Künpen Tamsar Fall 2010

KÜNPEN TAMSAR

Trace Foundation’s Quarterly Newsletter

AUTUMN 2010

Paola Vanzo, Editor-in-Chief

Peter Wiegand, Editor, Writer & Layout

Wendy D’Amico, Writer, Proofreader & Layout

Jamie Dea, Writer, Proofreader

Jeremy Burke, Proofreader

Kristina Dy-Liacco, Proofreader

Kunsang Gya, Proofreader

Tenzin Gelek, Proofreader & Translator

Tenpa, Translator

Khamtsoji, Translator

Thank you to our contributors Charlie Finch, Gillian Tan, Wangchuk Topden and Yumjeap

cover, painting by Tenzin Norbu

Trace FoundationBoard

Andrea E. Soros

Eric Colombel

Executive Director

Enrico Dell’Angelo

Trace Foundation

132 Perry St.

Suite 2B

New York, NY 10014

Unless otherwise noted all contents and photos ©Trace Foundation, 2010. Neither may be reproduced in any way with-out permission from Trace Foundation. For more information contact [email protected].

Künpen Tamsar is published quarterly by Trace Foundation, in Tibetan, Chinese, and English. An electronic version of this newsletter may be found at www.trace.org/tamsar.html

Note on Transcription System Used: All Trace Foundation publications use The Himalayan Library (THL) Simplified Phonetic Transcription of Standard Tibetan for Tibetan terms that appear in our English-language articles. More information on this transliteration system can be found under the “Reference” tab at www.thlib.org

In cases where Chinese and Tibetan names exist, the Tibetan is used with the Pinyin in parentheses— e.g., Lhoka (Shan-nan). For the sake of simplicity, where Tibetan names are only transliterations of Chinese names, the Tibetan has been dropped (e.g., Sichuan, not Sitrön). Where Chinese names are transliterations of Tibetan names, the Pinyin has been dropped (e.g., Nakchu, not Naqu). In some cases Pinyin or non-THL Tibetan is used for Tibetan names where Tibetan names were unavailable or, in the case of personal names, when an individual has become well-known under another spelling.

KÜNPEN TAMSAR


KüNPEN TAmSAr Fall 2010

There is a momenT of disorientation when you lose someone suddenly, a dizzying second in which it is impossi-ble to imagine how we could possibly carry on without them. It was this sense of vertigo that grabbed us last Thursday morning when we learned that Gene Smith, founder of the Tibetan Buddhist resource Center (TBrC), had passed.

That morning, we were busily preparing this, our second issue of Künpen Tamsar, for print. When we began planning this issue back in August, we decided to focus on projects and people working to develop Tibetan culture and help it thrive in the modern world. We began planning stories on the early days of contemporary Tibetan art in Lhasa and the establishment of the Gendün Chöpel Artists’s Guild, a program giving young Tibetans the knowledge and skills to represent their own culture, and a debate on reforming the Tibetan writing system, all of which you’ll find in the pages ahead. For our recurring columns, we tossed a number of different ideas around, but for our Profile in this issue dedi-cated to Tibet culture, Gene was the obvious choice.

For nearly 60 years Gene worked tirelessly to ensure the transmission of Tibetan Buddhist texts. His efforts led to the preservation of thousands of Tibetan texts, providing the essential resources for the establishment of Tibetan stud-ies as a modern academic field. In recent years, his work led to the application of the latest technologies to Tibetan literature, producing one of the largest archives of Tibetan religious literature on earth and ensuring that this incredible store of knowledge remains a fertile ground for the continu-ing growth of Tibetan culture.

more than simply a strong advocate for Tibetan culture, however, Gene Smith was a friend. The loss of this incredible man is currently being felt around the world. There can be no substitute for Gene’s passion, his warmth, or his kind-ness. Though we mourn our loss, the way forward is clear, paved by Gene through years of constant effort.

We join others in recognizing his invaluable contribution to Tibetan culture and dedicate this issue to his memory. He will truly be missed.

from the editor

1

Paola Vanzo


this quarter at-a-glance


3

features9 Learning CuLTure is ChiLd’s PLay

recognizing the lack of cultural education available to Tibetan children in New York, one mother took it upon herself to open a Tibetan language daycare.

13 breaking The LineAt Trace Foundation’s Latse Library, a young Tibetan advocates inserting spaces between words to make written Tibetan easier to read and more compatible with digital technologies, while others warn of the risks.

18 a worLd of TasTesAt the eighth Salone del Gusto, members of Trace Foundation’s Tibetan Yak Cheese Project gathered with representatives from sustainable food communities around the world.

24 bearers of The TradiTionPaola Vanzo recalls the early days of contemporary Tibetan art in Lhasa.

30 esCaPe from noThingCharlie Finch considers the future of contemporary Tibetan art in light of Beyond the Himalayas, a recent roundtable held at Trace Foundation.

32 iaTs ConferenCe 2010Trace Foundation staff traveled to Vancouver in August to attend the 12th seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies. Trace Foundation provided support for the conference, convened a panel, and participated in another, in addition to supporting ten Tibetans who presented papers at the conference.

36 The fuTure of TibeTan idenTiTy and TradiTionJanet Gyatso reflects on Interdependent Diversities, the fifth event in Trace Foundation’s first lecture series, and discusses the relationship between Tibet’s cultural heritage and the future of its environment.


this quarter at-a-glance


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features continued…

40 behind The LensA pilot project by a local NGO in Kardze Prefecture, supported in part by Trace Foundation, gave students the chance to express their creativity through the lens of a camera.

43 hoPe for my Language At Trace Foundation’s Latse Library, one guest hears hope for the future in the Dr. Kelzang Dorje’s presentation on Sikkimese literary reform.

columns6 ProfiLe

A conversation with Gene Smith, on his accomplishments in the preservation of Tibetan literary tradition and its future.

12 in The LibraryThe collection at Latse Library is growing all the time, read about what’s new in the Library.

16 PosTCards from The fieLdTrace Foundation research Fellows check in from around the globe to share their latest findings.

35 PakéLingSo you know your ka kha ga ngas, now each quarter you can learn a new Tibetan phrase, along with its meaning and etymology.

45 on The webThe latest tools, resources, and more available on www.trace.org.

announcements

45 new PubLiCaTions avaiLabLe

baCkPage seeking new inTerns To join our Team


in memoriam


7

profile gene smith

complicated. Dezhung rinpoche finally said, ‘You can’t ask; you must go and see for yourself.’ This gave me the key to the experiential nature of Tibetan language and philosophy.” With his mission clear, Gene set out to deepen his experience of Tibetan culture.

Throughout the early 1960’s, Gene traveled across Europe, meet-ing with Tibetan lamas and seeking out Tibetan Buddhist texts and microfilms from the Sakya tradition.

“Because of my exposure to living masters of each of the Tibetan lin-eages, I learned that Tibetan culture was one of the richest spiritual and literary traditions in the world,” Gene remarked. His research in Europe, however, was largely unsuccessful. He encountered bureaucratic difficul-ties at the traditionalist European institutions, and was often unable to gain access to Tibetan texts. In 1965, Gene acted again upon Dezhung rinpoche’s instructions to go and see for himself, and traveled to India to find and publish the books needed to complete his PhD.

Following his graduate studies, Gene began working for the Library of Congress in India in 1968. The new appointment offered him the resources to continue his pursuit of Tibetan Buddhist writings.

books have a way of disap-pearing. Often, the original texts are too few and no copies are produced. Paper molds and disintegrates if not properly cared for. Books are lost as their keepers move between librar-ies, monasteries, and continents. When these texts disappear, the information contained within their pages vanishes along with them, leaving the members of the com-munity bereft of valuable cultural knowledge. For the Tibetan com-munity, the loss of religious texts means being cut off from the rich Buddhist tradi-tions that are the foundation of their culture. Gene Smith, founder of the Tibetan Buddhist resource Center, has made it his life’s work to ensure this does not happen.

“I first heard of Tibet as an undergraduate at the University of Washington,” Gene recalled. In 1960, while working on his PhD on Tibetan Buddhism in Seattle, he studied under Lama Dezhung rinpoche. recognized as the third reincarna-tion of a great Tibetan buddhist of the Sayka tradition, Dezhung rinpoche was a renowned teacher of the Tibetan Buddhist faith. In 1960, he traveled to America and taught in universities across the country, including the University of Washington in Seattle. “I was the typical academic,” Gene recalled, “always asking dumb questions about topics that were extremely

Age and the several-hundred-mile journey over the Himalayas had taken their toll on many of the texts Gene was able to find, however, and many more had disappeared entirely. “It became clear,” Gene recalled, “that there was a need to encourage the publication of these books so that many copies would be available.” Publication would not only greatly increase access to the knowledge contained within these texts, it would help ensure they

would endure. Over the next thirty years, with the support of his Tibetan Buddhist teachers in India and later in China,

Gene was able to collect and publish 12,000 rare Tibetan texts.

His retirement from the Library of Congress in 1996 was not, how-ever, the end of Gene’s mission to preserve Tibetan texts. “The first books we published were printed on very poor-quality acidic paper,” Gene lamented. “After only thirty years, many of the publications were halfway to disintegration.” At the same time, rapid advances in digital technologies and the Internet were dramatically changing the way people around the world produced, located and consumed information. Immediately, Gene saw an opportu-nity to ensure the preservation of these texts while making the collec-tion more widely accessible to the Tibetan and academic communities.

In 1999, Gene founded the

I was the typical academic, always asking dumb questions about topics that were extremely complicated. Dezhung Rinpoche finally said, ‘You can’t ask; you must go and see for yourself.’


software, which should be released in the coming months, will convert the images of text from Tibetan books into Unicode text, enabling users to search the text of one of the largest archives of Tibetan cultural knowledge in existence.

The launch of TBrC’s new web-site, which will eventually include an online encyclopedia of Tibetan texts, is the most recent advancement in providing access to Tibetan texts. “The web encyclopedia has been my dream since the beginning. Universal accessibility to the incredible knowl-

edge that exists in the books can finally be achieved using currently available technology.”

“What remains to be done,” Gene says, looking to the future, “is the application of technology and technological developments, not just to the preservation, but to the dissemination of the knowledge contained in these texts. This is the real challenge.” As technology and global communications develop, the means for maintaining and sharing Tibetan texts will grow along with it. Through the efforts of Gene Smith and the resources available at the Tibetan Buddhist resource Center, a direct connection will continue to be available between Tibetan Buddhist culture and the centuries-old knowl-edge that underpins it.

Tibetan Buddhist resource Center (TBrC) to further his mission. The organization set to work immedi-ately on creating an online archive of Tibetan texts. The database is comprised of a detailed catalogue and scanned versions of thousands of rare pecha. Today, TBrC provides access to the archive through a pub-lic website, with free subscriptions for academic institutions to provide access to students. Downloadable digital texts are also available through the website to users around the world. For monasteries in remote

parts of the Tibetan world, TBrC offers hard drive installations of its archive and recently condensed its collection of Tibetan texts to fit on an iPad.

The center continues to benefit from the latest developments in digital technologies. “When TBrC began,” Gene said, “there wasn’t Unicode and digital scanning was only just becoming possible.” Scanning, however, only solved part of the problem, allowing for TBrC to archive digital images of each page of a pecha, but preventing them from directly preserving the writing itself. That final hurdle will be crossed soon however, through a collaborative effort between Trace Foundation and TBrC. Tibetan Optical Character recognition (OCr)

What remains to be done is the application of technology and technological developments, not just to the preservation, but to the dissemination of knowledge contained in these texts. This is the real challenge.

gene smith passed away suddenly at 4:00 pm on december 16th, 2010, the year of the iron tiger, as this issue was being prepared for print. Throughout his incredible life, gene proved to be a true friend to Tibetan

culture, and displayed a depth of warmth and kindness that was treasured by all who knew him.

This profile was prepared on the basis of an interview conducted in early November, 2010.

Trace Foundation and TBrC

For more than four years Trace Foundation has supported the Tibetan Buddhist resource Center’s efforts to preserve Tibetan culture.

In 2006, Trace Foundation pro-vided TBrC with support to begin the construction of web-accessible detailed outlines of major works of Tibetan literature within the TBrC collection. These outlines provide key information about the texts, improving navigation of the digital collection.

In 2007, Trace continued to support the efforts of TBrC in detailing and outlining the major works within the archive. We also provided support for the Center’s collaborative project with the Southwestern University for the Nationalities in China (SWUN). This cooperative effort digitized and outlined the resources available at SWUN and included them in the TBrC archive.

In 2008 and 2009, TBrC applied to Trace Foundation for support to digitize and archive texts that provided additional information on persons, places and discus-sion topics already included in the collection. These texts provide new insights and links between already archived texts, increasing the rich-ness of the collection as a whole.

We are proud to have played a small part in this unique effort to preserve Tibet’s literary heritage.


learning culture is child’s play

“jik, nyi, sum, zhi! shake iT! shake iT!” This exuber-ant chant resonated through Trace Foundation’s Latse Library on August 6th, as thirty-seven children vigorously shook small tubs of heavy cream. They were learning how to make butter, a traditional staple of the Tibetan diet. Their young voices rose in excitement as the tubs were passed around, taking delight in a task that, while appearing simple, is deeply rooted in Tibetan culture.

The children attend the Tibetan Summer Camp, offered for a second year by the Diki Daycare Center in Astoria, Queens. During this eight-week summer program, the center provides classes that merge cultural activities with an educational curriculum. The goal is to instill in the children an understanding and appreciation of their cultural heritage. Activities such as churning the butter provide entertainment and familiarize them with Tibetan traditions at an early age.

“We hope to instill pride in being a Tibetan,” says Diki, the founder and director of Diki Daycare Center. “Our cultural education focuses not only on basic Tibetan language skills, but on the feeling of community and belonging. We hope that children can understand the

value of their parents’ upbringing and background along with the value of American culture. New York City is very culturally diverse, but the Tibetan-American culture is only just beginning to blossom here. This can cause Tibetans to feel left out or misunderstood. We are hoping to elimi-nate that for this next generation.”

Diki’s own education began in Lhasa. When she was eleven, having performed well in primary school, she was offered the opportunity to continue her education in Xi’an. Though it would require her to leave her family for several years, the draw of a better education and the opportunities it might afford was irresistible. “While living in Xi’an, I felt removed from Tibetan culture,” she says. “I missed the feeling of community and belonging that I had experienced in my life with my family and in my town.”

The four years Diki spent in Xi’an would prove, how-ever, to be of incredible importance to her. The dedication and support of her teachers inspired an emerging interest in education, and the distance she felt from her home and family piqued her interest in her own background. On her return to Lhasa four years later, Diki felt compelled to further investigate her Tibetan heritage, studying the

9


language, culture and history of the Tibetan people.

In 1997, she was accepted to Seattle Central College in Seattle, WA, and graduated in 2001 with a degree in International Business and Economics. After graduation, she worked as a travel consultant for a time, living comfortably in the United States, though she continued to miss the close community and culture of her homeland.

“I started my career in business, but when my husband and I decided to start a family and were looking for suitable daycare solutions, I real-ized that I could put my degree and background to work for me. I saw a need in the community for affordable childcare options. I knew that I could help others by providing a safe and educational daycare center.”

As a Tibetan mother and teacher, Diki became increasingly aware of the lack of understanding of the language, history and culture of

the Tibetan people among Tibetan children raised in the U.S. In 2005, she founded the Diki Daycare Center, offering a warm environment and a multitude of programs for preschool-ers and toddlers that encouraged personal growth through fun and educational programs. In 2007, the center began offering “Tibetan Sunday School,” a weekly class that immerses Tibetan children in their cultural heritage. Through the estab-lishment of these cultural classes, Diki hopes to encourage Tibetan children’s appreciation of their heri-tage by integrating aspects of Tibetan culture into early education.

“I believe that it is especially important for children of non-Amer-ican cultural backgrounds to feel pride in their heritage. I believe that it helps them to understand how and why their families may do things dif-ferently than those of their friends, and to feel proud of these differ-ences instead of shame. I think that

teaching children in a formal setting about their heritage can add to what they are learning at home from their families, and bring a sense of sup-port to their parents.”

When it first opened, the daycare consisted of only one classroom and twelve students. In the five years since, Diki Daycare has expanded to an additional four classrooms and over eighty students, with more on the waiting list. Diki believes the popularity of her daycare is due to a void in the Tibetan community in New York which is an absence of a strong sense of community.

“many Tibetan mothers expressed to me their frustration and concern about their children losing their Tibetan language and culture. They were overwhelmed with American influences on television and in public schools, and found it hard to instill cultural pride in their youngsters. They felt that their heritage and cultural traditions were being lost. raising a child in the U.S. myself, I sympathized with this concern. I realized that I had the resources to make a difference in not only the lives of my own child and the children of my friends, but for all of my fellow countrymen living in the area.”

The Sunday school classes begin with traditional prayers, orientating the children with the relationship between Tibetan culture and the Buddhist religion. The first hour is comprised of practicing written Tibetan with a jangshing and samta, two traditional Tibetan writing tools similar to a chalkboard. The following hour, the children practice fluently pronouncing their Tibetan vocabulary words, as an attempt to encour-age proper usage of their parent’s mother tongue. The day ends with an exploration into Tibetan cultural arts, such as crafts, music and dancing, and drama. The center also offers the

Children from the Diki Daycare program practiced writing in Tibetan on a jangshing, a traditional Tibetan writing board.

One boy practices churning butter tea.


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parents numerous services.The Diki Daycare Center began

the Tibetan Summer Camp program in 2009, building and expanding on the curriculum of the Sunday school. Students participate in a wide variety of activities meant to stimulate their interest and familiarity with Tibetan customs. In addition to the Sunday school, the center offers language education, dividing the classes into groups based on proficiency, rather

than age. There is a strong empha-sis on cultural customs and arts, in which the children practice callig-raphy, learn the process of making pöja, Tibetan butter tea, and study aspects of Buddhism that encour-age compassion and inner peace. They also perform dramatizations of Tibetan folktales and history, to rein-force their understanding of cultural storytelling.

On this sunny day in August,

Diki Daycare made a special field trip to Trace Foundation’s Latse Library, where the library’s Children’s Program instructor, Tsering Choedron, and other staff had prepared a morning of entertaining instructional activities focused on Tibetan culture. The butter-making activity was one way that children learned not only how to make the butter that is a dominant staple in Tibetan life, but also about traditional Tibetan kitchen utensils and food staples. Librarian Lobsang Tengye shared with the children Tibetan writing implements and tools for learning language, and invited the children to try their hand at using the Tibetan pen and writing boards. Later, the telling of Tibetan folk tales was accompanied by puppet-making. The children created crow and frog puppets from paper cutouts and popsicle sticks. These two-dimensional creatures came to life in their makers’ hands, taking flight or leaping around in accor-dance with the narration of a Tibetan folktale. These and similar activities unite contemporary teaching meth-ods with a unique cultural heritage.

“At Trace Foundation, our children are able to hold and read books, make artwork and have interactive learning experiences. All of our students, not only those in our Tibetan programs, can now learn about Tibet and share in the knowl-edge of our culture.” Diki has bright hopes for the future of children who benefit from culturally-orientated education. “I would like to think that being raised with Tibetan pride, and with a sense of community and belonging, will allow my students to become prosperous citizens of the world.”

This was the second visit to the library by the DikiDaycare Summer Program, and one of the ways the library seeks to reach out to the local community.


The Life of a man is a compli-cated thing. Knowing a person while alive, we come to feel that we have known them completely. But, in the things they leave behind, glimpses can be caught of a person we never knew.

Following his death in 2008, the widow of the Taktser rinpoche donated his personal and profes-sional papers and documents to Latse Library to ensure that the materials would remain together, and be made available to the Tibetan community and scholars of Tibet. Taken together, this unique collection illuminates the life of a highly respected advocate for the preservation of Tibetan culture, a professor, a husband and a father, and provides a unique insight into what it has meant to be Tibetan in the modern world.

Throughout his life, the Taktser rinpoche remained one of the most important, and controversial, figures in the history of modern Tibet. Born Thubten Jigme Norbu in 1922 to a farming family on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau, the young boy was recognized as the reincarnation of a local senior lama, the Taktser rinpoche, at the age of three. Twelve years later, his younger brother, Lhamo Dhöndrup, was recognized as the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.

After serving as the abbot of Kumbum monastery, the Taktser rinpoche left for India in 1950. He served as a representative for the 14th Dalai Lama in Japan before settling in North America, where he

in the librarythe taktser rinpoche collection

began teaching Tibetan Studies at Indiana University. In 1979, the Taktser rinpoche established the Tibetan Cultural Center in Indiana, to preserve Tibetan cultural artifacts and encourage others to pursue Tibetan studies. He also wrote a number of books, includ-ing the autobiography, Tibet is My Country, about his life and experiences in Tibet.

Filling more than 60 boxes of materials, the life of Taktser rinpoche is vividly illustrated in the books, photos, papers, and keepsakes that comprise this precious archive. His meticulous nature is evident in neatly typed lecture notes. An intimate knowl-edge of the Tibetan arts is revealed in copious edits to the draft of a Tibetan art book. Juxtaposing photographs provide a glimpse into the rich and varied life captured in their frames, as official family portraits, signed pictures of movie stars, and images of beloved family pets share album space. Official materials mingle with personal items of remembrance, creating a multihued image of this extraordinary man and his work.

Among artifacts from the life of Taktser rinpoche, some truly unique treasures are included in the col-lection. There is a rare letter from the 13th Dalai Lama addressed to a Westerner whose identity is unknown. The letter is dated just a few days before the 13th Dalai Lama passed away in December of 1933, making this letter to an anonymous acquaintance one of his last. Among the official

papers is an edict from the Tibetan government addressed to Tashilhünpo monastery, the traditional seat of power of the Panchen Lama, and to the local governor of Zhikatsé, the second largest city in Tibet. The letter, dated 1951, relates to the Seventeen Point Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet. There is a wealth of cultural material as well, including one of the earliest known children’s books in Tibetan. Additionally, the Taktser rinpoche’s pecha collection contains over 60 volumes.

Latse Library is in the process of digitizing the collection to ensure the preservation of these valuable cultural materials and to allow for greater dis-tribution and access to the collection. To date, 4,000 photographs and 3,000 slides from the Taktser rinpoche’s col-lection have been digitized. Currently, Latse is scanning the rinpoche’s per-sonal documents and manuscripts, as well as digitally converting films.

We are proud to hold this collec-tion from such a remarkable man. It is our hope to make the contents of this invaluable collection available to the public and the Tibetan community very soon.


breaking the line

in The 7Th CenTury, the Tibetan emperor Songtsen Gampo sent seven ministers to India, where they were to study the Brahmi and Gupta scripts used to write Prakrit and Sanskrit. Influenced by these two writing systems, the minister Thonmi Sambhota is traditionally credited with devising the Tibetan script in the mountains of Kashmir. In less than two decades, his system would be adopted and propagated for the writing of Tibetan languages from northern Pakistan to the eastern edges of the Tibetan plateau.

In the past few years, proposals to reform the Tibetan writing system, which have circulated for decades, have surfaced among Tibetan intellectuals. A few have argued for the inclusion of spaces between written Tibetan words, breaking the nearly 1,400-year-

old uninterrupted line of the Tibetan writing system. Others argue that including spacing between words would simplify reading, make the written language more compatible

with digital technologies, and increase interest in the written language among younger generations. Many, however, question the necessity of this kind of reform and raise

concerns over the effects of such a radical change to one of the pillars of Tibetan culture.

On July 10th, Trace Foundation’s Latse Library hosted Breaking the Line: An Examination of New Ideas for Written Tibetan to explore the arguments for and against

proposed reforms to Tibetan orthography.

Unlike many other written languages, clauses in Tibetan are written in an unbroken line, with syllables divided only by a tsek, a small mark similar in appearance to an apostrophe. This unique ele-ment of Tibetan orthography is a leading cause, according to some, in the decline in use of written Tibetan, especially among younger Tibetans. Intellectuals speculate that the length of the sentences and the difficulty in distinguishing between words hinder reading comprehen-sion and discourages young Tibetans

from writing and reading in Tibetan. Expressing the frustration of some young Tibetans, rikjong Dhondup Tashi, the managing editor of the Tibetan-language blog, Khabdha, remarked that “Tibetans can write one sentence, and it will cover one whole page! If it’s a full page, how can you read that?”

Each speaker proposed reforms to improve the situation. Tenzin Dickyi, a popular blogger based in New York, advocated breaking the continuous line of Tibetan script by inserting spaces between individual

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textbook in Tibetan, or a chemistry textbook in Tibetan. It will facili-tate a global conversation between Tibetan and all other languages in the world.”

In further support of her pro-posal, Tenzin Dickyi conducted a brief survey among local Tibetan speakers in New York City. She presented each participant with two versions of the same text, one writ-ten according to current orthography, and the other written with spaces between words. While some older readers struggled with the unusual text, younger participants remarked the text with separated words was a faster read and easier to compre-hend. The same experiment was conducted with a native English speaker who is learning Tibetan. He remarked that the separated words allowed him to distinguish between words he had already learned and those he did not know. recognizing some of the words allowed him to better comprehend the context, which allowed him to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Tenzin Dickyi admitted to two immediate disadvantages of inserting spaces between words. Arguments have been made that breaking the

line will produce texts that will require the use of more paper, which would be damaging to the environ-ment. There is also the concern that adapting to this new system of writ-ing will impede future Tibetans from reading religious and historical texts, an important connection to their shared culture.

Alternative solutions to word separation have greater support within the Tibetan community. Lama Pema Wangdak, Director of the Palden Sakya Center and the Vikramasila Foundation, consid-ers the insertion of space between words to be unnecessary, and potentially injurious to the traditions of Tibetan writing. “It is a matter of semantics when you say you want to change the language. That’s really threatening to everyone. I’m for change, but I want to be a little more cautious. Language is like the structure of a building. You can’t put it straight like the Pisa Tower. If you want to change it, you’ve got to change the whole structure.”

His proposal for reform is more moderate than word separation, involving inserting a triangular, rather than square, tsek to indicate the conclusion of a sentence. “Just like

ཡི་གེ་ཡོན་ཏན་ཀུན་གི་གཞི་མ་ཡིན།

ཡི་གེ་ ཡོན་ཏན་ ཀུན་ གི་ གཞི་མ་ ཡིན།

ཡི་གེ་ ཡོན་ཏན་ ཀུན་ གི་ གཞི་ མ་ཡིན།

words. She argued that “word sepa-ration will definitely increase comprehension, because you can immediately pick out words as you read the text. It will increase clarity and reduce ambiguity.”

She asserted that various stud-ies by linguists have determined that writing systems that employ a continuous script are more likely to be abandoned by users than a script that is separated. She cited Old English, which began using word spacing in the 12th century, as an example. The introduction of word spacing in English had a profound impact on the language, changing both the way texts were written and read, and the how English speak-ers thought about their language. Because of this shift, words increas-ingly came to be seen as the basic unit of meaning.

In the past fifty years, digital technologies have been produced primarily by users of word-separated scripts, meaning separating Tibetan words with spaces would addition-ally make the Tibetan language more computer-friendly. Tenzin Dickyi stated that “with word separation, the computer will know what the words are. It will be easy for the next Tibetan genius to make a Tibetan spell check or word count.” In her opinion, word separation would also facilitate education in Tibetan. “Tibetans could read an economic

Language is like the structure of a building. You can’t put it straight like the Pisa Tower. If you want to change

it, you’ve got to change the whole structure.


Lama Pema Wangdak, Director of the Palden Sakya Center and the Vikramasila Foundation, argued for the creation of a new punctuation mark to indicate the ends of words.

Tenzin Dickyi argued that adding word spacing to Tibetan writing would not only make the language easier to learn, and more computer-friendly, it could help clear up potentially ambiguous sentenc-es. In this sentence, rendered traditional-ly on top, word spacing clarifies whether the meaning is “script is the source of all knowledge” or “script is not the source of all knowledge.”

in English, there is a subtle differ-ence between the comma and the period. If you’re a Tibetan learning for the first time, you can’t tell which is which. But once you’re used to it, you can tell.”

This innovated tsek would allow readers to differentiate between sentences, but there are numer-ous possible shortcomings to this proposed reform. First, the inclusion of this new tsek does not render the Tibetan writing system any more computer-compatible. An audience member also raised concerns about Tibetans with poor or failing eye-sight. This new tsek would appear little different to them than the current tsek that delineate syllables. Additionally, Tibetans who chose to write with the traditional writing instrument of Tibet, the bamboo pen, would also encounter difficulties. The nub of the pen is a flat tip, which could complicate the writing of this particular tsek. Lama Pema, however, disputed this statement. “When you write, you don’t expect to write perfectly. Everyone understands there are many different handwriting styles. Whatever your pen allows you will be the tsek.”

While Tenzin Deckyie and Lama Pema Wangdak look to Tibetan orthography to understand flagging interest in the written language among young Tibetans, blog-editor rikjong Dhondup Tashi held that the problem lay not with the Tibetan script, but with poor educational standards. He stated that in Tibet, there is a stronger emphasis on language education, while Tibetans living in non-Tibetan societies devote less attention to learning their mother tongue. “How many Tibetans face the problem of reading and writing? If the majority of the popu-lation doesn’t have this problem, why should we reform the Tibetan language?” he asked.

His solution for increasing reading comprehension involved adjusting sentence structure and length to reduce the complexity of sentences. rikjong cited 10th cen-tury Tibetan scholars who wrote in shorter sentences, and advocated this as preferable to “aerating” Tibetan script. “Separating the words,” he said, “may help people read quickly, but it may not help people understand [better],” and, if any reforms are to take place, higher comprehension must be their goal.

Tibetans may eventually decide that reforms to Tibetan orthography are necessary, but from this pas-sionate discussion, it is clear that regardless of which proposals are adopted or ignored, the line between the Tibetan people, their language, and culture remains strong. “The system of Tibetan writing is a gift that Thonmi Sambhota bestowed upon us,” Tenzin Dickyi reminded the audience in closing. “It is the birthright of every single Tibetan. We should all consider solutions to make sure that Tibetan survives as a rich and literate language beyond the twentieth century.”

15


postcards from the field the latse festival of dungnak tsowa

photo © Yumjeap

by yumjeaP


17

The PraCTiCe of making offerings to the mountain gods is an important social and cultural mark of Tibetan historical memory and cultural iden-tity. The focus of my doctoral studies in Ethnology at Lanzhou University is the remains of the cultural practice of offering to latse in the remote northeastern reaches of Amdo. A latse is a site of cultural significance, usually along high peaks that border mountain passes. The latse is con-structed from a cluster of rocks and bundled branches forming a wide pole from which prayer flags are strung.

In 2009, I was fortunate to receive a research fellowship from Trace Foundation, which gave me the opportunity to research the latse festivals in Dungnak Tsowa (Qifeng) Township in Sunan County, Gansu Province. Qifeng locals are also known as Dungnak Tibetans. They are native to northeastern region of the Amdo Phreng la mountains and the Western Corridor in Gansu Province. Qifeng is a large township, rich in mineral resources and with a long cultural history. To the south of Qifeng lies Treng-la County of Qinghai Province and to the north, the bor-ders of Jiuquan and Jiayuguan. In the area, there is Bodhisattva manjusri’s ancient temple Dungnak Jamyang, and the highest peaks of the Treng-la mountains.

The traditional faith of the Dungnak Tibetans is Tibetan Buddhism. In Qifeng, the beliefs and

festival activities surrounding the sacrificial offering to latse are very similar to rituals in other Tibetan communities. Since the last cen-tury, the Qifeng Dungnak Tibetan’s traditional culture has become increasingly marginalized due to the increase of historical influence of Han culture. The Tibetan language is only spoken among the older population; without exception it can-not be spoken among the younger generation. They seldom visit the community’s cultural center, the manjusri temple, but they continute to intensely identify with their ances-tors and the Tibetan ethnicity.

The subject for this project is the latse festival on the manjusri Temple mountain. In Qifeng, there is one central latse, and thirteen sub-latse in the surrounding villages. The main latse is surrounded by thirteen types of minerals and thirteen flags standing for the thirteen villages in the Qifeng township. Every June 6th of the lunar calendar, Dungnak Tibetan in Qifeng areas hold the latse festival. The elderly, women, and children from the Dungnak tribe, and even migrant workers, actively participate in the festival. Through this ceremony, Dungnak Tibetans are reminded of their responsibilities to the latse and the Dungnak com-munity. This community festival for the latse is not only a window into the expression of Dungnak Tibetans’ native culture, but also how Dungnak Tibetan people remember their

history and inherit their historical cultures and traditions. This also is how Dungnak Tibetans facing rapid social and cultural changes express their ethnic dignity and cultural identity.

Qifeng Dungnak Tibetan’s latse festival is as grand and lively as the Dzamling Chisang - a com-mon Buddhist holiday - held on the lunar date of 15th may in other Tibetan areas. During the latse festival, no one can recite mountain god prayers except the Living Buddha and one monk in the manjusri temple. However, it is quite popular to wear Tibetan clothes during the festival. many families prepare or unpack Tibetan clothes for the festival. Dressed in their Tibetan clothing, both old and young are happy to partici-pate in these activities. During the activity, the township govern-ment organizes an annual cultural arts festival and sports activi-ties, including Tibetan art shows and horse racing. The sacrificial offerings to latse and cultural arts festival are complimentary, and are a platform to demonstrate and revive Qinfeng Dungnak Tibetan’s culture. This is in sharp contrast with the Tibetan people from Wudu County, who no longer hold latse festivals. In fact, Dungnak Tibetans recognize their active participation in the festival as a demonstra-tion of their culture, rather than a religious festival.

Yumjeap is a 2009 Trace Foundation Research Fellow. The Fellowship supports researchers both in Tibet and abroad whose efforts shed light on the current state of the Tibetan plateau, its peoples and their cultures. The fellowship was established in 2009 to build knowledge about

Tibetan communities and guide future development efforts.


photo © Slow Food

a world of tastes


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over 5,000 rePresenTaTives of sustainable agricul-ture industries communities gathered again this year in Turin, Italy, from the 21st to the 25th of October for the Terra madre event. This global conference is a forum in which farmers and breeders committed to produc-ing quality foods come together to display their goods and discuss innovative concepts in food production and marketing. As a supporter of sustainable agriculture, Trace Foundation was among them. The objective of Terra madre is to provide a network for food communities that support local food production that is sustainable and in harmony with the environment and cultural knowledge.

In conjunction with Terra madre, Slow Food also hosted the 8th gathering of their biannual food festival, Salone del Gusto. Slow Food has 314 presidiums from 51 countries. The presidium supported by Trace Foundation is the only one in China. We represented the Tibetan Yak Cheese Presidium, along with our long-standing partner, Jigme Gyaltsen. The Tibetan Yak Cheese Presidium was established in 2004, as a means of supporting social and economical development in Qinghai Prefecture in accor-dance with the local culture. The cheese is manufactured from excess milk from herds of local yaks, and the profits help fund a local school. Both events attracted record numbers of visitors with an estimated 200,000 presence.

“Is this the yak cheese?” asked mario, a smiling face from Verona, a city three hours by train from Torino. “I heard about it a couple of days ago on TV,” he told me. “They were interviewing this guy who had just visited the Salone, and they asked him what was the best thing he tasted at the fair. He said the Tibetan yak cheese was definitely the best. So I came here to find this cheese that

sounds so special. I did not want to miss it!”This was not the first time that people came from

far away to Torino in the hopes of buying some of our cheese. Some were true fans that followed our proj-ects since 2004, when we first presented the cheese at Salone del Gusto. The cheese was not available for sale at the 2010 Salone del Gusto, but we were happy to offer samples to those who were interested.

With Trace Foundation’s assistance, the Snowland Tibetan Cheese factory began exporting internationally in 2003. In 2004, cheese from this local factory joined the multitude of sustainable food products on exhibition at Salone del Gusto. It was lauded as a quality food prod-uct with both cultural flair and economic sustainability. During this last Terra madre event, we received very positive feedback from Italian and U.S. cheese experts about the quality of the cheese, and received interest from some retailers in New York. Export of the cheese has temporarily been put on hold, however, we hope to start exporting the cheese to the U.S. again soon, so that everybody can taste a piece of Tibet at their table and help us support its unique culture.

Trace Foundation is proud to have supported an orga-nization and a product that provides a sustainable income for a Tibetan community that continues to promote their traditional knowledge and lifestyle. We will continue to advocate the production of these products and celebrate global food diversity. The aspiration of Terra madre and Slow Food, to encourage production of quality food that recognizes the value of local traditions as well as environ-mental and personal health, is vital to the development of communities in Tibetan regions and around the world.

The eighth Salone del Gusto, sponsored by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiver-sity opened on October 21st, 2010 in Turin located in northern Italy.

SPAGNOLO

alimento territorios2010 una nueva geografía

del Planeta

ITALIANO

ITALIANO - INGLESE

FRANCESE

nourriture territoires2010 une nouvelle géographie

de la Planète

INGLESE

food places2010 a new geography

for Planet Earth

TEDESCO

Essen Region2010 eine neue Geografi e

für den Planeten


salone del gusto 2010

in pictures

Trace Foundation has attended Salone del Gusto since 2004 in support of the Tibetan Yak Cheese. The fruit of a collabo-ration between the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, Trace, and AVeC-PVS, the Tibetan yak cheese provides sus-tainable income for nomadic herders and revenue for Jigme Gyaltsen’s education initiatives.

Kyijam, one of our cheesemakers from Golok Tibetan Autono-mous Prefecture in southern Qinghai Province, journeyed to Italy to represent the project. All of the cheesemakers are members of the local Tibetan nomadic pastoral community.

The theme of Salone del Gusto 2010 was Food +/= Places. Building on the global efforts in recognition of the International Year of Biodiversity, the theme high-lights the deep connection between people, the foods they produce, and the

lands to which they belong. Embedded in our foods are traces of our history, our culture, and our places of origin.

At the 2010 Salone del Gusto representatives of the Tibetan Yak Cheese Presidium convened with a global community of artisan food producers to share a taste of

Tibet and sample some of the world’s most fascinating cultures.


21

Safya Ateig Al Khair travelled to the salon from the Al Jufrah district of central Libya. Though oil is increasingly important in the local economy, date cultivation has lain at the center of the regions culture for centuries.

Seydou Kene from the Dogon Some Presidium in mali relaxes at his booth. Dogon women make somé, a condiment, from a wide variety of cultivated flowers and vegetables. In ad-dition to somé, the Dogon Presidium provides support for a number of other products, including kamà, powdered sorrel seeds, and pourkamà, powdered fermented fruit.

Date farmers in Al Jufrah, like this man, grow more than 400 varieties of dates around the five oases of the region. The hot climate and moist soil produces some of the highest quality fruit in the world.

Cristina Na Fala is a representative of the piläo rice and malagueta chili community from the Quinara and Tombali regions in Guinea Bissau. The community also produces palm oil, lemon vinegar, and amargo oil, used for medicinal purposes.


Paolo Ciapparelli, from the Bitto Cheese Presidium, took a careful look at our cheese. Bitto Cheese is produced in the mountain pastures of Val Gerola, in Lombardy in northern Italy. The cheese is made from a mixture of cow and goat milk and can be aged up to ten years.

Pastor John Kamara is the founder and coordinator of the musaya Bee Farmer Association in Kabala, Sierra Leone. A leading honey bee farmer from the Koinadugu District, he inherited the trade from his late father and has been work-ing the trade to take care of his family.

Long-time Trace Foundation partner, Jigme Gyaltsen with Floriano Turco, from High mountain Honey. made by bees in the Italian Alps, High mountain Honey is nearly solid with a flavor far more complex than the more commonly found, thinner honeys. Turco paired his rhododendron honey with our yak cheese for visitors.

Yves-robert Tolleron, the head chef of La Boite A Nougats, makes old-fashioned soft white nougat in the tiny village of Villedieu, in southern France. The sweet derives part of its unique flavor from the lavender honey produced in the region.


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representatives from Terra madre mexico try a sample of our cheese. Terra madre, a biannual conference organized by Slow Food, takes place side-by-side with Salone del Gusto, and focuses on fostering discussion of sustainable agricul-ture and gastronomy.

A Sardinian shepherd samples our cheese. The island of Sar-dinia, off the west coast of Italy, is renowned for its cheeses, particularly those from goats and sheep.

Jigme Gyaltsen presents a scroll to the President of Slow Food, Piero Sardo. The scroll reads “Culture is the foundation of sustainable development. A culture without its traditional roots is like food without flavor. Therefore, we honor the work of Slow Food. To mr. Carlo Petrini, October 25th, 2010”

Environmentalist, activist, and International Vice President of Slow Food, Vandana Shiva speaks with Paola Vanzo and Jigme Gyaltsen.


bearers of the traditionby PaoLa vanzo


25

iT was shoCking. The enormous face of a young Tibetan boy stared, confrontational, through an ancient doorway in a white-washed wall in Lhasa’s historic Barkhor district. His skin glowed purple as if awash in the neon lights of Hong Kong, rather than the bright sun of the fall morning in 2003, when the gallery of the Gendün Chöpel Artists’ Guild first opened its doors. I first met the artists of what would become the Gendün Chöpel Artists’ Guild three years earlier, in the summer of 2000. I’d moved to Lhasa the year before, when I began working for Trace Foundation. For several years before that, Trace Foundation had focused our work within the culture sector primarily upon preserva-tion, but beginning that summer we began exploring new opportunities to expand our work in this area. We were eager, in particular, to take on projects that would develop and reinvigorate Tibetan culture.

Through my colleague in New York, Tenzin Gelek, I met the first of the Tibetan artists I was to come to know during my time in Lhasa, Tserang Dhundrup. At the time, he was working as a set designer for the Ensemble for Tibetan Song and Dance.

Tserang wanted us to see the man he referred to as his “teacher” before I saw any of his work. I met him at his co-worker, Tsering Dorje’s house with my colleague Kim morris. Tsering Dorje had a beautiful old-style Tibetan house with a courtyard

and an incredible garden. Pink azaleas filled the entrance from floor to ceiling and dozens of pots with multi-colored flowers were arranged around the edges of the yard. It was an oasis of tranquility, utterly apart from the bustling noise of the Lhasa streets just outside the red gate.

We went up to his studio, which was on the second floor of Tsering’s house, and, after several cups of tea, he asked if I wanted to see some of his work. The room was filled with canvas and drawings, more than I have ever seen in any other artists’ studio.

He brought samples of his work out in the garden so that we could see them in better light. Among the works was an oil painting of the Potala Palace in dark shades of red and yellow. The painting grabbed me. The palace was majestic but with an aura of sadness about it. The straight edges of the palace were curved and twisted, as if invisible forces were pressing against every side of the building. The original form of the palace was lost, but the distorted shape gave new energy to the palace as it stretched skyward. A painting of a stupa sat next to it, rendered in the incomparably brilliant pal-ette of a sunny day on the Tibetan Plateau. It too appeared squeezed, warped by invisible forces, but it was still immediately recognizable, a distinctly Tibetan landmark that dots the countryside from Pakistan to Gansu.

my colleague Kim had

already visited Tserang at his home to see his work, so I went to see his work alone. He was living not far from the Potala Palace in a small concrete apartment building of the type that was mass produced in the 50s and 60s and found in every city throughout the PrC. It seemed strange to think of an artist living in such a building.

“This is it,” he said, as I entered his small room. With no other space to work in, this single room was both his home and his studio. Almost immediately, a painting of an old man caught my eye. The painting was nearly photo-realistic, with each wrinkle painstakingly replicated. From across the room, I could feel the intensity of his gaze, and the illusion didn’t wear off even as I came closer. In each of the paintings arranged around the room, I was struck by the deep contrast between the traditionally dressed subjects and the modern style in which they were painted, and the quiet boldness in each of their expressions. These qualities, which I recognized imme-diately in the paintings, I later came to realize were qualities of Tserang himself.

During the course of our early conversations with Tserang and Tsering Dorje it became clear that they were eager for an opportunity to exhibit their work in the West. We at Trace Foundation discussed it and felt that we could play a role in creating an opportunity for these art-ists not just to show their work, but


more importantly, to gain exposure to the global contemporary art scene.

Back in New York, Tenzin Gelek reached out to the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, a large arts complex on Staten Island that had been run-ning an artists-in-residence program for about fourteen years at that point. They offered both an exhibi-tion space and a small cottage that could house four artists. At the same time, Tenzin Gelek began speaking with The Henry Street Settlement in lower manhattan, which runs its own artists-in-residence program and was exhibiting the works of a number of emerging artists. Together with these two organizations we developed what we called the International Cultural Collaborations Project.

With room for four at the cottage at Snug Harbour, we decided to open up the remaining two places to a wider pool of applicants. That sum-mer, Tserang began taking me around to meet some of the other artists in and around Lhasa.

The number of tourists coming to Tibet had risen steadily since it opened up to foreigners in the 1980s, but in the late 90s and early 2000s, the number of both foreign and domestic tourists really exploded. The streets around the Barkhor were full of shops selling paintings. While there still were, and are, master thangka painters and their students producing incredible works, much of what was being sold at the time was stereotypical depictions of Tibetan

daily life, or images meant to conjure up the “Shangri-la” mystique that brought, and still brings, many tour-ists to Tibet.

Throughout the city, however, some artists had begun to work in new styles. most of these artists, many of whom have since become famous in their own right, didn’t have studios at the time. Instead, we’d meet them at their home, sit in the courtyard, share a cup of tea and talk about their art. The work that most of these artists were producing at the time was still quite conservative, but a few were already beginning to break out and try new things, experimenting with new media and new imagery.

Ultimately from an incredible

“Potala Palace no. 3“ by Tsering Dorje, 1998 “Old Man“ by Tserang Dhundrup, 2001


27

pool of applicants, we selected—in consultation with Snug Harbor, Henry Street Settlement, and also Gonkar Gyatso, who was himself emerg-ing as an important artist at the time—Gade and Benchung. Gade, at the time, was still working with traditional Tibetan mineral-based paints. He was also working with a drastically limited palette, while attempting to depict his own experi-ence more directly. Benchung’s early work was similarly dark, earthy, and angular, drastically different from the paintings he produces today. He was experimenting with radically new ideas however, leaving parts of his canvas bare to show what lay beneath.

The artists arrived in December 2001 to begin their residency. They spent four months in the U.S. None of them had ever been to the U.S. before, and though they were ini-tially a bit shocked and puzzled by the art they were seeing and the people they were meeting, I think they really had the time of their life. The Asian Arts Council, with whom we collaborated on this project, did a wonderful job of bringing artists, performance artists in particular, to meet and interact with the four painters. They also had the oppor-tunity to meet with curators, gallery owners, and other artists, including the sculptor Louise Bourgeois.

The Henry Street Settlement selected eight alumni of their artists-in-residence program to meet regularly with the Tibetan artists, and to take them to museums, galleries, exhibitions, and studios throughout the city. When I later asked them, upon their return to Lhasa in the summer of 2002, what had left the greatest impression on them dur-ing their time in New York, the four responded without hesitation that it had been those studio visits. In Chelsea, DUmBO, and Williamsburg,

they had seen whole buildings of artists working together, collaborat-ing, and sharing ideas. The effect was almost immediate. Together with Nyandak, another Lhasa based artists, Benchung, Tserang, and Gade began laying plans for what would become the Gendün Chöpel Artists’ Guild.

Though Benchung eventually left

to pursue his own work, plans for the gallery continued to build. The four sought to bring both the produc-tion and exhibition of contemporary Tibetan art into the hands of the art-ists themselves, and to create new opportunities for self-expression. From the initial group, they quickly expanded to ten, including Bempa, Dedrön, Tsering Namgyal, Wang

Painter Jiang Yong standing in the doorway of the original Gendün Chöpel Artists’ Guild Gallery with “Untitled no. 1“ by Tsewang Tashi in the background.


Shimin, Zhongde, and Zhang Ping, and formed the guild in late 2002.

By this time, I’d come to con-sider this group of artists my friends, and would meet with them regularly in the evenings. When they spoke of the guild, they spoke of creating a window into the Tibetan world. They were incredibly energized by this project, but questions remained. While a few had regular work, pri-marily through the Art Department at Tibet University, some had little to no regular income. Though everyone wanted to participate, only a few of the artists were initially willing to share costs. Together they decided to draft a charter for the guild, establishing the principles by which the guild would operate. They put a great deal of effort into drafting that charter, and with only a few changes, it’s still in use today.

The group rented a former Sichuanese restaurant that winter and began renovating the space. The renovations were incredibly demand-ing. It took months and dozens of coats of paint to cover the smell of oil and garlic. The morning of the opening the artists were still scram-bling to peel the plastic characters of the former restaurant’s name off the wall, but when the doors finally opened, it would have been impos-sible for anyone who didn’t already know to guess the building’s his-tory. Approaching the gallery, that enormous purple face, one of a series of portraits by Tsewang Tashi, peered through the ancient doorway as if from another world, and, in a way, it was. We gathered together that morning on the roof of the first contemporary art gallery in Lhasa to make an offering of sang, as Tibetans have for centuries.

As time went on, the gallery became increasingly well-known, and new opportunities emerged for each

of the artists. In 2003, Gade traveled to Scotland for a month-long artist-in-residence program. At the time, he was experimenting with different metaphors and symbolism, paint-ing characters and symbols from pop culture in a style derived from traditional religious art. While he was there he worked on one of his “Group Photo” paintings, a series of paintings of the head of the Buddha surrounded by a halo of different figures and signs—ronald mcDonald, mickey mouse, red Guards and a Beijing opera singer, as well as mixed symbols from Tibetan traditions.

One day he called me and said, “I’m not sure what I’ve been doing here. I don’t think they really under-stand me as much as other people do.” I said, “What happened?” He replied, “I was here and I was show-ing them my “Group Photo” painting, and I had this logo of mcDonald’s and they said, ‘Oh good, so you’re really against fast food. That’s very impressive.’” And he said, “I looked at them and in my broken English I simply said, ‘Against? Oh no, I love hamburgers.’” It was really very funny because I also thought that he had put it in there as a critique, but instead it was something that he wanted to incorporate, as it was part of his world.

Though, at the time, the mix and play of symbols in Gade’s work was occasionally bewildering. Looking at his paintings today, I understand what I saw through that ancient red door the day the Gendün Chöpel Artist’s Guild opened their gallery seven years ago. Though in much of the world, nothing could seem fur-ther from religious murals than neon signs, from ancient temples than fast food, in Tibet they sit side-by-side. In Tibet, the sacred dances, as it always has, on the edge of the profane.

“The Embrace“ by Gade, 2005

“Balloons“ by Nyandak, 2003


In 2008, the Gallery of the Gendün Chöpel Artists’ Guild moved to a new building alongside the Kyichu river in Lhasa. The artists of the guild continue to be productive, showing their work around the world including, most recently, in the show “The Scorching Sun of Tibet” at the Songzhuang Art Museum in Beijing. Paola Vanzo, left Lhasa in 2006 to take up a new

post within the Foundation in New York. When she left, she left behind an incredible group of friends.

An excerpt of this article originally appeared in an interview in Tradition Transformed: Tibetan Artists respond, the catalogue for the show of the same name at the Rubin Museum of Art, published by ArtAsiaPacific and the Rubin Museum of Art with support from Trace Foundation.

29

I always thank the heavens for allowing me to be born in Tibet. Whether I am amongst the high mountains and large rivers of Tibet, on the pilgrimage circuits crowded with people, beside a pile of mani stones studded with prayer flags, or, especially, when I stand before frescoes which have been through hundreds of years of winds and rains and are now mottled, I always feel an inexpressible spiritual power surrounds me.

If all the wall paintings in Tibet’s monasteries were placed side by side, not a single museum in the world could contain them all. These works are the brilliant and colorful great art produced under difficult conditions through the extraordinary willpower of our ancestral artists. At the same time, these people enjoyed a great peace and happiness. It is my hope that I myself will become a bearer of their tradition.

Today, I know that not only Gade, but each of the 27 artists who are today members of the Gendün Chöpel Artist’s Guild are carrying the rich legacy of Tibetan arts forward, into the future.

In 2000, in his application to Trace Foundation to be included in the International Cultural Collaborations project, Gade wrote:


Looking at the work of Dedron, the only woman in the show, I was deeply moved by the searching eyes and closed mouths of her childlike fig-ures, and was later disappointed that Dedron did not appear on the Trace Foundation panel. The eight male artists on the panel struck me collec-tively as physically and spiritually akin to the Abstract Expressionist paint-ers of the 1940s: Gorky, DeKooning, Pollock, rothko, motherwell and the rest. They wore the same blue jean outfits as those masters and exuded

rubin, Tenzin Norbu was there and I embarrassed him a bit by wrapping him in a congratulatory bear hug. The show’s lead curator, rachel Weingeist, explained to me that even the most tepid use of images from the modern world is radical by the standards of traditional Tibetan art practice. Her criteria for choosing the artists in the show, she explained, was excellence in the craft of making art, primarily and a kind of surrealistic undercurrent that conveyed a subtle, yet respectful, undermining of Tibetan tradition.

i knew LiTTLe about Tibetan contemporary art, when my editor at ArtAsiaPacific, Elaine Ng, asked me to join a panel on the subject at Trace Foundation in conjunction with the show “Tradition Transformed: Tibetan Artists respond” at the rubin museum in New York. Looking through the catalogue, I was particularly struck by the fantastic paintings of Tenzin Norbu, whose ease of line and sensual monks and dragons would be appreciated in any contemporary art context. When I walked into the

escape from nothingby CharLie finCh

On October 7th, Trace Foundation together with ArtAsiaPacific and the Rubin Foundation invited six of the leading contemporary Tibetan artists to discuss the future of contemporary Tibetan art. This roundtable, entitled Beyond the Himalayas: New Horizons for Tibetan Art, was in connection with the closing of “Tradition Transformed” at the Rubin Museum of Art, the first show of contemporary Tibetan art at a New York museum. The speakers included Clare Harris, fellow of Magdalen College, Carol Huh, assistant curator for Asian art at the

Freer-Sackler Galleries, and Charlie Finch, senior art critic at Artnet.com, and was moderated by Ashley Rawlings of ArtAsiaPacific.


a physically fit machismo and rough, ironic humor.

Losang Gyatso at 57, the same age as myself and a veteran of madison Avenue, seemed the most Westernized, yet was firm in his respect for Tibetan traditions, talking about his difficulty in finding a Tibetan woman to marry and subtly chastising my use of the term “transgression,” which he preferred to characterize as “reimaginings.” Kesang Landmark’s work seemed the most akin to the contemporary pieces of Damien Hirst. Kesang’s powerful black skull mandala filled me with foreboding, emphasiz-ing the dark side of nothingness. Yet, he was the most wry and cheerful member of the panel.

Tenzig rigdol exuded gentleness and compassion, yet his work, such as Updating Yamantaka, in which the goddess of chaos tramples Osama bin Laden underfoot, created turmoil out of traditional designs through collage. Tsherin Sherpa’s elaborate Buddha heads and Pemba Wangdu’s illustra-tions of the five poisons through intertwined erotic figures are a little off-putting in their complexity for one as ignorant as I am about their messages.

This brought to mind the bur-dens of the Tibetan diaspora and its destination beyond the concerns of a revered and mind-boggling esoteric Buddhist tradition. must everything be explained in this body of art to be understood? The artists on the panel are devoted to the peculiari-ties of their craft and, to my mind, this demanded that they ultimately work on a larger, more public scale in the West. The artists pointed out that the Scorching Sun of Tibet, held this fall at the Songzhuang Art museum, included larger pieces and they kept coming back to the miracle of seeing

Original illustration for the Tibetan children’s story “The Little Frog and the Crow,” by Dedrön, 2007 Story by Tenzin Norbu and Tsering Choedron (TALI).

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opposite page: The panel at Beyond the Himalayas, from left to right: Charles Finch, Losang Gyatso, Tsherin Sherpa, Kesang Lamdark, Carol Huh, Ashley Rawlings, Gonkar Gyatso, Clare Harris, Tenzing Rigdol, and Tenzin Norbu.

contemporary work exhibited any-where in China.

To them, the rubin show was simply a contemporaneous underlin-ing of this significant beachhead. I thought of the Chinese art star Zhang Huan, who has made boldly huge sculptures from incense ashes from Buddhist temples, as well as other quite transgressive materials. Would the Tibetan cohort be able to match and compete with the broad aesthetic art of his Chinese contemporaries, much less Western artists such as

Charlie Finch is senior art critic at Artnet.com where he writes a regular column on contemporary art.

Koons and Hirst?The only way I see this hap-

pening is for the Tibetan artists to continue to exhibit as a group and to challenge each other to cre-ate a pictorial message that finds something fresh in commercial modernity that affirms Tibetan theology. That is a very hard road, indeed, but the austerity of Tibetan art practice cannot and will not be overthrown. Instead, its pallia-tive feel must be enhanced and celebrated.


The day was sweLTering, registering as the hottest day in Vancouver on record. Despite the heat, scholars from all over the world gathered to participate in this open forum of ideas. Academics from around the world lounged on the beautiful lawn of the university campus, enjoy-ing the cooling breeze that drifted in from the Vancouver Sound. This casual and gregarious atmosphere of scholars mingling under shady pine trees was the ideal setting for this important conference on developments in Tibetan Studies.

Building our commitment to developing knowledge about Tibetan areas and language, Trace Foundation has been an ardent supporter of IATS since 1998. Our primary focus has been to support young scholars who would otherwise be unable to present their research in such a prestigious international forum. We provide not only financial support, but also assistance on the ground, including with their arrival and check-in at the conference, and translation throughout, ensuring their attendance is as

meaningful as possible.In past years Trace supported scholars have pre-

sented on topics as diverse as the spirit mediums of repgong, classical Tibetan mathematics, and the editing of Tibetan manuscripts. In 2010, we supported ten young scholars to present their papers at IATS. They presented on topics in anthropology, history, literature, architecture and more. Through this initial exposure to the interna-tional community, several of these scholars have found new opportunities to lecture abroad.

In addition to this regular support, in 2010 Trace Foundation provided general support to the conveners of the conference. Staff also participated in and convened panels vital to the work of the Foundation.

Trace Foundation’s research Office, together with the Shelley & Donald rubin Foundation, convened and chaired a panel entitled “Applied Scholarship in Tibet.” In order to explore the intersection of scholar-ship and development work, the panel brought together

From August 15-21, 2010, over four hundred people converged on the beautiful campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver for the 12th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS). This August gathering meets every

three to four years and is the convergence of scholars and individuals involved in Tibetan Studies from all over the world and across a wide range of disciplines for a week-

long conference. Trace Foundation was both a sponsor of and active participant in the conference.

IATS Conference 2010


33

ensure longevity with formats that ensure accessibility.

On the topic of collaborative and local knowledge, Professor Sienna Craig of Dartmouth College and co-founder of Drokpa discussed her efforts with several different medi-cal projects in Nepal and Tibet. She has helped clinics that offer tradi-tional medical practices incorporate methods of record keeping and administration that are preferred by

both state and international orga-nizations and practitioners, thus garnering these clinics additional support.

Lastly, the panel discussed the relationship of engaged scholar-ship to research. Professor David Germano, of the University of Virginia and Director of the Tibetan and Himalayan Library, highlighted the need to rethink the common concep-tion of how knowledge is created and disseminated. In particular, he advocated reconsidering how knowledge is disseminated within the academy, and offered examples of potential alternative systems. For scholars interested in engaged scholarship, a common issue is that it is often not compatible with a career in academia. Applied schol-arship research is often relegated to the area of “service,” which is marginalized in relation to the areas of research that are vital to career

professional academics who par-ticipate in applied scholarship, scholarship that contributes to real benefit in the communities that are the subject and/or location of research. The panel addressed three main concerns: the need for moral clarity in research, the distribution of knowledge, and the relationship between engaged scholarship and research.

Thubten Phuntsok, of the Central Nationalities University in Beijing, provided an example of ethics in his pioneering work with his orga-nization, Tibetan Aids Prevention Association (TAPA). When the first HIV case was discovered in Kardze Prefecture in 2000, Thubten Phuntsok recognized the urgent need for AIDS prevention. recognizing that if initia-tives to address this issue were not undertaken immediately, the Tibetan Plateau could be faced with a health crisis within a short period of time, he founded the organization to edu-cate rural populations about HIV/AIDS prevention.

There is a similar need to pro-vide people with access to textual materials. Dr. mark Turin from the University of Cambridge and Director

[There are]...challenges of transferring archival media to various digital formats, particularly finding the right balance between formats that would ensure longevity with formats that ensure accessibility

advancement in academia. Professor Germano concluded by reiterating the importance of the need for those within academia to think of service as equal to teaching and research.

Trace Foundation’s Latse Library Director Pema Bhum and Librarian Kristina Dy-Liacco participated in the panel “Tibetological Library and Archive resources: State of the Field and a Fielding of Needs.” Susan meinheit of the Library of

of the World Oral Literature Project is engaged in this task. His project, Digital Himalaya, is dedicated to the dual tasks of preserving archival anthropological materials from the Himalayas and making them acces-sible to a broad array of users. He discussed the challenges of transfer-ring archival media to various digital formats, particularly finding the right balance between formats that would

Tenzin Gelek and Enrico Dell’Angelo with two participants at the IATS conference.


Congress, and Lauran Hartley, the Tibetan Studies Librarian at Columbia University, convened the discussion. They examined recent developments and long-standing challenges related to traditional and digital library resources. Also discussed was the need for library professionals and other stewards of Tibetan Studies collections to engage the broader academic community. The panelists agreed that fellow scholars could offer effective solutions to challenges and issues regarding access and use of Tibetan materials and resources.

Latse staff also participated in the afternoon panel, “Databases and

Special Collections,” which focused on specialized collections and online databases of six different organiza-tions. Latse Library opened the panel with a presentation on our special and rare collections. Jeff Wallman, Executive Director of the Tibetan Buddhist resource Center, provided an overview of their projects as well as ongoing research on opti-cal character recognition software. Panelists encouraged the audience to voice any issues and challenges they had with access to and naviga-tion of institutional databases and metadata systems, in the hopes of increasing access to and use of these

Applied scholarship research is often relegated to the area of “service”, which is marginanlized in relation to the areas of research that are vital

to career advancement in academia.

Sonam Yankyi gives a presentation on using digital technology to teach Tibetan as a second language.

Tibetological resources. As the conference came to a

close, small groups of participants wandered together to local restau-rants and bars, where discussions continued long into the night. After meeting and discussing work and challenges with colleagues and members of the academic commu-nity, participants came away with a greater sense of camaraderie and understanding of the disciplinary relationships in Tibetan Studies. moreover, there was a renewed energy—as well as a sense of urgency—to return to work armed with new ideas and clearer goals.


35

topIATS participants go out after a long day at the conference to talk about what they heard and enjoy each other’s company.

bottomKristina Dy-Liacco presents her talk on Trace Foundation’s Latse Library.

IATS participants take a mid-morning break to stretch their legs and enjoy the sunshine.

pakelingལྷ་ཆུང་དཀའ་ཡི་གེ་ཆེ་དཀའ་།

lha tɕʰuŋ kaa ji•ge tɕʰe kaa.

It is difficult to make small art. It is difficult to write calligraphy large.


the future of tibetan identity and tradition

TraCe foundaTion ouTdid iTseLf last month in tack-ling some of the most important—and tricky—issues facing Tibetans today. Cultural identity and tradition, at the heart of the discussions during the Interdependent Diversities conference, are often seen as the last hope to forestall the disappearance of the Tibetan world. The conference focused upon the intrinsic value of diversity, especially the relation between linguistic diversity and that of both human culture and biological culture. The assumption for all of the participants was that, surely, diversity is a good thing. But, as the discussion proceeded, it also became clear that there might be different ways to think about diversity and identity and tradition—and that some of those ways might turn out to be at odds with other goods that are needed for the continued flourishing of Tibetan languages, cultures, and biospheres.

The presence of several experts who are entirely outside of Tibetan studies was of great benefit. They played the very welcome role of drawing attention to other groups around the world whose languages, cultures,

and biospheres are threatened. What can Tibetans learn by considering other examples? The first speaker was Dr. Luisa maffi, cofounder and director of Terralingua, an organization that is devoted to promoting the bio-logical and cultural diversity of the “web of life.” Dr. maffi pointed to research that ties the recent reduction of linguistic diversity in a given region to the equally dramatic reduction of the diversity of plants and animals in the same area. The connection between language and the natural environment has to do with local, traditional expertise in caring for life in a region. Such ability to care and protect is intimately connected with having the linguistic resources to name and understand those plants, animals, and their habits.

Dr. maffi’s talk was underscored the next morning by the impressive body of research by Eugene Hunn, Professor Emeritus from the University of Washington’s anthropology department. Professor Hunn expanded the argument for protecting the world’s cultural and linguistic diversity. He pointed to the intrinsic virtue in

On September 24th and 25th Trace Foundation held the fifth event its first lecture series, Minority Language in Today’s Global Society. The two-day conference, entitled Interdependent Diversities: The Relationship between Language, Culture & Ecology explored the connection between linguistic diversity and biodiversity on the Tibetan

plateau and around the world.

by janeT gyaTso


37

supporting alternative ways of liv-ing on the earth, which allows us all to have a richer understanding of the capacities of human nature. Professor Hunn surveyed his experi-ence among the Tseltal, the Zapotec and other mid-Columbian Indians, and the Huna Tlingit in Northwest America. He pointed to the elaborate vocabulary among the Tseltal for bees, wasps, and their nests, which shows far more specificity than what is known to modern zoology. Again, he fascinated the audience with the astonishing knowledge of a young girl he worked with in central mexico, who was able to identify hundreds of distinct medical plants in her region by name.

While we are taken with this argument for the ecological value in preserving local language and cul-ture, questions remain. What about cases where traditional practices turn out not to be the most effective, or are even mistaken or damag-ing? What about conflicting notions between different cultural groups regarding what elements in the environment should be favored over other elements? At such points, other standards are going to have to be invoked, since if two traditions are at odds with each other, we cannot say that tradition as such is always right. In particular, if assumptions about what constitutes the best way of life are not shared between groups, the argument that local knowledge is intrinsically valuable might be a hard sell.

The perfect and salient example of who may not be convinced of the value of local tradition is the Chinese state. The third speaker at the conference was Xu Jianchu, senior scientist and regional coordinator at the World Agroforestry Centre, and currently Professor at the Kunming Institute of Botany and executive director of the Center for Biodiversity

Tibetan herders that are detrimental to the environment.

Professor Xu’s remarks also served to raise the question of how much influence academics and sci-entists really have on governmental policy. While Professor Xu lauded the value of broad consultation with local actors before new policies are instituted, large scale and compul-sory changes are taking place at this moment in the Tibetan nomad regions in question. It is not likely that many of the ideals to which Professor Xu alluded are actually being respected. Professor Xu is well aware of political realities, how-ever. As the conference participants contemplated the current jeopardy to Tibetan ways of life, a comment made by Eugene Hunn earlier in the conference, regarding the “treaty tribes” among Native Americans,

and Indigenous Knowledge. Professor Xu’s work focuses on the conser-vation of biodiversity in Yunnan province in Southwest China, an area that includes major Tibetan cultural precincts. Professor Xu turned the conference’s attention to Tibetan agricultural calendars and spoke of the special dangers to the Tibetan plateau, source of all of Asia’s major rivers, due to global warm-ing. Professor Xu, like the speakers before him, showed respect for the local worldviews and conceptions of the sacred among Tibetan peoples. But he also intimated the delicate political climate and the likely need for compromise. For example, there has been a recent effort on the part of the state to get Tibetan nomads to dramatically reduce the size of their herds. Here Professor Xu pointed to some animal husbandry practices of

Luisa Maffi, director of Terralingua, discussed the links between cultural and linguistic diversity and biodiversity around the globe.


has become a creative site for new constructions of Tibetan identity as writers deal with the traumas and memories from the last century, and attempt to move forward. Here the question of influence from other modern literary worlds might indeed be raised. And yet who, even among the staunchest purists, would want argue that the new forms of fic-tion and poetry that we are seeing in Tibetan should be cleansed or reigned back in so as only to mirror the old genres from before the twen-tieth century?

To talk of Tibetan identity brings us to the center of what is compli-cated in the issues raised by the conference. Identity presents itself as an attractive consolation for the oppressed, and a platform from which to press a group’s case. And yet identity can pigeon-hole us, limiting our ability to experience the world and contribute to it fully. The final talk of the conference, by the learned Tibetan scholar and author Dorje, director of the Qinghai

Columbia University. Professor Norbu pointed to the increasing number of loan words in Tibetan, especially those that describe the objects of modern technology. He lamented the loss of the colorful and histori-cally resonant terms that are being left behind. The ensuing discussion recalled the similar predicament of other languages—indeed, virtually all languages—including some success-ful moves to revitalize old languages, like Hebrew, in the 20th century. But there is also another issue. We can start to see that the urge to pre-serve might sometimes work against the vitality of a language. We might start to worry that were we to get too good at remaining true to the “heirloom” language, our language might not be able to “work” for the everyday lives of people in the 21st century.

It might be that the real question is whether the Tibetan language—even with its loanwords and neologisms—is being used at all. There is a big difference between accepting with open arms the changes wrought on any language as it evolves, and allowing the language to fall out of currency altogether. One very key issue would seem to be the use of Tibetan in the class-room, at all levels in institutions of higher learning, both in Tibet and in

exile. Another would be the health of intellectual and literary arenas for the language to be used in construc-tive and expressive ways. We know that modern poetry and fiction has been written in Tibetan since at least the 1980s. modern Tibetan literature

became very significant. Those native tribes who, in the 19th century, were forced into unfair agreements with the United States government, and were compelled to relinquish large portions of their ancestral lands, are now in a better position in the 21st century—in contrast to other native American tribes who never signed such treaties—to negotiate with the American government and win new privileges. The very treaties that spelled the end of their traditional way of life are now valuable politi-cal tools. They are a legal basis upon which to have a place and rights in the American justice system. The point for Tibetan groups, to which Professor Xu heartily agreed, is that it is necessary to work within the Chinese political system rather than opposing it unconditionally.

This point about the politi-cal also relates to another helpful distinction made by Professor Hunn. This turned out to be relevant to the final two papers given at the conference, both by Tibetan schol-ars. Professor Hunn distinguished between an “heirloom tradition” (which is handed down and val-ued simply because it is old) and a “working tradition” (wherein adjust-ments can be made that are salutary in the present). Again, the emphasis is on the political, the strategic,

and the future. Keeping this distinc-tion in mind might help us to work through the nostalgia and genuine longing for the riches of the Tibetan language reviewed by Professor Nangsal Tenzin Norbu, instruc-tor of modern Tibetan language at

Tenzin Norbu, instructor of Modern Tibetan Language at Columbia University demonstrates the kelsang silyab, a tradi-tional sun hat the name of which derives from the 7th Dalai Lama, Kelsang Gyatso, who is said to have worn it frequently during teachings in the Norbulingka.

Perhaps the most viable Tibetan cultural formations will be those that allow constant development and

improvement, drawing in a wide range of voices, and combined together in a distinctive Tibetan brew.


39

Tibetan medical research Academy, provided an impassioned account of the unique contributions of tradi-tional Tibetan medicine. And yet Dr. Dorje’s talk in effect drew primarily on the elements of Tibetan medicine that historically were not confined to Tibet at all—the five elements, the three humors, the medical principles of hot and cold—but rather repre-sent a larger Asian heritage that was appropriated by Tibetan medicine long ago. This is a good example of the constructedness of identity in the end. It was precisely the cos-mopolitanism of the early kings of Tibet, who invited physicians from across the Asian world to their court in order to raise the level of medi-cine being practiced in Tibet at the time, that ultimately made for the vibrant mix that is canonized in what has come down to us as “Tibetan medicine.” Here, then, is a case of a hybrid and heterogeneous combina-tion of traditions, which fostered a brilliant millennium of writing and theorizing on medicine in Tibet. Dr. Dorje worried about the connota-tions of “tradition,” as if it must only represent outmoded customs from the past. He claimed instead that all production of knowledge partakes of the dynamics of tradition. If that is so, then his comments suggest a way to look not only at the future of Tibetan medicine but also of Tibetan identity and even beyond any formu-lation of identity altogether. Perhaps the most viable Tibetan cultural formations will be those that allow constant development and improve-ment, drawing in a wide range of voices, and combined together in a distinctive Tibetan brew.

Tibetans today are receiving

pressure to articulate Tibetan identity from many parts of the globe—both from Chinese governmental struc-tures that demand that all citizens be defined by ethnic identity, and from Western romanticizations of Tibet that also demand a kind of rarified spiritualized identity. This thought-provoking conference allowed us to ponder the complexi-ties, but also the productiveness and promise, of the elaborations of

Janet Gyatso is the Hershey Professor of Buddhist Studies at Harvard Divinity School. Her published works include Apparitions of the Self: The Secret Autobiographies of a Tibetan Visionary, Women in Tibet: Past and Present, and In the Mirror of Memory: Reflections on Mindfulness

and Remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism.

diversity. Perhaps we can begin to imagine Tibetans entering a larger arena of culture, and literature, and science, and even statehood, in which they are participating at a world-class level, not confined to “being Tibetan.” Perhaps they will keep drawing on the long traditions of creativity and intelligence that happened to have been fostered in that place we still like to call Tibet.

Xu Jianchu (top) and Eugene Hunn presented their research on communities from the Tibetan Plateau and Amerindians of Central and North America, respectively.


by giLLian g. Tan INTErNATION DIrECTOr, rABSAL

behind the lens


41

as The winTer CoLd started to set in, teachers at Sichuan Province Tibetan School in Dartsemdo town, Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture called a special meeting to speak with third (and final) year students of this middle-level vocational (zhongzhuan) Tibetan school, the only one of its kind on the Tibetan plateau. The meeting was to inform the students of a unique training opportunity conducted by rabsal, a local Tibetan non-governmental organization founded in 2007 by a graduate of the school, Tsering Perlo. rabsal was looking to estab-lish a pilot training program, aimed at teaching technical and practical skills in multimedia technology to 15 select students. Specifically, the students would learn the basics of still photography, video camera use, and digital editing, in order to widen their aspirations and opportu-nities, while reflecting on what was important for them about their own culture. In the meeting, the teachers issued a general call for interested students to come forward for selec-tion and there was an enthusiastic response to this opportunity.

The first semester of classes were delivered to 15 students, aged 17-21, female and male, from both agricultural and nomadic com-munities in Kardze and Ngawa Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures. Because it was finally decided that the students from the Computer Science major would be the most technically able, classes were held in the late afternoons in the school’s main computer laboratory after the students had completed their normal classes. The

students were first introduced to the equipment—digital and video cameras. rabsal staff provided an overview of basic features, and allowed plenty of time for the students to handle the equipment. Practical learning-through-doing was the main approach to classes. The students were continuously asked to reflect on why some photographs or film clips were more effective than others, in which ways they were more effective, and in which ways they could be improved. Students were taught cam-era and film perspectives and angles, and the importance of lighting and sound.

In the second semester, the students were able to fully practice the classroom skills they had acquired by

taking weekend trips to local communi-ties across Zhelha pass to photograph and film aspects of daily Tibetan life and culture. In this practical component, students were reminded to look for shots and scenes that they felt were essential and representative of their culture and people. In the advanced and final stages of this semester, students were also instructed—again through the learning-by-doing process—to interview local people. The students were taught the affective and technical skills of conducting inter-views, namely how to put people at ease,

from which position and perspective to frame shots, etc. rabsal trainers pushed students to think creatively and critically about their own work, an intellectual exer-cise that the students had previously little opportunity to experience. In the process, a close relationship was formed between trainers and students, emulating a

Instructions in photography also covered perspective, angle, and the effect of variations in the focusing of the lens. The focus on the budding mushroom cap and single blade of grass against an otherwise blurry background hints at the biodiversity on the Tibetan Plateau.

Students received training in the meth-odology of taking stylized photographs, such as in this photo, in which the composition of the shot is balanced, and the warm colors of the woman’s face and clothing draws the view’s attention to the turquoise earring.


mentorship model that was new for many students. The result was excit-ing and inspiring, not only in terms of the student’s short films but also in terms of their personal growth and development. To fully appreci-ate this, here is an excerpt from a

Rabsal is a local Tibetan NGO, registered and based in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It aims to serve as an open and two-way window on contemporary Tibetan life and culture by producing documentary films and training young Tibetans in multimedia skills. Rabsal

hopes to use this pilot project to form similar, and modified, training activities aimed at inspiring young Tibetans to re-engage with their tra-ditions, language and culture, as they negotiate their way in a changing and modernizing China. In 2008, Trace Foundation provided a grant to partially support the pilot project. A short project film can be viewed here: www.rabsal.org/projects.html. All photos from this article are

copyrighted by Rabsal.

conversation with a male student, 21, from the mewa area, now Kakhok (Hongyuan) County, Ngawa Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture:

I attended a film-making training project in our school conducted by a local organization named Rabsal. I

Rabsal staff developed close mentoring relationships with the students (pictured below) who were tutored in the effects of perspective, angle, and focus.

found it very interesting and also felt the importance of preserving Tibetan culture by using modern technology. My goal in life is to open a publish-ing shop in Serta County in the next few years. Serta is a very important place in Tibet where many Tibetan scholars and Buddhist monks live, yet when they need to publish books, they have to travel days to come to Chengdu and pay for their transpor-tation cost. Even when they arrive in Chengdu, they often face language barriers. I need to save money to start a small business there.

While opening a publishing shop is not my final goal, it will help me become financially more independent while I provide services to people. After the shop is more sustainable, I can hire other people to work there. This will give me free time to learn more about filming which has become my favorite hobby and passion. I hope and believe that my dreams will come true, though I know there will be many challenges ahead. I also hope that I can inspire more young Tibetans to follow their dreams, lead lives that they value with their hearts, and to be proud of ourselves and our culture.

As far as we know, he is follow-ing his dream.


43is iT PossibLe to feel hopeful

for your language while it is disap-pearing? Though I grew up in Sikkim, I was not able to fluently speak my mother tongue. It has been a lifelong interest to learn it, and more importantly, in trying to understand why Sikkimese is on the verge of extinction.

recently, I went to Trace Foundation’s Latse Library to attend the lecture “Fusing Tradition and modernity: Sikkimese Language and Literary reform,” given by Kalzang Dorjee Bhutia, a professor of history at the University of Alabama. The talk made me feel both concerned and hopeful for my language. It made me think about my land, my beautiful language, the threats it is facing, and the possible ways to save it.

Sikkim (Denzong) was a peace-ful, independent Himalayan Buddhist kingdom from the mid 17th century until 1975, when it was absorbed into India. There are several

languages spoken in Sikkim: Nepali, Bhutia (Sikkimese), Lepcha, and oth-ers, in addition to Hindi and English. Since Sikkim is situated to the south of Tibet, the Sikkimese language is referred to as Lhoke, or southern lan-guage. Even though Sikkimese uses Tibetan script, the spoken language is quite different and is considered a distinct Tibetan dialect. In four cen-turies, the language developed a rich oral tradition. Two figures are cred-ited with developing early Sikkimese literature: Lhatsün Namkha Jikme and Lhatsün Tulku Jikme Pao.

When the Sikkimese speakers became a minority, they realized it was essential to learn Nepali and English. Today, everyone speaks either Nepali, Hindi or English. Since government jobs, running a busi-ness, and day-to-day survival do not require Sikkimese, the language sug-gests limited economic benefits and has been relegated to a place of low regard. There is a sense that people

by wanChuk ToPden

hope for my language

who speak English are economically successful and belong to an elite class, while people who only speak Sikkimese are primarily rural.

There are other factors contribut-ing to the decline of the language. Children who now grow up in Sikkim do not hear the language during their formative years. When they go to school, many do not study Sikkimese, even though it is offered in the government-run schools. In most private schools, learning Sikkimese is not even an option. Sadly, in today’s Sikkim many grand-parents cannot communicate with their grandchildren and pass down their wisdom. Parents should get involved and demand that Sikkimese be taught in every school in the state.

According to the 2005–2006 state census, 32,000 of the 49,000 Bhutias speak fluent Sikkimese. However, as Dr. Kalzang pointed out, these statis-tics may be misleading: the ability to only say hello, goodbye, yes, thank you, and no, thank you in Sikkimese hardly indicates a high level of language proficiency. In my opinion, these numbers are grossly exagger-ated because we don’t know how “fluency” was defined or measured. It is time to recognize that there is a problem. We can quote statistics, but the reality is that the majority of Sikkimese cannot speak, read, write, understand, and enjoy their own mother tongue. We have to make an effort, take a stand, and start a discussion.

As the speaker pointed out, paradoxically, lack of repression may

Wanchuk Topden (right) and Dr. Kelsang Dorjee Bhutia at “Fusing Tradition and Moderntiy: Sikkimese Language and Liter-ary Reform”.


One day we will no longer...know how to do the simplest of things, like how to wear

the kho or make a traditional dish.

have also contributed to the demise of the Sikkimese language. The Sikkimese do not have any sense of urgency to preserve their language, since the culture is not overtly threatened.

But there is still hope, and my own story is proof of that. The broken Sikkimese I speak today is due to my own effort. In my youth, I tried very hard to learn my mother tongue, and was angry with my family for not encouraging my interest. I took matters into my own hands: wearing the traditional kho (a robe-like garment similar to the Tibetan chupa), I met regularly with a scholar who spoke Sikkimese with me, and I learned through listening. Even though I partially succeeded, in hindsight I realize that there were very few resources available to me.

I have always encouraged people to speak as many languages as pos-sible. It expands our intellect, and it is simply fun to be able to com-municate with other cultures. But you have to start in your own home. Have you ever thought to yourself: I speak Hindi and I can understand my fellow brothers’ culture. Why does my friend not show any interest in my language? If he did, I am sure he would learn something amazing.

Having traveled the globe exten-sively, I can tell you that language is a powerful unifier. Everywhere I go, I

see groups bound together by their native languages. Not being able to have a community based on my own language, I feel left out and alone. I believe strongly that rather than feel-ing disadvantaged, those who speak Sikkimese should be proud: they are

fortunate to be part of a privileged club who can appreciate their own culture and traditions.

I want you to think what the extinction of our language will mean. One day we will no longer understand our own customs and traditions, or know how to do the simplest of things, like how to wear the kho or make a traditional dish. All people of Tibetan heritage should care: since Sikkimese is part of the Tibetan family, if you lose Sikkimese, you lose a family member. From the audience, mr. Schwarzman, an enthusiast of Sikkimese culture who has spent some time in Sikkim making sound recordings of religious ceremonies, asked the scholar about examples of other endangered languages that faced a similar threat and were successfully revived. Dr. Kalzang responded that the maori of New Zealand, whose language also at one point was on the brink of extinc-tion, have revived their culture and traditions. Like the maori, we should be proud of our heritage and redou-ble our efforts to save our dying language.

Even the smallest things can make a difference. make an effort to learn our beautiful language. This

year, instead of an extravagant gift, buy a Bhutia-English dictionary for your friends and family. They

may not be able to understand it but the dictionary has plenty of good baby names to consider. Go and buy a Sikkimese novel, play, or music CD, even if you do not understand the language. You will be encour-aging the local artists and giving

them an incentive to produce more work. Do you read Dhatoi Denzong, a Sikkimese newspaper? If not, why don’t you subscribe to it, or, better yet, become a regular contributor and send your letters, articles, and photos?

I especially appreciated Dr. Kalzang’s focus on the contribu-tions to the Sikkimese literary

tradition made in the past 30 years. Norden Tsering, the recipient of the prestigious civilian award The Padma Shri, along with Pema rinzin Tagchungdarpa, created the first Bhutia-English Dictionary. mr. Tagchungdarpa’s work was ground-breaking: he reformed the spelling and grammar to reflect the realities of the modern spoken language. Together, they are considered the Fathers of modern Sikkimese.

Other key figures in the con-temporary Lhoké literature are Tashi Pelkyi Penpo, Bhaichung Tsichudarpo, and Sonam Gyatso. mr. Tsichudarpo penned the first Sikkimese novel, Richi, and the Sikkimese drama, Namtok. mr. Gyatso authored the all-important book on marriage rites and rituals. These modern-day pio-neers have inspired me to learn my language better and safeguard our traditions.

Interestingly enough, no female writers have emerged on the Sikkimese literary scene yet. I would like to encourage women to start writing poetry, novels, screenplays, etc. Imagine how rewarding it will be to become the first female Sikkimese author! I know there are many cre-ative women and men, and it is now time to let that creativity shine.

Why does my friend not show any interest in my language? If he did, I am sure he

would learn something amazing.


45

on the webnew website under development

Trace Foundation strives to provide a window into contemporary Tibet, to share information and to educate the public on Tibetan areas and local culture. As part of that continuing commitment, we have launched a new effort to improve our website.

We are currently in the process of redesigning and reorganizing the site and implementing a content man-agement system. This system will create new ways for us to engage with the public, creating new opportunities for us to learn from each other and share that learning with the world. This system will further allow us to provide

more regular updates and to more easily keep our web-site up-to-date in the three languages (English, Tibetan and Chinese) of the Foundation. We will also incorporate the ability to search the site, and roll-out new resources currently underdevelopment.

Our end goal is to provide the public a better online experience, and to create new opportunities to build knowledge about Tibet together. Be sure to check our website in the coming months to see our new look and view our progress.

Support for Tibetan-language publications has been central to Trace Foundation’s work since our inception. We support the publication of both new and classic texts. To date, we have distributed more than a million copies of these texts in the People’s republic of China. Now, we’re offering many of them free of charge to institutions throughout the rest of the world.

All publications are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

To request copies please visit our website at the UrL below. Check back often; new publications will be posted as they become available.

http://www.trace.org/resources/resources_reference_publications_requestform.html

announcementnew publications available

we’re always eager to hear what you have to say.

Write us at [email protected], call +1 (212) 367-7380, come by our headquarters at 132 Perry St., Suite 2B, New York, NY 10014 or visit us at any of the sites below:

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www.issuu.com/tracefoundation

TM

There are frequently new open-ings at Trace Foundation for interns within our research, IT, Communications, and Libray teams. Internships offer a unique opportunity to work with a multi-cultural, multilingual team in the international development field. Interns will gain experience and new skills, and have the opportu-nity to provide input, pitch new ideas, and see their contributions at work.

To see the latest openings visit: www.trace.org/about/

about_getting_internship.html

join our team

KÜNPEN TAMSAR


Documents

Künpen Tamsar Fall 2010