Les bāyu du Nepal central

Résumé 0

This communication deals with a particular class of spirits, bāyu, who are the souls of people who suffered an abnormal death and wander in this world. The author deliberately adopted the view-points of the bāyu themselves, quoting their statements as heard from the mouths of the mediums (ḍāgre) through whom they manifest themselves: their careers are thus unfolded from the moment of death till the time they are fixed in a lineage shrine and, possibly, released to join the ancestors in another world. The paper also includes a description of the choice and training of the mediums and analysis of the kinship structure in which the cult of the bāyu is developed.The material on which this paper is based was collected among both Hindus and Muslims in villages of central Nepal. But indoubtedly the cult originated among Hindus for it fits into their beliefs concerning the fate of the soul after death. It has been adopted not only by Muslims, but also by buddhist tribals; thus people belonging to various castes and professing various religions worship the bāyu, and may use the services of the same medium; the fact that this cult oversteps socially recognized barriers raises many problems which are discussed in passing.