Cham Dance - The Ritualistic Masked Dance By Buddhist Monks

 

Cham Dance in Kurseong (2016)

Introduction to Cham Dance:

The entirety of the religion has its unique and exceptional method of presenting or performing out their different culture, tradition, customs, and ceremonies which they perform during their religious festivals. Today I will discuss a remarkable unique dance form performed and rehearsed in various pieces of Bhutan and India. Such dance forms are performed in front of large audiences by monks or the local Buddhist people during their annual religious festivals. Yes, I am talking about a vibrant masked and costumed dance form better known as Cham dance. 

Origin of Cham Dance:

Cham dance has a unique history, as it is stated that this ritual dance custom was initiated by Guru Padmasambhava in the late eighth century. It has its own story told by our ancestors and legend when Guru Padmasambhava was summoned by the king of Tibet, Trishong Detsen to exorcise evil spirits that would not allow the construction of Samye Monastery, Guru performed a dance ritual to exorcise evil spirits.   And over the period as life slowly moved on this religious dance form came to be known as a famous Cham dance. Mainly originated from the Himalayan locale this ritual dance is still practiced and performed to date.

Kurseong Montiviet in 2016

Significance of Cham Dance:

Cham dance as first performed by the Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) in the late eighth century is considered to be a sacred and holy traditional dance. From this on, the cham dance spread over the Himalayan region, and many Buddhist people from different places started practicing this ritual dance. This ritual dance is performed during religious festivals and also on the eve of the Buddhist new year ( called Losar). As we can witness that it is generally performed in front of a large audience in the big courtyard and also in the monasteries. It is believed that the monks or lamas performing this ritual dance meditate and pray the week before the main religious festival is held. The monks performing this ritual dance represents themselves as deities, demons and also as an animal by wearing a heavy mask, colorful silk costumes, and ornaments. And some of the monks accompany them by playing traditional Tibetan instruments ( such as the ritual drums ) and the masked monks dance to the tunes of the monastic orchestra reciting the mantras and offering prayers. This ritualistic dance is said to be performed for more than a week during the festivals. The mask is the incarnation of the god of anger. The mask carries terror and great fear in the hearts of evil forces and brings peace and tranquility to Buddhists who seek enlightenment through meditation and prayer. These celebrations are not only fantastic, elaborate theatrical performances, they also have great spiritual and cultural significance, but ritual dances also leave a strong karmic mark. The important significance of the cham dance to hope for a peaceful world, to shield all living beings from demons. it's an associate degree giving to divinity to eliminate all suffering and worries and convey joy and happiness. 

Kurseong 2016

Types of cham dance:

Kurseong 2016

According to the Tibetan Buddhist religion, there are various types of cham dance and each of these ritual dances has its importance and significance. We will discuss a few cham dances.

Skeleton Dance: In the skeleton dance, the monks wear the skull mask and the skeleton decorated costume. The monks wearing a skull mask and performing skeleton dances are also known as citipati or chitipati. It is believed that the citipati were protector skeletal deities who performed this dance. As the Citipati skeleton dancer performs in pairs especially male and female. 

Gar Cham: Gar Cham dance means coordinating the movement of hands, legs, and body. This dance form is performed secretly by the monks and also considered not for public viewing. It is performed by monks during the annual ritual of Tshechu or religious celebration day.

Deer dance: Performed by a group, the dancers signify and represent ‘one of the many protector deities’ and rid the new year of the negative forces. But when it is performed by one dancer, he represents the deer that was tamed and rescued by Milarepa.

I strongly suggest to all my readers and viewers if you get an opportunity in your life to witness this most ritualistic and religious dance performance please don't let it go or miss it. It is not only a dance form but it is also a spiritual belief to overcome evil spirits and bring peace, joy, and happiness to one's life.