338 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxxvi. 



25 inches. Kumb«m, Tibet. (Plate 21, Cat. No. 167271, U.S.N.M.) 

 Lent by Hon. W. W. Rockhill." 



'J. Tibetan rosary. — Consisting of 108 disks cut from human skulls, 

 divided into four sections of 27 each by three larger disks of conch 

 shell, with two retaining beads of amber and wood, respectively, but 

 without counters. Such rosaries are especially used in the worship 

 of Dorje jig-ch'e (Sanskrit, Yama), the king of the dead. Length, 

 25 inches. Tibet. (Cat. No. 130387, U.S.N.M.) Lent by Hon. 

 W. W. Rockhill. 



3. Tibetan rosary. — Made of small disksof rosewood, with four red 

 coral beads as dividers. It has no counters, and the dividing beads, 

 as also the three retaining ones, have to be counted to complete the 

 number of 108. Beads of reddish color, usually of red sandalwood, 

 are used in the worship of the fierce Tamdrin, the special protector of 

 Lamaism. Length, 15 inches. Ta-chien-lu, China. (Plate 22, fig. 1, 

 Cat. No. 167267, U.S.N.M.). Lent by Hon. W. W. Rockhill. 



Jf. Tibetan rosary. — The same as No. 3. Ta-chien-lu, China. (Cat. 

 No. 167267, U.S.N.M.). Lent by Hon. W. W. Rockhill. 



5. Tihetan rosary. — Consisting of 108 disks of yellow wood, with 

 the dividing beads of the same material, only slightly larger and 

 thicker. It has onlj^^ two retaining beads and no counters. It is 

 the special rosary of the Gelupa, or reformed school of lamaism. 

 Length, 25 inches' Batang, China. (Plate 22, fig. 2, Cat. No. 131058, 

 U.S.N.M.). Lent by Hon. W. AV. Rockhill. 



6. Tibetan rosary. — -Consisting of 108 spherical beads of yellow 

 wood, without counters and with only one retaining bead. Said to 

 have been brought from Lhasa, the holy capital city of Tibet. 

 Length. 30 inches. Ladakh, Tibet. (Cat. No. 178120, U.S.N.M.) 

 Gift of Dr. AY. L. Abbott. 



7. Tibetan rosary.- — The same as No. 6, only the beads are smaller 

 in size. Length, 26 inches. Ladakh, Tibet. (Cat. No. 178119, 

 U.S.N.M.) Gift of Dr. AA^ L. Abbott. 



B. CHINESE ROSARHCS. 



The Chinese name for rosary is su-chu. The full or long rosary 

 consists, like the Tibetan, of 108 beads, and is also usually divided 

 by three beads of a different size or color into four groups. The 

 shorter rosary has 18 beads, corresponding to the 18 chief disciples 

 of Buddha, or lohans. The ends of the string are passed through 

 two retaining beads, a large globular one and a smaller oblong or 

 oval one. The large bead sometimes contains a sacred relic or charm. 



'^The rosaries lent by Mr. Rockhill have also been described by their owner 

 in Notes on the Ethnology of Tibet, by William Woodville Rockhill, in the 

 Report of the U. S. National Museum for 1893, pp. 736-738 and pis. 35-37. 



