NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 695 



of the hair, they all wear a long narrow band of cloth studded with coarse many- 

 flawed turquoises, which hangs down behind as low as the waist, and is usually tiuished 

 off with a tassel of wool or a bunch of cowries. The ears are covered with semicircular 

 woolen lappets, fastened to the hair and edged with brown or black fur, generally 

 of the otter skin, called Kunduz.* These ear flaps are always red, the inside being 

 woolen, and the outside brocade. These are made coarse or flue according to cir- 

 cumstances, for the Ladaki women seem to pride themselves upon the style and 

 material of these lappets just iis much as European ladies do upon the fashion of 

 their bonnets. 



These " ear lappets," I may add, are commonly worn in northern 

 China, where they are known as erh mao. 



Although rosaries {treng-wa) belong properly to the chapter on objects 

 used in religious worship and will be more fully described in that 

 connection, they are considered by all Tibetans as not only indispensa- 

 ble in their daily devotions, but as ornaments, and are also used by 

 many as a means of reckoning sums. (Land of the Lamas, p. 253.) They 

 are worn by both men and women around the neck or on the wrist, and 

 have invariably 108 beads. Some are made of ivory, others of seeds, 

 of wood, of bone, of coral, turquoises, crystal, or glass. 



Throughout northern and eastern Tibet most people carry a needlecase 

 (kab-cho), suspended to a silver or brass chatelaine frequently of 

 elaborate workmanship, to which is attached a short broad leather 

 strap, through which the belt or sash passes. (Land of the Lamas, p. 166 

 and pi. 11.) A Chinese chatelaine (Xo. 167222)t is in the Museum collec- 

 tion. These needlecases are usually flat, bell-shaped, and made of red 

 leather. The interior case can be pulled out by means of a strap or tassel 

 from the cover, which is open along the lower edge (pi. 8.) Another form 

 of needlecase, manufactured in Derge, is a narrow iron case with a sliding 

 top held in -place by a spring, and is often highly ornamented (pi. 10). 



Another article, frequently most elaborately ornamented and worn 

 by all Tibetans and hanging from the same chatelaine to which the 

 needlecase is attached, is a tinder | and flint pouch on the lower edge 



* Probably the name of the country from which they are obtained. 



t Not illustrated in this paper. 



t The tinder is made from the flowers of a small plant of the edelweiss family. It 

 ifi cixUed pai jxio-tzii in Chinese. Moorcroft (Travels, 1, 408) thus describes the prejia- 

 ration of tinder in Ladak: 



"At Undiir or iShak-than Ring-juo (in Ladakli) I witnessed the preparation of a 

 peculiar kind of tinder. A small shrub, not above an inch and a half high when in 

 flower, was gathered and placed on the bottom of a dry iron vessel over a Are. As 

 the hairy heads expanded they were plucked off and thrown away. The ])lants were 

 repeatedly turned over to prevent their being burnt. When considered sufficiently 

 dry the pan was inverted, and the leaves, placed on its l>lackeued under surface, were 

 beaten upon it with a small stick until well impregnated with the soot, any loose dirt 

 being carefully blown ott". In this state the slightest sjiark was sufficient to ignite the 

 preparation. This substance, wrapj>ed up in a thin roll of paper, is also used as 

 moxa, or as actual cautery, pieces about three-fourths of an inch thick being laid 

 upon the skin and set fire to. This is a favorite application for pain in the stomach." 

 I have myself seen it prepared in exactly the same way among the Panaka of the 

 Kokonor and the K'amba of eastern Tibet. Insteadof soot they mixed a little very fine 

 gunpowder with the parched and crushed plant. 



