soon as an ofiender is brought before the tribunal,
before any inquiry or investigation of any sort, he is
whipped. This is called the introductory whipping,
as it introduces all parties to the justice of the courts.
I t is to be remembered that, in inflicting corporal punishment,
the victim is tied face downwards on the
ground, and two men sit on him with whips. When each
man has given one stroke a third official counts one,
in other words, a punishment of one hundred stripes
is really one of two hundred stripes. This is the universal
Tibetan practice: it is a humorous custom, of
which the humour is scarcely appreciated by the victim.
The blows are always delivered on the tendon above
the knee, the object being to prevent the wretched man
from walking for some considerable time afterwards.
The next event is the investigation, which takes
place on some day fixed in the future. Proceedings
open with whipping number two, to encourage the prisoner
to be free in the disclosure of facts. Evidence
is recorded on slats of wood by the Garphans, and is
subsequently copied on to paper to make the record.
The accused is never questioned, except for purposes of
a confession, and his evidence in defence is never taken.
He is almost invariably condemned practically unheard,
and as a prelude to any other punishment is
whipped for the third time. This is known as the
final whipping, not that it is so really. One favourite
sentence is to send the condemned to each of the four
Jongpens, each of whom on his arrival immediately
administers castigation, and after keeping him for a
time sends him on to his next-door neighbour. The
wife and children are handed over to the headman
of some village, where they lead the lives of slaves for
the rest of their natural term, doing all the unpaid
labour that is so generally required by officials from
villagers.
The Garphans always sit and act together, and although
the Senior Viceroy enjoys a certain amount
of extra consideration owing to his years, still no act is
valid until ratified by both. This form of government
TIBETAN WOMEN
They are carrying baskets on the back: the woman on the left has hanging
from her waist strings of beads and tinkling bells: this is a common
practice and a woman walking can be heard a long way off
is very common in Central Tibet, where the Jongpens
are always appointed two at a time and there is dual
authority; but in Western Tibet it is unknown, except
in the case of the Garphans. It is true that at Takla-
kot the Abbot sits with the Jongpen, but there c a i be
no question that the fcivil officer far outweighs the
priest in all civil administration. The houses in which
the Viceroys live are of the poorest description and
extremely uncomfortable. They are cramped, dark,