hundred
Lamas. The principal Lamas at death are cremated. A short time ago, a
friendly Lama took me to see a cremation. The furnace was roughly made of
mud bricks, with four fire-holes at the base, with an opening in which to
place the body. The whole was about 6 feet high, and about 5 feet in
circumference. Greased fuel was arranged within and covered with glazed
foreign calico, on which were written some Tibetan characters. A tent was
erected and mats arranged for the Lamas. About 11:30 A.M. a scarlet
covered bier appeared in sight carried by thirty-two beggars. A box 2 feet
square and 2-1/2 feet high was taken out and placed near the furnace. The
Lamas arrived and attired themselves in gorgeous robes and sat
cross-legged. During the preparations to chant, some butter was being
melted in a corner of the tent. A screen of calico was drawn round the
furnace in which the cremator placed the body, and filled up the opening.
Then a dozen Lamas began chanting the burial litany in Tibetan in deep bass
voices. Then the head priest blessed the torches and when the fires were
lit he blessed a fan to fan the flames, and lastly some melted butter,
which was poured in at the top to make the whole blaze. This was frequently
repeated. When fairly ablaze, a few pieces of Tibetan grass were thrown in
at the top. After three days the whole cooled, and a priest with one gold
and one silver chopstick collects the bones, which are placed in a bag for
burial. If the bones are white it is a sign that his sin is purged, if
black that perfection has not been attained."--H.C.]

And it is very worthy of note that the Chinese envoy to Chinla (Kamboja)
in 1295, an individual who may have personally known Marco Polo, in
speaking of the custom prevalent there of exposing the dead, adds: "There
are some, however, who burn their dead. _These are all descendants of
Chinese immigrants._"

[Professor J.J.M. de Groot remarks that "being of religious origin,
cremation is mostly denoted in China by clerical terms, expressive of the
metamorphosis the funeral pyre is intended to effect, viz. 'transformation
of man'; 'transformation of the body'; 'metamorphosis by fire.' Without
the clerical sphere it bears no such high-sounding names, being simply
called 'incineration of corpses.' A term of illogical composition, and
nevertheless very common in the books, is 'fire burial.'" It appears that
during the Sung Dynasty cremation was especially common in the provin