Sitahu

A sample of a glegs thag

from Thailand

In their descriptions of precious Kanjur volumes, the Fifth Dalai Lama and the regent Sangs rgyas rgya mtsho call the rope [glegs thag], which holds the bookblock together, si ta hu. There are different spellings of this word:

si ta hu,

si tha hu,

si ta ho,

se ta hu, and

se ta ho.

This indicates that the word is a loan, perhaps from Mongolia or China.The colours of a si ta hu glegs thag are either red, white or blue. The colour green also occurs, but the colour which is mainly used is red.

The si ta hu is plaited [lhas ma].

The glegs thag is sometimes called sku chings [= waist belt].

[Kundeling Archives, Bonn University]

Document 012 1-2/#/33/6/4 > sdong lhas ser po'i glegs thag

Document 012 1-1/#/17/9/4 stong lhad ser po'i glegs thag

skyi rgya'i glegs thag are presumably made of leather

zhal khebs = cover (for thang sku or the first pages of handwritten books). As a cover of the first pages of highly decorated manuscripts (written for example in ink made of gold or silver) the zhal khebs can consist of several layers (brtsegs) from one to five (lnga brtsegs).

As for the material used as zhal khebs we find ding phon, gos chen, ling, bzang gos, and kha thi.

CRAFTSMEN

sngo bzo ba = workers who dye the paper (?)

bu lag = bu tsha lag do = young helper, (German: "Handlanger")

g.yer yig = calligraphy, stylish writing

gzi rgyab = to polish paper with a gzi-stone to give it a shean

ri mo 'dri gdan = drawing board

> She bam chen mo (17th century)

bu tsha lag do

> 5DL > zin tho 1652

MEASURES & WEIGHTS

Measurements and weights in Tibet were never completely standardized. Each time and location had its own system and even the centralised government of the Fifth Dalai Lama was not able to fix the measurements for all corners of the vast Tibetan plateau.

Length

sor = width of a finger

mtho = 8 sor, the fist with stretched thumb

rgyug mtho = 12 sor, a span

khru = cubit = 3 mtho = 2 rgyug mtho

'dom = 4 khru

1 'dom = 4 khru = 12 mtho = 96 sor

Analogous to rgyug mtho one can find rgyug 'dom, the fast way of measuring cloth by holding it between one's stretched arms.

Let's add a new reference to the mysterious Tibetan weights and measures : Gangs can rigs mdzod vol. 14, a collection of (obscure though beautiful) texts on bzo rig, pp. 81-82, : da ni snga phyi gzhal 'degs bshad pa rnams kyi tshad bshad par bya'o / 'dir bre srang gi tshad sman dpyad dang mthun pas / 'grel {pa} zla zer dang / sha li ho tra sogs las bshad pa mang yang / 'di ni gzhung tshad rang gis 'thus pas / de ni yul sa shed bzang [p. 82] ngan mnyam pa'i nas 'bru che drug la se ba re / se ba nyi shu la zho re ste / zho re la nas 'bru brgya dang nyi shu re yod la /


[[nas 'bru 6 = 1 se ba
se ba 20 = 1 zho
zho 1 = 20 x 6 = 120 nas 'bru]]


yang gzhung lugs snga ma la se ba nyer lnga rer 'gur zho re byed cing / phyis a bo snga 'dzoms kyis se ba sum cu re la zho re byas pa gzhung gi khrims zho zhes che tshad du grags pa dang / 
rgyud lugs la se ba nyer bzhir zho re byed cing / nas 'bru gsum la ra ti re dang / ra ti gnyis la se ba byed pa yod do / 
srang re la spor re yang zer / 
gzhal byed kyi tshad ni / nas 'bru che chung gnyis 'bring gnyis bcas drug 'di kham tshig 'bring gi tshal ya gang dang / kham tshal drug ltar tshal drug / bya mo 'bring gi sgo nga gang / bya rgod [sgo nga] drug la mkhar phul gang / mkhar phul drug la mkhar bre gang / mkhar bre nyi shu la mkhar khal gcig ste mkhar ru'i 'bo gang byed pa yin no //