L B Thapa
Medical science has made rapid advancement, yet there are times when medical science finds itself unable to treat a particular illness. Dhamis and Jhankris (otherwise known as shamans), considered unscientific and illogical by most outsiders, continue to foster despite all the advances made in medicine, science and technology.
I recently visited Jita, my village in Lamjung, where Dhan Bahadur Dura, a very popular shaman lives. People fondly call him Dura Jhankri, and local myths about him abound. It is said that he was taken away by a Ban Jhankri (forest shaman) at the age of 14, who released him after five years of training in jhankri vidhya (knowledge). Ever since, he has been treating people with various illnesses.
When I reached his place, there were many people waiting to meet him. I saw a gentleman with his wife waiting their turn. I was surprised to hear their story. The man, a manager in a reputed bank in Pokhara, said that two years ago his wife suddenly became depressed. Doctors tried to treat her for six months, but to no avail. One day, she tried to commit suicide by hanging herself. A neighbour saved her, but after that incident, the man took his wife to Kathmandu for treatment.
Someone advised him to get his wife treated by Dura Jhankri. His first reaction was a big no, but with no options left, he decided to give it a try. Less than a week later, his wife seemed to much better. “I did not see my wife smile for almost a year-and-a-half. Now she smiles, she laughs, and also cracks jokes. Before we came here, she was on pills and capsules, but there was no improvement. I was almost on the verge of nervous breakdown myself,” he told me.
That same night, I met Dura Jhankri. He was high on marijuana, but his face was calm and confident. I greeted him with two bottles of whisky, which made his face turn bright and eyes twinkle. “I am 65 now. I have been practising this art for the last five decades. People like you don’t believe me when I tell them that I was picked up by a Ban Jhankri at the age of 14. I spent about five years inside a cave where the Ban Jhankri taught me this art.
He is my only guru, my god. After five years, he dropped me back to where he had picked me up. His parting words were ‘never work for money’.” Dura Jhankri says his guru had told him to serve the needy, and he tried to do just that. Sometimes, when he failed to control an adamant spirit, he has asked for his guru’s help in his mind. He told me that there are many who visit him because they cannot afford a doctor’s fees, but, surprisingly, if their ailments were physical, he would himself suggest a doctor.
The shaman showed me a photo of a foreigner. “This German woman visited me about five years ago. She used to get burns along her respiratory track. She received the best-possible medical treatment in Germany, but nothing worked for her. Doctors said she was allergic to some foods. She didn’t eat the items she was supposedly allergic to, but there was no relief. I treated her for a month, and she became perfectly alright. Instead of any fees, I asked her to construct a temple with a restroom for wandering sadhus,” Dura Jhankri said, showing me the temple she had constructed. There are, of course, certain conmen who deceive people by pretending to be Jhankris. But, instead of doing any good, they end up doing more harm, as they don’t know how to practise the craft.
Dura Jhankri told me about an incident in which a fake Dhami beat a woman to death. He beat the lady with nettle, then with a hot flat spoon. The lady, already exhausted, could not stand such a merciless beating, and finally collapsed. The Dhami continued beating the corpse until the first ray of sunlight. Early in the morning, when he realised the woman had died, he ran away. He was caught by the local people who tied him up until the police took him away.
Dura Jhankri said every word has an effect on a person. “If you eulogise a person, he will be very pleased with you, and vice-versa.” It may be difficult to explain the craft to modern minds, but, in the minds of people like Dura Jhankri’s patients, the traditional art of Jhankri vidhya has been a life-saver. Thapa is a Pokhara-based freelance writer who blogs at lbthapa.blogspot.com.
(Credit: This article was originally published in The kathmandu Post)
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