public.project.abstract

Anthropological research on Buddhism as practiced by immigrants in Portugal is limited. This project aims to fill this gap by examining the importance of Tibetan Buddhist practice for Sherpa migrants in Portugal. The research will focus on (i) practices carried out in private and semi-public settings in Lisbon and (ii) collective rituals in places of worship, with particular emphasis on the Tashi Gomang stupa, managed by the Guhya Mantrika community, in Alcácer do Sal, Setúbal. Fieldwork will be based on (i) ethnographic observation; (ii) interviews with members of the Sherpa Kyidug Portugal Association, Nepalese associations, and the Guhya Mantrika community; and (iii) life and family histories of Sherpa migrants. The research will take place between 2025 and 2029 in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and in Alcácer do Sal, as well as in Nepal, in order to understand how Tibetan Buddhist practice is articulated with “Sherpa” identity both in Nepal and in the diaspora.