Very beautiful vintage Nepalese mala, made with 108 beads (+ 1 guru bead) from yak bone, handcarved into human skulls.
The skull as a symbol can be found in religions and spiritual traditions all over the world, but nowhere is it more prominent or has a more complex and deep symbolism than in the Himalayan regions influenced by Tibetan buddhism.
On the one hand it can be said that the symbol of the skull (of course) refers to death; it is a powerful reminder of the fact that all our lives will simply end one day. The symbol of the skull is thus used in all kinds of meditative practices to contemplate on this inevitabilty and also on the other side of this medal; how important it is to live your life in the best possible and most compassionate of ways.
On a more metaphorical level, contemplating on the image of the skull also is a powerful practice in cutting through the bonds with one's own ego and the identification with the physical body. It takes us to the limits of human knowledge and helps to gain insight in the buddhist concept of 'Emptiness', which doesn't mean 'nothing-ness', but actually quite on the contrary refers to the true nature of the universe and reality; the endless, ultimate emptiness in which all possibilities exist.
Human skulls are also very prominent in the iconography around a lot of the 'wrathful' deities in Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism. Wrathful deities are the fierce, forceful aspects or manifestations of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas or Devas. They are often portrait as terrifying, demonic looking beings adorned with human skulls or bone ornaments and ritual weapons. In this setting, the human skulls symbolize all the poisonous delusions and limiting mental beliefs that need to be overcome on the path to enlightenment.
The fact that these skulls are carved from real bone, re-emphasizes their symbolism; holding such a mala, you quite literally hold a small piece of death in your hands. Until quite recent times in Tibetan Buddhism (and before that in its pre-decessor the Tibetan Bon tradition) it was quite common to use human bones for all kinds of ceremonial, ritual and symbolic purposes. Nowadays mostly animal bones or even synthetic variants such as resin are used for these purposes. The beautiful beads here in this mala are handcarved out of yak bone and treated with natural pigments to obtain a rich brown color.
Looking at the above mentioned symbolism, there can be two main usages distinguished for such a mala; on the one hand, it can be used while meditating or contemplating on themes such as death, impermanence and the limits of human knowledge. On the other hand, they are associated with the practices connected to wrathful deities.
Each bead is approximately 8-10 millimeters high, with the guru bead slightly bigger. Since these are all handcarved beads, each one is slightly different and unique in appearance. Total length of the mala is approximately 106 centimeters.
Only one available.
