The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-12-09
Il SACRED CITY.
"A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE PRAY
BY MACHINERY.

The Monaghan Settlement of ourga-
An Immense Idol-The Queer
Prayer Wheels and
Prayer Books.
Ourga, the sacred city, or, as it is
called by the Mongoliaus, "Bogdo Ku-
rene"-which means the settlement Of
the Bogdo-though it contains nearly
fifteen thousand inhabitants, cannot, even
by the widest stretch of the imagi-
nation, be called q city with any archi-
~tectural %pretensions to beauty.
With the exception of the Chinese
portions of it, only a small part, its
streets consist of mere rows Of high
wooden palisades, which enclose the
space in the centre of which is erected
the inevitable 'syourt," for 80 nomadic
is the Mongol by nature that, even when
settled here in the capital, his old in
stincts compel him to continue dwelling
in his original tent. The effect, there
fore, of these long monotonous rows OF
rough logs, relieved at regular intervals
by tall wooden doors, all exactly Of the
same pattern, is indescribably dreary;
and were it not for the two OF three
large open spaces where the bazaar Is
daily held, there would be but little to
see, for .Ourga has but few ''lions;"
there is really only one building of any
pretension in the place, and that is the
large wooden Buddhist temple which
enshrines the huge gilt-bronze figure
dedicated to the apostle "Maidha.'
Either the Mongos don't know or won't
tell-most probably the former; but, at
any rate, I was unable to find out any
thing about the mysterious figure, or how
or when the immense mass of metal was
brought to the Desert city.
It Is certainly not less than forty feet
in height, and is in the familiar seated
position in which Buddha is always rep
resented. The body and extremities Of
this immense figure are draped in yellow
silk, and are almostlost in the surround
ing obscurity; but the face itself, which
is surmouuted by a majestic crown, Is
lighted up by hidden window in front
of it; so it stands out in foreshortened
relief against the darkness of the dome,
which gives it q certain weird appear
!ance that is somewhat increased by the
eyes being painted a natural color.
Still, Ourgs is most interesting, rep
resenting as it does n of the stand
points Of the Mongol Buddhist faith, and
the capital of y fast disappearing nation;
for here is the abode of that most holy Of
holy percentages, the "Bogdo of Kur-
ene," and long and. weary are the pill
grimages frequently made by devout
Mongos for a glimpse of this mysterious
man.
Among the principal features of Our
ga are the ".prayer-wheels," which are
placed for public use in most OF the big
open spaces. These wheels, or rather
hollow wooden cylinders, are placed un-
der cover of rough wooden sheds, and
present at first sight q very curious ap-
pearance. Most of them are covered
with Tibetan inscriptions; all are COM
pletelY filed with prayers written on
pieces of paper.
: In order to pray, all that is necessary
beyond, of course, a sincere faith in
what you are doing-is to walk round
and round, inside the shed, and turn the
cylinder with you; the more it turns the
better. Many of the old people, while
operating the large wheel with one
hand, at the san time diligently turn a
small portable one with the other. Many
of the wheels were very large, 80 that
several people could pray together; but
most of them were small. and evidently
were only used for private communion,
the sheds in many instances being dec.
grated with odds and ends of silk and
bits of rags, intended as offerings to
Buddha.
Apart from the wheels are the sspray-
er.boards," also placed for public .se in
various parts of the city, and On. which
are continually to be seen PROSTATE fg-
ures living on their faces, and thus liter
ally humbling themselves to the very
dust. From q little distance, these
boards present a very ludicrous appear
auce, which so reminded me of the
familiar spring-bosrd in a swimming
bath that I never pass them without an
inward grin-if you can imagine what
that is-for any outward sign OF mirth at
the strange proceedings would probably
get me into trouble. The whole action
Of the people using them was exactly
like that of a person preparing to make
q run along the board and take a
ssheader" rather than a prelude to a de.
votional exercise.
I don't think I was ever in a more
strangely religious place than ourga.
Everywhere, at the most unexpected
places, at all times, one often saw peo-
pie throwing themselves suddenly face
downward, full length on the ground,
saying their prayers, just as the lit took
them, I suppose, these curious pro-
ceedings attracting no attention.
Many a time I have been riding quietly
along, when all of a sudden my horse
would be made to swerve violently by
some hideous old man or woman, who
was seized just in front of his feet. And
their deyotions dol nd here, for every
'yourt," however Ia not only con,
tains q family wheel, but is decorated
outside with lnnumerable prayer.Aags, or
rather bits of rag, tied onto strings sus-
pended from poles oil around the
palisades. Till I was informed what
they were, I took them for bird .scares,