Tantric Dance - Filming the Great Drikung Cham Festival at Lamayuru
Lamayuru Gompa, site of the Great Dance Festival ~ photo nathan whitmont
“The play of meaningful musical dances leads to knowledge.
For various people who are introduced to the mandala deities;
for beginners on the Path and for those excellent ones who have attained already higher realization,
the dance is the summit of exercising skill and ascension on the Path.”
- from “The Snow Lion’s Attributes” a Driking Kagyu Text on the Cham dating to the 12th century
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CoC journeyed to the high mountains of central Ladakh and one of the region's largest gompas
to document the movement vocabulary and ritual enactment of the Drikung Kagyu sacred dance technique, in order to further obtain personal accounts of traditional teachings of dance, broaden the body of knowledge concerning the dance' structure and purpose, and to cultivate a worldwide appreciation for the form. Lamayuru Monastery is more than 1100 years old. It is a monastery of the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddism,
one of 4 remaining lines of one of the 4 main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Over the centuries, its reputation among the lineages is for its excellence in the practical training of meditation. Lamayuru is home to mystics. |
 photo ~ joseph houseal |
Our approach to documenting any kind of ancient ritual act is non-invasive. We like to think of what we do as eco-cultural. We feel strongly that photographers and cameramen should stay out of the sacred ritual areas. We worked closely with the monks at every level and they had an interest in the outcome; indeed the video was being made for them.
The monastery provided us with several privileged locations from which to shoot over the 20-hour rehearsal day, and the 2 days of ceremony which followed; 13 hours of dancing on the first and 11 on the second. This meant we had, say, 8 hours of shooting from one spot; 5 hours from another and so on. The sun pursued it course as the hours passed and we had no control over blazing light and engulfing shadow.
The monastery provided us with several privileged locations from which to shoot over the 20-hour rehearsal day, and the 2 days of ceremony which followed; 13 hours of dancing on the first and 11 on the second. This meant we had, say, 8 hours of shooting from one spot; 5 hours from another and so on. The sun pursued it course as the hours passed and we had no control over blazing light and engulfing shadow.
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The project resulted in 42 hours of dance footage; an unprecedented break-down of movement vocabulary by demonstration of Lamayuru abbot, Rangdol Nyima Rinpoche; a first-ever lexicon of basic movements translated into English by Rangdol Nyima and Houseal; and 50 pages of notes, diagrams, and observations. It also injected a new appreciation and enthusiasm among the Lamayuru monks, and a marked improvement in the education, control and behavior of tourists attending the festival. Ancient wall paintings of dancing beings , as well as wall paintings of the central deities embodied in the dance were filmed. A rare 300 year old dance diagram, for the Heruka-deity solo dance was shared by HH Chetsang Rinpoche, who allowed CoC to film it. A copy was then drawn by Rangdol Nyima.
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Obtaining interviews was achieved at many, including the very highest, levels of the Order. However, our period at Lamayuru embraced not only a dance festival, but this year included a Great Teaching, and a new courtyard building was being built, so there was constant commotion. The luxury of leisurely questioning and immersive scholarship was not possible. It was immersive dancing and digital media instead.
Regardless, there is ample material to make several kinds of films, and a body of research that lays the foundation for an authoritative book on the subject of tantric dance, especially as it is practiced at Lamayuru. His Holiness wants a version of our film to be used to revive the tradition at 10 Drikung monasteries in Tibet, as well as be installed in the Drikung Collections and Library. The raw footage must be transformed into a film for the monks, and artmedia for the west. |
The movement lexicon needs to be published, and a book on tantric dance is being discussed by several people and publishers at this time, including Ballet Review, who published the first Houseal illustrated essay on Lamayuru dancing. The October Gallery is exploring the possibility of bringing the Lamayuru monks to London for a tour of stately places in connection with an upcoming show of Tibetan art. Regular Email contact is maintained with the Order via a well-placed monk, Samten (samten@parnassus-art.com) who works in the Library and who assisted us in Lamayuru; and letters and phone calls to others in remote places. CoC has also created a DVD about Lamayuru gompa.
Learn more about Cham
One of the great treasures Core of Culture has been able to document is a personal teaching by His Eminence Togden Rinpoche, abbot of the Phyang gompa
and spiritual leader of the Drikung Kagyu sect of Vajrayana Buddhism.
Follow the link below to read a transcription of this rare teaching.
and spiritual leader of the Drikung Kagyu sect of Vajrayana Buddhism.
Follow the link below to read a transcription of this rare teaching.
A Sacred Drikung Teaching on Cham
by His Eminence Togden Rinpoche of Phyang Monastery
Lamayuru ~ Sanctuary of Dance DVD
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"Lamayuru Sanctuary of Dance" DVD
was debuted September 8, 2003 during a Core of Culture presentation at the International Association of Tibetan Studies at Oxford University. It was the result of of our project Tantric Dance - Filming of the Great Dance Festival. Copies can be viewed at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Dance Division at Lincoln Center, and the Songtsen Library in Dhera Dun, India. It is a gift with a $50 donation. |
CoC Director Joseph Houseal making a gift of the DVD " Lamayuru Sanctuary of Dance" to Meditation and Dance Master Drupon Rinpoche, and Bakula Rangdol Nyima Rinpoche, who demonstrated the dances on the DVD.
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