Qiangmu
01 · Historical Records
From then on, cham was handed down to Drikung Tethil Monastery, and after repeated revision and development by eminent Drikung lamas through the generations it gradually became perfect and became the Gar Cham of that monastery. Drikung Tethil Monastery lies within Mozhokamka County of Lhasa City; it is the ancestral monastery of the Drigung Kagyu school, and the Gar Cham took root here together with the founding of the monastery and the transmission of its lineage. According to the transmission records of the monastery, during the time of the ninth incarnation and twenty-eighth generation tulku of Drikung Tethil Monastery, Dorje Gyelpo (1284-1350), the great practitioner Drakpa Gyeltsen first danced the sacrificial dance of the "Four-Armed Protector Deity" in the Xiukuer area of Drikung; from then on cham was handed down to Drikung Tethil Monastery, and after repeated revision and development by eminent Drikung lamas through the generations it gradually became perfect and became the Gar Cham of that monastery.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Drikung Gar Cham is the religious dance of Drikung Tethil Monastery, located in Mozhokamka County. "Gar" means song and dance, or "music and dance". During the time of the ninth incarnation and twenty-eighth generation tulku of Drikung Tethil Monastery, Dorje Gyelpo (1284-1350), the great practitioner Drakpa Gyeltsen first danced the sacrificial dance of the "Four-Armed Protector Deity" in the Xiukuer area of Drikung. Gar Cham has a strict set of dance movements and accompanying music, as well as strict performance procedures; as a religious dance, it carries rich cultural connotations. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Drikung Gar Cham was restored. With strong support from the government, Drikung Tethil Monastery raised funds on its own, engaged elderly lamas familiar with Gar Cham to restore the performance, passed the skills on to young novice monks, and collected and collated a large amount of material on Drikung Gar Cham, organizing experts and scholars to carry out research. As a religious dance, Gar Cham has a strict set of dance movements and accompanying music and strict performance procedures; masks, costumes, props and instruments must all be coordinated in accordance with the procedure. It is inseparable from the monks' daily scripture chanting and Dharma assemblies, is performed only at the festivals prescribed by the monastery, and carries rich religious and cultural connotations.
The first Four-armed Protector dance
In the time of the ninth incarnation, the yogin Drakpa Gyaltsen first danced the Four-armed Protector rite at Drigung, marking the origin of the cham there.
The gar dance-and-music form
Gar means song-dance; the Drigung gar cham has a strict set of movements, accompaniment and performance sequence.
Revival by the elder monks
After 1978 the monastery raised funds to bring back the elder monks who knew the cham and to teach it to a younger generation.
Documentation and research
The monastery gathered extensive documentation on the cham and invited scholars to study it, supporting research into Tibetan religious dance history.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Drikung Gar Cham takes Drikung Tethil Monastery in Mozhokamka County as its only centre of transmission. It is the monastery music and dance of the Drigung Kagyu school, and can be distinguished from the A Cham of Gongga Qude Monastery of the Sakya school, the Samye Monastery cham of the Ningma school and the lay people's cham of Lakang town of the Kagyu school in terms of sectarian lineage, repertoire structure and mask forms; it is an important case of the monastery branch among Tibetan chams.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Shigatse Zhashenlunbusiqiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
During the Cultural Revolution, the transmission of Drikung Gar Cham was obstructed. In recent years the elderly lamas who knew this cham have died one after another, some unique skills are difficult to transmit, and the young lamas have not yet reached the former standard in technique. As a microcosm of Tibetan religious dance, rescuing and protecting Drikung Gar Cham will play a certain promoting role in enriching and perfecting the study of the dance history of Tibet and of China.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Lama Ciren 02-0377
- Lama Mima 02-0378
- Baimaqunjiu 04-1565
- Tudanqunpei 04-1566
- Zhaxi 05-2232
- Ciyang 05-2233
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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