Building the Sherpas' New Present in the Age of Globalization

It was an early afternoon on Wednesday, February gth, 2006, the third and final day of the spiritually significant first phase of the Sherpas' seven week long mortuary rites. In the course of each of these three days the 'pho ba practice, i.e. the ritual transference of the consciousness of the deceased to a pure realm of rebirth, is performed by one bla ma. As a rule, neither family members or his assistants take part in this most intimate religious ceremony. The focus of its performance was the separate room especially built for this purpose in the Sherpa Seva Kendra in Bodnath, which is the communal building (mi 'dzom sa) of the entire Sherpa community.