The Spirit Doesn’t Come Anymore

The practice of shamans invoking spirits/protectors to ward off evil and cure disease has been a significant feature of Tibetan social life for over a millenium. Considered an inborn faculty that needs only awakening, and channeling, the shaman’s art survives through his son or daughter. Pao Wangchuk, 78, is the thirteenth in an unbroken line of spiritual mediums, living and practicing his craft in the Tibetan camp in Pokhara, Nepal. The source of the old man’s despair is Karma, his eldest son and heir-to-be, who may not be able to continue the family calling. This extraordinary vocation, by today’s gauge, may prove an altogether alien track for Karma, a seemingly normal young man with some errant ways of his peers. (Tsering Rhitar)