THE LOLOS OF KIENTCHANG, WESTERN CHINA LEGENDRE. 581 



that I had with the chief of a large tribe in the valley of Ngan Ning, the 

 seignior os noir, Vou Ka. I had won his confidence, which is the reason 

 why on one fine day he confirmed or corrected a series of important 

 statements that I had recorded during a preceding journey. These 

 are only brief resume's but are very instructive. 



Utensils. — It is said that there is one industry of the greatest neces- 

 sity that is found among all races of men in every region on the face of 

 the earth; that is pottery. The peoples of Africa and Oceanica, even 

 in a savage state, fashion all sorts of earthenware receptacles from 

 clay or sandy material. Among the Lolos, however, there is not a 

 trace of native pottery. The bowls and teapots that are occa- 

 sionally seen at the home of an os noir are of Chinese make, either pur- 

 chased or presented. In the houses of Leang Shan or Mao Nieou 

 Shan, you sometimes see a wooden bowl in the form of our soup 

 tureen or fruit dish. It is generally well shaped and carefully turned, 

 and I have recognized in this important detail the Chinese influence. 



Money. — The Lolo, for commercial transactions, has no kind of 

 native money. Though you may see some brass and silver coins, they 

 are of Chinese origin. All he knows is to trade by direct exchange of 

 merchandise, common barter. 



Weights and measures. — There are no weights or measures among 

 the Lolos. When he sells gram he gives you 1, 2, 10 loads, each rep- 

 resenting the quantity that a man of ordinary strength can carry on 

 the head, or, more rarely, in a basket. When he sells you any com- 

 modity he poises it in the hand or in both hands and tells you its 

 value according to the weight estimated, which corresponds to no 

 definite unit. 



Professional trades. — There are but few trades. The only definite 

 ones are weavers, carpenters, and blacksmiths. What partic- 

 ularly astonished me was that there are no tailors or dressmakers, 

 properly speaking. Their clothing is made by the adults them- 

 selves. The servants may work for their mistress, the "ouatze" for 

 the seignior, but there is no specializing of work in the ordinary 

 meaning of the word. 



Clothing. — Before the coming of the Chinese and their attempts at 

 conquest, dating from the fourteenth century after Christ, before 

 the Chinese had influenced the aboriginal customs and effected com- 

 mercial exchanges, the Lolo dressed in the simplest, most primitive 

 fashion. The women's skirt, the men's trousers, were merely a 

 piece of very coarse woolen cloth, draped around the hips and reach- 

 ing to the knees in numerous vertical folds. A cord held this cloth 

 around the waist. The costume was completed by the mantle so 

 characteristic of the Lolo people, the part of its dress that without 

 alteration has come down to the present time. The mantle is also 

 made of a large piece of coarse cloth. It is nearly square, and not 



