Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-15
LhaSa, The Hermit City
By Frederic j. Haskin

were monks, a single monastery con-
tanning more than 1000 of them. The
Chinese are going to leave only q
hundred or more in each monastery,
forcing the others to marry and go to
work. In this connection it is inter-
esting to note two things that are
contained in the books of prophecy in
Ihasa. One statement was to the ell
feet that in the year of the wood
dragon, 1904 in our calendar, the FOR
eigner should overrun the sacred city.
The British did this. Another state
ment was that there should be thir-
teen grand lamas and then no more.
The present unhappy Giving Buddha"
is the thirteenth. Was it prophecy or
coincidence?
When the English reached Lhasa
they found that instead of being q
magnificent city of enchantment II was
place of weird barbarity infested
with savage dogs, filthy pigs. night
providers and unholy institutions. only
one highway led to 1t. On this road
is the field of death. When person
dies in Lhasa his body is clothed in a
sack shroud, placed in a big jar, and
then carried outside the city. Here
there is a marble slab, upon winch the
body is laid and dismembered. Pieces
of the flesh are thrown to NANCY dogs
and tame but forbidding vultureA
Sometimes the relatives gnaw a bone
of the body in order that the spirit
of the deceased may live with them.
The cutting up OF the bodies Is done
by despised ragyabas. who are con-
demned criminals, ostracized and for
hidden to live in houses.
The houses of the city are fairly
substantial, but inside they are filled
with indescribable filth. The children
run naked. When quite small, in or
der to encourage their growth. they
are smeared with butter and laid IN
the sun. Race suicide exists to re-
markable degree, because of the mar
riage customs. Polyandry exists, near
ly every woman having several hus-
bands. Marriage is n family AFFAIR.
When a man marries the eldest daugh-
ter of a family all her sisters become
his wives, and when woman marr1es
a man all of his brothers are also
welded to her. Children are awarded
to their father in a peculiar way. The
first child is assigned to the first hus-
band. the second child to the second
husband, and so on down the line.
The women of Lhasa are said to be
the ugllest in the world. They make
themselves hideous by painting their
faces with a kind of grease. Every
body is prematurely old. Men and
women are wrinlSled and decrepit at 80.
Everything in Lhasa is centered on
two problems-hand to mouth exist
ence and the support of the religious
orders. Those who are not in the
ranks of the priesthood live in indie
scribable squalor. The palace, with
its dome of sheet gold. is one OF the
most magnificent buildings in the
world. Here and in the temples one
finds lavish adornment. In the crown
of the living Buddha is the largest
turquoise I'm the world. Oracles, RI
valing those of ancient Rome and
Greece, may be consulted on any sub
ject. great or small. for five rupees.
A staff of seventy priest presides and
DEGREES are often repeated as many as
10000 times. the priests receiving
fee for each reading.
The ceremonies of the people are
full of interest. They have a modern
edition OF the Israeltish scapegoat in
their "bearer of one years i'll luck.
He is Logon. He goes about the city,
painted half white and half black,
shaking a yak tail over every person
he meets. He Is treated we'll and well
coined everywhere. When he Is
through he throws dice with Jalnos. a
good spirit, to see which shall be ban
ished. The dice are loaded. and he
loses every time. lie Is given white
horse. a white dog and a white bird.
commit murder or any other crime in
the category. and, in turn, he may be
shot on sight by any one.
Formerly the grand lama was chosen
by lot. The names of all babies who
were born at the time Of his prede-
cessors death were placed in bowl
and one drawn out. But the present
grand lama was chosen differently. A
monk famous for his virtue and hon
estv was sent to consult an oracle.
He was directed TO a lake, where he
beheld an image in its crystal surface.
on his return he found the babe
whose image he had seen. and that
babe is the grand lama who fled to
India. Heretofore a grand lama never
lived beyond IS. A life regency was
established, and so long as the grand
lama was under Is the regent ruled.
when the present grand lama was
annroaching the fatal eighteenth birth
dav his friends had the regent thrown
into prison, consequently one chapter
of secret murder remained unwritten.
He is now 80.