Lamas, Shamans and Ancestors

Biographical note Readership Reviews Table of contents

Publication Type:

Book

Pages, Illustrations:

400 pp. 41

Imprint:

BRILL

Language:

English

Biographical note

Anna Balikci, Ph.D. (2002) in Social Anthropology, SOAS, University of London, is Research Coordinator at the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Sikkim. She is the editor of the Bulletin of Tibetology and author of a number of articles and films on Sikkim.

Readership

All those interested in the culture, religion and history of the people of Sikkim, the Himalayas and Tibet, as well as Asian shamanism, village Buddhism and multi-faceted ritual systems.

Reviews

The particular value of this work lies in its presentation of an unusually well-documented case study concerned
with the social and religious transformation of a Sikkimese village in the twentieth century, (...). The plan chosen to expose this complex reality leads to a few repetitions, but the ethnographic material is exceptionally rich, varied and well described. It also opens many avenues for comparison with other Himalayan communities. Anna Balikci’s book is essential reading for anyone interested in this region.
ANNE DE SALES, Bulletin of Tibetology, 85

'This book will be of great value not only for those interested in Himalayan syncretism, bön, or shamanism in general, but also for anyone with an interest in Sikkim or a detailed ethnographic account of Himalayan village life.'
Abraham Zablocki, Agnes Scott College, Religious Studies Review, 38,2

PREFACE
A NOTE ON THE TEXT
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PART I: THE SETTING

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER TWO: PERSPECTIVES ON THE PAST
CHAPTER THREE: THE HIDDEN LAND AND ITS SUPERNATURAL POPULATION
CHAPTER FOUR: VILLAGE RELIGION: RITUAL OF ILLNESS
CHAPTER FIVE: THE SHAMANS

PART II: THE LAND

CHAPTER SIX: THE LAND, ITS WORKERS, HARVESTS AND RITUALS
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE LAND, ITS PROBLEMS AND RITUAL SOLUTIONS

PART III: THE HOUSEHOLD

CHAPTER EIGHT: LIFE AND RITUAL CYCLES OF HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS
CHAPTER NINE: CURING AND PROTECTIVE RITUALS OF THE HOUSEHOLD

PART IV: THE VILLAGE AND THE STATE

CHAPTER TEN: RITUAL, THE VILLAGE AND THE STATE
CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONVENTIONAL BUDDHISM AND VILLAGE RELIGION
CHAPTER TWELVE: CONCLUSION: THE APPARENT DICHOTOMY BETWEEN BON AND BUDDHISM

GLOSSARY............................................................................................
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

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