30 
L. A. Waddell —Lamaic Rosaries : their Kinds and Uses. [No. 1, 
counter strings are usually terminated by a dorje : both strings recording 
only units of cycles, which suffice for the smaller amount of bead-telling 
done by the laity. 
Mode of Telling the Beads. 
When not in use the rosary is wound round the right wrist like a 
bracelet, or worn around the neck with the knotted end uppermost. 
The act of telling the beads is called tang-che which literally means 
* to purr ’ like a cat, and the muttering of the prayers is rather sugges¬ 
tive of this sound. 
In telling the beads the right hand is passed through the rosary, 
which is allowed to hang freely down with the knotted end upwards. 
The hand with the thumb upwards is then usually carried to the breast 
and held there stationary during the recital. On pronouncing the 
initial word ‘ Ora ’ the first bead resting on the knuckle is grasped by 
raising the thumb and quickly depressing its tip to seize the bead against 
the outer part of the 2nd joiut of the index finger. During the rest of 
the sentence the bead, still grasped between the thumb and index finger, 
is gently revolved to the right, and on conclusion of the sentence is 
dropped down the palm-side of the string. Then with another ‘ Ora ’ 
the next bead is seized and treated in like manner, and so on throughout 
the circle. 
On concluding each cycle of the beads, it is usual to finger each of 
the three ‘ keeper-beads,’ saying respectively, ‘ Ora ! ’ ‘Ah!’ ‘ Hung ! ’ 
The Mystic Formulas for the Beads, 
The mystic formulas for the beads follow the prayer properly so- 
called, and are believed to contain the essence of the formal prayer, and 
to act as powerful spells. They are of a Sanskritic nature, usually con¬ 
taining the name of the deity addressed, but are more or less unintelli¬ 
gible to the worshipper. 
The formula used at any particular time varies according to the 
particular deity being worshipped. But the one most frequently used by 
the individual Lama is that of his own iji-dam or tutelary deity, which 
varies according to the sect to which the Lama belongs. 
The formulas most frequently used are shown in the following 
table : — 
