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Since the time of indigenous pre-Buddhist animistic/shamanistic practices and beliefs, mediumship has been widespread and influential in Himalayan countries. The present paper will investigate what becomes of the usual identity of the medium during the trance period. This question is particularly vexing in the context of the unique blend of scholastic and tantric Buddhism that dominates the Tibetan cultural region. We will endeavor to analyze the temporary displacement of the oracle's identity by utilizing such traditional concepts as the standard Buddhist critique of person (skandhas), and the philosophical concept of emptiness (śūnyatā) and selflessness (anātman). To try to raise a possible answer to this question we will primarily focus on the Nechung Oracle, the State Oracle of Tibet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]