The paper examines Amdo Tibetan narratives of mountain gods and local spirits, analyzing their ritual, symbolic and socio-cultural functions within the oral tradition of the region.
Paper long abstract
This paper explores the narratives and ritual contexts of mountain deities and local spirits in the Amdo region of Eastern Tibet, focusing on their significance in shaping communal identity and cultural memory. Mountain deities and local spirits, such as yul lha or gzhi bdag have long been central figures in the cosmological landscape of Amdo, serving not only as protectors of specific communities and natural sites, but also as agents mediating between humans and the environment. Through oral narratives, folk songs, and ritual texts, their stories preserve layers of myth, history, and social order. Drawing on both textual sources and fieldwork-based oral accounts, the study highlights how these narratives function within daily life and seasonal rituals. This paper seeks to examine select examples of mountain gods and spirits, manifested in the form of mountains, as they are depicted in Tibetan folk songs and folk tales. The mountain cult, which has been present in Tibet since pre-Buddhist times, constitutes a central element in several Tibetan folklore texts. As a key component of the Tibetan symbolic system, the veneration of mountain deities holds an essential and irreplaceable role in the preservation of Tibetan cultural identity.