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

his power to cure me and make me fit for the road. Mr. Howell was just engaged in revis-
ing 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 Kaze 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 essen-
tially 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 handed 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 Eka-śriṅa, 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 Ral-
pacan 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-ma-pa form
of Lamaism with 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 much 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 name
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 indivi-
duality of a Tibetan is fixed by three names: (1) by his personal name, (2) by his house