Tibetan Sacred Dance : A Journey Into the Religious and Folk Traditions

The first book to explore the significance and symbolism of the sacred and secular ritual dances of Tibetan Buddhism. • Lavishly illustrated with color and rare historic photographs depicting the dances, costumes, and masks. • Looks at both sacred (cham) and folk (achi lhamo) forms and their role in the development, practice, and culture of Tibetan Buddhism. From the time Buddhism entered the mythical land of the snows, Tibetans have expressed their spiritual devotion and celebrated their culture with dance. Only since the diaspora of the Tibetan people have outsiders witnessed these performances, and when they do, no one explains why these dances exist and what they really mean. Ellen Pearlman, who studied with Lobsang Samten, the ritual dance master of the Dalai Lama's Namgyal monastery in India, set out to discover the meaning behind these practices. She found the story of the indigenous shamanistic Bon religion being superseded by Buddhism—a story full of dangerous and illicit liaisons, brilliant visions, secret teachings, betrayals, and unrevealed yogic practices. Pearlman examines the four lineages that developed sacred cham —the secret ritual dances of Tibet's Buddhist monks—and achi lhamo storytelling folk dance and opera. She describes the mental and physical process of preparing for these dances, the meaning of the iconography of the costumes and masks, the spectrum of accompanying music, and the actual dance steps as recorded in a choreography book dating back to the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1647. Beautiful color photographs from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts and Pearlman's own images of touring monastic troupes complement the rare historic black-and-white photos from the collections of Sir Charles Bell, chief of the British Mission in Tibet during the life of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The first book to explore the significance and symbolism of the sacred and secular ritual dances of Tibetan Buddhism. Lavishly illustrated with color and rare historic photographs depicting the dances, costumes, and masks. Looks at both sacred (cham) and folk (achi lhamo) forms and their role in the development, practice, and culture of Tibetan Buddhism. From the time Buddhism entered the mythical land of the snows, Tibetans have expressed their spiritual devotion and celebrated their culture with dance. Only since the diaspora of the Tibetan people have outsiders witnessed these performances, and when they do, no one explains why these dances exist and what they really mean. Ellen Pearlman, who studied with Lobsang Samten, the ritual dance master of the Dalai Lama's Namgyal monastery in India, set out to discover the meaning behind these practices. She found the story of the indigenous shamanistic Bon religion being superseded by Buddhism--a story full of dangerous and illicit liaisons, brilliant visions, secret teachings, betrayals, and unrevealed yogic practices. Pearlman examines the four lineages that developed sacred cham --the secret ritual dances of Tibet's Buddhist monks--and achi lhamo storytelling folk dance and opera. She describes the mental and physical process of preparing for these dances, the meaning of the iconography of the costumes and masks, the spectrum of accompanying music, and the actual dance steps as recorded in a choreography book dating back to the Fifth Dalai Lama in 1647. Beautiful color photographs from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts and Pearlman's own images of touring monastic troupes complement the rare historic black-and-white photos from the collections of Sir Charles Bell, chief of the British Mission in Tibet during the life of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. Acknowledgments......Page 7 Contents......Page 8 Prologue......Page 11 1. Cham: Sacred Monastic Dance......Page 17 Entering the World of Cham......Page 23 Vajrakilaya, the Dance of the Three-Sided Ritual Dagger......Page 27 Cham and the Development of Tibetan Religion......Page 38 Skeleton Dance......Page 45 Deer Dance......Page 48 Black Hat Dance......Page 51 Old White Man from Mangolia......Page 54 Mongolian and Other Chams......Page 56 Kalachakra, the Wheel of Time......Page 58 Cham Gar......Page 64 Preparation and Initiation......Page 65 Three Main Phases of Cham Performance......Page 67 Mandala and Mantra......Page 70 Dance Steps and Mudras......Page 73 Costumes......Page 79 Masks......Page 84 Characters......Page 87 Music......Page 94 Musical Instruments......Page 100 Festivals......Page 107 Purpose and Interpretation......Page 110 2. Achi Lhamo: Folk Dance and Operatic Traditions......Page 119 Early Origins......Page 124 Thangtong Gyalpo......Page 125 Development of Achi Lhamo......Page 129 Major Operas......Page 130 Drowa Sangmo......Page 133 Gyalsa Bhelsa......Page 135 King Gesar of Ling......Page 136 Pema Woebar......Page 141 Rechung U Pheb (Rechung's Travels to Central Tibet with Milarepa)......Page 145 Sukyi Nyima......Page 146 Thepa Tenpa......Page 149 Nangsa Woebum (Obum)......Page 150 Phases of Achi Lhamo Performance......Page 153 Types of Performers......Page 158 Singing......Page 159 Music and Instruments......Page 164 Folk Dance Styles......Page 168 Lhamo Gar......Page 173 Opera Seasons......Page 176 Epilogue......Page 183 The Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts......Page 184 New Forms......Page 188 Cham Today......Page 190 Notes......Page 193 Bibliography......Page 195 Index......Page 200 "The Himalayan kingdom of Nepal may be the only culture in the world where both shamanic and tantric techniques are still alive and in full practice today. The result of eighteen years of field research, Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas presents for the first time a comprehensive overview of shamanism that is based on the knowledge and experience of the different tribes from that region. Included are original statements from the various ethnic groups and 135 color thangkas, which act as visual guides to the specific practices of the tantric tradition. In addition to the thangkas, the book is lavishly illustrated with numerous photos of different shamanic healing ceremonies, ritual objects, and culturally significant plants that have never been published before. The book also contains a wealth of original recipes, smoking mixtures, scientific tables, charts, and descriptions of more than 20 plants whose psychoactive properties and uses by shamans have never before been researched or documented."--Publisher's description Each year-on the twenty-ninth day of the twefth month of the Tibetan calendar-at Namgyal College in Dharamsala, a small procession of ritual masters, horn blowers, cymbal players, drummers, and a master of ceremonies walk under a canopy through the courtyard. Explores the significance and symbolism of the sacred and secular ritual dances of Tibetan Buddhism, with lavish color and rare historic photographs depicting the dances, costumes, and masks. Original.