The Service
(By Particular Desire) Began By Three Of The Most Unctuous Of The
Lamas Squatting Down On Some Planked
Spaces before the divinities,
and raising a not unmusical chaunt, accompanying themselves at the same
time with a pair of
Cymbals, while two large double-sided tom-toms or
drums gradually insinuated themselves into the melody. These were each
fixed on one long leg and were beaten with a curved stick, muffled
at the end. The performance of the cymbals was particularly good,
and the changes of time they introduced formed the chief feature
of the music, and was rather pleasing than otherwise. The service
as it drew to a close, was joined by a duett upon two enormous brass
instruments like speaking-trumpets grown out of all decent proportions;
they were about five feet long, and were placed on the ground during
the performance, and as two of the fattest of the Lamas operated and
nearly suffocated themselves in their desperate exertions, the result
was the most diabolical uproar that ever could have been produced
since the first invention of music.
Not being able to trust the sepoy in such a delicate undertaking, I was
unable to get any information from the Lamas on religious subjects;
and all signs and suggestive pointings, &c. were immediately and
invariably answered by "Um mani panee," so that we left about as wise
as we entered. The most interesting object in the place was a library
of Thibetian books. It consisted of an upright frame divided into
square compartments, each with a word cut deeply into the wood over
it, and containing the volumes. These were merely long narrow sheets,
collected between two boards, also carved on the outside with a name
similar to the one on the shelf. The characters were beautifully
formed, and I tried to purchase a small volume, if a thing about two
feet long could be called so, but without effect. There were about
thirty of these books in the place, ponderous tomes, carefully covered
up, and little read, to judge by the quantity of dust collected on
them. They read us, however, a small portion of one, in a drawling,
sonorous tone, and with no very great facility.
These books, together with a number of rudely-printed papers, of the
nature of tracts, one of which I carried away, containing some of the
characters similar to that on the inscribed stones, appear to have been
printed at Lassa,[20] the capital of Thibet Proper, and from there,
the head-quarters of the religion in these parts, all the musical
instruments and other paraphernalia belonging to the temples are
also sent. One exception, however, I discovered; this was an empty
brandy-bottle, bearing a magnificent coloured label, which certainly
could not have been issued from the Grand Lama's religious stores. To
the English eye, or rather nose, it had but little of the odour of
sanctity about it; but here it evidently held a high position, and
was prominently placed among the temporal possessions of "the Gods."
The women here, and those we met on the road during the last two
marches, wore a curious head-dress, differing from anything of the kind
we had before seen.
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