iio EXTERNAL APPEARANCE. 



territory, although they are here mingled with Chin- 

 ese and Mongols, 



Externally they present a marked contrast to the 

 two last-named races, and, as we have already said, 

 somewhat resemble gipsies. In height they are 

 above the a^^erage, with thickset figures and broad 

 shoulders ; their hair, whiskers, and beard invariably 

 black ; the eyes dark and rather large, never narrow 

 like those of the Mongols ; the nose in general 

 straight, although sometimes aquiline, and also 

 sometimes turned up ; the lips thick and protruding ; 

 the cheekbones not so prominent as in the Mongol 

 type ; the face long, never flat ; the skull round ; the 

 teeth white and regular ; the skin tawny coloured ; 

 the women smaller and darker in complexion than 

 the men. 



Unlike Mongols or Chinese, the Tangutans have 

 a strong growth of beard and whiskers, which they 

 always shave as they do the head, leaving a pigtail ; 

 the lamas, however, like the Mongols, shave the 

 head clean. 



The women wear long hair, parted in the middle, 

 and divided into a number of small plaits on either 

 side, adorned with different articles of finery, such as 

 beads, ribbons, &c. They tinge their cheeks with 

 Chinese dyes, and in summer with the juice of the 

 wild strawberry, which abounds in the forests. This 

 custom only prevails in Kan-su, not in Koko-nor or 

 Tsaidam, probably on account of the difficulty of 

 obtaining the necessary colouring matter. ^ 



' It prevails among the proper Tibetans, both at Lhassa and in 



