Mendrub- A Bonpo Ritual for the Benefit of all Living Beings and for the Empowerment of Medicine Performed in Tsho. Dolpo

About the Book This book takes us to an ancient enclave of Tibetan culture in Nepal - the region of Dolpo in the north-west. After outlining the key geographical, historical and religious features of the region, one exemplary case among the various ritual practices of the local Bon society is placed under closer scrutiny: the Mendrub ritual. The ceremony centres on a communal blessing bestowed by means of medicinal pills that have undergone ceremonial treatment during the ten days of the ritual. The benefits that can be gained by attending the ceremony and by consuming the consecrated medicine attract a large audience from all over Dolpo. Mask dances lead up to the climax of the initiation and blessing, which is followed by the social part of the festival with songs and village dances around the fire.

The study of the Mendrub ritual reveals a fascinating interplay of religious practices, ranging from popular beliefs to monastic traditions in the Bon community of Dolpo. Furthermore, this account not only describes the ritual itself, it also gives a clear insight into the daily life of the local society.

About the Author MARIETTA KIND, born in 1967 in Switzerland, studied Anthropology of the University of Zurich and wrote her thesis on the Mendrub ritual in Dolpo, Nepal She has worked as an assistant to Professor Michoel Oppitz of the Ethnographic Museum in Zurich and as a lecturer of Zurich University in Switzerland. Repeatedly she has returned to Dolpo to further her researches and to assist the locally run Toprizo School dedicated to the Bon culture.

Foreword The Ang pages take the reader an old enclave of The Cuff the north west. The region has had a long and varied by and see pinde severe internal and external changes it has underpeer the years and sem Sach ch may he dies in a number of different domaine som and pelial Marm Kint a Finlandic-Swiss anthropologist, has disies the domain of religion pretio.

The main question at the back of this work is what influence the canonical teachings of the for Ron, as expounded in a mumber of centres outside the country has had on local religious and daily life in Dolpo In order to give this central question its proper due, the author has taken a mumber of questions as her points of departure what is the local meaning of Bon as compared in T Buddhism? What is the general history of the region, and how has Bon managed to gain a foothold in Dolpe? Which clans and which lines of descent, both religious and secular, he helped forge in Dolpo Which of the monasteries, shrines and sacred places continue to be venerated in this cal landscape? Which ritual activities connect the landscape with cyclic religious events?

After delineating the key geographical and historical features of the region, the author selects one exemplary case from the various ritual activities for closer examination the Mendrup (iman grub) ritual, which involves a commuay, Marletta Kind is able to extend pills that have subjected to special ceremonial treatment. In this way. Marietta Kind is able to extend her findings in an examination of the religious practices of the priests, the popular beliefs held by the laypeople, and to the social function of ritual events.

The main part of the book comprises the description of the entire Mendrub-Ritual, from the initial preparations to the concluding and subsequent activities. The prime concern here is with not only the ritual actions themselves, which are of particular interest to religious studies, but also their sociological implications for the actors. Furthermore, the author's account of the ritual allows her - almost in passing to give a clear insight into the life of local society. She manages to tease out the threads of an idealised monastic tradition from those of popular practice - and show traditions both large and small. Simultaneously, the study furnishes evidence of a revitalization of Bon ritual practice by describing a ritual event that was rescued from virtual oblivion and performed in a new guise for the first time in 1996.

The meticulous analysis of this ritual reveals the religious soul of the common people behind the idealised monastic traditions, and in so doing unveils a dichotomy that is distinguishable in all Tibetan societies: that between designated doctrine and nameless folk religion.

Preface Arriving Tho' third time 1996, I given warm welcome and asked had nos returned earlier, since, previous stays had mentioned my intention learning muit about religion. The people of Tho paper which Furger I wren together architecture and were see being written about themselves Proud their religion also realising there several attitudes towards their faith, pleased to hear that would write a they their views. Before really started trusting my research intentions in Pagmo, was tested village elders on the subject religion. the previous year, whole region was visited Christian missionaries had tried convert the inhabitants to Christianity. They were taught saviour Jesus Christ, miracles he performed and great opportunity them forgiven all sins enter heaven. addition, they were promised (Christian) education they convert this enlightened lama, like within their own religion, but could not understand why he should the only one.

arrived in the neighbouring village Pugmo, during big village festival, the villagers welcomed me warmly but kept me at distance at same One evening the village elder started on the Christian religion, and wanted to know how could become Jesu-Person'. started more about the less appealing aspects the Christian religion, including practices of missionaries and conception hell, and that in my opinion they should perhaps stick their own religion, which fact was coming here, they started laughing, pinched in my arm and "Okay, we teach you, and if you are you will become a jomo, nun the future". Only many months later Christian, but wanted test me.

Subsequently villagers repeatedly told observe earnestly order represent them correctly. In addition, their religious in Kathmandu, Yongdzin Lopon Namdak Rinpoche, had talked me out theoretically about the Bon religion and instead encouraged me observe the life of the Bonpo' thoroughly and then write what saw, instead of repeating opinions views benevolent nature In villages stayed with families, which integrated me more and more as family member during the course of fieldwork, one of them indeed becoming my mith-saathi (nep.), to a blood brotherhood our culture.

Introduction The subject of Bon was a rather unstudied field until 1950 when Tibet came under Chinese rale. Before that only a few scholars were studying ancient religious forms of Tibet, amongst them A. Schiefer (1880), Berthold Laufer (1976 [18891), Sarat Chandra Das (1984, 1988), René de Nebesky Wojkowitz (1947, 1956, 1976), George Roerich (1988 (19491), Rolf Stein (1989) and above all Helmut Hoffmann (1950, 1956, 1965, 1975). They were working with the few available written sources. Since the 1960s several Bon texts were brought into exile with the refugees. Subsequently they were and still are being translated and carefully analyzed by Westem and Tibetan scholars. David Snellgrove (1968, 1967, 1987), Anne-Marie Blondeau (1971, 1984, 1988), Samten Karmay (1972, 1975, 1977, 1983, 1985, 1985, 1995), Ariane Macdonald (1971), Per Kværne (1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1995), Tenzin Namdak (1998), Dan Martin (1990, 1994, 1995), Roberto Vitali (1996) and others have contributed several translations and Tibetan text studies of high interest. There is a team of Tibetologists working on the catalogue of the Bonpo Kanjur. Since Tibet was beyond access, the Tibetologists have been mainly concerned with text studies and composed many exciting works.

Anthropological research on Bon has been fairly limited until now Krystyna Cech (1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1993) carried out her research in Dolanji in Himachal Pradesh, at the newly established Bon centre in the Indian exile. She worked on the social and religious identity of the Bonpo. Likewise Tadeusz Skorupski (1986), Mona Schrempf and Keith Richmond (1996) carried out research in Dolanji In Tibet itself research has been very restricted due to the political circumstances. Nevertheless there are two studies about the pilgrimage to the sacred mountain Kongpo Bonti in Eastern Tibet, one by Samten Karmay (1989) and one by Charles Ramble (1997). Apart from those 1 am not aware of other anthropological works in Tibet concentrating on Bon religion.

Similarly, in Nepal, research has been very difficult due to the fact that the Bonpo mainly dwell in the region of Dolpo and Mustang, both restricted areas until quite recently. However Christoph von Fürer Haimendorf (1974, 1975, 1987), James Fisher (1987) and Harka Gurung (1980) made broader studies in which Dolpo appears as one aspect amongst others. David Snellgrove (1957, 1981, 1992) and Corneille Jest (1974. 1975, 1981, 1984, 1993) secured permission, stayed for longer periods in Dolpo and have published illuminating studies. David Snellgrove spent a long time in Dolpo and translated texts from the area. His book Four Lamas of Dolpo developed out of these translations and describes he biographies of four lamas from upper Dolpo who lived between the 15 and 18 century (1992 1967]). Corneille Jest stayed mainly in Tarap and wrote a detailed ethnography about the population of that area (Jest 1975). Nevertheless their main subject was not contemporary Bon religion.

**Contents and Sample Pages**