STRANGE PEOPLE AND STRANGE CUSTOMS

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 15

STRANGE PEOPLE AND STRANGE CUSTOMS

WORSHIPPING HUMP GODS. j OVER THE ROOF ~6IF THlf J _, .- (Fbom O^b-Ows' Cosresspj^sntVi ?'5; * J ~* AUCKLAND, January 1. Away beyond -the- ".-a-oof of ."the world"! and to the north of Mongolia in the strange country of- trans-Baikalia lives ther fl'onlad i race of Buriate, one .of the fetwCngest peoples z j on the face of- the globe. lit is not often i that Europeans are able to -witness the strange customs of these strange peoples, but amongst the visitors to Auckland this season -is. Mr -Roland Hardwi<Sfc, who for 10 years past has- been* travelling th rough '4Kb Siberian and Manchurian- country, the "outbade" of China, and .the, fastnesses of the Himalaya system, and he told an in- j teresting story,) to> ft Herald reporter of a visit to the _Buriats.~ . Some years ago Mr Hardwiok .found himself in Harbin to meet other members of an expedition, which proposed to traverse I Mongolia down through East Turkestan" ' and jso on to Afghanistan, but from „a ' variety of causes the expedition was unable to carry ■ out its purpose, and Mr Hardwiek therefore moved west towards Lake Baikal, intending to work down to Vliassutai, above the desert of Gobi. En route he came across the Buriats. Crossing the Siberian frontier he met several, and a friendship springing up he was invited to visit the Lamasery, or religious centre at "Gelung Nor" (The Lake of Priest?). " It was a long' weary journey," IMr Hardweek said, "as we travelled in the winter jtime and on the Backs of Siberian ponies — first cousins,- I «hould say, to the lively -equines landied in New Zealand recently for the Antarctic expedition. Our fare was chiefly millet with mutton fat, and we drank, a concoction of brick "tea, butter," and milk.- Still it „w as- satisfying, and I thrived on it. The Buriats are true Mongols and " '-wanderers, and they are great horsemen? _T}ieir ; general, dress ia ,a long ulster.-like garment, "and - fchey>- wear the Marichu', cap, for head- gear. But at the time I speak of W.e all wore furs. ."They' live in great felt tents, and therefore tehy can easily change their place of abode and ■wander -over the great steppes. Amongst them are 6ome wealthy people, reckoning wealth the possession' df flocks of sheep .and- herds of cattle. Prior to the eighteenth ''century * ""these '" people ' 'were Shamanists and believers ' in d-emonofatry, ■but they changed to a, form of .Buddhism, now distinctively known as Lamaism, and the .Buriats- have the 'ritualistic form, of Tibet. " ■ - H - • - > - • , - ■■ "AT , THE LAMASERY."

Biding- from. Verkni Udnek we got ot Noir Selenginsk, about 130^ miles away, and, then -travelling, through the hills for a day we reached the" Lake of Priests, and away behind it stretched the Blue Ranges. At the south end of the lake is the.^ temple of the Buriats — ari elaborate and' handsome building in pagoda style — and around it were scopes of huts, which were the dwellings of the lamas' and students. Almost every family of these nomad people "sends a son , to a lamasery to be trained in the monastery as a lama or monk, and at the temple I speak of there were upwards of a thousand lamas and students — rather a large clergy to support. The students' . course' lasts for TO years, and in that time ho is instructed by the lamas in Tibetan, theology, religious dogma, literature, medicine,, and Buddhist -astrology, - astronomjr,and philosophy. At the head of the priesthood at the Lake of Priests was the khamba larea the grand lama of Siberia. The Buriats - are not content to allow their prieste to point them to an invisible ..path to an invisible heaven, and an invisible sro<3- Tsiey wajifc to «cc ifcejir g<xfa and talk with them, and hence no "graven image." would do. They have, therefore, invested certain of their number with divine attributes, and, having so invested them, worship' \them. These gods, as far as I could find out, are all selected as boys and there are over a hundred of them — some in Tibet, some in Mongolia, and some in, China. Once placed in this position the elected god is looked upon as sinless. Nothing he can dp is wrong, and even in death he-.ris removed' from th» common Buriat, as to him belongs the privilege* of reincarnation instead of / his being-" obliged to worry along with the common process of transmigation of soul. This privilege is shared with the dalai lamas. The presence of a "gegen" or god at a temple really represents its income, for the faithful -make large offerings in return for the blessing -of a touch of the hand or consultation with- the gegen as an oracle. These gods are always arrayed in splendidi silk costumes, and they, like the lamas, are never supposed to marry. The supreme head of the 'gegens and of the lamas is' the grand lama of Lhaesa. I found, the people most hospitable, and they seemed quite interested in hearing of affairs of the outside world. Although it was "difficult" for 1 them to understand much, shut off as they are. Such places as Paris, London, and Berlin were only names to them, but tntey knew of Japan and also stfcnething about Pekin. They had no objection whatever to being photographed, and allowed me to t&ke a camera into the temple or anywhere else with the utmost freedom, and even, the godl^gave me *. sitting, and he talked, freely with 'me, but in grave, and dignified' fashion as befitted his -stations.

A SERVICE IN THE TEMPLE.

On the third day after my arrival, there was' a great religious service at the temple. The men. of * the tribes flocked to the* lake ! in large numbers, clad in furs and carrying theijr bows and arrows. The women, some j of whom are decidedly good looking, were | attired in fchep: best dresses, being^««©or&ted j with bear designs-.. The temple is _ ap-. proached by a. broad flight of stairs, "and | above this is. a 'sort of temple, over- which ] is a heavy roof^ 1 supported by carved pillars with wide wings or decorations. Every inch ( of these pillars and of the roof front seemed to be carved, or rather painted, but" the ornamentation was of( somewhat stereotyped design. "PunctuallyV at the hour appointed the " orchestra " oame out on' the steps. There were from j 12 to 15 'i^erformers. Two were provided with trumpets, eisfht feet long, two with huge cymbals, two with a -kind of big drum, some with triangles, and some with ! pipes, or sheik,- or horns. The triumphant strains of the, "summons to prayer" made a .most hideous row, bnt the Buriats seemed to think .it was fine music, and

iie orchestra seemed particularly '^proud ofvits^eff oats. r As -a visitor, I was 'conducted in before" >■ th|£ gatesHwete opened -to the faithful. Inside were tiro great 'roads of pillars, and these and the decorated wings extending out from the capital, were . painted , in yellow, green, red, blue, and ' f white, an"d-y<et this^seei&ing clash of colours „ jyas made to harmonise^ well. All the : "pillars; jatod walls } boere ■* ifigfirip-fijoneS; tin' 11 Tibetan* character!, ""-aricl hung' every where" about the interior. wer^^ofXerines ifi iho form of Jantern&j-sisiK p«tnt*rf*Vfe^r#senTa- ' tions Of saints, e£c. At the head was a I 'raised double throne, -and this was occu-- : pied by the "geg.en,^'_ or< god, and , the Khamba Lama, both brilliantly attired in silks. The latter, by the way, is a learned and travelled man, and he has visited) various Eastern coutries. On this occasion*.he worse an orange, silk robe with a crimson shawl or scarf, and his head dress — a .peculiar peaked cap — was worked in gold thread. The Lamas were the next to enter, "and they 'occupied seats along the aisles., iThey^also wore yellow and crimson silk. The service consisted largely of a monotonous chant accompanied by the " orchestra" and the blowing of shells andhorns. Ib. was mercifully short, but I | carried away a splitting headache. Offer- | ings were made to the gegen and the grand lama*, and then to the burkhans, or sacred' figures 'of saints in small temples flanking the big one. These figures take most peculiar forms. One I saw was a huge thing shaped like an elephant and with, a trunk like an ant-eater's nose. At a certainfestival this figure, arranged in brilliant trappings, is drawn round' the village bearing a small temple, and there is much "orchestral" music. I was glad I escaped that festival. THE MYSTERY PLAY. Periodically the Buriats have mystery plays. At least- Mr ' C. H. , Kawes, a wellknown traveller, described them as mystery plays; but the Buriats call them Tzam, or "Dances of the burkhans." There was one performed^ during my visit, and it was one of the strangest things I have ever seen in the East, — stranger than any of the Hindu 'rites. The performers are dressed in most extraordinary costumes, and wear the ugliest maso,;ues that the mind of man could 'conceive. Certain of them, wear no masques, 'but have; instead, beautifully-worked hats; and, these men -".weapons . such t aa daggers. They represent the- good and the masqued* persons are the evil spirits. The dressing- is wonderfully - brilliant and Oriental, richly-coloured silk scarves and . sashes beine used, "while "there 1 ia also »■ plentiful display of bizarre jewels. The masques represent all I'so/ts of-,- 'grotesque things. One looks like- a caricature ; of a skull, another the -face of an ( ebony giant ,in torture,- .another" a demon's .head with -horns, and another looks like some awful ' animal.. jTo, the roar 'bf ' shells and horns,' the banging of? drums, and' the blare of the . Bft trumpets, ' these performers commencTa , wild -dance7"whirlihg- round and* -round' with' .extraordinary rapidity, and " becoming involved in apparently hopeless confusion. It is a wild mefee fr&m start to finish, but at the conclusion it- is apparent that the demons, . all -vanquished, by the good spirits, "and afterwards there is a great feast. Far-jfisgrn civilisation as these people are, .yet Westerntj. influences are reaching ' them. Their old-time -medicine , men are giving way to men of their own race, -tira'ined: as doctors in "Russia, and <some;of their young men, when I was there, were just about to depart into the world .for education along European 'lines. It 'is a" strange .country, and. I have.- heard that {■foreigners .are- received with suspicion and hostility,, bttt all I can say is that 'l saw no »ign of unfriendliness, and I met with the .greatest kindness aadt invitations to return. -