Bönism, Environment and Healing in Far Northeastern Bhutan

Bönism, Environment and Healing in Far Northeastern Bhutan

Indigenous practices of Bönism are unofficially banned in Bhutan, and appear to be destined for extinction. Yet for now, at least, people in at least some parts of Bhutan continue to retain knowledge of traditional Bön practices. In this project, Tashi Tshewang – a native speaker of Dakpa language – spent 3 months audio-visually documenting traditional Bön healing practices and learning about their relationship with the local environment. In addition, he has collected a number of vernacular autobiographical stories of village people, and has made use of incidental opportunities to audio-visually document traditional preparations of wild mushrooms and lichens for consumption as food, as well as traditional hillside grain cultivation. Images of local religious sites and practices complement Tashi Tshewang’s collection, which includes texts in both Dakpa and Tshangla languages.

This project was mentored by Yankee Modi, and funded by a 2022 FLICR Fellowship awarded to the collector by the Centre for Cultural-Linguistic Diversity (Eastern Himalaya) (Co-Directors Mark W. Post and Yankee Modi, Associate Directors Kellen Parker Van Dam and Zilpha Modi). Financial support for the 2022 FLICR Fellowship program was provided by the Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research, through a grant administered by the University of Sydney.

不丹东北部偏远地区的苯教（Bönism）、环境与疗愈

不丹境内的苯教本土实践虽未被正式明令禁止，但实则已遭非官方取缔，濒临消亡。不过至少在当下，不丹部分地区的民众仍保留着传统苯教实践的相关知识。本项目中，达坡语（Dakpa language）母语者扎西·切旺（Tashi Tshewang）耗时三个月，以音视频形式记录了传统苯教疗愈仪式，并探究其与当地生态环境的关联。此外，他还收集了多篇村民用乡土方言讲述的自传体叙事，并借机以音视频形式记录了野生菌菇与地衣的传统食用加工工艺，以及传统山地谷物种植技艺。当地宗教场所与仪式的影像资料进一步充实了扎西·切旺的藏品，其中包含达坡语与仓洛语（Tshangla）文本。

本项目由扬基·莫迪（Yankee Modi）担任导师，并获得了东喜马拉雅文化语言多样性中心（Centre for Cultural-Linguistic Diversity (Eastern Himalaya)）授予的2022年FLICR奖学金资助，该中心联合主任为马克·W·波斯特与扬基·莫迪，副主管为凯伦·帕克·范·达姆与齐尔帕·莫迪。2022年FLICR奖学金项目的经费由火鸟人类学研究基金会（Firebird Foundation for Anthropological Research）提供，款项由悉尼大学负责管理发放。