Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-07-11

How People Live and Amuse Themselves I'm
Mysterious Thibet-

TALK ABOUT PARKWAY LAND,
How People Live and Amu.e Themselves I'm
Mysterious Thibet
ACCOUNTS BY CHINESE TRAVELLERS OF STRANGE
CUSTOMS THERE-A PLANT THAT FLIES AND Is
TAME-LAMAIsM AND PoLYANDRy-rANcY BUR-
IALs FOR coRPsEs-cRIMISAL rUNIsHMESTs.
4 CURIOUS COLLECTION OF FACTS
4 respecting Thibet represented by vari-
Gus Chinese authors and travellers, has been
made by Mr.. Woodville Rockhill. who has him
self explored thst mysterious country of mid
die Asia.
On New Year day at the capital city, Lha
there begins a season of festivity. One of the
entertainments is called the Spectacle of the
Flying Spirits" The performers stretch an
enormously long rope made Of hide all the way
from the top to the bottom of Mount Potala;
then they fasten grooved blocks of wood to
their chests and sail down the line like so many
swallows. On top of this same mountain dwells
the pope Of the Buddhist religion, who is
| called the tale lama. He Is also the incarna-
ton Of the God which chiefly protects man
kind. On the S0th day of the month there is
another great sport, when the king of the
devils Is driven away. A priest is chosen to
play the part Of the tale lama and a layman
selected for his wit and activity takes the role
OF the demon. The latter smears his face
with black and white paint and goes before
the pretended tale lama for the purpose Of
hooking him. The two have an argument on
religion, the issue of which is finally referred
by mutual agreement TO a cast of the dice.
These dice are very big ones. about the size of
apples, but the poor fend has no show at all
In the gamble; for his die is blank every
side, while the lama has the highest number
each & In N hrisf inv
! countries, 1t is always laudable to defraud the
devil.
Being beaten the king of the devils is fright
ened and runs away. with all the people after
him, hiring guns and cannon. so that he is
Obliged at length to hide in hole in the noun
tain. where provisions have previously been
placed TO feed him for few days while he re-
mains in concealment There are
nearly as many demons i'll Thibet as there
are human inhabitants, and the priests or
lamas are kept very busy exercising them,
because otherwise they would swarm every
where and do end of mischief. If any
one Is sick or annoyed in any way the
devils are responsible. and the only sensible
thing is to go and hire E. priest to brighten
them off For this purpose the lama
reads aloud from the sacred writings,
blows horn made from a human thigh bone.
beats a drum manufactured ont of two human
skulls, rings bell and tells over a rosary of
dlsh-shapad beads cut out OF human skulls. The
Ing. Sometimes they ascertain the fates with
barleycorns; at others they burn sheep bones
Tor the san" purpose or gaze into bowls of
water.
AFLYISG PLANT.
According to one author. there is a very as
tonishing curiosity in Thibet in the shape of o
plant that flies. 1t resembles dog in shape, is
the color Of tortoise-shell and is very tame If
lions or eleph see it they are frightened,
hence 1t Is the king OF beasts" There is also
KIND OF black donkey which can cope in fight
with the tiger. On the icy peaks of
the Himalayas, says this imaginative writer,
there Is SNOW maSgot,' resembling
the silkworm in appearance and weighing
nearly pound. 1t is excellent to eat
but too much OF 1t will make one bleed at the
nose. Seventy Ii from LII asa is convent on
tor OF hill and great hole full Of white clay
that Is good to eat. As fast as the clay is eaten
more takes Its place Behind the convent is q
large lake. and evil doors who go near always
tumble into 1t. The Ihl5e.ans used to cast
Euddhas in copper and the smalls- they were
the more they were worth.
chinese philosophers say that manners differ
every hundred Ii OF distance, and customs are
no longer the same every thousand Ii. Thus
the ways of the Thibetans vary, but in most
parts 1t Is usual for woman going to see a
priest to smear her face with moiasses. II this
Is not done it is said that she is try
ing to captivate the lama by her come
iiness-an objectionable crime. sign
OF poiiteness on meeting person is to hold up
the claspec hands and stick out the tongue.
When man dies one-half of his property goes
to charity and the other half to the lamas. His
family gets nothing. One OF the writers quoted
observes that, in Case of DEATH the corpse is
tied up with the head between the knees and
SUSPENDED In raw-hide bag from the
rafters. A few days later it is taken
TO the corpse cutters place where it is tied to
post. The flesh Is then cut off and given to
dogs and the bones, crushed in a stone mortar
and made up with grain into balls. are also
thrown to dogs and vultures. Both these
methods of burial are considered highly deslr-
able.
For small misdemeanors men and women are
stripped and beaten in the market place. Great
criminals are bound with ropes and whipped
with raw-hide lashes If this does not persuade
them to ayow their guilt boiling butter is
poured On their chests. Surprising that they
still protest their innocence they are half suf-
located with water or spllnters are driven under
their nails.
A woman who chooses to remain single and
to earn her own living is regarded as an object
OF scorn and derisIon, whereas she who can
properly perform the duties OF wife TO three
or four brothers at the same time is accounts
admirable. 1t costs much to supper. the
200 900 priests i'll Thibet, which las only
1000, 600 inhabitants, that man cannot
ordinarily afford the luxury of a wife all
to himself, and so polyandry is general. ANY
one who is able, however, may keep several
wives. If a woman's husband is away, it scon-
sidered perfectly proper for her to take u tenn
porary substitute; in fact. the sexual relations
are very promiscuous. The lamas are NOM
inally ceGbate. They own no property
personally. but nearly all the gold and other
vaiuabies in the country find their way into
the great monasteries religious tribute
When the tale lama dies his spirit is supposed
to pass into the body OF some child. thus effect
ing anothe. incarnation of the benevolent god
The child is discovered by drawing lots and is
made pope upon confirmation OF his nomina-
ton by the Emperor OF China, to which nation
Tibet is tributary.
Loves Lesson.
From Life.