Villagers With Drama: Tibet Aguilar Ram And Its Artists Study

The traditional Tibetan Ache Lhamo Opera has a history of about six hundred years, and has its roots in folk beliefs and ritual activities from the pre-Buddhist era. As an artistic practice closely linked to village life, Ache Lhamo carries the collective cultural memory of Tibetan rural life in its soul, and has been heavily influenced by the bitter experiences and historical changes that have occurred in Tibetan society, religion and culture over the ages. Most research to date has tended to focus on the artistic side of Ache Lhamo Opera, but the value and significance of this form of opera goes far beyond its role as an artistic phenomenon, and it is perhaps this other side that is more worthy of attention.This chronological study looks at Ache Lhamo and its practice as a form of opera in the context of its links with Tibetan rural life, and attempts to reveal the significance of and the motivations behind the development of Ache Lhamo opera in Tibetan life from the perspective of the role of Ache Lhamo in the lives of Tibetan villagers, based on research and field studies conducted by the researcher on the Gyangkarwa Troupe in Gyangkar Dzong Village, Rinpung Township, Rinpung County in the Shigatse region and the Naga Lhamo Troupe in Naga Village, Gurong Township, Tolung Dechen County in the Lhasa region. At the same time, the author attempts to look back on previous studies and propose a new approach to research on Tibetan folk art by summarizing past attitudes stemming from the differentiation of professional and amateur performances of Ache Lhamo opera in the1950s, the discourse of the academic world as well as the impact of Ache Lhamo's listing as world intangible cultural heritage.This paper is composed of an introduction, four chapters and a conclusion. The introduction explains the reasons behind the choice of theme of this study and examines general research trends conducted both in China and abroad on the topic, as well as reflections on the value of the new approach employed in this thesis in relation to previous studies on the topic, before finishing with the research perspectives and methodologies used in this study. The first chapter sets out the field research process, and is divided into two parts, the first focusing on the spatial environment in which the author conducted the research, and the second on the chronological outline of the research, with a detailed description of the researcher's field experience, starting from the point where the study began and moving on to the different places visited during the study. This part was based on the researcher's logbook and constitutes an attempt to, from a researcher's point of view, observe life in Tibetan villages, as well as take a closer look at the spiritual side of Tibetan villagers'lives, and particularly the non-artistic side of the lives of the "Lhamowa"(the Ache Lhamo performers), as indispensable components of the practice of Ache Lhamo opera. In short, the first chapter describes the context of the author's field research, and acts as a scene setter for the rest of the thesis.The second chapter looks at the history of Ache Lhamo from its origins to its creation. In previous studies, the origins of Ache Lhamo have been the focus of much debate and divergence. To put it simply, the principle diverging views on the origins of the opera can be summarized into two main camps:one that believes that Ache Lhamo originated in folk art, and the other that contends that it stemmed from religious art. However, researchers have often failed to get to the heart of the matter, tending to place too much focus on individual and specific aspects of the opera to explain its origins. The author has therefore attempted to probe into the origins of Ache Lhamo by looking at the typical characters and their related symbols in the opening acts of the opera performances, while analyzing the typical imagery and symbols used by Ache Lhamo's founder, Thangtong Gyalpo, and attempt to take a fresh look at how Buddhist stories were integrated into the performances, leading to the birth of Ache Lhamo.Chapter Three looks at the evolution of Ache Lhamo opera from its ritual form into a form of artistic drama, focusing on the gzhung section of the three-part Ache Lhamo opera, and resorting to Tibetan texts from the Monastic Period and the Tibetan translations and domesticated versions of the stories from the life of Buddha. In the seventeenth century, Ache Lhamo folk troupes began interacting with the authorities, and the Shoton Festival created an unprecedented opportunity for the accelerated development of Ache Lhamo into a more artistic form of drama.Chapter Four starts with the historical upheaval that took place in Tibet in the1950s and analyses Ache Lhamo opera in its new historical context, incurred after the huge changes that took place as a result of that upheaval, as well as the reaction of Ache Lhamo performance troupes to the new challenges and opportunities posed by those changes. These historical opportunities have breathed new life into traditional Ache Lhamo opera, giving it a brand new opportunity in terms of its professionalization, with troupes being classified as either professional or amateur. Whilst the professional opera troupes have found themselves at the service of the historical narrative of the "New Tibet", and the performers of these troupes now form an integral part of the "national theatres", the amateur Ache Lhamo troupes continue to flourish as an important part of village life. My focus on the artistic practices of the villagers means that I have not analysed the professional world of Ache Lhamo opera in great depth, and any analysis of the professional troupes is merely for background material. My focus is on the historical opportunities and challenges faced by rural, amateur folk Ache Lhamo troupes and their performers, based on the experiences of four Ache Lhamo performers, against the backdrop of Ache Lhamo in the different historical periods since the establishment of the "New Tibet".The conclusion is a summary of this thesis and the study as a whole, and is divided into three parts. The first part reflects upon the ideological discourse of previous studies, and advocates looking at Ache Lhamo opera from the perspective of "the other", with the hope that the value of local perceptions and classifications of this particular form or drama can be taken into account in future research. The second part looks at Ache Lhamo as heritage. Should we see this form of drama as a "living fossil", or has Ache Lhamo opera evolved over the ages according to its own internal logic? And should we perhaps not rethink the criteria we use to assess modern drama? The third part analyses the research process employed by the author in his study of Ache Lhamo opera and Ache Lhamo performers, as well as the kind of approach researchers engaged in studies of Tibetan folk art should consider, including the concepts of rten brel and rnam rtog, since these concepts have made Tibetan folk art what it is today. Even though there may be many other ways of looking at the research of this type of opera, these approaches and ways of thinking are a constant presence in the deeply rooted subconscious of Tibetan folk art, and are therefore worthy of reflection.