330 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.59. 



222. Chinese rosary. — Consisting of 18 beads made of the fruit of 

 the Trapa bicornis of China, which resembles a Buffalo's head with 

 two blunt horns. China. (Cat. No. 5503, U.S.N.M.) 



223. Tibetan rosary (trengwa, "string oj beads"). — Consisting of 

 108 disk-shaped shell beads, divided into four groups of 27 beads 

 each by three red coral beads. The three retaining beads (do dzin) 

 are a large spherical amber bead, a smaller disk-shaped one, and a 

 conical one of coral. The four counter strings (drang dzin), with 10 

 silver beads on each terminate in various ornaments. This form of 

 rosary is in common use among the lamas. The rosary in Tibet is 

 not only an essential part of the outfit of the lamas, but is every- 

 where in appearance. Nearly every man and woman carries a rosary, 

 holding it in the hand, or attached to the girdle, or wearing it around 

 the neck as a necklace, or twisted around the wrist as a bracelet. Lay- 

 men also use it to assist in ordinary calculations, like the sliding balls 

 of the Chinese, in their business transactions. Kumbum, Tibet. 

 (Cat. No. 167271, U.S.N.M.) 



224. Tibetan rosary. — Consisting of 108 disks cut from human 

 skull, divided into four sections of 27 each by three larger disks of 

 conch shell, with two retaining beads of amber and wood, respec- 

 tively, but without counters. Such rosaries are especially used in 

 the worship of Dorje jig-ch'e (Sanskrit, Yama), the king of the 

 dead. Tibet. (Cat. No. 130387, U.S.N.M.) 



225-6. Tibetan rosaries. — Made of small disks of rosewood, with 

 red coral beads as dividers. It has no counters, and the dividing 

 beads, as also the three retaining ones, have to be counted to com- 

 plete the number of 108. Beads of reddish color, usually of red 

 sandalwood, are used in the worship of the fierce Tamdrin (Haya- 

 griva, see above No. 158), the demon patron of lamaism. Ta- 

 chien-lu, China. (Cat. No. 167267, U.S.N.M.) 



227. Tibetan rosary. — Consisting of 108 disks of yellow wood, 

 with the dividing beads of the same material only slightly larger and 

 thicker. It has only two retaining beads and no counters. Ba- 

 tang, China. (Cat. No. 131058, U.S.N.M.) 



228-229. Tibetan rosaries. — Consisting of 108 spherical beads of 

 yellow wood, without counters and with only one retaining bead. 

 Said to have been brought from Lhasa, the holy capital city of 

 Tibet. Ladak. (Cat. Nos. 178119-178120, U.S.N.M.) Gift of W. L. 

 Abbott. 



230. Japanese rosary (jiu-dzu). — Consisting of 112 globular beads 

 made of cherry wood. In the Japanese jiu-dzu the Buddhist rosary 

 attained its highest development. The rosary of 112 beads (sho- 

 zolci jiu-dzu), which is used by all sects in common, is divided by 2 

 large beads, called parent beads (oya-dama) into two equal parts. 

 They are distinguished into the upper parent bead (ten-no oya-dama), 



