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

the people said was of the same date as the castle, but which appeared to me much older
from the style of building, also two or three "step *mchod-rten,*" but no ladder in the
middle of sides (like those of the *Alchi-mkhar-gog* carvings). One old *mchod-rten* of the
ordinary type, now fast falling to pieces, had a small door at either end, some three feet
high, and the interior was very finely decorated with paintings of Buddha's temptation,
his subduing demons, etc. The decorations of the ceiling were in relievo. It is by far
the finest piece of *mchod-rten* decoration I have seen yet. The only rock carving I
could find was a *migmang* (kind of chessboard) on a boulder, but no inscriptions on
rocks at all."

As we see, Dr. Shawe himself did not feel satisfied with the people's statement that
the town of Nyoma was built by bDe-skyong-rnam-rgyal. He found distinct signs of
an earlier origin. The old types of *mchod-rten* especially, and the fact that one of them
was beautifully decorated inside, point to an age of at least 900 to 1,000 years. I went
to examine the temple which occupies the highest position in the now deserted town
on the rock and belongs to the 'aBrug-pa order of monks. Since Dr. Shawe had been
told that the temple was built in the 18th century, the monks had altered their opinion,
and I was told that it dated from the days of King Seng-ge-rnam-rgyal (c. 1600). I was,
however, not satisfied with an assertion which possibly had no real foundation and
asked the monks to show me proof of this assertion. Then they brought me a book
which had been dedicated to the monastery by Seng-ge-rnam-rgyal and actually contained
a dedication sheet on which the names of the king and his illustrious queen bSkal-bzang
could be distinctly read. Of course, a document like that goes to prove only that Seng-
ge-rnam-rgyal took a certain interest in the settlement, and possibly renovated the
temple. It is difficult to believe that there was nothing before Seng-ge-rnam-rgyal's
days in a pleasant valley like Nyoma, and ancient *mchod-rten* distinctly point to a time,
earlier than this king. One of the many painted flags (*thang-ka*) in this temple, parti-
cularly interested me, for it not only contained an idealised portrait of Seng-ge-rnam-
rgyal's friend, the great lama sTag-thsang-ras-pa, but also scenes of the royal household
300 years ago. I wanted by all means to have it photographed, and as Pindi Lal was
not well enough to climb up to this temple above the present town, I asked permission
to take the picture down to the bungalow. This request was not granted, until I had
interviewed a high lama of Hemis who was touring in the district.

On this picture we see a number of whitewashed houses, one or two stories high.
They look exactly like the present Ladakhi houses and also have a red or black band
round the roof, just as the present monasteries have. Then we see the inside of the
royal kitchen with five or six people busy at work, and the male and female members of
the royal family in separate rooms. Below the houses are painted two processions which
approach the buildings from right and left. The men on the right hand side are riding
on mules or *rkyangs*, and those on the left are walking, carrying presents, perhaps tribute.
The chief value of the picture lies in the fact that the costumes of those times are painted
so well. Seng-ge-rnam-rgyal is the king who is credited by popular tradition with the
introduction of the Ladakhi type of dress, as it remained unchanged down to the time