Tibet or Thibet

The boot is of cloth, felt or leather, and of various colours. It rises to the knee, with a slit behind the knee, and is tied with gay-coloured woollen garters 3ft. or 4ft.

long.

Men's hats are of various kinds, but are usually fur-trimmed in winter. The women of Tibet, especially those who rank among the upper classes, make no small display of dress and ornaments. The chief ornament is the head-dress ; those of the upper classes are bedecked with pearls, turquoises and corals on a wooden frame. Men, and particularly shepherds and herdsmen, adorn their hair with rings of silver and ivory. It is only in a few dis tricts that men wear necklaces. Ear-rings are very common, and among the official classes universal. The official ear-ring is of a standard pattern. Long and narrow, it hangs from a gold ring with a pearl in the middle attached to the left ear. For the rest it is a string of turquoises, except that an inflexible rule requires the elongated lower end to be not a true turquoise, but an imita tion. In the right ear a rough turquoise is worn, and this by all classes, official and unofficial, rich and poor.

Shepherds and Herdsmen.

The shepherd and grazier class are hardy and independent. Those in the uplands (and many shepherds live at high altitudes) descend to lower levels once a year to sell their products and buy barley, wheat, tea, turnips and woollen cloth, such necessities as cannot be obtained away from cultivated regions. The shepherd, like the cultivator, is frequently in the employ of, or under contract to, one of the nobility or landed gentry. The Pa-lha household, for instance, owns some 20,000 sheep altogether, which are grazed in scattered grazing grounds within 5om. of Gyantse.

The butter, of sheep and goats is consumed by poor people only. The gentry and the richer people generally eat only the butter from the dri, or female yak, and the cross-breeds between the yak and the ordinary cattle. The women take their share of the work. In addition to the milking and buttermaking, they grind the barley and perform the varied duties round the tents. The children help them in this, some going out with the sheep and goats, but not much with the yaks till they are or 13 years old.

The Women.

The position of women in Tibet deserves spe cial mention. Compared with those of other eastern races, they hold, and have always held, a remarkably high status. In olden days when the country was split up into a number of principalities, each ruled by its own chief, the ruler was occasionally a woman. Even in modern days, chiefs, ministers and officials of all grades consult their wives in their official work. In religious do

ings, however, the position of women is lower. For instance, of the three forms of blessing accorded by the Dalai Lama to differ ent suppliants (touching the head with both his hands, with one hand, and merely with a tassel) the last and lowest form is the one used for all women, excepting only one. This solitary excep tion is Dor-je Pa-mo, the sole female incarnation in Tibet. She is one of the highest of all the incarnations, and is the head of a monastary (not a nunnery) at Sam-ding on the Yam-dro lake.

Tibetan women are physically strong. They perform heavy manual tasks. When not tanned by exposure to the elements, they are often fair, and those of the upper classes take great care of their complexions. Throughout Tibet it is a general custom for women to smear caoutchouc on their faces. Rough pads of felt which have been soaked in a red colouring matter are used. In addition to the head-dress, which has been described above, numerous ornaments are worn, rings, ear-rings, necklaces and girdles. The women lay charm boxes on the chest immediately below the throat. These usually contain a small image of a deity and a talisman specially written for the wearer by a Lama.

Marriage.

Although the Tibetan woman enjoys a great measure of independence, she usually has little or no share in the choice of her husband. A son is consulted by his father as to the bride proposed for him, but the parents consult a daughter hardly at all. The preliminaries attaching to a wedding, and the wedding ceremony, vary somewhat according to the district and the rank of the bride and bridegroom. The horoscopes of the pair must agree, and an auspicious day be fixed for the exchange of presents to take place as well as for the actual ceremony. The ceremony itself is attended by prayers, blessings, the exchange of ceremonial scarves, and feasting. The priests of the unreformed, i.e., Red Hat, sect are permitted to marry. A Lama's wife, how ever, is not known by the same designation as the wife of a lay man, but as "proprietress." Thus is the idea conveyed that the Lama and his belongings are in her charge, so that he is free to devote himself to religion.

Monogamy, polygamy and polyandry are all common in Tibet, especially the first. Polygamy is practised among those whose wealth suffices to support more than one wife. Polyandry is found among the herdsmen and the farmers. Where it holds, the husbands are brothers. Having married one of the brothers in a family the wife marries also all the other brothers who are younger, but not any that are older than he.