China News Service, Shigatse, February 7th: Title: Rural artists in Shigatse, Tibet make folk art bloom with charm
China News Service reporter Zhao Lang
More than 10 theater actors gathered in a circle, holding props, and sang to the sonorous and powerful drumbeats Jump. Pubujila, the inheritor of Xiaerbagong, a representative project of China's national intangible cultural heritage, shared a video of them rehearsing in the village with a reporter from China News Service on the 7th. This drama will be performed on the third day of the Tibetan New Year, which is a new year custom. Tradition.
A few days ago, a reporter from China News Service visited Mabujia Township, Sakya County, Pubujila’s hometown. It is more than 4,300 meters above sea level and about 200 kilometers away from the urban area of Shigatse, Tibet's second largest city. Pubujira lives in Nibai Village. The houses in the village are built along the gentle slope. The typical red, white and blue colors can be identified as Sakya architecture at a glance.
The picture shows January 28, Pubugela. Photographed by China News Service reporter Zhao Lang
Pubgila said that Xialbagong is a kind of drama, and the performance form is different from Tibetan opera. Bagong can be interpreted as tsampa kneaded into balls, symbolizing eating, drinking and a good harvest. . According to legend, it was created by an eminent monk of the Sakya sect during the Sakya Pandita period in the 12th century AD, and later spread to the people. The play tells the story of the construction of Samye Monastery by Tibetan King Trisong Detsen.
The 58-year-old Pubujila began to learn from the master in the village when he was 18 years old, and he did not start teaching until he was 30 years old. In his mind, it is already the fourth generation that Xialbagon has been passed down to him.
He introduced that the Xiaer Bagong performance originated from the folk, and its formation and development also depended on the folk. Its unique and rich song and dance performances have a strong local flavor. From the perspective of plot performance, Xialbagon can be divided into singing, dancing, rhyme, speaking, acting, skills, etc. Various performance methods unfold the plot. The entire performance program has 22 segments and 16 sections. According to the storyline, nearly 60 different roles and characters appear.
In his impression, during the slack time after the autumn harvest, they would go to perform performances in various places under the leadership of their master, and the audience would usually give back food, mutton, salt, butter, etc. This seasonal tradition of performances continues to this day.
When he was young, Pubujira followed his master to perform everywhere. When he got older, he took over the master's mantle and led young actors around the countryside. The dramatists represented by Pubujila are not full-time entertainers. Their other identity is farmers and herdsmen. Pubujila's family has more than 50 acres of land, with barley, rapeseed, and peas being the main crops, and there are more than 300 cattle and sheep. While working, they would always sing a song in the fields or grasslands.
The biggest stage in Pubujila’s life is the 2020 Drama Hundred Operas (Kunshan) Festival. Everyone has practiced for a long time for this performance. From the countryside in the northern foothills of the Himalayas to the national professional stage, this farmer and herdsman sees that the road ahead for Xialbagon is wider.
In his impression, the Xiaerbagong troupe in the village has maintained a number of more than 20 people since the 1980s and 1990s. Currently, most of the theater actors are around 40 years old, with the youngest being 28 years old. Historically, this drama was passed down from male to female. The old man and the members of the troupe also held the same attitude and respected the tradition.
Xiaerbagong was selected into the Tibet Autonomous Region-level and China's national-level intangible cultural heritage projects in 2013 and 2021 respectively. With the "national" label, he is more confident. In the troupe, there are inheritors at the autonomous region level, city level, and county level. His son also became a theater actor.
Since 2020, Tibet has launched opera into the countryside, and the performances of Xiaerbagong drama are not limited to the slack period. When farming is busy in the summer, Pubujila leads a troupe to perform within Sakya County. They are also present at cultural festivals held in the county, and can receive a subsidy of 5,000 yuan for each performance.
In 2023, Pubugila will be included in the sixth batch of recommended national-level representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage. The old man never thought that after performing dramas for most of his life, he would still receive this honor.
In the countryside, this folk farmer and herdsman artist believes that his inheritance ability is limited and what he can do is teach the next generation well. He hopes that more performance opportunities and a larger stage will help Xialbagon change and let more people feel the artistic charm that has been passed down for hundreds of years. (End)
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