Halfway To the Mountain (Jirels of Eastern Nepal) – H Sidky; Janardan Subedi; James Hamill

The Jirel people inhabit the Jiri Valley, in the Dolakha District of eastern Nepal. Jirel culture features many elements that set it apart from the cultures of other Nepali ethnic groups. The Jirels practice a form of Buddhism that varies significantly from the Buddhist practices of their Sherpa neighbors. They also venerate Hindu gods and celebrate all the Hindu rituals with great enthusiasm. Additionally, each Jirel clan has its own god or goddess, neither Buddhist nor Hindu; and these clans also engage in ancestor spirit worship. The Jirels practice their own form of shamanism, centered on practitioners known as Phombos. These healers and spirit masters, who in some ways resemble the Nepali Jhankris, utilize unique rituals in their curing ceremonies. Jirel funeral rites also possess elements that are unique to them. Also, each clan has various food taboos, some of which are neither Buddhist nor Hindu in derivation.
It is because of this mixture of diverse cultural elements in Jirel culture, Hindu, Buddhist, and Shamanistic, that we have chosen to call this book Halfway to the Mountains. The title is intended to emphasize the extraordinary syncretic nature of Jirel sociocultural and religious traditions, being symbolically and figuratively located halfway between the lowlands, from whence emanates Hindu cultural influences, and the lofty mountains, the abodes of the ancient gods and also from where Buddhism spread to this part of Nepal.