Dramyin Cham (Dzongkha: Dramnyen Cham) is a form of Cham dance - a masked and costumed dance performed in Tibetan Buddhism ceremonies in Bhutan, Sikkim, Himalayan West Bengal and Tibet (where they have been outlawed). Dzongkha (dz རྫོང་ཁ Wylie: rdzong-kha, Jong-kă is the national The Cham Dance, associated with some sects of Buddhism, is a lively dance which employs dancers wearing masks and ornamented Costumes. Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including The Kingdom of Bhutan (buːˈtɑːn is a Landlocked nation in South Asia. Sikkim ( Nepali:, also Sikhim) is a Landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas It is the least populous state in India West Bengal ( Bengali: পশ্চিমবঙ্গ Poshchim Bônggo poʃtʃim bɔŋgo is a state in eastern India. Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European They are a focal point of the Bhutanese festivals of Tsechu. Tsechu (literally "day ten" are annual religious Bhutanese festivals held in each district or Dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the The Dramyin Cham is notable among Cham dances as the lead dancer keeps time with a dramyin - a Himalayan folk music lute, and not a traditional percussion instrument like the cymbals. For the article about the band see Dramyin For the related dance see Dramyin Cham, and for the related style of song see Dramyin Choeshay Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from Cymbals are a modern percussion instrument Cymbals consist of thin normally round plates of various Cymbal alloys; see Cymbal making for a discussion of their This is among the few instances of monastic music in the Himalayas where the use of a stringed instrument has been observed. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs [1]
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Depicted themes
In the 13th century, monks from Southern Tibet established the Drukpa sect of the Kagyupa school of Mahayana Buddhism in Bhutan. Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European Drukpa (disambiguation The Drukpa ( Tib. འབྲུག་པ / ’brug pa) Druk ~ "dragon" pa ~ "person" — or Drukpa Kagyu The Kagyu or Kagyupa school also known as the " Oral Lineage " or Whispered Transmission school is one of four main schools of Himalayan Mahayana ( Sanskrit: mahāyāna, Devanagari: महायान 'Great Vehicle' is one of the two main existing schools of Buddhism and a term for The Kingdom of Bhutan (buːˈtɑːn is a Landlocked nation in South Asia. This is celebrated in the Dramyin Cham, as also in the religious song Dramyin Choeshay. Specifically, the dance celebrates an incident in Tibetan Buddhist mythology - the victory of the actual saint Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorji (1161 - 1211) over a demon which was obstructing a pilgrimage path to Tsari, Tibet at the mouth of a valley. The saint apparently subjugated the demon by performing a dramyin cham, which offered its services to him, and became the guardian deity of the valley. [1]
Costumes
All participants in the Dramyin Cham are male, similar to the conventions pertaining to Cham dances.
The costumes of the dancers reflect the costume of armed lamas who acted as bodyguards to the Drukpa high lamas. Lama ( is a title for a Tibetan teacher The basic costume consists of elaborate, heavy, woollen clothes, a long, black Tibetan robe (chuba) lined with red, and long, colorful felt boots. A chuba is a long sheepskin coat made of thick Tibetan wool worn by many of the Nomadic peoples of high altitude in the cold mountains of Tibet Below the chuba, they typically wear a striped shirt with brocaded collars and cuffs of red, green and white. Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven Fabrics often made in colored Silks and with or without Gold and Silver threads The leaders of the dance also wear a brown, folded jacket. One of the leaders carries the dramyin, with which he keeps time. All the dancers wear traditional armoury, weaponry, and ornaments. [1]
Accompaniment and choreography
The 17th century legislator Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (1594 - 1651), under whom the Drukpa sect flourished, composed the lyrics and music for most of the present day Cham dances (including the Dramyin Cham), and authored the seminal work Gar-Thig-Yang Sum. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar Shabdrung (also Zhabdrung;) which literaly means "before the feet of" was a title used when refering to or addressing great lamas in Tibet particularly those who The book indicates how most dances (including the Dramyin Cham) should be choreographed and rendered. With the exception of the introduction and the coda, the dance can and usually is performed in simple two-time. The time signature (also known as " meter signature" is a notational convention used in Western Musical notation to specify how many beats The dance includes symbolic references to stamping and subjugating the demon. [1]
Notes
- ^ a b c d Dancing on the demon's back: the dramnyen dance and song of Bhutan, by Elaine Dobson, John Blacking Symposium: Music Culture and Society, Callaway Centre, University of Western Australia, July 2003