26 - Effigy of a dhami

Effigy of a dhami with a youthful face. Wood coated with white clay, plant material, ancient brown patina, signs of wear and age. Bajura region, northwestern Nepal. H. 45 × W. 23 × D. 23 cm. Publications: - Éric Chazot, Liliane and Michel Durand-Dessert, *Himalayas – Art & Shamans*, Paris, LMDD, 2011, Volume II, No. 93. - Jean-Luc Cortès and Jean-Claude Brézillon, *La Statuaire primitive de l'ouest du Népal*, *Héritage Architectural*, Paris, 2011, p. 129. Exhibition: Espace Durand-Dessert, September 4, 2010, to July 31, 2011. Sitting cross-legged, hands joined in namaste, this dhami appears absorbed in a calm and contemplative state. In the villages of western Nepal, the dhami served as an oracle for the community, at the intersection of healing, speech, and the connection to invisible powers. With his youthful face and meditative posture, this effigy also evokes the distant influence of Buddhism, reinterpreted here by shamanic traditions in a humble, silent, and deeply spiritual form.