Tibetan Sacred Dance: A Journey Into the Religious and Folk TraditionsThe 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 She found the story of the indigenous shamanistic Bon religion being superseded by Buddhism--a story full of dangerous and illicit liaisons, brilliant visions, secret teachings, betrayals, and unrevealed yogic practices.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. |
Contents
PROLOGUE | |
ENTERING THE WORLD OF CHAM | 11 |
VAJRAKILAYA THE DANCE OF THE THREESIDED RITUAL DAGGER | 15 |
CHAM AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TIBETAN RELIGION | 26 |
SKELETON DANCE | 33 |
DEER DANCE | 36 |
OLD WHITE MAN FROM MONGOLIA | 42 |
MONGOLIAN AND OTHER CHAMS | 44 |
MAJOR OPERAS | 118 |
DROWA SANGMO | 123 |
GYALSA BHELSA | 125 |
KING GESAR OF LING | 126 |
PEMA WOEBAR | 131 |
RECHUNG UPHEB RECHUNGS TRAVELS TO CENTRAL TIBET WITH MILAREPA | 135 |
SUKYINYIMA | 136 |
THE PA TEN PA | 139 |
KALACHAKRA THE WHEEL OF TIME | 46 |
CHAM GAR | 52 |
PREPARATION AND INITIATION | 53 |
THREE MAIN PHASES OF CHAM PERFORMANCE | 55 |
MANDALA AND MANTRA | 58 |
DANCE STEPS AND MUDRAS | 61 |
COSTUMES | 67 |
MASKS | 72 |
CHARACTERS | 75 |
MUSIC | 82 |
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS | 88 |
FESTIVALS | 95 |
PURPOSE AND INTERPRETATION | 98 |
ACHI LHAMO Folk Dance and Operatic Traditions | 107 |
EARLY ORIGINS | 112 |
THANGTONG GYALPO | 113 |
DEVELOPMENT OF ACHI LHAMO | 117 |
Other editions - View all
Tibetan Sacred Dance: A Journey into the Religious and Folk Traditions Ellen Pearlman Limited preview - 2002 |
Tibetan Sacred Dance: A Journey into the Religious and Folk Traditions Ellen Pearlman No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
Achi Lhamo atsaras Bhutan Black Hat dance Buddha Buddhism called Central Tibet ceremony Chaksampa Cham dance CHAM DANCERS chanting China Chinese consorts costumes culture cymbals dakini Deer deity demon Dharamsala dharma Dhondup Dhonyo Dorje Drepung drum Fifth Dalai Lama Gesar Gyatso Holiness India INITIATION Institute of Performing Journey Kagyu Kalachakra kill King Trisong Deutsen Lama's LHAMO PERFORMANCE Lhasa lineage Lobsang magic mandala mantra masambhava masks meditation Milarepa monastic Mongolia monks mudras musicians NAMGYAL MONASTERY Nangsa Nyingma opera OPPOSITE Padmasambhava palace Pelgyi Pema Woebar Performing Arts play practice princess protectors purba Rene de Nebesky-Wojkowitz represents Rigngen Bhumo ritual RUMTEK MONASTERY Sakya Samye secret shamans Shantarakshita Shoton Festival singing Skeleton dances skulls Snow Lion songs Songtsen Gampo spirits story Sukyi Nyima symbolic tantric Tashi teachings Thangtong Gyalpo Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan dance Tibetan Institute Tibetan Religious Dances tion TIPA torma tradition troupe Vajra Vajrakilaya wear wrathful Yama Yeshe Tsogyel yidam YORK CITY