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 The
culture and the tradition of Himachal
Pradesh follow the Tibetan form of tantric Buddhism. It has always an aura of demons,
saints and followers. The Lamas, the Buddist
monks, lead a life of complicated orders,
regulations and rituals. These lamas live in
the monasteries called Gompas. There is an
equal 50:50 proportion of Hindus and
Buddhists in the Himachal state and the
people of Spiti are almost all Buddhists of
Tibetan pedigree.
The efforts of the exiled Tibetan
communities are always conducive to keep
alive their traditional art and culture. Lhamo - a form of folk opera is nurtured in
the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts,
which is about 15 - minutes walking distance
from Mc Leodganj bus stop.
Open-air performances take place in
Dharmashala on all national holidays and for
the first whole week in the month of April.
Singers in exotic costumes, which are
loosely designed on the aristocratic Lhasa
attire, wear big hats and flat masks of or
caricatured molded masks
In the beginning there is
a process of purifying the stage, which
merely an even piece of ground with a roof
of canopy. This involves Ngonpa characters
and six dancing fairies or Ringas. They sing
praising Thangtong Gyalpo, the patron of
saint Lhamo, and whose statue is always
placed in the center of the stage. This is
often accompanied by juniper branch and a
bowl of tsampa (the main food maid of
flour). Shung Shagen, the narrator, then
enters the stage and delivers a brief speech
about the opera in the classical Tibetan
language and ending it in a high shout.
The main characters appear first
and all the performers enter the stage
accompanied by drums and cymbals. The dress
of the hero will be of brocade designed of
dragon patterns and with a wide brimmed hat
and that of heroine is a golden silk costume
and a hat of flowers. The villain is often a
witch draped in black and hides behind a
black and white mask. A hoard of ghostly
demons whose masks show wide staring eyes,
crimson lips and fangs appear at intervals.
Each character has a special dance and sings
in a drawn out humming manner. The plots are
always centered on the early Buddhist texts
and the deeds of Tibetan saints.
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