Pandemic Causation and Protection. Health and More-Than-Human Relations in Phushar Village, Bhutan
This paper explores pandemic narratives in Phushar village, Western Bhutan, focusing on the interplay between humans, local deities (tsen, gyap), Buddhist protector and tutelary deities and public health measures during COVID-19. Villagers combined deity appeasement rituals with divinations and publ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Italian |
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Dipartimento Culture e Società - Università di Palermo
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Archivio Antropologico Mediterraneo |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/aam/10311 |
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| author | Barbara Gerke Yeshi Samdrup |
| author_facet | Barbara Gerke Yeshi Samdrup |
| author_sort | Barbara Gerke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper explores pandemic narratives in Phushar village, Western Bhutan, focusing on the interplay between humans, local deities (tsen, gyap), Buddhist protector and tutelary deities and public health measures during COVID-19. Villagers combined deity appeasement rituals with divinations and public health measures. Memories of past epidemics shaped adherence to quarantine, physical distancing and modern healthcare. The narratives reflect a shift from individual karmic disease causation to perceiving the pandemic as globalized lenchak (karmic retribution), emphasizing collective responsibility for the crisis. While deity protection was deemed successful during COVID-19, increasing climate challenges may reshape perceptions of ritual efficacy. This study contributes to understanding more-than-human relationships in disease causation and ritual disaster protection, showing how local traditions integrate broader moral and ecological frameworks. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1e114f1743d34acbb12d5e40d4d1a699 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2038-3215 |
| language | Italian |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Dipartimento Culture e Società - Università di Palermo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Archivio Antropologico Mediterraneo |
| spelling | doaj-art-1e114f1743d34acbb12d5e40d4d1a6992025-06-24T15:06:02ZitaDipartimento Culture e Società - Università di PalermoArchivio Antropologico Mediterraneo2038-32152025-06-01282710.4000/145orPandemic Causation and Protection. Health and More-Than-Human Relations in Phushar Village, BhutanBarbara GerkeYeshi SamdrupThis paper explores pandemic narratives in Phushar village, Western Bhutan, focusing on the interplay between humans, local deities (tsen, gyap), Buddhist protector and tutelary deities and public health measures during COVID-19. Villagers combined deity appeasement rituals with divinations and public health measures. Memories of past epidemics shaped adherence to quarantine, physical distancing and modern healthcare. The narratives reflect a shift from individual karmic disease causation to perceiving the pandemic as globalized lenchak (karmic retribution), emphasizing collective responsibility for the crisis. While deity protection was deemed successful during COVID-19, increasing climate challenges may reshape perceptions of ritual efficacy. This study contributes to understanding more-than-human relationships in disease causation and ritual disaster protection, showing how local traditions integrate broader moral and ecological frameworks.https://journals.openedition.org/aam/10311BhutanCOVID-19more-than-human ecologiesdeitiesBuddhism |
| spellingShingle | Barbara Gerke Yeshi Samdrup Pandemic Causation and Protection. Health and More-Than-Human Relations in Phushar Village, Bhutan Archivio Antropologico Mediterraneo Bhutan COVID-19 more-than-human ecologies deities Buddhism |
| title | Pandemic Causation and Protection. Health and More-Than-Human Relations in Phushar Village, Bhutan |
| title_full | Pandemic Causation and Protection. Health and More-Than-Human Relations in Phushar Village, Bhutan |
| title_fullStr | Pandemic Causation and Protection. Health and More-Than-Human Relations in Phushar Village, Bhutan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pandemic Causation and Protection. Health and More-Than-Human Relations in Phushar Village, Bhutan |
| title_short | Pandemic Causation and Protection. Health and More-Than-Human Relations in Phushar Village, Bhutan |
| title_sort | pandemic causation and protection health and more than human relations in phushar village bhutan |
| topic | Bhutan COVID-19 more-than-human ecologies deities Buddhism |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/aam/10311 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT barbaragerke pandemiccausationandprotectionhealthandmorethanhumanrelationsinphusharvillagebhutan AT yeshisamdrup pandemiccausationandprotectionhealthandmorethanhumanrelationsinphusharvillagebhutan |