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Tumuli of the Ancient Tibetan
Kings
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As early as prior to 1,300 years ago,
when the tribes of the Yarlung Valley were rising to prosperity,
the ancestors of Songtsan Gampo lived in the Six Palaces
of Chingwar Taktse situated near Lhamo Hill, from where
they ruled over thousands and thousands of tribal people
and opened up the mild and fertile Yarlung Valley. There,
Tubo tribes waxed and multiplied, swallowing up the nearby
peoples. Then, Namri Songtsan crossed the northern mountain
range and defeated the Sumba people who lived in the river
valleys of the Kyichu (Lhasa River) and Nyangchu. Spreading
his power over the whole of Tibet, he established the Tubo
kingdom. Namri Songtsan's son, Songtsan Gampo, moved his
capital from the Yarlung Valley to Lhasa, the then political,
economic, military and cultural centre, but Chong-gye and
its environs still remained the home of the royal line.
Even the later Tsanpos who lived in Lhasa dared not forget
that their ancestors had originated from the Yarlung Valley,
and they frequently came back to reside so as never to forget
their ancestors' heroic deeds and meritorious services.
The Princesses Wencheng and Jincheng of the Tang court also
often spent time there after their marriage with the Tubo
Tsanpos. In memory of their origins, the Tubo Tsanpos were
all buried at Chong-gye, which explains why so many tumuli
are gathered there.
¡¡According to historical records
there should be of altogether thirteen tumuli of Tibetan
kings, but only nine can still be discerned. It is clear
that over the passage of time some tumuli must have sunk
and disappeared. The nine tumuli which still remain have
been reliably identified as belonging to the following:
Songtsan Gampo, Gungri Gungtsan (son of Songtsan Gampo),
Dusong Mangtsan (grandson of Songtsan Gampo), Tridu Songtsan
(son of Mangsong Mangtsan), Tride Tsugtan (son of Tridu
Songtsan), Trisung Detsan (son of Tride Tsugtan), Tride
Songtsan (younger brother of Trisung Detsan), Muni Tsanpo
(son of Trisung Detsan), and lastly Princess Jincheng (wife
of Tride Tsugtan).
¡¡On the summit of Songtsan
Gampo's tumulus there used to be an ancient temple called
Tongtsan Luakhang (Songtsan's Temple), which was where the
Guardian of the Tombs resided. Within the temple, images
of Songtsan Gampo, Princess Wencheng, Princess Bhrikuti
Devi, and the Ministers Gar Tongtsan and Thonmi Sambhota
were enshrined. Only the ruins now remain.
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¡¡Beneath the ancient temple
was Songtsan Gampo's vault. It lay at the mouth of the Chongpo
Stream about one and half kilometres from Piro Hill, in
a group of tumuli located to the west of the present Chong-gye
Dzong. Massive in size, the subterranean mausoleum was composed
of five chambers, and in all was the length of an arrow-shot
and the breadth of a call. Statues of Songtsan Gampo, Sakyamuni
and Avaloki-tesvara were placed inside the mausoleum along
with great quantities of gold, silver, pearls, and agates
as funerary objects, and so it was named "the Mausoleum
with lnner Decorations." The front gate of Songtsan
Gampo's mausoleum faced the southwest, looking towards the
birthplace of Sakyamuni. On the left of the tomb itself
was buried a suit of golden armour worn by Songtsan Gampo
on expeditions; at the foot of the tomb was a cache of pearls,
weighing two and half "kals," wrapped in satin,
which was Songtsan Gampo's share of wealth, and at the head
of the tomb was buried a coral statue of Lord Loyak Gyalmo,
eight "forearms" (a unit of length from elbow
to fingertip) in height, which was supposed to give light
to the dead king. Knights and battle-horses made of pure
gold were laid out on the right, as the retinue of Songtsan
Gampo after his death.
¡¡ Judging from accounts, the
grand burial given to Songtsan Gampo by the Tubo dynasty
slave society, befitted his unparalled achievements and
prestige. However, mausoleum containing only funerary objects
and without a single sacrificial human victim does not quite
conform with the general custom of Tibet at that time, and
this probably shows the influence of the Tang Dynasty which
then was at its height. Generally speaking, in feudal society
human sacrifice was not practised in royal burials, but
Songtsan Gampo reigned during the latter part of a slave
society which must have been well advanced judging from
the fact that no slaves were reportedly sacrificed as funerary
objects. As yet the tomb has not been excavated, and the
details given here come solely from records or oral traditions.
This ancient tomb, undisturbed for over a millenium, still
holds its secret for future discovery.
¡¡ The tumulus of Princess Jincheng's
husband, Tride Tsugtan is another huge one, which is a six-metre
high mound. Forty metres away a stone tablet erected more
than a thousand years ago stands in a deep shaft covered
by a small shelter. At that time the Tubo dynasty was still
in its golden age. When the Tsanpo died, a stone tablet
was enacted to his memory, as was done to his maternal uncles
(the Tang emperors). which shows the influence of Princess
Jincheng.
¡¡The tomb of Gungri Gungtsan,
Songtsan Gampo's son, was built while his father was on
the throne. It is the biggest in size and best in location.
The site chosen for Songtsan Gampo's own tumulus was not
as good as his son's.
¡¡On the Molari Hill, there
are two tumuli joined together, which at first appeared
to be one single tumulus. About 40 metres high and 170 metres
across, the burial mounds look like a pair of square hills.
Two successive generations were buried here: Mangsong Mangtsan
(Gungri Gungtsan's son) and Dusong Mangtsan, his son. These
two tumuli are notable because a pair of carved marble lions
stood guard before them about two hundred metres apart.
The two lions were seated facing the tumuli, tails curled
to the left, and were carved out of solid stone in clear,
untrammelled lines. Unmarked by the passage of time, their
carved designs were still distinct.
¡¡ At present apart from these
tumuli no other cemeteries and burial places have been found
in Tibet. Owing to the widespread practice of celestial
and water burial, the existence of these tumuli seems very
strange. One possible explanation is that during the Tubo
epoch, interment was considered the noblest form of funeral,
and the idea of "sacrificing one's body" was not
yet upmost in the minds of the Tubo people.
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