 1251. Csoma, ‘Tib. grammar,’ p. 186. The
latter date is, however, inconsistent with facts, as Kublai only
mounted the throne in 1260, and became actually seated on the throne of
China in 1280, and it was he who made him Kuo shih, or “Preceptor of
the realm.” H. H. Howorth, ‘History of the Mongols,’ i. p. 506 et sqq.,
makes no mention of Kublai raising Phagpa to be ruler of Tibet.
[413] Abbreviation of Ponbo chenpo, or “great officer.” The Sakya
monastery was founded in A.D. 1071, according to Csoma, op. cit., p.
197. Phagpa was a nephew of the famous Sakya Pandita, the author of
many standard works of Tibetan literature.
[414] Buyantu reigned from 1312 to 1320. Ssanang Ssetsen says that the
lama Sakya Sribadra was head of the church under him. I. J. Schmidt,
op. cit., p. 121. The Saskya-pa sect was, prior to the rising of the
present Gelugpa sect, the most powerful of the reformed schools of
Tibetan Buddhism.—(W. R.)
[415] A spike of iron or bronze with a triangular section. The top of
it terminates in a dorje. It is used in exorcisms. Emil Schlagintweit,
‘Buddhism in Tibet,’ p. 257 et sqq., and Waddell, op. cit., pp. 341,
483, and 488.—(W. R.)
[416] On this lamasery, see supra, p. 66.
[417] Apparently the earrings are attached to the ear-covers of gold,
not to the ear itself.—(W. R.)
[418] Called in Tibetan, Ya chyil dung-kar; and in Chinese, Yu hsuan
pai-lei. Both nations consider such shells as treasures of inestimable
value. There is one in China, kept at Fu chu by the Ti-tuh. See Peking
Gazette, February 23, 1867, and one at Lhasa. ‘The Land of the Lamas,’
p. 110.—(W. R.)
[419] “In 1794 the Tale lama, under orders from the Emperor, erected
special hospitals for small-pox patients, in which they were supplied
with food and every necessary, and which were in care of a special
officer.... The same plan has been adopted by the authorities of
Tashilhunpo and Chamdo” (Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., n.s. xxiii. p. 235). I
am not aware that these hospitals are kept up at the present day.—(W.
R.)
[420] The marmot is called Chyi (phyi)-wa. Mong I am unable to explain;
perhaps it is the same animal which our author calls elsewhere the
sremong (sri), and which is smaller than a cat, with tawny hair. The
skin, he adds, is much used in witchcraft. The skin is blown up after
putting inside it a slip with the name of the person it is desired to
injure on it. The victim dies of an inflated body within seven
days.—(W. R.)
[421] The Chiblung tsangpo, the Upper Arun, flows through this
valley.—(W. R.)
[422] On this lake, see supra, p. 211.
[423] At this point our author’s route joined that which he had taken
when coming into Tibet.—(W. R.) The Che chu is the Arun, see supra, p.
42.
[424] Certainly not of their own invention or manufacture.—(W. R.)
[425] I think these “classes” are more theoretical than real, and that
these remarks are probably borrowed from some work, based on Indian
notions. The idea of caste is un-Tibetan as it is un-Chinese. Rab
(rabs) means “family, race, social class.” Rab-kyi rabs means “upper
superior class;” Rab-kyi ding, “middle superior class;” Rab-kyi tama,
“lowest superior;” Ding-kyi rab, “superior middle class,” etc.,
etc.—(W. R.)
[426] By “subjects” I fancy our author must mean serfs or tenants
(misser).
[427] Cf. Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., n.s. xxiii. pp. 228–230. See also
Waddell, op. cit., 553.
[428] The information contained in this section has been compiled, our
author says, from “a legal work.” I doubt if its rules are in practice.
Borche appears to be hbor-wa chye (hyed), “to cast away, to abandon.”
Den yo is bden, “truth;” and perhaps gyogs (for yo), “covering of.”—(W.
R.)
[429] This would appear to refer to temporary marriages.—(W. R.)
[430] So far as the Khamba are concerned, I think our author is not
correct in his statement. That it may have once been as he says is
highly probable, but at present it is certainly not so; intercourse
with the Chinese has, I believe, caused not only the people of Eastern
Tibet, but of all Tibet to adopt to a great extent their ideas
concerning marriages between near relations.—(W. R.)
[431] Neither is it in Khamdo. See my ‘Land of the Lamas,’ p. 211 et
sqq.—(W. R.)
[432] I hardly imagine that our author intends to convey the idea that
this is a custom of the Tibetans.—(W. R.)
[433] See Waddell, op. cit., p. 88. He says the “soul-extracting lama”
is called hpobo.
[434] Cf. ‘Land of the Lamas,’ p. 287.—(W. R.)
[435] The tuisol, or “cleansing ceremony” (bkrus, washed; gsol, to
pray), is performed on numerous occasions and for various purposes. I
suppose that by “relics,” remains after cremation are here meant.—(W.
R.)
[436] Waddell, op. cit., 491, calls this sacrifice to the manes of the
deceased ting-shag.
[437] Our author is not quite right here, as the Tibetans have borrowed
the major part of their pharmacopœia from China and India. Most of
their medical works are purely Chinese or Indian, and I do not believe
they have much more, if even so much, knowledge of surgery as the
Chinese, who are terribly ignorant themselves in this art. Tibetan
medicines are in high favour among the Chinese and Mongols.—(W. R.)
[438] This is the usual Chinese method of inoculation.—(W. R.)
[439] Our author was misinformed. Snakes are very rare along the
western border of China, venomous ones especially.—(W. R.)
[440] Camel’s milk must be as great a rarity in most parts of Tibet as
is elephant’s milk, another remedy much prized in that country.—(W. R.)
[441] Probably the same as the Lo Tawa, or “stripped Lhopas,” mentioned
by lama Serap-gyatso, ‘Report on Explor. from 1856 to 1888,’ p. 7. This
explorer distinguishes three classes of Lhopas—Lho karpo, or “white
Lhopas,” who are somewhat civilized; Lho nagpo, or “black Lhopas,” who
are a little less civilized; and the Lho tawa (kra-pa), or uncivilized,
literally “mottled” Lhopas. Cf. also, op. cit., pp. 16, 17, and Nain
Singh’s remarks in Jour. Roy. Geog. Soc., vol. xlvii. p. 120.
[442] Our author gives the name of this disease as gzah-nad. Jaeschke,
‘Tib. engl. dict.,’ translates this word by “apoplexy,” adding that, in
Western Tibet it seems to be used only for “epilepsy.”—(W. R.)
[443] Klu nad, or Klin gnod-nad, meaning that the Nagas brings about
the disease. Mje nad is mdje nad.—(W. R.)
[444] These charmed banners are the lung-ta, or “airy horses,” of which
mention is frequently made in this work.
[445] This remark applies equally well to all diseases in Buddhist
estimation.
[446] Jaeschke, ‘Tib. engl. dict.,’ calls this disease pags chu, “skin
water;” snying chu, “heart water;” dmu chu, “dropsy, especially in the
chest and belly.” On the medical knowledge of the Tibetans, see Journ.
Bengal Asiat. Soc., iv. pp. 1 et sqq.—(W. R.)
[447] In this game, which is an invention of one of the Panchen
rinpoches, dice are thrown, by which the players get different
positions in the various heavens or hells—(S. C. D.) Our author also
mentions a game called te-pi, or rocket, but, unfortunately, does not
give any idea of the game itself. See also ‘Report U.S. National
Museum,’ 1893, p. 723.—(W. R.)
[448] Chinese authors say that, “during the 7th and 8th moons they
(the Tibetans) put up tents along the river banks, and men and women
bathe together in the river, it being symbolical of the purification
ceremonies of the 13th of the 3rd month (in China),” Jour. Roy. Asiat.
Soc., No. xxiii., p. 213.—(W. R.)
[449] On the 29th day of the moon.—(W. R.)
[450] Our author mentions also the following festivals:—
15th of 1st moon: Buddha’s birthday.
15th of 3rd ,, First preaching of the Kalachakra tantra.
8th of 4th ,, Buddha became a mendicant.
15th of 4th ,, Buddha’s nirvana.
5th of 5th ,, Feast of god of medicine.
4th of 6th ,, Buddha’s first sermon.
10th of 7th ,, Birth of Padma chyung-nas (Padma Sambhava).
15th of 7th ,, The snowy mountains are worshipped.
25th of 10th ,, Birth of Tsongkhapa.
Cf. Waddell, op. cit., 502 et sqq.
[451] Known in southern Buddhist countries as varsha or Barsat. Yar is
dbyar (usually pronounced chyar), “summer;” and nas (gnas), “abode.” I
do not believe the practice is generally observed. Cf. Waddell, op.
cit., 224, and supra.—(W. R.)
[452] See p. 114. On the New Year festivities, see Waddell, op. cit.,
518.
[453] I have witnessed a number of these kurim, or guilt-offering
ceremonies, but none of such magnitude as the one held at Lhasa. See,
for a picture of this procession at Lhasa, Georgi, ‘Alph. Tibet,’ p.
212.—(W. R.)
[454] Toma is droma (or doma), the root of the potentilla anserina, and
called chuoma in Eastern and North-eastern Tibet. It is mealy, and
tastes like a bean rather than a potato. It is about 1½ inches
long.—(W. R.)
[455] All these omens of good and bad luck are of equal importance at
any time of the year.—(W. R.)
[456] I have seen these mummers in North-eastern Tibet. See ‘Land of
the Lamas,’ p. 246.—(W. R.)
[457] On the second day of the new year, all the inhabitants gather
together to witness a feat performed by two men, each of whom in turn
mounts on a wooden saddle and slides down a strong rope fastened from
the fort walls to a post buried about nine feet in the ground. ‘Report
on the Explorations of A. K.,’ p. 33. Cf. Jour. Roy. Asiat. Soc., n.s.,
xxiii. p. 209, and ‘Report on lama U. G.’s Exploration,’ p. 32, where
we learn that on the second day of the New Year the Nachung chos-gyong
prophesies the events of the year beginning. See also Huc, ‘Souvenirs
d’un voyage,’ ii. 375 et sqq.
[458] The monlam chenpo was instituted by Tsongkhapa in 1407. Csoma,
‘Tib. gram.,’ 187.
[459] Cf. lama Ugyen-gyatso’s account of the Shalnyo’s rule in ‘Report
on explor. from 1856 to 1888,’ p. 32. Also A. K., op. cit., p. 33; and
Huc, op. cit., ii. 380. He calls this rule of the Shalnyo, the “Lha-ssa
Morou,” but he says it only lasts six days; but all other authorities
agree in saying that the rule of the city is turned over to the Dabung
lama for a month.—(W. R.)