Čaqar Gebši Luvsančültem’s Offering Ritual to the Fire God

Abstract

Abstract Gebši Luvsančültem (1740–1810), born in Čaqar of current Inner Mongolia, authored hundreds of texts on various subjects in Buddhism, and dedicated all his life to the development of Buddhism. In his texts, nomadic Mongolian lifestyle and culture were widely reflected and syncretized with Buddhist rituals. As he was not only a Buddhist scholar but also a famous medical practitioner, Luvsančültem documented smallpox inoculation and other newly spread infectious diseases among Mongols for the first time. Many of his works are also related to the nāga deity and devil’s wickedness, and to treatments for the unhappy spirits. One of the best examples of them is an offering ritual to the fire, which has two versions, written in Tibetan and Mongolian. Interestingly, the fire deity was described differently in these two versions. In the Mongolian version, the fire deity is appeared as a pleasant looking White Old Man whereas in the Tibetan version who is visualized as fierce imaged God with three faces and six armes. In addition, the fire offering ritual was recognized by traditional medical practitioners as one of the last, most effective, and fierce rituals for nāga spirits that are associated with diseases, when other rituals such as water rituals and sacrificial cake offerings do not show efficacy.