ICELAND 1994

Professor Carl Abrahamsson visited the land of Ice in search of more information on contemporary paganism, focussing on the neo-Asatro movement and its movers and shakers. Interviews were made with resident shamans and magicians.

TIBET 1995

The first eastward ICM journey, by Professors Peder Byberg and Julie Nord. Contacts were made and many photographs taken of ritual action, art and objects.

INDIA 1996

In the autumn of 1996, ICM spent two months in the Dharamsala region in Northern India. The present staff (Professors Carl Abrahamsson, Henrik Bogdan, Peder Byberg and Max Fredrikson) worked diligently almost every day with collecting material about the view of the Tibetans-in-exile on ritual and magic. The Mahayana Buddhism is steeped in methodical behaviour and ritual and we found the friendly Tibetan people to be amazingly open about our questions.

We interviewed monks, nuns, lamas, nagpas (magicians) and "ordinary" folks and took close to 2000 photographs of daily and ritual life. A film from the expedition, called "The Tibetan Mind" (the name of this overall project), was completed in 1997.

The textual material is still being assembled and edited. Hopingly we will see our efforts published in 1999.

To see a few of the pictures from this expedition, please click here! Loads more coming up in the near future.

INDIA 1998

Professors Byberg and Fredrikson returned to document the Kumbh Mela-festival. The big Kumbh Mela only happens every 12 years and this was it. Loads of photographs taken. A film is yet to be edited together.

Deeper contact was established with the Bon community in Dolanje and its Venerable Abbot Sangye Tenzin. ICM had, during 1997, helped to collect money for technical equipment for the dehydration of the Bon Community Library (the Indian Monsoon is very... wet.). These funds were now handed over.

BENEFIT WORK

Except for the above mentioned collection of funds, in cooperation with Lakha Lama and several friends in Copenhagen, Denmark, an event was hosted jointly by ICM and the April Club/Record label on May the 2nd 1998.

The event's main organiser was Professor Byberg and one of the DJs was Professor Abrahamsson.

Approximately 10.000 Danish Crowns were raised at this occasion.