White Copper Tibetan Figure DIY Side Charm

A side-hang is a small pendant hung beside the guru bead on a Tibetan mala. It swings with the body as you walk, and it does two jobs: it weights the center of gravity of the whole string so the guru bead doesn't tip to one side, and it gives the owner a marker. What hangs on a string is something the wearer knows. The hole is usually a little below the guru bead; thread the cord through, tie a snake knot, and the pendant won't ride up.

The six figures are easy to tell apart by type. Green Tara belongs to the compassionate line; Padmasambhava is the Tibetan founder; Palden Lhamo is a protector, and her face is the fiercest. Black Jambhala, White Jambhala and Zakhirelmo all fall among the wealth deities: the first two are two of the five Jambhalas, and the last is a local deity of the Lhasa region. Of the six, only Zakhirelmo is female, and her face is the least like a wealth deity's. That contrast is what people ask about.

The small size goes on a wrist mala, the large on a long string or a bag. Proportion matters more than size: fine beads take a small pendant, thick beads a large one. The other way round and it is top-heavy. Figures are harder than patterns, because faces and hands blur most easily. Set all six out together and look at the face first, then the folds of the robe. The small size is light and won't pull at the string; the large one has weight, and only steadies itself against old beads. Pick up both sizes and compare them in the hand.

On a cast white-copper figure the features are finished afterward. Finished well, the brows and eyes are alive; finished badly, it is a flat face with two holes dug into it. Before buying, take the pendant to a window and look at the turn of the nose bridge and the chin in raking light; you can see how far the finishing goes. The back is flat, with a single small hole. White copper melts high and shrinks less than brass in the sand cast, so detail holds. That is where its extra cost over brass comes from.

Of the six, Zakhirelmo and Palden Lhamo have the fiercest faces, so think about who you are giving one to; Green Tara and Padmasambhava are the hardest to get wrong. Some people buy all six at once and string them on one long mala, which is closer to collecting than to wearing. I say so in advance, so nobody gets home and finds they don't fit. Decide before you buy which string it goes on. A guru bead has three holes; the side-hang goes on the side hole. Hang it on the main cord and it blocks the beads.