This is a comprehensive and extremely informed study of the changing social context and religious lives of lha pa, 'deity or god men,' in Qinghai Province, China. Snying bo rgyal and Rino's account of these Tibetan trance mediums who become possessed by mountain deities succeeds in both honoring the past through a detailed description of their practice while acknowledging the increasing challenges to these traditions. This book is an important contribution to the documentation and understanding of Asian ritual and society.

A carefully researched and splendidly illustrated study of a very special Tibetan village and its traditions in the multicultural Reb gong region of A mdo. The focus is on the rituals and religious beliefs connected with the trance mediums called lha pa, also known as Tibetan 'shamans.' Based on field observations, interviews, and comparative evidence, this is descriptive and analytic anthropology at its best. The volume includes authentic texts and a glossary.
Dr. Juha Janhunen, University of Helsinki

The lha pa of the villages of the Reb gong area have drawn attention from both Tibetan authors and foreign scholars in recent decades, but were often seen only as a marginal part of glu rol/ klu rol festivals. Until now the information on them was very limited and stemmed mostly from the observation of the festival, which was then described and interpreted from the point of view of an outer observer. This invaluable book gives space to the voices of local people and lha pa intentionally. Containing a large amount of ethnographical data, testimonies and narrations of local people, it draws the reader to their worldview and everyday life in an unprecedented way. It brings down to earth some of the scholarly speculations on the festivals and contains a great deal of new information on Tibetan lha pa in general. It cannot be omitted by any researcher on the given area. Congratulations to the authors.
Dr. Daniel Berounsky, Charles University, Prague

Rich in illustrations and ethnographic detail, this valuable work describes the little-known world of Tibetan trance mediums and their rites from an insider's perspective.
Dr. Mark Bender, Associate Professor, The Ohio State University

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