680 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. 



Politically Tibet may be divided into three parts: (1) Country under 

 direct Lh'asau rule or influence; (2) country under Cliinese rule or 

 influence; (3) country under British or other rule or influence. 



The first part comprises all central, western, most of the northern 

 portion of the country, and a few outlying districts in eastern Tibet, 

 such as Mark'ams, i^I^yarong, Ts'aroug, etc. The second part includes 

 all northeastern Tibet, most of eastern, and a long, narrow strip 

 called Jyade, extending nearly as far west as the Tengri nor. The 

 third part comprises iSikkim, Bhutan, Ladak, etc. 



The spiritual and temporal ruler of the Kingdom of Lh'asa (Dcba 

 djong is the term usually employed by natives to designate this por- 

 tion of Tibet) is an incarnation of the god Shenrazig, the patron saint 

 of the land. He is called Jyal-wa Jyamts'o or Tale lama. Prior to 1720 

 the Tale lama was only spiritual ruler of Tibet, but at that date he was 

 also made temporal ruler of the country by the Chinese. ( Journ. Roy. 

 Asiat. Soc, n. s., xxxiii, pp. 74, 285 et seq). 



Under him is a regent, colloquially called " King of Tibet,'' or Desri, 

 who is also a lama, chosen in turn from one of the four great monasteries 

 {linf/) of Lh'asa, and whose appointment is made, like that of the Tal4 

 lama himself and of all otlier high dignitaries of the state, subject 

 to the approval of the Emperor of China. The Desri is president of 

 the- council of ministers, or Kalmi, who are five in number, one lama 

 and four laymen. These administer the country and act also in a 

 judicial capacity. (Journ. Roy. Asiat. Soc, loc. cit., p. 239.) The 

 country for administrative purposes is divided into 53 djong or "dis- 

 tricts," over which are Djong-pon, appointed by the Council of Minis- 

 ters; they are both civil and military chiefs of their districts. Besides 

 these there are a number of I>eha, some of whom are chiefs of the 

 pastoral tribes, or DruiJa, inhabiting the more elevated and open 

 parts of the country. 



Certain tracts of land are assigned to officers of high rank for their 

 support, in lieu of salaries, and others are given as endowments to 

 lamaseries. On many, if not all, of these the beneficiaries have not 

 only all the revenues derivable therefrom, but exercise also judicial 

 rights over the people inhabiting these estates, who are their serfs, sub- 

 ject to all such corvees as they may see fit to order, such as working the 

 laud, going on caravans, on which they have also to supply pack ani- 

 mals or saddle ponies, supplying food to officers when passing through 

 their place of residence, etc., all such service being known as ula* 



Although I do not believe that slavery exists in the greater part of 

 Tibet, and certainly not among the pastoral tribes, beyond, perhaps, a 



* For further details on the organization, both ecclesiastical and civil, of this part 

 of Tibet, I must refer the reader to the following works: Sarat Chandra Das, Nar- 

 rative of a Journey to Lh'asa in 1881-'82, p. 175 et seq. ; Journal Royal Asiatic Society, 

 new series, XXIII, pp. 10-12, 238-242; Land of the Lamas, p. 289 et seq.; C. H. Des- 

 godins, Le Thibet d'apres la correspondence des niissiounaires, p. 263 et seq.; C. R. 

 Markham, Narrative of the Mission of George Bogle to Tibet, p. 319 et seq. 



