TALISMANS. 343 



Another charm for disease is given in Plate XV, where the 

 fierce demon Tamdin, clad in human and animal skins, bears on his 

 front a disc with concentric circles of spells. 



SCOSPION CMARM AGAINST INJURY BY DEMONS. 



This charm is in the form of a scorpion, whose mouth, tipped 



by flames, forms the apex of the pictm'e. On its 



• ^.'^^T^ T^.^!f^'°^* shoulder are seated the especial demons to be pro- 

 injury by jjemous. . . 7 -ll • • -n -V^TTT P 



tected against — viae illustration in Plate JvVl, lor 

 details. The inscription runs : — 



" Ayama dunir tsa shana shamaya. 

 Sum ! Om ! A ! ILuwj ! Artsignirtsig ! 

 Nmno Bhagmvati Sum ! Mum ! Phat ! " 



"A guard against all the injuries of ' rgyalpo,' 'drimo' (a 

 maUgnant demon specially in jiu'ing women), 'itsan' (or red demons), 

 'sa-dag' (or earth-demons), /clu (or naga), including '^nyan' (a 

 plague-causing subordinate of the naga). 



"Against injury by these preserve ! " 



And the figures are hemmed in by the mystic syllables:— " Jsa .' 

 Hung ! Rung ! Bam ! Ho ! " 



CHARM AGAINST DOG-BITE. 



The huge Tibetan mastiffs are let loose at night as watch-dogs, 



and roaming about in a ferocious state are a source 



^^Charm against dog- ^f ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ travellers, who therefore carry the 



following charm against dog-bite. It consists of a 

 pictm-e of a dog fettered and muzzled by a chain, terminated by the 

 mystic and all-powerful dorjc. Sec Plate XVII, fig. 1. And it con- 

 tains the following inscribed Sanskrit mantras and statements : — "The 

 mouth of the blue^ dog is bound beforehand ! Om-riti sri-ti swahah ! 

 Om-riti sri-ti sioahahV (and this is again written twice along the body 

 of the dog.) 



" Om I hadsara ghanana kara hilcuratsa sal sal nan marga smugs 

 smugs kukiiratsa khathamtsa le tsa le mun mun sar sar rgyug kha tha 

 mu chhu chhing hchhang ma raya rakkhya rakkhya .' (It is) fixed ! 

 fixed!" 



CHARM AGAINST EAGLES AND BIRDS OF PREY. 



Eagles play havoc with the young herds of the pastoral Bhotiyas 

 ^ , of the Sikhim uplands and Tibet. For this the 



Against Eagles. ^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^j^^^,^^^ ^ . ^^ g^^ ^ ^^ -p^^^^ XVII, 



which they tie up near their huts. The central figure is a manacled 



' Blue is the contemptuous colour in which any offensive dog is to be regarded. 



