Tibetan Drum Divination, "Ngamo"

R. NEBESKY DE WOJKOWITZ
Kalimpong, Bengal

The relation between Siberian Shamanism and the ancient Bön

faith of Tibet has been discussed recently in a chapter of H. Hoff-
mann's "Quellen zur Geschichte der tibetischen Bon Religion".1
Besides the various parallels enumerated in this publication, another
striking and apparently up till now unrecorded similarity is the use
of drums for the pufpose of divination, as practiced by Bön priests
and sorcerers in Sikkim, the adjoining Chumbi Valley2 and Bhutan.
In these regions, the Bön element is still comparatively strong but
unfortunately no comprehensive study of this subject has been made
up to the present time. A few introductory words are therefore
necessary.
Compared with some districts of Eastern Tibet, the number of
Bön-pos, who are organized in monastic communities, is rather small
in this part of the South-Tibetan borderland. Apparently only one
Bön monastery exists in this region; it lies in the Upper Chumbi
Valley (Gro mo stod) and bears the name Pus mo sgang dGon pa,3
1
Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz
1950, pp. 319, Ill.
2
A tradition, current among the Bön-pos of this area, narrates that they are
the descendants of those Bön priests, who were sent to the Chumbi Valley into
exile after the defeat of the Bön religion by the newly introduced Buddhism.
Compare also Hoffmann, pp. 226, 237.
3
This monastery was already mentioned by Ch. Bell, The Religion of Tibet,
Oxford 1931, p. 16. It is a small establishment and its priests assemble in it
only at the time of religious feasts, living otherwise with their families. — I
could, however, not ascertain the statement of Sir Charles Bell, that there are
four Bön monasteries in the Upper Chumbi Valley. Natives of the Chumbi Valley

149
 Ethnos Nos. i—4. 1952

"Knee Ridge Monastery", after a knee-shaped ridge in its neigh-

bourhood. Its priests belong to the section of the "white Bon" (Bon
dkar).
By far more numerous than the ordained Bön priests are the in-
dependent sorcerers, who mostly preserved more of the original Bön
beliefs than the priests of the "white Bön", whose teachings and
religious ceremonies have been strongly influenced by Buddhist
doctrines and rites.
Among the various sorcerers, the adherents of the "black Bön"
(Bon nag), who practice the art of black magic, should be mentioned
first. Closely related to them are some of the magicians, known as
sNgags pa.'1 While professing the Buddhist creed according to the
teachings of the rNying ma pa Sect, on the other hand many of the
sNgag-pa's also exercise rites, which were taken over from the
"black Bön".
A group of sorcerers which is apparently peculiar to this area —
as no information about their existence in other regions has been
obtained from Tibetan sources — are female wizards, called 'Nyen-
jomo' and their male counterparts, known as 'Pawo'. 'Nyenjomo'
and 'Pawo' are expressions, frequently applied in Buddhist religious
terminology: 'Nyenjomo' is a dialect pronunciation of rNal hbyor
ma, "female hermit", and the meaning of 'Pawo', dPa bo is "hero"/'
These two types of sorcerers can be regarded as representatives of
assured me, that there are altogether only three religious establishments in Gro
mo stod, which bear the title 'monastery': the well-known Dung dkar Monastery
of the dGe lugs pa Sect, in which the 14th Dalai Lama took residence during his
recent flight to the Indo-Tibetan border, further the old sKyid tshal Monastery
of the rNying ma pa Order, and lastly the before mentioned monastery of the
white Bön. The present conditions in this area unfortunately prevent me from
investigating this question on the spot itself.
4
The inhabitants of the South Tibetan border area hold the sNgags pa in
high esteem and consult them for counteracting evil, to cure illnesses, etc. They
are especially renowned as weather-makers and are said to be able to cause or
avert hail or rain at their free will. The office of a sNgags pa is usually in-
herited from father to son.
5
On the 'Nyenjomo' and 'Pawo' see also G. Gorer, Himalayan Village, Lon-
don 1938, pp. 216, 328, and J. Morris, Living with Lepzhas, London 1938, pp.
122-126 (photograph p. 124).

150
R. Nebe sky de Wojkowitz: Tibetan Drum Divination, "Ngamo"

the unorganized Bön, as it existed in Tibet previous to the introduc-

tion of Buddhism. Their main task is the delivery of prophecies,
either by consulting their guardian spirits in a trance, or by using
various implements such as rosaries, seeds, dice, etc. When officiating
at a ceremony, they dress in the usual long-sleeved Tibetan gar-
ment; contrary to the oracle-lamas (Chhos rje) of Tibetan Buddhism,
they do not wear any hats, but mat the hair with strings of white
wool.6 The main attributes of the 'Nyenjomo' and 'Pawo' are bells
(Dril bu)' and small, double-faced drums (rNga chhung, "small
drum"), similar in shape to the well-known Damaru drum of Indian
and Tibetan mendicants. While performing the ecstatic dance, which
often accompanies the delivery of their prophecies, they ring the
bell with the left hand and brandish the rNga chung in the right.
Not only among the Tibetans, Sikkimese and Bhutanese, but also
among the Lepchas, the aboriginal inhabitants of Sikkim, numerous
'Pawo' and 'Nyenjomo' are found. With the Lepchas they occupy
a lower position than their own indigenous wizards, the Bong thing
and Mitn.s They are mostly called upon in the event of a divination
ceremony having to be performed. The Lepchas believe that they are
mediums of Tibetan gods and many regard them as the last repre-
sentatives of the old pre-Buddhist priesthood of Bhutan. It frequently
6
Compare the notes on two classes of Bön sorcerers, called sNang gshen and
hPhrul gshen in G. Tucci, Tibetan Painted Scrolls, Rome 1949, Vol. II, p. 715.
7
Tradition relates that formerly the gShang, the characteristic flat bell of
the Bön sorcerers, was used also by the 'Pawo' and 'Nyenjomo', who in more
recent times, however, trying to compromise with the Buddhists, began to use
the lama bell instead. — I may add in this connection to Prof. Hoffmann's
remarks on the gShang (see Quellen, p. 201 f.) that this characteristic bell is made
of Li metal and further, that sometimes a black or red-dyed yak tail is tied to
it as an ornament. The word gShang is applied only as an appelation of the
Bön-po bell and according to my Tibetan informants, it has not the alternative
meaning of "tambourine". — The same kind of bell is also used by itinerant
dancers from Kham Province, for providing, together with drums, an accompa-
niment to their performances.
8
About this class of Lepcha magicians see Gorer. Himalayan Village, p. 215 f.
and Morris, Living with Lepchas, p. 63 f. Some of the shamanistic beliefs and
practices, found among the Bong thing and M n were already mentioned in my
article "Ancient Funeral Ceremonies of the Lepchas", Eastern Anthropologist,
Lucknow 1951, Vol. V., No. 1, pp. 1-13.
 Ethnos Nos. i—4. /9J2

Fig. 1. Lama novice beating a drum of the type, used by the various sects of
Tibetan Buddhism, as well as by the "white Bon".

occurs that a Lepcha sorcerer will be a Bong thing and 'Pawo', or

Miin and 'Nyenjomo' at the same time and this is probably the
reason why with the 'Pawo' and 'Nyenjomo' of the Lepchas, the
ancient Tibetan traditions are much less known than with their
Tibetan or Bhutanese counterparts.
Sorcerers of all groups previously enumerated are well-versed in
the art of drum divination or 'Ngamo' (rNga mo). Their methods
of delivering the prophecy seem to be the same, but they differ in
the type of drum they use. The priests of the Bon dkar perform the
divination with the help of a huge, flat drum (rNga), which other-
wise serves as a musical instrument, not only in the monasteries of
the "white Bon", but also in the religious establishments of both the
reformed and unr-eformed sects of Tibetan Buddhism. This drum is

152
R. Nehe sky de W o jkowitz: Tibetan Drum Divination, "Ngamo"

fastened to a massive wooden handle and it is beaten with the help

of a curved stick (rNga gYob; see photograph). Sorcerers, professing
the Bon nag, use a tambourine, about 40—60 cms in diameter. It
consists of a wooden frame with the skin of an antelope (rGya ra)
stretched over it and tied to the wood by strings which are threaded
crosswise over the frame. The tambourine is held with the help of
a short, wooden handle and beaten with a curved stick in the
following way: the instrument is turned with the skin facing down-
ward and then brought close to the face of the sorcerer, who has
to bring the drum stick upward, towards his face, in order to hit
the skin of the drum. The Tibetan Buddhists explain this peculiar
technique by refering to the well-known legend about the defeat of
the "black Bön" sorcerer Na ro bon chhung by the Buddhist sage
Mi la ras pa.9 The present day addherents of the Bon nag are
ashamed of this defeat and they try, — thus the Buddhists say —
to hide their face in the tambourine. — As only one side of this
drum is covered with skin, the other side being left open, it is called
Phyed rnga, "half-drum".10
The 'Pawo' and 'Nyenjomo' use, as already mentioned, the sand-
glass shaped drum called rNga chhung. Two short strings with a
small ball at the end are attached to its handle, and when jerking the
instrument, the balls hit against the faces of the drum, producing a
rattling sound.11
Frequently, the drum divination is performed in order to learn
particulars about the illness of a patient; the practice of 'Ngamo' in
matters of marriage and business has, however, become nowadays
rather rare. For carrying out a drum divination in case of illness, a

9
For an account of this legend see Hoffmann, pp. 266-292.
10
Compare Hoffmann, pp. 202, 203 and the picture of a Bön priest, beating
a Phyed rnga, on p. 201.
11
The rNga chhung, used by this class of sorcerers, is identical in shape and
size with the mChhod dam, a drum carried frequently by begging lamas and pil-
grims. The only difference is, that to the latter drum long pendants, consisting
of multicoloured pieces of silk, are fastened, while with the rNga chhung
this ornament is missing.
 Ethnos Nos. i—4. 1952

Fig. 2. Sketch of a drum, prepared for the 'Ngamo'. The four main world
quarters are marked by their Tibetan names and into the eight sections of the
outer circle, the names of eight different classes of demons have been written;
one seed of barley has been placed into each section.
In the inner circle of the drum are:
A — a seed representing the patient. B — a seed representing the patient's
nurse. C — three seeds, representing three physicians, who are treating the patient.

drum has to be prepared as follows: first one or two concentric

circles and afterwards four intersecting lines are drawn on the sur-
face of the drum. Then, with the help of some soot, one half of
the drum-skin is marked as the 'black' part, in contradistinction to
the 'white' portion. Lastly, the world quarters are indicated by signs
and then the names of those demons, which according to the sor-
cerer's opinion might have caused the illness, are written into the
sections, which had been made by drawing the intersecting lines.
Each section is reserved for one class of spirits and should the
number of sections not suffice, then some of the seeds which are
later placed on the drum, are each marked to represent one particular
class of malevolent supernaturals.
R. Nebe sky de Wojkowitz: Tibetan Drum Divination, "Ngamo"

After this preparation, the sorcerer takes a seat and places the
drum in front of him on a low table. A cup of milk and a vessel
containing seeds of barley (Mo nas, "divination barley"12) or wheat,
are brought and handed to the magician, who dips a finger into the
milk and places one drop of the liquid into each section, which he
had marked previously with the name of a particular demon. Then
the seeds are incensed and taking them one by one, the sorcerer holds
them for a short while close to his forehead, pronouncing mantras
and lastly he places one seed into each drop of milk. Afterwards
one specially marked seed, representing the patient, is laid in the
middle of the drumskin, right on the border between the 'black'
and 'white' halves, while other seeds, representing the patient's nurse
and physicians,13 are lined up on the 'white' portion.
Next, some incense is burnt and the magician takes now a second
drum and begins to beat it in a slow rhythm, pronouncing simultan-
eously the name of the patient, his astrologie data, the particular
signs of his illness and then he begins to call various deities, especially
the protective deities of the Bon (Bon srung) to assist him and render
answer to his questions. He first pays homage to Padmasambhava
(Padma hbyung gnas)1* and then to the legendary propagator of the
Bon religion, ¿Ton pa gShen rab mi bo15 and to his wife, the Yum
mTshan Idan bio sgron ma. This is followed by rendering in short
the biographies (rNam thar) of the first of the eighteen legendary
Bön kings, rGyal po gDung rgyal btsan po,lis of his queen, rGyal mo

12
Barley and wheat are prefered for the 'Ngamo' and also for other types of
divination; peas e. g. cannot be used, as they are frequently presented as offerings
to malevolent spirits.
13
According to Tibetan custom, at least two physicians should be consulted by
a patient.
14
On this important propagator of Buddhism in Tibet (arrived 747 A. D.) see
G. Ch. Toussaint, Le dict de Padma. Bibliothèque de l'Institut des Hautes Etudes
Chinoises, Vol. III, Paris 1933, pp. 537; S. H. Ribbach, Vier Bilder des Padma-
sambhava und seiner Gefolgschaft, Hamburg 1917, and others.
15
See Hoffmann, pp. 212, 250, 298, 306 (Illustration p. 213) and R. Nebesky
de Wojkowitz, Die tibetische Bön Religion, Archiv für Völkerkunde, Vol. II,
Vienna 1947, p. 37, 38.
16
According to oral traditions, current among the Bön-pos of the South

1*5
 Ethnos Nos. i—4. 15?f2
dPal Idan chhos hjoms ma, and their son, rGyal phrug dKar me hod
dbar; lastly, some of the more important deities of the Bön, like the
well-known "Tiger-god of the burning fire", A bon ¿Tag lha me
hbar,17 gShen rab mi bo's mother A ni Gung lhai rgyal mo,18 the
group of the 13 Srid pat lha rog, and even some of the gods who
possess today a firmly established place in the pantheon of Tibetan
Buddhism, like the group of the 75 mGon po or the sKu Inga, are
being invoked.
After concluding the prayer, the sorcerer — who continues to
beat the drum for the greater part of the ceremony — asks as the
first question, whether the patient will survive the illness. After pro-
nouncing this sentence, the seeds lying in the centre are supposed to
start moving, propelled by the vibrations of the drums. If the
patient's corn jumps to the 'black' half, while that of his nurse
moves distinctly away to the centre of the white section, it must be
regarded as a sign that the illness is incurable. Should, however, the
movement of the seeds indicate, that the person is going to survive,
then the next question is asked: which group of demons is responsible
for the patient's sickness. While the seeds in the centre should remain
now motionless, the seeds representing the various groups of male-
volent supernaturals, begin to jump and that corn — or several
ones — which jumps highest, indicates which class of spirits has to
be propitiated. To ascertain the kind of ceremony one has to perform
for their appeasement, the magician — after murmuring mantras
and burning incense — takes one seed out of the vessel and places it
on the drum, mentioning that this seed stands for a particular cere-
mony, e. g. erecting a thread-cross (mDos),i!l or offering a gTor ma.""
Should the seed start moving, then a new one has to be added and
another method of propitiation suggested, until, in spite of continued
beating of the second drum, the lastly placed seed will remain

Tibetan border area, a dynasty of 18 Bön kings had ruled Central Tibet before
king gNyas khri btsan po, the first of them having been the king here named.
17
See picture in L. A. Waddell, The Buddhism of Tibet or Lamaism, Lon-
don 1895, p. 520 and description in Nebesky de Wojkowitz, Bön Religion, p. 39.

156
R. Nebe sky de Wojkowitz: Tibetan Drum Divination, "Ngamo"

motionless. Finally, the sorcerer will try to ascertain, which physician

is the best to restore the patient's health. That corn, standing for
one of the physicians, which approaches the seed of the patient and
follows it in all its jumps, gives an answer to this question. — The
ceremony ends with a prayer to the deities previously invoked,
which are conducted back to their legendary abodes.
Similar to the method just described is the divination in matters
of marriage and business. In the first case, a seed, representing the
bridegroom, is placed into the centre and then marks are made on
the brim of the drum, to indicate the main world quarters. After
this, name and age of all potential brides are written at some distance
from each other under the sign of that direction, in which the village
of each girl is situated. Again, after burning incense and invoking
the guardian deities, a second drum is beaten; the seeds will begin to
jump and most of them will move from the brim a short distance
towards the sign of the bridegroom, but only one seed is said to
come close to it and follow the central corn in its movements, thus
giving an answer to the sorcerer's question. — Also in case of per-
forming a 'Ngamo' for deciding business matters, marks are made as
before, to indicate the main directions and then seeds, representing
merchandise, buyers and sellers, etc., are placed on the drum; again,
the movement of these signs will render the desired answer.

18
Compare Hoffmann, p. 250.
19
See Hoffmann, p. 181 f., G. Gorer & Nebe sky de Wojkowitz, The use of
thread-crosses in Lepcha Lamaist ceremonies, Eastern Anthropologist, Vol. IV,
No. 2, pp. 65-87, (Bibliography).
20
Details see W. Filchner, Kumbum Dschamba Ling, Leipzig 1933, pp. 291-
39P.