THE MYSTIC WORLD OF DHAMIS AND JHANKRIS
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| A team of Shamans begins their tantric rituals. Photo: pixgood.com |
By LB THAPA
This is the age of science and technology where computer rules the roost. Science has been making rapid advancements with a number of new inventions like never before. Like many other branches of science, medical science has also made remarkable progress. From cloning to test-tube babies, artificial heart transplantation, and many more…everything is possible today. This is nothing but the wonder of science.
However, this is also true that at times when medical science finds it unable to treat a particular illness, the faith healers have done the impossible. The way they treat a patient may be unconventional and unscientific, but it works.
Yes…it is the world of Dhamis and Jhankris. They use mantras and treat patients. This traditional healing practice is handed down from one generation to another since time immemorial. These faith healers say that one should have complete faith in the practice. The mantras recited by faith healers work more effectively when the patients receive complete acceptance. It might not work for the skeptics. Quite surprisingly, medical science has made so much progress in the field of medicine, but at times, it fails to cure an illness, despite all kinds of right medications. As a last resort, many patients visit Dhamis or Jhankris, with a ray of hope of getting rid of the illness they have been suffering.
The other day I was in my village Lamjung, Jita VDC-5, where live a very popular shaman. His name is Dhan Bahadur Dura, but people fondly call him Dura Jhankri. I have heard a lot about him. It may be a widespread myth, but many people say that he was taken by a Ban Jhankri, at the age of 12. Ban Jhankri did release him after five years when he was well versed in the Jhankri Vidhya (Shamanism knowledge). Ever since then, he began treating people with various illnesses.
I wanted to meet him because this was the only purpose of my visit to the village. When I reached his home, there were already many people waiting for their turn. An old woman told me that I was too late to get Dura Jhankri's services. She called me the next day, early in the morning. But I told her that I wanted to take his interview, not any treatment. "If it is so then come at night, after 8 pm," she said tersely and walked away.
In the meanwhile, I saw a man with a woman, who must be his wife, waiting for their turn. Looking at them, I could guess they must have been from a well-to-do family. I began talking with them. Only did then I come to know that they were also from Pokhara. He told me about his wife’s illness and subsequent recovery.
Til Prasad Bhattarai (name changed on request), was a manager in one of the reputed banks in Pokhara. Until two years ago, he had a very happy family of three. Then all of a sudden, his wife Sabitri Bhattarai (name changed) plunged into depression. He took his wife to the best hospital in Pokhara for treatment. The treatment continued for about six months but without much success.
Then one day she attempted suicide by hanging herself to death. Luckily one of the neighbors saw her before it was too late. This incident tore her husband apart. To his utter dismay, he took his wife to Kathmandu, hoping to get better treatment for his wife. In Kathmandu, she was taking all the medicines prescribed by the doctors, but to no avail. Then someone advised him to visit Lamjung to get his wife treated by Dura Jhankri. Literarily, he was always against such superstition. His first reaction was a big NO, but he had no better option so he decided to give it a try.
He brought his wife to Dura Jhankri for treatment. Miracle! In less than a week of treatment, Mrs. Bhattarai was on the course of improvement. Moreover, in less than one month, there was a conspicuous improvement in her health.
"It was almost one and half years since I did not see my wife smiling, let alone laughing. Now she smiles, laughs, and cracks jokes. Before we arrived here, she had consumed tons of pills and capsules, but without any improvement. Truly speaking, I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown," said Bhattarai solemnly. Mrs. Bhattarai, who looked full of life, smiled at me and I reciprocated with a gentle namaste.
The same night I met Dura Jhankri. He was a bit high on marijuana, but his face was calm and confident. I knew what he liked the most that would make him talk smoothly. I greeted him with two bottles of whisky. I saw his face turn bright and his eyes twinkle. He was happy to know that I wanted to write a story about his experience as a Jhankri.
"Now I'm 75 years old”, said Dura Jhakri and continued, “I have been in this practice for the last five decades or so. Many people like you don't believe me when I say that I was picked up by a Ban Jhankri, at the age of twelve. I spent about five years inside a cave where Ban Jhankri taught me Jhankri Vidhya (shamanism knowledge). He is my only Guru. After about five years, when I had completed the Jhankri Vidhya, he dropped me at the same place from where he had picked me some five years ago. While dropping me at the place, Ban Jhankri duly instructed me and said "Never use this knowledge for money". I nodded my head in the assertion.
“Over the years, I have been simply following my Guru’s advice. I do not accept any money from my patients. They give me food, clothes, and other necessary things, that I need in my day-to-day life.”
Dura Jhakri further added, “All spirits are not the same. Some of them are adamant but not dangerous while others could be extremely violent. Sometimes when I fail to control a violent spirit, I take my Guru's help. Merely his presence is enough for the toughest demons to leave the bodies of patients and vanish into the thin air”.
“In fact, I have not maintained a record but I have successfully treated hundreds of thousands of people so far. Most of the patients who came to me had already been exhausted after visiting several hospitals and doctors. Literarily speaking they come to me as a last resort. Another group of patients is those people who are poor and cannot afford a doctor's exorbitant fees. Well, I don’t treat all patients. With the help of my knowledge, first I identify whether a patient is possessed or not. Those patients who are not possessed I advised them to continue a doctor’s treatment," revealed Dura Jhankri.
Meanwhile, Dura Jhankri showed me an album. "Look at this photo. This German woman was here almost five years ago. She had been suffering from a burning feeling along her respiratory tract. She received the best possible medical treatment in Germany, but nothing worked for her. Doctors said she was allergic to some foods. She avoided many foods that doctors had advised her to, but still no improvement in her health. I treated her for about one month, and she was perfectly all right. She asked me my fees and she was willing to pay any amount I wanted. However, I refused to accept any money from her. Instead, I asked her to construct a temple with a prayer hall so that wandering sadhus could spend a night or two before leaving for another destination," said Dura Jhankri, and showed me the temple she had constructed.
The reality is that Dhamis and Jhankris do exist even today, and they can cure people of their chronic illnesses. The science of Jhankri Vidhya is therefore a subject of thorough study. However, there are many self-proclaimed Dhamis and Jhankris around us, who, in the name of Jhankri, do more harm to the patients than good. Their only intention is to make quick bucks by cheating gullible people. Dhamis or Jhankris of this category could be dangerous because they don't know how to handle the craft. As a result, many patients lose money, health, time, and sometimes even lives. Several times we have read the news about how a fake Dhami killed a patient in an attempt to drive away a spirit.
Dura Jhankri told me about a similar incident where a fake Dhami had beaten up a woman to death. He beat up the woman with a bunch of nettles. When the spirit did not leave her body, he turned violent and started beating her with a hot flat spoon. The woman, already exhausted, could not stand against such a merciless beating…finally collapsed. The Dhami continued beating the corpse until the first ray of sunlight. Only early in the morning did he realize the woman was no more…he ran away. But he was caught by the local people who tied him up until the police arrived and arrested him.
Nowadays, more and more Western scholars have taken an interest in the wisdom of shamanism. About a dozen books related to shamanism are available in the market. Most of those books are written by Westerners.
It is quite interesting to note that the art and science of Dhamis and Jhankris have attracted more Westerners than Nepalese scholars. These foreign scholars did show a remarkable degree of patience and strength of mind to learn the secret craft of shamanism.
Among many such scholars, one is Dr. Larry G Peters. Dr. Peters spent several years with several Dhamis and Jhankris and learned the craft with patience. He is a world-renowned psychotherapist who studied Tibetan shamanism for years. He spent a great deal of time conducting ethnographic fieldwork with shamans in Nepal, China, Mongolia, and Siberia. Dr. Peters, at present, conducts workshops on Tibetan shamanism in cities across the US and brings several groups to Nepal each year.
He is a professor of anthropology and psychology at the California Graduate Institute in Los Angeles. He has written quite a few books about the science of Jhankri Vidhya, but two of them 'Spirit of Himalayan Forest Shamans and 'The Tamang Shamans' are his best-known books. According to him, over time, the tradition of Jhankri Vidhya of Nepal traveled as far as the American continent, Australia, and Siberia.
In recent times, even some Western scholars have attempted to translate Jhankri's secret mantras into English text. Many scholars, in several parts of the world, are studying such texts to understand how an illness is cured by merely pronouncing these words (mantras).
When asked by Dura Jhankri how such mantras work, he said, "Yes…mantras can cure an illness. You should believe it because every word we pronounce will have an obvious effect on people. If you eulogize a person, he/she will be very pleased with you and vice-versa. I think this is the simplest way to understand how mantras work if they are pronounced properly.”
Dr. Larry G Peters must be credited with popularizing Nepali shamanism abroad. His effort across America has drawn many Westerners’ attention. As a result, today several Westerners visit different parts of Nepal, some to get relief from their chronic illness, while others to study the art and craft of shamanism.
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| LB Thapa is a Pokhara-based Freelance writer and author. Photo: Read 2B Happy. |
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