Cham! Ritual Dances of Bhutan Pics (part 2)

Here's the follow up with a few more pics from Cham! Ritual Dances of Bhutan and descriptions about the significance and meaning of the dances from the flier. Keep in mind the pics posted here and in the last posting are of Tum Ngam, the first dance described below. (Scroll down to read the dance descriptions).





Descriptions of the two dances from the flier (note that at the bottom of the flier, it says "Dance descriptions adapted from the Bhutan Dance Access Database (C) Core of Culture, 2007"):

• Tum Ngam (Dance of teh Terrifying Deities)

Tum Ngam is a demon-subjugation ritual. Tum means "wrathful" and ngam denotes a state of frenzy. During this ritual, any evil influences or spirits in teh area are forced out into the open and then tamed by the powerful deities of teh dance. Once surrounded, the malevolent spirits take shelter in a linga (a ritual effigy most often made of flour and butter) in the center of teh circle. There, trapped within a triangular vessel, the evil spirits are destroyed together with the linga by the phurba (sacred dagger) weilded by the champon (principal dagger).

The champon who leads the performance represents one of the eight manifestations of Padmasambhava, who is especially significant to the Bhutanese and is also known as "Precious Teacher." Dorje Drolo is a wrathful manifestation of Padmasambhava. According to legend, he assumed this form at Tagtsang (Tiger's Den), a cave on a cliff high above the Paro valley, after flying from Tiber on the back of a tigress. There, he fiercely subdued all the local gods and demons of the Himalayas and India, forcing them to pay allegiance to him and to become guardians and defenders of his teachings. In the Tum Ngam dance, the highly charged movements re-enact and recall Dorje Drolo's subjugation of all enemies who stand in the way of Buddhist teachings.

In Bhutanese tradition, it is highly auspicious to witness this dynamic dance. Ridding the area of malevolent influences, Dorje Drolo and his retinue of fierce deities dance to bring peace and harmony where disorder and discord had ruled. When taking their leave, they shower blessings upon the place.

• Shanag Ngacham (Dance of the Black Hats with Drums)

Shanag Ngacham celebrates victory over the evil influences that oppose Buddhism. Sha means "hat," nag means "black," nga means "drum," and cham means "dance," This is one of a cycle of sacred dances known as teh Black Hat dance, which is performed with the intention of subjugating and destroying evil. It is also used to purify the ground before the construction and consecration of stupas, temples, and monastic fortresses. The powerful nature of teh dance is believed to frighten malevolent spirits away.

The colorful costumes of the Black Hat dance comprise large black hats covered in magical symbols (such as hexagrams, mirrors, and peacock feathers), rich silk-brocade gowns, adamntine collars, scarves, and boots. The costumes identify the dancers as poerful tantric devotees whose origins refer to the pre-Buddhist times.

There are different versions of the Black Hat dance, with the number of dancers ranging from five to more than twenty-one. The instruments and costumes also vary, depending upon the specific intention of each performance.

In the Shanag Ngacham version, each dancer holds a drum and a drumstick. In this dance, drums are considered celebratory instruments. The insistent rhythmic pulse drives the dance forward. "With diamond-like steps," the dancers draw an invisible mandala on the ground while the beat of the drums extends the celebratory message to all who hear it. For these reasons, the Shanag Ngacham is considered to be highly auspicious for all sentient creatures.

Cham! Ritual Dances of Bhutan Pics

A couple of weeks ago I posted (here) about Cham! the Ritual Dances of Bhutan that were being performed around the city presented in association with the Rubin Museum of Art. They performed at the Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, but I didn't catch them until later when they performed in Battery Park on the 19th.

These performances correlate with the The Dragon's Gift, a new exhibit on sacred art from Bhutan at the Rubin (organized by the Honolulu Academy of Arts). There are monks in residence at the museum, although they are from a separate monastery than those who performed the dance ceremonies.

It was truly incredible and, as you can see, I snapped a few shots. I couldn't believe how quiet downtown Manhattan had suddenly become as they performed to only a tambourine and a drum.





This description comes from the flier that was handed out at the performance:

Cham is the ancient ritual dance of Tantric Buddhism that has been preserved and performed in Bhutan for centuries. Performed at special religious festivals, the dances typically impar moral instruction or illustrate teachings. During performances, both the performers and audience members accumulate merit. The masked performers are always male and usually monks. Here, the monks of the monastic fortress of Trongsa perform two common examples of cham. The dances feature wrathful deities that destroy evil demons. As in much of the art on view in The Dragon's Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan at the Rubin Museum of Art, wrathful forms of deities personify tantric techniques of transforming greed, ignorance, pride, and other spiritual poisons--demons we all possess and that stand in the way of our reaching enlightenment.

Around the City, the monks performed two separate dances, Tum Ngam (Dance of the Terrifying Deities) and Shanag Ngacham (Dance of the Black Hats with Drums). I only got to see the former. I will post more information from the flier about these two dances in the next post, and maybe something from my visit to the Rubin.

Korean Harvest Festival @ Flushing Meadows Park

2008's Chusok, aka, Korean Harvest Festival, aka Korean Thanksgiving, taking place today and tomorrow in Flushing Meadows Corona Park is going to be big. Some estimate that as many as 30,000 people will show.
The food is going to be off the meter. This is a pic from 2007's festival (from over at Eating in Translation).

The official park website only reflects today's goings on, but according to John over at his About Queens blog, it's going on both today and tomorrow (09.20-21.08). Today's the rehearsal for the performers, while tomorrow's the real deal. Supposed to be some famous Korean performers. According to Last.fm, "Park Jin Young and the Wonder Girls are going to be the main highlights with appearances also by G-Soul, J Lim and Min." I'm not a huge fan of K-Pop (hope I don't offend anyone), but I have heard the Wonder Girls are getting big. There's a blog dediacted to them, here.

Bhutanese Monks to Perfrom at Flushing Meadows

In collaboration with the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art and the Honolulu Academy of the Arts, thirteen monks from the monastery fortress of Trongsa in central Bhutan will perform the mesmeric ritual demon subjugation dances in public spaces in and around New York City. They'll be at Flushing Meadows Park Sunday, Sept 14, at 2 pm near the Unisphere. Definitely worth checking out. Click here to see the full schedule of places they'll be performing.






And there's an article in the Times about the monks in residence at the Rubin Mueseum:

"For the next four months the monks will live in Greenwich Village and spend their days at the Rubin, on West 17th Street in Chelsea. Twice daily they will perform puja rituals in the museum galleries to safeguard the spiritual well-being of the sacred artworks, which have traveled here for “The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan,” an exhibition that is to open on Sept. 19."

-James Gross, Prayers at an Exhibition, 09.05.08, NY Times.