Aama Bombo

Buddhi Maya Lama, who is also known as Aama Bombo (Mother Shaman), was born in the remote village of Melong in the Eastern part of the Bagmati Zone Nepal, 65 years ago. Her father was a renowned Shaman and Aama follows in the Nepalese Tamang tradition. She became a shaman in a manner contrary to the Tamang tradition since women  are not traditionally supposed to practice shamanism. In the early days, her father restricted her in every way from practicing shamanism. However, when her father died at age of eighty, his spirits and also other gods and spirits started visiting and teaching her to be a shaman, against the prevailing cultural values of Tamang society. Today, Aama has achieved notoriety in Nepal. She treats (heals) around 100 patients every morning at her house in Boudhnath, near Kathmandu, who come to visit her from around the country, as well as from India and Tibet. She does not discriminate amongst those she heals, treating the poorest of the poor as well as the Royal Family of Nepal with equal dedication and respect.