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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



them go entirely into seclusion, and they 

 also have certain periods of time devoted 

 to prayer corresponding to a retreat, dur- 

 ing which they see no one. 



THE LAMAS ARE DISLIKED AND FEARED 



As a class the lamas are disliked, but 

 also feared by the people, on account of 

 the belief that the lamas have the power 

 to do them harm. 



As a rule, the lamas are ignorant, idle, 

 and useless, living at the expense of the 

 country, which they are surely dragging 

 down. 



As the lamas in Bhutan are fed, 

 clothed, and housed at state expense, and 

 as their numbers have steadily increased, 

 they have become a very heavy burden 

 which cannot long be borne and an evil 

 which I hope may soon be curtailed by 

 the method proposed by Sir Ugyen Wang- 

 chuk, namely, the gradual reduction by 

 leaving vacancies, occurring through 

 death and other causes, unfilled and the 

 limitation of the number admitted to each 

 monastery. 



There are, of course, exceptions to 

 every rule, and I have met several lamas, 

 notably the Phodong lama of Sikkim, and 

 others like him, men who were thoroughly 

 capable, who acted up to their principles 

 and whom I thoroughly respected ; but, 

 I am sorry to say, such men were few 

 and far between. The majority generally 

 lead a worldly life and only enter the 

 priesthood as a lucrative profession and 

 one which entails no trouble to them- 

 selves. 



The march from Tashi-cho-jong to the 

 Fort of Simtoka was a lovely one, cross- 

 ing and recrossing a sparkling stream, 

 through glades of oak, chestnut, and rho- 

 dodendron, while the slopes of the hills 

 were covered with pines (Pin us cxcelsa) . 



Simtoka-jong (see page 398) is situ- 

 ated on a projecting ridge, with deep gul- 

 lies separating it from the main hill. It 

 looks old and is not in very good repair. 



On the four sides of the central square 

 tower, instead of the usual row of prayer- 

 wheels we found a row of square slabs 

 of dark slate, carved in low relief, with 

 pictures of saints and holy men. It was a 

 wonderful collection of different types, 

 with no monotonous repetition of the 



same figure, whence derived I cannot im- 

 agine, unless indeed of Chinese origin, as 

 the variety reminded me of the 1,000 

 statues in the temple in Canton, where 

 one figure is pointed out as Marco Polo 

 In Simtoka one face is a very unflatter- 

 ing likeness of the German Emperor In 

 the chapel itself, beneath a magnificent 

 carved canopy, was one of the finest 

 bronze images of Buddha that I have 

 seen ; it was supported on either side by 

 a number of standing figures of more 

 than life size. 



OUR PICTURESQUE RECEPTION AT 

 POONAKHA 



The entrance to Poonakha, which is 

 the winter capital of Bhutan (see page 

 440), was picturesque and interesting in 

 spite of the rain, which came down in 

 torrents. 



About four miles out we were met by 

 a deputation from the Tongsa Penlop. 

 He had sent the Ghassa Jongpen, who 

 brought scarfs of welcome and baskets 

 of fruit, oranges, plantains, and persim- 

 mons, in addition to sealed wicker-cov- 

 ered, bamboos filled with murwa and 

 chang. There were at least five or six 

 gaily caparisoned mules for each of us to 

 ride, sent by the Tongsa, the Poonakha 

 Jongpen, Deb Zimpen, and others ; so we 

 had an abundance of choice. The Tongsa 

 had also sent his band, which consisted 

 of six men, two in red, who were the 

 trumpeters, while the remainder, dressed 

 in green, carried drums and gongs. The 

 mass of colors of every hue was most 

 picturesque, and we made a very gay pro- 

 cession as we started off again toward 

 Poonakha. 



At the point where the jong first comes 

 in view a salute of guns was fired, more 

 retainers met us, and our procession was 

 joined by the dancers. The band and 

 dancers preceded me down the hill, play- 

 ing a sort of double tambourine and 

 twisting and twirling to the beat as they 

 descended the path. The procession must 

 have extended for quite half a mile along 

 the hillside. 



First came the pipes and drums and 

 escort of the 626. Punjabis, followed by 

 some twenty led mules, most of them 

 with magnificent saddle-cloths, with their 



