Tantric Healing In The Kathmandu Valley

A comparative study of Hindu and Buddhist spiritual healing traditions in urban Nepalese society, this book encompasses a full catalogue of methods and materials employed by Kathmandu Valley healers. It includes a survey of those frequenting a healer's practice, the complaints they suffer from and the kind of treatment received. Since witches were still considered the main causative agents of supernatural complaints by the majority of a healer's clients, this work offers a penetrating analysis of the phenomenon of witchcraft and witch possession, especially as related to the status of Nepalese women. Finally, it explores the contemporary relevance of tantra in today's Nepal and features, in addition, valuable suggestions regarding self-healing from the perspective of indigenous practitioners.