29 
1892.] L. A. Waddell— Lamaic Rosaries : thier Kinds and Uses. 
ture very like the stomacli-stone, and its name also means ‘ stomach or 
digestion’ as well as ‘ bow.’ 
The rak-sha rosary formed of the large brown warty seeds 
of the Elceocarpus Janitrus, is specially used by the Nyingmapa Lamas in 
the worship of the fierce deities and demons. The seeds of this 
tree are normally five-lobed, and it is interesting from a botanical point 
of view to find, how relatively frequent is the occurrence of six lobes. 
Such abnormal seeds are highly prized by the Tibetans as being the off¬ 
spring of the miraculous seeds of Padma Sambliava’s rosary—the legend 
stating that the saint’s rosary string broke while at his Halashi hermitage 
in Nepal, and several of the detached beads remained unpicked up, and 
from these have resulted the six-lobed seeds. The demand for such un¬ 
common seeds being great, it is astonishing how many of them are 
forthcoming to diligent search. This rosary is also commonly used by 
the indigenous Bon-po priests, and it is identical with the rosary of the 
Sivaic Hindus—the rudraksha = Rudra’s, i. e., fierce Siva’s 
eyes), from which the Tibetan name of rak-sha is supposed to be derived. 
The Nang-ga pa-ni rosary is only used for the worship of Nam-se, 
the God of Wealth (Skt. Kubera) ; and by the Ngak-pa or wizards in 
their mystical incantations. It consists of glossy jet-black nuts about 
the size of a hazel, but of the shape of small horse chesnuts. These are 
the seeds of the Lung-thang tree which grows in the sub-tropical forests 
of the S. E. Himalayas. They are emblematic of the eyes of the Garuda 
bird, the chief assistant of Vajra-pani (Jupiter) and the great enemy of 
snakes—hence is supposed to be derived the Sanskritic name of the 
beads, from ndga, a serpent. Its use in the worship of the God of 
Wealth is noteworthy in the association of snakes—the mythological 
guardians of treasure—with the idea of wealth. 
The rosary of snake-spines (vertebrae) is only used by the sorcerers 
(N gak-pa) for purposes of sorcery and divination. The string contains 
about fifty vertebrae. 
The complexion of the god or goddess to be worshipped also de¬ 
termines sometimes the colour of the rosary-beads. Thus a turquoise 
rosary is occasionally used in the worship of the popular goddess Do-ma 
who is of a bluish green complexion. A red rosary with red Tam-din, 
a yellow with yellow Jam-yang ; and Nam-se who is of a golden yellow 
colour is worshipped wdth an amber-rosary. 
The rosaries of the laity are composed of any sort of bead accord¬ 
ing to the taste and wealth of the owner. They are mostly of glass 
beads of various colours, and the same rosary contains beads of a variety 
of sizes and colours interspersed with coral, amber, turquoise, &c., vide 
The number of beads is the same as with the Lamas, but each of the 
