Beaked religious masks tsam meaning. Tsam dance - Buddhist mystery

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1. Religious and philosophical aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. „.

2. Formation of schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the genesis of the mystery of Tsamshva II. The Mystery of Tsam in the Context of the Philosophical and Ethno-Cultural Advention of the Peoples of Central Asia. Religious-philosophical and ethnic aspects of the traditional form of heteria Tsam

I. Features of the religious mystery Tsam in Buryatia. bakers and literature.

Introduction to the thesis (part of the abstract) on the topic "The Mystery of Tsam as a Buddhist philosophical text and ritual action"

Dissertation conclusion on the topic "Philosophy and history of religion, philosophical anthropology, philosophy of culture", Balzhanov, Tsyrendorzho Dondokdorzhievich

List of references for dissertation research Candidate of Philosophical Sciences Balzhanov, Tsyrendorzho Dondokdorzhievich, 2002

Please note that the scientific texts presented above are posted for review and obtained through recognition of the original texts of dissertations (OCR). In this connection, they may contain errors related to the imperfection of recognition algorithms. There are no such errors in the PDF files of dissertations and abstracts that we deliver.

Greetings, our dear readers!

Today our conversation will be devoted to the mysterious art of Mongolia: we will find out what Mongolian masks are and talk about their meanings.

Ritual masks are very ancient: their age is several centuries old and they are used during the religious ceremony Tsam, which means “dance of the gods”.

Mystery Tsam

The religious rite Tsam originates from the ancient shamanistic mysteries that were very popular in Tibet. Subsequently, Indian dance pantomime was added to these customs, and as a result, a dance action called Tsam was formed. This rite is one of the most important aspects that reflect the teachings of Buddhism.

It was as part of a religious ceremony that these dances began to be performed at the suggestion of the bodhisattva Padmasambhava. This event took place in the 8th century. AD

Tsam is the following spectacle: Buddhist lamas put on ritual casts depicting dokshits or other deities of Buddhism, and perform a dance in a circle. Usually such a ceremony is held in front of the Buddhist temples themselves. Masks can depict evil and good characters, as well as various animals, symbolizing different facets of Buddhist teachings.

The purpose of this unusual rite is to drive away evil spirits and show that the defenders, i.e. good spirits are on earth. It is also believed that the soul of one who has watched such a mystery will certainly come to enlightenment.

At the end of the whole action, the linga, that is, evil, is destroyed. The ling is made of paper, plaster or dough, and at the end of the ceremony it is burned or cut open, which symbolizes the cleansing of the temple.

Now let's turn to the participants in this ceremony and analyze in more detail the meanings of the images in which the monks perform.

Types of masks and their meanings

The first image we will talk about is the mask of the "keeper of the cemeteries" - Chitipati, or Hohimoy. The Guardians are dressed in skeleton costumes and have skull masks on their heads. They are the companions of the death god Yamaraja and dance at the very beginning of the performance.

Next, the death god Yamaraja himself, or Choychzhal, appears. He appears in the form of a bull. This is one of the largest masks in the whole mystery, which depicts the head of a bull with three eyes and an open mouth, "crowned" by five skulls.

Following the god of death is his retinue in the form of a bull and a deer. The character in the deer mask is the companion of the god of death. The lama depicting him, with his movements, tries to resemble the animal itself. He appears in a deer head with antlers and a protruding tongue.

The bull mask represents the head of a bull or yak, black or dark blue, with an open mouth. He, like the deer, is in the retinue of the god of death. Together they dance an unusual dance, more like an attack, in which the participants attack each other in hostility, but a real battle does not happen, because. Hohimoi himself appears.

The next character in this amazing act is Jamsaran, or Begdze. He is one of the main members of the whole performance and is always present in all Tsam ceremonies.

Jamsaran was an ancient god of war before Buddhism spread to Tibet, Mongolia and other eastern countries. In the 16th century, he was named the protector of the Dalai Lamas, and for this reason, various celebrations and ritual performances began to take place in his honor.

Jamsaran is considered a dokshit, and one of the most angry: dokshits are the defenders of the Buddhist religion. His mask is truly terrible - it is made with 3 bulging eyes, a bared mouth, a crown of skulls and is decorated with many coral beads of various sizes. One of these ancient casts is in a museum in Mongolia.

Jamsaran's dance is also terrifying, the reason for this is that the dummy of Begdze is so huge that the actor who plays him towers over the rest of the people. Together with the god of war, eight of his companions dance, the roles of which are played by little boy novices.

The next participants in the action are the small satellites accompanying Jamsaran. They are dressed in red costumes and masks, whose names are "Ditik-zhad".

All masks are made of papier-mâché material.

And now we will talk about another unusual participant in the ceremony - the goddess Lhamo. Lhamo, together with Jamsaran, is one of the angry Dharmapalas, those who defend the teachings, and one of the main participants in the mystery. Her mask is blue, with three eyes and a crown and five skulls. In her hands is a wand, which she uses to control the weather.

The retinue of the goddess Lhamo consists of several actors. Let's look at what these deities are:

• Simhamukha is a longevity dakini who is also a yidam. Her images can often be seen in the photo: a blue body and a white head of a lion, decorated with five skulls. The goddess appears accompanied by the guardians of the four cardinal points in the masks of the Lion, the Tiger, the bird Garuda and the Dragon.
• Garuda is the bird of the god Vishnu. In the Vajrayana, this vahana is the symbol of enlightenment. Her mask is most often orange with horns, but the number of eyes varies: there are both two-eyed and three-eyed.
• Makaravaktra is the sister of Simhamukha, who is also the deity of longevity and knowledge. She is depicted with a blue body and a head resembling a crocodile and an elephant. The mask can be multi-colored: red, green with gilding.

White Elder character. According to history, the White Elder in ancient times was a great shaman, who was later promoted to the status of a deity in Buddhism. He is considered the patron of rivers, forests, lands, and also bestows longevity.

This image is one of the most popular in the Tsam ceremony. The actor in this role depicts funny scenes, not frightening ones. His clothes are always white, and his mask resembles a bald old man with a long beard.

God of wealth Kubera is a popular deity in Buddhism and Hinduism. His mask depicts a yellow face with two eyes, full lips, earrings in his ears and a crown on his head.

Vajrapani is one of the bodhisattvas who guard the Buddha and his teachings. Vajrapani is the god of healing. His face is embodied in blue, black or dark brown, with three eyes, rearing red hair, a crown and a vajra in one of his hands.

Black Mahakala is one of the protectors of the Buddha and one of the main characters of Tsam. Mahakala is the following: a fierce blue face with three eyes and five skulls rising in the form of a crown.

White Mahakala is a deity denoting compassion. It is the patron saint of Mongolia. This hero looks like this: an angry white face with three eyes, a bared mouth and a crown of five petals. Often White Mahakala performs together with Kubera.

Of course, these are not all participants in such a rare and unusual process, but we tried to tell about all the most revered and popular ones.

Conclusion

Dear readers, our story has come to an end. Today we have learned about the most famous characters of the Tsam ritual, about ritual Mongolian masks and their meanings.

We hope that it was interesting for you to plunge into such an unusual cultural ceremony.
If you liked our article, please share the link on social networks. See you soon!

Tsam (Mong. Tsam; Tib. Cham; Bur. Sam)

historical background

Solemn religious service, performed annually in the open air in Buddhist monasteries (datsans) of Transbaikalia, Mongolia and Tibet.

According to one version, it comes from ancient shamanic practices. It was included in the Buddhist ritual complex. In Mongolia and Transbaikalia, Tsam has become one of the main religious mysteries.

Monastic Tsam may not be timed to a historical event or a specific day. Its purpose is to show the presence of a deity on earth and to alienate evil spirits (shimnus) from the followers of the Buddha.

The rite consists of a dance pantomime performed by lamas who disguise themselves as dokshits (guardians), that is, put on papier-mâché masks depicting this or that dokshit, and together with shanaks (contemplative lamas) who perform without masks, but in appropriate attire, they perform a religious dance in a circle, gesticulating with their hands.

Tsam is held in the courtyard of the datsan. For several weeks before the performance of the mystery, special services are held in the monasteries, and preparations are made for the ceremony.

Tsama types

• colloquial - with dialogues and improvisations, lama actors talk to the audience;
• pantomime - with the participation of 4-5 to 108 people;
• dedicated to any character or event in Buddhist history and mythology. It is performed only by dedicated monks, minor roles are entrusted to monastic novices.

Functions of Tsam

• a means leading to enlightenment;
• a way to appease and neutralize evil spirits;
• preparing a person for death, the transition to the bardo state.

Plots of dances

One of the popular stories is the story of the attempt of the Tibetan king Landarma to destroy Buddhism in Tibet.

The main scenes of the mystery

• dance with swords performed by the laity;
• black hat dance with 13, 17, 21 or 23 dancers;
• drum dance;
• dance chitipati- "keepers of cemeteries";
• animal dance: bird, deer, yak, lion;
• dance of the guardians of the cardinal points, in which 4 or 8 people participate.

Characters of Tsam: bull-headed Choychzhal (Erlik-Khan), Mahakala, Jamsaran, dokshits - angry defenders of the faith, White Elder.

Tsam ends with the killing of the ling. It is drawn on paper, or a figure is made from dough. The paper image is burned, and the dough figure is cut into 7, 9 or 13 parts. Ling is the personification of Landarma or his minister Mashangi.

In the datsans of Buryatia, Tsam is held on summer holidays.

Tour guide portfolio

Sources

• Tsam // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. M ., 1982. S. 117.
• Zhukovskaya N. L. Categories and symbols of the traditional culture of the Mongols. M .: Nauka, 1988.
• Pozdneev A. M. Essays on the life of Buddhist monasteries and Buddhist clergy in Mongolia. SPb. , 1887. S. 392-403.

However, shamanism, the ancient faith of the natives of the region, was not supplanted by two world religions that fought for their influence on the spiritual life of people without visible aggression, using more subtle methods of influence, such as moral and philosophical sermons, knowledge of psychotherapy methods and solemn rites of worship. The tolerance shown by ministers of all confessions helped each of them find their own niche and coexist more or less peacefully until the establishment of Soviet power in the region. The persecution of the activities of all religious denominations in the 1930s, the destruction of temples and temple complexes, together with their religious educational institutions, publishing enterprises, libraries, art workshops for icon painting and cult sculpture, caused irreparable damage to the culture of the people.

The revival of spiritual culture, which began everywhere in the 90s, is unlikely to restore all the lost values. Buddhism, as academician N.I. Konrad, this is not only a religion, but also an art. In this regard, the Buddhist mystery tsam, performed at the datsans of Buryatia during special rites of worship, can also be attributed to irretrievable losses. It is about this peculiar phenomenon that I would like to talk about.

Lamaism, northern Tibetan Buddhism, came to Buryatia at the end of the 17th century. Together with him, Tibetan and Old Mongolian writing, the traditions of Eastern philosophy, and professional art became widespread in the Trans-Baikal steppes. A lamaist clergy appears with its complex hierarchy, temple and monastic complexes are built - datsans, dugans, hits; magnificent religious processions and services are arranged, attracting a mass of believers.

One of the most theatrical and colorful rites of worship was tsam-khural. Tsam (Tib. "cham" - dance), a Buddhist mystery, which is sacred dances and pantomime in masks performed by siyatttennmkami at lamaist monasteries - * - gt ^ p -

It originated in Tibet and is associated with the Tantric system of Buddhism and Lamaism. Tradition attributes the idea of ​​performing the first sacred dances in the masks of the gods to Padma Sambhava during the construction of the Samyai monastery in the 8th century. Allegedly, then this solemn rite of worship helped the great Teacher, the head of the Red Hat sect, defeat the resistance of the local Bon-po religion. The origin of these dances is supposed to come from India, where "in ancient times, special actors in masks and clothes of the gods danced and conducted dialogues in the language of gods, demons and people." (Forman W. und Rintschen B. Lamaistische Tanzmasken. Der Erlik-Tsam in der Mongolei. Leipzig, 1967, p. 61.).

In Mongolia, the Gelug-pa sect gradually introduced into their monasteries various types of sacred dances and pantomime, with and without masks, and even with dialogues (tsam Miloraiba). In Oriental literature, there are detailed descriptions of the performance in Tibet and Mongolia of Zhagkhar Tsama or Erlik Tsama, named after the main deity of this mystery - Erlik Nomun Khan (Tib. Choychzhil), the king of law, the lord of hell. And it was this type of tsam that was introduced in Buryatia in the second half of the 19th century. In Buryatia, Zhagkhar tsam was more often called the tsam of the Dokshites, because the main characters in it were the Dokshites (Skt. dharma-pala) - the guardian geniuses of the Buddhist faith in their angry incarnation.

It is known that the datsans kept special manuals in Tibetan on the ritual of sacred dances and there were lamas-tantrins of high dedication who led the entire ceremony of worship and the performance of the actual dances and pantomime. They strictly, strictly adhered to the existing canon. At large monasteries there were artists who owned icon-painting skills (depicted gods on fabric - tanks), they could also make masks of gods, people, animals, birds for tsam. There also worked craftsmen for tailoring various and complex costumes for the characters of the mystery and craftsmen for the production of props, props.

Acquaintance with the literature allows us to say that when transferring the dokshit tsam to the Buryat datsans, the existing canons in the performance of ritual dances were very strictly observed: the order in which the masks appeared, their number, the accuracy of the costumes and attributes used by the characters. So if 87 masks took part in the presentation of the mystery of the Dokshits (Zhagkhar tsam) in Mongolia in the Erdeni-zu monastery, then in the main temple of Buryatia, the Gusinoozersky datsan (residence of the hambo lama), 78 characters came out. A small difference occurred due to the reduction in the number of pochzhuts, minor deities who were part of the retinue of guardian geniuses, dokshits.

The magnificent service, the tsam-khural of the Dokshits, was performed one groove a goal in early July and

Inquisitive. Preparation for it began long ago, one and a half to two months. Exotic musical instruments were put in order, costumes and masks were updated, performers were determined. Rehearsals for sacred dances began. Elderly priests who danced in this rite many times passed on their experience to younger, physically strong and hardy lamas who had knowledge in Tantric mysticism. Beginners were taught one by one, each movement was shown separately and the corresponding verbal formula (zam-inaniye) was shown, then they were united into groups and, finally, the moment came when all the participants went out into the monastery fence and rehearsed the whole performance there in as a whole to the sounds of a ladies' orchestra. The dancers rehearsed for some time without masks, which were put on later, when the performers were already moving freely, having studied and memorized the pattern of their dances. A witness to such a general rehearsal without masks at the Gusinoozersky datsan, when all the participants felt quite clearly and conveyed the character of the deities in a plastic and rhythmic way,

Represented was a famous Buryat scientist

On the eve of the public presentation of the tsam, a closed worship service was held inside the temple, which was led by the chief ceremonial master of the rite, chambon. He is in a suit, but without a mask, in a gilded

A round hat with a high cone-shaped top at midnight opened the doors of the temple and began a swift whirlwind dance. All participants dance to the rhythm of incantations (tarni), which chambon sings in a high tenor, holding a silver bowl-deber in his hand. The Gelun Lama serving him pours symbolic blood from a bala (a bowl made from a human skull) into a bowl. Frantic music of the gesture is turned on. Chambon leaves and pours the blood from the bowl into the mutton jelly, ties it and puts it into the figure of a man prepared from dough - Link, the enemy of faith, the embodiment of sins.

At dawn, a khural was held - the consecration of "Sor", a three-headed pyramid made of dough and ending at the top with a likeness of a human skull. The sides of the pyramid are painted bright red, symbolizing flames. "Sor is one of

The main attributes of tzama dokshits and is a sacrifice that supposedly has the power to burn the enemies of the faith. This ended the closed part of the service.

A public performance of the Dokshit Tsama was held in the monastery fence. In the center of the square in front of the main temple, a table was set up and a silk canopy was erected over it. Around the etogs canopy, several concentric circles were outlined with chalk or lime - the place where the masks dance. Not far from the outer circle; they arranged seats and awnings for guests of honor, lamas, rich pilgrims. Ordinary believers, laymen settled down as best they could, sitting standing, row by row, occupying all the free space in the fence. On the days of tsam-khural, the monastery fence with these circles, enclosed in a quadrangle, was a mandala.

The zam began with the removal of "Sor" and Link, which were placed on a table under a canopy. The sounds of a lama orchestra were heard, located near the outer circle and consisting of peculiar instruments

Instruments, such as huge two-three-meter metal pipes uher-buree, supported by people in front and behind, like ganlin, some parts of which were made from human tibia, tsang - copper cymbals, khengerig - a type of bell, bishkhuur, a wooden wind instrument, close to the oboe etc. "Tsam's music is unusual and amazing" (B.Ya. Vladimirtsov). Under this

Music on the circle out performers. At first, two masks "khokhimai" appeared, the rulers of the cemeteries, which are human skeletons (black clothes fitting the body are painted with white paint), on their heads they have a mask - a human skull. They drive away from the "Sor" (sacrifice to the deities, set under the canopy) the Raven, who entered the inner circle along with the "hohimays".

Then Khashin Khan appeared with eight boys, either sons or students. Their masks depict kind smiling human faces. They do not dance, but greet each deity with a "hadak" offering as they come out of the temple doors into the circle. The guardians of order during the action are four masks of the inhabitants of Hindustan - two brown and two dark green with a strict facial expression. These are the Azars, they dance outside the circle and all the time

They are there, making sure that the spectators do not enter the circles, do not interfere with the dancers. Whips in the hands of the Azzars

"Masks" went to the circle either one at a time, or in pairs, or in groups. Having danced and performed a pantomime, they retired to the temple or remained on the platform on the side, without disturbing the other participants.

The dance consisted in the fact that the "masks" then slowly, then quickly, in time with the music, took various plastic poses, jumped from one foot to the other, circled around the stage, moved back and forth. At the same time, they held in their hands any objects of symbolic content, and the manipulation of these objects during the dance had a special meaning. The dance movements of some of the "masks" were more lively, light and fast and not so monotonous. However, in the tsam there were characters who were spinning in a whirlwind of a real frenzied dance. This is how an eyewitness describes the action of the bull and deer masks, the dance parts of which combined expressive pantomime with dance. "To the fast pace of the music, the bull and deer perform a quick dance, then stop, look at each other with hostility and make a series of hostile threatening movements. With bowed heads, violently shaking their horns, they are ready to throw themselves at each other, but .. the approaching mask" hohi- May, "does not allow Oni, holding back their rage, marking time and, having heard the quickened tempo of the music, begin a swift dance in the inner circle." (Dm. Daursky. "In Transbaikalia". Travel notes. "Siberia", 3 249, 3.11.1910)

The characters of the tsam fall into several groups. One of them includes masks of various animals: crows, buffaloes, lions, tigers (leopards), deer, bears. In Mongolia, this group also includes a dragon, the mythical bird Garudi, in Tibet - an elephant, a monkey, in Tuva - a camel, a reindeer found in the Sayan Mountains. The next group is the masks of dokshits, formidable deities, guardian geniuses of the Buddhist faith. They have a human appearance, but their faces are distorted by an expression of rage and anger. Some have a third eye in their forehead, large fangs. The masks of high-ranking deities are topped with a tiara of five human skulls. There are deities with three skulls, with one skull. According to B.Ya. Vladimirtsova, "the most masks are for the most part made extremely skillfully and artistically" They are painted in different colors: blue, dark yellow, red, green, and all are quite large in size so that the performers can freely put them on their heads.

There are ten main deities, guardians of faith, dokshits in this tsam. But they come out accompanied by a retinue of pochuts, gods of the lowest rank. In addition, the Dokshits Choychzhil and Jamsaran also have their own "Shakti", beings that symbolize the feminine principle of the Universe.

The third group of masks includes characters representing different people. These are twenty-two shanaks, contemplative monks, who have an important function in tsam and a separate dance part. They do not wear masks Hashin khan with boys, their good masks have already been mentioned "White Old Man" - "Sagaan ubuguun "And here it is necessary to include the masks of sabdaks, the patron spirits of the area. Each datsan had its own sabdak.

The mask of the patron of Huhe Yamaata participated

Tsama costumes are bright and colorful, sewn from expensive fabrics - silk, brocade. An apron decorated with embroidery (the head of a burkhan-god), a special cape collar with scallops hanging in front, behind and over the shoulders, were put on a robe with long wedge-shaped sleeves. heavy rosary, elegantly carved from bone, encircling the entire body and fastened in front with a metal disk-toli. At the bottom, miniature silver bells were hung from the rosary, there are 12 of them, they accompanied each movement of the dancer with a melodic sound. On the feet of the performers, Mongolian shoes (gutal), embroidered with beads, beads

Among the characters of tsama, the mask of the dok-shit of Jamsaran left a great impression. It is red in color, is a skillful inlay of coral beads of various sizes and red beads. The mask is three-eyed, has four fangs protruding from the open mouth. the bloodied heart of the enemy of the faith The dance of this deity is a slow solemn tread of formidable power Together with Jamsara-n, eight of his little companions danced - "ditokchzhad" in red masks and clothes They were usually performed by novices children (khu-baraks)

After the dance of Jamsaran, as a détente, a comedic interlude by Sagaan Ubuguun (White Old Man), the character of tsam loved by the audience, followed. He is the lord of the earth, the keeper of pastures and herds, gives people longevity The mask depicted the good-natured face of an old man with a long gray beard He is dressed in a white Mongolian robe, girded with a sash, walks leaning on a wooden staff

The white old man brings revival to the tsam, makes the audience laugh, performing a pantomime of an old man waking up from sleep, straightens his beard, mustache, stretches, is frightened by loud music Long and unsuccessfully tries to get on his feet Finally, he succeeds in this Rejoicing, Sagaan Ubuguun begins to dance softly, gradually disperses, dances to exhaustion, falls Sometimes the White Old Man, lamenting that he was completely alone, stole one or two of his boys from Hashin Khan, was terribly glad that he had found heirs, amused them and, having played out, due to his blindness, he seemed to be unable to find the children hiding from him Started some other scene He had a large supply of interludes

And here, in connection with the function of the Sagaan Ubuguun mask in the mystery, it is necessary to dwell on two very important points. The first is the esotericism of tsama. The second, related to the first, is the nature of the theatricality of the tsam and the introduction of elements of nationality into it.

Many researchers of Central Asia - travelers, scientists, who once observed the performances of tsams at the monasteries of Tibet, Mongolia, Buryatia, showed great interest in this original phenomenon. In their descriptions of tsam, along with signs of admiration, surprise, and sometimes bewilderment about what they saw, they also left their reflections, assumptions, guesses about the origin of this mystery and the essence of its content. They made no secret of the fact that they had failed to penetrate the content of the tsam, that

In conversations with the lamas, one always felt the secret of the mystery, carefully guarded from strangers. They were given information that lay on the surface: the names of the gods in masks, the names of attributes, clothes and props. This explanation went no further. They learned that dances and pantomime were staged according to the scenario canon, captured in special manuals, and that the lamas, initiated into Tantric mysticism, were engaged in the sacred rite. the teachings are shrouded in deep mystery.Tibetan books about tsam are written in symbolic word forms

Lamy, which only an initiate can decipher. These words are not found in any European-Tibetan dictionary. ." (N.P. Shastina. Religious mystery "tsam" in the monastery "Dzunkhur", j. "Modern Mongolia, 1935, No. 1, p. 92 ~ 93)

The fact is that the characters of tsama, dancing to the music, uttered to themselves to the beat of it, and some, such as chambon in the night ritual, loudly sang the texts of spells (tarni, mantras) and it was these mysterious formulas that were associated with dance movements.

Yami and together they constituted something energetically integral, complete and directed, such as dynamic meditation. But what was still said - few people knew We read from G.Ts. Tsybikov: due to the difficulty of the content, they remain not even translated from Sanskrit into either Tibetan or Mongolian languages.Therefore, their meaning is not available. Vladivostok,! 910, vol. 11, p. XX). And the well-known sinologist V. Vasiliev wrote that books of mystical content are called tantras, because through them they retain constantly acquired forces. But time passed and the attitude towards prohibitions and secrets gradually changed Buddhist mystery.

Academician B. Rinchen (Mongolia) noted in his book on tsam published in Leipzig in the late 60s with wonderful color photographs by Werner Foreman. These were the masks of Jagkhar Tsam.

The second point is the theatricality of the mystery, its bright spectacularity. The amazing harmony, the colorfulness of the whole ceremony, composed of thoughtful dances and pantomime contrasting in tempo-rhythm and pattern, replacing each other to the sounds of such an unusual ladies' orchestra, impressed the masks themselves, bright in color, diverse in expression, terrifyingly angry, formidable among the Dokshits, strict, restrained among the Azars, kind and even with a smile in Khashin Khan, his children, Sagaan Ubuguun Beautiful, spectacular masks of animals - a deer, a lion, a tiger, a buffalo, a Garudi bird Attracted the attention of viewers the bright elegance of the costumes The whole picture of dancing masks was a spectacle rare in terms of impressive

It must be assumed that it was from here, from this spectacular ™, that the completely legitimate desire of researchers to consider tsams according to the department of the Buddhist church theater came from B Vladimirtsov describes the tsams of Tibet in an article called "Tibetan theatrical performances" in Mongolia, they still consider it necessary to classify performances of mysteries as theatrical hypocrisy, bringing tangible income to monasteries. It is difficult to disagree with these supported facts and evidence, because they contain part of the truth. However, the assertion that tsam "originally existed only as a religious action inside the monastery , and later tsam was reborn into a theatrical action, into a spectacle, became a means for collecting money and donations "(N Shastina, cited op. 93) is hardly true, although there is also part of the undeniable truth. Even more controversial is the judgment of A. Avdeev, who stated " on the example of "tsama" one can trace his transformation from a religious mystery into a spectacle that is gradually losing its mystical character" "Economic conditions forced to expand the audience, which in turn forced the performance of the tsam" to be brought to the square and accelerated the process of its pacification, that is, its transformation into a theatrical performance in which its religious side more and more receded into the background "(AD Avdeev Origin of the theater L, 1959, p. 176)

In our opinion, the situation with the theatricality of tsam was not as simple as it looks here. We can safely say that tsam is not a worldly

He walked, did not regenerate and did not lose his religious purpose A^o in that, judging by the descriptions in the literature and especially from the stories of the tsama performers themselves, the closed part of the Khural, which took place inside the temple with the participation of a small number of persons initiated into the mysteries of the mystery and preceded an open performance of ritual dances, was also theatrical in nature. In this internal rite, all participants were dressed in appropriate ritual solemnly bright costumes and headdresses, a small orchestra played and dances performed by YOUNG lamas alternated with the reading and singing of prayers and incantations (Tarni) Chambon, effectively dressed, being the leader of the entire ceremony of the closed Khural, conducted the rite of consecration of "Sor", he himself all the time soloed as a dancer, using a variety of symbolic at-

Ributy The ensemble of dancers-lamas completely obeyed his instructions. There was no public in the temple, except for the participants in the rite, and the solemn elation, theatricality, and entertainment of the ritual were present in full. This means that solemn acting, full of mystical inspiration, was prescribed by the very content of the ritual.

This is what leads to the idea that the theatricality of tsama existed from the very beginning, was invested in the written manuals for the rite, where everything was described from beginning to end: every movement of the legs, the position of the fingers and hands (mudra), the objects that were held in hands different deities, the order of dances and pantomimes The music for the lama orchestra was also arranged according to instruments, each god has its own melody, its own rhythm And the very masks and costumes of the mystery are multicolored, bright, made with great art, carried very difficult information there was a legend of his appearance in the Buddhist pantheon) From this, one can conclude that all this was originally designed for entertainment, for impressionability, for perception from the outside, no matter who the perceiver was - the lamas themselves or simple lay pilgrims. And, one must think that during the open performances of tsam, it was they who were the most direct part of the public, ordinary people, laity, who were sincerely fond of a bright spectacle and appreciated, above all, the spectacular entertaining side of the rite. Of course, ordinary people were well aware of the cult purpose of tsam and understood his. N Shastina and A Poz-dneev cite in their writings various interpretations of tsam, caught by them in conversations with Mongolian arats and the priests themselves. This gives grounds to speak about the ambiguity of the content of tsam. The information contained in the complex ceremony of this rite, with its predetermined spectacle and theatricality, can be read as multi-order, multi-layered, revealed differently for different circles of spectators and the participants in the mystery themselves, according to their level of consciousness.

It can be assumed that the Buddhist mystery, like other similar theatrical worship-rites (the Eleusinian, Dionysian mysteries) had a secret (esoteric) meaning, carefully classified and protected from the curiosity of the uninitiated. There is evidence that for the fathers of the lamaist church it was undesirable for the mass audience to penetrate into the details of the sacrifice ritual. That is why, from time to time, small pantomimic episodes of a distracting nature were introduced in parallel with the dancing masks: for example, scenes of offerings by Hashin Khan and his children hadaks of each group of divine masks. This family made a comical impression in appearance with their kind, naive smiling faces. Or suddenly the attention of those present was focused on the actions of Raven, who encroached on the sacred sacrifices that were under a canopy in the center of the stage, and khokhimai (masks with skulls and in costumes painted like skeletons) furiously drove him aside. Or, during the dance of the Dokshits, the atzars, the guardians of order, suddenly began to actively snap their whips, pushing away the spectators who supposedly came close to the forbidden line of the rectangle outlined for the action of the mystery.

And, finally, after the dance of one of the formidable dokshits - Chzhamsaran and, as it were, anticipating the exit of the main character of the dokshits' tsam - Choychzhil, on the square

A character appeared in the clothes of a Mongolian (Buryat) commoner, in the mask of a kind and wise old man with a gray beard, with a staff in his hands, and the sideshow Sagaan Ubuguun began, bringing great pleasure to the audience. In various descriptions of the pantomime of the White Old Man, its main plot line remains unchanged - playing out all kinds of comedic situations in order to focus the attention of those gathered on their figure, no matter what other masks do in dance circles. And this task has always been successfully carried out.

Dm. Daursky in his essays notes the great plastic skill of the lama playing the role of Sagaan Ubuguun, who managed to "transmit with gestures, gait and various body movements the good-natured cheerful appearance of the humorous figure of the mythical old man."

The White Old Man reappeared during the dance of the shanaks (lamas-contemplators) and again played out comical scenes: he sniffed tobacco, begged, collected money, hadaks, if he liked it - bless

Godard. And stayed on the circle to the end. Note that these scenes took place in sync with the dances of the shanaks, i.e. here there was a need to divert the attention of the public from the ritual actions of contemplative lamas. Choychzhil (Erlik Khan), the main figure of this rite, in the mask of the head of a buffalo, was the last to go out in the tsam of the Dokshits. He danced very close to "Sor". After his dance, Link's hural began - reading prayers against the enemy of faith. During this prayer, Choijil, Jamsaran, and several other fearsome gods dance around Link, casting incantations (tarni) and then cutting him apart. And it was at this moment that "The white old man distracts the people from the mysteries of Link" (N. Shastina).

The final general dance began - Dokshits dance in the inner circle, shanaks - in the outer one. In the middle of this dance, the lamas, who read the prayers, rise and carry the "Sor" outside the monastery fence to the fire, where they burn it. And the masks at this time dance all together a fast temperamental dance, and it was hard to tear oneself away from the spectacle of this collective dance. This bewitching general dance of masks served as the strongest distraction of the crowd's attention from the ceremony of burning "Sor".

So, the conclusion suggests itself - the bright theatricality of the tsam was programmed by its internal content associated with magical ritual actions: the sacrifice of "Sora", "Zhag-khara" and Link's hural, i.e. actions that are purely religious, but must be performed openly, publicly, with a significant gathering of people. Then it becomes clear why the scene

Riem tsama provides for different types of distraction of the audience's curiosity from the true sacraments of worship. And among the methods of distraction, as we see, the most effective in terms of its spectacularity was the pantomime of Sagaan Ubuguun, whose nationality does not need to be proved, it is obvious. There were special manuals for this pantomime. This means that its nationality was laid down from the very beginning, it is consciously used by those who once thought of introducing sacred dances into worship, densely including in the rite popular buffoon tricks, tricks of the public show buffoon. Moreover, this function of a folk comedian is given in tsam to the charming figure of the White Old Man, the deity, in all likelihood, of the shamanic pantheon of the peoples of Asia, accepted by Lamaism in the host of its saints as the patron of pastures, animals, family well-being and longevity.

In addition to the interlude of the White Old Man, the facts of the admission of folk elements in tsam include the inclusion of the guardian spirits of the area - sabdak - into the number of non-dancing masks of tsam. Their religion

The gious meaning, as you know, rested on the superstition of the population, but due to the prevalence of this phenomenon, the sub-daki appearing in the tsam of individual monasteries, as it were, expressed the interests of the inhabitants of this area, their hope that they, too, were protected from evil forces and misfortune. good local deity. From here, trust is born in the whole ceremony of tsama as a whole.

Not all monasteries could hold such large and solemn divine services as the tsam-khural dedicated to the dok-shits. In Buryatia, there were abbreviated versions of the mystery, with fewer masks, and therefore not so long in time. They were dui-be tsams. The old people said that

Duibe tsame of the Songol datsan was attended by the mask of sabdak lumen khan, in the Sanagin datsan - Bayan khan, Egeetui datsan - Buriin khan, Anin-skom - Bural Baabay, Barguzinsky - Barkhan.

It is no coincidence that only lamas of a higher rank, initiated into the mysteries of the mysteries, could perform the roles of angry deities, while getsuls and bandi, lamas who had not yet detached themselves from the life of their native uluses, acted in masks of minor deities, pochus. In the masks of the sons of Hashin Khan, the disobedient children danced. Therefore, almost until recently, in the Buryat villages it was possible to meet here and there people who, in their youth, took part in tsam performances. It is noteworthy that the mask of the Raven, who always encroached on the sacred sacrifices in tsam, was generally performed only by the laity for a certain fee.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, there has been another kind of mystery in Buryatia, where sacred dances were performed without masks. , wheel the Wheel of Time, ieyu the many-headed and many-armed deity of Time And the ancient calendar system In Tibet, the statement at the beginning of the 11th century of the reckoning according to Jupiter (5 times 12 years), 60-year-old nikl according to the lunar calendar is associated with it And this is one of the complex teachings of Tibetan Buddhism Tradition links the appearance of the Kalachakra teaching in the land of snows with the names of Indian preachers Attisha and Somanatha. , for the first time among Europeans, he openly expressed his understanding of Kalachakra, as a teaching that came out of the reserved country of Shambhala and is a Fiery teaching, to which the future belongs

The outstanding orientalist Yun Roerich, having studied Tibetan sources, wrote the work "To the Study of Kalachakra", which examines the history of the issue, clarifies the complexity of the doctrine itself, its closedness, secrecy

The value and the fact that the teaching is connected with the Buddha Shakyamuni, who allegedly read his first sermon on Kalachakra in Shambhala and further development of this doctrine were engaged in, it was the kings of Shambhala, the Bodhisattvas and many high saints

And again, this time by Yu N Roerich, we read "Is there an extensive

The literature on the Kalachakra system is written in the Tantric style, replete with special Tantric terms and allegorical expressions, the secret meaning of which is known only to the initiates" (YuN Roerich To the study of Kalachakra Kharkov, ed. "Osnova", KSU, 1990, p. 9)

The interest of the Roerichs in the ancient doctrine is all the more understandable, since it was in the early 1930s that the work written by H.E. Roerich "The Fiery World in three parts, where in the first part one could read the following" was published. , it is not only out of ignorance, but out of horror to touch the foundations. Humanity with the same shudder bypasses the wells of knowledge about all the worlds," (§ 97) And further "I approve Kalachakra collected This fiery teaching is dusty, but needs to be proclaimed Not reason, but wisdom gave this teaching. Many knowledge is united in Kalachakra, only an unprejudiced mind can understand these stratifications of all the Worlds" (Agni Yoga Fiery World Novosibirsk, 1991, part 1, § 212)

As for the Duinhor tsam or the Kalachakra mystery, that is, the ritual dances included in the ritual of sacrifice to the deities of the Duinhor mandala, this unusual performance was performed at those monasteries where there were temples dedicated to the deity of Time, Duinhor (Kalachakra). This mystery was performed by most performers without masks. The dancers were dressed in elegant Mongolian robes, bone rosaries encircling the figure were put on these clothes, small silver bells hung down from the rosaries. There were three types of headdresses worn by participants in this rite - dancers, musicians, lamas, reciting prayers, as well as singing special mantras at certain moments of worship.

The first type of headdress - nirmanakaya (Skt.) was a high crown, consisting of five icons of deities (dhyani-buddhas), and expressed in this case - the visible image of the invisible body of the gods. Another species is sambhogakaya, a kind of crown consisting of black

A hoop embroidered with gilding, decorated on top with five small skulls, hung down from the hoop with a black silk fringe (a symbol of hair), covering the forehead and eyebrows to the level of the eyes. From the hoop upwards, the fringe is collected in a high bun, crowned with a ochir, on the sides the fringe hung down in the form of braids for the length of the elbow and two ribbons hung in parallel. Sambhogakaya meant the same thing as nirmanakaya, with the addition of the glory of three perfections, one of which is the complete extinction of all earthly worries. The third type is the dharmakaya, also a crown with letter designations for the names of the gods (the first letter in Sanskrit). This view denoted the spiritual body, the ideal consciousness, merged with the World Consciousness.

The Tsam of Duinhora is small in composition, 40 people (25 adults, 15 novice teenagers), not counting the lama orchestra. This mystery was arranged at the few datsans of old Buryatia, where there were temples of Duin-4.ora.

To teach Buryat lamas ritual dances at the beginning of the invitation

Shawls from Mongolia and Tibet of Buddhist monks initiated into Tantric mysticism and mastering the ritual ceremony. So in the Aginsky datsan, tsam Duinkhora was introduced in 1906-1907. He taught dances and staged the entire mystery, that is, he was not only a dance master, but also the leader of the entire ceremony, lobon, a lama from Lavran (north-western Tibet), who was specially invited for this occasion and lived in Aginsk for several years. He passed on his skill to the young boo-

To the Ryat tantric lama Dondoga Soinzon, who, after the departure of his Tibetan teacher, became a "gara-baksha", that is, a dance master of the Kalachak-ra mystery at the Aginsky datsan. It was with him, Dondoga Soinzon, that I had the opportunity to meet in the Aginsky Buryat National District in the summer of 1967, talk with him and make notes from his words on Duinhor's tsam. He lived with relatives on the collective farm. Dylgyrova, was sociable, despite his eighty years he remembered a lot and willingly shared, he was a little surprised that someone was still interested in it.

Approximately in the same years, at the beginning of the century, the Kalachakra mystery appeared in the Aninsky datsan, where the "bearded lama" from Mongolia acted as a dance teacher and stage director, and then his Buryat students Shanzaba and. Muhain Sorzhi moved the sacred dances to the Egeetui datsan. Subsequently, Tsyrenzhap Ga-tapov, a learned lama, tantrino in high

Sane Dorji - zemba and laaramba. The information received from the old Buryat lamas, former dance masters, allows us to get some idea about the Duinhor tsam, who continued to exist in Buryatia until the mid-30s and still remained mysterious and inaccessible to understanding not only for parishioners-spectators, but also for lamas. lowest rank. Like other tsas.us, the mystery of Kalachakra was staged according to a certain and strict canon, had special manuals, closed compositions in the Tibetan language. Hence it is clear why, when performing the sacred dances in the tsam of Duinhor, the monk-dancers memorized the text of the zak-

Linanias (tarni, or mantras), because the pattern of movements and the rhythm of the dance were associated with them, while not even trying to delve into the meaning of the pronounced formulas, knowing in advance that this was not available. As you can see, the secrecy and secrecy of tsam was not invented by the lamas, not just guarded by them, for the most part they themselves did not know much about the inner meaning of the ritual, although, perhaps, they sincerely believed in the power of the pronounced formulas and the purifying power of the rite as a whole. Meanwhile, high-ranking tantrins (chambons, lobons, garabak-shi dance masters), who zealously followed the exact pronunciation of tarni (mantras), were aware of the deep mystical meaning of what was happening. For them, the yogis, the whole rite meant not only a dynamic meditation of a purifying nature, but also as a haunting

The goals of the performers to achieve some altered state of consciousness. Obviously, this was an exit to direct contact with the Higher Cosmic Forces and through the performed sacrifices, asking for the possibility of further advancement in spiritual development.

Both old dance masters - Dondogoi Soinzon and Tsyrenzhap Gatapov emphasized the sacred, mystical meaning of dances in the Kalachakra mystery and the whole rite, as a sacrifice to the deity of Time. The main item, without which the rite could not take place, is Dulsan Jinhar, the palace of the god, in other words, the mandala, a symbolic diagram of the Universe. Usually the image of such a palace was drawn on the plane of a large wooden table set in the center of the temple, then crushed multi-colored pebbles were poured along the line of the drawing.

Another type of this palace was also performed - Raybray Zhinhar, a drawing (drawing) of the palace of the god Duinhor on fabric. Before the drawing of Raybrai Jinhar was erected in the temple and after it was hung up, there was a rite of worship, in which they asked the lords (spirits) of the area for permission to sanctify the ground for the ritual of sacrifice. And only after performing these important ceremonies, it was possible to arrange tsam of Duinhor. This mystery at the temples dedicated to Kalachakra was held twice a year: in spring - April-May, in summer in July. The rituals were different. In the spring, an internal, closed ritual of sacrifice to Duinkhor took place and was called Sagartsam. It was associated with the rite of sacrifice to the Earth (choga of the Earth). It was only for a narrow circle of initiates, it took place inside the temple behind closed doors. In the sagar tsam, the reading of prayers was interspersed with the performance of dances. Twenty-five people took part. The ceremony went on for several hours. The steward of the rite was called a lobon.

In sagar tsam, the Duinhor Van rite was sometimes performed - the initiation of a young lama, who was trained under the guidance of a tantrin, into tantric mysticism. For this rite, a drawing of Dulsan Jinhar (the palace of the god) was certainly required.

In July, the mystery of Kalachakra was performed in the courtyard of the temple with spectators-prayers, was called shogorsam. 40 people took part in the performance: 25 adults and 15 teenagers-Khubaraks. There were also lamas, musicians and other participants in the ritual. Boy dancers occupied the inner circle, adults danced in the outer circle. In the center was the dance master-garban (gara-bakshi) and led the dance part of the mystery. Lobon directed the course of the entire ritual.

The main rite of sacrifice in the form of sacred dances was performed by 16 dancers - four fours were located on the four cardinal points: to the North - in white silk clothes, to the East - in yellow, to the South - in red, to the West - in blue. Headdresses for all - a crown with skulls with a high hairstyle, crowned with an ochir at the top. Each four had its own elder (lobon). The dancers were turned to face inside the circle, to where the gara-bakshi (dance master) danced and directed the course of the dances in the center.

In addition to the main dancing participants, several more characters came out into the circle: two or four azzars, the White Old Man with two boys who performed pantomime with him - played with him, then hid from him and ran away. Not finding them, the elder treated the audience with sweets from a bag, sometimes he suddenly began to beg, ask for money, etc. The main task of Sagaan Ubuguun in this tsam, as the former dance master lamas said, is to focus attention

Spectators on themselves, distracting them from the ritual of sacrifice, which was performed by the dancers.

The orchestra in Duinhor's tsam was small, four or five musicians playing such instruments as san, selin, khengerig, and two bishkhur. The music did not play all the time, the main thing for the rhythm of the dances was the text of spells (tarni). The dance movements of the lamas (judging by the way seventy-seven-year-old Ts. Gatapov showed it to me in 1968) are very reminiscent of the nature of Indian temple dances, which were introduced to Soviet spectators in the 70s. well-known Indian masters who toured the former USSR.

One important detail: Lama dancers made sacrifices to Kalachakra on behalf of female deities. Therefore, their movements are floating

We are graceful, feminine. Especially hand movements. In the dances of this mystery, mudra was of great importance - symbolic gestures and movements of the fingers and hands of the dancers. There were twelve main mudras included in the vocabulary of the ritual of sacrifice. The dance lasted two hours. And if the meaning of the magical tarni formulas uttered by dance performers was sealed for most of them, then the symbolic language of gestures (mudra), facial expressions, and body movements was understandable, at least for adult lamas dancers who already had initiation.

Each kind of sacrifice required for its expression

A whole complex of plastic and dance techniques: special mudra, dance movements of the legs, the whole body. In this regard, the text of one of the fragments of the manual on Duinhor's tsam, rewritten once, perhaps, by Gara-baksha Ts. Gatapov, by hand in Tibetan, and translated into Russian at the request of the author of these lines by a Buryat Tibetologist D. Dashie-vym. The text of the tarni, which does not have a translation from Sanskrit, is transmitted in Russian transcription.

"Namo Guru!"

"Um-ma-e pad-e jara-e setpa krodha, haum, pad" - a full step to the right side, starting with the word "um-ma-e" and up to the word "haum, pad."

"Aum, ah, haum, hom, kisa, aum, sunyata jnana vajra svabhava amtakonya hom." Let them become shunyata! In large wide vessels of precious glass that arose from the essence of shunyata, from "ophom" there is everything that is necessary for sacrifice, as well as the goddesses of sacrifice, represented by symbols in the form of the first letters of their names, sacrifice and goddess, being in essence shunyata and great bliss May they generate innumerable bliss in the six senses!"

"Kum, argham, ah haum patyam proksanam anjjamanam vad-

Jragandhe, vajramale, vajrad-hupam, bajradipam, vajraksha-tam, vajranailvatyam, vajra-lasyam, vajrahasyam, vajrapa-tyam, vajranairatyam, vaj-ragritam, aum vajrakame, ah haum svaha, aum, ah, haum, "- left foot circle to the left.

"Aum, ah, haum. Aum, ah, haum, hom, hom, hom," - dance, raising and lowering the left leg.

In essence, these tarni list in a certain order all twelve sacrifices that the dancers, on behalf of the goddesses, offer to the gods of the Duinhor-ra mandala, accompanying them with the necessary mudras and dance movements that have a symbolic meaning. If we prosaically translate and list the offered sacrifices, then it will be: fragrant water for ablutions, flowers and flower garlands, fragrant fragrant herbs, a lamp, food, fruits (grapes, raisins), movements of heavenly dancers, smiles, music, chants accompanied by a game on instruments, affectionate glances towards God, etc.

But the dancers, presenting sacrifices on behalf of the goddesses, turned to God with a request: "Aum, ah, haum, ho," - Lord of the Three Worlds Duizhi Khorlo, accept each sacrifice separately. Oh buddha, give those around you - me and other living beings to get the best. This is followed by tarni (as many as three lines and ends with an indication of the dance - the left foot "One fourth" (the name of the pas).

Then these sacrifices in six pairs are offered separately to the deity. Zate. "From near and far born Drichamba (feminine name derived from the word "fragrant water" and Prenbama (name from the word" garland, necklace") - dance, raising your right leg - "turn into a great multitude and fill the whole sky, become a victim for the gods of this mandala."

"Starting from the left leg: "Zapae, japae, enyapae, vajrapae, ..." and so on.

The above text clearly demonstrates the cryptic nature of the guide to tsam, not only in relation to the closedness of mantras, but also in terms of the dance itself. It would seem that everything is clear - it is indicated which foot in which direction the movement should be made, and at the same time, much remains unknown: the pattern of movement, the position of the hands and mudra, and what

It is in the hands, and how this paraphernalia is used at every moment of the dance.

Undoubtedly, it was enough for the great tantric Ts. Gatapov to have at hand this handwritten fragment of the guide to tsam Duinhor, for he understood it from a half-gaze, because he himself once danced, knew the whole pattern of movements. A fragment of the text allowed him to restore a complete picture of the dance of all fours, count the measures in accordance with the mantras and follow the sequence of movements. But something else is also clear - here there was an oral practical transfer of knowledge and skills from the teacher to the student. And in this case, the given passage of the manual is quite a sufficient basis for both sides.

The fact that it happened exactly in such a plan and was transmitted by the teacher to the student is confirmed by the treatise of Sumbo Khambo called Delightful Dances "- a guide to the dances (which are performed during the ceremony) of the Choga of the Earth and the dances of sacrifice. In the named work, the well-known historian of the 18th century, scientist The monk, writing in Tibetan, gives a rather detailed description of how mandate dances and sacrifices are performed and what rites are performed.

Shenia: how the teacher prepares the student, how he checks, what prayers are read by the student, to which god and how meditation is performed.

In the second part, which describes how the ritual dances are performed, a lot is said about the nature of the movements, about the steps - "vajra step with one point", how to draw a vajra with two, three, five points with the foot. Mudras are called: - "big lotus circle", "vajra fist", mudra "suppression of the earth", movement "sea wave", etc. This treatise very clearly combines mantras and dance movements of the legs, body, mudras.

The author of the treatise gives instructions in several places on how the music should be performed, the musical accompaniment is recorded using numbers and special icons above them. Probably, this is a part of percussion instruments that set the rhythm.

The guide to the dances of sacrifice in the finale ends with a magnificent hymn of thanksgiving, in praise of the highest deity of the mandala, which, in all likelihood, were uttered in synchrony by all participants in the ritual of sacrifice.

So, we can conclude that the practical manuals for the ritual dances of the Tantric system are very complex compositions - a whole complex of canonical requirements, instructions, recommendations, combined with theoretical knowledge of Tantric mysticism itself. And if the closeness of these works, associated with their esoteric content, made them inaccessible to researchers for a long period of time, then with the passage of time, the situation seems to be changing for the better. The achievements of modern scientific thought in many areas of knowledge now unexpectedly echo the most ancient esoteric information. Appropriate, apparently, the timing for the teachings of Kalachakra.

Continuing the theme of sacred dances in Buryatia and the termination of their tradition in connection with the ban on the practice of any religious self-expression, with the persecution that fell upon the clergy and the destruction of temples and monasteries, we cannot fail to mention one striking fact of the appearance of a fragment of Buddhist mystery in the performance of a professional Buryat theater. It happened in the 1939-40 season, when the young Buryat-Mongolian musical and drama theater, preparing for important performances in Moscow, included a scene of dances in tsama masks in the second edition of the musical drama "Bair". This scene appeared in the third act of the performance, at the celebrations in the Khan's palace, where the hero of the drama Bair entered, hiding under a mask and then getting mixed up in the middle of a masquerade performance. He imperceptibly enters the dungeon, where his beloved Bulagan, kidnapped by the Khan's people, was languishing. The hero frees her and under masks they hide, flee outside the khanate. And the dance of masks, which captivated all those present (as well as, say, the spectators in the hall), continued. The director of the play, People's Artist of the USSR G. Ts. Tsydynzhapov also acted as the author of the stage version of the tsam. It was he who had to solve the difficult question - what can be taken from the mystery theater and shown on the Soviet stage, how to preserve the colorful theatrical and spectacular form of the mystery, replacing the religious and mystical content with other, worldly, folk motives?

The most democratic character of the tsam, the White Old Man, whose national origin was beyond any doubt, was taken as the central figure. The dance melody of Sagaan Ubu-guun, according to G. Tsydynzhapov, is based on the folk tune "Namsarayndolgan" (call of happiness). Having seen the performances of the Dokshit tsamas in Buryatia and Mongolia more than once, familiar with some written sources describing the tsams, G. Ts. Tsydynzhapov himself sang many mystery melodies to the composer P. M. Berlinsky. He also spent many hours in conversations, trial searches, rehearsals, in search of an acceptable stage version of tsam with an outstanding choreographer, though still young, People's Artist of the USSR I.A. Moiseev, specifying the nature of the dances of individual characters, selecting the necessary plastic expressions.

The mime of the White Old Man, with his purely worldly concerns, contrasted with the dances of the Buddhist deities. Moreover, these deities were interpreted as deceptive, two-faced. The mask was double sided. On the one hand, a beautiful female face was depicted - the mask of the goddess Sagaan Dara ehe (White Tara), on the other - the angry appearance of the Dokshits.

The dancers first appeared on the stage in the guise of a good goddess, turning to the Old Man with a female mask, seducing him, dragging him into a smooth rhythmic dance. The old man willingly communicated with the beauties, entered their circle, danced and missed the moment when charming female creatures turned into angry monsters, now advancing on him in a formidable procession.

Shaking with fear, the White Old Man was looking for protection from the terrible dokshit, but now other masks were coming against him, death was coming - hohimai. And, finally, a dragon, whose head and body (several meters long) were saturated with phosphorescent paint, writhing and spewing smoke and flame from its mouth, swept through the stage in the air.

The old man fell exhausted, surrendering, capitulating before such a formidable invasion of monsters, and half-consciously rang a small bell, which has a magical property. At the sound of the bell, several bators (heroes) appeared and a pantomime dance began - a battle with monsters, ending with the victory of the forces of light.

The costume of the tsam in "Bair" did not present great difficulties, since some of the original mystery costumes were used, which were still preserved in some places in the economy of datsans, after they were closed in the mid-30s. At the beginning, the masks were also authentic, but they turned out to be so heavy that, at the request of the dancers, the theater had to order lighter masks made of papier-mâché and smaller sizes.

So for the first time a fragment of the Buddhist mystery, skillfully transformed for that time, entered as one of the colorful moments in the folk-poetic performance of the Buryat theater. Numerous approving reviews in the press after the show of "Bair" in Moscow, confirmed the correctness of the decision by the directors of this far from simple task. Here is a statement by People's Artist of the USSR S.V. Obraztsov: "The dance of masks -" Tsam ", which we saw in the performance, is a great event. It certainly enriches each of us, theater masters. This is a wonderful example of truly folk art. based dance is a truly fabulous phenomenon". ("Buryat-Mongolskaya Pravda", 1940, October 24).

In the second half of the 40s, when the musical drama "Bair" was no longer on the stage of the Music and Drama Theater, the mask dance as a purely concert dance and pantomime number was transferred to the repertoire of the state song and dance ensemble "Baikal" under the name "Dream old man" and for several decades graced the program of the latter, was shown in many cities of Russia, the former Soviet Union and abroad. This long life of one piece of Buddhist mystery on the professional stage speaks of the great attraction, the spectacle, the special magnetism of the theatricality, which is the basis of this ancient mystery rite.

And if today the time has come to collect stones in order to restore, build within each of us the temple of our Heart, and then restore anew the great connection of a simple person with the Higher Cosmic Forces, which was once natural and strong as breath, if modern scientific thought is already breaking through to the secrets hidden in the allegories of the occult, then we must expect the secrets of the teachings of Kalachakra to be discovered.

And then, perhaps, young talented dance masters will appear and grow up who will be able to understand the meaning of sacred dances, the meaning of spiritual sacrifices as a person’s gratitude to the Higher Forces, who will be able to combine the high meaning of the mantra with the beauty of its plastic and dance expression.

Lamaism spread in Mongolia in the 16th century, having already come in its developed form from Tibet, bringing its traditions and culture.

Nevertheless, the Mongolian mystery "Tsam" and, especially, the masks made for it are interesting.

At the monasteries, masks were made for religious ceremonies. The masks were made from papier-mâché and brightly colored. They depicted various deities and mythological characters, worn by monks along with bright silk robes when performing religious dances and performances in monastic courtyards with a large gathering of people.

postcard, Tsarist Russia, Buryatia, Tsam holiday

The essence of this ceremony is to show the struggle of the characters of the lamaist faith with the infidels. After the ceremony, the masks were hung in the monasteries next to the tan-ka (lamaist icons), as they were considered of great value.

"Tsam" means "dancing in a circle." The rite itself originated, according to some sources, in India, but in Mongolia it appeared only from the middle of the 18th century. There is no exact information about the origin of this mystery. MAXANTO believes that the following version can be considered the most reliable:

"One monk from the" red "stream of Buddhism, Lovon Badamzhunain, arrived in Tibet in 775, where he founded the Samyaa monastery. To pacify the spirits, which possess inhumanly black power, he performed the Zhakhar prayer, combined with ritual dances, which was the beginning of the performance of "Tsam" in Tibet".

Zam 19th-20th century

There is another version that deserves attention, at least for its poetry. So, according to the well-known Russian Mongolian scholar N. Shastina, one legend tells how "the Tibetan emperor" Landram "(841-901), who is an admirer of shamanism and hates Buddhism with all his heart, destroyed monasteries and in every possible way oppressed the monks who They fled to the mountains and began to live in caves.Out of 70,000 monks, only 7 survived. Choijin monk Lkhal-humbaldorj sewed himself a black-and-white suit with wide sleeves, a bow and arrows were hidden in them.His horse was repainted from white to motley. Putting on his attire with the white side outward, and arriving at the imperial palace, he began to dance in front of the palace gate. He jumped and waved his sleeves. Interested, the emperor went to look at the monk, and then he pulled out a bow and shot Landrum. Turning his robes to the black side, he jumped into the river, fleeing from the imperial guard.From that time he hid in the mountains, living as a hermit.And his dance became popular as a mystery against the enemies of Buddhism.

Currently, the Tsam dance is widespread in many monasteries in Mongolia, where it attracts the attention of thousands of spectators.

Today "Tsam" in Mongolia is a dance pantomime performed by lamas. Half of them wear masks (which we already wrote about above) and are called dokshits (guardians), the second group of lamas do not wear masks, they are called shanaks (contemplative lamas). They all begin the dance by moving in a circle and waving their arms. The dance tells about the struggle between good and evil.
An interesting part of the "Tsam" mystery is the dances of the skeletons. Among them are the "protectors of the four cemeteries", belonging to high-ranking deities. They wear crowns with three or five miniature skulls. Fans of rainbow colors are attached to their masks. The Mongols call them "butterflies". The dancers are dressed in tight white costumes, on which a skeleton is drawn.

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