Describe symbolism in My Journey to Lhasa by Alexandra David-Neel

Neel does not employ symbolism within the text. He does, however, describe the ceremony of scapegoat that takes place each year in Lhasa. In the ceremony, a man volunteers to be the scapegoat, and he is given a black yak tail as a symbol. In the days before the ceremony, he moves around the city collecting offerings of money from everyone he can. Those reluctant to give he threatens by raising the yak tail, which is believed to give him the power of cursing anyone who does not give freely. On the day of the ceremony, the man is dressed up in goat fur and brought before the Dalai Lama, who charges him with all the sins of the city. He is then run out of town to the shouts and whistles of the inhabitants.