Tibetan Song and Dance

Monasteries perform the Tibetan Cham dance during holy festivals. Most Cham dance is performed during the holy month of Saga Dawa. The most popular Cham dances are those of the Tsurphu monastery, Drigung Monastery, and Sakya Monastery.

Cham is the meditative dance; The monks will wear the mask and the custom associated with the dance. The performance of the Cham dance is often associated with traditional Tibetan instruments. This dance brings great merit to all who perceive it because of its association with the instruction to compassion and another basic Buddhist principle. Cham dance often depicts incidents from  Guru Padmasambhava and Other Saints’ lives.

Tibetan drum dance is a very popular and energetic dance. There are two kinds of Tibetan drum dance. The first is the drum dance, which originated from the Shanan prefecture of Tibet. The other is called Relpa, which originated from the Kham region, an ethnic Tibetan area in Sichuan. Dro dance originated from the Lhokha Prefecture of Tibet.

In this performance, the dance is led by a headman wearing a white Mask, which signifies an older man. This mask is similar in design to the Mask of Tang Tong Gyalpo, which is used in the Tashi Sholpa dance. The rest of the group members will have a small drum underneath their arm, and they will beat it while dancing. This dance requires great flexibility and will take many months of training to perfect.

Relpa dance originates from the Kham area. It is a dance where women hold a drum and Men carry a small bell. Like the Dro Dance, the artist in the Relpa dance requires great athletic skill in turning and twisting their bodies. Initially, when the dance starts, all the ladies perform, and after a little bit, the men join the dance. It is a great dance to watch with all these moves and stunts.

Tashi Sholpa was first performed during the enthronement of the fifth Dalai Lama by the Shol Lhamo Troupe of Tibetan Opera in Drepung monastery. All the performers will wear the white Tibetan mask representing the Thangtong Gyalpo. The Saint lived for 140 years of the Ages, so wearing his mask during essential occasions is considered very auspicious.

It is often the first dance during all the major cultural events in Tibet.

Besides the above iconic Tibetan dance, we also have many dances from the different regions of Tibet. We have danced at all events in life, including the Arka Dance, which workers perform during rooftop construction. In eastern Tibet, we also have a dance for wall beating.

All the local folk dances show the extraordinary diversification of Tibetan culture in the plateau. They are also a great representative of all the different kinds of clothes we have in Tibet. Traditionally, Tibetan people love to drink and dance, so we have rich collections of Tibetan Songs and dances.

The Nangma ནང་མ་ is a genre of traditional Tibetan song and Dance music. Word Nangma derives from the Persian word Naghma, which means melody. This genre of Tibetan song is very popular in Lhasa and is often call the Lhasa song.

Historically, this song was brought to Tibet from Kashmir by a Muslim trader, who later settled in Lhasa and became the community of Lhasa Muslims.

Nowadays, we use the name as the common name for all the traditional Tibetan nightclubs in Tibet.

Lama Mani is the common name for the Buddhist monks’ wanderer, who would travel far and wide to narrate the stories (in song forms) of legendary Buddhist master and their teachings. They are also called Bhuchen.

It is the Tibetan invention of the Buddhist culture in Tibet. Lama Mani will preach the Dharma with the aid of scroll  Thangka paintings. Most Tibetans in the old days were illiterate, and Lama Mani’s narratives were attractive to the masses.

Lama Mani would use a pervasive and Understandable language, and teaching is often the combination of earthly reality and often with jokes.  Unlike the formal lama, Lama Mani would mix up with the masses to reduce their gaps.

Unlike traditional Buddhists in India, Tibetan Buddhist rituals are often associate with ritual music. This ritual music is an adaptation to the local Tibetan pre-Buddhist culture of Bön. Ritual music is usually pipe, drum, and cymbal. During the ritual ceremony, monks would often play music.

Chanting is a practice in all the Major traditional sects of Buddhism. It is a means of preparing the mind for Meditation; some also use it for ritual purposes.

Tibetan Monks are well known for their skill in throat singing. It is a specialized way of chanting in which the chanter produces multiple distinct pitches simultaneously by amplifying the voice. The Chant of Om Mani Padme Hum (The Mantra of Avalokitesvara), the chant of Tara Prayer, Bhaisajyaguru (Medicine Buddha), and Amitābha (Buddha of Infinite Light) are very popular.

Tibetan Buddhist songs of realization were very popular in the old days. When a master conveys his understanding of the realization to the student and when the student reports the realization to their master, it is very often express as a song. Milarepa is one such great master who used this method.

Milarepa is a great Yogic and the only person in the history of Buddhism who has achieved enlightenment in one lifetime. The book of a hundred thousand songs of Milarepa is a source of instruction and inspiration for Tibetan Buddhists, especially with the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Ling Gesar is a legendary warrior king. He is said to have been personally blessed by Guru Rinpoche. The story of Ling is mythical and considered the same as the Ramayan in India. His story is very popular in the eastern Tibet region. When the narrator narrates the story of Ling, there would often do it in the song form.

In recent years, the government in Tibet Autonomous Region has made a great effort to preserve and promote this form of Tibetan art. Now, Tibet University has a special class to train students to become narrators, and there is a story-narrating session in Ramoche in Lhasa every day.

You might often hear someone singing a very high-pitched song in the wilderness of the North Tibetan nomadic area. The nomadic song is very popular in the northern Tibetan region, especially in Nagqu. They said music plays a vital role in their daily life to be happy in the wilderness and let others know someone is there.

It is often use for communicating with someone at a distance. The nomadic songs are hilarious and very delightful to hear in the wilderness of Tibet.

In addition to the above-mentioned genre of Tibetan songs, we have a wide range of songs from all the different regions of Tibet. Most Tibetan songs are called Changshe, beer songs. We have many songs that express the singer’s life and problems.

Like every aspect of life, the world’s culture is changing with the wheel of time towards modernization. Tibetan songs are also changing with the influences of Bollywood songs from India, Nepalese Songs, and Chinese Pop Culture. Most Tibetan new songs are love songs and songs for the mother. While in Tibet, Tibetan people often listen to modern Tibetan songs with a disco theme.