File BHH/5/15 - Draft of a letter from Brian Houghton Hodgson to the Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society, 15 December 1860

Draft of a letter from Brian Houghton Hodgson to the Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society to send five sheets of drawings of Bonpa (Bon tradition, Tibetan religion) deities which were drawn by a mendicant friar on a visit to Darjeeling. He also send a copy of a Tibetan yantra which he writes the people of Tibet wear about their necks as charms. Hodgson writes that De Coros considered the Bonpas that oldest sect of Buddhism in Tibet and that the name lingers in the exorcist of certain tribes. Hodgson continues to write about the Bonpa and about Buddhism comparing and contrasting Tibetan forms with those of other parts of India. He comments on others' articles regarding Buddhism. There is postscript entitled "Addendum to 1st paper for JRAS" and a further NB regarding Tantrika Buddhism (unsure if part of the same correspondence). Handwritten, 4 pieces, 12 sides, dated 15 December 1860. This letter was printed in the JRAS 1861, pp.396-399 with the accompanying sheets of Bonpa deities.