Page:Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet.djvu/250

 These were inevitable, in view of the perversity of the people who no longer had faith in the gods, but let themselves be led by demons in human shape.

Witchcraft was steadily increasing, he said, and in every village there were those who said they were in communion with devils. An edict had been issued forbidding witchcraft and fortune-telling. It was found that under the castle of Shigatse itself there were fifteen witches (paonal jorma). These had been brought to trial, and had been submitted to an examination which required them to describe the contents of several chests filled with a variety of things. Four alone were able to answer, the others were flogged and then released on condition that they should give up imposing on the public credulity and would furnish bonds for their good behaviour.