Sharing a moment with Michael Opitz
Do you believe in Bhoot,
Pret, Boksi, Dhami, Jhankri or SHAMANISM? I can presume that many of you do
not believe in them. The fact is that in Nepal, still these practices go on in
the societies. These are not only practiced in remote villages but also in the
capital city of Nepal—Kathmandu.
David E. Watters in his paper 'Siberian Shamanistic Traditions Among Kham-Magars of Nepal' writes:
"…Shamanism, as described by most scholars, is
pre-eminately a magico-religious phenomenon of Siberia and Central Asia (Eliade
1964: 4,5). In fact, the word 'shaman' comes originally from the Tungusic word saman
meaning 'one who is excited, moved, raised' and was borrowed into English from
the Russian. The term is descriptive of the shaman's most basic attribute—shaking,
or an 'ecstatic trance' (Casanowicz 1924:419)."
Michael Opitz did some research works on this community
during 80s. Prof. Michael Opitz is the director of documentary film 'Shamans of the Blind Country' 1981. 221 min. West Germany/Nepal.
http://vimeo.com/3198388
An ethnographic film that studies the Magar people of West Nepal--Rukum, a pre-literate mountain tribe living in the vicinity of the Dhaulagiri range and practicing a shamanistic religion.
Source: http://dalbhattarkari.com/nepal-documenary/
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Siberian shamanistic traditions among Kham Magars of Nepal
