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Shawa Sha-khe/che Chham: The Dance of the Stag and Hounds
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  • Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright
    Manage No EE00000016
    Country Bhutan
    ICH Domain Performing Arts
    Address
    The mask dance of The Stag and the Hounds is one of the popular Intangible Cultural Heritage Elements practiced and performed in almost all 20 Dzongkhags (Districts) Mask Dance Festivals in Bhutan. The Mask dance is organized in the courtyard of the Dzongs (Fortresses) or in a specific venue designated by the district government officials.
    Year of Designation 2022
Description Shawa Sha-khe/chi Chham (the mask dance of the stag and the hounds) or also called as Acho Phen-to (the Hunter and the servant) by its character is one of the mask dances that falls under the Nam-thar zhi-chol gi gar-chham (biography-based mask dances) category of three broad classifications of mask dances in the Bhutan. This mask dance has a characteristic of theatrical play extracted from the life story of Milarepa (1052-1135) and has various characters and episodes basically conveying the Buddhist principals of compassion, arising faith and human values that lead to a harmonious life. The origin of the mask dance dates back to the 11th century when Jetsun (venerable) Milarepa the great yogi from Tibet, converted Gonpo Dorji, a fierce hunter as his disciple who later listed as became one of his principal followers named as Khe-rawa Gonpo Dorji. In brief, the story goes as follows: While Milarepa was meditating in a cave known as Katya in Nyishangkurta (on the present-day border between the Tibetan autonomous region of China and Nepal), he heard a couple of hounds barking somewhere near to his hermitage. In a short while, a stag glistening with sweat and exhausted bounds into his cave indirectly seeking refuge from the lean and thin meditator Milarepa. Out of great and compassion and pity, Milarepa sangs a song to calm the terrified stag, which eventually laid down peacefully near to the great yogi in the cave. Led by the scent of the stag, two ferocious hounds; a red and a black-coloured appeared in lightning speed, rushed inside the cave in pursuit of the stag. Milarepa also calms them by singing yet another stanza of song dedicating to the hounds which subsides its rage and calmly sits beside Milarepa waggling its tail alike to their owner. Subsequently, the merciless hunter, the owner of the dogs, Gonpo Dorje soon arrives in pursuit of his target, the hounds, and steped into the cave frustrated, drenched in sweats, tired and a bow and arrow ready to release the trigger. The sight of his hounds and the stag calmly sitting together with Milarepa infuriates him, thinking that the yogi has used some kind of black magic on the animals. Dragged by his rage, he shoots an arrow at Milarepa which in-turn slips the arrow from his bowstring. Milarepa then sings the hunter a song to calm his mind and open it to the Dharma, but the hunter remains uncertain whether Milarepa is a great saint or else a black magic practitioner. Gonpo Dorje inspected Milarepa’s cave, and upon noticing nothing in it but an empty bowl surprised him. Overwhelmed by feelings of profound respect for Milarepa, feled deep remorse for all his past sinful actions and thereafter vowed never to commit such acts and became a faithful disciple. The mask dance has various characters such as; Shawa (the Stag), Sha-khi/che (two hounds), Acho (the hunter), Phen-to (servant), Milarepa (the Saint) and a package of Atsa-ra (clowns). The mask dance is performed only during the annual Tshe-chu (Mask Dance Festival) with several episodes portraying different scenes. The element is still vibrant in the country.
Social and cultural significance The social significance of the mask dance is that it makes the members of the community celebrate the festival together and strengthens social cohesion. Culturally, the performance is considered one of the means of liberation called thong-drol (liberation through seeing), as it helps to mature and realize the original Buddha nature. It also reminds us of the biography of the great saint Milarepa, the act also entails that an evil person can transform into a good person, that there are chances to achieve enlightenment, that music and songs can calm not only the minds of people but also the animals, and finally it reminds us of the compassion and Buddha-nature that is embedded in us and for the realization of which we need a master, a guide or a teacher.
Transmission method Similar to other mask dances, dancers are selected based on their mental and physical health, physical flexibility, and interest in the performing arts. Participants usually learn the choreography and also the preparation of the Dhar-sham (silk skirt costume) from experts locally called Cham-pons (mask dance leaders) and other older Cham-pa (performers). The performer learns the skills by imitating or mimicking the teacher and memorizing each step, which must be matched to the Rol-mo (cymbal) played by a retired Cham-pon called Rol-mo trol-mi/cham-lop or Um-ze (master of mask dance). In this mask dance, which depicts the life and deeds of Milarepa, songs must also be sung and dialogues exchanged between the characters. Therefore, the performer who takes the role of Milarepa, the saint, Acho, the hunter, and Phen-to, the servant, should memorize the Gurma (religious song), Lu (secular song) and dialogues that are performed during the mask dance. In short, there is a written document called Cham-yig, which lists the detailed choreographies, songs and dialogues along with the episodes, and is kept by the Bhutanese government or by the respective districts and communities to provide the knowledge of the performance along with the historical background. By and large, the mask dance consists of two episodes; Shawa gang-le-baab (The Stag descending from the mountains) on the first day with scenes of the Stag and hounds appearing and performing, Acho and Phento appearing, songs sung, dialogues and jokes recited, and the other episode Shawa thag-la-cham (deer wandering in the plains) on the last day, in which the Stag and hounds appear, Acho and Phento appear, various songs are sung, Milarepa is met, and Acho finally gives up his life as a hunter and accepts to be his devotee.
Community During the annual Mask Dance Festival, generally, two types mask dances performed namely; Tsun-chham (Mask dances performed by monastic bodies normally monks) and Boe-chham (Mask dances of by the lay-men (community members)). The Mask dance performers are solely the laymen (Community members) either designated or nominated by the District or Local Government Administration. Data collected by: Mr. Yeshi Lhendup, NLAB
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Information source
National Library and Archives of Bhutan
https://www.library.gov.bt/archive/
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