These Made Their Appearance
About Two P.M., And All Hands Requiring A Little Rest From The Toils
Of The Road, We Pitched Our Camp Under The Trees, And Set Ourselves
To The Enjoyment Of A Few Days' Halt In The City Of Ladak.
Ladak and the Monastery of Hemis.
The first event after being settled in our new quarters was the
arrival of a sheep, presented to us by the Kardar, or chief dignitary
of the town, as a mark of affection and distinction. This, according
to the strict letter of the law, we should have refused to accept;
twenty days marching, however, while it had sharpened our appetites,
had rather diminished our stores. Sheep were not to be got every day,
and an ill-looking animal which we had succeeded in purchasing at
Egnemo, had been overcome by the heat of the weather and taken itself
off on the road. Other supplies, also, were a good deal weakened by
successive attacks; potatoes had been extinct many days, and the stock
of ducks, which formed our main stay in case of future difficulties,
was rapidly succumbing to the knife of the assassin. Under these
circumstances we felt that we would be in no way justified in hurting
the Kardar's feelings at the expense of our own, by refusing his
present, and believing ourselves to be in this instance fit subjects
for out-door relief, the new arrival was soon swinging about in the
breeze, a welcome addition to our unfurnished larder.
Having thus ended the struggle between our duty and our feelings,
we turned our attention to the exploration of the surrounding country.
The town of Ladak, although in a commercial point of view by no means
a flourishing-looking settlement, was, as far as picturesqueness was
concerned, everything that could be desired. It was built in the style
so popular throughout the country - on pinnacles of rock, and such
out of the way positions as seemed, of all others, the least adapted
for building purposes - immediately outside the town, occupying a
sort of bason among the surrounding mountains, and was what might
fairly be called a "city of the dead." It was of considerable extent,
and was formed of groups of the numerous monumental buildings which
I have described, and which in a country where the habitations of
the living appear so few in proportion to those of the dead, form so
curious and remarkable a feature. These tombs, although by no means
of very modern date, bear traces, in many instances, of the more
recently departed of the Buddhist population. Burnt fragments of
bone, hair, &c., were scattered about in various directions, while,
collected together in one corner, were the little mounds of mud with
a rise at one extremity, where the sculptured turban ought to rest,
which denoted the last resting-place of the Moslem faithful. Meeting
with the Kardar's chupprassie, I entered into conversation with
him about the manners and customs of the Thibetians, a subject on
which he seemed to have very hazy ideas indeed, although not on that
account at all the less inclined to impart them to one more ignorant
than himself. His opinion of the inscribed stones was that they were
all written by the Lamas, but he failed completely in explaining
for what reason they were collected together. He was aware, however,
of Khurjidal, who was to inspect them at the last day. The tomb-like
erections, he said, were considered in the light of gods; the bones and
ashes of departed Lamas having been pounded up together and deposited
beneath them, together with such valuables as turquoises, Pushmeena,
rupees, &c. This fact would perhaps account for their being so often
in a ruined state - Gulab Singh having, probably, taken a look at
their foundations in search of such valuable pickings. The reason my
informant gave me for the unwillingness of the people, however poor,
to sell their superabundant ornaments, was that they regarded them as
sacred, and held them as their own property during their lifetime only;
on decease the jewels reverted to the possessions of the Church. The
Lamas are provided, by the custom of dedicating in every family of two
or more, one to that office; should there be a number of girls in a
family, all those that do not marry become nuns, and adopt the male
attire of red and yellow. The nuns, however, seem to be by no means
kept in confinement; they work in the fields, and one of them enlisted
with us as a coolie, and brought her load into camp before any of her
male coadjutors. Among other curious information my friend told me,
that the Thibetians by no means consider that each man is entitled
to the luxury of a wife all to himself; but that a family of four
or five brothers frequently have but one between them, and that the
system is productive of no ill-feeling whatever among the different
members.[24] He also pointed out a fact which I had not before noticed,
viz., that the Thibetians invariably pass to the right hand of these
piles of stones and other monuments, but for what reason he was
unable to inform me.[25] Having finished his stock of information,
which I received thank-fully in default of better, he told me, with
delightful coolness, that it was the proper thing for me to give him
a bottle of brandy for the Kardar, and that it would be necessary to
send also a corkscrew with the bottle, to enable him to get at it! The
impudence of the request was almost worth the bottle, but brandy
was too scarce and precious a commodity to justify us in pleasing
the Kardar, so that all I could do was politely to decline sending
the corkscrew or the bottle either. In the afternoon we explored
the Bazaar, where we found abundance of dogs, dirt, and idlers,
but little else. What little there was in the way of merchandise
the proprietors seemed utterly indifferent about disposing of, and
after visiting a few shops we went away in disgust.
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