Vol. ee No. 2.] Fr. Krick among the Abors (1853). 115 
[N.S. 
I may be allowed to hazard here a suggestion with regard 
to the origin of these signs. It is my opinion, and all those 
who have come in contact with the Padams agree with me 
that the pattern, as 1 have described it, is the Christian cross. 
These are briefly my reasons : 
lst. No other marks are tattooed on their bodies./ 
2nd. Their crosses are altogether similar in shape to p: 186. 
our four crosses : the ordinary cross, the Maltese, 
the St. Andrew’s and the Lorraine crosses. 
3rd. The spiritual meaning attached to them by the 
natives strongly confirms my conjecture. 
What then would be the meaning of the vertical lines, 
always numbering 3, 5 or 7, with which they tattoo their chins ? 
Might not the number 3 be a reminiscence of the Blessed 
Fr. Athanasius Kircher in his in-folio bearing the title ‘‘ La 
Chine illustrée’’ mentions several missions established in 
Thibet, China and Tartary from the time of the Apostle 
St. Thomas. This book was printed at Amsterdam in 1665. 
Healso published a map, roughly drawn, but giving accurately 
enough the chief towns and districts ; on it he traced the route 
followed by Frs. Francis! Dorville and John Grabére* from 
Peking to Goa,’ throvgh China,/Tartary, Thibet and Bengal. P- 187. 
These Fathers travelled from Lassa to the North of the Padam 
country, whilst according to their information Fr. Andrada 
went as far as the Thibetan town Radoc. Now we are told 
that in this country they discovered evident traces of the 
Christian religion, proving to a certainty that the Gospel had 
been preazhed to those tribes. They speak of three men who 
bore the names of Dominic, Francis and Anthony.* 
from the forehead down to the tip of the nose; others had only one single 
cross-beam running either across the nose or above the eves. 
h : 
I made them understand I was a priest, a teacher of prayer, and 
that I had come to explain to them the mysterious power of the cross 
i i i in turn 
Cf. Annales dé la Propag. de la Foi, 1852 (1853 2). 
! His istian name was Albert. 
2 To be spelt: Griiber or Grueber. 
8 Not Goa, but Agra. 
4 Neither Father A. de Andrade nor Fathers Dorville and Grueber 
had anything to do with the Abors. Their journey lay hundreds of miles 
