The Jumping Grain Chant: Parallel Verse and Simultaneous Action in Magar Rituals
This article deals with a particular ritual chant of the Northern Magar, who live in the foothills of the Dhaulagiri Massif in the northwestern part of central Nepal. The song is called lawa kheti or Jumping Grain Chant and constitutes one in a multitude of different oral texts, as sung by the local...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Print Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Molnar & Kelemen Oriental Publ.
2021
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In: |
Shaman
Year: 2021, Volume: 29, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 105-154 |
Summary: | This article deals with a particular ritual chant of the Northern Magar, who live in the foothills of the Dhaulagiri Massif in the northwestern part of central Nepal. The song is called lawa kheti or Jumping Grain Chant and constitutes one in a multitude of different oral texts, as sung by the local healers or shamans (ramma) in the course of their séances. The repertoire of the shamanic oral tradition in the region is quite extensive—consisting of more than 10,000 regularly performed verses—and may be divided roughly into three categories of chants: narrative genesis myths to be performed in healing séances; auxiliary chants explaining the origins of the right implements to be used in the rituals; and chants, both narrative and auxiliary, reserved for shamanic initiation rites. Occasions notwithstanding (healing or initiation), these three categories may be reduced to two: narrative genesis stories and plotless auxiliaries. |
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ISSN: | 1216-7827 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Shaman
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