SOME JOURNEYS IN BHUTAN 



383 



the river face. It is protected on the 

 west and north by a \vide foss filled with 

 water (see pages 392-397). 



Unlike Paro and Poonakha, the bridge 

 across the Thimbu Chu was not connected 

 with the castle, and below the bridge was 

 a wooden contrivance cleverly constructed 

 to catch the timber floated down the river 

 for the use of the castle. 



The interior of the castle is divided 

 into two unequal portions by a high wall, 

 the larger section to the south containing 

 the usual square tower, measuring about 

 85 feet each way, and in this are situated 

 the chapel and private apartments of the 

 Dharma Raja, the spiritual head of the 

 nation. 



The original tower was destroyed by 

 the earthquake of 1897 and the present 

 structure was finished about 1902 ; but it 

 has been badly built and the main walls 

 are already cracked, while the interior 

 showed signs of unequal subsidence. The 

 decorations are, of course, quite modern. 



In the southeast angle of the courtyard 

 beyond are the public or living quarters 

 of the Dharma Raja, and on the west 

 front those of the Thimbu Jongpen, where 

 we were hospitably entertained. The 

 northern and smaller portion of the castle 

 is occupied entirely by the Ta-tshang 

 lamas and is not usually open to laymen. 

 The dividing wall is surmounted by a row 

 of white chortens, or shrines, protected 

 from the weather by a double roof (see 

 pages 395 and 441). 



A THOUSAND BUDDHAS 



In the center of the inner courtyard is 

 an extremely fine hall of audience or wor- 

 ship, 120 feet square and at least 50 feet 

 high. It is well lighted and finely deco- 

 rated with fresco paintings, and when the 

 silken ceiling cloths and embroidered cur- 

 tains and banners are hung it must look 

 extremely well ; but the lamas were ab- 

 sent at Poonakha, their summer quarters, 

 and all the decorations were either care- 

 fully put away or taken with them. 



A succession of chapels was built on 

 the west side. One of these was a splen- 

 did example of good Bhutanese art ; its 

 door-handles, of pierced iron-work inlaid 

 with gold, were exceptionally beautiful. 

 It was said to contain 1,000 images of 



Buddha, and the number is very likely 

 correct, as I counted over 600, while the 

 pair of elephant's tusks supporting the 

 altar, which I have remarked as an es- 

 sential ornament to the chief altar in 

 every Bhutanese chapel I have visited, 

 were larger than usual (see page 441). 



THE: BUDDHIST RITUAL, 



To my readers who wish to study the 

 subject of Buddhist religion in this part 

 of the world, I cannot give better advice 

 than to read Waddell's "Lamaism," as I 

 have no intention of entering deeply into 

 it, and will content myself by saying that 

 in both Sikkim and Bhutan the religion 

 is an offshoot of Buddhism, and was in- 

 troduced into these countries from Tibet 

 by lamas from different monasteries who 

 traveled south and converted the people. 

 Most of the tenets of Buddha have been 

 set aside, and those retained are lost in 

 a mass of ritual ; so nothing remains of 

 the original religion but the name. 



The form of worship has a curious re- 

 semblance in many particulars to that of 

 the Catholic church. On any of their 

 high holy days the intoning of the chief 

 lama conducting the service, the responses 

 chanted by the choir, sometimes voices 

 alone, sometimes to the accompaniment 

 of instruments, where the deep note of 

 the large trumpet strangely resembles the 

 roll of an organ, the ringing of bells, 

 burning of incense, the prostrations be- 

 fore the altar, the telling of beads and 

 burning of candles, the processions of 

 priests in gorgeous vestments, and even 

 the magnificent altars surmounted by im- 

 ages and decorated with gold and silver 

 vessels, with lamps burning before them, 

 even the side chapels with the smaller 

 shrines, where lights burn day and night, 

 add to the feeling that one is present at 

 some high festival in a Catholic place of 

 worship. 



I have been present at the services on 

 feast days in the temples in Sikkim, Bhu- 

 tan, and in Lhasa, and no great stretch 

 of imagination was required to imagine 

 myself in a Catholic cathedral in France 

 or Spain, especially the latter. There is 

 also some resemblance in the dress and 

 vestm nts of the priests and lamas and 

 even in some of their customs. Many of 



