21 



Nolic. relative to the Burial Tartars 



one of liis fiirnd.s piossiiig hini much 

 on this subject, and assuring liim that, 

 if lie liopcd ti) arrive in Paiailise, this 

 measure was alisolufcly necessary, lie 

 answered, "If cackoldoni bo a ne- 

 cessary qunlilicatiou for Paradise, I 

 must submit." His son Augnslo 

 placed a tablet to his nsemory, Miih 

 his bust, in the cburoli of the Ccrtera, 

 wifh the followinj;- epitaph, " Un po 

 forse troppo ampiilloso," as Passeri 

 justly observes : — 



D. O. ]\I. 



Salv.itorcm Roswni 



Noai.oJilaimm 



Pictoriiin siii tciuporis 



Nuili sccmitlnm 



I'oetaiiiiii oiiiiiiinn temporiini 



Priiici])ibns parem 



Augustus (iliiis iiic iinerens 



Composuit 



Scxagcnaiio minor ob:it 



Anno Sal. Moci.xxiii. 



Jdihus Marlii. 



For lite Monthhi Bhtgaz'uie. 

 NOTICE relative lo tlic y.viU.VT TARTAKS ; 

 extracted J'roiii recent Reports of Fo- 

 reiffH 3J/ssioii(irics, latch/ inserted in 

 the " Rcrue Fncyclopediqae." 



SELINGINSK is a nsilitary esta- 

 blishment ill Siberia, soulii-cast 

 of Irkutsk, and the Lake IJaikai, at 

 the distance of 160 miles from Irkutsk. 

 Its population, not includiiia; that of 

 several villages, is about 3000. It is 

 situated in the midst of 10 or 12,000 

 Buriat Tartars, among the most civi- 

 lized tribes, and in llio cenUc of j'.U 

 the 15uriats,on the cast side of Baikal; 

 liaving on the north the numerous 

 h'ibc of C'horinsk Bnriats, rated at 

 30,000, and on the south the Mongols 

 of Chinese Tartary. 



'i'hc Buriat Tartars have no parti- 

 cular form of f;overnment, but every 

 tribe lias its cliiel", called the Taischi, 

 wiiose power is very limited, his influ- 

 ence depending on the personal esteem 

 of his subjects. 'J he Jlzaisangs form 

 a sort of noblesse ; and, being the most 

 opulent heads of faniiiies, exercise a 

 certain authority over t!ie people in 

 general. The difierent tribes have 

 their temples, called Koormirnas ; 

 those of tlie Chorinsk Buriats, who are 

 distinguished by their riches, are con- 

 structed of stone ; the others arc of 

 wood. 



These Tartars, in general, are ex- 

 tremely ignorant, even in the dogmas 

 of their superstition. They do not 

 perceive the necessity of such know- 

 ledge ; their duty con-sisting, as they 



[Feb. I, 



believe, in reciting pra5'crs in an un- 

 known tongue, and practising certain 

 religious forms. Such a religion is 

 not unsuitable to their indolence of 

 mind and dei>raved nature. The sha- 

 dow of man, as they say, is his God, 

 who accompanies him every where, 

 and is ever |>resent ; but is only visible 

 when the sun shines. 



Their ]>laee of wor.ship comprises 

 about a dozen buildings of wood, of 

 dillcrent dimensions, and standing 

 close together. The manner of pray- 

 ing has a connexion with the ideas of 

 tlie people respecting matter and mo- 

 tion. 'I'he Buriats use a prayer, writ- 

 ten on a long slij) of i)apcr, suspended 

 where it may easily be set in motion, 

 by the vviml or passengers; otherwise, 

 they roll it about the rnndietof a little 

 windmill, sueh as are posted up in gar- 

 dens, to frighten the birds. One par- 

 ticular Sjiot contains about a hundred 

 of these mil!s; so many prayers are 

 suspended to the roofs of the chapels, 

 that there is no stirring a step without 

 agitating one or other of them. 



The same mechanical system is in 

 use lor ])rivat(; prayers. One of the 

 missionaries, on a visit to the head 

 chief of the Buriats of Seliiiginsk, 

 found on the outside of the tenement 

 a mast, to v^hieh a large linen cloth 

 M as fastened, witii a prayer written 

 on it. This being constantly kept in 

 nmtion by the wind, spares the lama 

 the trouble of oflering up the prayers 

 which his duty prescribes. In sonic 

 places the lamas cut out prayers in 

 blocks of wood, commonly fifteen 

 inches long by four broad. 'J"he letters 

 are nejitly <ut on each side of the 

 block. A similar block, but niucli 

 larger, and intended for some jiarti- 

 cnlar use, was suspended in the cham- 

 ber occupied by the missionaries; it 

 Was filled up with repetitions of these 

 words— " o/HWjrt itibud me lioni," whieli 

 signifies i)retty nearly, " O God, have 

 compassion upon us!" 



Prayers of the same description are 

 inscribed on a sort of wliite cloth, 

 called hadoc ; many such are suspend- 

 ed to cords and masts about the tombs 

 of the lamas, and other persons of dis- 

 tinction. Perhaps a hundred of these 

 hits of cloth were tied to masts, with 

 the letters as above, and floating in the 

 wind; each piece contained 600 repe- 

 titions of tlie prayer, which makes up 

 60,000 prayers addressed to the lamu 

 every moment of the day. 



The following may serve to exem- 

 plify 



