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<p>A paper on the rites and dance ('cham) performed in the Bönpo (bon po) community of Sharkhok (shar khog).</p>

<p><strong>Creator's Description</strong>: This article looks at local ritual, and other, transformations in the shifting meanings of a well-known Sino-Tibetan historical figure known as Hwa shang in the context of the multi-ethnic borderland of present-day A mdo. Hwa shang is usually represented in Tibetan masked dances as well as in Tibetan art as the representative par excellence of Chinese Buddhism. The different (hi)stories of Hwa shang, their multiple meanings in various contexts and for specific groups of people referred to in this article, will show how decisive local and historical contextualization is for an understanding of seemingly uniform symbols, and for one that is more closely grounded in the specific realities and interpretations of ever changing socio-political worlds.</p>

<p><strong>Publisher's Description:</strong> In this volume, for the first time Tibetan Medicine is approached from a combination of anthropology and history. These two disciplines appear to be vital to come to understand Tibetan medical knowledge and practice as being complex, diverse and dynamic phenomena which reflect changing social and historical conditions at the same time while also appealing to or preserving an older canon of traditions.<br /> Part One examines the impacts of various modernities in Tibet, the Himalayan borderlands and the Tibetan exile, including standardisation and scientization of Tibetan medicine. Part Two investigates the transmission and professionalisation of medical knowledge and its role in identity construction. Part Three traces connections between various body images, practices, and cosmologies in Tibetan societies and how mental and physical illnesses are understood. Part Four critically presents new or little known histories, commentarial practices, textual narratives and oral sources for investigating the history of Tibetan medicine.</p>