{"product_id":"yak-bone-mala-1","title":"Vintage Tibetan yak bone mala","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ansi-language: EN-US;\" lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eThe specific kind of beaded necklaces known as mala’s are quite familiair nowadays. Often they are simply worn as jewelry-with-a-spiritual touch, but they have a very ancient and rich history. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ansi-language: EN-US;\" lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eThe earliest known examples of beads used in a spiritual context can be found in India, where Hindu monks moved loose shells, stones, grains or beads from one side to another to support in keeping focus and concentration and keep count of the number of repetitions of mantra’s or prayers during their spiritual practice. Another variation was to tie knots in a piece of cord or rope for that purpose. Around the 8\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e century BCE, In India and Nepal, these two variations were combined to stringing the beads on a cord, and thus the mala was born. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ansi-language: EN-US;\" lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eFrom early Hinduism the mala also found its way into Buddhism and eventually its usage spread further into the world in lots of different religions and spiritual traditions. For example; in western Christianity the string of prayer beads is called ‘rosary’ or ‘pater noster cord’ and in the Islam it’s known as ‘mishaba’ or ‘tasbi’.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"mso-ansi-language: EN-US;\" lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eIn different traditions there are of course many variations in the appearance of the prayer beads; for example in how many beads are strung on the cord or from which material the beads are made. Mala’s with a buddhist origin often are made with 108 beads, in many eastern traditions a sacred number with different symbolic meanings. It refers to, for example, the 108 names of Shiva, the 108 different kinds of desire that obscure our human minds or \u003cspan style=\"mso-spacerun: yes;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ethe 108 Upanishads, sacred Sanskrit texts sharing wisdom in the last part of the Veda’s.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThis mala has been made in a traditional Tibetan style, stringing alternately yak bone beads with (faux) gemstone inlay (the little stone chips pressed in a clay base into the hollowed-out yak bone slices) and yak bone beads decorated with a small copper band. The 108 beads have a beautiful dark brown to almost black color and are flat slices with a diameter of approximately 13 millimeters and 4-5 millimeters thick. They are strung on white cotton cord, ending in a small tassel at the guru bead. Total lenght is approximately 54 centimeters, total weight 119 grams.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis mala comes from Tibet and is from vintage origin. It might therefore show some signs of its age and previous usage, but overall it is in good condition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnly one available.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Seawolf Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56571739898187,"sku":null,"price":30.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0765\/7101\/7547\/files\/rn-image_picker_lib_temp_074ee40f-10e7-4c77-a2a1-0d89fe3ed1b8.jpg?v=1771528130","url":"https:\/\/seawolfshop.com\/products\/yak-bone-mala-1","provider":"Seawolf Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}