his power to cure me and make me fit for the road. Mr. Howell was just engaged in revising the Spiti portion of the Kangra Gazetteer, and as he had the Nono of Spiti as well as lamas of various denominations encamped in the vicinity, our time was spent in a very profitable way. Let me briefly review the principal points of our enquiries about Spiti.
There are now-a-days five principal monasteries in Spiti, which represent three sects of Lamaism. The Tabo, Drangkhar, and Ki monasteries belong now to the Ge-lug-pa sect. The gaze monastery belongs to the Sa-skya-pa sect, and the Pyin monastery belongs to the rNying-ma-pa. Whilst the four first mentioned monasteries do not differ essentially from Central Tibetan establishments, with which they keep up intercourse, the Pyin monastery has no connection with Lhasa, and maintains those traditions which have been banded down from the times of the most primitive Lamaism. I have already mentioned the wild appearance of its monks, and as Mr. Lyall tells us in the Gazetteer these monks were blamed for their uncivilised condition by a Lhasa emissary who travelled through Spiti. Mr. Lyall who saw these people perform a play, the substance of which was similar to that represented in the tale of ika-srina, describes also the head-dress of the Bu-rzhan, when performing. He says that they then appear with a head-dress formed of a mass of streamers of bright coloured silk. This observation is of great interest for this kind of head-dress seems to have been handed down in Spiti from the earliest time of Tibetan Buddhism. We read in the Yarlung part of the rGyal-rabs that king Ralpacan had silken streamers tied to his locks, and that he was connected by such streamers with the lamas who surrounded him. The close connection of the rNying-mapa form of Lamaism yr ith the pre-Buddhist Bon religion has already been noticed, and the Pyin monastery of Spiti seems to be a particularly favourable place to study it. I still regret that our limited time did not allow us to visit it. One of those Bu-rzhan lamas was in Mr. Howell's camp, and gave us mueh information. Unfortunately, his dialect was so unusual, that I could not make out all he said. The Bu-rzhan lamas of Pyin travel also to Leh where they give grand conjuring performances, one of their most famous feats being the breaking of a huge boulder on the belly of a boy.
We also made enquiries into the Tibetan system of clans, as it is represented in
Spiti. In my article, " Notes on -a language map of Western Tibet,' I drew attention to the importance of the study of the Tibetan " father-brotherships " (pha-spun) from a historical point of view. As the Indian officials who hold office among the natives of Indian Tibet apply Indian methods, instead of Tibetan ones, in their administration of the country, this important institution has not yet been discovered. I hope that in the next census, Tibetan methods will be used for Tibetans. When Indian officials try to fix the individuality of a certain 'Tibetan, they generally ask him to state his own naine and that of his father. The first question is answered readily, but the second question puzzles a 'Tibetan to such an extent, that it takes him sometimes several days to clear up the mystery as to who is his sire. How could he tell at once, as he has at least two, and often three fathers, whilst many others are ignorant of their own parentage. The individuality of a Tibetan is fixed by three names : (1) by his personal name, (2) by his house
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