Traditional Arts at the Norbulika Institute

8^th June

Applique Thanka in the making

We have another 2 days holiday:  so many students are on leave and the 6 who returned to the school last night do not want to have classes.  My decision about what to do today is assisted by Lungrig initiating a momo party tonight for Sarah and he tells me I should be back at school by 5:30pm so as not to miss this wonderful event.   Momo party.  I don’t need to be told twice!  Momo parties normally happen once a month, but there has not been one since I have been here. 

So a local excursion is the logical choice.  Last time I went to the Norbulika Institute, it was closed.  This is a weekday, so it should be open. 

The Institute is a couple of kilometers walk up the hill, and is in a beautiful setting, kept immaculately clean and tidy.  The buildings are laid out nicely, and are traditional Tibetan design, and Japanese water feature graces the central courtyard. 

The Institute setting is beautiful

Wood carving in action

I arrive as a small group arrives, and am asked if I wish to join the guided tour.  Why not?  It might be informative.

The Institute (the whole village) is named for the Dalai Lama’s summer palace in Lhasa and the purpose of the Institute is to preserve the traditional Tibetan arts, which are in grave danger of being lost under the Chinese administration in Tibet.

We start with a visit to the wood carving workshops where young men are busy with their chisels and assorted other tools, working on traditional designs according to templates they affix to the blocks of wood.  The finishing – either lacquer or paint, is done elsewhere by others.

Thanka painting in progress

The view of Norbulinka from the top of the temple

Then the sculpting workshop – the making of statues from metal sheet.  Some are done by hand, beating the flat metal sheet to the correct shape – and since images created are images of religious figures, they must follow precise formulas and patterns to achieve the correct proportions.  Smaller images are made by casting.

The Thanka painting workshops is fascinating.  Once again, the images, which are all sacred, must be exact, and the masters make tracings which are used by those who are creating these images on cloth.  The detail in the images is incredible, and I watched some artists apply the slenderest of brushes to achieve this detail. 

Thanka painting in progress

Weaving in progress

I manage a visit to the tailoring, weaving, embroidery and appliqué workshops before they closed for lunch.  I observed only utilitarian cloth being produced on the large loom.  I don’t think the Tibetans achieved the same level of decorative weaving as the Bhutanese, although there are some patterned scarves for sale in the Institute shop. 

Applique black necked swans in production

Fine detail of an applique thanka

I watch the embroidery – of pieces for appliqué – and the care and neatness of this work is just amazing.  Once the pieces are embroidered, they are cut, and the edges turned under (and glued).  

Applique thanka in production

The piecing of the appliqué is done by others – and there is embroidery for the appliqué Thankas and for the more everyday decorative products, such as cushion covers and wall hangings.  The master teacher shows me his work catalogue -  the pieces are not particularly cheap, but this is work that is all done by hand, in silk – and it is beautiful.  I am temped by cushion covers with black necked cranes, but need to be realistic about where I would use them.  One of his students gives me a small sample of leaves -  which I carefully store away.  I will use this when I get home.

The enormous applique thanka in the temple

I visit the temple, which was not open the last time I went.  It is beautiful:  although the Thanka exhibition has been taken down, there is one huge appliquéd Thanka still hung in the main temple hall – it is easily 2 stories high and the work on it is stunning.  The temple floor is tiled – not something I encountered when I visited Ladakha – and kept beautifully clean, and the Buddha statue is lovely.  The paintings of the gods of the 4 points of the compass in the entrance foyer and also beautifully executed.  The skill of the craftsmen selected to undertake this work is clearly evident.

Inside the temple

The workshops close for lunch, so this seems like a good opportunity for me to also have lunch, so I go to the restaurant and order a latte and some vegetable pakora – which I greatly enjoy as a change to my usual diet.

After lunch I head back for another look at the Thanka appliqué, which I only got a short chance to visit before lunch.  I am glad I did, as there are more people at work and I have the opportunity to admire some particularly complex work in progress in putting together the Thankas.  Once again, they are put together using a template prepared by the masters. 

Having completed my visit, I wait a while for the rain to stop before heading down the road and back to school. 

Zukkar and Tsultrim prepare momo wrappers

In due course, back at school, momo preparation commences and its all hands on deck – though that is only 6 students.  We have 2 varieties, one with spinach and an oniony flavoured green – a bit like chives but more bitter, and one with mushroom, garlic, onion and cabbage.  This last one is definitely the winner, despite my first taste of the spinach ones a few weeks ago being assessed as excellent!

Lungrig and Kunzang wrap momos

Momo party in progress in Dawa classroom

I get to the point where “just one more” is not really possible – I am very full and know that to eat any more, no matter how tempting, would be uncomfortable.  Just as we are finished, 2 more students come back from the basketball match they have been at all day and are more than happy to finish off the leftovers.  Shame, Sarah and I were already fantasizing about leftover momo for breakfast!