Omaha daily bee., 1910-03-10
Some Things You Want to Know
Lhasa, the Hermit City.

to marry and 90 to work In this conneo-
ton II IL interesting to note two thlngs
that are contained In the books Of prophecy
In Lhasa. one statement was to the effect
that in the year OF the wood dragon, 1904
In our calendar. the foreigner should over
run the sacred city. The British did this.
Another statement was that there should
be thirteen Grand Lamas and then no
more. The present unhappy living
Buddha'' is the thirteenth. was It pro-
phecy or coincidence?
when the English reached Lhasa they
found that instead Of being a magnificent
city OF enchantment II was a place OF weird
bSrbarity, infested with savage dogs. filthy
pigs, night providers and unholy lnstitu-
tons, Only one highway led to 1t. on
this road is the field OF death. When a
person dies in Lhasa his body is clothed
In = sack shroud. placed In a big jar, and
then carried outside the city. Here there
Is a marble slab upon which the body is
laid and d~ismembered. Pieces Of the flesh
are thrown to NANCY dogs and tame, but
forbidding vultures. Sometimes the relatives
Kuaw a bone Of the body in order that the
spirit Of the deceased may live with them.
The cutting up OF the bodies IL done by
uehplbtu Ihkghbhst VIII hHt NoHueulntu
criminals, ostraciEed and forbidden to live
In houses.
The houses Of the city are fairly sub
s~tantial. but inside they are filled with in
deScribable filth. The children run naked
When quite small. in order to encourage
their growth, they are smeared with butter
and laid in the sun. Race suicide exists
to a remarkable degree. because OF the
marriage customs. Polyandry exists, nearly
every woman having several husbands
Marriage is a family affair. When a man
marries the eldest daughter OF a family
all her sisters become his wives. and when
a woman marries 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 hus-
band, and so on down the line. The wo-
men OF Lhasa are said to be the usllest In
the world. They make themselves hideous
by painting their faces with a kind Of
grease. Everybody Is prematureiy old
Men and women are wrinkled and decreplt
at 80.
Everything in Lhasa is centered on two
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES existence and the
support of the religious orders. Those who
49, AbA IA NAA1 ASAAho "a NA0 pElNHNnOOu hNb
In indesorlbable squalor. The palace, with
its dome Of sheet gold, IL one of the most
magnificent buildings in the world. Here
and in the temples one finds lavish adorn-
ment. In the crown Of the living Buddha
Is the largest turquoise in the world.
Oracles, rlvaling those Of ancient Rome
and Greece, may be consulted on any sub
ject, great or small, for five rupees. A
staff Of seventy-five priests presldes and
DEGREES are often repeated as many as 10000
times, the priests receiving a fee for each
reading.
The ceremonies of the people are full Of
Interest. They have a modern edition Of
the Israelitish scapegoat in their bearer
Of one years III luck" He is Logon. He
goes about the city, painted half white and
half black, shaking a yak tall over every
person he meets. He is treated well and
welcomed everywhere. When he is through
he throws dice with Jalnos, a good spirit,
to see which shall be banished. The dice
are loaded and he loses every time. He is
given a white horse. a white dog and a
white bird. After he is banlshed he Is
licensed to 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 or all babies who were
born at the time of his predecessors death
were placed in a bowl and one drawn out.
But the present grand lama was chosen
differently. A monk, famous for his virtue
and honesty, 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 10. A
life regency was established and so long al
the grand lama was under IS the regent
ruled. When the present grand lama was
approaching the fatal eighteenth birthday,
his friends had the regent thrown into
prison, consequently one chapter of secret
murder remained unwrittenl He il now SO
by FREDERIC j. HAsKuHs.
TOmorrOw-'The Third Degree"