Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas is the first all-encompassing study and first hand report of the shamans and tantrikas of the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. Shamanism is not an archric 'religion' but rather a set of practicies and beliefs from which buddhisim and Hinduism have borrowed fundamental tents. This book is the first to examine Nepalese shamanic from an interethnic prespecvtive, allowing the voices and practice of various ethantic groups to emerge. It is also the first to explain the shamanic background of Thangka paintings, and includes detailed descriptions of the techniques used to paint the thankgas, the dities depicited, and the rituals uses of the images.
