NGONPA- a tail of traditional Tibetan masks

Ngonpa TRADITIONAL TIBETAN MASK

Ngonpa TRADITIONAL TIBETAN MASK

CRAFT LEARNING DOCUMENT PRIYA PAKAD 5th SEMESTER TEXTILE DESIGN, UG NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN 2012

DHARAMSALA THE LITTLE LHASA

Dharamsala is a small town in the Kangra Valley of Himachal Pradesh. Mc.Leodganj, a smaller town in upper Dharamsala, the home of the 14th Dalai Lama, is known as the ‘Little Lhasa’, after the Tibetan capital city Lhasa.

It is home to several thousand Tibetan exiles that had once fled from Tibet along with the 14th Dalai Lama after the 1959 Tibetan uprising in Tibet. His presence and the Tibetan population has made Dharamshala a popular destination for Indian and foreign tourists.

Tibetan culture has a mystical aura associated to it. Their art, dance, music, architecture and costumes, had always interested me and I wanted to learn more about their rich culture. So I decide to go to Dharamsala and learn any traditional Tibetan craft, so that I could get to understand and experience at least a drop of the vast ocean called the Tibetan Culture.

On wandering around the streets of Dharamsala and Mc.Leodganj for three days looking for a craft that I could possibly learn and find someone who could possibly take out some time from their busy schedule and teach me the craft, I finally reached TIPA, Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts and found the craft of mask making.

ACHE LHAMO TIBETAN OPERA

Lhamo, or Ache Lhamo, which literally means “sister goddess”, is a traditional Tibetan folk opera. It is a combination of dances, chants and songs. Based on Buddhist teachings and Tibetan historical figures, Ache Lhamo are traditionally stories of love, devotion, good and evil. It is a strong medium of telling moral tales, based on Buddhist philosophy, in the words of the common people.

The Tibetan opera was founded in the 14th century by Thang Tong Gyalpo, a Lama and a bridge builder. Gyalpo recruited seven girls who danced beautifully and formed a troupe that performed across regions to raise funds for building bridges, which would facilitate transportation in Tibet. When these girls danced the audiences mesmerised by their beauty felt that goddesses themselves were dancing on the earth, and hence the term “sister goddess” or Ache Lhamo. The tradition continued, and Lhamo is held on various festive occasions such as the Linka and Shoton festival. Elaborate costumes, masks and props are used in this dance form, which are different for different stories, characters, occasions and regions.

NGONPA RIGNGA THE HUNTER DANCE

Ngonpa or the hunter is a character in Ache Lhamo who represents the Buddhist deity Chakna Dorjee (known as Vajrapani in sanskrit) who is a destroyer of evils. The Ngonpas perform a ceremonial dance called NGONPA RIGNGA at the beginning of every Ache Lhamo to purify the performing area of all sorts of evils and negative influences. The Ngonpa also plays the role of the hunter in the folk opera. Girls wearing five panelled crowns with large rosettes over their ears serve as a chorus and represent Dakinis or celestial beings. At the end of the dance, everyone on stage tosses handfuls of Tsampa, the grounded roasted barley in air to appease the Bodhisattvas and deities for a peace and prosperity of all sentient beings.

The costume of the Ngonpa consists of a thin silk shirt, a silver brocade-trimmed Khenja and a striped raw silk jacket lined in red. In the bottom, they wear black raw silk pants with a red sash on top and a black and white tasselled net-like garment. The Ngonpa wears peasant boots as the footgear and holds an arrow, called ‘Dadhar’ in certain areas, which attracts essence of wealth.

NGONPA MASK SYMBOLISM

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

5

The Ngonpa mask can be divided into a few basic parts- the face, arch, crown, beard, tassels and a fabric at the back to cover the head. The features on the navy blue silk mask are appliquĂŠd in red and light blue. The arch over the face has roses painted on yellow silk so as to repeat the rose pattern of brocade. Mink trim is the beard and twelve silk tassels hang from the mask attached to the Infinite knot (Srivatsa) (Picture 6), one of the eight auspicious signs of Buddhism, which represents the endless cycle of death and rebirth. The flowers on the face made of conch shells represent the Lotus flower (Padma) (Picture 4) which symbolises purity, whereas the gold sun and silver moon represent luck and virtue respectively. Survanamatsya, the golden fish (Picture 2), represented by the eyes of the mask, symbolises the liberation of the spirit from the cycle of rebirth. The parasol (Chattra) (Picture 7) is a symbol of spiritual power, which is represented by the crown of the mask. The appliquĂŠd motif inside the crown consists of the clockwise spiralled conch shell (Daksinavartasankha) (Picture 5) that represents the glory of the teachings of the Buddha. The arch stands for the Dhvaja, the flag of victory (Picture 1), which stands for the victory of Buddhist teachings over all opposing forces and the face of the mask represents the Chakra or the wheel (Picture 8).

NGONPA MASK IN THE OLDEN DAYS

In earlier times, instead of the plywood, a thick base made up of layers of fabric, pasted together with starch, was used. But this base was heavier and would bend over the time, hence they switched to plywood. Also since olden times rice boiled in water was used as the adhesive as fevicol is a new phenomena. All the stitching done now, apart from the appliqué, is done using the sewing machine, which was earlier done by hand. Interestingly, in the old masks that I had seen, instead of the shells, buttons were used to make the flowers. I assumed that since Tibet is in a hilly terrain and not a coastal one, I thought that shells wouldn’t have been there in the olden times and hence the buttons. But I was told that Tibet did have a sea and that’s where the shells came from earlier. I couldn’t find out the reason of the buttons being used. The crescent and the teardrop used to be of real gold and silver and not of fabric or paper. All the parts that are now made by sticking fabric on paper cut outs, for faster production, were earlier appliquéd. The beard that hangs from the chin was real sheep wool and the one on the side was chamdi or goat skin. But after the law passed by Dalai Lama that no animals should be harmed and the offender will be jailed, the mask makers began using fake furry fabric from the market. Also in some old masks, instead of a row of shells on the nose, there is a single shell hanging from the tip of the nose. Real silk brocade was used earlier but now cheaper substitutes from Delhi and Varanasi with identical motifs are used.

NGONPA MASK THE PROCESS OF MAKING THE FACE

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

For faster production of masks, now a days, paper stencils of the required shapes are kept ready (Picture1). The face stencil is used to cut the blue felt and choona is dusted throught the holes in the stencil to mark the eyes, mouth, eyebrows and moustache (Picture 2). Chain stitch using light blue embroidery thread is used to highlight the eyebrows and moustache (Picture 3). Earlier red and light blue was used to applique the eyes and mouth but now red and black are used. Strips of fabrics are stitched along the edges of the eyes, mouth and face for edging purposes (Pictures 5,6,7) and the inside of the eyes and the mouth are cut out (Picture 8).The stencil is also used to cut out the plywood base of the mask (Pictures 9,10). The face is pasted on the plyboard using fevicol (Pictures 11,12). The edgings of the eyes, mouth and face are turned inside out and pasted at the back. Holes are made using a metallic tool called ‘Ungu’ and circular metallic embellishments called ‘Thubchi’ are

THE EMBELLiSHMENTS

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

stitched at the centre of the cheeks, which form the centres of the flowers (Picture13). Next conch shells (‘Timbur’) are stitched on four sides of the circular disk to form the petals. More flowers having three petals are formed on the chin and above the two eyebrows (Picture14). They use paper to make the sun and the moon, whereas traditionally metallic ones made of gold and silver were used. To make them, the paper shape is glued to a piece of brocade and the extra allowance is glued at the back (Picture15). The sun, in the shape of a teardrop, with the crescent moon below it is, put in the centre of the forehead (Picture16). The nose is an interesting element of the mask. A flexible nose is made which can be bent on either side so that it is not protruding at all times, which allows the mask to be stacked easily. For making the nose, a triangular piece of wood is cut and covered with the blue felt. Along the edge of the nose, a red ribbon is pasted and three conch shells are stitched in a row (Pictures17,18).

THE CROWN

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

The motif in the centre of the crown is traditionally completely appliquéd but now a days paper stencils are used to make the shapes. Only the outermost flame is appliquéd. The shape of the motif is marked on the red fabric using the stencil (Pictures 19,20). In the Tibetan method of appliqué, first the shape is outlined using a thick stiff thread which is stitched along the outline of the shape using another thread and needle (Picture 21). The shape is cut out leaving some allowance along the edges, which is then folded and pasted at the back (Pictures 25,26). This shape is then put on the ground fabric and stitched along the edges like regular appliqué (Pictures 28,29,30,31).

The mask maker makes the conch shells in large numbers and stores them. They are simply assembled together and pasted to get the final form (Pictures 22,23,24).

THE CROWN

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

The base fabric of the crown is yellow brocade which is cut out in the shape and edging is done with a contrasting colour (Picture 27). The entire mask has a frame or an outline, i.e., the green edging done all over the mask.

But instead of it being flat, they make it slightly relief by stitching a thick chord along the edges, over the strip of fabric (Picture 32). The edging strip is then turned inside out and pasted at the back (Picture 33). Another ornamentation that is done is a line pearls that is stitched on the inside of the egde of the crown. They take a needle with a long thread and make a stitch at one end of the crown (Picture 34). The thread is then filled with pearls, sufficient enough to just fit along the edge of the crown. This long row of pearls in then set along the edge and stitch up (Pictures 35,36).

THE HEAD

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

For the arch of the mask, yellow brocade is taken and the shape is sketched on it using the stencil (Picture 37).

Strips of fabrics are stitched along the sides of the arch which would form the edge (Picture 38). But the edging of the bottom arch is finished before pasting as it is not on the outer edge of the mask (Pictures 39,40). For pasting all the extra fabrics at the back of the board he uses a stronger type of fevicol (Picture 44). Again the strip of fabric is turned inside out and pasted at the back (Picture 45). The major part of the mask is now done.

THE WEARING MECHANISM

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

Since this mask is used for a dance which involves rotating and moving a lot, the mask has to be secured well on the wearer’s head. An interesting mechanism is used to wear the mask, which is being used since the olden times. A V-shaped piece of fabric with a flat end is stitched.

The flat end is folded to form a loop so that a string can pass through it (Picture 47). It is then stitched at the back of the mask, on the forehead area. It is stitched in a curve so that it can easily drape along the head of the wearer (Picture 48). Two flat strings, stitched by them, are used to make two loops that would run along the ears of the wearer (Picture 50). The size of the loop is dependent on the size of the head of the wearer, which they now know by estimate. A third string is taken and passed through the loop in the red piece of fabric, then through the two loops and then tied into a knot (Pictures 51,52). This mechanism is an extremely comfortable and firm method of tying the mask.

THE BEARD AND TASSLES

52

53

54

50

55

56

57

58

59

60

The final touches to the mask include putting the beard and the tassels. Currently this mask maker gets all his material from Delhi’s famous wholesale market Sadar Bazaar. They get a furry fabric for the beard and stitch a white triangular beard at the chin and a strip of similar brown fabric along the sides of the face (Pictures 53-56). At the end, a wet comb is used to brush the furry fabric to get rid of all the extra loose fibres (Picture 57). This mask maker had devised ways of his own to do certain jobs. He took a piece of dough and rubbed it all over the mask so that all the fibres and dust gets removed (Picture 59). The last task it so attach the tassels to the metallic infinite knot, which is then attached to the mask, at the two ends of the arch (Picture 60). The tassels are formed by taking a bunch of thick spun silk yarns and folding the bunch at the centre, which is then secured by winding colourful threads at the folded end.

TOOLS AND MATERIALS

Mr. Samten, the only mask maker at TIPA, has been working there for over thirty years now and he had learnt this art from the old Master mask maker, who had left a few years back. Since he has been making masks for several years, he has experienced both old and new ways of making the masks and the kind of tools he uses shows this.

He uses a mixture of hardware tools and traditional tools and methods. Right where he sits on the long table is a drawer which contains all the tools needed by him. He is a very patient man and sits in his place for hours till he gets his chai break. So he keeps everything in his close vicinity, which saves his time and effort. Mask making requires a lot of stitching with the needle or Khap, which hurts the index finger after a while. To protect it, he has made a covering from leather that fits in the upper part of the index finger. He uses a lot of hardware tools for simple jobs like applying fevicol and making holes. Pliers are used by him to make holes in the conch shells and a sharp pointed tool, what he calls ‘Ungu’, is used to make holes in the plywood. He sharpens his tools by rubbing them on a certain stone. Boiled potato is rubbed on fabric as it contains starch and gives it thickness and prevents the ends from fraying. He uses thin sticks to apply fevicol in smaller areas, which are not thrown away after every use but kept the same. He has made a small sac of chalk powder by simply knotting a piece of cloth and he uses this to mark all the shapes from the stencils onto the fabric.

OTHER MASKS

Apart from the Ngonpa mask, he also makes masks of several other characters of Ache Lhamo. There is another type of tibetan Buddhist ritual dance called ‘Cham’ performed by monks for lay people. There is great variety among cham dances according to the sect of the hosting monastery, the religious occasion, the region of performance and the traditions of the particular monastery. The Black Hat Dance is a famous type of cham dance in which the dancers wear a headgear instead of a mask. Each character in a Cham or Ache Lhamo has a specific elaborate mask which has a strenuous process of construction. Mr. Samten makes different types of masks and all of them follow a process which is a mixture of the traditional and modern techniques and materials.

TIPA SPECIAL MENTION

TIPA, Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, is an institute set up by the Tibetan exile government responsible for preserving and promoting the Tibet’s unique tradition of performing arts. After the Communist Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959, the Chinese authorities formulated laws and programmes which undermined the very existence of Tibetan culture and identity. Hence, when His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, along with 80,000 Tibetans came to India, he felt the immediate need to take steps to preserve the traditional performing arts. Thus, TIPA was established in August 1959. Every year TIPA holds auditions and selects students who display early precocity as performing artistes and train them for two years in vocals, instruments or dance. These artists then go for different events all over the world and perform these traditional art forms, so as to promote their age-old folk music, opera and dance traditions. TIPA is organised into different sections- the museum, the handicraft and tailoring section that makes all the costumes, the carpentry section which makes traditional Tibetan musical instruments, the painting section that makes the props and stage, the research section that documents and publishes and the archiving section that serves as a repository of information and material related to theatrical arts. TIPA has a very homely ambience with a very few people who live there. The institute works at a very comfortable pace and there’s always an air of tranquillity in their premises.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

TIPA had been extremely cooperative and understanding towards us. Tenzin Laksham (Picture1), the Gen. Secretary of TIPA, had met students from our college earlier and visited NID, hence we could relate to him the most. Mr. Samten, the mask maker was very patient and considerate to take out time for us and instruct me while I sat with him making the mask. The Artistic Director, Mr. Loadsand Samten and the Director, Ms. Tsering Yankyi (Picture3) of TIPA were not at all hesitant in giving us permission to spend two days in their institute and helped us in all the possible ways. Special thanks to Penpa Tsering (Picture4) who was like our tour guide, translator and accompanied us all throughout. Kuldeep bhai (Picture5) and Tenzin Dhedhen (Picture6), the receptionist, were very friendly and answered all our queries with a smile.

A special thanks to Mr. Tashi Tsering (Picture7), who teaches at TCVTibetan Children’s Village, who took us around TCV and gave us a lot of important information.