Tibetan Traditions – Religious Dance

The religious dance is a kind of ritual dance which performed by Lamas on every religious ceremony in monasteries of Tibet. It includes single dance, double dance and group dance. When dance, the lamas will wear mask, robe, colorful strips and blade shield. The accompaniment instruments include dance cymbal, cow horn, surnai and so on.

It is said that the Buddhism was introduced into Tibet from Nepal, India and Tang Kingdom in 7th century. Tibetan monks and priests combined Tibetan local dance, religious dance of Bon Religion and the mask religious dance of Indian Yoga together, created this religious dance which aimed to drive off evil spirits. This kind of dance was also successfully performed on the foundation stone laying ceremony of Samye Monastery. That's the original form of "Qamo" (means dance in Tibetan language).

Tibetan Traditions – Religious Dance in Lhasa

Because the deity and guardian god of each sect are different, the date, process, dance and dress of the religious dance in different districts are different. In Lhasa, the date of religious dance is December 29th. At that time, the Jokhang Temple, Mulu Temple, Potala Palace and other Gelug Sect monasteries will hold annual religious dance ceremony. The religious dance in Potala Palace will be held in front of the Rennai Gongsa Hall. Before dancing, the lamas will chant scriptures and hold sacrifice ceremony.

At the beginning, the sound of drum, cymbals and horns will first appear. First, the Iron Lama will lead the honor guard to the stage, with black hat Dorije, various guardian guards and ghosts after. They will walk around the stage for once to show the images in Tibetan Buddhism. After that, the religious dance performance start. At the interval of each religious dance, there are performances of some Buddhism stories.

Tibetan Traditions – Religious Dance in Shigatse

In Shigatse, the Panchen Lamas and the Buddhist personnel in Tsang will have ice bath at early of July when the Venus appears. During the festival, except for Tibetan opera performance, lion dance, yak dance and drum dance, there are "Qamo" shows which performed by the lamas in Tashihunpo Monastery. The "Qamo" performance consists of 16 sections dance.

Due to the religious dance is the show of Buddhism images, it widely spread with the lama sect in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan and some other provinces. Although the names of the religious dance in different districts are different, they have the common meaning of driving off evil spirits and welcoming auspicious future