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Bhutanese
Folk and Mask Dance
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Bhutan's
Culture - Dzongs |
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Bhutan Information |
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Mongar:
Drametse's mask maker
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Popularly
known among his relatives and the people of Drametse as Bak Sharang Meme
(mask head old man), Tshewang Namgyel, 64, has been making the Nga Chham
masks for the Drametse monastery for the last four decades.
The
Nga Chham requires 16 different types of masks depicting various animals
and mythical creatures. |
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"I
was 24, a student, when I took up the craft," said, Tshewang Namgyel. Today
he has mastered the craft and can now make all kind of masks depicting
heroes, ferocious deities, animals, gods, and atsaras.
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making masks is seasonal work for Tshewang Namgyel who does it in the winter
from November to January, particularly when there is a need for new masks
to replace the old ones at the monastery. For the rest of the year he meditates
in the mountains.
Although
a skilled mask maker, Tshewang Namgyel has never thought about making masks
for sale. The other reason, he said, was the difficulty involved in mask
making. |
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"Even
with 40 years of experience making masks is not easy," said the Tshampa.
The masks need a special kind of wood called Row Shing which is found in
the forests of Rolong, Trashigang, a two-day return trip from Drametse
according to Tshewang Namgyel.
In
the Rolong woods the Row Shing is cut into blocks according to the size
of masks and brought on horseback with horses carrying two blocks each.
Tshewang
Namgyel has about 30 tools that he uses to make the masks. After drawing
the features of the mask - the eyes, nose, ears and mouth - on the block
of wood, he starts with the surface treatments, using smaller tools to
carefully carve out the features. As the mask gradually takes shape on
the outside he also starts hollowing it from the inside with larger tools.
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One has to be extremely careful when hollowing the mask from the back and
carving it on the surface at the same time," said Tshewang Namgyel. "Adding
the slightest extra pressure could break the mask or make a big hollow
which means starting all over again."
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| Drametse Monastery, Mongar |
| When
the basic features have taken shape, the intricate carvings are done. Tshewang
Namgyel keeps the old mask as the model to get the details exact. "Carving
intricate designs on the masks are the most eye stressing," said Tshewang
Namgyel who has lost vision in his right eye.
The
whole process of completely carving a mask takes him eight days. The final
touch of painting is done on the ninth day. |
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Mask
with horns take an additional two to three days said Tshewang Namgyel.
"I have to look for a curling branch of Row Shing and after finding it,
it takes another two days to shape it."
Tshewang
Namgyel is passing his skills to three men who are learning to make masks
from him. One of them is his own 40-year old son, Sonam, who has been helping
his father for a long time.
Sonam
said that he could shape a block of wood into a mask and carve the intricate
designs on it, but they didn't turn out as perfect as those done by his
father. "It is not as easy as it looks when my father does it," said Sonam.
"It requires a lot of patience and perseverance."
| Contributed
by Samten Wangchuk, Kuensel, Bhutan's National Newspaper |
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