hunted with dogs and falcons, and plowed small older, the children helped their parents by fields in mountain valleys with the help of their yaks. The women ground up the barley harvested from the fields and used it to make tsampa (barley cakes), which the families ate at home with cups of buttered tea.

In some of the homes, a man had more than one wife. More often, one woman was married to two or more brothers. When babies were born, their parents smudged their faces with soot (to hide them from demons). When they were fetching water and gathering yak dung to use as fuel. Marriage ceremonies were simple and the young bride showed her new adult status by donning a colorful apron. After death, people were given a sky burial. Their bodies were taken to a high rocky platform and fed to sacred vultures so the soul could be freed.

According to Tibetan legend, long ago their land was low and forested, and almost entirely covered by the ocean. One day, five dragons emerged from the water, creating huge tidal waves and burning the forests with fiery breaths. The forest birds flew wildly against the hot winds and the animals ran in terror. Just as the dragons were about to destroy everything, five good spirits appeared. They commanded the sea to roll back and the dragons to withdraw again under its waters. When the waves withdrew they left behind a rich and fertile land. The spirits then turned into five mountains. Then, according to the legend, the Tibetan people made their appearance, born to a marriage between a monkey and a rock-demon.

From the distant time of the Seven Heavenly Kings (who climbed to the heavens on sky-cords) to the seventh century, the people of Tibet farmed and traded and lived as neighboring tribes. They were unified under Songtsen Gampo, who built the Potala Palace, married two foreign queens, and began a powerful dynasty. Both of his wives were

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Buddhists, and Songsten Gampo adopted this religion. He ordered the construction of Buddhist temples across the land. Soon thousands of pilgrims and monks (called lamas) bowed and prayed to golden likenesses of the Buddha. Yak-butter lamps sputtered in the dark temples, while outside colorful flags waved in the wind.

Marco thought the Tibetans were magicians. "They cause tempests to arise, accompanied with flashes of lightning and thunderbolts," he said. Back at the Khan's palace, Tibetan magicians were ordered to stand on the roof and perform spells to keep bad weather from disrupting the royal schedule. The Khan converted to the Tibetan form of Buddhism (sometimes called Lamaism), which combined Buddhist beliefs with an ancient Tibetan religion called Bon. Magic and spirits were an important part of Bon beliefs.

At the time of Marco's visit, Tibet was ruled by a council of 20 high lamas under Mongol control. Not long after this time, a great monk appeared. The Mongols gave him his name, Dalai Lama, which means "ocean of wisdom." The Tibetans believed that this monk had reached the highest spiritual stage (called Nirvana) but had chosen to stay in the cycle of life in order to help others. When this first Dalai Lama died, he reincarnated and came back again as the second Dalai Lama. In his fifth return, he became Tibet's spiritual and political leader.

Marco's adventures continued. He visited different Chinese provinces, each ruled by sons of the Khan. In one province, the people wore heavy leather armor and carried poison arrows as protection against "huge serpents, ten paces in length, with glaring eyes and jaws wide enough to swallow a man." (This was Marco's first sight of a crocodile). In another province, the people practiced an unusual custom after the birth of a baby. The woman immediately got out of bed and her husband laid down on it. There he stayed for 40 days. Friends and relatives visited