Lamas, Shamans and Ancestors: Village Religion in Sikkim

429 Pages·2008·3.99 MB·English

by  Anna Balikci

Lamas, Shamans and Ancestors
Brill’s
Tibetan Studies
Library
Edited by
Henk Blezer
Alex McKay
Charles Ramble
VOLUME 17
Lamas, Shamans
and Ancestors
Village Religion in Sikkim
By
Anna Balikci
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2008
On the cover: Tashi Lhamo (sitting) together with Ongtik in front of the village’s prayer
hall or mani lhakhang. Both are mothers of Tingchim households (see also Pl. 29 as well
as the text on p. 248ff.).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Balikci, Anna.
Lamas, shamans, and ancestors : village religion in Sikkim / by Anna Balikci.
p. cm. — (Brill’s Tibetan studies library, ISSN 1568-6183 ; v. 17)
Originally presented as the author’s thesis (doctoral—University of London, School
of Oriental and African Studies).
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-16706-3 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Bhotia (Tibetan people)—
India—Sikkim—Religion. 2. Shamans—India—Sikkim. 3. Lamas—India—Sikkim.
4. Bon (Tibetan religion)—Relations—Buddhism. 5. Buddhism—Relations—Bon.
I. Title. II. Series.
BL2016.S55B35 2008
299.5’40954167—dc22
2008008973
ISSN 1568-6183
ISBN 978 90 04 16706 3
Copyright 2008 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission
from the publisher.
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Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to
The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910,
Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
For my father and mother

CONTENTS
Preface ......................................................................................... xi
Original Preface and Acknowledgments .................................... xiii
A Note on the Text .................................................................... xvii
List of Illustrations ...................................................................... xix
PART I: THE SETTING
Chapter One: Introduction ........................................................ 3
1. Basic concepts and terms .................................................. 5
2. Lamas and shamans: a problematic relation? .................. 17
3. The chapters ...................................................................... 37
Chapter Two: Perspectives on the Past ...................................... 43
1. Historical development of Tingchim’s political,
economic and inter-ethnic relations .................................. 43
2. Relation between bon and Buddhism or the creation
of village religion ............................................................... 56
3. Origins and migrations of the Lhopos ............................. 65
3.1. Notes on the origins of the Namgyal dynasty ......... 66
3.2. Gye Bumsa and the chief clans of Sikkim ............... 69
3.3. Origins and migration history of Tingchim’s
descent groups ........................................................... 74
4. Defi nition of the person in terms of household,
lineage, village, region and social class ............................. 81
Chapter Three: The Hidden Land and its Supernatural
Population ............................................................................... 85
1. Taming of the country and its inhabitants:
Sikkim as a beyul ................................................................ 86
2. Living in a sacred hidden land ......................................... 91
3. The pho lha mo lha: ancestors and lineage protectors ........ 93
4. The supernatural beings of the territory .......................... 103
5. Kangchendzönga’s pre-Buddhist identities ....................... 106
viii contents
6. Perceptions of the supernatural and questions of
identity ............................................................................... 110
Chapter Four: Village Religion: Ritual of Illness ...................... 117
1. On the cause of illness ...................................................... 118
2. Diagnosing the cause of illness ......................................... 124
2.1. The sequence of cure and its ultimate ritual:
the ‘red’ offering ........................................................ 126
2.2. Levels of ritual co-operation ..................................... 140
Chapter Five: The Shamans ...................................................... 145
1. Who gets initiated as a pawo or a nejum ............................ 146
2. The initiation ritual ........................................................... 153
3. The infl uence of Buddhism on the shamans’
ritual practice ..................................................................... 157
4. Interaction with ancestors ................................................. 161
5. Looking north: comparative notes with Mongolian
shamanism ......................................................................... 165
PART II: THE LAND
Chapter Six: The Land, its Workers, Harvests and Rituals ..... 173
1. The land and its workers .................................................. 173
1.1. Agricultural tenant farmers and labourers of
Nepalese origin .......................................................... 176
2. The Indian merchants ....................................................... 181
3. Harvests .............................................................................. 185
3.1. The agricultural cycle and animal husbandry ......... 185
3.2. Hunting and gathering .............................................. 188
4. The land and its rituals ..................................................... 189
4.1. Harvest offerings by the pawo in honour of the
pho lha mo lha .............................................................. 192
4.2. Harvest offerings by the bongthing in honour of
ajo anyo and latsen ....................................................... 194
4.3. Harvest offerings by the lama in honour of
Kabur Kangtsen ........................................................ 196
4.4. Protecting the harvest: the Sesung Gomchen
and the controlling of hail ........................................ 204
4.5. The Nesol: ritual of the land par excellence .................. 207
contents ix
4.6. Other harvest and hunting rituals ............................ 210
4.7. Losung: the farmer’s New Year ................................. 212
Chapter Seven: The Land, its Problems and Ritual
Solutions .................................................................................. 216
1. Land and other disputes with non-relatives and
outsiders ............................................................................. 217
1.1. Disputes with Nepalese and other outsiders ............. 218
1.2. Curses and poisoning accusations: land and
other disputes between non-related Lhopos ............. 223
2. Polluting and destroying objects of nature within
the village ........................................................................... 228
3. Wrong action performed against the sacred land
beyond the village: the case of Rathong Chu
hydro-electric project ......................................................... 234
PART III: THE HOUSEHOLD
Chapter Eight: Life and Ritual Cycles of Household
Members ................................................................................. 245
1. The household ................................................................... 245
2. Inter-ethnic marriages ....................................................... 252
3. Rituals of the household and its members ....................... 254
3.1. Birth ........................................................................... 257
3.2. Marriage .................................................................... 258
3.3. Building a new house and establishing a
corporate household .................................................. 270
3.4. Joining the monastery ............................................... 271
3.5. Severe illness and death ............................................ 273
Chapter Nine: Curing and Protective Rituals of the
Household ............................................................................... 282
1. Ritual solutions to land disputes among relatives ............. 283
2. Old household feuds .......................................................... 286
3. Ritual and other solutions to problems related to
women and marriage ........................................................ 288
4. Ritual solutions to the lingering consciousness of
dead kin members ............................................................. 294