Trances, Dances and Vociferations: Agency and Resistance in Africana Womens Narratives (Garland Refe

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Peking, j Kagoeima, Kennie was a staff surgeon of the force which oiierated in the north df China under Sir Hope Grant, and remained for some time at Pekin as surgiHin to the liOgatlgn. In Isw he visited Japan, and his Journal during that visit is, we think, the moat attractive part ot this very pleasant volume. Ho had therefore ixculuir opportunities of obaerving the Chinaman under clrcumstanops and in locahtlcs which were new to an European. Rennie had many oppottunlUes of seeing and noting down all that was worthy of observation.

Rennie does Justice to the character, both of Chinese and Japanese.

The power of the spoken word

The book is very acceptable. These troubles have related chiefly to raids, into British territory pluu- lering cattle, Ac. In the course of the narrative however it will be shown that grounds exist for believing that the faults were not altogether on the side of the Bhotanese, and that a certain lawlessness of action has prevailed on both sides of the frontier; pretty much as existed on the borders of England and Scotland in former years. The first chapter is dcwoted to a sketch of the country, its inhabitants, and form of government, sufficiently detailed to enable the reader at starting to understand who the Bhotanese really are, and the relation in which they stand to Thibet, and thus, indirectly, to our old friends the Chinese.

In preparing this slodch, I have drawn freely on the official records Iniving latest reference to the subject, and have also, in some measure been aided by my own observation. The second chapter refers to the commencement of British intercourse with Bhotan in , and brings our acquaintance with the country up to the year The third treats of the troubles consequent on the annexation of Assam in , and the assumption by the Government of India of the relations which had previously existed between the Assamese and the Bhotanese.

Eeference is also briefly made in this chapter to the first regular mission sent to Bhotan by the Indian Government in , and to the train of events details being given in the form of an Appendix which in determined the Governor- General, Lord Canning, to send a second. Chapters four and five are therefore devoted to an account of Mr. As matters however turned out, a staff- surgeon was not at the period wanted, the left Wing only of the regiment going to Darjeeling on the north-easteni frontier as a support — while the head- quarters were brought down to Dum Dum, near Calcutta ; so as to be at band, in the event of further support being required.

Shortly after this occurred, my services having been placed at the disposal of the Cornmander-in-Chief, I thought it likely, that, from my local position, should the head-quarters of the 80th Regiment have to proceed to the scene of hostili- ties, I should have to accompany it. At the commencement of December , the British troops entered the Bhotan territory, and the annexation measures, which had been previously determined on, were carried out, almost without resistance, and the year opened with the whole affiiir apparently terminated ; orders being issued by the Government for the break-up of the field force.

I was placed in medical charge of the latter corps, which formed the reserve of the Left Brigade of the Dooar Field Force, and served with it in the Himalayas until the termination of active operations, and the adoption for the time being, of a purely defensive iwlicy. In the course of that portion of the narrative which relates to my residence at Darjeeling, I have endeavoured to throw some light on the origin of the Mongolian tribes forming the bulk of the popu- lation ol the Sikim Himalayas — a subject upon which but little has been written, and that little, I am inclined to think of doubtful accuracy.

Whatever my views relatifig thereto may be worth, in forming them, I have had the advantage of a moderately intimate previous acquaintance with the physical and other characteristics of a variety of subdivisions of the great Mongolian family, and particularly of the one from which, in my opinion, is descended the section of the Sikim population, concerning whose oiigin obscurity exists.

The arranging and re-writing of my notes and shaping the work into its present form were com- menced in the Bay of Bengal, and finished olf the Azores — for its shortcomings, therefore, I trust allow- ance will be made ; a cuddy table in a sailing troop ship presenting a combination of circumstances the reverse of favourable to a literary undertaking. Grifiiths, and the Honourable Ashley Eden. With respect to the illustrations, I have to state that having casually brought home a few photographs from Daijeeling, it was thought as well to engrave them, and also introduce a few woodcuts from Dr.

I may also state that at the conclusion of the narrative, T have been able to append a note contain- ing a brief summary of our relations with Bhotan up to the latest date ; which renders the work piore complete than it otherwise would be. Ashley Eden appointed Envoy — Nature of his Instructions. Eden prepares to start from Darjeeling. VriMiigeim nts at D. Tulpiuaa ic — Apjx'arame of llu' Sl. A Paharee and Lepeha sitting down , ,. In length Bhotan is two hundred and tweniy miles.

Its breadth varies a good deal, and may be stated as averaging about ninety miles. On the west by the Teesta River, which separates it from Sikim the territory intervening between Bhotan and Nepaul , and on the east by the Dhunseeree River, separating it from the hill districts ruled over by the Towang Raja; a priest subordinate to the Grand Lama — the ecclesiastical ruler of Thibet. With the exception of a strip of land varying in breadth from ten to thirty miles, situated at the foot of the inferior heights — but not properly belonging to Bhotan; having been acquired by aggression from the Mogul dynasty, the whole of the country presents a succession of as rugged and lofty mountain scenery as is to be found in the world.

The area of Bhotan Proper, namely, the portion included between the higher and lower Himalayan ranges, has been esti- mated at 1 9, geographical miles. The level ground at the foot of the latter, wrested from the Moguls, runs along the whole length of the country, and separates the British frontier from the subordinate chain of the Bhotan hills. Communication between this plain and the interior of Bhotan takes place through a series of mountain passes, locally known as Dooars, a word derived from the Hindoostanee dwaty a gate or entrance.

This name has been inappropri- ately applied to the level tract upon which these passes open, and thus a much wider meaning has become attached to the word, Dooar than that which etymologically belongs to it. These Dooars, which consist of a rich and fertile soil capable of high cul- CH.

S tivation, will be more fully described in connexion with the history of British intercourse with fehotan. More correctly, it should be spelt Bhotstan — stan in the Persian and Arabic meaning place, as istan does in the Sanscrit: The Bhoteahs and the Thibetians are in fact the same people ; the former being what may be termed a colonial branch of the latter, who have become alienated in a considerable measure from the mother country, by attempting the inde- pendent government of hill territory, originally ac- quired by Thibetian enterprise, but, from its unpro- ductiveness, apparently given up by the Government to such adventurers as chose to remain in it.

The proofs of identity between the terms Thibe- tian and Bhoteah are the following. In the first place, the word Thibet is not only unknown in the country portrayed under that name in European maps, but is a word respecting the origin of which we have no authentic knowledge. He composed a Thibetian grammar and dic- tionary, the publication of which he superintended at Calcutta, and, unfortunately, while on the way back to the scene of his philological labours, was overtaken by sickness, which terminated fatally at Dar- jeeling in A tombstone in the burial-ground of that remote station, bearing a higlily eulogistic inscription, marks his last resting- place.

S of the greater division of the country from the lesser, and thus that the two words Ta Bot, corrupted into Thibet, may have been adopted by foreigners as generic for the whole. In the second place, at Darjeeling, which is one of the great points of rendez- vous between the Indo-Chinese races, the word Thibet is unintelligible, though Thibetians abound ip the place ; the term Bhoteah, however, is generally under- stood and in no way restricted to the inhabitants of Bhotan. At Darjeeling it is a matter of every-day occurrence at the present time to see groups of men belonging to the Mongolian race in conversation, who, while bearing a general resemblance to each other, nevertheless differ in many respects, such as the mode of wearing the hair, the nature of their garments and dialect.

Many of them understand a little Hindoostanee, a knowledge of which is very iiseftil to them in the course of the petty trading transactions in which they are engaged. Ill the group there may be one or more other men, who, though quite distinct from the natives of Hindoostan, still are equally distinct from the Lepchas and the different classes of the Bhoteahs. Their features are decidedly those of the Malay race, and tkey are known under the generic name of Paharees, or hiU-men.

They may be either natives of Nepaul, or a cross between them and the Bengalee. Many of them, no doubt, are sprung from the abori- gines of that portion of the Himalayan range which is now inhabited chiefly by Mongolian tribes. Having thus shown the wide signification locally attached to the term Bhoteah, I shall in the course of the ensuing narrative avoid using it, and in lieu thereof substitute Bhotanese, as distinctive of the inhabitants of Bhotan.

I have merely adopted it from obserring that it is the one most commonly followed in modem maps and atlases, and therefore the one most familiar to European geographers, and quite as correct as Bootan, the other way in which the CH. The latest and most detailed account we have is that contained in the Report of the Honourable Ashley Eden, the failure of whose mission to Bhotan, in , led to the military operations that will hereafter be referred to.

Ac- cording to the data furnished Mr. Eden, Bhotan has not been in the possession of Thibetians for much more than two centuries, and is stated to have be- longed to a tribe that the Bhotanese call Tephoo, who are believed to have been the people of Gooch Behar. Of the conquest of the Tephoo territory Bhotan , and the establishment therein of an or- ganised form of government, Mr.

I have adopted the same principle with reference to the word Sikim, and shall adhere to it throughout the narrative, except where it appears as a quotation. The Kampa sepoys took such a fancy to the country that they refused to return, and, remaining, formed a little colony without organisation or government. After a time they were visited by a travelling Lama from Lassa, named Sheptoon La-pha. He acquired great influence over the little colony, and they eventually made him their king, imder the title of Dhurma Eaja.

He was a good and wise ruler, kept the country in good order, was beneficent to his subjects, and was supported entirely by voluntary contributions. There was at this time in a monastery of Kain, to the south-east of Lassa, a certain Lama named Farchoo Doopgein Sheptoon ; ho was a very religious man, but was not bound by vows of celibacy, and had a large family.

By degrees he acquired a great reputation for piety and learning, people flocked to him, and his wishes were more cared for than those of the Dhurma Raja, Sheptoon La-pha. La-pha began to fear that the people would dethrone him and place Doopgein on the throne, and so he wrote him a letter requestmg him to leave CH. On this the Dhurma Eaja sent him an order banishing him from the country, on the ground that a married Lama was a scandal to the religion of Buddh. This letter he sent by a one-eyed messenger, a proceeding which, according to the Thibetian notions of etiquette, is a gross insult.

Doopgein, however, interpreted it otherwise, and sent back the following message to him: Doopgein claimed the Rajaship, the people flocked to him, and La-pha was abandoned by his followers, and, being reduced to starvation, ran away into Thibet to a place called Kongoo. Doopgein Sheptoon was the only good ruler the Booteahs ever had. It was he who built the forts of Angdu Forung, Poonakh, and lastly. He made a code of laws for the protec- tion of the ryots agricultural peasantry , forbidding the levy of anything beyond voluntary contributions.

This Dewan by degrees became the Deb Raja and temporal ruler of Bootan. There is no further trace of the history of Bootan till some eighty or ninety years ago, when a certain Deb, Jeedah, distinguished himself by his aggressive foreign policy. Eden from Cheeboo Lama, whose information, it is stated, was derived from books from Thibetian monasteries.

Cheeboo Lama is a native of Sikim, of the Lepcha tribe, who, though a priest by profession, resides at Darjee- ling as the political representative of the Sikim Raja, with whom the British Government is at present on friendly terms. From some little personal knowledge, however, I have of him, I should not feel inclined to place implicit reliance on the cor- rectness of information furnished by him on matters They arc up to the present time exempted from all taxation and payment of revenue, and are entitled to special marks of distinction on entering any of the forts ; they manage all the affairs of the Dhurma Raja.

When Lama Doopgein Shoptoon died he said that if his body was preserved he would reappear again in Bhotan. His body is to the present day kept in the Fort of Poonakh, in a silver tomb called Sheptoon Machee or the first Shoptoon , and tea aud rice are daily put into the tomb. There are several inconsistencies in what he has stated to Mr. It may have been that it was by terms synony- mous in Thibetian to Dhurma Raja in Hindoostanee that Sheptoon La-pha was raised to the sovereignty of Bhotan — still that such was the case is not stated.

Upon these mountains are people which have ears of a span long ; if their ears be not long they call them apes. They say that when they be upon the mountains they see ships in the sea sailing to and fro ; but they know not whence they come nor whither they go. There are merchants which come out of the east, they say from under the sun, which is from China, which have no beards ; and they say there it is something warm.

But those who have come from the other side of the mountains, which is from the north, say there it is very cold. They cut the tails of their kine, and sell them very dear, for they be in great request and much esteemed in those parts: They use to hang them for bravely upon the heads of their elephants ; they be much used in Pegu and China ; they buy and sell by scores upon the ground. The people are very swift on foot.

After a short residence amongst the Portuguese, he sailed to Bengal, Pegu, Siam, and Molucca, visiting the island of Ceylon and the cities of Cochin and Calicut ; he then returned to Ormuz, whence he proceeded overland to Tripoli, where embarking he reached England in The style of these buildings, which unites the peculiarities of Thibetian and Chinese architecture, greatly tends to confirm this current belief ; and that the Thibetian influence did extend far more to the southward between the seventh and tenth centuries than it has done since is proved from a fact mentioned by Monsieur Landress in the introduction to the translation made by him and Messrs.

Klaproth and Abel Eemusat of the Chinese work Foe-Koue-Ki, where, speaking of the Thibetians, he says that Muring the Tsang dynasty, from the seventh to the commencement of the tenth century, they issued forth as conquerors from their original limits ; waged an almost incessant war against China ; and following the course of their rivers, which issuing from the south-eastern comer of their valleys opened a route to India, extending their conquests in this direction to the Bay of Bengal, to which they gave the name of the Thibetian Sea. On this point Mr. So violent are these men in their conduct, that for years past it has been customary to disarm all Booteahs sent to Lassa, a id for the last few years the Thibetians have made the Booteahs deliver their tribute on the frontier.

No Thibetian official or trader ever tnists himself across the Bootan frontier, and their relations with the country generally are in a very unsatisfactory footing. The former is the spiritual head, the latter the temporal one. It is written on fine cambric in large letters, and generally contains instructions to be careful in the government of the country, to quell promptly all internal tumult or rebellion, and to report immediately, on pain of the infliction of a heavy fine, any apprehended invasion from external foes. A reply is despatched by special messengers who are always attended by twenty- three coolies bearing loads of a particularly fine description of rice grown in Assam, and called Malbhoge ; other goods to the estimated value of 3, rupees per annum are also sent, consisting principally of Assam erendi silks, of a white ground with red borders, six cubits long and three broad ; cotton cloths, twelve cubits long and three broad ; and choora, made of a very fine rice grown in Assam," On one of these occasions it is stated that the orders contained in the imperial mandate were neglected, and a fine equal tq five thousand rupees was in con- sequence imposed on the Bhotan Government, which was paid by three instalments in three years.

In Bhotan, however, the rela- tive position of the temporal ruler differs from that of the Tycoon in Japan; the Tycoon possessing real power, while the Deb Raja is believed to have none — at llht at the present day, as our latest intercourse with his Government has fiilly established. The Dhurma and Deb Rajas are supposed to be aided in conducting the affairs of etate by a ministerial Council styled the Lenchen, composed of the follow- ing permanent members: In addition to the foregoing seven ordinary mem- bers of the Lenchen, there are three extraordinary members who attend council when they happen to be at the seat of government, and who are liable to be called on to attend at any period of emergency.

When they are present, the Council receives the collective title of Chenlah. The Dhurma Raja is looked upon by the Bhotanese in the same light as the Grand Lama of Thibet is viewed by his subjects, namely, as a perpetual incar- nation of the Deity, or Buddha himself in a corporeal form. During the interval between his death and reappearance, or, more properly speaking, until he has reached an age sufficiently mature to ascend his spiritual throne, the office of Dhurma Raja is filled CB.

Consuming Identities

He is also supposed to articulate oMkw words distinctly and convey his meaning in an intel- ligible maimer by certain signs. As soon as the news of these miraculous indications reach the court, a deputation composed of the principal Lama priests proceed to the spot where the young Dhurma is re- ported to have reappeared, taking with them all the articles that in his former state of existence he had been in the habit of using.

Eden respecting the manner in which the officiating Dhurma Raja is appointed, I And that a very marked discrepancy exists between them. The Dhurma Raja, like his great prototype of Lassa the Grand Lama , is supposed to bo Buddh himself, clothed in human form, and by successive transmigrations from one corporeal frame to another, to escape the ordinary lot of humanity. On the death or tem- porary withdrawal of the Dhurma from the sublunary scene of hit existence, his office remains vacant for a twelvemonth, during which time the senior Gylong, or priest, regulates the religious observances of the country.

During the interval between his death and re-appearance, or rather until he has arrived at years of discretion after his last birth, the office is held by a spiritual chief named Lam Tliepoo. The two avatars fought a pitched battle, and after much loss of life they came to a compromise, Choler Tigou, under the name Thepoo, being made head of the Lamas, and being allowed a per potual regency through his avatars, during the periodical disappearance from this world of the Dhurma Riya, while the Dhurma Raja remained supreme spiritual head of the country.

I, the child, mixed up with some others made to resemble them, with the view of testing the infallibility of the newly-bom deity, who, as a matter of course, always selects the proper ones ; and the priests declare their conviction that he is their former spiritual head, and convey the child with great ceremony to Poonakha, at which place all installations of either the Dhurma or the Deb Eajas must be made, otherwise they are not valid.

He was officiating until the reappearance of one- who died in The Deb Eaja is supposed to be elected by the comicil of permanent ministers, and to be chosen from amongst the principal officers of the country, who are eligible for seats in the Council. The Deb Eaja is consequently a mere puppet who exercises no influence whatever in Govern- ment matters.

The Tongso and Paro Penlows exercise the power of life and death, and are virtually independent, though they admit a sort of nominal subordination to the Deb Eaja, while actually they care nothing for any orders that either he or the council may issue. They generally commence their public careers as common soldiers; and, by distinguishing themselves for the di- plomatic talents which, according to Mr. L him to promise his Zimpen, that, if he will get him out of the trouble, he will retire in his favour within a certain fixed period.

Should some such opportunity not offer, and the Zimpen see no other mode of get- ting promotion, he does not scruple, it is alleged, either to murder or depose his master: A certain proportion of the revenues they draw from their territories is paid to the Coun- cil; but it is stated to be done more from a super- stitious dread that the Lama priests might starve were it withheld, than from any sense of subordi- nation or duty. Next in importance to the Penlows -are the Jung- pens ; the word being derived from jung, a fort, and pen-, a keeper or governor.

By us they are usually called Soubahs, a corruption of a Hindoostanee word. These Jungpens are appointed by the Penlows usually from amongst their own followers ; and, as a natural consequence, any change in the Penlowship is accom- panied by a correspohding change of all the subor- dinate district officers. The Paro Penlow, for instance, had under him in the Dooars, until our' recent occu- pation of them, the Jungpen or Soubah of Dhalim- kote, who managed the district bordering on the frontiers of Sikim Proper, of British Sikim Daijeel- ing and ou the Jidpigorie frontier, the river Teesta separating the whole; — also the Katma of Mynagoorie, who until lately managed the Dooar of that name, belonging to Bhotan, about nine miles from the Brit- ish frontier at Julpigorie, When a Penlow has been overthrown, his subordinates who have been ejected with him take up their qiiiarters in the neighbourhood CB.

The three Jungpens who have seats in council, namely, those of Poonakha, Tassis- hujung and Angdu Forung, have independent charges, and rank nearly as high as the Penlows, though they exercise but little power. The officers immediately subordinate to the Jung- pens are the Nieboos.

They act as their deputies ; and are the class of men who, while employed in charge of small stockades in the Dooars where they usually go under the name of Katmas , have, by organizing raids into our territory, brought about hos- tilities between the British Government and Bhotan. It is clear from the sketch I have endeavoured to give of the present state of government in Bhotan, collected from the report chiefly of Mr. Eden, that in reality none whatever exists ; the country being portioned off into two great and several small divi- sions, for the possession of which continuous struggles are being carried on by successive adventurers, the claims of one being apparently as good as those of the other, and hence might, as it were, legitimately occupies the place of right.

In reference to this point, Mr. I, an engagement might be, their word would not be held binding by the officials generally, and it is a matter of certainty that a term of three years would see every man in office changed. Where such a state of government exists as is now found in Bhotan, the revenue and judicial systems must necessarily be in a very imperfect condition. With respect to the former, it is chiefly obtained from contributions furnished respectively by the Bengallee inhabitants of the Dooars, and the people of Bhotan Proper.

Where there are no rights of property,' and the hereditary system is unknown, there is no need of civil law ; and where crime is the only claim to dis- tinction and honour, there can be no criminal law. There is no police. No one dares to complain of an offence, for if the person charged pays a sufficient bribe he is sure of obtaining his revenge by having his accuser heavily fined and probably robbed of all his possessions. For robbing the goods of a Penlow or Jungpen, or plotting against his life, a man is sometimes capitally punished.

It would seem doubtful, also, whether the Bhotanese mode of collecting their revenue from the Dooars was so unsystematic as Mr. This remark may possibly induce the reader to suspend his judgment of the Bhotanese as a pople generally, until he has perused the whole narrative ; towards its termination will be found some statements, the result of observation during the recent hostilities, calculated iu some degree to modify the unfavourable impres- sion conveyed in Mr. His hands are then tied, and he is dropped into the river. The only jails in the country are the dungeons under the forts, in which political offenders are confined, and in which ryots are locked up when undergoing a process of extortion.

The only trace of anything relating to laws now remain- ing pertain to etiquette, such, for instance, as that a man must not pass a certain place on horseback, or appear with the head covered within a certain distance of a fort. From what has been already stated in connexion with the circumstances under which one Dhurma Baja succeeds the other, it will have been under- stood that the form of Buddhism, presided over by the Grand Lama of Thibet, is the faith practised by the Bhotanese.

Their religious exercises, however, are for the most part confined to the propitiation of evil spirits, and the routine recital of a few ste- reotyped sacred sentences; also a mechanical form of praying by a process analogous to that of telling the beads. On the southern frontier of Bhotan many words and idioms have been adopted from the Assamese, Bengallee and Hindoostani, while on the northern frontier the dialect is said to be nearly pure Thibetian.

The military resources of Bhotan have hitherto been considered very insignificant: Their arms consist of matchlocks, jingals, bows and arrows, heavy straight swords, and large knives. Catapults are also used, and stones of con- siderable size thrown by them. Those who are in attendance on officers of the higher grades usually carry cir- cular shields made of thick buffalo hide well varnished and studded with brass knobs, and bound by a strong rim of the same metal. The Bhotanese have heretofore been looked upon as a very con- temptible enemy ; events, however, which have tran- spired in the course of our recent experience on the Bhotan frontier have tended to show that the esti- JiiRte formed of their military resources and indi- vidual courage has been on the whole undeservedly low.

Beitish intercourse with Bhotan commenced in , prior to which period there is nothing on record to show that we had any political relations with the country. The Cooch Behar family applied to the Government of India for aid, which was granted ; and a smaU force, consisting of four companies of sepoys and two guns, under the command of Captain Jones, proceeded to the town of Cooch Behar, then in the possession of the Bhotanese.

The Teeshoo Lama re- sponded to their appeal, and addressed a letter, couched in a friendly spirit, to the then Governor-General of India, the celebrated Warren Hastings, requesting a cessation of hostilities against Bhotan, and the resto- ration of the lands that had been taken possession of. This letter was read in Council on the 29th of March, 1 ; and while the Teeshoo Lama characterised the Bhotanese as a rude and ignorant race, who fully de- served punishment, he hinted that they had been sufficiently chastised, and urged that, as Bhotan formed a dependency of Thibeft, a prosecution of hostilities against it might irritate the Grand Lama and his subjects against the British Government.

Ho resides usually at Teeshoo Loomboo, and roles over ,thi portion of Thibet of which it is the chief town.

As for my part, I am but an hereditary priest, and it is the custom of my sect, with rosary in our hands, to pray for the welfare of all mankind, and especially for the peace and happiness of the inhabitants of this country ; and I do now, with my head uncovered, entreat you will cease from all hostilities against the Deb in future. A mission to the Court of the Teeshoo Lama was accordingly organised, and placed under the charge of Mr. Bogle was accompanied by Mr.

U, as presents a selection of pliiiosopliical instruments, clotli manufactures of Britain and India, cutlery, hardware, and firearms. Bogle succeeded completely in the objects of his mission, and resided at Desherip- gay and Teeshoo Loomboo until April , when he returned to Bengal. He does not seem to have been charged mth any political mission to Bhotan, and of his progress through that country and residence in Thibet there are no recgrds amongst the archives of the Government of India, with the exception of a few notices on the trade of Thibet, and a single letter written from 'Desheripgay, where the Teeshoo Lama was residing in December , and addressed to the Governor of Bengal.

SI entering into any definite arrangements until his arrival there, when he intended consulting with the resident merchants ; also that he had written to the authorities at Lassa on the subject; and that, from the very high estimation in which he appears to have been regarded, there was every prospect of a sue- cessfiil issue to the negotiations. It would appear that at this time special circum- stances tended to invest the Teeshoo Lama with unusual influence.

He had discovered the reigning Grand Lama and installed him at Botala, the moun- tain at Lassa on which the monastery of Potrang- Marbu stands, the ecclesiastical palace of the Grand Lama. The great expectations, however, which had been formed of the results likely to ensue from the success of Mr. To us it was as if the heavens had been pre- cipitated on our heads, as if the splendid and glorious orb of day had been converted into utter darkness. The multitude lifted up, on all sides, the voice of sorrow and lamentation; but what availed it? For fortune, treacherous and deceitful, had determined against us, and we all bent down on the knee of funeral afiliction, and performed the holy obsequies such as were due.

And we now supplicate with an united voice the return of the hour of transmigration ; that the bodies may be speedily exchanged, and our departed Lama again be restored to our sight. This is our only object, our sole employment: This mission was entnisted to Captain Turner, of the Bengal army, who received his instructions on the 9th of January , and left Calcutta shortly afterwards, accompanied by Lieutenant Davis, of the Bengal Engineers, as Surveyor, and Mr.

Robert Saun- ders as Surgeon. The mission traversed the plains of Bengal via Moorshedabad, Rungpore, and Cooch Behar, and arrived at Chichjicotta, a Bhotnnese fron- tier post in the Dooars, on the 11th of May. From this place it followed the same route as Mr. Bogle took in , namely, that through the Buxa Dooar, and reached Tassishujimg on the Ist of June, where they were detained some time ; permission to proceed nearer towards Thibet being withheld until the Regent Teeshoo Lama had been communicated with. Alter a delay of upwards of three months, the required authority arrived for the mission to continue its journey through Bhotan to Teeshoo Loomboo, but coupled with the condition that it was not to exceed two officers.

On the 8th of September, , Captain Turner, ac- companied by Mr. Saunders, proceeded on his journey, and in due course reached Teeshoo Loomboo, where, according to his report, the important object of establishing an extended commercial intercourse was fully obtained as far as the Eegent Teeshoo Lama was capable of granting it. In proof of the escimation in which they were held, it was also stated that the gold dust and silver with which they had been pur- chased had undeigone a considerable fall in exchangeable value in favour of the goods. Goodlad and myself, and not acted of their own accord.

This district, as well as that of Ambaree Fallacottah, ceded in by Captain Turner, foinied a portion of the extensive Zemindaree of Bykantpore, and the justness of their cession, especially of the former, to the Bhotanese, would seem to have been very questionable ; inasmuch as, in a report called for by the Government before taking action in the matter, the Collector of Eungpore expressed himself strongly in favour of the right of possession of the Zemindar of Bykantpore, and stated that nothing could be clearer, from documents produced by liim, bearing the seal of the Council of Binagepore, and registered at Calcutta, that the claim of the Beb Eaja was unfounded.

With reference to this trans- action Mr. The Bykantpore Zemindar received a remission of revenue for the lands thus taken from him. Why this remission was made, if it was believed that the inehals really belonged to Bootan, is not clear. About the year , a refugee priest from Lassa, named Sumhur Lama, visited Nepaul, and by an exaggerated account of the wealth contained in the palace of the Teeshoo Lama at Teeshoo Loomboo, so excited the cupidity uf the ruler of that country, then known as the Goorkha Raja, that in he despatched a force, consisting, it is said, of 18, men, into Thibet, for fhe purpose of plundering the monastery referred to, which object it effected.

The demands of the Emperor of China were refused, and his ambassador treated with indignity. On the latter returning to Peking, and narrating the unsuccessful result of his mission, an army amounting to 70, men was despatched, which entered Nepaul in two divisions, and after repeatedly defeating the Goorkha Nepaulese forces, arrived at within twenty miles of Khatmandoo, the capital. Lord Cornwallis declined to afibrd material aid, but offered to mediate — a proposal, however, out of which nothing came, as the Nepaulese submitted to the terms of the Chinese commander.

The great object of prohibiting all inter- course between the inhabitants of British India and the extensive tribes who dwell in the lofty regions of Thibet was then effectually accomplished. While such were the political relations of China, Thibet, and Nepaul, about the same time, namely , the Indian Government found itself again em- broiled with that of Bhotan, the latter having shown a determination, if possible, to exercise a controlling influence in the affairs of Bijnee, a small state, the Baja of which was nominally under the protection of both the British and Bhotan Governments.

The Bijnee throne had become vacant by the assassination of the — Raja, Novindra Narrain, and, without any Inference to the Governor-General of India, the Bhotan authorities appointed a successor. The In- dian Government ordered an investigation, the results of which established the fact that the right of nomi- nation unquestionably rested with it. Coeval with the closing of Thibet to enterprise from Bengal, a similar cessation of intercourse with Bhotan would seem to have taken place for nearly a quarter of a century, as there is no record of any event of importance having characterised the rela- tions of the Indian and Bhotan Governments from the period of the Bijnee dispute until In that year a native official, named Baboo Kishentant Bose, was deputed by Mr.

David Scott, the judge of Eung- pore, on whose establishment he was, to the Deb Eaja, for the purpose of arranging some fresh boundary disputes with Bhotan. The appointment of this native gentleman as envoy was made with the sanction of Government. This was not actually seen, but the holes in the earth were inspected, and it is universally reported to be the case by the inhabitants. In Bootan it never thunders, nor do the clouds ever appear of a black colour, but merely resemble mist. The rain which falls is also exceedingly fine. They first become Zinkaffs or Poes messengers or soldiers , then Tumas, then Zimpes under the Pillos Penlows or other officers ; after that Soubahs of Passes ; after that Zimpe, then Pillo, and at length they may become Deb Raja.

The last Deb was in fact originally a Zinkaff. Where a person gets a good ap- pointment, he is not allowed to keep it long, but at the annual religious festivals frequent removals and appointments take place. The Deb Eaja himself, after a time, is liable to be thrust out on some such pretence as that of his having infringed established customs ; and unless he have either Tongso or Paro Pillo on his side, he must, if required to do so, resign his place, or risk the result of a civil war: The practice of the courts is that if a man complain he can never obtain justice, but he may be subject to a fine if he fails to establish his claim.

Eden by Cheeboo Lama, so far agrees with it, as to specify the people of Cooch Behar as those who originally possessed the country now known as Bhotan, and to indicate Thibet as the place from which the first Dhurma Raja came. Ashley Eden appointed Envoy— Nature of his Instructions. For upwards of twelve years subsequent to the visit of Kishenkant Bose our intercourse with Bhotan ap- pears to have been so unimportant as not to have called for record ; inasmuch as, no traces of any com- munication with the country are to be found until after the first Burmese War, when the Government of India was forced into the occuptioq of Assam, which the Burmese had conquered and nearly depopulated.

The Dooars, as has already been explained, are embraced in a narrow tract of country extending along the foot of the lower range of the Himalaya mountains, and separating the British temtory from Bhotan Proper. The northern portion, or that immediately bordering on the hills, presents a rugged irregular sloping sur- face, caused by spurs and inferior heights projecting into the plains from the more lofty ones behind. It consists of forest land and thickets of dense vegeta- tion abounding with elephants, deers, tigers, rhino- ceros, buffaloes, and various other wild animals, in- cluding boa constrictors.

The southern portion again, consists of a rich black soil, extremely fertile and capable of producing luxuriant crops of rice, cotton and tobacco. A good deal of the former is grown there, especially in the neighbourhood of our frontier, and considering the comparatively small amount jf land under cultivation, a fair amount of the two latter is also raised ; the Dooars in fact being the main source from which the Bhotanese obtain their to- bacco.

The inhabitants chiefly consist of a tribe called the Mechis, who appear to be the only people so constituted as to be capable of permanently enduring the climate. The Bhotanese themselves dread it, and as a general rule carefully avoid the Dooars during the rains. These Dooars are eighteen in number, eleven of them being situated on the frontier of the Rungpore dis- trict and Cooch Behar territory in Bengal, between the rivers Teesta and the JVIonass, and the remain- ing seven on the Assam frontier, between the Monass and the Dhunseeree rivers.

Of the seven Assam Dooars, two border on the Duming district, and are known as the Booree Goomah, and the Kalling Dooars; the remaining five border on the Kamroop district, and are called the Shurkolla, Banska, Chappagoorie, Chapkahama, and Bijnee Dooars. It would seem to have been supposed that each of these eighteen, so called, Dooars, have special passes opening upon them from which they take their names — such at least I take to be the inference con- veyed in the following notice of them by Mr.

Though possession of the Assam Dooars by the Bhotanese was practically complete, in theory they were not their absolute property, as those of Bengal were. The British Government, on assuming the rule of Assam, adopted the relations then existing between that country and Bhotan; the arrangements about the Dooars being confirmed and renewed. On the conquest however of Cooch Behar in they gut posso. The purity of this coin however being entirely dependent on the honesty of the Bhotanese oflBcials, its standard value was found to be so variable, that it was soon rejected as a circulating medium by the inhabitants of the Dooars and the Plains, and the Narrain or Cooch Behar rupee used instead of it.

The other five Dooars, on the contrary, 'were held exclusively by the Bhotanese, and the Indian Government neither exer- cised any control Over them, nor was allowed to interfere in any way in their internal management, during any portion of the year. The origin of this difference in the mode of tenure of the Durrung and Kamroop Dooars has never been satisfactorily ex- plained; but as it was in existence on our taking over Assam, notwithstanding the great inconvenience attending the arrangement, it was considered the more expedient course to allow it to continue, than to endanger the tranquillity of the frontier by altering a practice which had received the sanction of custom for years.

Such is a general sketch of the relations originally existing between the British and Bhotan Governments --the train of events which have gradually led to their being altered now come under narration. HI, by the Bhotanese was not of the value agreed upon. Payment of arrears was demanded, but refused on the ground that the articles were sold at unnecessarily low prices — a not unreasonable argu- ment ; as it seems to me absurd to have entertained the probability, that, in the disposal by 'auction of articles of the nature in question, either their real value, or any fixed sum for them, could be regularly secured.

Coincident with the claim for arrears of tribute being preferred, predatory acts within -our territory and that of Cooch Behar, as well as the abduction of natives under British protection, became common from the Bhotan frontier. Prom this period incursions of a like nature con- tinued more or less frequent until , when the Government of India, under the belief that the Bhotan Government was ignorant of what was going on on the frontier, sent Captain Pemberton as an envoy to Bhotan to adjust the then existing difficulties.

This mission, though weU received, failed in effecting the object for which it was sent, and as the only means of protecting the frontier from aggression the East India Company determined to annex the Assam Dooars, and pay the Bhotanese Government an annual sum of 10, rupees for the loss of revenue thus sustained by the control of the Dooars passing out of its hands.

The year following the attachment of the Assam Dooars, the large estate of Ambaree Fallacottah, re- ferred to as having been taken from the Zemindar of Bykantpore and made over to Bhotan in , was, at the request however of the Bhotanese them- selves, taken under the management of the East India Company ; the latter holding itself responsible to the former for the net annual proceeds of the property.

Outrages similar to those referred to as having taken place on the Assam side, now became common in the vicinity of the Bengal Dooars, hardly a year passing without theiy occurrence. The aggressors, it was believed, being either the Bhotan frontier officials, or robbers protected them. Eepeated representations were made by the Government of India to that of Bhotan, but without any good resulting, and in it was determined to withhold the rental of Ambaree Fallacottah as a mild punishment ; — the Bhotanese at the same time being given to understand that the payment would recommence on their complying with the demands of the Indian Government relative to the surrender of certain natives who had been carried off into Bhotan from under British protection.

This occurred in January , and the following month the Bhotanese again turned their attention to Cooch Behar and committed several out- rages. The British Government recognised his claim for military protec- tion, and two companies of infantry were ordered to proceed to Cooch Behar for that purpose. As the rainy season however was close at hand, and as raids were not to be expected during that period of the year, the Cooch Behar Raja ultimately came to the conclusion that there was no necessity for the presence of Britisji troops within his territory, and accordingly they were not sent.

Though there was at this time a lull on the Cooch Behar frontier, the scene had changed to that of Dar- jeeling ; information having been received from four distinct sources of an intended attack on that district, which was verified by the appearance of a consider- able force of armed Bhotanese on the frontier, and by their making preparations for crossing the Teesta. Coincident with this demonstration against Darjeeling, insolent demands were made by the Jungpen of Dhalimkote for the arrears of the Ambaree Fallacottah rents, due since its attachment in On the appearance of the troops however he withdrew his force from the frontier.

Shortly after this affair, the Deputy Magistrate at Julpigorie, received a communication from the Bhotan official at Mynagoorie, requesting an interview; as he wished to hand over to him for punishment four British subjects, whom he had made prisoners, in consequence of their having committed aggressions against Bhotanese property. Tlie interview, was granted, but the Mynagoorie official declined to sur- render the men, unless an enemy of his, who had taken refuge within the British territory was given up in return, and there the matter ended. This official admitted to the magistrate having likewise in his possession several elephants taken from natives within the British frontier.

The Rajah the Durpun had merely been sent for the purpose of receiving the annual allowance we make to Bhootan for certain Dooars, amounting to about 10, rupees, and, if possible, to obtain an increase of two or three thousand rupees to the allowance. Nothing tran- spired respecting the stoppage of rents of Ambaree Fallacottah.

There is reason, therefore, for suspect- ing that they had never been remitted to the Deb Raja, but appropriated by the Soubah of Dalimkote, and our failing to obtain redress from the Bhootan Government by withljolding them is thus easily ex- plained. During the Conference the agent spoke of the outrages of the Bhootanese on our territory, and the evasive replies of the Deb Raja to our demands for redress. What goes on in the Dooars is concealed from the Deb Raja. It is probable that the revenue of Ambaree Fallacottah is annually ap- propriated by the Dalimkote Soubah, and that the Deb Raja is thus unaware of its attachment.

Deb for wanting an increase to the Assam compensa- tion money, was that 10, rupees was insufScient to cover the religious ceremonies to which it was applied, and therefore that the addition requested was necessary.

The sending of a mission to Bhotan having been definitely settled, a messenger named Mokundo Sing, was, in July , dispatched from Assam to the court of the Deb Eaja, bearing letters announcing the intention of the Governor-General to send an envoy to confer with them on such matters as required explanation and settlement between the two Govern- ments. The Bhotan authorities were also requested to indicate the route which the mission should take, ' and to make the necessary arrangements for facili- tating its reaching the capital.

This messenger did not get back to Gowhatty until the beginning of December, having been delayed on his journey, owing to obstructions caused by the frontier officers. If you want to come for the settlement of any quarrel, I have not informed the Dhm-ma Raja that such is the case. I had in- tended to send Zinkaifs to you, with your men, for the adjustment of quarrel, but on account of the heat I cannot do so now. Afterwards, in the month of Magh, I shall send over two or three Zinkaffs, who will settle disputes according to our order.

Cecil Beadon recommended that the mission should be dispatched at once ; but the Government of India thought that aa the Bhotanese authorities had been asked to select the route for the mission and promised to send Zin- kaffs, it was better to wait and hear what they had to say — the more so as the cold season was already 80 far advanced. The Zinkaffs never came, and this breach of promise taken in connexion with the evasive nature of the reply sent by the hands of Mokimdo Sing, decided the Indian Government in dispatching the mission without further reference to Bhotan, and by whatever might appear to be the most convenient route.

On August 11, , Mr. Eden received his in- structions, which were to the following general effect — matters of detail being left to his discretion. To demand the surrender of all captives carried off, and the restoration of property taken from British, Cooch Behar and Sikim territories.

With reference to the aggressions on the part of British and Cooch Behar subjects, complained of by the Bhotanese, proof to be required, and such redress given as the circumstances may call for. To endeavour to effect some satisfactory arrangement for the rendition of criminals by the British and Bhotan Governments respectively.

The Bhotan Government to be made fully aware of the position in which the protected states CH. To secure, if practicable, free commercial intercourse between Bengal and Bhotan, As well as protection to traders and travellers. To obtain all the information possible re- specting the nature, population and resources of the country.

To try and secure the results of the mission in the form of a Treaty, a draft of such as would be desirable being furnished. A sum of ten thousand rupees was placed at Mr. Early in November , Mr. Eden arrived at Daijeeling, our Himalayan station on the north- eastern frontier, and commenced to organise the transport of his missign; the constitution of which had been determined on as follows — Captain Goodwin Austen, of the Bengal Staff Corps, as Assistant to the Envoy and Surveyor, Captain Lance, of the same corps, to command the escort.

Power of the TJneove- nanted Service was also detailed to accompanying the foission as an Assistant to Mr. The escort was to consist of one hundred men, half Seiks, half Sappers of the Sebundy corps. As no reply had been received from the Bhotan authorities to a communication which had been CH. Eden himself addressed the Bhotan Government from Daijeelftig on the 10th of Novem- ber, intimating his arrival there, and requesting that the Jungpen of Dhalimkote might be instructed to meet him on the frontier and aid him in conveying his baggage and camp — adding that if this was not done, he should be compelled to report to his Govern- ment that no arrangements had been made, and which would be considered as indicating an absence of friendly feeling.

Shortly after this letter was despatched, it came to Mr. It appeared that the Jungpen of Poonakha had obtained a promise from the Deb Kaja while the court was at Tassishujung, its summer residence, that if he as- sisted him in a crisis which seemed imminent, he should be rewarded by promotion to the office of Jungpen of the Fort of Angdu Forung ; a situation much coveted, from its being a sort of small Penlow- ship.

The crisis passed over, and the Deb Eaja byoke his promise, by conferring the appointment on another. The dethroned Deb Eaja fled to Tassishujung, where his case was taken up by the Paro Penlow, which secured him the aid of Western Bhotan. This compelled the Jungpen of Poonakha to invoke that of Eastern Bhotan, by calling for the assistance of the Tongso Penlow, who readily re- sponded, and was joined by all the members of the Council except the Paro Penlow.

The rebels then invested Tassishujung, and commenced the siege by cutting off the supply of water from the fort, through which they succeeded in obtaining all the money the besieged had, by allowing them to come three times a week and draw water on payment of rupees for each indulgence. While this rebellion was going on in the interior, one on a smaller scale was prevailing in the im- mediate vicinity of the British frontier, headed by the Jungpen of Dhalimkote.

He refused to surrender the fort, and a force was dis- patched to compel him to do so. The siege continued for several months, but was raised by the besiegers, on their hearing that Mr. Eden was thus detained at Darjeeling, CH. He begged him to wait patiently, and promised to give him every assistance in his power. Towards the end of November, he requested an interview with Cheeboo Lama, to explain to him how matters stood at head- quarters. Cheeboo met him at the Teesta, and they had a conference which extended over several days. His desire was evidently that Mr. Eden should enter into negotiations with him.

He professed great friendship, and went the length of hinting, that, if a reply did not soon come to the letter Mr.

Consuming Identities

Eden had addressed on the 10th of November to the Deb and Dhurma Rajas, he would, provided he received a present, aid the mission in entering the country — even if in so doing, he should incur the displeasure of his Government. Government, in order to strengthen himself in his position. On the receipt of these orders, Mr.

Eden made immediate preparations to advance, and wrote to the Jungpen of Dhalimkote that he was on the point of starting, and requested that men might be sent to meet him at the Teesta. Difficulties were now encountered by Mr. Through the assistance of Cheeboo Lama a number of coolies were collected sufficient to enable the bag- gage of the mission to be dispatched to the frontier on the 1st of January On the 4th of the month, the mission left Darjeeling, and the same day overtook the coolies just as they arrived at the Teesta, twenty-two miles from Darjeeling, and up- wards of 6, feet below it.

There the coolies left in considerable numbers, being afraid to cross the frontier, Mr, Eden was again relieved from his diffi- culties by Cheeboo Lama, who procured assistance through his own tenants, f and after a delay of three days, succeeded in getting his camp established on the Bhotan side of the Teesta, which had to be crossed on bamboo rafts. Whilst here, we visited a number of villages ; the inhabitants seemed delighted to see us, and made us presents of eggs, fowls, oranges, and vegetables.

They were vehement in their abuse of their own Government, and loud in their praise of our administration in Daijeeling ; their only wish seemed to be that they should come under our rule. Nearly every household had some members resident in our territory. We visited a monastery in the neighbourhood ; the Lamas were absent, but we were shown over it by two nuns, who pointed with pride to an English vessel which was placed on the Jdtar as a receptacle for holy water, but wliich in other countries is used for a very different purpose.

Eden did, a pven. Eden not to proceed further into the country, but ul- timately gave guides to show the road to Dhalim- kote. On the 9th of January, the mission continued its progress, and after a long march reached Paigong. On the road a number of the coolies deserted, leaving their loads behind them, which necessitated a quan- tity of the baggage being stored in the village. Eden describes the view from the place as magnificent. The view was very extended.

On the 11th of January, the party reached the top of the mountain of Labah, a height of 6, feet, and the next day descended from there by a very steep and difficult path to a rapid stream, which Mr. Eden describes as one of the branches of the Durlah River, but which, on the occasion of my visiting it the following year, I was told goes by the name of the Chale River. On arriving here, the mission was met by musicians, ponies, and mules, sent by the Jungpen of Dhalimkote, out of compliment to whom, and in accordance with the custom of the country, some of the members of the mission availed themselves of the transport sent, and had a very uncomfortable ride on high Tartar saddles on very fidgety and vicious mules.

On the 14th of January, after having given this illus- tration of his commercial abilities, the Jimgpen paid Mr. Eden a visit ; and came accompanied by a disor- derly band of about two hundred followers, consisting of musicians, matchlockmen, and standard bearers— the latter carrying boards with inscriptions on them, which shows that the Bhotanese still retain some of the external formalities of the race from which they are sprung.

Mauris lorem nunc, cursus sit amet enim ac, vehicula vestibulum mi. Mauris viverra nisl vel enim faucibus porta. Praesent sit amet ornare diam, non finibus nulla. Cras efficitur magna et sapien varius, luctus ullamcorper dolor convallis.

Orci varius natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Fusce sit amet justo ut erat laoreet congue sed a ante. Phasellus ornare in augue eu imperdiet. Donec malesuada sapien ante, at vehicula orci tempor molestie. Proin vitae urna elit. Pellentesque vitae nisi et diam euismod malesuada aliquet non erat. Nunc fringilla dolor ut dictum placerat. Proin ac neque rutrum, consectetur ligula id, laoreet ligula.

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