CHANG-SA RGYAB-PA, WINE-DRINKING CONCLUDING WEDDING CEREMONIES.
A short distance beyond Jorgya we came to Pishi Mani Lhakhang in a grove of poplars and willows, with a large orchard and several hamlets close by. This place, which belongs to the Pishi Deba, is famous for its manufacture of a superior quality of serge and broadcloth called unam.[11] At the entrance to the Mani Lhakhang, a [[74]]chorten-shaped edifice, are rows of drum-shaped prayer-wheels.[12] Five furlongs farther on we passed through Panam-doi,[13] and two miles beyond this place we came to the village of Taugang (or Tagong). The trail—for there is no regular road—then led by Patsal, Belung, to Penjang, from which village we could see, on the hillside beyond the Nyang chu, the large monastery of Kadong. We were now in the district of Panam,[14] said to be very fertile, and to this the numerous hamlets scattered about give testimony. A mile to the south of Tagong we came to Tashigang, around which there is no vegetation, not a blade of grass nor a tree, nothing but sand and gravel. Here we were to spend the night. We were kindly received by an old lady, Angputi by name, and shown by the servant up a flight of stone steps to the top floor, where rugs were spread for us. Angputi had a headdress (patug) studded with flawed turquoises and faded coral; she had worn it, she said, for nearly twenty years, and purposed leaving it as a legacy to her second son. Shortly after we were seated, her daughter, a nun who had lately arrived on leave from her convent, brought us a kettle of tea and two wooden bowls of tsamba.[15] The Tung-chen was given the room the minister uses when travelling along this road. It was provided with curtains, silk-covered ceiling, some nice tables, and had in it several volumes of Yum scriptures,[16] a small chapel, two dozen bells, oblation cups, a sofa-like altar, and a number of pictures. The rugs in this room were made of the finest Panam wool, and were the best articles of furniture in the house. After drinking tea, the hostess brought me some boiled and dried mutton, tsamba, and tea. This kind of present is usually offered to guests on their arrival in a house, and is called solichi,[17] or “first show.” [[75]]
December 27.—Leaving the Tashigang valley, we came to the foot of the range which here borders the left bank of the Nyang. Two and a half miles to the south-west (east?) there is a precipice called Ritong, where some twenty years ago two generals of Lhasa were murdered by the usurper Gadan Gyahu. At this point we obtained a fine view of the fort of Panam, of Gontai, of Takar, Palri,[18] and various other monasteries. Up to this point the river banks are overgrown with furze, brambles, and various thorny plants of which it is said camels are very fond.
Two miles to the west (east?) of this place we came to a large village, called Tsog-chi,[19] with an imposing castle, formerly the residence of several noted generals, but now the property of one of the chief civil officers (Dung-khor[20]) of Lhasa. Close by is Dukpa-nagpa, formerly a town of Sorcerers or Nagpa,[21] but now mostly in ruins, and inhabited by only a half-dozen families.
A mile and a half farther on we came to Norpa khyung-djin (“Eagle’s Gem”[22]), where there was once an important lamasery of the Karmapa sect. Its ruins crown the hilltop, and the village, of a hundred houses, is scattered along the slope and the base of the hills. Near this place is Nembotong and Pangang.[23]
In the upland near Taimen,[24] a hamlet of three huts, where the wind that sweeps the broad plateau on which this place is built has drifted the sand in long waves, are the villages of Phola and Wangdan. The former place is the birthplace of King Miwang, and the latter is noted for the excellence of its rugs. Due south from Taimen, and at the head of the broad valley which opens between that place and Norpa khyung-djin, is the Gingu la, over which a trail runs to Retoi, or Upper Re, near Iago, and also the fort of Darchung djong.[25]
A little more than a mile in a southerly direction from Taimen [[76]]brought us to Shar-chyog Aniung, also called Isa.[26] The poplar and willow groves around it give it a most prosperous appearance. Here we overtook a monk of the Dongtse monastery, sent by the minister to fetch him some books from the Kahdong gomba, near Panam djong. His tall, lithe frame, but poorly covered with torn raiment, his curious boots and headdress, and the bundle of incense-sticks slung like a quiver across his back, evoked smiles from our party as he walked swiftly along, keeping pace with our ponies. Across numerous frozen irrigation ditches, and through various little hamlets of three and four houses, the road led us by Taling, Dao-targe,[27] and Pangri, to the village of Nesar, where live some twenty families. Just before reaching this place a mad dog ran by, and though it bit an old man and several donkeys, the Tung-chen would not let me shoot it. Nesar has, on the hillside above it, a neatly built temple and a number of small towers, the latter sacred to the sylvan goddesses or Mamos. The images of Shenrezig and Padma Sambhava are painted on the walls of its mani lhakhang and on the towers on the hill. A little beyond this village we fell in with four Khambas, each armed with a long, straight sword, who were unquestionably highwaymen. Their dress and features showed them to be natives of Gyarong, in Markham, in the eastern part of Tibet.[28]
At 5 o’clock we arrived at Dongtse.[29] The monastery where the minister was residing was on a rocky eminence some 300 feet above the village. After walking up several flights of stone steps, we reached the gateway in the now partly ruined wall of the monastery. Near this I was welcomed by the minister’s page, and led to the eastern room of his master’s apartments, which had been set apart for my use. Before we had finished drinking tea a message came calling me to the minister’s presence. With two scarves and a couple of rupees in our hands, we proceeded to the drawing-room, and approached his holiness with profound salutations. He touched [[77]]our heads with his hand, and returned us the scarves we had in the first place presented him, tying them around our necks. His holiness graciously inquired after our health, and asked if we had not suffered great privations and hardships on the way. We gave a brief account of our troubles in the snows and of our miraculous escape at Tashi-rabka. “By the grace of the Three Holies,”[30] I added, “we have overcome all difficulties, and now our delight is boundless in being able to present ourselves at last at your Holiness’s feet.” The minister expressed his regrets at our sufferings and his pleasure on our safe arrival after an absence of three years. He had to go to prayers, but before leaving he gave orders that all proper attentions be shown us. Large dishes of biscuits, bread, fruit, and meat were then placed before us, and tea was poured into our cups from the minister’s own pot, as a mark of his special favour.
December 28.—After we had finished taking tea the page Ka-chan Gopa called us to the minister’s presence, to whom we gave a detailed account of our journey. After listening with attention, he observed, “Pundib la, I fail to see why you chose such a dangerous route as that by the Kangla chen and Tashi-rabka, for you had the passport issued to you three years ago by which you were permitted to return to Tsang by way of Khamba djong. Did not the officials at that place treat you well when you passed there on your way back to India?” I replied saying that I had feared that difficulties might have been raised by the Sikkim Durbar at the instance of the Phodang lama, who had of late been making trouble in Sikkim. The minister again remarked that there had been no necessity for our undertaking such a difficult and perilous journey through the Tingri djong country, when we had the Grand Lama’s (Panchen Rinpoche’s) passport authorizing us to cross the Lachan pass, which was very easy and free from snow. After a short conversation he retired to his contemplation room (oratory).
December 29.—We had an interview with the minister in the Nihog[31] on the roof of the Tsug-la-khang, over which a canopy had [[78]]been spread. His holiness said that since last I had been to Tibet he had composed two large volumes on the history of the philosophical schools of Tibet, and that they were now being stereotyped at the Namring monastery. He showed us the manuscript of the second volume, and read us extracts from it.