288 Capt. Pemberton's Mission to Bootan, 1837-38. CAprii,, 



age, the houses are built of such materials, and these are used perhaps 

 in all cases in the constructions of rank or sacred character. In many 

 places mud is resorted to ; the mud is pressed tightly between planks, 

 and then assiduously beaten down by feet and clubs ; in this they shew 

 great dexterity, five or six persons, chiefly women beating at once a 

 piece of mud of small dimensions. The mud is beaten down on that 

 which has been previously so treated, so that when they come to any 

 ' height, there must be considerable danger of falling, particularly as the 

 beaters make most extraordinary antics. When each piece is sufficient- 

 ly compacted it is allowed to dry. As portions of mud of a parallelogram- 

 mic form are thus treated, the house presents lines, which at first lead 

 one to suppose that it is built of blocks of coarse sand-stone. The 

 process is very tedious. 



The sculpture they possess would appear to be Chinese : some of the 

 figures were really excellent ; the finest we saw were at Dewangiri, 

 especially that of the Dhurma, before which it is considered impossi- 

 ble to sin, and this may be the reason of the natives striving so strenu- 

 ously to do so. All these figures were well dressed. The few figures 

 of Boodh that I saw were rather rude, in the usual position, and with 

 the usual long fingers and toes. These people certainly have an idea 

 of drawing, and this was very pleasing. To a native of the Plains you 

 may shew a drawing which you have every reason to be pleased with, 

 particularly if you have done it yourself, and he says, " kya V or he 

 mistakes a house for a boat, or a tree for a cow. In Bootan, however, 

 the case is very different ; our sketches were recognised immediately, 

 no matter what subjects we intended to represent. They are also 

 ready at comprehending charts. And with regard to their own per- 

 formances we had opportunities of judgment presented to us by the 

 walls of many houses, which were covered with scrawls ; they excel in 

 the representation of animals, particularly when the shape depends 

 upon the will of the artist. 



Music enters into most of their ceremonies, and the favourite instru- 

 ment emits a sound like that of a bassoon. Another favourite instru- 

 ment is a clarionet, particularly when made from the thigh bone of a 

 man : the sound of this is equal to that of any Bengal musical instru- 

 ment, and is as disagreeable as it is continuous, the skill of the per- 

 former depending entirely upon his length of wind. One of these in- 

 struments generally heads every procession of sufficient importance. 



At two of our interviews with Soobah we had an opportunity of wit- 

 nessing the mode of dancing, which was done entirely by women, and 

 as certain qualifications for dancing girls exist to a remarkable extent 

 in Bootan, they are chosen indiscriminately. The dancing merely 

 consists in slow revolutions and evolutions, and outturning of the 



