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The Psychology
of Ethical Leadership
in Organisations
Implications of Group
Processes
Catarina Morais
Georgina Randsley de Moura
The Psychology of Ethical Leadership
in Organisations
Catarina Morais
Georgina Randsley de Moura
The Psychology
of Ethical Leadership
in Organisations
Implications of Group Processes
Catarina Morais Georgina Randsley de Moura
School of Psychology School of Psychology
University of Kent University of Kent
Canterbury, UK Canterbury, UK
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
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Acknowledgements
v
Contents
6 Conclusion 71
Index 83
vii
CHAPTER 1
An Introduction to Decision-Making
and Leadership in Groups
Madsen & Finger, 1978), but, on the other hand, some studies showed
that when individuals are stimulated and encouraged to generate as
many ideas as they can think of, they can actually produce more ideas per
individual than do groups (e.g. Lamm & Trommsdorf, 1973; Mullen,
Johnson, & Salas, 1991). Several explanations have been suggested to
justify this phenomenon, including production blocking, that is, the pos-
sibility of people forgetting or suppressing their own ideas whilst other
team members are talking (Diehl & Stroebe, 1987); or that individuals
might be afraid of what others think about them when they are exposing
their ideas (evaluation apprehension; Diehl & Stroebe, 1987); or sim-
ply because they feel and believe that other team members might do the
work for them (free-riding, Williams, Harkins, & Latané, 1981).
Another frequent situation that exposes the difficulties of deciding in
groups refers to tasks in which there is a correct answer. Under these
circumstances, it is not enough for the group to have one member who
is capable of finding the solution, as it requires at least two people to
convince the remaining members (Arnold et al., 2010). This means that
for these types of tasks, groups are, on average, better than individuals
but also inferior to the best individuals or, in other words, the group is
“as good as its second-best member” (Arnold et al., 2010, p. 503).
Previous research has also shown that groups often do not seek
the best solution to a problem and would rather settle for a consen-
sus instead. If the group’s motivations for consensus is stronger than
its motivation to carefully evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of
a decision, groupthink can result. Therefore, groupthink occurs when
individuals’ main concern refers to achieving consensus instead of find-
ing the best available way of solving a problem or situation (Janis, 1982).
Moreover, groups can be prone to the social loafing effects, whereby the
effort of each group member decreases as the number of group members
increases (cf. Ringelmann effect; cf. also Kravitz & Martin, 1986; Latané,
Williams, & Harkins, 1979). That is, the larger the group is, the more
individuals perceive their single contribution cannot be identified, and
the less the effort they make to achieve the group goal (Kerr & Brunn,
1983). Social loafing effects can be minimised by providing groups with a
specific goal (Erez & Somech, 1996), for which leaders play a crucial role.
Moreover, when group membership and identification with the group
are made more salient (e.g. uniform), individuals are less likely to engage
in social loafing and will actually produce more for the group (Giske,
Rodahl, Haugen, & Hoigaard, 2017; Karau & Williams, 1993; Worchel,
4 C. MORAIS AND G. RANDSLEY de MOURA
Case Study 1
“Berian manages a team of 17 in a Tesco in-store bakery. One of
the key challenges of Berian’s job is to ensure his team produces
the right products to meet demand at key times. His usual man-
agement approach is to allow the team to take responsibility for
achieving the desired result. In this way, the team not only buys
into the activity, but also develops new skills. For example, when
the bakery expanded its product range and Berian needed to ensure
that all the products would be on the shelves by 8am, rather than
enforce a solution, he turned to the team for ideas. The team
solved the problem by agreeing to split break times so that produc-
tivity could be maintained. Berian’s approach produced a positive
outcome and increased team motivation”.
Source: Business Case Studies website:
Developing appropriate leadership styles: A Tesco case study
1 AN INTRODUCTION TO DECISION-MAKING AND LEADERSHIP IN GROUPS 7
Case Study 1 illustrates how leaders are a vital part of goal-setting and
is part of their role to communicate strategies to achieve those goals.
In other words, good leadership is crucial to keep teams and employ-
ees motivated and make the team work together towards the broad strat-
egy and specific goals (Kozlowski, Chao, & Jensen, 2010; Kozlowski &
Salas, 2010). Leaders shape opinions, work methods, and transform and
inspire others (cf. Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006).
Team-based success is often related to the capabilities and effective-
ness of the team leader, whose actions and decisions must be continu-
ously informed by the team’s needs in order to maximise its potential (cf.
Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006). It is, therefore, undeniable that leaders are
an essential part of effective and efficient groups and teams, especially in
organisations.
The importance of leadership is reflected in a report published by
Deloitte (2014), which presents the results of a study conducted with
2532 Business and Human Resources Leaders from 94 different coun-
tries around the globe. Regarding the top global trends, the vast major-
ity of these leaders (86%) considered leadership as one of the most
important and/or urgent issues for organisations. In this survey, partic-
ipants were also asked to identify the top 5 most important trends for
each region of the globe. In 5 regions (out of 7), leadership appeared as
the top priority or highly important in developed and growing econo-
mies around the globe.
This highlights the emphasis that organisations and businesses are
putting on leadership and reflects that businesses are aware of the pos-
itive impact that good leaders have on teams in their organisations. By
contrast, just as employees and organisations benefit from having great
leaders, leaders can also produce the reverse effect and harm the business
and damage the relationship between employees and the organisation.
For example, in 2015, Gallup surveyed 7272 US employees and found
that about 50% of employees reported leaving their jobs due to a bad
relationship with their manager (leader).
In sum, there is no doubt that leaders’ behaviours affect employ-
ees and relationships within and between teams and/or organisations.
Because of the important and central role leaders play within the organ-
isation, leaders are perceived as role models and their behaviours are
under particular scrutiny. The moral component of behaviours in organ-
isations is particularly salient as organisations are increasingly sensitive to
ethical and unethical issues and, consequently, more sensitive to ethical
8 C. MORAIS AND G. RANDSLEY de MOURA
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1 AN INTRODUCTION TO DECISION-MAKING AND LEADERSHIP IN GROUPS 9
Case Study 2
Acknowledging the increasing concern for sustainability, Coca-Cola
has recently planned to invest in their packaging to make its bot-
tles and cans more sustainable and recyclable. Recently, Coca-Cola’s
CEO James Quincey announced on the company’s website that
Coca Cola aims to “help collect and recycle a bottle or can for every
one we sell by 2030”. The leader of Coca-Cola stated that “con-
sumers around the world care about our planet. They want and
expect companies like ours to be leaders and help make a litter-free
world possible”. In a recent interview to The Telegraph (2018),
James Quincey said that “The world has a packaging problem – and,
like all companies, we have a responsibility to help solve it”.
Sources: Quincey (2018) and The Telegraph (January, 2018)
2 WHAT ETHICAL LEADERS DO FOR ORGANISATIONS? 15
In Sum…
• Due to the central role leaders occupy in the organisation, leaders
are perceived as role models;
• Ethical leaders have a positive impact in the organisation and affect
employees’ relationship with the organisation;
• Ethical leaders are associated with higher levels of employees’ job
dedication, commitment, team effectiveness and motivation;
• Ethical leaders are associated with less turnover intentions from
employees;
• Ethical leadership does not only impact on the leader–employee
relationship (predicting, e.g., employee satisfaction with leader),
but it also impacts the employees’ relationship with the organisa-
tion affecting, for example, employees’ motivation and commitment
with the organisation.
References
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Burnes, B., Swailes, S., Harris, D., Axtell, C., & Den Hartog, D. (2010).Work
psychology: Understanding human behaviour in the workplace (5th ed.).
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organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Clifs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Clifs,
NJ: Prentice-Hall.
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Bass, B., & Avolio, B. (2000). Multifactor leadership questionnaire (2nd ed.).
Redwood City, CA: Mind Garden.
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org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.004.
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ship: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing.
Organizational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, 97, 117–134.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002.
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.
Cialdini, R. B., & Trost, M. R. (1998). Social influence: Social norms, con-
formity, and compliance. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.),
The handbook of social psychology (4th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 151–192). New York:
McGraw-Hill.
De Hoogh, A. H. B., & Den Hartog, N. D. (2008). Ethical and despotic
leadership, relationships with leader’s social responsibility, top manage-
ment team effectiveness and subordinates’ optimism: A multi-method
study. The Leadership Quarterly, 19, 297–311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
leaqua.2008.03.002.
Den Hartog, D. N., & Belschak, F. D. (2012). Work engagement and
Machiavellianism in the ethical leadership process. Journal of Business Ethics,
107, 35–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1296-4.
Den Hartog, D. N., & De Hoogh, A. H. B. (2009). Empowering behav-
ior and leader fairness and integrity: Studying perceptions of ethical
leader behavior from a levels-of-analysis perspective. European Journal
of Work and Organizational Psychology, 18, 199–230. https://doi.
org/10.1080/13594320802362688.
Hannah, S. T., Avolio, B., & Walumbwa, F. O. (2014). The relationships
between authentic leadership, moral courage, and ethical and pro-so-
cial behaviors. Business Ethics Quarterly, 24(2), 277–279. https://doi.
org/10.5840/beq201453011.
Hotten, R. (2015, December). Volkswagen: The scandal explained. Retrieved
from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772.
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Associates (Eds.). (2004). Cultures, leadership, and organizations: A 62 nation
GLOBE study (Vol. 1). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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Submission or liberation? Academy of Management Executive, 6(2), 43–54.
https://doi.org/10.2307/4165064.
2 WHAT ETHICAL LEADERS DO FOR ORGANISATIONS? 25
It was rather a puzzle to me why this dog followed us so long, for we had so little
food that we could but seldom spare him any. He slept near us at night with his
head on the lap of one of us, and during the march he showed quite sporting
instincts by chasing antelopes and kiang (wild horse) when we encountered
herds of hundreds of them. Curiously enough, when we entered a Tibetan
encampment he always avoided being seen in our company. It seemed almost
as if he realised that we were not welcome guests in the country, and feared the
consequences. Possibly [139]he only temporarily left us to see what he could pick
up in the way of food, but whenever we came across him in the encampment, he
never would show signs of recognition, much less of affection, as was the case
when he would rejoin us some miles beyond on the march, when he made
ample efforts to reingratiate himself. He seemed almost to want to express:
“Sorry I had to cut you in the encampment, but I really had to!”
At last the day came when we were captured, and underwent several kinds of
tortures, as I have already described in In the Forbidden Land. The dog had
vanished, and, to tell the truth, we did not give him much of a thought, as we
were somewhat concerned about ourselves.
Tibetan encampments have no great interest except for the peculiar shape of
the black tents—a pattern of shelter most suitable for the climate of their country.
The two sides of the tent are separate, and when the tent is put up it leaves an
aperture all along its highest ridge. This is for various reasons. First, because
the Tibetans light fires inside their tents, and an opening is necessary to let the
smoke out; also as a means of ventilation, the cold air not penetrating so quickly
as when it comes in at the sides, owing to the warmed atmosphere inside. The
black tents are woven of a coarse and waterproof fabric of yak hair. Through the
slit at the top generally protrude the props of the matchlocks bundled against
one of the tent poles.
Every man in Tibet owns one of these weapons, and is considered a soldier in
time of war.
Interior of a Tibetan Tent, showing Churn for mixing Tea with Butter
The inside of a large Tibetan tent is quaint enough when you have reached it by
skipping over masses of dirt and refuse which surround its outside. Only, when
you peep in, the odour is rather strong of the people, old and young, all since
[141]birth innocent of washing, and the smell of badly-prepared skins, and stores
of chura (cheese). Nor must I forget to mention the wall of yak-dung erected
right round the tent inside to serve the double purpose of protection against the
wind where the tent meets the ground, and of fuel, being gradually demolished
to feed the double mud-stove erected in the centre of the tent. Mud alone is also
occasionally used for the inside wall.
As you know, dung is practically the only fuel obtainable in the highest parts of
Tibet, although occasionally a few low shrubs are to be found. The fuel is
constantly collected and conveyed from one camp to the next, when changing in
order to find more suitable grazing for the sheep and yaks.
The centre mud-stove is built according to the most practical notions to make it
draw properly, and upon it can nearly always be seen one or two large raksangs,
brass vessels in which brick-tea is being stewed and stirred with a long brass
spoon. But the operation of tea-making is rather complicated in Tibet. After the
leaves have been stewed long enough the liquid is poured into a dongbo, or
cylindrical wooden churn, in which have been deposited several balls of butter
with copious [142]sprinkling of salt. A piston which passes through the movable
lid is then vigorously set in action, and when well stirred and steaming the
mixture is served all round and avidly drunk in wooden bowls, one of which
every one carries about the person. Tsamba, a kind of oatmeal, is frequently
mixed with the tea in the bowls, where it is made into a paste with the fingers.
A Little Boy learning to Pray
No matter how much non-Tibetan folks may find merriment in the idea of tea
being brewed with butter and salt, there is no doubt that for a climate like Tibet it
is “the drink” par excellence. It warms, nourishes, and is easily digested. I very
often indulged in the luxury myself, when I could obtain butter, only, my digestion
working rather rapidly owing to the amount of roughing we daily endured, I left
out the salt so that I should not digest the mixture too quickly.
The richer owners of tents generally have a sort of folding shrine, with one or
more images of Buddha, which occupies the place of honour in the tent.
Numerous brass bowls and ornaments are displayed in front of these images
and also offerings of tsamba and butter. Wicks, burning in butter, are
occasionally lighted around and upon the shrine. Decrepit old women seem to
[143]spend most of their time revolving their prayer-wheels and muttering prayers
in front of these altars, and when occasion arises thus teaching little children to
do the same. The younger folk, too, are very religious, but not to the fanatical
extent of the older ones.
It is quite amusing to see little mites—children are always quaint in every country
—try to master the art of revolving the prayer-wheel. It must be revolved from left
to right, to pray in the proper fashion,—not that if you revolved it the other way
you would necessarily be swearing, only, according to the laws of Tibetan
Buddhism, prayers spun in the wrong direction would have no effect and bring
no benefit. In a similar way circumambulations, either round hills for pilgrimages,
or round a tent, or round a sacred lake, must always follow a similar direction to
the revolving of the prayer-wheel.
In Lhassa and many other sacred places fanatical pilgrims make these
circumambulations, sometimes for miles and miles, and for days together,
covering the entire distance lying flat upon their bodies, then placing the feet
where the head was and stretching themselves full length. Inside temples a
central enclosure is provided, round [144]which these circumambulations are
performed, special devotions being offered before Buddha and many of the
other gilt or high-coloured images which adorn the walls of the temple.
As can be seen by the coloured plate illustrating one of these scenes, from the
ceiling of the temple hang hundreds of long strips, Katas, offered by pilgrims to
the temple and becoming so many flying prayers when hung up—for mechanical
praying in every way is prominent in Tibet. There is, after all, no reason why
praying should not be made easy like everything else. Thus, instead of having to
learn by heart long and varied prayers, all you have to do is to stuff the entire
prayer-book (written on a roll in Tibet) into the prayer-wheel, and revolve it while
repeating as fast as you can go these four words: “Om mani padme hum,”—
words of Sanscrit origin and referring to the reincarnation of Buddha from a lotus
flower, literally “O God, the gem emerging from the lotus flower.”
Interior of Tibetan Temple
The temples of Tibet, except in Lhassa itself, are not beautiful in any way—in
fact, they are generally very tawdry and dirty. The attention of the pilgrims is
directed to a large box, or often a big bowl, where they may deposit whatever
[145]offerings they can spare, and it must be said that their religious ideas are so
strongly developed that they will dispose of a considerable portion of their
money in this fashion.
Personally—and I am glad that the few men [146]who know Tibet from personal
knowledge and not from political rivalry agree with me—I believe that the
intrigues of the Lamas with Russia are absolute nonsense. Tibet, it must be
remembered, was not forbidden to Englishmen only, but to everybody from
every side, whether native or white, certain Nepalese and Chinamen, only,
having the privilege of entering the country. It was a fight against Western ways
in general which the Lamas were carrying on, quite successfully owing to the
geographical position of their country, and the natural difficulties of reaching it,
and not a fight against one race more than another. The accounts of the Lhassa
Mission to the Czar were possibly the best diplomatic practical jokes which have
been played upon this credulous country; and the mythical and much-feared
Dorjeff is possibly—at least as far as power is concerned—nothing more than
the creation of hysterical Anglo-Indian officials who, everybody knows, seem to
see the treacherous hand of Russia in everything.
Tibetan Women weaving
Agriculturally, as I have stated, nothing grows there; no very wealthy mines have
so far been discovered, the only mines that are plentiful being of borax, which
has not sufficient market value to pay for the expensive carriage from Tibet to
the coast. Regarded as a climate for a sanatorium for our sick soldiers in India—
for which Tibet is frequently recommended by Anglo-Indian papers—I believe
that such an establishment would be a very quick way of disposing altogether of
all the sick men sent there. And as for such gigantic schemes as the
construction of railways, say from India to the upper waters of the Yangtze-
Kiang, or to Pekin, the expense of taking a railway over the Himahlya range and
keeping it in working order during the wintry months—nine out of twelve—would,
I think, never be remunerative. In Tibet itself the construction of a railway would
be comparatively easy, as great stretches of the country are almost flat. Stations
of imported fuel would have to be provided for the entire distance across Tibet,
and the engines would have to be constructed specially to suit the great altitude.
[148]
For trade and commerce with the natives themselves, the population of the
country is so small, so deplorably poor and so lacking in wants, and the country
is so large that, personally, I do not see how any large commercial venture in
such a country can turn out successful. It is very difficult to get money where
there is none. Small native traders, of course, can make small profits and be
satisfied. Besides, the intercourse between Tibet and the neighbouring
countries, particularly those to the south, can only take place with comfort during
three months of the summer when the high snow-passes are open.
So that, much as I would like to see Tibet open in a proper way to travellers, I
cannot quite understand the necessity of the Government spending millions of
money and butchering thousands of helpless and defenceless natives in a
manner most repulsive to any man who is a man, and of which we can but be
ashamed—and all this to obtain a valueless commercial treaty. It is true, the
Tibetans had been very impudent in every way on our frontier, but for this we
only have to blame ourselves and our incompetent officials. If, instead of giving
way to their bluff, we had kept a firm hand, matters would have been different.
Tibetan Women cleaning Wool
[149]
Even in the case of my capture and torture on my first expedition into Tibet I
never had a feeling of resentment towards the Tibetans for what they did to me.
It was very exciting and interesting for me to endeavour to reach their sacred
city, but I did so at my own risk and against their repeated warnings and threats,
and I got nothing more for it in the end than I expected, in fact, bad as it was,
considerably less. Highly amusing as it was to me to give them endless trouble,
it was undoubtedly equally enjoyable to them to torture me, when once they
succeeded in effecting my capture. Possibly, if I now have any feelings at all
towards the Tibetans, it is a feeling of gratitude towards them for sparing my life
in the end, which, by the way, they came within an ace of taking as they had
promised to do.
As a punishment for what they did to me—because, after all, my men and I
suffered a great deal more than the average man could stand—the Government
of India practically ceded, as we have said, all the rights to Tibet of an immense
district of British territory at the frontier. Can you blame the Tibetans for doing
worse if they had a chance? [150]
[Contents]
CHAPTER XIV
In heart and soul the Tibetan is a sportsman; but if you look for grace in his
movements you will be sorely disappointed. Indeed, more fervour and
clumsiness combined are hardly to be paralleled anywhere. Perhaps the Tibetan
is seen to advantage on his pony, and some of his feats on the saddle I will here
describe.
A Lama Standard-Bearer
Horse races are quite a favourite form of amusement, and are run in a sensible
manner. Only two ponies at a time go round the course, the final race being run
between the winners of the two best heats. Praying is usually combined, in
some form or other, with everything people do in Tibet, and so even races are
run round the foot of an isolated hill or around an encampment of tents; for, as
you know, circumambulation of any kind, if in the right direction, is equivalent to
prayer, and pleases God. Thus, just as with their prayer-wheels, a rotatory
[151]motion is kept up from left to right, so races are run in the same way from the
standpoint of the spectator.
The heavy sheepskin coats worn by the Tibetans are some protection when the
lash is applied, and the pain inflicted is not always in proportion to the noise
made by the blow; but such is not the case when they catch one another across
the face. [152]
The winner is presented with a kata by the umpire—a high Lama or a military
officer, a most picturesque creature in a brilliant red coat and fluffy hat, who has
a peculiar standard with hundreds of long, vari-coloured strips of cloth, or flying
prayers. Sitting on a handsome pony, with gaudy harness of green leather inlaid
with brass, a valuable Chinese rug upon the saddle, and many tinkling bells
round the pony’s neck, the umpire and his pony certainly produce a gay
ensemble. This gentleman takes himself very seriously, and seldom
condescends to smile.
The kata, or “scarf of love and friendship,” which is given to the winner is a long
piece of silk-like gauze, the ends of which have been trimmed into a fringe. As I
have elsewhere described at greater length, these katas play quite an important
part in the social intercourse of Tibetans. They can be purchased or obtained
from the Lamas of any monastery, or where no monastery exists the natives
manufacture them themselves, for they are constantly needed. No gift can be
sent nor accepted without “a veil of friendship” accompanying it, and no stranger
ever enters a tent without offering, with outstretched hands, a kata, which he
quickly lays at the feet of [153]his host. Diminutive katas are enclosed in letters;
sweethearts exchange katas on every possible occasion—until they are actually
married. Polyandry being prevalent in Tibet, when one of the several husbands
returns to his wife after the customary absence, he never fails to bring a kata
with him. Not to offer a kata to an honoured visitor is as palpable a breach of
manners, and as great a slight as can possibly be offered in the Forbidden Land.
Necessarily, when a kata has been blessed by the Lamas, or is won in a race
before high officials, it has additional value, and these simple folks value it more
than a gift of money or food. It is stored away in the tent among the heirlooms,
and is handed down to posterity.
A slightly more difficult feat, very common in a similar form in most countries, is
the picking up of a kata by horsemen at full gallop. One horseman, a high
official, revolves the kata seven times in the wind, and then darts full gallop in
one direction, followed by twenty, thirty, or more horsemen riding wildly, and
each trying to push his neighbours out of the way. The official, some thirty yards
ahead, flies the kata in the wind, and when fancy takes him lets it drop out of his
hand. The kata eventually settles on the ground, and the horde [154]of riders
gallops away from it, yelling and quarrelling. At a signal from the officer the
horsemen turn round and make a dash for the scarf, towards which all the
ponies are converging. Clinging to the saddle with one hand and hanging over,
each rider attempts to pick up the kata without dismounting. Collisions and nasty
falls are numerous, and this sport generally partakes of the character of an all-
round fight among the ponies’ legs. Somebody, however, always succeeds in
picking up the scarf and getting clear of the others, when he triumphantly rides
round the camp fluttering the prize in the wind.
Some of the younger fellows are clever at this sport, and when one rider at a
time does the feat, he seldom misses picking up the kata at the first swoop.
A Race for the Kata
Another exercise consists in bodily lifting a person on the saddle while the pony
is at full gallop. The pedestrian is seized as low near the waist as possible, and
the impetus of the pony’s flight, not the rider’s actual strength, is utilised in
raising the person on the saddle.
Women are scarce in Tibet, and actual raiding parties, I was told, occasionally
take place against neighbouring tribes in order to obtain a fresh supply of wives.
Taking things all round, there are few men and [156]women in Tibet who cannot
ride well, yet there are few who can claim exceptional skill in that line. The
Tibetan generally values his bones too much to indulge in fancy tricks upon his
pony. Some young fellow, more ambitious than others, will master the art of
standing erect upon the saddle while going full speed, his feet being inserted
into the stirrups, which have for the purpose been shortened as high as they
could go. By pressing with his ankles against the saddle he manages to
maintain his balance, in the familiar way of the Cossacks and tribes of Central
Asia, who all excel in this game.
Tibetan saddles, as you know, are in appearance not unlike a cross between a
Cossack saddle and a rude Mexican saddle, and as good as neither, but quite
suited to the country where they are used. Men and women ride astride, with
exceptionally short stirrups, so that the leg is bent at the knee at a right or even
an acute angle. In order to maintain one’s equilibrium when riding fast some
additional stability is obtained by stretching out the arms sideways.
Tibetan Soldier at Target Practice
The blocks of the saddles are of wood imported mainly from India, Nepal, or
China, with bindings of hammered iron or brass, often inlaid with silver and gold.
Lizard skin and coloured leather adorn the front and back of the saddles, and a
substantial pad covers the central part and the otherwise very angular seat. For
extra comfort rugs—occasionally valuable and always decorative in blue and red
tints—are spread, while to leather laces behind the saddle are slung double
bags containing tsamba, chura, or cheese, a brick of compressed tea, and
whatever sundry articles may be used on a journey. [158]The last, but not least
attachment on a Tibetan saddle is a long coiled rope of yak hair with a wooden
peg at the end for tethering the pony at night.
Whatever one may say of Tibetans, the best-inclined could not compliment them
on their shooting. Their matchlocks—their only firearms, made in Lhassa and
Shigatz—are weapons so clumsy and heavy and badly made, that when fired it
is truly more dangerous to be behind them than in front of their muzzle. During
my captivity in Tibet in 1897, indeed, I was fired upon twice—by distinguished
marksmen who took accurate aim only a few paces from me—but neither time
was I hit. Nor in all my experience of Tibet have I any remembrance of ever
seeing a Tibetan hit with a projectile from his matchlock anything which he
intended, although the range was never more than twenty or thirty yards. Few
are the matchlocks in the Forbidden Land which will carry as far as fifty or a
hundred yards.