Divine Messengers

This beautiful book celebrates those rarest of women in Bhutan, powerful mediums who employ multiple techniques of ecstasy to soar away on the wings of trance to distant metaphysical realms where they can work their deeds of medical, mystical, and magical rescue. They are the living embodiment of a tradition in which actual communication with spirits is the norm, an ongoing dialogue essential to the maintenance of peace and harmony between humans and the divine. -Wade Davis, author of Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest An insightful study of the delom, or 'returner from the dead,' this book captures the fascinating stories of intermediaries between the human and hell realms. It unravels the dying culture that coalesces Himalayan shaman practice with Buddhist cosmology and eschatology. -Karma Phuntsho, author of The History of Bhutan Stephanie Guyer-Stevens and Francoise Pommaret are subtle and receptive guides who bring their encounters with female shamans to life in evocative detail. They make you feel as if you're there with them, privileged to experience a fascinating practice that's so little known or understood in the West. -Cathy Fitzgerald, radio producer and documentary-maker for the BBC Those interested in the relationships between Buddhism and shamanism will relish this eye-opening account. -Publishers Weekly