me;dical hill 



the; yak, the; characteristic animal 



OF TIBET 



As I have already said, the principal 

 animals of Tibet are the yak and the 

 horse. Of the two, the yak is by far the 

 more useful and also much more common. 

 The yak in many respects resembles the 

 American buffalo, except that it is smaller. 



Tibet is the only country that produces 

 this peculiar animal, for it must live in 

 a region at least 9,000 feet above the sea- 

 level, and the average height of Tibet is 

 from 12,000 to 15,000 feet above the sea. 



To the Tibetans the yak is absolutely 

 indispensable. Nearly every part of the 

 animal is utilized. They eat its meat, 

 drink its milk, use its butter, and wear 

 its skin. Ropes and cloth are made of 

 yak's hair, and dusters are fashioned 

 from its tail. Strange to say, many 

 houses in the northeast and southwest 

 parts of Lhasa are built with yak horns 

 (see page 988). Boats are also con- 

 structed with yak hide (see page 989). 

 Owing to the lack of coal and the fact 

 that wood is so scarce, the Tibetans use 

 dry yak dung for fuel. The walls of 

 some houses are also built of this ma- 

 terial. 



prayer wheels 



As to all Christians, prayer is to the 

 Tibetans also the most vital factor of 



their religious life. Fearing that the 

 tongue and the mind may fail to offer 

 sufficient prayer, additional praying is 

 done by means of a prayer wheel, 



A prayer wheel consists of a hollowed 

 box, or cylinder, within which is a roll 

 of prayers, with an axis running through 

 the center, revolved by the centrifugal 

 force. Attached to the outside is a short 

 string or chain with a small weight at the 

 end. The wheel is made to revolve by 

 the centrifugal force of the weight, 

 caused by a twirling motion of the 

 hand. Thus the roll of prayer is turned 

 within while the wheel revolves, and the 

 prayer is done. Meanwhile the holder 

 of the wheel also makes oral and silent 

 prayers. 



Tibetans believe that emancipation from 

 sin can be obtained by walking over the 

 road which surrounds the city several 

 times a day and praying in the above 

 manner. 



Another way of offering prayer is by 

 arranging prayer wheels in such a way 

 that they will be turned by the wind 

 (see page 993). There is still a third 

 way, in which the prayer wheel is turned 

 by the water of a stream. Prayer pen- 

 nants are seen everywhere throughout 

 the country. Some say that these ridicu- 

 lous ways of praying originated from the 

 extraordinary laziness of the Tibetans. 



