The Pareli known in scholarly literature also as “Parheli” are among the most extraordinary forms of sacred oral literature in the Himalayan world. The Pareli must be understood as an expression of deities who have embodied themselves in a Dhami; they are recited in the first person, making the Pareli the mouthpiece of the oracular religion and authentic sources for the mythology of the twelve Masta brothers. Each Pareli traces a deity’s journey from its origin to its principal shrine, narrating miraculous events, encounters with other gods, battles with demons, and the establishment of devotional relationships with human communities. The Parelis are, in essence, the gods’ own autobiographies.

Masta culture stories carry local history, which is like a biography of the deity. These stories describe many events and miracles the god performs the destruction of demons, wandering, and traveling from one place to another and many are set against the backdrop of agriculture and shepherd life. Because Parelis are recited only during Dhamelo possession ceremonies, they exist in a highly specialized ritual context heard only when a Dhami is in trance, chanted in an archaic dialect that even many devoted followers cannot fully understand without interpretation. This makes their documentation both urgent and technically demanding. The Foundation deploys bilingual researchers, linguists, and audio engineers to capture these recitations at full length, without interruption.

The Complete Pareli Documentation project aims to record every known Pareli across all recognized Masta shrines in Karnali and Far-Western Nepal. Each recording is transcribed, translated into modern Nepali and English, annotated with cultural and geographical context, and archived in both the Foundation’s digital repository and Nepal’s National Archives. Scholars note that the Pareli’s meaning, though often obscured by its mantra-like character and sketchy style, contains coherent narrative logic traceable across different recitations and locations. Our project will produce the first comprehensive comparative study of Parelis, giving researchers, devotees, and future generations an unprecedented window into the inner world of Masta mythology.