Vintage bronze pendant Wrathful Spirit

In Himalayan regions, images of freightening faces of wrathful spirits and deities can be found everywhere, from bigger sized architectural ornaments or wooden masks to smaller sized pendants or bells to use as personal amulets.

In both (Tibetan) Buddhism and (Shaivist) Hinduism, they often represent the images of the fierce, wrathful aspects or forms of buddha's, bodhisattva's, deva's and deities (beings that have thus both a peaceful, friendly appearance and a forceful, horrifying form). In Tibetan Buddhism they can also be the images of dharmapala's; spirits and gods originating in the Tibetan pre-buddhist indigenous Bon-tradition, that are said to be 'tamed' by Padmasambhava in the 8th century CE and then sworn an oath to protect the buddhist dharma ever since.

The wrathful deities are portrait as terrifying, demonic-looking beings, often further adorned with gruesome ritual attributes and symbolic decorations such as (human) bones and skulls and other items associated with the charnel grounds.

But as terrifying as they might appear, they actually are often driven by compassion. They are very strong and powerful protectors and guides for those on the path to enlightenment, embodying the power and force needed to go forward and overcome and transform all obstacles on the way. They fight against all kinds of demons and evil and in Tibetan Buddhism especially against the enemies of Buddhism. 

But not always are these freightening faces specifically to be associated with the wrathful aspect of an identifiable deity. They can also be more ‘random’, general, anonymous wrathful faces working from the age old adage of “scaring away evil forces with an even more terrifying and forceful one”. And because the depictions of these more general wrathful spirits are of course not bound to the restrictions of the iconography of a certain specific deity, their depictions often consist of the most gruesome details their artist could come up with; the most demonic facial expressions combined with sharp teeth, a devilish pair of horns, skull ornaments etc.

Images from wrathful deities and spirits have also found their way into some classical shamanic lineages, such as the lineage of Spirit of Wolf. Here they are also associated with Erlik Han, Lord of the Underworld, and as such mostly used by black shamans.

This pendant comes from Nepal. It is made from bronze and is from vintage origin, therefore showing some signs of its age and previous usage.

It weighs 106 gr and is approximately 8,5 centimeters wide and 7,5 centimeters high (measured without the eyelet).

A very nice item to wear as a personal amulet or to attach to your ritual costume or attributes.

Only one available.