The Thangka paintings, depicting Buddhist folktales, are the source of inspiration for the Lamamani artists, or talking-singing storytellers of Tibet. (Photo : www.chrischun.com)
The regional cultural protection center in Tibet Autonomous Region has announced on Monday, Dec. 14, that its culture department has finished recording a traditional folk talking and singing performance as a way to preserve the dying tradition, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
According to the report, the storytelling technique, known as "Lamamani" in Tibetan, was once popular in Lhasa, Tibet's capital city, as well as Xigaze and Shannan prefectures. The artists or performance of the Lamamani tell Buddhist folktales depicted on Thangka paintings with a mixture of talking and singing.
Lhasa's technique is the most famous among all the variations of "Lamamani," the report said.
Ngawang Tenzin, deputy director of the protection center, said that Trinley, 76 years old, is the only living performer to train directly from masters in the Lhasa style of "Lamamani."
According to Tenzin, the center has made detailed images, texts and video materials related to Trinley's life, performance and techniques to ensure that the endangered tradition is preserved.
The center said that the videos and transcripts recorded by the culture department will be digitalized and stored in a database.
The report said that a CD recording of Trinley's performance has been published as the center continues searching for proper apprentices who will be trained by Trinley. A folk art troupe in Lhasa has reportedly sent four performers to learn from the master.
Since the beginning of 2015, the regional intangible cultural heritage protection center has been interviewing classically trained artists and recording their cultural performances, prioritizing performers aged above 70 or with illness, the report added.
