372 DEMONOLATEY. 



Inside the ram's skull is put some gold leaf, silver, turquoise, and 

 portions of every precious object available, as well as portions of dry 

 eatables, rice, wheat, pulses, &c. 



On the forehead is painted in ochre-colour^ the mystic celestial 

 (Parkha) sign of Khon, and on the right jaw the sun, ^^ ^^ 

 and on the left jaw the moon, and above it is adorned ^^ ^^ 

 with ( 1) "namka" masts, ^'.e., masts to which are attached ^™ "^ 

 diamond-shaped and square figures made by winding B" ^^ 

 coloured threads in geometric patterns; (2) tar-zah or pieces of silk 

 rag, and (3) tong-tse or Chinese pice (Ang. " cash") and several wool- 

 knobbed sticks of jyliang-khra. 



Along the base are inserted on separate slips of wood the follow- 

 ing images, &c. : — 



1. A man's picture [pho-donrj). 



2. A woman's do. {mo-dniig) with a spindle in her hand. 



3. A house do. 



4. A tree do. [tam-shlnfi (khram-shing)]. 



5. Figures of the mystic 8 Parkha and the 9 Mewa. 



The whole arrangement is now fixed to the outside of the house 

 above the door; the object of these figures of a man, wife, and house is 

 to deceive the demons should they still come in spite of tliis offering, 

 and to mislead them into the belief that the foregoing pictures are the 

 inmates of the house, so that they may wreak their wrath on these 

 bits of wood and so save the real human occupants. 



Then when all is ready and fixed, the lama turns to the south-west 

 and chants — 



" O ! ! ke ! ke ! Through the nine series of earths you are known as 

 ' Old Mother Khon-ma, the mother of all the Sa-dak-po. You are the 

 ' guardian of the earth's doors. The dainty things which you esjDeci- 

 ' ally desire we herewith offer, viz., a couch-white skull of a ram, on 

 ' whose right cheek the sun is shining like burnished gold, and on the 

 ' left cheek the moon gleams dimly like a conch-shell. The forehead 

 ' bears the sign of Khon, and the whole is adorned with every sort of 

 'silk, wool and colour and precious substances, and it is also given the 

 ' spell of Khon (here the lama breathes upon it). All these good 

 ' things are here offered to you, so please close the open doors of the 

 ' earth to the family who here has offered you these things, and do not 

 'let your servant Sa-thel ugag-po and the rest of the earth spirits 

 ' do harm to this family. By this offering let all the doors of the earth 

 ' be shut. 0\ 0\ ke ! ke ! Do not let your servants injure us when 

 ' we build a house or repair this one, nor when we are engaged in 



' The symbolic colour of the earth. 



