Sedia gestatoria an elaborate variation on the sedan chair. Two large fans ("flabella") made of white ostrich feathers —a relic of the ancient liturgical use of the "flabellum", mentioned in the "Constitutiones Apostolicae"— were carried at either side of the "sedia gestatoria". The ceremonial throne was mainly used to carry popes to and from papal ceremonies in the Basilica of St. John Lateran and St. Peter's Basilica. The "sedia" was used as part of papal ceremony for nearly a millennium. Its origins are sometimes thought to date back to the Byzantine Empire where Byzantine emperors were carried along in a similar manner,
Religion in Asia India. Jain libraries are the oldest in the country. It has traditionally been confined to the Indian Subcontinent. It is based on the teachings of Vardhaman Mahavir and also on 23 other Tirthankaras. Buddhism is the fourth largest world religion and the 3rd largest in Asia, which is 12% of Asia's population. It is dominant and the majority in Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, Tibet, Laos, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Large Buddhist populations live in China (18.2%), Japan (36.2%), Taiwan (35%), Macau (17%), North Korea (13.8%), Nepal (10.7%), Vietnam (10%), Singapore (33%), Hong Kong (15%) and South Korea (22.9%). It also