According to some specialists, the origin of this Tibetan religious dance dates back to the 7th century, when the monk Lianhuashan, from India , tried to preach Buddhism in Tibet, then polytheistic.
To facilitate his task, he turned the ancestral deities of the region into guardians of Buddhist law and incorporated elements of local folklore, such as costumes and masks, in his rites, with which the deities were represented.
This is how this mixture of dance and theater arose, which was called cham in Tibet, spread through China to Mongolia and still today drives thousands of people to make pilgrimages to the places where it is practiced. During the celebration, the religious dress up as animals or gods and move to the sound of timpani, cymbals and horns, while waving weapons and symbolic instruments.
In this way, they represent sacred episodes, in the case of the vajra choreography , which conveys spiritual firmness; that of the crane, related to wealth and longevity; and that of the skull, centered on the demons. Precisely, the final point is the capture of these by the celestial army and the burning of the devil's mask, symbol of the defeat of evil.
Photo: Bodhisattwa
