~Detail Photos~

This belt, originating with shamans of Nepal's middle hills, belonged to someone who was quite serious about his Shamanic calling. Clearly a lot of personal and ritual attention was put into its creation. The belt is leather and embellished with a variety of old bells as well as cowries and  boar's tusk and various unidentified animal pelts. These combine for a stunning and beautiful conglomeration of ritual power objects.  A  hand drum rounds out the regalia.

There are literally thousands of Shamans in Nepal - its a tradition that remains vigorous and popular despite the constant encroachment of modernity and the Westernized "mono-culture" that is slowly but seemingly surely, enveloping the whole planet. In many parts of Nepal there are no doctors so the shaman is the healer of all that ails the people - be the problem physical, mental, or spiritual in nature.