NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TIBET. 715 



Musical instruments. — Exclusive of the musioal instruments used in 

 religious worship, which will be described in another section, the only- 

 instruments I have seen or heard of amon<? the Tibetans are, tirst, the 

 whistle {ling-hu), (pi. 24, figs. 1-3) made of bamboo or the bone of an 

 eagle's wing, and with or 7 keyholes; second, the jew's-harp (Fa-pi) 

 (figs. 4-6) and third, the banjo or guitar {piwang, liopong, or dra-nyan), 

 with 3 or more strings. 



The jew's-harp is made not by the Tibetans, but by the Lissus and 

 other non-Tibetan trib.es inhabiting southeast Tibet, and is a favorite 

 instrument in eastern Tibet, where nearly all the women carry one 

 suspended from their girdles. Three harps are used simultaneously, 

 each giving a different note; the deepest note is called j)'o hi or '' male 

 sound," the intermediate one ding Jed or '' middle sound," the sharpest 

 one mo Id or "female sound." They are held the one below the other in 

 the order above given between the thumb and the index of the left 

 hand, and struck with all the finp-ers of the right hand, the one after 

 the other. These Fajn are carried in small bamboo cases ornamented 

 with little rings of bamboo, often dyed, and also with geometric carv- 

 ings, which are also colored. They are shown in the lower portion of 

 this plate.* 



The banjo or guitar is similar to that instrument in China and Kash- 

 mir, being round-bodied aud long-armed. Desgodins (Le Thibet, p. 

 393) mentions a rude one with only 2 strings, which are struck by 

 means of a plectrum. 



Capt. Turner, in tlie work previously cited (p. 343), says: 



Gyap gave into my baud a flageolet, and desired me to use it. I was nnable. He 

 then took it, and accompanied Gyeuug upon the cittanr (a stringed instrument, 

 something resembling a guitar) and they played several pleasing airs together. At 

 length, Gyeung accompanied the instruments with her A'oice, which was by no 

 means inharmonious; and I am not ashamed to own that the song she sung was 

 more pleasing to my ear than an Italian air. * * * Gyap regretted his inability 

 to entertain me with a great variety of instrumental music, saying that he was 

 obliged to leave behind him his collection on leaving Lassa. * * * jjg ^qI^I me 

 that their music was written down in characters, which they learnt. 



The statement made at the end of the preceding quotation is highly 

 interesting, but I fancy that Turner's host only referred to church 

 music, which is recorded by an ingenious system of descriptive nota- 

 tion. (See Land of the Lamas, p. 88.) 



Vocal music is an amusement of which all Tibetans are very fond, 

 and the power and sweetness of their voices have been noted by most 

 travelers. (Dr. J. D, Hooker, Himalayan Journals, i, i). 304, C. H. Des- 

 godins, Le Thibet, p. 393, etc.) 



Tibetan dancing (tra-chyam or chyam) is of the most primitive kind. 



* Jew's harps similar to those used in Tibet are found among the Ainu and in New 

 Guinea, but in many other countries where a bamboo harp is used, the sound is pro- 

 duced by jerking the harp by a string — this is the case in Assam, in parts of Sumatra, 

 among the Yakutd, the tribe of Torres Straits, etc. 



