National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

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name, (3) by his clan name. The latter name is the name of the pha-spun-ship (" father
brothership ") to which he belongs. As stated by Lyall in the Gazetteer, and as was

also asserted in our presence, the pha-spun-ship is an exogamic institution, i.e. a boy of

a certain pha-spun-ship is not allowed to marry a girl of the same pha-spun-ship. This interesting custom was already noticed by the most ancient Chinese authors who describe the Tibetans. Every pha-spun-ship has to look after the cremation of their dead,

and monuments in commemoration of the dead, mohod-ríen or mani walls, are generally erected by the whole pha-spun-ship of a certain village, and the name of the particular pha-spú-n-ship is found on the votive tablets of such monuments. The historical interest of these clan names lies in the fact that they are often local names, viz., they indicate the locality from which a certain clan has immigrated into Western Tibet. Thus, from the

names of the pha-spun-ships of Khalatse it can be proved that the greater part of the population of this village emigrated from Gilgit, a fact which is supported also by other evidence, in particular by the preservation of a prayer in Dardi to certain house deities. As our inquiries in Spiti showed us, Mr. Lyall had almost discovered the whole institution. He uses the word clan for them and calls them ruspa or bones, a name which

is actually used for pha-spun-ship in Spiti. He had collected the names of six ruspa from Drangkhar, but he is wrong when he believes that the same ruspa are to be found in all the villages of Spiti. Some of the names may be found also in the other villages. of Spiti, but quite new names also will turn up. From the six names he gives, we see at once that they testify to the presence of Tibetans in Spiti in early times, while they also suggest the presence of settlers from Kulű. The following four names are decidedly

Tibetan : (1) r Gya-zhing pa, large field owners, (2) Kh yung-po, ` Garuda-men,' a name

which was very common during the pre-Buddhist times of Tibet, (3) bI on-Chen-pa, ' great ministers,' the men of this clan are doubtless the descendants of some early Tibetan official of Spiti, (4) slVyegs-pa, this is a word which is found in • the names of the earliest Tibetan records. Two of the names, given in the Gazetteer, do not appear to be

Tibetan :.Henir and Nandu. Benin signifies probably the Hensi caste of Kula ; Nandu I cannot explain. I hope that on the occasion of the next census, every Buddhist Tibetan will be asked to give his three names, his personal name, his house name, and his clan name.

On the 6th August I had sufficiently recovered to be able to start on our journey to the Lake Thsomo Biri of Rubshu. As we were very badly equipped for so trying a journey, Mr. Howell kindly helped us with as many of his provisions as lie could spare. On the same day we travelled to Jugda, a small level spot on a brook in the midst of a horribly uneven country. On the 7th, we crossed the Pharang Pass, 18,300 feet high. The climb was very steep and trying, and as I felt that I could not do it walking, I mounted one of the spare yaks of our caravan. Another of the spare animals was used by Pindi Lal, but as there were no more available, the Khansaman as well as the Klialasi, who were hill-men from Kútgur and Rámpur, had to walk. It was, however, too much for them, and the Khalasi was unwell for a number of days after it. These simple fo1 ks who had never seen anything but the Satluj valley and surroundings, had