NECHUNG ORACLE

oracle-priest of Tibet who, until the conquest of Tibet in 1959 by the People's Republic of China, was consulted on all important occasions. The priest chosen to be the Nechung oracle was the chief medium of Pe-har, a popular folk divinity incorporated into Buddhism, and resided at the Nechung (Gnas-chung-lcog) monastery near Drepung ('Bras-spungs), the centre of the Pe-har cult. The oracle is said to have first been appointed government adviser during the time of the fifth Dalai Lama (161782). He was required to journey to Lhasa once a year, during the New Year festivities, to prophesy the year's coming events, and was consulted whenever a search was conducted for a new Dalai Lama. Unofficial visitors were not normally allowed to consult him but were permitted to present questions to him when he was in a trance and after state business had been completed.