THE CHIARUNG TRIBES 167 



laughter and song they made cheery companions, and I was 

 sorry to part from them. 



The families are small, but the children are usually strong 

 and healthy. Girls marry between the ages of seventeen and 

 twenty, polygamy is common, but polyandry is unknown except, 

 perhaps, in the upland regions bordering Thibet proper. 

 Temporary marriages, so general in Thibet, are also unknown 

 amongst the Chiarung. Nevertheless, the standard of morals 

 in vogue among these people is a very low one. In certain 

 states hetairism precedes maternity. In Badi-Bawang the 

 unmarried girls and childless women wear only two sporran-like 

 fringes of woollen threads or pieces of fur, suspended from a 

 girdle passed around the body above the hips. The legs are 

 exposed, but the upper parts of the body are usually covered 

 by a coarse serge garment. Only after their first child is born 

 may they wear skirts, since the gods have then purified them. 

 A pregnant damsel selects from among her lovers a husband, 

 who thus becomes the accepted father of her child, her word 

 in this matter being final. Maternity alone ratifies marriage, 

 and indeed saves women from promiscuity. The defloration 

 of virgins is the prerogative of chiefs and head-men, but is not 

 always exacted. In many ways these people are apparently 

 shameless, according to Chinese and Occidental ideas alike. 

 It is no uncommon sight to see women of all ages, quite nude, 

 bathing in streams by the wayside. This same custom is 

 also common at Tachienlu, where the hot springs are favourite 

 bathing-places for both sexes. But after maternity the women 

 are said to remain constant ; divorce or legal separation after 

 ratified marriage are not practised. 



The explanation of the above and other curious customs 

 of these interesting people is found in their religious beliefs. 

 Although orthodox Lamaism is more or less paramount the 

 mysterious Bonpa religion, with its marked tendency toward 

 phallic VN^orship, lurks throughout the lonely valleys of the 

 Cliiarung tribes. In Badi-Bawang it is the recognized state 

 religion. It should also be remembered that these regions 

 constituted the famous matriarchal kingdoms of Chinese 

 historians. Indeed, even to-day, certain states have queens 

 holding nominal or actual authority, and in these in some 



