Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-22
RARE prayer BACK
PLACED IN MUSEUM
Tibet Volume Of Centuries.
AGO Gift Of Charles
S.. iShanI
BY 1xsslE @. FG,ACH.

The universal custom of prayer
knows many forms which have found
expression in various ways. In oiden
times prayer did not require the spoken
word; the gods weres invoked by means
of offerings made att.rudely styled affairs
after the fashion of,the ancient Druids.
Later the practice of chanting pray
ers and religious poems became poru-
lar End grew to ., profession which has
passed from father to son as kind Of
legacy. Then came the written prayer
when the sacred Thoughts of the priests
were inscribed on tablets of stone or
pages of parchment, which often filled
volumes Of enormous size. 1t is this
rare type Of prayer book executed by
the lama priests of Tibet two centuries
ago, that has just been received by the
Department of Ethnology Of the Ma
tional Museum, under the head cura-
torship of DR.. Walter Hough.
This enormous book, 212 feet long by
Q inches thick, is gift from Charles s.
Isfyam of Detroit, who has just returned
from Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, where
he was fortunate enough to procure
Book Highly Praised.
In speaking of the gift DR.. Hough
said: 1t is one of the most undressing
and highly priced objects that have come
under my observation during my con-
nection with the museum. It is cher
1Shed for the reason that only Ole other
of its kind, that in the Museum CT Ber-
lin, Is known. In addition 1t fills In
link in the chain of chronological history
Of a country which, throughout the
ages, has been invested with veil Of
mystery because of its isolated geo.
graphic position and Responsiveness to
outside influences" So carefully guard
ed are the sacred writings Of the lama
priests that single volume, even for
scientific purposes, Is rarely allowed to
cross the Tibetan borders. For this
reason, DR.. Hough said 1.-The museum is
greatly indebted to the efforts of Mr..
Ishana, who. in addition to paying q
handsome sum for the book, Travelled
for 80 days on horseback with the 411a-
pound volume concealed beneath his
saddle-bags.
Dignity of Workmanship Cited.
The high esteem with which the
lama priests regard their sacred books
is also reflected in dignity of work.
nanShip, for the $40 pages of this
krit are not written with ordinary pen
and ink, but were executed in 24-earat
gold leaf stamped on high quality
parchment by means Of wooden blocks.
The process consisted of diSsolving the
gold and applying it to a stamp pad
type of wooden block, which contained
the desired characters. Since this book
was for the exclusive use of the priests,
it originally occupied a place of promi-
nence' in prayer house, which was
open only at certain hours.
Prayers are provided In abundance
for everybody, however, for the inhabi-
tants of Tibet are perhaps the most
religious people on the earth. Their
faith is a degenerate form of Buddhism
known as Lamaism, kind of devil
worship" believing in ghosts and the
frequent interference of devils In daily
affairs.
Head of Church Supreme.
The head of the church. as well as
the supreme temporal ruler of the
Tibetan theocratic form of government,
is the dalai lama, residing at Lhasa,
whose decision in all matters Is final.
His term of Office is, of course, for
life, which usually means until he is
openly murdered or MysteriOuSiy dis
appears from his throne never again to
be seen.
The chief governmental oficials Of
the dalai lama, or all-embracing lama,
as he is called, are the lama priests,
who occupy a privileged position, con-
shutting, in fact, class to themselves.
1t Is estimated that one person IN every
seven Is o lama, who, besides his civil
duties, occupies a place of prominence
in religious affairs. These priests live
In the lamaseries, which are supported
by the remainder of the population. In
addition to their income from contribu-
tions, they often accumulate vast wealth
from interest on money loaned to the
common people. All Tibetan art of
any consequence is found in the lama
series, condition attributed to the
fact that many valuable objects of art.
as we'll as other forms of wealth, fall
into the hands of the lanlas, who on
the death of q person demand much Of
his material wealth in payment for
prayers.
Priests Officiate Mt Marriages.
The performance Of marriage cere-
monies also comes within the duties of
these priests. Marriage in Tibet is
peculiar combination Of monogamy,
polygamy and polyandry. According to
the polyandrous custom the eldest son