This old courtyard provides the most stunning setting imaginable for Cham: Kuchup Terenga Monastery, near Jomsom, Mustang

At a time when the rich Tibetan culture and religion are being actively suppressed in Tibet itself, one has to look elsewhere in the Himalayan swathe to find places where they are nurtured and thrive. This is particularly true of the great cycles of Cham, aka Lama Dance or Dances of the Gods. Those still being performed as part of the Monlam Chenmo—Tibetan New Year festivities—at the grand monasteries in the former Tibetan areas of Kham and Amdo are increasingly commercialised and bastardised; it is in places like Nepal where these traditions are being preserved and cherished. 

Cham Dance—which has been notably referred to as a ‘great mandala of action’ and can only be performed by monks—is unique to Tibetan Buddhism, or Vajrayana. It is at one and the same time intimate and spectacular: in spite of being visually overwhelming and vibrant, it acts as a form of meditation for the dancers and spectators alike. Other important functions of Cham Dance are to disseminate prayers for world peace; protect all sentient beings from demons, obstacles and negativities; and to beseech bodhisattvas to eliminate suffering. In the past, Cham was also a form of didacticism, spreading the dharma and conferring blessings on a largely illiterate populace. 

The origins of Cham Dance are both obscure and confused. According to some, the prototype Cham Dance can be traced back to some northern regions of India, including Kashmir, which were centres for Tantra and Shaivism. Known in its prototype form as the Vajra or Vajrakilaya Dance, it acted as an effective tool for practitioners of Tantra due to its ability to invoke cosmic energies and elevate them to higher states of consciousness. The dance was primarily performed at spiritual gatherings known as ganachakra, or ‘circles of knowledge’. 

In the 8th century, most probably around 760 – 770 CE, the then king of Tibet, Trishong Detsen, sent envoys to India, asking Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), reputed to be from Kashmir himself, to come to Tibet to defeat the magic of the shamans and banish the evil spirits that were hampering the building of what would become the first monastery in Tibet, Samye: without fail, every night, the dark forces undid the construction work of the previous day. Guru Rinpoche decided to perform an adaptation of the Vajra Dance, drawing energy lines (Tib. thiks) on the ground to block the entrance of the dark forces. The energy of the dance was intended not only to subdue the opposing forces, but also to convert them into Dharmapala, or protectors, to help preserve Buddha Dharma. Most probably, it is as a result of this incident that Guru Rinpoche also became known in Tibet as Guru Vajradhara, ‘the Guru who holds the adamantine sceptre or vajra.’

As for how Cham developed from that point, as a fusion of Indian Tantric dance with elements of Tibet’s ancient Bön religion, deeply embedded in animism, one can only speculate. Some say that the sequences of Cham as we know it today were first revealed by Guru Rinpoche in a dream to Guru Chokyi, aka Guru Chöwang (1212–1270 CE), a tertön (treasure seeker) of the Nyingma school. In his dream, Guru Chöwang saw eight wondrous faces, which, on awakening, he drew and then had fashioned into masks. This so-called Lama Sangdü cycle, or the Eight Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche, became the core of an extensive Cham Dance ceremony performed yearly on the anniversary of the birth of Padmasambhava.  

The key visual elements of Cham are the elaborate—and heavy—costumes and masks (zhal bag, literally ‘likeness of a face’), typically made of wood and papier-mâché, which depict in iconographic terms a range of gods and deities. When not in use, the Cham costumes and masks are carefully preserved in the Gon Khang, a monastery room dedicated to the guardian divinities. The spirit of the mask/costume is believed to be subsumed by monks on wearing them, resulting in their often being in a semi-trancelike state during the performance. 

The Cham pantheon consists of wrathful or semi-wrathful, peaceful or semi-peaceful deities, plus a few characters that provide light relief. Paramount among them all are the Dharmapala, or Wrathful Protectors. Some of these originated in India and spread to Tibet, while others were originally Bön deities or mountain spirits who were put under oath to protect Buddha Dharma by Guru Rinpoche after he vanquished them at Samye. The main Dharmapala include Mahakala, the wrathful aspect of Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara; Yama, who judges the dead; and Palden Lhamo, the wisdom protector who is the special Dharmapala of the Dalai Lamas. In spite of their fearful appearance, with masks adorned with skulls, they are essentially protectors of Vajrayana, driving away the forces of evil which could be destructive to Buddha Dharma. 

Cham is performed to musical accompaniment provided by the traditional instruments of Tibetan Buddhism. These primarily consist of cymbals (including silnyen), drums, long horn, gyaling (Tibetan oboe), kangling (short horn), white conch, bells and damaru.

Although Cham follows the same basic dances and forms wherever it is performed, there is a great deal of variation in the actual styles and movements. This can be ascribed to the diverse visions of the siddhas—accomplished masters—who ‘choreographed’ and then disseminated their individual dance styles in the past. Among the most popular and easily identifiable dances in the Cham cannon are the following:

Skeleton Dances 

These are performed by citipati, protector deities who are themselves a form of Mahakala: the two deities combined symbolise the eternal dance of death and perfect awareness. Citipati can be readily identified by their skull masks, topped by five smaller skulls, and skeleton-design ‘dungarees’, while they typically perform in male-female pairs. The skeletons can be said to represent the ultimate disintegration and impermanence of all phenomena. There are various sub-groups of skeleton characters, like Ging, who usually wear a simple skeleton costume and a plain skull mask, and Gangre, whose skull masks are ornately decorated. 

Deer or Stag Cham 

Deer or Stag Cham often referred to as Milarepa Cham, this stems from a legend of the 11th-century Buddhist mystic, Jetsun Milarepa, who purportedly tamed a dog in order to protect a deer that had entered his cave. The Stag Cham is open to various interpretations depending on its presentation.  When performed by a group, the dancers represent protector deities, banishing negative forces. But if there is a lone stag dancer, then it is a literal portrayal of the Milarepa story. 

Black Hat Dance (zhana nga cham)

This is associated with the story of the ruthless Tibetan king, Lang Darma (ruled 838 – 842 CE) who, having converted from Vajrayana back to the indigenous Bön religion, destroyed numerous monasteries and persecuted Tibetan nuns and monks. According to legend, a Buddhist monk called Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje performed a Cham in front of the king before assassinating him with a bow and arrow. Performers of the Black Hat Dance wear a robe called phod-ka, and a long, black apron embroidered with a border of skulls.  Notably, the phod-ka has very wide sleeves, signifying the fact that in this way Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje concealed his weapons until the very moment of assassination.  

The Old White Man from Mongolia

The Tiger Dance, involving the character Tsagaan Ubgen, is perhaps one of the most recent additions to the 800-year-old history of Cham. It is the only dance in which the performer is allowed to speak, and is believed to be derived from a dream that the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, had when he fled from Tibet to Mongolia in 1904. Tsagaan Ubgen is regarded as the guardian of life, longevity, and prosperity, and was incorporated into the Buryat (Mongolian/Russian) Buddhist pantheon from his shamanistic origins. Tsagaan Ubgen dresses all in white, with a snuff bottle attached to his girdle, and his Tiger Dance symbolises the transition from the old year to the new. He begins the dance weak and staggering but, after symbolically killing a tiger with his stick, his strength is renewed. In some variations of the dance, he then asks for donations from the audience, whereas in others, he begins to drink alcohol until he is too inebriated to dance any longer. 

Gar Cham 

Gar is one of the few dances that is not for public viewing but is performed in secret by the lamas. Gar Cham consists primarily of hand movements as opposed to other Cham, where the emphasis is on footwork. 

Cham performances take place regularly in Nepal, either to celebrate specific occasions, like Lhosar, or on an ad hoc basis.  Just some of the places that are particularly noteworthy for their Cham performances are as follows:

• The rich Cham tradition of the original Shechen Tennyi Daryeling Monastery in Tibet has been lovingly revitalized by Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche at its new home in Boudhanath after the destruction of the original premises during the Cultural Revolution.
• The great annual Mani Rimdu festival in Chiwong Monastery, Solukhumbu, is a symbolic recreation of legendary events in the establishment of Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet, with Cham dance being one means of retelling the story.
• The three-day Tiji Festival in Lo Manthang, Upper Mustang, is also renowned for its Cham dance, if also crowded and expensive to access.

Witnessing a Cham performance, whatever the calibre and wherever the location, is always an unforgettable occasion, whether in purely aesthetic terms as a rich cultural asset, or as a spiritual experience. Perhaps the ideal is when the two elements combine and one is left to wonder at the sheer beauty and glory of human existence.

All Photos are by the Author, Louisa Kamal