Ill; ‘
filll
glare of the sun from rock and snow* This would
be a more convincing reason, if the kutch was actually
worked into the hollow of the eye, and on the eye-lid;
but these are left unstained. Two other reasons, also
of a flatly contradictory nature, have been suggested
to explain this custom of Tibetan women, but there
does not seem any necessity to accept either view.
One thing must in common fairness be said, and that
is, that nowhere in the world will you find such exquisite
teeth in men, women and children alike as m
Tibet, though it is beyond dispute certain that no tooth
brush, or any form of cleansing them, has ever been
practised, or indeed known, from one end of the country
to the other.
Still going on from Chumbi, we turn a corner, just
beyond where a big cavern opens m a rock, and are
' confronted at once with the, wall and gate of Chorten-
karpo, or the White Cairn. This is a Chinese post about
a mile distant from the Tibetan village of Galmka. The
wall itself is well and solidly built and has evidently
been restored and pointed quite lately. Immediately
outside it are some rock paintings. The portrait o
the blue-faced goddess, Dolma jang, is strongly done.f
* Mr T a l b o t K e l l y recommends essentially the same thing for use against the glare of
Egypt The Sikkim coolies pull their hair over their eyes in a curtain for the same purpose.
t Jang in Tibetan means green. The word, however is
blue and green objects, and a curious question is suggested as to how far the
are colour blind. Imade some scantytests, but could arrive at n o clear decision. From
the use of their words denoting colour one would think that they with difficulty dis-
S g u i L d green from blue. Grass in Tibetan is always called blue, though i pressed a
native w ill say that itisa lso green. Another curious misapplication istheir
lapis lazuli is green, and the difficulty of identifying mdramla is caused by the fact that
B u t t e the description of any modifying shade of the primary colours they fa ll back upon H W M H HH « ■ ■H9B|TOji names for the two great neighbouring Empires. China is the Black Expanse ana
India is the 1 White Expanse,” and these names are old enough to have no reference
the presence or absence of Europeans. It has beSti conjectured, rather unconvincing y,