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| The Lord of Death (Shinje Choki Gyalpo)) |
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| Raksha Lango |
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(Bardo cham) the intermediate mask dance significance
Bardo Dance is one of the most popular of the Kater Datang Cham or 'Pure Visionary Dance of Treasure Revealers'. Called the Bardo Raksha Mangcham or the 'The Group Dance of Intermediate Sate', this performance was originally revealed by Terton Karma Lingpa in the 14th century based on his treasure text known as karling zhitro. The Bardo is the state where the departed spirit exists with mental body (yid-lue) for a period of forty-nine days following death and before the next rebirth according to the Bardo Zhitro, a text written by Terma Karma Lingpa.
According to Vajrayana tradition, there are five kinds of liberation ls such as seeing the sacred dance or movement, hearing the sacred chanting, wearing the prayer cord, touching the sacred objects, amd taste of the sacred relics. this work by Karma Lingpa illustrates the first of these types of liberation. This is a very complex and intricate dance that takes more than two hours to perform. The performers sit in two rows as they dance one at a time, allowing them much needed rest. An Ox-headed dancer leads the right hand row while the stag-headed dancer leads the left.
The significance of this dance is to remind people to be mindful in their actions during day-to-day life, as each choice has karmic effects. These effects will accumulate throughout life and then determine the nature of the next rebirth. The Bardo Cham illustrates the impermanence that surrounds all beings, and the ever-present reality of death. Specifically, it illustrates what happens during the Intermediate State, and how the deceased spirit undergoes judgment as the result of actions during life.
During the course of the dance, the Lord of Death, an emanation of Avalokiteshvara/Chenrigzee, arrives, carrying a karmic mirror in his hand. He is accompanied by two other figures: a White God on the right side and a Black Demon on the left. The Lord of Death,( Shinje Choki Gyalpo) enters the ground from the dance chamber and an orchestra of long and short trumpets, drums and bells lead the procession. The White God and Black Demon represent the virtuous and non-virtuous, both mind and actions. The White God, Lha Karpo, tries to support the deceased so that they are taken to the pure land, but the Black Demon (Dre Nagpo tries to interfere, encouraging the Lord of Death to banish the evil-doer.
Twenty-eight dancers comprise the full retinue, all of whom wear masks depicting different animal faces. Except for the fearful and aggressive Black Demon and the Lord of Death, all the masks have peaceful expressions. As the deceased encounter these animal faced beings in the Bardo, the beasts attempt to disrupt their journey on to the next rebirth. This dance explains and demonstrates how the animal faced guardian deities in the Bardo State judge of the deceased's evil and virtuous deeds.
The lord of the death wears a res mask crowned with five skulls and with two long hanging bannera dangling from the ears. Black demon wears a terrifying black mask along with a black suit, with wild black hair and string of bells that cross his chest. The sounds frighten sinful persons when be moves during the fast paced and aggressive dance he performs. The white god wears a peaceful white facemask clean clothes, and carries crystal beads in his hand.
Twenty-four dancers wear knee-length yellow silks with ornate patterns and each dancer has their own different mask. The dance master wears the red Ox-headed mask and represents the emanation of Manjushri, the embodiment of wisdom. He plays a very crucial role, serving as the main mediator between the Lord of Death and other deities. He is the first dancer who enters the compound. There are three additional attendant dancers—the Monkey-headed, Snake-headed, and Hog- headed —who play an important role in the search for the sinful and virtuous man. The Monkey-headed dancer carries the scale to weigh the white and black pebbles that represent the good and evil deeds done by the deceased.
The Snake-headed dancer carries a mirror to reflect the karma of deceased, and the Hog-headed dancer carries a counting board to keep the tally that will determine the dead person's fate. There are also two human characters. One is a sinful man wearing black clothes and a black mask, while the other, the virtuous man, has a white mask and white costume. The sinful man is called Nyelbum and virtuous man Khimdag Pelkid. It is said that Nyelbum belongs to a low level family, having an evil mind and many children in his lifetime, whereas Khimdag Pelkid is pious man that comes from a noble family.
The afterlife is presented much like a court proceeding, beginning from the opening of the case to the final verdict. Viewers watch the process of judgment played out before the Lord of Death. First, the sinful man
is brought forth to be judged. During this procedure, the Ox-headed dancer reports to the Lord of Death about the sinful man and his deeds during life.
Following a thorough examination, he is sent to the lower realm represented by a strip of black cloth. Before he is sent to the lower realm, the Lord of Death reminds him that it is because of his own negative karma that he is being sent to the lower realm, where his negative karma can be purified after suffering as retribution for his acts. Much like a criminal he is free after his term is over. As the virtuous man is judged and found to have undertaken acts of positive karma, following his judgment, he is sent to the pure land with goddesses, carrying a white strip of cloth.
In this dance scene, twenty-four different animal-headed masks are employed: the Ox- headed (Raksha lango), hog, garuda, lion, Raven, bear, hind, hound, elephant, lake ox, domestic ox, yeti, gorila, goat, sheep, deer, hoopoe, dragon, crocodile, bat, red garuda, monkey, snake, and stag. They are arranged as in the photo.
Source: ritual mask dance book
