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Journey to the Top of the World ANDREA CLEARFIELD Composing music can transport one to far reaches of the given our horses and began the trek—starting out in the imagination. Commissions often inspire me to explore places, river bed of the Kali Gandaki, the deepest river gorge in the subjects, sounds, and spaces that I might never have imag- world, which runs between Mt. Dhaulagiri (8167m) and the ined, musical and otherwise. However, I had no way of know- Annapurna (8091m) ranges. In the river we found saligram, ing that my life would change as a result of a collaborative 150 million year-old black ammonite fossils, sacred to the commission with a visual artist that would lead me to the top Hindus as a manifestation of the god Vishnu. of the world. We spent long days on horseback traveling high into In 2008, Linda Reichert, artistic director of Network for the stark mountains. Although a passionate trekker, having New Music, one of Philadelphia’s premiere new music en- spent over two dozen summers at high altitudes in the Rocky sembles, had a vision to create a season devoted to pairing Mountains, I had not been on a horse since my early teens music and the visual arts entitled “MIX.” I was one of the in summer camp. It was not an easy trip. My belligerent composers commissioned and was paired with Philadelphia horse, whom I nicknamed “Wildfire,” had a mind of his own painter Maureen Drdak, whose fascinating and dynamic work and preferred precari- I had admired for years. Maureen derives her inspiration ous rocky cliffs to from Tibetan Buddhist iconography. When we were informed the small path wind- that we were to collaborate, Maureen invited me to join her ing through the on a trek to a restricted, remote northern Himalayan region mountains. Aida, a of Nepal, Lo Monthang in Upper Mustang, to gather mate- remarkable child who rial for our collaboration. Maureen had previously trekked stayed calm in the to Upper Mustang, also known as the Kingdom of Lo (of midst of traversing which Lo Monthang is the ancient capital). She had been challenging territory, moved by the rich yet fragile culture of the region. rode on Sienna’s With partial support from The American Composers back. Sienna was an Forum and The University of the Arts, Maureen and I em- invaluable help with barked on our research trek in the fall of 2008. We flew via her connections to Frankfurt to Delhi, spent the night there, and continued the the people of Upper next day to Kathmandu, a spiritually rich, colorful, and cha- Mustang and her otic city. There, we met up with Dr. Sienna Craig, anthropol- knowledge of the Ti- ogy faculty at Dartmouth College, with whom we would be betan and Nepali lan- traveling north. Maureen and Sienna met the way so many guages. A lasting Ex. 1. Andrea Clearfield en route people connect these days: random Internet connections friendship developed to Snow Leopard Cave turned into a personal relationship. Sienna brought along between us. her nearly four-year-old daughter Aida to introduce her child We traveled north to the village of Kagbeni. From this to the people and places that had so shaped her life. Sienna town, which literally means “check post,” most trekkers go first went to Mustang in 1993 as a college student and had east to hike the Annapurna Circuit and the pilgrimage site of been returning to the region ever since, most notably from Muktinath. We had special government-issued permits, en- 1995 to 1996 on a Fulbright Fellowship, and since then as abling us to pass through into the restricted area of Upper part of her ongoing research on Tibetan medicine and her Mustang. This area is marked by its sandy high desert ecol- work with local doctors. ogy and ranges from 2,900 to 6,800 meters. The landscape We flew out of Kathmandu to Pokhara, a smaller city was breathtaking: a vast expanse of ancient bone and coral known as a trekkers’ resort with spectacular views of the shaded mountains that form the shadow of the Himalaya. Annapurna massif. The highlight of the next day was a dra- We came to playfully refer to this multi-hued area as “the matic flight through the Himalayas in an eighteen-seater plane American Southwest on steroids!” flying so close to the mountains that I felt both riveted and We passed through many small villages that had cre- terrified. The realization of where we were going and the first ated impressive irrigation systems for growing buckwheat, view of those imposing, majestic peaks brought tears to my barley, potatoes, and sometimes mustard, used for oil. We eyes. Upon landing, we were greeted at the airport by an stayed at teahouses and ate mainly dal bhat (rice and len- enthusiastic group of villagers, Sienna’s Nepali “family,” who tils), a tasty Nepalese traditional dish that took quite some were overjoyed to see Sienna and little Aida. The village of time to prepare. On rare occasions mutton (sheep or goat Jomsom resembled an outpost from the American West. We meat) would be added to the standard cauliflower, potatoes, stayed at the Dancing Yak Lodge with renowned Tibetan and homemade spices. I drank tea. Maureen preferred Everest medicine doctor and Sienna’s long-time friend, Amchi (Ti- (Top of the World) beer. At night we looked forward to a betan for “doctor”) Tshampa Ngawang. The next day we were shot of whiskey to keep us warm. 1 We were en route to Lo Monthang, the cultural, religious, It soon became apparent that the culture of the area and economic capital of Upper Mustang, known to some (including the ethnic music) was threatened. Lo Monthang because of its mysterious allure as the “forbidden kingdom” is rapidly changing. Many young people are leaving Mustang and to others as the “walled city” but to locals simply as and even Nepal in search of educational and employment Monthang, which means “plain of aspiration” in Tibetan. opportunities. In preparation for my research, I had contacted Founded in 1380 by a western Tibetan noble, Monthang is John Sanday. We met the capital of the Kingdom of Lo, which was closed to outsid- with him in Kathmandu, ers because of its sensitive border location until 1991 (and where he suggested that recently closed for a short duration in 2010). Essentially a I find Tashi Tsering, the part of Tibet until the unification of the Nepali nation state in royal court singer of Lo the mid-eighteenth century, Lo is home to people who are Monthang, to record ethnically Tibetan; their culture, art, and Tibetan Buddhist some of his songs. (and pre-Buddhist Bon) religious traditions exist as they have John mentioned that he for centuries, making this area valuable to the world. and the community were The art of Monthang’s incredible monasteries—mas- feeling the need to docu- terpieces that represent a Tibetan renaissance of sorts, and ment Tashi Tsering’s that were produced in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries— repertoire, a wealth of were literally falling off the walls until recently, and their gar glu (pronounced restoration has been another type of serendipitous and mean- “kar lu” and meaning ingful artistic collaboration. With financial and logistical sup- court offering songs) port from the American Himalayan Foundation, the King of that had been passed Lo Monthang, Jigme Palbar Bista, the twenty-fifth lineal de- down orally for hun- scendant of Lo-Monthang’s founder, Amepal, brought in Ex. 2. Tashi Tsering teaching dreds of years. The gar Italian restoration art specialists to work on this massive Andrea a traditional dance glu were often used to renovation and restoration project. The initial work—includ- initiate ceremonies, ing major structural repairs—was overseen by John Sanday lead processions, and make offerings to the King and Queen. and Associates. Sanday is one of the world’s leading archi- They are traditionally sung by emeda musicians who com- tectural restorationists, having worked on such projects as prise members of the lowest social caste (along with black- the renovation of Angkor Wat and the Forbidden City. Later smiths and butchers) in Mustang. Thus, we learned that work to restore the masterful wall paintings of the monaster- Tashi Tsering’s son was unwilling to inherit his father’s oc- ies and the frescoes found in ancient caves has been under- cupation, and has also recently denied Tashi Tsering this taken by a team of local and Italian art restorers, led by Luigi traditional performance role. Tashi Tsering has no other heirs Fieni. These monasteries and the major restoration effort to learn his music, therefore if not recorded, these songs have been the subject of several films including the 2003 would be lost when he passes. Originally there were eight NOVA documentary, Lost Treasures of Tibet, and the 2009 performers at the royal court in Lo Monthang, four who film by Will Parinello, Mustang: Journey of Transformation. played the daman (copper kettle drums) and four who ac- Maureen and I visited the two largest monasteries companied on gyaling (double-reed instruments like oboes). (gompas) in Lo Monthang, and Luigi showed us some of the Today only Tashi Tsering remains. techniques used to restore the artwork. I was overcome by the Sanday described how to find Tashi Tsering. Since he extraordinary beauty of the art inside. Jampa, the oldest, was belonged to the emeda caste, Tashi Tsering was required to my favorite, exploding with hundreds of complex and color- live outside the city walls. To find him, I needed first to find his ful mandalas.