Sunday, April 5, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Bon
✦ ─── ⟐ ─── ✦
Texts
Phug Wen's PetitionA personal petition from a Chinese-named official under the Tibetan Empire — requesting a donkey, grain provisions, and permission to travel. Nine lines of Old Tibetan bureaucracy at the human level: the petitioner clarifies he is not actually sick, he just needs supplies and transport. Pelliot tibétain 1092. First freely available English translation from Old Tibetan.The Age of DeclineA monumental Old Tibetan ritual-eschatological text from Dunhuang manuscript IOL Tib J 734. A prophecy of moral decline, a Bon ritual remedy tracing five sacred materials to their cosmic origins, a mythological hunting narrative, and a systematic catalogue of sixteen Tibetan kingdoms with their deities, demons, and priests. The largest eschatological text in the Dunhuang Bon corpus. All 356 lines. First freely available English translation.The Barley LoanA Silk Road grain loan contract from the Dunhuang cave library — four khal of barley borrowed between districts, with a penalty clause doubling the debt for late repayment. Seven lines of Old Tibetan commercial law showing how the Tibetan Empire regulated everyday credit. Pelliot tibétain 1088 (document 2). First freely available English translation from Old Tibetan.The Breaking of SorceryA pre-Buddhist Tibetan counter-sorcery ritual from Dunhuang manuscript Pelliot tibétain 1039. A Bon priest summons the lords of five kingdoms to a ritual arena, erects copper curse-vessels, slaughters curse-sheep, brews hostility-beer, catches the sorcery-bird, and dissolves the curse through nine sky-rites and nine earth-rites. The cursed person testifies in first person — frozen, mute, heart like calf-fat — then the bee arises, the cockerel hatches, and the freed one is protected in the four quarters of the sky. First English translation.The Coin Divination ManualA Silk Road coin divination manual from the Dunhuang cave library — systematic prognostications for household fortune, illness, marriage, enemies, travel, lost property, spirits, and all the concerns of daily life. Shows remarkable Sino-Tibetan syncretism: the sign of Confucius appears alongside Tibetan spirit cosmology and Chinese elemental theory. Pelliot tibétain 1055. First freely available English translation from Old Tibetan.The Contest of Bon and GshenA pre-Buddhist Tibetan narrative of healing competition across the kingdoms — each realm's noble falls ill, diviners fail, and only the local Bon healer can cure. From Pelliot tibétain 1285, Dunhuang.The Counting of the BirdsAn Old Tibetan compendium of bird-lore, disease catalogues, healing rites, and mantras from the Dunhuang caves. The companion piece to the healing narratives of the recto.The Decree of the BoundaryA pre-Buddhist Tibetan cosmological prophecy from Dunhuang manuscript IOL Tib J 735. The decree of the Phyva and the Boundary explains how the good age ended, why earthquakes and eclipses occur, and how human evil weighs heavier on the earth than mountains. First freely available English translation.The Descent of the KalpaA pre-Buddhist Tibetan apocalyptic prophecy from Dunhuang manuscript IOL Tib J 733. The decline of the good age told through three movements: moral inversion (the honest become poor, the deceitful become rich), a survival prescription for the end times (comb your hair, wash your body, give beer to your brothers, pray), and a political prophecy naming a black-faced king from beyond the sea who rules for sixty years before the Six Great Ones rise. First freely available English translation.The Dialogue of Dmu and PhyvaA pre-Buddhist Tibetan diplomatic narrative from the Dunhuang caves — an envoy of Phyva travels to the glacier-ringed land of Dmu and is tested three times by Lord Dmu before receiving an audience. Pelliot tibétain 126, lines 104–168. First English translation from Old Tibetan.The Dice of the Five ElementsA fragmentary Tibetan dice divination manual assigning the five elements to dice counts, with readings for household fortune, illness, enemies, marriage, and lost goods.The Dice OraclesEleven oracle entries from the Bon gods, cast by dice in the age of the Tibetan Empire. First English translation from Old Tibetan.The Dog-Bite LawAn Old Tibetan legal code from the Tubo Empire specifying penalties for fatal dog attacks, organized by social rank.The End of the Good AgeA pre-Buddhist Tibetan mythological narrative from Dunhuang manuscript IOL Tib J 731. The end of a golden age, the heavenly horse descended to earth, three brothers separated, a wild yak's fatal challenge, and the forging of the first alliance between horse and human through an oath of blood vengeance. First freely available English translation.The Funeral of Sten Rgan Nyer PaA pre-Buddhist Tibetan funeral narrative and bride-quest from Dunhuang manuscript IOL Tib J 731 (verso). A father's funeral cannot be fulfilled despite offerings of hundreds of animals. A demon devours the family. The surviving boy escapes to a sky goddess on the tail of a white crane. Nine generations later, a magical bride provides the means to complete the rites at last. First freely available English translation.The Great Divination ManualThe largest divination manual in the Dunhuang Bon corpus — fifty-nine oracle entries with dice throws, deity voices, and verdicts for every question of life. First English translation from Old Tibetan.The Horse SacrificeTwo pre-Buddhist Tibetan ritual narratives from Dunhuang manuscript Pelliot tibétain 1136. A mythological charter for funeral horse sacrifice: two noble friends bound by a death-pact, supernatural horses caught in the valleys, a princess cursed by black sorcery and healed by the Bird-Priestess. Pure Bon religion from Imperial Tibet. First English translation.The Law of TheftAn Old Tibetan legal code from the Tubo Empire specifying penalties for theft, organized by the value of stolen goods, the type of property, and social rank.The Lineage of the Mdzo MoA pre-Buddhist Tibetan funeral narrative from Pelliot tibétain 1289 — an origin myth authorizing the sacrifice of the mdzo mo (female dzo) at funeral rites. The genealogy of the funeral mdzo, the quest for the White Conch Bull, the Lord of Lords' death at the hands of nine demonesses, and the triple self-offering at the funeral: man, woman, and mdzo. 73 lines from the sealed cave library at Dunhuang. First English translation.The Mdzo Funeral RitesTwo pre-Buddhist Tibetan funeral narratives from Pelliot tibétain 1068 — origin myths authorizing the use of the mdzo cow in funeral rites. A hero visits his grandmother's supernatural court and receives a golden mdzo whose butter anoints his dead sister. A brother's desperate quest for the magical mdzo cow Drang-ma to smooth his mistreated sister's death-stiffened hair. First freely available English translation from Old Tibetan.The Naming of a PrinceA ninth-century Old Tibetan royal charter from the Dunhuang caves preserving the naming ceremony of Emperor Khri Gtsug-lde-brtsan (Ralpacan), a praise song composed by the monk Yon Tan, a catalogue of the petty kingdoms with their lords and ministers, a vision of a golden palace, a loyalty oath, and administrative instructions for the imperial messenger relay. Pelliot tibétain 1290.The Oracles of the Sky Medicine GoddessFifty-seven oracle entries presided over by the Sky Medicine Goddess, with an invocation summoning nine-hundred-and-nine medicines from seven realms. First English translation from Old Tibetan. The codex breaks off mid-verse at Oracle LVII.The Ox SaleA Silk Road ox sale contract from the Dunhuang cave library — a black ox with rough horns and piebald belly changes hands between an 'A-zha seller and a Chinese buyer, with warranty clause, guarantor, five witnesses, and six vermilion seals. A window into everyday commerce under the Tibetan Empire. Pelliot tibétain 1095. First freely available English translation from Old Tibetan.The Paths of the DeadThree pre-Buddhist Tibetan funeral narratives and a complete guide to the underworld from Pelliot tibétain 1134 — the most detailed surviving map of the Tibetan afterlife before Buddhism. Origin myths authorizing funeral rites, the tale of Lhe'u Yang-ka Rje caught between gods and demons, a shepherd's lament for the dead, and a systematic journey through the passes and realms of the land of the dead. 297 lines from the sealed cave library at Dunhuang. First English translation.The Peacock BrideA Dunhuang folktale of transformation and marriage — a girl escapes an ogress by becoming a peacock, then is captured on a young man's wool spindle and transforms into his bride.The PrincipalitiesA fifteen-line Old Tibetan royal praise text from the Dunhuang caves describing a golden palace, its ascending glories, and a catalogue matching each quality of the realm to its rightful possessions. Pelliot tibétain 1067.The Rite and Pedigree of HorsesA pre-Buddhist Tibetan ritual text from the Dunhuang caves classifying horses into supernatural categories by coat color, mapping them to cosmic forces, and cataloguing thirteen kingdoms with their divine patrons and signature horses.The Royal Funeral RitualsA complete protocol for the funeral of a Tibetan emperor — the most detailed surviving record of pre-Buddhist Tibetan royal burial rites. Pelliot tibétain 1042 from the Dunhuang cave library.The Spirit OraclesTwelve Bon divination oracles with elaborate deity speeches from a Dunhuang cave scroll — including the worst omen in the Tibetan Mo corpus. First English translation from Old Tibetan.The Sum pa Mother's SayingsOld Tibetan proverbs of the Sum pa people — a mother's wisdom on family, leadership, and the nature of things, from the Dunhuang cave manuscripts.The Three-Dice Oracle ManualA complete three-dice divination manual from the Dunhuang caves — sixty-two oracles spanning every combination of three four-sided dice, with named deity speakers and verdicts. First English translation from Old Tibetan.The Tiger Year CasebookSeven judicial opinions from the Tibetan Imperial Palace interpreting the Tiger Year decree — property restoration, marriage law, debt conversion, wife-abduction, service property, monastic rights, and military conscription. First English translation from Old Tibetan.The Traces of the Secret BonA pre-Buddhist Tibetan mythological narrative from Pelliot tibétain 1040 — the lineage of Rgyal Byin traced through three marriages: to a god of the Dmu realm, to the lord Gseng Lde Ri, and to a monkey-faced stranger whose skin is burned in the fire. Six magical transformations, the taboo of the copper pot, tears of blood on the white rock, and the wandering of sacred treasures through Nepal and Glo to the legendary Zhangzhung capital of Khyung Lung. 137 lines from the sealed cave library at Dunhuang. First English translation.The Twelve Coins DivinationA complete coin divination manual from the Dunhuang caves, attributed to Kong-tse — the Tibetan Confucius. The magical king Li-bsam-blang established this system of casting twelve coins to read the fates. Each outcome from one coin face-up through all face-down carries its own cosmic sign: the sun rising in fullness, the Pleiades surrounded by stars, a thousand suns at once, or the sun setting with the earth quaking and the king’s line cut off. India Office Library Tibetan 0742. First freely available English translation from Old Tibetan.The Twelve PrincipalitiesA ninth-century Old Tibetan chronicle from the Dunhuang caves recording the twelve principalities of pre-imperial Tibet, the myth of the first king's descent from heaven, and the complete royal genealogy from divine origin to the reign of Ral Pa Can (r. 815–838). Pelliot tibétain 1286.