Item: Sherab Chamma (Bon Deity)

Sherab Chamma (English: the Loving Mother of Wisdom).

Loving Mother of Wisdom (Tibetan: Sherab Chamma) is the principal female deity of the Bon religion. The word bon meaning truth belongs to the Zhang Zhung language, an ancient language of Western Tibet. Indigenous to the Himalayas, Tibet and Central Asia, the Bon religion has flourished despite the popularity of Buddhism over the last 1000 years and despite the political upheavals of the 20th century.

The primary role of Loving Mother of Wisdom is that of a compassionate mother figure that embodies the nature of wisdom. As the nature of wisdom she is the mother of all Bon deities and Enlightened Ones. The four principle deities in the Bon religion are known as the Four Transcendent Ones and Sherab Chamma, the only female, stands as the first of these. She is known by many names and has numerous forms that appear both peaceful and wrathful.

In her most wrathful form she manifests as the horrific protector Queen of the World (Tibetan: Sipai Gyalmo) with three faces and six arms - the principal protector of the Bon religion. In her semi-wrathful form she manifests as the deity Yeshe Walmo functioning as a personal protector and as a healing deity.

Jeff Watt 5-2005

Thematic Sets
Subject: Female Deities - Yellow
Bon Deity: Sherab Chamma Main Page
Exhibition: Bon, The Magic Word (RMA 2007)
Bon Paintings: Masterworks
Bon: Deities Main Page
Painting Style: Bon Art in Amdo
Bon Deity: Sherab Chamma (Multiple Deities)
Bon Deity: Sherab Chamma Iconography
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Bon Artworks
Bon Deity: Sherab Chamma (Ninety-six Deity)
Bon Deity: Satrig Ersang/Sherab Chamma (Masterworks)