228 EAST NEPAL. Chap. X. 



eastward, and then, crossing the Nango, Kambachen and 

 Kanglanamo passes, reach Jongri in Sikkim, on the sonth 

 flank of Kinchinjunga. 



Strolling out in the afternoon I saw a dance of Lamas ; 

 they were disfigured with black paint * and covered with 

 rags, feathers, and scarlet cloth, and they carried long 

 poles with bells and banners attached ; thus equipped, they 

 marched through the village, every now and then halting, 

 when they danced and gesticulated to the rude music of 

 cymbals and horns, the bystanders applauding with shouts, 

 crackers, and alms. 



I walked up to the convents, which were long ugly build- 

 ings, several stories high, built of wood, and daubed with 

 red and grey paint. The priests were nowhere to be found, 

 and an old withered nun, whom I disturbed husking millet 

 in a large wooden mortar, fled at my approach. The temple 

 stood close by the convent, and had a broad low architrave : 

 the walls sloped inwards, as did the lintels : the doors 

 were black, and almost covered with a gigantic and dis- 

 proportioned painting of a head, with bloody cheeks and 

 huge teeth ; it was surrounded by myriads of goggle eyes, 

 which seemed to follow one about everywhere ; and though 

 in every respect rude, the effect was somewhat imposing. 

 The similarly proportioned gloomy portals of Egyptian fanes 

 naturally invite comparison ; but the Tibetan temples lack 

 the sublimity of these ; and the uncomfortable creeping 

 sensation produced by the many sleepless eyes of Boodh's 

 numerous incarnations is very different from the awe with 

 which we contemplate the outspread wings of the Egyptian 

 symbol, and feel as in the presence of the God who 



* I shall elsewhere have to refer to the Tibetan custom of daubing the face with 

 black pigment to protect the skin from the excessive cold and dryness of these 

 lofty regions ; and to the ludicrous imposition that was passed on the credulity of 

 MM. Hue and Gabet. 



