Tibetan Art and Culture in Exile Flourish at Times of Uncertainty

Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Centre transmits Tibet’s cultural heritage thorough Norbulingka — Tibetan Traditional Crafts Exhibition and a rich public programme.

Mongolian & Tibetan Cultural Centre in Taipei City, Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan —A white building boldly emblazoned with red and blue paints looks as if it were a palace of the Himalayas. This grand architecture isn’t found in the land of snow but in a quiet neighbourhood in the heart of Taipei city, and is home to the Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Centre.

As its name suggests, the Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Centre is committed to promoting the culture of Mongolia and Tibet in Taiwan. Under the administration of Ministry of Culture, the centre was also the organiser of the acclaimed 2022 World Ethnic Film Festival that took place earlier this year. This August, the Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Centre inaugurated Norbulingka — Tibetan Traditional Crafts Exhibition, showcasing a myriad of Tibetan art and crafts that travelled from across the Himalayas.

Norbulingka, or “Jewel Park” in English, was the name of Dalai Lama’s Summer Palace that was established in the 18th century by the 7th Dalai Lama, Kelzang Gyatso, who was an avid patron of the arts. In 1920, the 13th Dalai Lama, Thupten Gyatso, founded workshops in thangka painting and statue making.

History has taught us that great arts flourish in times of peace and prosperity, but that’s not exactly the case for Tibetans. The Norbulingka Institute, inaugurated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1995, was founded in Sidhpur, India. Run by a self-sustaining community, the institute serves as “a cradle for Tibetan values in exile” and aims to preserve and perpetuate the splendour of Tibetan art and culture.

Norbulingka Institute houses a number of workshops, including thangka painting, thangka applique, statue making, wood carving, wood painting, tailoring and weaving. Norbulingka — Tibetan Traditional Crafts Exhibition has two sections, namely traditional motifs and crafts, that showcase a wide selection of works made by the institute’s skilled artisans.

Painted thangka, appliqué thangka, wood furnitures, and religious statues are exhibited alongside artefacts and costumes throughout the vast geographical area of Tibet. Traditional motifs inspired by Tibetan religion and myth, such as the Five Wonderful Desires, the Seven Treasures of Buddhism, and the Eight Auspicious Signs (Ashtamangala), are ubiquitous in Tibetan art.

What really makes Tibetan art come alive, though, isn’t the objects on display, but a rich public programme organised in conjunction with the exhibition. Almost every Saturday afternoon, an art and craft workshop took place at the Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Centre. Workshops on painting, woodblock printing, braiding, and the making of religious offering allowed the participants to learn about the development of Tibetan craft while getting their hands dirty.

Torma (གཏོར་མ་)

Torma, a type of cake offerings used in religious ceremonies, originated in ancient India. Torma comes in a variety of forms and shape. With the development of Tibetan Buddhism, it has evolved into ghee flower tradition that’s exclusively found in Tibet.

Left: Instructor’s demonstration of different designs for torma | Right: materials used to make torma

So how is torma used? Some are created to be placed on shrines for ceremonies, or as representation of deities. Others make torma to accumulate merit or to appease the spirits. Torma is usually made of roasted barley flour (tsampa) and butter, but traditionally they were made of ingredients such as egg, milk, sugar and honey.

As beginner, we created our cake offering using air-dry clay, which comes in a kaleidoscope of colours and is extremely light. Once the conical-shaped torma is made, we decorated it with the Buddhist symbol, triratna, or the “Three Jewels” in red, green and blue.

Mani Stones (མ་ཎི་རྡོ་འབུམ།)

Any rock or stone inscribed with the six-syllabled mantra of Avalokiteshvara is known as Mani stone, a form of prayer in Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibet, Mani stones or Mani stone mounds are found on the side of the road or by the river. The Tibetans believe that whoever set eyes upon these stones would receive blessing of the mantra.

In the workshop, we were taught how to write the six-syllabled mantra “Om mani padme hum” (ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པདྨེ་ཧཱུྃ), which can be translated as “praise to the jewel in the lotus” in English. This is an ubiquitous mantra performed by both Buddhist monks and layperson alike in places where Buddhism thrives. Besides Mani stone, this mantra is also found on the prayer flags or prayer wheels.

This Mani stone is inscribed by the writer with the six-syllabled mantra

Each syllable of this mantra is associated with a colour and corresponds to a symbolic meaning. For example, the first word, om (ཨོཾ), a sacred sound that symbolises the essence of all being, is associated with the white colour, which represents the world of gods or celestial beings (deva) in the Six Paths in Buddhist cosmology.

Tsha Tsha (ཚ་ཚ་)

Tsha Tsha is a type of miniature figurine in Tibetan Buddhism. This making of Tsha Tsha originated in India, which was introduced to Tibet as early as the 7th century.

Tsha Tsha comes in a variety of forms such as Buddhist statues, mantras, and stupa. In Tibet, the making of Tsha Tsha is a meditative practice, and a way to accumulate merit. Tsah Tsha can also be used as a portable statue that is placed in a precious box called Gau, a portable shrine or amulet carried by Buddhist pilgrims throughout Tibet.

The most common material used to make Tsha Tsha is clay, which is pressed into a metal mould carved with image of a deity or a mantra, resulting in a clay sculpture in bas-relief sculpture.

At the beginning of the workshop, I was focused on capturing the intricate details, particularly the facial features of the deity — something that can only be achieved if we apply a thin layer of oil to the mould in advance. But during the process, I came to realise that the “appearance” of Tsha Tsha is not of the utmost importance; instead, it’s the very act of making that matters (the process itself is believed to accumulate merit). As we’ve been told, members of family in Tibet often work together to achieve the in a collective endeavour of creating 100,000 Tsha Tsha, in the hope of accumulating merit.

Vajra Knot

Vajra knot braided with khata is often seen on the doors to temples and monasteries in Tibet. These knots would’ve been placed by Buddhist pilgrims, in the hope of praying for good fortune, as the knot itself symbolises desire fulfilled or safe journey. Khata is a ceremonial scarf in Tibet that is often worn or presented at special occasions such as birth, wedding, graduation, as well as the arrival or departure of guests.

In the workshop, we were given four khatas, two in yellow and two in red. Each colour has its own symbolism, each corresponding to one of the Four Activities (ལས་བཞི) in Tibetan Buddhism: Pacifying, Enriching, Magnetising, and Subjugating; yellow is associated with Enriching, and red with Magnetising.

Vajra knot braided using red- and yellow-coloured khata

After the workshops, I placed my torma on the home altar next to the statue of Guanyin (Bodhisattva of Compassion). I found a place in the corners of my room for the Mani stone and a handful of Tsha Tshas that I’ve made, and hung the braided amulet on my door knob.

After having joined four workshops, I came to realise that the act of making is probably the most efficient way for public at large to learn about — and be immersed in — a foreign culture. While organisation such as the Norbulingka Institute is committed to preserving Tibetan art and culture, it has become clear that intangible heritage could only be sustained, or revived, when they’re no longer an artisan privilege. As soon as art and culture are removed from the pedestal and walk into people’s everyday life (just like how Tibetan art and craft have entered mine), they live on.

Norbulingka — Tibetan Traditional Crafts Exhibition runs through November 12, 2022 at the Mongolian and Tibetan Cultural Centre in Taipei City.

All the four workshops mentioned in this article were taught by instructor Chuang Sung-Chieh.