A handwritten Tibetan text (pecha) on modern paper. In "headed" Tibetan dbu chen (Uchen) script. A mika text. A ritual to overcome the effects of malicious gossip ( Tib. མི་ཁ Wylie. mi kha) This is the text for a ritual performance which takes place outdoors. The chowa gives advice to the mikawa, a man employed for this role and who in the past was often lower caste, who then goes outside, carrying a shoulder of meat, hitting people and property with it and shouting loudly like a town crier, shouting things about the afflicted person. Other people come and give him money … and he shouts their name. Then he recites a kind of mantra Mika la sho Hama la sho (mika come inside …inside the bag he is carrying) མི་ཁ་རྒྱང་འབོད་བཞུགས་སོ། མི་ཁ་རྒྱང་འབོད་ means Mika calling from afar.
Extent: One book section consisting of nine folios.
Size and dimensions of original material: Each folio is 34 cm x 10 cm.
Condition of original material: The first of several texts bound into one cloth covered volume.
Arrangement: All the material is kept within the prayer room (not seen). The precise country of origin is unknown. However it is almost certain that the original text was created in Tibet, though the specific material in question may have been copied locally in Spiti (India) at a later date.
