Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 29, 1918.djvu/276

 266 The Rosaiy in Magic and Religion.

eight extra beads being added for fear of omission or breakage. There are three terminal beads which are called collectively " retaining or seizing beads," dok-'dsin. They symbolise " the Three Holy Ones " of the Buddhist trinity.

The Tibetan rosaries usually have a pair of pendant strings on which are threaded small metal beads or rings. These serve as counters. Sometimes there are four strings attached. Each string usually has a different terminal. The beads on the string which terminates with a dorje (Indra's thunderbolt) register units, those with a bell mark tens of cycles. By means of these counters 10,800 prayers may be counted, but the number uttered depends largely on the leisure and fervour of the devotee. Old women are especially zealous in this respect. In addition to these counter strings various odds and ends often hang from the rosaries, such as metal tooth-picks, tweezers, etc.

The materials of which the beads are made vary according to the sect, the god or goddess addressed, and the wealth of the owner.

Importance is attached to the colour of the rosary, which should correspond with the complexion of the deity worshipped.

One rosary used by Lamas is made of discs cut from a human skull, often that of a deceased Lama. These beads are usually divided into groups by four Raksha beads of large size, and the rosary is often passed through another one composed of other beads.

A rosary composed of beads made of the vertebrae of a snake is used by sorcerers for divination and other purposes in their magic art. Usually there are about fifty vertebrae on a string.

The laity use rosaries made of any kind of bead, and they are not tied by rules as to colour. Also the counter strings attached generally end with a dorje, recording only units of cycles, this being sufficient for the bead-telling of the laity.