#'chams

As promised... I am looking at Tibetan dances now. I found a really useful book by the very great René de Nebesky-Wojkowitz (the author of Oracles and Demons.)

De Nebesky-Wojkowitz, René. Tibetan Religious Dances: Tibetan text and annotated translation of the ‘chams yig. (The Hague: Mouton, 1976)

The first thing that I noted is, ‘cham is not a particular dance, but a word for all Tibetan religious dances. So there are lots of ‘chams happening at different times of the Tibetan year. The ‘chams usually last one or two days, and are normally held during the day. Regarding the location, “the ‘chams is notmally held in the courtyard of a lamasery or on a piece of flat ground in front of a temple.” (66)

There are many details of different types of dances, the book even includes a translation for the ‘chams yig, the Tibetan texts regarding ‘chams. (I can’t help but appreciate the efforts the author made in unveiling Tibetan culture)

I read some descriptions of the ceremonies, but I feel like they are far too complicated to be included in the podcast. However, there are a few relevant and interesting points that I noted.

“The ‘chams are a mixture of original Tibetan religious customs with the spiritual concepts and practices of Indian Tantrism.” (65)

Unlike my previous understanding that some priests simply dance in the ‘chams, there are in fact, various types of dancers with distinct functions. For example, the Black Hats which represent priests of the old Tibetan Bon faith; the sword dancers (warriors) that destroy and drive away evil forces lingering in the place and cleanse ritually the ground for the chief deities who afterwards enter the scene, the skeleton-dancers (which is related to the Skeleton dance that I read about before), the jokers that entertain the spectators by means like mimicking the dancers that personify the highest-ranking deities, and most important of all, dancers representing a deity of higher rank. These dancers that are involved in personification of a deity sometimes wear bone ornaments, and their costumes are similar to Tibetan oracle priests, which personify a deity as well.

Higher-ranking lamas are responsible for personifying the chief divinities of the dance, while some other roles like warriors and jokers can be played by laymen.

For the costumes of dancers personifying a deity, they wear a huge mask carved of wood with a diadem bearing a fixed number of miniature human skulls, gown with long, broad sleeves, as usual with the costumes of Chinese actors, and a poncho-like tippet. They will hold weapons and objects that are related to the respective deities in their hands. They wear high boots siimlar to those worn normally by lamas which are to be tied under the knee by a broad ribbon. Sometimes they wear a breast ornament, and the six bone ornaments. 

Here is what I learn from the exhaustive reading - when you don’t understand something... don’t hesitate and read! The book actually solves many of my question and confusion before. For example, I was confused when Eliade said the Tibetan dance was called acham. Now after I read this, I think Eliade and Nebesky-Wojkowitz and other writers are all referring to the same Tibetan name of dance, just that they write it in different ways (cham, ‘cham, acham). Also, the skeleton dance that Eliade mentioned in Shamanism is one of the Tibetan religious dances. And obviously, the skeleton costume described by her is only the costume of one type of dancers. While other dancers may have other costumes.

For the deities that appear in the dances, yidams (the meditational deity) rarely appears in the ‘chams due to the high rank they occupy. While the majority of gods and goddesses appearing in the ‘chams belong to the group of the dharmapālas (wrathful deities) with gods and goddesses of higher rank who stand outside the worldly sphere including Mahākāla, Vaiśravana, Yama and the war God lCam sring.

And here comes the most intriguing part, which is related to the significance of the dance. (As most of the contents in the book is descriptive in nature, describing the rituals, costumes etc. So I get really excited when I see something different)

Before the dance, the lamas need to have meditation so as not to lose the deep spiritual meaning of the ‘chams dance and to attain the proper state of mind for the religious dances. After concluding the dance they need to enter into meditation once more. The most essential part of the meditation is the identification of the dancer with the deity he has to represent in the ‘chams. This action is an essential part of all Tantric ceremonies. The dancer while meditating has to attain the understanding of the principles “clearness”, “emptiness” and “nonattachment”. He further has to assume the mood which the deity he represents is supposed to possess. For example, when personifying the warthful Heruka, the dancers have to assume a ferocious disposition, and they should express in their demeanor “divine pride”. (100-101)

This section is actually similar to what I have been reading, that the Tibetan Buddhist practice aims to make lamas meditate and identify oneself completely with the deity (bone ornaments is used for achieving the personification). Through this process, one needs to empty and clear their mind completely, attaining non-attachment, hence reaching enlightenment. I think this is the main purpose of the religious dances. And the idea of identifying oneself with the deity, of imagining and mimicking the mood and thoughts of the deity is really intriguing to me.

As mentioned above, all the details related to ‘chams are simply too complicated and lengthy to be put into the podcast. By reviewing the research that I did on ‘chams, I think I may introduce very briefly what is ‘chams and types of dancers involved. Then I will focus on the “personification of deity” part, how is it achieved with the use of bone ornaments and other elements, what deities are being portrayed, and its religious significance.