The wall is constructed of stones, on each of which is inscribed a prayer. In the foreground a woman is weaving on one of the small portable looms.
The women manage to preserve their complexion slightly better than the men, by smearing the cheeks, nose, and forehead with a black ointment. This, to a certain extent, prevents the skin chapping in the cold, but the winds in Tibet are so terrific that [[125]]they are disastrous to any human skin, whether besmeared with grease or not. Indeed, no one who has not been in Tibet knows what wind can be. I cannot better describe a gale than by likening it to myriads of knives thrown at one with great force. It cuts into one through any kind of clothing, and penetrates to the marrow of one’s bones. The skin, particularly where exposed, chaps and cracks and becomes a mass of sores, unless the constant precaution is taken of keeping it well soaked in butter, grease, or vaseline.
Again, the intense glare of the snow-covered landscape and the extraordinary brilliancy of the atmosphere compel the natives constantly to frown—as may be noticed in many of the illustrations reproduced in this work—in order to screen their semi-closed eyes as much as possible from the blinding light. This everlasting frown, of course, covers the forehead with deep wrinkles and grooves, while “crow’s feet” in continuation of the outward corners of the eyes and deep channels at both ends of the lips disfigure the faces of Tibetans at an early age. Naturally, to a European these wrinkles at once suggest age, whereas they are merely caused by the inclement weather, and they have been the chief cause which [[126]]has led casual observers to describe the population of Tibet as composed mainly of old people.
A Tibetan Baby Girl
Another curious fact worth noticing is that, according to theoretical scientists, the greatly rarefied air of the Tibetan plateau should retard the growth of human beings, and that therefore a Tibetan should reach the age of puberty later in life than people living in a corresponding latitude but at lower elevations. This is not the case at all. Tibetan boys and girls attain a state of maturity at a comparatively early age. I have often noticed girls of fifteen or sixteen and boys of eighteen or nineteen fully developed, and it is at these respective ages that men and women of Tibet frequently marry.
Now let us try to explain why one sees so few children in Tibet. Personally, I think it is mainly due to the custom of polyandry prevailing in the country, which is bound to have disastrous effects upon the birth-rate of healthy, strong children, with deteriorating results upon every generation; and also undoubtedly the altitudes at which the people live to a great extent limit the increase of population. The generally unhealthy condition of most Tibetans’ blood also greatly contributes to the non-fertility of parents. [[127]]
We have yet another curious fact. To an average of fifteen male children who are born and live in Tibet, only one female child is healthy enough to survive. There are various reasons for this, and it would be difficult to discover the primary one; but in my mind, and from personal observation, I could not help associating that fact with these two principal causes. First, the food diet of the parents, which certainly has marked effects on the production of one sex more than another; secondly, the greater mortality among the weaker female children. Tibetans always told me that the death-rate in children under the age of two years was very great in proportion to the number of births.
It is impossible to give exact statistics, but, from constant inquiry from families I met, I came to the conclusion that an average of three children out of seven born succumb before the age of five. Of these deaths, the majority would be female children.
The life of a Tibetan baby is not a merry one at best. He is cherished by his mother when newly born, and for some days the new-comer affords amusement to the tent-mates and the members of the tribe. Occasional caresses are [[128]]bestowed upon him, but the trials of having a loving mother soon begin. She will besmear him from head to foot several times daily with yak butter, the mother realising that by this process the skin of her infant will be made impervious to cold; and with maternal fondness she will press and force the butter into every pore of his little body. This done, the baby is left naked in the sun so that under the heat of its rays his skin may absorb the maximum of melted butter.