304 AMONG THE TIBETANS 



of China, and that the Tibetans are simply obeying their 

 masters. The odium, therefore, should rest on the 

 Chinese, and not on the simple inhabitants of the country. 

 In the evening the Lamas of Tangi came with a present 

 of one four-anna bit and a small piece of open-work cloth 

 of China manufacture — said to be very precious and 

 sacred ; a lamb was also offered, but it had not yet arrived 

 from the village. A present of this kind — that is, 

 three things — is always made to great people. The Lamas 

 were anxious to explain that they had brought these 

 presents with no expectation of return, as they were only 

 priests, and had no concern with worldly things, etc. But, 

 at the same time, the present of five rupees that I put 

 into the hand of the principal was most willingly accepted. 

 The proper thing, I am told, to do with the flimsy rag (it 

 looks like a bit of linen) is to tie it round one's neck. I 

 did so, and put the coin in my pocket, for luck. There is 

 no Tibetan currency — apparently all the cash in circulation 

 comes from India. From what the Panboh told me, it 

 would seem that there is a regular passport system in 

 vogue all over Tibet — no doubt introduced by the Chinese. 

 He said the people of the country were forbidden to travel 

 without a written permit from the authorities, even within 

 their own borders : even traders had to get a pass. And 

 there was yet further restriction : there were fixed trade 

 routes and fixed markets, to which traders were limited. 

 For instance, the villagers under the Panboh were pro- 

 hibited from travelling into the interior of Tibet; they 

 could trade only with Kanawaris, and these latter could 

 not proceed beyond Zarang. In the same way, certain 

 traders from the interior were allowed to come to these 

 villages with their goods and exchange them for Indian 

 products, but are prohibited from going any farther. 

 Trade is by barter, pure and simple, and any cash trans- 



