Tibet or Thibet

The laws of inheritance vary in different parts of the country. In central Tibet, when the father dies the sons usually remain in joint possession. When there are sons, daughters receive no portion of the land, but are given a small share when they marry. If, however, a nobleman dies leaving a daughter but no son, this daughter inherits the property. When she marries she adopts her husband into her family. She does not take his name ; he takes hers. She is entitled to the deciding voice in the management of the property. There have been innumerable instances of such adoption among the high families of Lhasa. As a general rule the daughter succeeds in preference to a nephew. Throughout the greater part of Tibet there are families of noble stock. In the Tsang provinces are eight or nine who stand above the others. Eastern Tibet has its chiefs, styled Gyal-po, De-ba, etc. Ladakh has a remnant of the royal line, and Sikkim, till recently part of Tibet, has its ruler descended from an eastern Tibetan chief.

The names of the leading Lhasa families are as follows :— Chang-lo-chen, Do-ring, Hor-kang, Lha-ding, Lha-lu, Nam-se-ling, Pa-lha, Piin-kang, Ra-ka-shar, Ram-pa, Sam-trup Po-trang, Se chung, Sha-tra, Sur-kang, Tom-pa, Trum-pa, Yap-shi Sar-pa, (i.e., "The New Patrimony"), the name by which the family of an existing Dalai Lama is known. When the latter dies, his family take another name. The family of Lha-gyal-ri does not belong to Lhasa.

The Traders.

Tibetan society falls almost entirely into two classes, the landed gentry on the one side, and the peasantry and shepherds on the other. Such middle-class as there is, however, is provided by the traders. The chief articles of export are wool, yak-tails, hides, the soft underwool of the shawl-wool goat, borax, salt, musk and medicinal herbs. The chief imports are tea and cotton goods; and, in a smaller degree, woollen goods, hardware, corals, precious stones, tobacco, dried fruits, sugar, molasses and matches, needles, soap, etc. (See also INDUSTRY.) The trading instinct is deeply embedded in the Tibetan character. Nobles and monks alike engage in trade, as well as the ordinary class of professional traders. The large monasteries trade widely, and are able to do so because each has its administrative department. Even the robber tribes issue from their haunts and go to other districts to trade.

Women often manage the shops and the general retail trade. Especially is this the case in Lhasa; men take charge of the com mercial dealings which necessitate long journeys, and in any case in which the issue is a large one the decision as a rule rests with them. The wealthiest traders may be seen together with the poorest, exposing their goods for sale in the market-places.

The Peasants.

On plains and in valleys that lie below an elevation of 14,0ooft. above sea-level there is much land that is

fit for the plough. But, owing to the steadily decreasing popu-* lation, largely a result of the overwhelm ing proportion of celibate monks, the problem of obtaining sufficient man-power to carry on the every-day duties of life is a very real one ; and in no department is it more acute than in that of the cultivation of the soil. Tibet does not lack land for cultivation, but she lacks the men to till it. This is emphasized by the fact that a peasant is not allowed to quit his home without first obtaining the landlord's per mission. If he wishes to go away, he must ask for leave, or, as the Tibetan phrase runs, "petition for man-separation." He must also pay a large sum if the request is allowed, but such permission is usually refused.

There is a great gulf fixed between the peasant and his landlord. The former must use a different vocabulary when ad dressing the latter and bow low before him. But there is mutual fellowship be tween the two, and the tenantry usually take a pride in the standing and traditions of the master, whom they surround and serve. The larger landed proprietors have, af ter feudal fashion, large staffs of servants, of whom many are employed during the winter, when the land is icebound, in spin ning wool and weaving it into cloth. This is utilized in part for the servants' clothes; the balance is sold to traders or to neigh bours.

Slavery is not common in Tibet, and where it occurs the slaves are often treated better than the paid servants or tenants. They are allowed to move about freely, and, when not at work, they have only to attend a roll-call in the morning and in the evening. The theatrical troupes that tour Tibet are mainly recruited from the peasants. When their tour is finished the actors return to their crops and their cattle.

Dress.

The dress of both sexes and of all classes in Tibet may conveniently be described here. It consists of a very full gown with a high collar and long sleeves. In the summer this is usually of the ordinary Tibetan cloth among the peasantry, and of silk among the wealthier classes. The winter gown is sometimes of sheepskin, some times of cloth lined with lambskin or wadded cotton. Tied tightly round the waist with a woollen or cotton band, it is puffed out above, and in the capacious pocket thus formed are carried drinking cups and other odds and ends. For laymen the robe reaches to the knee, for priests and women to the ankle. In central Tibet, and in parts of eastern Tibet, the women wear aprons, woven in varied colours, and often so broad that they nearly meet at the back. Shirts are of cotton or silk; trousers differ greatly in shape from the European pattern, and are of silk or cloth.