Notes on two shaman-curers in Kathmandu

Despite the advance of modern medicine in Nepal, the role of the shaman as folk curer remains strong. In a survey of 19 village panchayat areas, not one was without its shamanistic curer who went under various names as jhankri, dhami, janne, or jharphuke. While these appeared to depend largely on the exorcism of possessing spirits to cure diseases, there were in addition, practitioners of a perhaps more rational or scientific system (from the western viewpoint) who depended on the curing properties of traditionally known herbs and plants.