Tibetan Art - Tibet - page 589

years that remaining artists have again been able to return to their work and start to train
young Tibetans in skills that faced the threat of extinction. New but traditional handicraft
workshops are popping up all the time in Lhasa's old town.
Dance & Drama
Anyone who is lucky enough to attend a Tibetan festival should have the opportunity to
see performances of cham, a ritual masked dance performed over several days by monks
and lamas. Although every movement and gesture of cham has significance, it is no doubt
the spectacle of the colourful masked dancers that awes the average pilgrim.
Cham is all about the suppression of malevolent spirits and is a clear throwback to the
pre-Buddhist Bön faith. The chief officiant is an unmasked Black Hat lama who is sur-
rounded by a mandalic grouping of masked monks representing manifestations of various
protective deities. The act of exorcism - it might be considered as such - is focused on a
human effigy made of dough or perhaps wax or paper, through which the evil spirits are
channelled.
The proceedings of cham can be interpreted on a number of levels. The Black Hat lama
is sometimes identified with the monk who slew Langdharma, the anti-Buddhist king of
the Yarlung era, and the dance is seen as echoing the suppression of malevolent forces in-
imical to the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. Some anthropologists, on the other hand,
have also seen in cham a metaphor for the gradual conquering of the ego, which is the ulti-
mate aim of Buddhism. The ultimate destruction of the effigy that ends the dance might
represent the destruction of the ego itself. Whatever the case, cham is a splendid, dramatic
performance that marks the cultural highlight of the year for most Tibetans.
Lhamo Opera
Lighter forms of entertainment usually accompany performances of cham . Lhamo, not to
be confused with cham, is Tibetan opera. A largely secular art form, it portrays the heroics
of kings and the villainy of demons, and recounts events in the lives of historical figures.
Lhamo was developed in the 14th century by Tangtong Gyelpo, known as Tibet's
Leonardo da Vinci because he was also an engineer, a major bridge builder and a physi-
cian. Authentic performances still include a statue of Tangtong on the otherwise bare
stage. After the stage has been purified, the narrator gives a plot summary in verse and the
performers enter, each with his or her distinct step and dressed in the bright and colourful
silks of the aristocracy.