Between the Lines: Exorcising the Old Year in a Himalaya Bonpo Village

North of the Annapurnas, in Nepal’s Mustang District, is the little village of Lubrak. Founded in the 12th century, Lubrak is a community of married Lamas, followers of the Tibetan Bon religion. The annual cycle of rituals ends with a week-long ceremony, the Dögyab. The Dögyab rids the community of its accumulated misfortunes, illnesses and malign presences, through the power of the great tutelary gods and protective divinities of Bon.