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Cham is famous as a religious mask play
performed at Lamaseries in Tibet, Mongolia,
Butan, Nepal, etc. It is performed in religious
mass to offer sacrifices to God and to drive
out disasters. Hobeopjons appearing in Cham
are divinities indigenous to Tibet, which
had been antagonistic to Buddhism first but
were evangelized by old monks and promised
to protect Buddhism. Their angry face may
remind of hostile ghosts but it was to defeat
evil spirits with the power of Buddhism.
The occurrence of Bungyo, an old religion
in Tibet, primitive shamanism and animal-mimicking
dances provided conditions and foundations
for the occurrence and development of Cham.
Around the early 7th century A.D., Toben under
the rule of Songchanganpo established its
letters and laws and, celebrating it, performed
mask dances by entertainers disguised as lions,
tigers, cows and leopards in the grand celebration
ceremony. In the inauguration ceremony (779)
of Sangya-sa, the first Buddhist temple in
Tibet, animal-mimicking dances were performed
by those in mask. On an old cliff at Ariilto-hyeon
in Tibet are found a large number of animal
totems and people dancing in mask. Yeonhwasaeng,
an old priest in India, established Cham as
a Buddhist mask play by absorbing Tibetan
native dances.
'Hoebijeokheuksaeguihogamyeon’ dedicated to
Salga-sa in Tibet at present was given by
an Indian priest to Inheumsangpo 900 years
ago and became Gajisin of Tobeon. Later the
mask fell into the hand of Gonggallyeongpo,
one of five priests in Salga-sa, and became
a heavenly god worshipped in the temple as
well as a main character in Salga Cham.
Among masks in Cham is frequently seen one
with five skulls on its top, which implies
the suppression of man's five sins.
There is also a folk mask plays called <Janghee>
in Tibet. It is handed down not only in Tibet
but also provinces such as Qinghai, Gansu,
Sichuan etc. in which Tibetans are residing.
The development of Janghee varies significantly
according to region because of differences
in geography, history, culture, custom, etc.
There are six kinds of Janghee, which are
<Deokgyeokhui>, <Baengmyeonguhui>,
<Nammyeonguhui>, <Changdohui>,
<Andahui>, <Mogahui> and <Gayunghui>,
among which Baengmyeonguhui is oldest and
Nammyeonguhui is most advanced. |
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