ShodhPatra: International Journal of Science and Humanities

Relevance of Bon Tradition in Sherdukpen Society

Before the advent of Buddhism as a foreign religion in Tibet, Bonism or the Bon tradition was practised. An archaic or most respectably the tradition of Bon involves animistic and shamanistic practices. As mystical and alluring, it embraces the idea that all beings in the universe has soul and worships the spirits and deities of nature such as deities of the mountains, rivers, lakes, etc. Their unquestionable belief and faith made them dependant on the various deities for matters related to all aspect of life like marriage, war, harvest, health, death and welfare of the community, to name a few. Further, in an attempt to appease and mollify the deities various rituals were performed such as animal sacrifice, sorcery, fetishism, etc. This paper strives to take one through the journey of the Bon tradition that survived the persecution with the advent of Buddhism in Tibet around 7th century BC and how it manoeuvered its way to still exist and be relevant as a way of life for most people in Tibet, as well as in the West Kameng regions of Arunachal Pradesh, where amalgamation of both Bon and Lamaist tradition is seen. This paper proposes to highlight Bon and its relevance in the Sherdukpen tribe, located in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, while looking into the intricacies of Bon beliefs, rituals and its shamanistic practises.