The Heart of Helambu Browse Inside

For Instructors

The Heart of Helambu: Ethnography and Entanglement in Nepal

By Tom O’Neill

© 2016

Over the course of the last twenty-five years, Tom O’Neill has traveled frequently to Kathmandu and the Helambu region of Nepal to undertake ethnographic fieldwork with the Yolmo business owners and carpet weavers of the area. The Heart of Helambu is an evocative and touching account of his experiences working in Nepal during those turbulent times.

In his autoethnographic memoir, O’Neill reflects on the complex relationships he developed with his research participants: the carpet weavers, their families, and others in the communities which he studied. A compelling account of ethnographic fieldwork’s personal dimension and the ethical and emotional challenges that come with maintaining relationships across substantial social distances, The Heart of Helambu illustrates an important aspect of anthropological research through O’Neill’s engaging story.

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Product Details

  • Series: Anthropological Horizons
  • Division: Scholarly Publishing
  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 184 pages
  • Illustrations: 10
  • Dimensions: 6.0in x 0.4in x 9.0in
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SKU# SP004404

  • PUBLISHED APR 2016

    From: $17.21

    Regular Price: $22.95

    ISBN 9781487520236
  • PUBLISHED APR 2016

    From: $41.25

    Regular Price: $55.00

    ISBN 9781487500351
  • PUBLISHED MAY 2016

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    Regular Price: $22.95

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Quick Overview

The Heart of Helambu is an evocative and touching account of Tom O’Neill's experiences undertaking ethnographic fieldwork in Kathmandu and the Helambu region of Nepal.

The Heart of Helambu: Ethnography and Entanglement in Nepal

By Tom O’Neill

© 2016

Over the course of the last twenty-five years, Tom O’Neill has traveled frequently to Kathmandu and the Helambu region of Nepal to undertake ethnographic fieldwork with the Yolmo business owners and carpet weavers of the area. The Heart of Helambu is an evocative and touching account of his experiences working in Nepal during those turbulent times.

In his autoethnographic memoir, O’Neill reflects on the complex relationships he developed with his research participants: the carpet weavers, their families, and others in the communities which he studied. A compelling account of ethnographic fieldwork’s personal dimension and the ethical and emotional challenges that come with maintaining relationships across substantial social distances, The Heart of Helambu illustrates an important aspect of anthropological research through O’Neill’s engaging story.

Continue Reading Read Less

Product Details

  • Series: Anthropological Horizons
  • Division: Scholarly Publishing
  • World Rights
  • Page Count: 184 pages
  • Illustrations: 10
  • Dimensions: 6.0in x 0.4in x 9.0in

  • Reviews

    "The Heart of Helambu offers an informed and thoughtful voice in autoethnographic literature. The author has created a significant contribution to anthropological literature by utilizing advanced, state-of-the-art research."


    Robert Desjarlais, Department of Anthropology, Sarah Lawrence College

    "Tom O’Neill’s The Heart of Helambu nicely captures lived experiences of social change, migration and globalization in Nepal."


    Sienna Craig, Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College

  • Author Information

    Tom O’Neill is an associate professor in the Department of Child and Youth Studies at Brock University.

  • Table of contents

    Chapter One: Solidarity, in Little Pieces

    Chapter Two: They Kill Animals Only for the Gods

    Chapter Three: A Map of Boudhanath

    Chapter Four: You Should Not Be too Big a Person

    Chapter Five: A Modest Chöten

    Chapter Six: Diverging Paths

    Chapter Seven: A Family Problem

    Chapter Eight: Narayanhiti

    Selected Glossary of Nepali and Tibetan Terms

By the Same Author(s)