Gurung Dharma
Encyclopedia
Gurung Dharma describes the traditional shamanistic
religion of the Gurung people of Nepal
. This religion shares aspects with the Tibet
an religion Bön and is often referred to as "Bön"; however, there exist significant distinctions between Gurung Dharma and Bön. Contemporary shamanistic rituals of Gurung Dharma such as blood offering
rituals, veneration of the dead
and nature worship
are not practiced by modern Bönpa. Priestly practitioners of Gurung Dharma include lama
s, klihbri (or ghyabrẽ), and panju (or paju). Although any of these may function "shamans" in the context of Gurung Dharma, the general term for "shaman" is drom. Shamanistic elements among the Gurungs remain strong and most Gurungs often embrace Buddhist and Bön rituals in all communal activities. Gurung Dharma in its purest form is now virtually extinct; the religion is preserved to a large extent in Gurung traditions.
s practice a form of Tibetan Buddhism
heavily influenced by pre-Buddhist Tibetan religion (Bön). Characteristics of this influence include non-Buddhist belief in local deities and in an afterlife in the Land of Ancestors. Other traditional Gurung beliefs include spirit possession, supernatural forest creatures, shapeless wraiths, and spirits of humans that died violently, which populate locales. Gurung villages have their own local deities.
Gurung Dharma ascribes fundamental symbolic significance to death
. The rites, called pae (also pai and pe), are often shamanistic analogs or compliments to Tibetan Buddhist rituals. The funerary rite is the central ceremony, entailing three days and two nights of rituals to send souls to the Land of the Ancestors. These rituals may be officiated by either panju, klihbri, or Buddhist lamas. Among the Gurung, death involves the dissolution of bodily elements – earth, air, fire, and water. These elements are released in a series of rituals, nine for men and seven for women. One ritual in the freeing of souls involves a klihbri injecting the spirit of the deceased through a string into a bird, which then appears to recognize family members and otherwise act unnaturally. The bird is symbolically sacrificed with the plucking of a few feathers, received by family members, after which the bird is released. Once in the Land of the Ancestors, life continues much as in this world, however the spirit is able to take other incarnations
. From the Land of the Ancestors, spirits continue to take an interest in their surviving kinsmen, able to work good and evil in the realm of the living.
According to Gurung Dharma, the dead are either cremated
or buried
. After the cremation or burial, the family of the deceased constructs a small shrine
on a hill to offer food to the spirit, which continues to remain and may cause misfortune. Sons of the deceased observe mourning for six to twelve months, during which they fast
from meat and alcohol. A final funerary ceremony takes places a year or more after death, for which an expensive funeral rite is performed. This rite includes an effigy
(called a pla) of the deceased, draped in white cloth and decorated with ornaments. The death rituals close as klihbri addresses the spirit and sends it to its resting place, after which the hilltop shrine is dismantled. Further rites ensue, during which the priest recites supplications to the "spirits of the four directions" for kind treatment as the deceased makes his way to the spirit realm, advises the departing soul on its choice between reincarnation and remaining in the Land of Ancestors, and admonishes it to stay away from its worldly cares and not to return prematurely.
s, klihbri (also ghyabrẽ), and panju (also pucu or paju) – each following different practices. Brahmin
s also officiate many Gurung rituals. Klihbri and panju are indigenous Gurung priesthoods. Lamas are considered most prestigious, being literate in Tibetan and ostensibly learned in Tibetan Buddhism. However, the actual extent of their access to liturgical literature and ritual training, as well as performance of major Buddhist rites, is often limited. Furthermore, there is no monastic tradition among Gurung lamas. Rather, they are generally not full-time priests, and often have a wife, children, and farm that occupy most of their time.
The priestly klihbri are more numerous than Gurung lamas, and belong to a common clan of the Sola Jat, also called Klihbri. Although their practices pre-date Buddhism in Nepal, their outward appearance resembles that of lamas worn at certain rites, and they play drums and large brass cymbals at rituals. The klihbri have no sacred literature, learning all prayers and rituals by heart over several years. These sacred oral scriptures are called Pye tan lyu tan. The sacred language, Gurung-kura, is no longer understood by laity nor practitioners, and may be derived from an ancient non-Gurung source of the religion.
Shamans called panju operate in Gurung communities and in tribal and Hindu communities of Nepal, being most numerous in the Modi Valley. Their practice is largely in the realm of interpreting the supernatural. While their ritual language is also archaic, it is more readily understood by practitioners and laity. Practices of panju have been influenced by Buddhist teaching, and they are often associated in various rites with lamas. They are also believed to communicate with spirits and local deities and are often employed by persons suffering illnesses or misfortunes to draw up horoscopes.
Both panju and klihbri are called upon to exorcise
possessed people, perform mortuary rites, and officiate ancestor worship.
over the centuries, especially the Nyingma
school, and particularly among Gurungs in the Manang
region. Gurungs generally believe in Buddha and bodhisattvas. Adherents also call upon Buddhist lama
s to perform infant purification, seasonal agricultural, and funerary rites, as well as house blessing ceremonies. Mainstream Tibetan Buddhist lamas harbor ambivalent opinions about Dharma Gurung practices, and syncretic adherents may be reluctant to disclose their practices to outsiders.
According to the 2001 Nepal Census, 69.03% of the ethnic Gurung identified as Buddhists, 28.75% as Hindus, and 0.66% as Christians.
is also particularly strong among sections of Gurungs who live among ethnic groups and are more in contact with the mainstream Hindu Nepali culture. Veneration of Hindu, Buddhist and Bön deities is not unheard of among Gurung households. Adherents of Gurung Dharma employ Brahmin
s to cast horoscipes and perform prophecies at times of misfortune. However unlike the Nepali Bahun
and Chhetri people, most Gurungs do not participate in the Nepali Hindu tradition of animal sacrifice
.
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
religion of the Gurung people of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. This religion shares aspects with the Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an religion Bön and is often referred to as "Bön"; however, there exist significant distinctions between Gurung Dharma and Bön. Contemporary shamanistic rituals of Gurung Dharma such as blood offering
Bloodletting
Bloodletting is the withdrawal of often little quantities of blood from a patient to cure or prevent illness and disease. Bloodletting was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily fluid were considered to be "humors" the proper balance of which maintained health...
rituals, veneration of the dead
Veneration of the dead
Veneration of the dead is based on the belief that the deceased, often family members, have a continued existence and/or possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living...
and nature worship
Nature worship
Nature worship describes a variety of religious, spiritual and devotional practices that focus on natural phenomenon. A nature deity can be in charge of nature, the biosphere, the cosmos or the universe. Nature worship can be found in panentheism, pantheism, deism, polytheism, animism, totemism,...
are not practiced by modern Bönpa. Priestly practitioners of Gurung Dharma include lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
s, klihbri (or ghyabrẽ), and panju (or paju). Although any of these may function "shamans" in the context of Gurung Dharma, the general term for "shaman" is drom. Shamanistic elements among the Gurungs remain strong and most Gurungs often embrace Buddhist and Bön rituals in all communal activities. Gurung Dharma in its purest form is now virtually extinct; the religion is preserved to a large extent in Gurung traditions.
Gurung Dharma
Traditionally, GurungGurung
The Gurung people, also called Tamu, are an ethnic group that migrated from Mongolia in the 6th century to the central region of Nepal. Gurungs, like other east Asian featured peoples of Nepal such as Sherpa, Tamang, Thakali, Magar, Manaaggi, Mustaaggi, and Walunggi, are the indigenous people of...
s practice a form of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
heavily influenced by pre-Buddhist Tibetan religion (Bön). Characteristics of this influence include non-Buddhist belief in local deities and in an afterlife in the Land of Ancestors. Other traditional Gurung beliefs include spirit possession, supernatural forest creatures, shapeless wraiths, and spirits of humans that died violently, which populate locales. Gurung villages have their own local deities.
Gurung Dharma ascribes fundamental symbolic significance to death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. The rites, called pae (also pai and pe), are often shamanistic analogs or compliments to Tibetan Buddhist rituals. The funerary rite is the central ceremony, entailing three days and two nights of rituals to send souls to the Land of the Ancestors. These rituals may be officiated by either panju, klihbri, or Buddhist lamas. Among the Gurung, death involves the dissolution of bodily elements – earth, air, fire, and water. These elements are released in a series of rituals, nine for men and seven for women. One ritual in the freeing of souls involves a klihbri injecting the spirit of the deceased through a string into a bird, which then appears to recognize family members and otherwise act unnaturally. The bird is symbolically sacrificed with the plucking of a few feathers, received by family members, after which the bird is released. Once in the Land of the Ancestors, life continues much as in this world, however the spirit is able to take other incarnations
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
. From the Land of the Ancestors, spirits continue to take an interest in their surviving kinsmen, able to work good and evil in the realm of the living.
According to Gurung Dharma, the dead are either cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
or buried
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
. After the cremation or burial, the family of the deceased constructs a small shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
on a hill to offer food to the spirit, which continues to remain and may cause misfortune. Sons of the deceased observe mourning for six to twelve months, during which they fast
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
from meat and alcohol. A final funerary ceremony takes places a year or more after death, for which an expensive funeral rite is performed. This rite includes an effigy
Effigy
An effigy is a representation of a person, especially in the form of sculpture or some other three-dimensional form.The term is usually associated with full-length figures of a deceased person depicted in stone or wood on church monuments. These most often lie supine with hands together in prayer,...
(called a pla) of the deceased, draped in white cloth and decorated with ornaments. The death rituals close as klihbri addresses the spirit and sends it to its resting place, after which the hilltop shrine is dismantled. Further rites ensue, during which the priest recites supplications to the "spirits of the four directions" for kind treatment as the deceased makes his way to the spirit realm, advises the departing soul on its choice between reincarnation and remaining in the Land of Ancestors, and admonishes it to stay away from its worldly cares and not to return prematurely.
Priesthood
Practitioners of Gurung Dharma employ three categories of priesthood – Buddhist lamaLama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
s, klihbri (also ghyabrẽ), and panju (also pucu or paju) – each following different practices. Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s also officiate many Gurung rituals. Klihbri and panju are indigenous Gurung priesthoods. Lamas are considered most prestigious, being literate in Tibetan and ostensibly learned in Tibetan Buddhism. However, the actual extent of their access to liturgical literature and ritual training, as well as performance of major Buddhist rites, is often limited. Furthermore, there is no monastic tradition among Gurung lamas. Rather, they are generally not full-time priests, and often have a wife, children, and farm that occupy most of their time.
The priestly klihbri are more numerous than Gurung lamas, and belong to a common clan of the Sola Jat, also called Klihbri. Although their practices pre-date Buddhism in Nepal, their outward appearance resembles that of lamas worn at certain rites, and they play drums and large brass cymbals at rituals. The klihbri have no sacred literature, learning all prayers and rituals by heart over several years. These sacred oral scriptures are called Pye tan lyu tan. The sacred language, Gurung-kura, is no longer understood by laity nor practitioners, and may be derived from an ancient non-Gurung source of the religion.
Shamans called panju operate in Gurung communities and in tribal and Hindu communities of Nepal, being most numerous in the Modi Valley. Their practice is largely in the realm of interpreting the supernatural. While their ritual language is also archaic, it is more readily understood by practitioners and laity. Practices of panju have been influenced by Buddhist teaching, and they are often associated in various rites with lamas. They are also believed to communicate with spirits and local deities and are often employed by persons suffering illnesses or misfortunes to draw up horoscopes.
Both panju and klihbri are called upon to exorcise
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
possessed people, perform mortuary rites, and officiate ancestor worship.
Influence of Buddhism
Centuries of cultural influence from Tibet resulted in many Gurungs gradually embracing Tibetan BuddhismTibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
over the centuries, especially the Nyingma
Nyingma
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...
school, and particularly among Gurungs in the Manang
Manang
Manang is a town in the Manang District of Nepal. It is located at 28°40'0N 84°1'0E with an altitude of . At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 391 people living in 120 individual households....
region. Gurungs generally believe in Buddha and bodhisattvas. Adherents also call upon Buddhist lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
s to perform infant purification, seasonal agricultural, and funerary rites, as well as house blessing ceremonies. Mainstream Tibetan Buddhist lamas harbor ambivalent opinions about Dharma Gurung practices, and syncretic adherents may be reluctant to disclose their practices to outsiders.
According to the 2001 Nepal Census, 69.03% of the ethnic Gurung identified as Buddhists, 28.75% as Hindus, and 0.66% as Christians.
Influence of Hinduism
The influence of HinduismHinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
is also particularly strong among sections of Gurungs who live among ethnic groups and are more in contact with the mainstream Hindu Nepali culture. Veneration of Hindu, Buddhist and Bön deities is not unheard of among Gurung households. Adherents of Gurung Dharma employ Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s to cast horoscipes and perform prophecies at times of misfortune. However unlike the Nepali Bahun
Bahun
Bahun is a colloquial Nepali term for a member of the Pahari or "hill" Brahmin caste, who are traditionally educators, scholars and priests of Hinduism. They are also known as Barmu in Newari. By tradition—and by civil law until 1962—they represented the highest of the four Hindu...
and Chhetri people, most Gurungs do not participate in the Nepali Hindu tradition of animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice in Hinduism
Practices of Hindu animal sacrifice are mostly associated with Shaktism, and in currents of folk Hinduism strongly rooted in local tribal traditions. It is not practiced in contemporary Vedantic or Brahminical Hinduism.-Terminology:...
.