Qiangmu
01 · Historical Records
The Nun Cham is the branch of Tibetan monastery cham that is performed by nuns; its origins are bound up with the founding of the monastery and with the esoteric practice rituals within it, and its performance carries the meanings of blessing, the exorcism of the monastery and the round-light divination rite. According to the transmission lineage recorded within the monastery, the Nun Cham of Jiangluodeqing Qulin Monastery has been taught by the eminent lamas of the monastery from one generation to the next and has continued to the present through master-apprentice transmission; the performance lasts only one day.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Nun Cham of Jiangluodeqing Qulin Monastery is mainly transmitted in the territory of Nianmu Township, about 100 kilometres east of Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region. The Nun Cham refers to a religious dance performed to the accompaniment of drums and music. Its performers are above all the nuns of the monastery; the performance carries the meanings of blessing, the exorcism of the monastery, the round-light divination rite and the like, and lasts only one day. In the performance every programme comes on in six groups, with 24 performers in all; each group numbers 4 to 16 people, and there are six performance segments in all. The Nun Cham of Jiangluodeqing Qulin Monastery has a performance style quite distinctive of its own, and its performers must master the three arts of "gar, ti, yang", that is, dance, painting and music, set out in the "Qiangmu Yi" (dance manual). "Dance" means wearing dance costumes and masks and dancing the cham; "painting" means painting the ritual mandala; "music" requires intoning the music and chanting the sutras. "Dance" requires the dancers to perform vividly, with a lifelike and true-to-life image; "painting" requires the dancers to deploy the dance ground accurately and without error; "music" requires the intoning and chanting of the dancers to be devout and resonant. The Nun Cham of Jiangluodeqing Qulin Monastery may be performed only within the monastery, at designated times, by designated nuns of the monastery; it may not be taught at will to other people. The Nun Cham of Jiangluodeqing Qulin Monastery has the style of a pantomime. During the performance the nuns who take part wear special costumes. The instruments used in the performance both retain the ritual implements of the ancient Bon cham and absorb the wind and percussion instruments of Tibetan Buddhist cham, bringing together the music and the instruments of the Buddhist monastery; its form of performance has a relatively standardized structure and musical form, and the modes, melodies, rhythms and tempos of each segment have their own corresponding prescriptions. This heritage project takes varied performance forms and displays the artistic charm of Tibetan dance; the auspicious meanings of blessing and good fortune that it carries play an indisputable role in strengthening ethnic cultural identity and promoting social harmony.
Six scenes and fixed group entrances
Each item enters in six groups of four to sixteen, with twenty-four performers in all across six scenes.
The three arts of the chamyik manual
Performers must master the chamyik's three arts of dance, mandala drawing and chant, each held to its own standard of vividness, precision and devotion.
A nun-performed, pantomimic cham
Performed by nuns to drum and cymbal in pantomime style, it may only be shown inside the monastery, at set times, by designated nuns.
Bon implements and Buddhist instruments
The instruments retain ancient Bon ritual implements while absorbing Buddhist wind and percussion, with fixed modes, melodies, rhythms and tempi for each scene.
Tseyang's lineage and teaching
The fifth-batch national inheritor Tseyang, born in 1975, learned from the monastery's senior monks from age ten and has since taken thirty disciples.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Nun Cham of Jiangluodeqing Qulin Monastery is transmitted in the area of Nianmu Township in the Sangzhuzê District of Shigatse City, and is confined to performance by the nuns within the monastery; it belongs to a different transmission lineage from the monk chams and the lay people's chams. Its performers are above all nuns, its performance takes as its standard the three arts of dance, painting and music prescribed by the "Qiangmu Yi" (dance manual), and its six performance segments each have a fixed order of entrance by group; it therefore stands apart as a form of its own among Tibetan chams.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Shigatse Zhashenlunbusiqiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu · Qiangmu.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
This heritage project has developed to the present mainly through master-apprentice transmission. The excavation and protection of the Nun Cham of Jiangluodeqing Qulin Monastery are conducive to promoting the dissemination and flourishing of traditional Tibetan dance. Ciyang (record from the official inheritor file): Female, Tibetan, born January 1975, native of Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region. From the age of 10 she learned the performance of cham at the side of an eminent lama of Jiangluo Monastery; she is well versed in Tibetan history and in the esoteric doctrine of Tibetan Buddhism, her skill is outstanding and her performance distinctive, and she won the favour of her teacher. Decades of honing formed a unique style of religious art performance, and by virtue of her own wisdom and her superb performing skill she won unanimous praise from the monastery and from the local people. Over many years she has worked to promote and develop religious art and the unique skills of the Nun Cham. Representative inheritor of cham (Nun Cham of Jiangluodeqing Qulin Monastery) among the fifth batch of national-level intangible cultural heritage projects. Since being designated an inheritor of the Nun Cham of that monastery, she has taken thirty apprentices.
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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