Bhutan - Lindsay Brown [41]
Music
The music scene in Thimphu is small; popular music, rigsar, is still evolving. Rigsar is typically performed on modern instruments, notably electric piano and synthesiser. Rigsar blends elements of traditional Bhutanese and Tibetan tunes, and is influenced by Hindi film music.
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The website http://www.bhutan.ethno-museum.ac.at is an excellent online source of information about Bhutanese culture.
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Popular male and female performers are emerging. Lhamo, Dechen Pem and Rinchen Namgay often appear in locally produced films. There is a range of music now available from little booths (notably on Norzin Lam near the traffic island) in Thimphu and throughout Bhutan. New tapes appear regularly and may be music from a Bhutanese film. Cassettes are not expensive (Nu 60 to 80).
In addition to rigsar performers, there are various performers who specialise in folk or religious songs, like Am Thinlay. Jigme Drukpa (Folk Songs from Bhutan) performs a wide selection of the two main styles of folk singing: zhungdra, which developed in Bhutan in the seventeenth century and boedra, influenced by Tibetan folk music.
There are four main traditional instruments in Bhutan, beyond the ritual instruments used in religious ceremonies: the ornate draymen or Bhutanese lute, the pchewang, with has only two strings, lyem (bamboo flute) and the yangchen, made from hollow wood, with 72 strings which are struck lightly with two thin bamboo sticks.
There is a series of four CDs from the Monasteries of Bhutan, with the misleading title Tibetan Buddhist Rites (John Levy, Lyrichord). This collection includes a wide range of sacred and folk music, including a hauntingly beautiful recording of a manip (an itinerant ascetic) reciting a song recollecting the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal’s arrival in Bhutan.
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The website www.raonline.ch/pages/bt has examples of Bhutanese music and further information on Bhutanese culture.
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Theatre and Dance
The main form of dance is the cham, performed at the tshechus and other festivals held throughout Bhutan. Usually the tshechus are performed in the dzong courtyards. The tsechu is a social event, drawing people from the surrounding districts, and it’s also an opportunity to be immersed in Buddhist teachings. The Bhutanese believe that they will create merit by attending the tshechus and watching the performances of ritual dances. Tshechus are not solemn occasions, but are marked by a holiday atmosphere as people put on their finest clothing and jewellery, share their food and exchange news with friends and relatives.
The tshechus are based on a series of dances performed in honour of Guru Rinpoche. The dates and duration of the tshechus vary from one district to another and always take place on or around the 10th day of the Bhutanese calendar, which is dedicated to Guru Rinpoche.
There are three broad categories of dance; the main dances performed are described here.
PACHAM (DANCE OF THE HEROES)
An energetic dance based on a vision by Pema Linga and is believed to lead believers directly to the presence of Guru Rinpoche.
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Cressida’s Bed by Desmond Barry is a fictional account of the murder of the last Zhabdrung at Talo Dzong.
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SHAWA SHACHI (DANCE OF THE STAG AND HUNTER)
Based on the story of Milarepa’s conversion of the hunter Gonpo Dorji to Buddhism, the dance is split into two parts. The first part is comic, with the hunter preparing to set out on a hunting expedition and his servants joking very irreverently with him. The second part is more serious. The hunter and his dog are in pursuit