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Posts Tagged ‘Culture’
Raising Darchor
Projecting serenity by day and a ghostly effect under a moonlite night, the Darchor is a vertical Tibetan prayer flag raised annually during the Tuosui’ ceremony to spread good will and compassion to all. As such, they are often found high above ground levels such as rooftops and mountain passes to ensure the unobstructed wind passes over their surfaces thereby purifying the air with mantras.
9 Emperor God
During the Daoist Nine Emperor Gods Festival or Kow Ong Yah that falls on the 9th day of the 9th moon in the Chinese lunar calendar, mediums goes into deep trance and perform unbelievable feats including immersing themselves in hot oil, piercing themselves with sharp, long spears and swords, in addition to walking through fire unscathed.
Celestial Misalignment
Indian astrology is a branch of Vedic science that has been widely believed and commonly to the point of being funded by the State for research, is now wanning in popularity. Nonetheless the negative effects of marrying a Mangal Dosha, or ‘manglik’, remains a concern and movies have been resorted to to downplay this superstition.
Sculptured Dough
Dough sculpturing dates back to the Han Dynasty as sacrifices for the dead. A dying folk art and tradition, little of it is known outside China and its importance as a study in history and folk lore has eroded. Struggling to remain relevant, dough scultures now takes form of popular pop culture genre and modern fictional characters.
Jumu’ah
“When it is Friday, the angels stand at every door of the mosque and record the people in order of arrival, and when the Imam sits on the pulpit for delivering the sermon, khutba, they fold up their sheets and listen to the mention of Allah, the speech.” Prophet Muhammad (as reported by Abu Hurayrah)
Theravada Buddhism Forest Monk
Buddha: Born in the forest. Enlightened in the forest. Taught in the forest. Died in the forest. 2,500 years later, the Theravada forest monks continues the practice, teachings and codes of monastic conduct expounded by Buddha in more than 200 forest monasteries throughout Thailand and the West – Europe, Australasia and North America.
Buddha’s Apprentice
The custom of sending the second male child to the monastery prevails in Tibetan influenced parts of India. These children generally fell into 3 categories: pious believers, children of poor serfs and those sent to temples to meet a quota. Although life in the monastery is difficult and dull to many young children, modern day comforts have made their presence.
Suryavarman II Sacred Angkor Wat
Built in the early 12th C as King Suryavarman II’s temple state and capital city, Angkor Wat was neglected after the 16th C only to be discovered by French explorer – Henri Mouhot – in the mid-19th C. Restoration begun in the 20th C and continues today by foreign parties despite the establishment of the Angkor World Heritage Site that provides funds to the Cambodian government.
Java’s Hindu Triad: Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva
While Vaishnavism, Saivites and Smartism differ in their views of “the Hindu triad” or the “Great Trinity” that comprise of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Perserver and Shiva the Destroyer, the Javanese holds on to their very own beliefs and legend about the Prambanan.
Tibetan Refugees: Tibetan Rug Revival
Traditional Tibetan rug weaving industry dates back thousands of years to satisfy monastic institutions and the aristocrats’ need for khaden, but today Nepal and India are the largest producers and exporters of both Tibetan rugs and Tibetan-styled rugs. Traditional methods have given way for more cost effective and time efficient ways. Styles have evolved to suit the Western-styled homes.
Mojari Jootis Kolhapuris
These flats – Mojaris, Jootis and Kolhapuris – ‘floods’ Rajasthan, Delhi and Punjab with production dating back to the period of Kings and Queens. Unlike those produced in the heydays with real gold and silver threads and gems, these cow hide shoes are now embellished with artificial materials to suit everyone’s budget.
Stitches of Tibet
In Tibet, tailoring is a fine art made proud by the fine pieces of silk thangkas ranging from the standard two feet to the 16-storeys kyigus, hand sewn laboriously by appliqué artists for months end. However at the TRSHC, the stitches of Tibet are applied to daily practical consumption items like clothing and shoes, with some toys for sale.
The Tibetan Diaspora – 50 years on
The first exodus into India took place in 1959 in the wake of the failure of the Lhasa Uprising. Today, approximately 220,000 Tibetans are dispersed globally and Tibetan Buddhism has a following of more than the population of Tibet despite accusations of charlatanism, commercialism, power-politicking, immoral behaviour and radically different teaching across the four schools.
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is 572 years old by the Gelugpa Buddhist reckoning of reincarnation of his predecessors. An inspiration for 6 million Tibetans, and 100,000 impoverished Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal who followed his lead into exile, photos and newspaper cutting of him are found around the TRSHC.
Chaam Atsaras
Atsaras (jokers) plays an important part in Chaams as with other religious theatrical performances in the world. Aimed at entertaining spectators at intervals, more importantly the persona of Atsaras acts as a counteract to the sinister, oppressing, impressions created by the wrathful, threatening deities.
Kagyed Mahakala Chaam
Performed by monks on the same days across a few Kagyupa monasteries in Sikkim, Ladakh and Nepal in honour of the Mahakala (the Great Protector), this dance has been hosted by monasteries for more than 275 years with choreography from the 1st Karmapa based on his ability to see deities.
Chaam Masks
The big, colourful masks with grotesque expressions worn by the Dancing Lamas portrays the Lord of Death, Padmasambhava, the God of Wealth, and the protector of horses and other animals. Hand crafted by the Lamas themselves, the masks are generally made of wood and papier-mâché with a thin coat of plaster.
Chaam – Behind the Scenes
As the chaams is often about the expulsion of negative influences and exorcisms of spirits, the preparation of the chaams is in itself an elaborate ritual of days of recitations of 400 pages long of Buddhist scriptures, countless of prostrations, burning of incenses and circling of the monastery with the accompanying drones secular and religious music.
Chaam: Dorjee Lopon
Often mistaken as the most important element of any Chaam, the Dorjee Lopon, or Single Black Hat Dance is performed solo by a dancing lama who adorns the heavy but miraculous and magical black hat that transports the wearer to a particular state of manifestation. Legend has it that the Black Hat was made from the hair of female angels and offered to the 1st Karmapa.
Dancing Lamas: RolChaam
The Rol Chaam is unique to Sikkim; having been introduced by Chogyal Chgdor Namgyal in Tsuklakhang Monastery. The Rol Chaam which signifies a musical offering to the presiding deities of the locality, as well as the monastery it is performed in, is performed by 12 dancers after the recital of a one-page prayer book.
Chinese Opera Facial Makeup
Dating back to Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties Chinese Opera face makeup plays a symbolic artistic function of expressing commendatory and derogatory connotations and that of differentiating benevolence and malevolence. Spending hours to depict the stereotypical characters they play, opera actresses and actors applies the face paint with horse-hair Chinese brushes themselves.
Malaysian Chinese Opera
Chinese Opera is now an incidental ‘performance’ limited to temple celebrations and festivals associated with the need to appease and honour deities. Stylised language, symbolism and feudal stories performed are irrelevant in today’s context, but the poliferation of gloablisation has brought new entertaintment.
Chinese Opera Musician
One of the three oldest dramatic art forms in the world, the delivery of the Chinese Opera’s beautifully written and lyrical dialogues are accompanied by melodious tunes produced by skilled musicians on traditional musical instruments like the Erhu, gong and lute.
The Halal Meat Butcher
The term halal (حلال ḥalāl) and haraam are applied to many facets of life but the most common uses of these terms is in reference to meat products, in particular the slaughtering method used. Whilst the prescribed method of Ḏabīḥah (ذَبِيْحَة) has been applied for centuries, debate on if its inhumane continues despite scientific evidences suggesting otherwise.