THE PEOPLE OF THE WILDERNESS 



527 



Photograph by Adam Warwick 



A MONGOLIAN PEASANT WOMAN RETURNING FROM A MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL 



Note the typical Mongolian coiffure. The precise nature and shape varies according to 



the tribe. 



cated to some saint of its own creed. 

 Every Mongol stops to worship at them, 

 leaving some kind of an ex-voto to attest 

 his piety — a bit of rag or fur from his 

 clothing or a handful of hairs from his 

 horse's mane or his own head. 



Having ascended the hill, the priests 

 gather round the stone cairn, which has 

 been previously decorated with leaves and 

 branches. A tent is set up near by for 

 the Living Buddha, the high Lamas, and 

 the civil officials. Lesser dignitaries 

 squat upon the ground in a circle. 



Then the weird service begins, ac- 

 companied by all the strange parapher- 

 nalia of the Lama cult — huge bronze 

 trumpets six feet long, flutes made from 

 sea shells, and libation cups from human 

 skulls. 



A EEAST OE COLOR IN A RADIANT 

 LANDSCAPE 



The ceremony must be completed by 

 sunrise, when the participants return to 

 the monastery for the popular festival, 

 some riding rapidly, some riding cau- 



tiously, but all converging on one center, 

 and many of them ending up with a 

 furious gallop to show their fine ponies 

 at their best. 



The crowd is a feast of color in a 

 radiant landscape. The background of 

 distant blue hills merges into a translu- 

 cent blue sky, where an eagle, sharply 

 silhouetted in the clear air, circles above. 

 Holy cranes watch solemnly beside the 

 waters of a distant salt lake that reflects 

 the azure of the heavens. Queer long- 

 tailed mice prowl about. A spotted deer, 

 whom it is a sacrilege to kill, stands fear- 

 lessly — an orange speck — beside the tem- 

 ple, and a herd of fleet "tserengs," or 

 steppe antelope, knowing the hunter is 

 less considerate of them, bounds away 

 toward the horizon. 



By this time a group of white tents has 

 been erected in the meadow for the feast. 

 The largest serves as a reception hall. 

 Inside a big transversal bench has been 

 prepared for the guests of honor, whose 

 places are marked by double cushions 

 covered witli priceless old silk carpets 



