The Navel of the Demoness : Tibetan Buddhism and Civil Religion in Highland Nepal

This groundbreaking study focuses on a village called Te in a "Tibetanized" region of northern Nepal. While Te's people are nominally Buddhist, and engage the services of resident Tibetan Tantric priests for a range of rituals, they are also exponents of a local religion that involves blood sacrifices to wild, unconverted territorial gods and goddesses. The village is unusual in the extent to which it has maintained its local autonomy and also in the degree to which both Buddhism and the cults of local gods have been subordinated to the pragmatic demands of the village community. Charles Ramble draws on extensive fieldwork, as well as 300 years' worth of local historical archives (in Tibetan and Nepali), to re-examine the subject of confrontation between Buddhism and indigenous popular traditions in the Tibetan cultural sphere. He argues that Buddhist ritual and sacrificial cults are just two elements in a complex system of self-government that has evolved over the centuries and has developed the character of a civil religion. This civil religion, he shows, is remarkably well adapted to the preservation of the community against the constant threats posed by external attack and the self-interest of its own members. The beliefs and practices of the local popular religion, a highly developed legal tradition, and a form of government that is both democratic and accountable to its people all these are shown to have developed to promote survival in the face of past and present dangers. Ramble's account of how both secular and religious institutions serve as the building blocks of civil society opens up vistas with important implications for Tibetan culture as a whole. ## Abstract This book is a study of religion in a Tibetanised community of highland Nepal. The village of Te, in Mustang District, is nominally Buddhist: until recent times it had a tradition of Sakyapa monasticism, and depends on Nyingmapa tantric priests for ritual and clerical services. However, it also has a thriving cult of territorial divinities involving the performance of animal sacrifices. At first glance, Te appears to be a fundamentally pagan community attempting to preserve its traditions against the efforts of Tibetan Buddhist missionaries. However, a closer investigation reveals that this picture of simple ideological opposition is untenable. A combination of ethnographic observation and a close study of the community's archives—which date back to the 17th century—reveals an altogether more complex picture. Documentary evidence indicates that clan solidarity was gradually replaced by a sense of shared community. The creation of this community was an active process involving the designation of public resources, the production of written laws, a change in the inheritance pattern, and the emergence of ceremonies that entailed the piecemeal adoption of Buddhist rituals and dramatised episodes from Te's history. This complex is best understood in terms of civil religion, a concept developed by Rousseau and later elaborated by writers such as Robert Bellah and Gerald Parsons. While this reified community is ultimately the product of the individuals of which it is composed, it is perceived and represented as an autonomous, “transcendent” entity with a reciprocal influence on their lives. Contents......Page 12 Introduction......Page 16 1. The People of Mustang and Their History......Page 36 2. Inside the Shöyul......Page 56 3. Neighbours and Enemies......Page 84 4. From Clans to Households in Te......Page 112 5. The Encounter with Buddhism......Page 160 6. The Wild Gods of Te......Page 200 7. Buddhists or Pagans?......Page 228 8. Agedness of Error......Page 246 9. Community Law: The Creation of a Collectivity......Page 274 10. The Headmen of Te and the Heaven-Appointed King......Page 324 11. Conclusion: The Disenchantment of Te?......Page 366 Notes......Page 376 Bibliography......Page 388 B......Page 398 C......Page 400 D......Page 401 K......Page 402 N......Page 403 S......Page 404 T......Page 405 Z......Page 406 The people of Mustang and their history Inside the Shöyul Neighbours and enemies Clans and households Buddhism in Te The wild gods of Te Buddhists or pagans? Agedness of error Community law: the creation of a collectivity The headmen of Te and the heaven-appointed king The disenchantment of Te.