In the 1979 special Tibet Issue of Asian Music, a unique article featured a traditional master's written commentary on the symbolic elements and attributes of a drum that is almost exclusively associated with the Tibetan gCod ritual musical-meditation practice. Thirty years later, I pay homage to Rinjing Dorje and Ter Ellingson's original work, expanding upon it following a multisite ethnographic study. I show how practitioners link the gCod ḍamaru's "outer" musical performance with its "inner" meditational performance through symbolic meaning, and how practitioners' meditative experiences and insights about symbolism are shared dynamically within an interpretive community.
目次
Abstract 113 Introduction 113 Symbolism and Interpretation in a gCod Adept's Interpretive Community 114 Context of the gCod Interpretive Community 115 The Function of Symbols at Different Levels of Understanding 116 Symbolism in Tibetan Buddhism 117 Living Traditions, Living with Variations 118 Symbolic Anthropology: Some Historical Considerations in Ritual Interpretation 119 Indigenous Variation in the Interpretation of Symbols 119 Some Variations: The Symbolic "Notes" in gCod 120 Symbolism in Tibetan Ritual 120 gCod Performance Traditions: Variation and Sameness 122 Relative Stability of the gCod Tradition 122 Sources of Symbolic Interpretation: Oral Testimony and Texts 123 Performance Practice: Training in the Damaru 125 Musical Priorities: The Order in Which to Learn Musical Aspects 125 Tempo 126 Group Performance Aesthetics 127 Purpose 127 Symbolism of Sound and Material 127 Treatment of Instruments 128 Instrument Construction 129 Hand Position and Performing Technique 130 Case Study: Manner of Performing Damaru - Four Contrasting Interpretations 131 Variations in Pedagogy 132 Conclusions 133 Valuing Difference in the "Interpretive Community" 133 Valuing Expertise: The dbu mdzad 134 Dedication 134 Notes 135 References 138
