EXORCISING THE DISEASE- DEMON, 379 



"Let glory come! Tashi-shok ! 

 " Let virtue increase ! Ge-leg-phel ! " 



Death Ceremonies. 



As the rites in connection ■with a death include a considerable 



amount of devil worship, I notice the subject in this place. 



On the occurrence of a death the body is not disturbed in any 



^ , . way, until the "/^pho-bo" (pronounced "pho-o") 



Death ceremonies. ■,-•''■, , , /., , .^^^, ,i j *^ ' 



lama has extracted the soul in the orthodox manner. 



For it is believed that any movement of the corpse might eject the 

 soul, which would then wander about in an irregular 

 thJ^oul.^^*'^^*'*'°° °^ manner and get seized by some demon. Imme- 

 diately on death, therefore, a white cloth is thrown 

 over the face of the corpse, and the " //pho-bo," or Soul-extracting Lama, 

 is sent for. On the arrival of this lama all weeping relatives are 

 excluded from the death chamber, so as to secure solemn silence, and 

 the doors and windows closed, and the lama sits down on a mat near 

 the head of the corpse, and commences to chant the /^phobo service, 

 which contains directions for the soul to find its way to the Western 

 Paradise (dewa-ch(in) of the mythical Buddha — Amitabha. After 

 advising the spirit to quit the body and its old associations and attach- 

 ment to property, the Lama seizes with the forefinger and thumb a 

 few hairs of the crown of deceased's head, and plucking it forcibly is 

 supposed to give vent to the spirit through the roots of these hairs; 

 and it is generally believed that if the " /;pho-bo " is, as he should be, a 

 lama of exceptional virtue, an actual perforation of the skull occurs at 

 this instant through which passes the liberated spirit. The spirit is 

 then directed how to avoid the dangers which beset the road to the 

 Western Paradise, and instructed as to the apjDcarance of the demons 

 and other personages who are to be met with en route, and it is then 

 bid God-speed. This ceremony lasts about an hour. 



In cases where, through accident or otherwise, the body of deceased 

 is not forthcoming, this operation for the extraction of the soul is done 

 by the lama spiritually while engaged in deep meditation. 



Meanwhile the Tsi-pa, or astrologer-lama, has been requisitioned 



^ ,, , for a death-horoscope, in order to ascertain what iu 



Death-horoscope. ,1 j -l- xi j? ^i 1 



the age and birth-year 01 those persons who may 



approach and touch the corpse, and the necessary particulars as to the 



date and mode of burial, and the necessary worship to be done for 



the welfare of the surviving relatives. 



The nature of this horoscope will best be understood by an actual 



example, which I here give, of the death-horoscope of a little girl of 



two years of age, who died at Darjeelingin 1&90. 



2 c 



