Buddhist Trance Dance

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This is a dance performed by young monks at Ganden Sumtseling Gompa, a monastery located north of the city of Zhongdian (Shangri-La) in Yunnan province on the southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The dance begins with one monk emerging from the main temple. He performs a routine that initially faces the temple, then faces all the directions of the wind, and then spirals around a central point where there is a dark quilt and wooden square (these symbolize a demon). His dance eventually accelerates and incorporates jumping movements, and in its finale dozens of other monks join in to perform the circular dance around the quilt, until in the end they are all crowded around its center. The dance concludes with couples of monks taking leaps towards the temple, praying towards its entrance, praying away from its entrance, and then jumping inside. Altogether this takes about three hours. The dance is performed annually, during a ritual where the monks dress in elaborate costumes and masks and dance around a large effigy of the demon (rather than a quilt). The purpose of the dance is to contain the angry spirit of the demon, possibly to recreate the Tibetan myth of the subjugation of an angry Himalayan goddess by an Indian monk, which popularized the monk and allowed for the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet. This video is an amalgamation of clips recorded during the initial monk's rehearsal for the ritual.

Channel: Travel & Events
Uploaded: January 31, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Author: OuLuYang

Length: 00:03:29
Rating: 4.47
Views: 80232

Tags: Buddhist Buddhism Tibet Tibetan Dance Sumtseling Songzanlin Zhongdian Yunnan China Monk Monastery Religion Shangri-La

Video Comments:
jasonlittlewolf (January 4, 2009 at 6:52 am)
This insnt a trance its a dance that they are learning..they wear the ornate costmes and the masks for special festivals and these unusual dances are done then..this guy is teaching the others showing them what to do.
mulang4u (December 25, 2008 at 7:10 am)
What The Fuck is thios ? this is TRANCE ¿¿¿?¿?¿ ARE U CRAZY ?? PLZZ I SAY DONT WASTE TIME THIS IS VERY VERY BOOR VIDEO !!!! BELIEVE IN ONE STONE GOD BUFFF...... ALL WORLD IS INTELIGENTE..... I DONT KNOW WHAT ARE U DOING PRAYING FOR ONE STONE....


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asilcotza (December 18, 2008 at 11:26 pm)
have you already seen this unbelievable tibetan guitar player?
his name is tsering purtag, and i guess he's from switzerland. check out his live performance, keyword: purtag. he simply blew me away!
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Hidratos (December 17, 2008 at 12:25 pm)
to bad china destroys this wonderful culture. maybe tibetians are lucky and chinese continue giving their children poisoned milk.
XxSweetQueenxX (December 9, 2008 at 9:00 pm)
thank you for sharing I've never seen anything like this before
asilcotza (November 26, 2008 at 11:43 pm)
have you already seen this unbelievable tibetan guitar player?
his name is tsering purtag, and i guess he's from switzerland. check out his live performance, keyword: purtag. he simply blew me away!
free tibet
sodomesopeto (November 12, 2008 at 5:29 pm)
drugs drugs and more drugs
HimalayanHigari (November 3, 2008 at 7:42 am)
Mystic joy of soul is without limit.I am Chinese and we must unite.Tibetans are our brothers.
loki303030 (October 30, 2008 at 4:17 pm)
tibet is real high kulture youre video to out it is trance com in germany not on hit. to baaad
asilcotza (October 26, 2008 at 11:55 pm)
have you already seen this unbelievable tibetan guitar player?
his name is tsering purtag, and i guess he's from switzerland. check out his live performance, keyword: purtag. he simply blew me away!
free tibet