A study of the cham, an annual public performative ritual at the Vajrayana Buddhist monastery of Kye monastery in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh (India), is used to unpack the notion of an 'ancient' tradition that is constructed in a modern context for a culture-in-exile. Through examining the construction of the tradition of the Kye cham, its historical relationship with the Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse is established. Today, this relationship is mediated through Tashilhunpo's monastery in exile in Bylakuppe in southern India. The 'tradition' was created in the late 1960's by a Chham master from Tashilhunpo, replacing an earlier one that followed the cham of Thol-ing monastery. The article examines the transformations that occur in the ritual when it is performed in 'non-sacral' spaces and contexts, both in India and abroad and discusses the reasons behind and the effects of these transformations. The paper also explores the political reasons for the association between the Kye and Tashil-hunpo monasteries and the complex relationship between the Tibetan culture-in-exile in India and the Buddhism of Kye, a Tibetan form of tantric Buddhism that has flourished on the margins of the Indian nation-state.
目次
Introduction 49 The Cham at the Kye Monastery 50 The Invention of an Ancient Tradition 51 An Imagined Centre: Kye Gompa and Tashilhunpo Monastery 53 Traditions of Antiquity: Looking to the Past to Revitalise the Present 54 Different Places for the Cham 55 Representing 'Indianness' 56 Conclusion: Reclaiming NationalSpace, Rejuvenating Local Place 58
