164
JOURNEY TO LHASA AND CENTRAL TIBET.
of Lhasa, near which they live, and feed them to vultures and dogs. A ragyaba may not show his wealth, however great it be; the walls of their houses must be made with horns of sheep, goats, or yaks, the convex sides turned upwards.[1]
At present the chief of the ragyabas is a man of about fifty years, called Abula; he wears a red serge gown and a yellow turban. Cursed is the lot of the ragyabas, and twice cursed is Abula, if a day passes without a corpse being brought to the cemetery; for people
FUNERAL PROCESSION.
believe that if a day passes without a death it portends evil to Lhasa.
In connection with the erection of Ramoche, it is said that the princess who had it built discovered that the spot on which the
- ↑ "In the faubourgs there is a quarter where the houses are built entirely with horns of oxen and sheep. These curious buildings are extremely solid, and present a rather pleasing aspect. The ox-horns being smooth and whitish, and the sheep-horns, on the contrary, black and rough, these strange building materials lend themselves marvellously well to endless combinations, and form on the walls designs of infinite variety; the spaces between the horns are filled with mortar. These houses are the only ones which are not whitewashed." Huc, 'Souvenirs d'un voyage,' vol. ii. p. 254.
