LIFE AMONG THE PEOPLE OF EASTERN TIBET 



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stones, which are 

 placed in great piles 

 along the roads. Some 

 of these piles are many 

 feet high and represent 

 years of labor spent by 

 priests in carving and 

 placing them. In no 

 place in Tibet can the 

 eye or ear escape the 

 omnipresent "Om- 

 mani-padme-hum." 



HUNTING THE MUSK 



DEER IS A DYING 



INDUSTRY 



The country folk of 

 Tibet, as the villagers 

 and nomads may be 

 called in distinction 

 from the thousands of 

 residents of the lama- 

 series and the few 

 traders of the larger 

 towns, engage in a 

 number of minor in- 

 dustries in addition to 

 tilling the soil and 

 tending their herds 

 and flocks. 



In the past a con- 

 siderable number of 

 Tibetans have hunted 

 musk deer, collecting 

 the musk for export. 

 Owing to the rapid de- 

 crease in the number 

 of animals, however, 

 the exports have fallen 

 off markedly and the 

 industry may be said 

 to be a dying one. 



The methods em- 

 ployed have been largely responsible for 

 the dwindling importance of the industry. 

 The deer have been hunted ordinarily not 

 with guns, but by means of snares set in 

 the paths which they frequent. They are 

 caught by the feet and swung completely 

 off the ground. Although the musk is 

 obtained only from the males, the snares, 

 of course, catch both males and females. 



Wonderful and awe-inspiring concoc- 

 tions of Chinese medicine contribute 

 much to the industries of the Tibetans. 

 The collection of deer horns "in the vel- 

 vet" is a case in point. Large numbers 



Photograph by Dr. A. L. Shelton 



SACRED MANI PILES OE CARVED STONES I TIBET 



On these stones are carved the magic formula, ''Om-mani-padme- 

 hmn." The Tibetans are unable to explain the meaning of this 

 phrase, but the most generally accepted translation is "Oh, Jewel in 

 the Lotus !" which has been analyzed as indicating an expression of 

 reverence for the Dalai Lama. The lotus flower is symbolic of 

 heaven, of heavenly birth (see text, page 309). 



of deer are killed each June and July, 

 primarily for the horns, which are then in 

 the proper stage of growth. The horns 

 are sold to the Chinese, by whom they are 

 prized as one of the best tonic ingredients 

 in all their pharmacopoeia. 



In the spring and summer months the 

 Tibetans also dig plants and collect fungi 

 and other articles of supposed medicinal 

 value for export to the Chinese market. 



One of these ingredients very highly 

 prized by the Chinese is the grass worm. 

 When dug it looks like a small plant a 

 part of which is a worm. In reality it is 



