To Kill or not to Kill? Helambu valley as a no kill zone: the issue of blood sacrifice and the transformation of ritual patterns in Hyolmo shamanism

Narratives related to a rivality between lamas and shamans are very common throughout the Himalayas and the Hyolmo are no exception to this. The rule seems, generally, the establishment of a unified spiritual field originating from a division of religious labour characterized by hierarchization, opposition and complementarity at the same time. The resulting (asymmetric) religious field is not fixed once and for all: its boundaries are constantly shifting due to practical needs of the people and, to a larger extent, they are also tied to discourses about ethnic identity and "traditional" heritage. With this paper I want to highlight patterns of change affecting hyolmo shamanic rituals, and especially the ongoing debate surrounding the practice of ritual sacrifice. The blood offering, in fact, is seen more and more as a despicable action and many shamans, influenced by Buddhist ideas and/or due to a certain degree of social pressure, are transforming and adapting their rituals in order to cope with this very relevant change at the very core of every transaction with the spirit world.