Tibet: Ritual Traditions of the Bonpos

Bon is considered to be the ensemble of pre-Buddhist beliefs of the Tibetans; it embodies a vast mass of ritual practices bearing on exorcism, divination and the appeasement of wrathful divinities, and elaborate teachings for spiritual realisation – which place Bon among the great mysticophilosophical systems of the world despite its relatively small number of followers. These recordings illustrate various facets of the religious activities of the Bonpos through their chant and their psalmodic recitation. They intend to bring to a wider audience the musical aspects of a ritual tradition that is largely unknown to the Western World and has remained obscure to the Tibetan themselves.