AHP3: Deity Men

This is a comprehensive and extremely informed study of the changing social context and religious lives of lha pa, 'deity or god men,' in Qinghai Province, China. Snying bo rgyal and Rino's account of these Tibetan trance mediums who become possessed by mountain deities succeeds in both honoring the past through a detailed description of their practice while acknowledging the increasing challenges to these traditions. This book is an important contribution to the documentation and understanding of Asian ritual and society. Dr. Mark Turin, Director, Digital Himalaya Project, University of Cambridge, UK