Dramyin Cham
Encyclopedia
Dramyin 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). They are a focal point of the Bhutanese festivals of Tsechu
. 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 cymbal
s. This is among the few instances of monastic music in the Himalayas
where the use of a stringed instrument has been observed.
established the Drukpa Kagyu school of Mahayana Buddhism in Bhutan
. 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.
The costumes of the dancers reflect the costume of armed lama
s who acted as bodyguards to the Drukpa high lamas. The basic costume consists of elaborate, heavy, woollen clothes, a long, black Tibetan robe (chuba
) lined with red, and long, colorful felt boots.
Below the chuba, they typically wear a striped shirt with brocaded collars and cuffs of red, green and white. 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.
. The dance includes symbolic references to stamping and subjugating the demon.
Cham Dance
The cham dance , also spelled tscham or chaam, is a lively masked and costumed dance associated with some sects of Buddhism, and is part of Buddhist festivals. The dance is accompanied by music played by monks using traditional Tibetan instruments...
- a masked and costumed dance performed in Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
ceremonies in Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
, Himalayan West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
(where they have been outlawed). They are a focal point of the Bhutanese festivals of Tsechu
Tsechu
Tsechu are annual religious Bhutanese festivals held in each district or dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the lunar Tibetan calendar. The month depends on the place, but usually is around the time of October. Tsechus are religious festivals of Drukpa Buddhism...
. The Dramyin Cham is notable among Cham dances as the lead dancer keeps time with a dramyin
Dramyin
The dramyin or dranyen is a traditional Himalayan folk music lute with seven strings, used primarily as an accompaniment to singing in the Drukpa Buddhist culture and society in Bhutan, as well as in Tibet, Sikkim and Himalayan West Bengal. It is often used in religious festivals of Vajrayana...
- a Himalayan folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
, and not a traditional percussion instrument like the cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s. This is among the few instances of monastic music in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
where the use of a stringed instrument has been observed.
Depicted themes
In the 13th century, monks from Southern TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
established the Drukpa Kagyu school of Mahayana Buddhism in Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
. 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
Tsangpa Gyare
The great ascetic Drogon Tsangpa Gyare was the main disciple of Lingchen Repa Pema Dorj and the founder of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism the main or central branch of which was, until the 17th Century, transmitted by his hereditary family lineage at Ralung in the Tsang region of western...
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.
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 lama
Lama
Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...
s who acted as bodyguards to the Drukpa high lamas. The basic costume consists of elaborate, heavy, woollen clothes, a long, black Tibetan robe (chuba
Chuba
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....
) lined with red, and long, colorful felt boots.
Below the chuba, they typically wear a striped shirt with brocaded collars and cuffs of red, green and white. 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.
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. 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-timeTime signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
. The dance includes symbolic references to stamping and subjugating the demon.