Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas
Claudia Müller-Ebeling
Christian Rätsch
Surendra Bahadur Shahi
In collaboration with Mohan Rai
Shamanistic Studies & Research Centre, Kathmandu
and the Shamans Indra Doj Gurung
Maile Lama
Parvati Rai
Myingmar Sherpa
Danashing Tamang
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The first all-encompassing study and first-hand report of the shamans and tantrikas of the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal.
Shamanism is not an archaic 'religion' but rather a set of practices and beliefs from which Buddhism and Hinduism have borrowed fundamental tenets. This book is the first to allow the voices and practices of various ethnic groups to emerge, and the first to explain the shamanic background of thangka-painting. It includes detailed descriptions of the techniques used to paint the thangkas, the deities depicted, and the ritual uses of the images.
Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas allows us to travel into the depths of the consciousness and life work of five shamans, who are among the most powerful and respected people in their ethnic groups. It features the first photographic documentation of their esoteric rites, such as the midnight graveyard ritual dedicated to Shiva, and describes a pilgrimage to the most sacred mountain of the Nepalese shamans, Mount Kalinchok. The authors also explore the soma myth and offer valuable insights into the use of this ancient hallucinogen.
135 colour thangkas serve as visual guides to the shamans and those following their ways. These thangkas – fifty of which are contemporary masterpieces by leading thangka painter Surendra Bahadur Shahi – reveal the specific practices of the tantric tradition and secret history of thangka painting. Many of the photographs of shamanic healing ceremonies, ritual objects and culturally significant plants have never been published before.
The book features a wealth of original recipes, smoking mixtures, scientific tables, charts and descriptions of more than twenty plants whose psychoactive properties and uses by shamans have never before been researched or documented.
Also of interest:
Buddhist Himalayas: People, Faith and Nature
Reading Buddhist Art:
An Illustrated Guide to Buddhist Signs and Symbols
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|  |  | | | | ISBN 050051108X | | ISBN-13 978-0500511084 | | | | 27.9 x 21.6 cm | | Quarter bound with jacket | | 320pp | | With 605 illustrations in colour and black and white, including 135 colour thangkas | | First published 2002 | | | | £32.00 | | | |  | | | | 
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