LITTLE KNOWN COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD – TIBET

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 219, 16 September 1939, Page 5 (Supplement)

LITTLE KNOWN COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD - TIBET

When children in New Zealand put out their tongues at people the]) are usually punished for being horribly rude. When the people of Tibet, strange land of mystery, put out their tongues at visitors they are showing respect and making their guests welcome. This is far from the only strange fact about what, has been for centuries the least known of all the countries of the world.

Few people realise the great extent of the little known regions of Central Asia. For example, Tibet is more than four times the size of New Zealand. Imagine a great barren plateau from two to three miles above sea level, dotted with salt lakes, and swept by bitterly cold winds. That is Tibet, which is the highest land in the world to have people living in it. The flat land is surrounded by a great ring of lofty mountains, some of them the highest in the world. It is in these mountains that the big rivers of China have their source. Until a few years ago, few foreigners visited Tibet. There were two chief reasons for this. The first is that the Tibetans, shut away from the rest of the world by their mountain wall, think that their country is the most beautiful, the richest and the most healthy in the world. They think that their religion is the best and their civilisation the highest. For that reason they do not want foreigners in their country. The second factor in Tibet's isolation is the tremendous difficulties facing the traveller. There are no roads, and wlietlier the journey is made by way of liulia, Turkestan or China, it i.s necessary to climb over cold, dangerous mountain passes. These passes are the only way into Tibet, and despite the dangers of travel at from 12.000 to 14,000 feet above sea level, thousands of native traders and porters journey through them each year. Some of the passes are so difficult to climb that the only animal that can cross them in safety is the sheep. On some of the routes leading southward to India long caravans of sheep may l>e met, each animal carrying a load of 25 to 301b. The other principal highway into Tibet is from Mongolia and Northern China. This is an historic route, and for centuries pilgrints have toiled over it to the holy city of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Lhasa is. as sacred to these Eastern worshippers of Buddha as Jerusalem is to the .Tews or Mecca to the Mohammedans.

Besides worshipping in Lhasa's temples the pilgrims often take a six-mile walk round the city, always praying and kneeling at certain points. Some of (la' pilgrims even make this journey on hands an<l knees. First impression of a visitor to Tibet its the queer appearance of the people in the desert areas which have to be crossed on the way to Lhasa. The men's faces are wrinkled and toughened by exposure to the icy winds of winter and the hot sunshine of summer. The women's faces are covered with a black, dirty grease. These people live very poorly, their homes being only tents made from the coarse hide of the yak, Tibet's most valuable animal. The men are away from home much of the time. Some of them are with the caravans, driving the yaks and ponies over the mountain passes into India or China. Some are hunting the small deer from wnich musk, one of the most important Tibetan products, is obtained. The men who stay at home are engaged in farming or doinir such odd jobs as repairing guns and kettles or

making saddles and bridles. The farmer raises rhubarb to be sent to China, and raises the poor type of grain and vegetables that grow in thics unpromising land. One of the liiotJt important tasks, however, looking after the village herd of yaks.

The yak is a curious animal in appearance- something like a buffalo with coarse hair hanging down to the ground. The natives drink its milk, eat its fiesh, weave clothes from its hair, and load burdens on its back.

Religion plays an important ]>art in tlie life of Tibet. A fifth of Tibet'ii population is connected with its observances. More than 20,000 lamas, or monks, live in Lhasa alone. The population of the city is only 50,000. These monks live in communities known as lamasaries. some of which are as large as small towns. The monks are a great burden on the community, as they are supported by (he rest of the people.

Ruler of Tibet in the Grand Lama, regarded by tlie people a« being himself a <rod. He always lives in Lhasa

succeseor is chosen by wise men from among babies who must have some mysterious sign to show which it tlie appointed one to rule in holy Lhasa.

The Grand Lama lives in a great palace, which for more than J 000 years has been the most sacred spot in eastern Asia. The palace is surrounded by fortifications, temples and monasteries. A fine avenue leads through the city gates to the huge building. Thus is the only real street in Llia«a. The others are dirty, narrow lanes in which pigs and dogs search for food among piles of filthy refuse. From the buildings of Lhasa fly what appear to be flags. They are really prayers, for the Tibetans believe that their prayers will be as readily answered if they print them on flags and hang them from their houses :is if they say them. Prayer wheels are also to be seen in every home. These are strange machines containing rolls of paper on which prayers are printed. By turning a handle the paper roll is wound or unwound. These prayer wheels are of all sizes, from small ones carried in the hand to huge machines, 10ft high, and turned by wind or water power. A country so bleak and barren, so difficult of access and so lacking in wealth would seem of small importance, but the great nations of th® world have been interested in Tibet. England, controlling India to the south, and Russia to the north, long cved each other suspiciously across tlit- uplands of Tibet.

and is regarded with j-reat veneration. On the dentil of this ruler his

]t wa« partly to make sure tliat Tiljet granted ho privileges to Russia, that an English military expedition made its difficult way to in 1903. Up to tliat time not more tlian half a dozen foreigners had been to Lliajsa. A treaty was signed, by which Tibet destroyed her forts on the Indian border and agreed to extend her trade with India. The treaty laid the foundations of a friendship which has not been broken.