thangkas (temple banners (ritual & belief: ritual apparatus))

Thangka probably depicting Songtsan Gampo, surrounded by scenes from his life.

For a thangka to be effective it first must be consecrated. Typically this involves inscribing the reverse of the painting with the mantra OM AH HUNG, or Body, Speech, Mind. These syllables are written on the thangka by a Rinpoche -a reincarnated Buddha, returned to help others reach enlightenment- or a high lama. The location of the syllables corresponds to the deity depicted on the thangka: body is marked on the other side of the canvas to the forehead, speech, the throat and mind, the heart. Through this process of consecration (or rapney in Tibetan) the image on the thangka becomes the deity it depicts.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
nn11278
Date
Late 19th or early 20th century
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 635 mm x 515 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
textile; pigment; wood; string
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
LOCATION
In storage
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Collection Information

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