{"product_id":"the-sonam-mala","title":"The Sönam Mala","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOne hundred eight second chances, restrung.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne hundred eight beads, gathered one at a time from broken Tibetan malas: dzi-style etched rounds, cold iron, and yak bone, each bead an orphan that did its first mala's full term. A yak-bone (牦牛骨, \u003cem\u003emao niu gu\u003c\/em\u003e) Guru bead anchors the strand. Below it hangs a disc cut from banded agate, one great eye looking back at you. Two counters end in repoussé drops. One pearl carries a hand-set inlay. Restrung by hand in our workshop. The beads are old. The mala is new. See Dzi Beads for the etched rounds, \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/knowledge-base\/tibetan-iron-beads\"\u003eTibetan Iron Beads\u003c\/a\u003e for the iron, \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/knowledge-base\/yak-bone-horn\"\u003eYak Bone \u0026amp; Horn\u003c\/a\u003e for the bone, and \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/knowledge-base\/malas-101\"\u003eMalas 101\u003c\/a\u003e for the count.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeaning:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sönam (བསོད་ནམས་, \u003cem\u003ebsod nams\u003c\/em\u003e) is merit: what accumulates when practice outlasts the practitioner. Tradition holds a mala remembers its count, and these beads have been counted over before. Whatever their first owners prayed for, the beads kept the habit. Now they count for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eScent:\u003c\/strong\u003e Dry and soft. Old bone, handled iron, a trace of oil from hands long gone. Faint, and honest about it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFeel:\u003c\/strong\u003e The strand moves like a river at different temperatures: iron runs cold, bone runs warm, the etched rounds sit somewhere in between. The beads are small, so the mala drapes rather than hangs. The eye disc rests at the sternum like a full stop, and the repoussé drops swing light against the wrist when the strand is doubled.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpecifications:\u003c\/strong\u003e\nPieces: 108 beads (dzi-style etched, iron, yak bone), yak-bone Guru bead, banded-agate eye disc, 2 counters ending in repoussé drops, 1 inlaid pearl\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCare:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mixed materials, one rule: keep it dry. No soaking. Wipe with a dry cloth. A light coat of mineral oil on the iron beads now and then, cast-iron-pan logic. The bone wants your hand oils and nothing bottled. Store in a pouch apart from harder stones.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOn sourcing:\u003c\/strong\u003e Made in our workshop from authentic orphan beads of broken Tibetan malas. We make no age claim for the strand as a whole; each bead carries its own history, and we think that is better.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"ValhallaVillage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49573355094326,"sku":"","price":385.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0851\/8516\/7670\/files\/The_Sonam_Mala.jpg?v=1792454641","url":"https:\/\/valhallavillage.myshopify.com\/products\/the-sonam-mala","provider":"ValhallaVillage","version":"1.0","type":"link"}