He was having great difficulty
with the superstitions of the local people. He could not hunt, because the Mongols feared their guns as it disturbed
the spirits of the mountains; he could not dig, because the Mongols believed it
wrong to disturb the surface of the earth, and he had not yet had the chance to
speak to the Prince. He considered that
Mongolia is a hopeless job.
I also found that a lot of
lamas were very superstitious. I had
seen a part of a temple with pictures of laughing skulls and of devils and I
returned to photograph it, but a lama rushed out terrified and barred the
door. I tried to enter the temple, but
a lot of lamas collected together and they looked very menacingly at me and
shouted. Then I saw a sundial, but it
was covered with a sheet of wood to keep the sun away! Obviously, it was a very great
treasure. A soldier with a rifle came
out to stop Dr Müller and me going into a house, which was being built, and
again the lamas shouted threateningly at us. I have never seen such a suspicious place; the Japanese were quite
right.
I strolled about in the
Yamen in Ujmutchin and came to a school where four youngsters were writing in
Chinese and Mongolian script. There was
a picture of the Kangte Emperor [Pu Yi], most elegantly and fadedly dressed in
morning dress and ‘Come to Jesus’ butterfly collar, striped trousers and two
Manchukuo flags painted on it. There
was a propaganda poster for a Mongol feast in Manchukuo probably under the
auspices of the Japanese with wrestling, riding, singing, etc.. Mothers were invited to bring their children
to very good Japanese doctors (however they would rather die than go to a
Japanese doctor). Children loved the
silver paper from cheese or camera film that I gave them. I did tricks with a coin in front of the
lamas and they were amazed. I was
entertained by an acrobatic goat, which marched on its front legs, with its
back legs lofted into the air, much to my amusement.
I
spoke to a Russian that I met called Kulagen, who told me that the Japanese are
building barracks in Beidzemiao where we had stayed and that everyone expected
that the Japanese would soon send troops there. He said that in 100 years that the Mongol race would be
dead. The spread of venereal disease is
terrific and the people have no idea why they have no children. Prince Otcheroff has a son and daughter, but
no grandchildren. The chief cause is
Lamaism for it leads to the lack of young
men to work and there are no husbands for the young girls. These girls sleep with the lamas and spread
the disease, but they will not go to the Japanese doctors for treatment.
|
Gareth at the Lama service.
|