4 papers in the library · publishing 2023
World of Worldly Gods May 6, 2023 Kelzang T. Tashi
Abstract This chapter extends the ongoing relevance of Bon by considering the belief in the fluidity of five life elements and their centrality to Golengpas’ everyday lives. It offers ethnographic insights into the complex local cosmology/pantheon and people’s strong beliefs in a deep shamanic worldview. It looks at people’s beliefs about the idea of soul loss and the centrality of five life...
World of Worldly Gods May 6, 2023 Kelzang T. Tashi
Abstract This chapter reflects on the relationship between Buddhism and Shamanic Bon, and Buddhism and Clerical Bon, and discusses religious syncretism in the context of the great and little traditions by relating the findings to the wider anthropological literature. It takes the relationship between great and little traditions as its starting point for the interplay of Buddhism and Bon...
World of Worldly Gods May 6, 2023 Kelzang T. Tashi
Abstract This chapter focuses on family and individual concerns and examines the ways in which people deal with threats to everyday life, health, and welfare posed by a range of supernatural entities. It demonstrates that it is not only the weak Buddhist presence but also the dearth of healthcare services in the village that have left the utility of Bon rituals unchallenged and ever relevant to...
May 6, 2023 Kelzang T. Tashi
Abstract: This book offers the first comprehensive examination of the tenacity of Shamanic Bon practices, as they are lived and contested, in the presence of an invalidating force—Buddhism. Through a rich ethnography of Goleng and nearby villages in central Bhutan, the book investigates why people, despite shifting contexts, continue to practice and engage with Bon, which has survived over a...