The population of Thibet has not been ascertain ed, as no census has ever been taken, and the know ledge acquired by strangers has not been sufficient for supplying the defect. The Chinese estimate it at 33,000,000, a number far exceeding the truth. Half a million has been conjectured as nearer the reality. But certainly, from the barren nature of the country, and the thinness of its inhabitants, the number cannot exceed three millions, of which the men form more than a half. The men are generally stout, with a little of the Tartaric features; the wo men of a ruddy brown complexion.
The Thibetians have been described as " gentle, humane, and hospitable. Without being servilely officious, they are always obliging; the higher ranks are unassuming, the inferior respectful in their be haviour." (Ib. p. S50.) They are so charitable that the country is overrun with beggars, some of them from other countries, attracted thither by the cha racter of the people. The Thibetians, however, are indolent, not ingenious nor ambitious, rude and contented with little. Their houses are formed of stone, but are mean and uncomfortable. The luxury of bedsteads they know not; their bed consists of a mattress spread on the floor, and being rolled up during the day serves as a scat. The castes of Hin dostan are unknown in Thibet. Presenting a silk scarf forms an essential part of the ceremonial of salutation. If persons of equal rank meet, an ex change takes place; if a superior is approached, he holds out his hand to receive the scarf, and a simi lar one is thrown across the shoulders of the infe rior, by the hand of an attendant, at the moment of his dismission. This practice, of which the origin and meaning have been lost, obtains in various countries of central Asia.
Some singular customs prevail among them. The ceremony of marriage, for example, is peculiar. Their courtships, says Captain Turner, are carried on with little art, and are quickly brought to a con clusion. The elder brother of a family, to whom the choice belongs, when enamoured of a damsel, makes his proposal to the parents. If his suit is approved and the offer accepted, the parents, with their daughter, repair to the suitor's house, where the male and female acquaintances of both parties meet, and spend three days in music, dancing, and every kind of festivity. At the expiry of this time, the marriage is completed. In these ceremonies, the priest has no share. Mutual consent is the only bond of union; but dissolution of marriage may take place by the agreement of the parties; but in such a case a second alliance on either side is forbidden.
But these are not the most peculiar circumstances respecting marriage. Polygamy is allowed, in a sense different from that which obtains in any other country. The wife is allowed a plurality of hus bands. The elder brother of a family possesses the privilege of choosing a wife, but after marriage she becomes the common property of all the brothers, whatever be their number.
Their burials are not less singular than their marriages. Inhumation is unknown among them; and the practice of the Thibetians, in this respect, is in direct opposition to that of other nations. In Thibet no attention is paid, or reverence is shown, to the remains of the dead. The body is exposed in the open air, and allowed to be devoured by dogs and carnivorous birds. Sometimes it is cast into the nearest river. The body of the sovereign Lama, however, is treated with high respect. It is pre served in a shrine, looked upon as sacred, and vis ited with religious awe. That of an inferior Lama is burnt, and the ashes preserved with great care in little hollow images of metal.
But probably the religion of the people under re view is their most interesting feature. Thibet is the chief seat of that faith which prevails throughout the wide extent of Tartary, and among all the na tions east of the Burhampooter. It is an offspring of Budhism, and is supposed to have been derived from Hindostan, to the religion of which country it still bears, in its outward form, a striking resem blance. The spiritual head of the faith in question is styled the Lama, or Grand Lama, a term signi fying priest, and is analogous to the word pope, among the Roman Catholics. According to the theogony of Thibet, there is no demise of the Grand Lama; a metempsychosis takes place, and the same divine soul, it is believed, eternally subsists in the supreme pontiff, though under different human forms, which he deigns successively to assume. The Lama of Thibet is acknowledged, and is re verenced as the head of the church, by all those nations in central and eastern Asia to which we have already referred. There is in Thibet a con secrated priesthood, who must lead a life of celi bacy, set apart for th.e sacred office. Monasteries and nunneries are abundant, and are similar to those in Popish countries.