s similarly beaten and dragged about, and left on
the top of some mountain, the crowd calling after it, "Go! go! We have
feasted, feted and fed you. We have done all in our power for your
welfare. We cannot do more! Go now!" With this the yak, with the soul
that has been driven into it, is left to its own devices, and as soon as
the Shokas have departed, is driven by the Tibetans over a precipice, it
being against their faith to draw blood from a yak. In the fatal leap the
animal is smashed to pieces, and the Tibetans, collecting the remains,
gorge themselves with the prized meat of their cherished yak.

[Illustration: YAK DRIVEN OVER PRECIPICE]

As a mark of reverence the Shoka men remove their caps not only while
following the corpse to cremation, but also during the feasting, the male
relatives themselves even shaving their heads; and this practice is
occasionally extended to the whole male community in the case of a
particularly respected villager dying. The women remove their jewellery,
and, as already noted, turn their hoods inside out.

When all is over, some restitution of his property is made to the dead,
and odd articles, such as brass bowls or a gun or a shield or sword, are
placed in a sacred cave, which none dare desecrate by entering to remove
anything. These caves are high up on the mountain-sides, and are said to
be full of sacred offerings, which have accumulated there in the
centuries.

I expressed the wish to see the cave on the mountain side above Garbyang,
but the natives politely asked me not to do so, as the visit of a
stranger to this sacred spot might bring misfortune on the Shoka living
community. Therefore I abstained from going rather than cause
unpleasantness.

CHAPTER XVIII

Touching Shoka farewell--Feelings curiously expressed--Sobs and
tears--The start--A funereal procession--Distressed father and
mother--Kachi and Dola the worse for drink--Anxious moments--The
bridge destroyed.

THE day of my departure came. It was after dark. Outside my dwelling a
crowd of Shokas had assembled. I bade farewell to my host Zeheram and to
his wife and children, who with tears in their eyes wished me God-speed.

[Illustration: KACHI AND HIS RELATIONS]

"Salaam, sahib, salaam!" repeated Zeheram, sobbing and bringing his hand
respectfully to his forehead. "You know, sahib, that a horse goes to a
horse, a tiger to a tiger, a yak to a yak, and a man to a man. A man's
house