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3.0 out of 5 stars
An uncomfortable historic lesson, March 21, 2009
A mixture of travel literature and adventure-novel? The question arises whether Landor witnessed this all. He tried in the end of the 19th century to cross Tibet, coming from India, and to reach Lhasa. The latter eluded him, because he was imprisoned and sent back. Wide space of his account Landor covered with the capture and torture which he and his servants had to suffer.
Many doubted the truth-contents of his report. For sure he could have exaggerated sometimes. But lies are not apparent. He emphasizes himself always as fearless, educated British who has an understanding with his subordinates when they are again not in the right scent so that he has to castigate them. That was how the British Victorianism was. In one instance he lets somebody lick his shoes and throws him down a staircase, which the miserable one "dared" to set his foot upon! Sometimes one comes to hear an oriental despot in his words. But mostly he is keen on stressing his noble humanity, as long as he stands clearly above the others. Thus a contemporary description, which in so far does not differ from other travel literature of the time when Britain regarded itself as the chosen nation.
In general the Tibetans perform badly in comparison. Willing to believe Landor means to accept that the Tibetans are an uneducated, ruthless, raw, chicken-hearted and violent people, at least where Lamaism and superstition rule. You like to doubt this, since you have experienced the Tibetans as kind and hospitable people.
On the other side I was reminded when reading to the report of Robert Knox, who was kept as a prisoner for years in Ceylon, from a people who you would describe yourself as good tempered, broad-minded, yet whose members seem to deal with the minority in their country rather merciless, also agitated by the conspicuous, resentful, concerned-about- power Buddhist clergy.
And therefore it could be right when Landor writes that apart from the big cities, the whole Tibetan people with the exception of brigands and the lamas live in great poverty, while the monks themselves and their agents live of the fat of the country and thrive and that the people are kept in complete ignorance and that seldom a layman is found who can read and write. Thus all must pass the hands of the Lamas.
And the nobility, one should have to ad! But this is contested as much as it is with the Hindus in India who were controlled by the Brahmins.
Landor furthermore states when regarding the well fed faces of the lamas, that it is visible on first sight that notwithstanding their occasional fasting the lamas must be missing of nothing and that it cannot be any doubt that they have a life in comparable luxury which often dwindles into vice and perversity.
So curious as it may sound, it is getting dramatic when falling in the hands of malevolent Tibetans. The beast man, so dearly depicted by Landor, is in everybody. Woe when unleashed!
Therefore I do have to assume, that Landors report, even with exaggerations and simplifications is based mainly on facts. All contemporaries who travelled at the same time in Tibet do also emphasize the hostility against foreigners, their mistrust towards travellers and their rejection. Only read the report of Grenand about the death of Dutreul de Rhin in Eastern Tibet, which was published after Landors report in 1904. Even Sven Hedin reported about psycho-terror, threatening and fake-executions!
Landor had chosen an unfavourable time for his journey, since in 1888 there was a military clash between the southern neighbours, the British, and the Tibetans. The situation remained tense, so that a singular traveller like Landor must have been suspicious to be a spy.
Landors report contains also a lot about the superstition of the Tibetans and their more or less profound wisdom. He said a peculiar propriety of the ghosts be, that they only seize people who are anxious of them. A remarkable notice, already known from concepts of other peoples. Spirits that I've cited - My commands ignore. Landor has a narrow escape of his already decided execution, because a friend in India pretends to threaten the Tibetans with a large army.
Maybe he also pondered whether he himself should behave a little more friendly with non-British people. But to find this out would mean to read his other books.
And this seems not to be worth it. One Landor is enough! Should we have learnt that the Tibetans are only half as good as the propaganda of today displays them? No, we should always consider any folks equal. If a nation sets itself above others it will have a fall-down. Those who enslaves others will be the slaves of others. Who takes the freedom of others away will lose oneself the freedom.
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