In Nepal, shamanism is the traditional religion of many ethnic groups in the eastern and western hills. Hinduism and Buddhism have been greatly influenced by shamanistic traditions. Called jhankris or dhamis, Nepali shamans wear a peacock feather headdress and carry a double-sided drum. They have been defined by some as magico-religious specialists, part herbalists, part priests whose technique is spiritual rather than biological and whose business is to determine the nature of the spirit, and then either to placate it or drive it from the ill person’s body. As healers, they examine animal entrails for signs, collect medicinal plants, perform sacrifices, exorcize demons, and chant magical incantations. Most jhankris prescribe medicinal herbs, about which they are very knowledgeable. As soothsayers, they go into trances and act as spokesmen of the gods, while, as spiritual sentries, they ward off evil spirits and angry ancestors through either greater strength or trickery. They also officiate during funerals, hand out amulets and promulgate myths.

A shaman can be either a kul-dhami or just a dhami-jhankri. The former are believed to be more quickly possessed by the lineage deities while similar possession of dhami-jhankris involves much drumming and the gradual entering of spirits into their bodies. A typical dhami-jhankri’s paraphernalia consists of a drum (dhyangro), bells around the waist, long necklaces (mala) of rudracche and ritho seeds around the neck and shoulders, a special headdress, and a jama (a long white skirt like garment). The main spirit of the dhami-jhankris is the ban-jhankri (a spirit inhabiting the nearby forest). Jhankris are also said to counteract the power of witches.

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