124 Geographical Notice of Tibet. [April, 



by China on the east. There are several small principalities ; as, 

 K'ham-bo, Gdbd, Li-thang, De-ge Cor Der-ghe), Brag-yak, Dep- 

 ma, Go-jo, Gya-mo-rong, Jang-sa-tam, Amdo, K'hyamdo, &c. The 

 people of these parts differ very much from the rest of the Tibetans in 

 their stature, features, dress, customs, and in the manner of speaking 

 the Tibetan language. They are very robust, passionate, void of 

 artifice or cunning, not fond of ornaments on their dress. In 

 K'ham-yul, those called Pon or Bon, holding still the ancient religion 

 of Tibet, are very numerous. They have also their literature, religi- 

 ous order, several monasteries, and kill several animals, great and small 

 cattle, for sacrifice : they have many superstitious rites. 



3. The north-western part of Tibet, from Tsang to Ladak, is called 

 Ndri. This part is of very great extent, but the number of inha- 

 bitants is inconsiderable, not exceeding fifty thousand families together 

 with Ladak and Beltistan. There have been several small principa- 

 lities formerly in Ndri, as, Guge, Pur dug, Kangri y but all these belong 

 now to the great Lama at Lhassa, and are governed by K'harpons 

 (commanders of forts) sent from Lhassa. There are also in Ndri 

 very extensive deserts. The inhabitants dwell in tents, made of hair 

 cloth ; exercise a pastoral life, without any agriculture. Their num- 

 ber is said to amount to ten thousand families, and they all are under 

 the sGar-pon or chief officer residing at sGdr or sGdro, who is sent 

 from U-tsang or Lhassa, and generally remains there for three years. 



Guge, part of Ndri, lying to the north of Garhwal and Kamaon, 

 consists of two valleys, inhabited by somewhat more than two thou- 

 sand families. The principal places are Tsaprang and Tholing, not 

 far from each other. The first is the residence of the commanding 

 officer called the Kh'arpon of Tsaprang, and the second is a large 

 monastery and the seat of a Lama styled the K'hanpo of Tholing. He 

 resides daring the summer at Teshigang, another large monastery, 

 a few days' journey to the north from .Tholing. These two places, 

 (Tsaprang and Tholing) have been the residence of the princes that 

 have reigned there from the 10th till the end of the 17th century. 



Ladak, formerly called Mar-yul, still has its own prince, but he 

 must accommodate himself to the political views of the Chinese. Zan- 

 skar, Purik, Nubra, form part of the Ladak principality. In the 

 whole of Ladak the number of the inhabitants does not exceed twenty 

 thousand families. Nearly the half of them are Mohammedans, most- 

 ly of the Shia persuasion. Le (sle) is the capital of Ladak, the residence 

 of the prince, and the emporium of a considerable trade with 

 Turkistan, Lhassa, and the Panjab countries. It is about 15 to 20 



