Ghurra: divine tool from Nepal. Beautiful authentic ghurra, 50 - 70 years old.
Length: 27.5 cm (including stand 31.7 cm)
Weight: 157 grams (including stand 311 grams)
Includes custom stand!! The wooden top of the stand looks brown in the photos but is brown/black.
For centuries, Nepalese mountain people have used the ghurra (churning stick holder) as an aid to churn milk into (clarified) butter. This ritual is based on the ancient Hindu myth, the Samudra Manthana: the churning of the primeval ocean by gods and demons. This myth not only tells the creation story, but also depicts the battle between good and evil.

Through the use of the ghurra, the act of churning is transcended into a sacred event; the ritual confirmation of the Samudra Manthana. The churning process is 'darshan' for Nepalese, a sacred time of day to be blessed by their gods.

The decorations on the ghurras refer to the gods of the Hindu pantheon and are, as it were, the connecting signs to the elusive mystery of the universe. Ghurras are thus an expression of a transcendent reality hidden under the veil of observable reality.

Ghurras have a round shape at the bottom that represents the solar disk (chakra), symbol of Vishnu, the patron god of the land and people of Nepal. The solar disc represents the miraculous power of the universal soul, which creates, sustains and destroys in all spheres of the universe.

On the solar disk is a usually vertical extension in the shape of a lingam, symbol of Shiva (the god of destruction and re-creation). This part is made up of symmetrical figures with symbolic elements. Not a single detail in the performance is a personal invention, everything has a ritual meaning.

For information about the ghurras, use was made of the exhibition catalog published in 2004: Ghurras, gods from the Himalayas - Nepalese folk art. Composition and editing Annemarie De Gendt and Paul De Smedt.