Tsam Dance at Amarbayasgalant Monastery
 Tsam
dances, or Cham in Tibetan, are
truly awe-inspiring events. They simply have to be witnessed
to be fully appreciated, as the experience during their
presentation and afterward is difficult to put into words.
They possess many levels of meaning and perform a variety
of different functions. They are arts and crafts following
their own styles and codes of action. They are "mystery
plays" teaching profound Buddhist instructions on philosophy,
meditation and ethics in a very direct way, through prayer,
song and dance. Many people whatever their background can
appreciate and appropriate this content in a non-intellectual
fashion.
Tsam dances are spectacles
of sublime and mesmerizing beauty, of colour, motion and
sound that serve as public performances as well as divine
offerings. Tsam dancers meditate, pray and softly chant
while performing. Their dancing is a "meditation in action,"
creating a sacred space with a particular felt mood or vibration,
and is also an active prayer with a particular target. Tsam
can also be seen as a "shamanic" kind of exorcism or purification
of a given place or time – or better, a Buddhist "blessing"
or energizing-event designed to uplift and make virtuous
the audience's mind. Tsam dancers are seen to embody or
"channel" the Divine beings – their created space is
that of a Deity's presence in its own transcendent palace
and grounds.
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Mongolia's rich tradition
of Tsam dances not only rivaled those performed in Tibet
but may have in fact surpassed them in splendour, elegance
and size. The Tsam costumes and masks seen in Ulaan Bataar's
museums are absolutely breathtaking. His.Holiness the 8th
Jetsun Dampa would often oversee an enormous Tsam dance
performed for New Year celebrations that would count thousands
of participants and would culminate with a carnavalesque
parade through downtown Ulaan Bataar, highlighted by an
Indian elephant pulling Buddha Maitreya's divine carriage.
The Tsam was banned during
the grey, ugly tyranny of Soviet Communism but the costumes
and masks were spared the kind of destruction meted out
to the arts in Tibet during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
Almost forgotten, the art has arisen to some of its former
glory. Amarbayasgalant Monastery was once again able to
perform its famous Tsam in 2002, the dance of "Dharmaraja"
or Kalarupa, Lord of Death, King of the Dharma. Kalarupa
is a protector of divinity and an incarnation of the Buddha
of Wisdom. This dance is a great blessing and purification
– a true sight to behold. Below are some clips taken
from a recording of this historic event, along with some
early footage of Tsam dances.
- Tsam Clip
1 (6.9 MB)
The footage seen here of traditional
Tsam being performed in Mongolia, probably at Gaden Monastery
in Ulaan Bataar in the 1920s, shows how large a performance
can be with many dancers and members of the monastic community
and public in attendance. Notice at the beginning of the
clip, in the opening shots of the monastery, the various
ground markings. It is these that give the dance its ceremonial
layout.
- Tsam Clip
2 (11.7 MB)
This clip, with footage again taken
from the old film, shows pictures of Tsam dancers, in
almost frightening "shamanic" attire. The central figure
seen here is the longevity deity, "The Old White Man".
- Tsam Clip
3 (8.8 MB)
In this
piece, we see the costumes and masks of the Amarbayasgalant
Tsam. There are the Buddhist deities White Mahakala and
Vaishravana: Deities of longevity and protection and prosperity
and good fortune respectively. The two Protector Divinities,
black Mahakala and the coral-faced Begse, who is the Patron
Protector of Mongolia, also appear. The clip ends with
a beautiful view of Kalarupa spinning in dance. Notice
the craftsmanship of his costume.
- Tsam Clip
4 (5.2 MB)
This clip shows dancers performing
the "Black Hat" dance so famously performed by the Tibetan
Kagyu lineages. An "exorcising" style, the Black Hat dancers
look akin to wizards. They are coming out of Amarbayasgalant's
main gate. The Kinkara Couple or the "Lord and Lady of
the Cemetaries" flank them.
- Tsam Clip
5 (5.9 MB)
This clip is very
interesting. It marks the end of the ceremony in a dramatic
fashion. As a rite of purification, dancers and their
audience are invited to meditate and project all their
negavities, sufferings, delusions, obstructions and obscurations
upon a ritual cake. This cake, full of symbolic negativity
and metaphoric poison, is then burned. All present are
to feel free and cured of such afflictions.
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