The Butter-Sculpture Festival of Kumbum, Tibet

Posted by L. Deerifield on August 15, 1998 at 16:45:35:

From -Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism- by John Powers

"The Butter Sculpture Festival is held at the monastery of Kumbum, and some of its
teaching faculties compete with each other in making the figures...
These figures were often elaborate artistic masterpieces, using large quantities of
hardened butter, often with clever internal frames containing joints and springs that
allowed them to move...The monks involved in making the sculptures often spent months
on their creations, and the work was generally very detailed and carefully executed.
The latgest and most elaborate works were often started in the ninth month of the
previous year...
Traditionally, after all the figures were completed they were displayed on the
fifteenth day of the first month in an enclosed area about twenty feet high and forty
feet wide, filled with an array of colorful and intricately fashioned images. Each
year a different theme was emphasized. The members of the classes responsible for
creating the images would decide on what this was to be, and it would be kept secret
until the sculptures were made available for public display. Popular themes included
events from the stories of Sakyamuni's previous births, his twelve gread deeds, Tibetan
folk tale (overlaid with Buddhist symbolism and imagery), or important events in
Tibetan religious history. Some of the displays would consist of as many as twenty
large butter figures, elaborately sculpted and carefully painted in vibrant colors. The
coloring was made from natural dyes, often mixed with ash. In addition the most
important sculptures were sometimes decorated with pigments made from powdered gold and
silver as well as other precious substances. The images commonly had boards for backing,
but others were free-standing sculptures with internal supports. In some cases frames
from the previous year were used, but most had to be newly constructed.
The Images
While making the sculptures, the artists kept two buckets in front of themselves, one
containing hot water, and the other containing cold water. Since the butter had to be
kept cold to prevent melting, warm hands could damage the artist's work. Moreover,
sculptor's hands had to be kept clean, since dirty hands could stick to the figures or
smudge them. While working on the images, the monks would first put their hands in the
hot water to wash them, and then dip them in dry flourand rub their fingers together to
remove dirt. The hands were then rinsed in hot water, and then dipped in cold water to
cool the skin. This enabled the artists to avoid melting or discoloring the images
while shaping the butter, which was first molded by hand, and later smoothed and colored.
In addition to the religious scenes, the monks would sculpt images depicting life in
the monasteries, often including figures of the head monks. Many of these were
caricatures, as this was a time when it was acceptable to gently poke fun at the senior
officials of the monastery. If the head lama was old, for example, his figure might
have a head with a spring at the neck, which would cause his head to bob up and down,
symbolizing senility and feeblenes. Other prominent physical features would be
exaggerated, although there were commonly recognized boundaries of good taste, and
the monks were expected to remain within them. In the displays of monastic life, the
various figures would often be movable. Monks manipulated their movements from
behind scenes by means of ropes and pulleys, and internal spring mechanisms which
gave them added mobility.
When all the preparations were complete, the sculptures were displayed in a specially
constructed enclosure lit by butter lamps...The monks and laypeople filed through the
area, admiring the exquisitely sculpted images knowing as they viewed them that all
would be destroyed before dawn. This provided the audience with a graphic reminder of
the Buddhist concept of impermanence, which teaches that all mundane human activities
pass away, leaving nothing behind...
After the display, the buddhas and bodhisattvas who had earlier been invited to enter
the figures were asked to leave (because it would be disrespectful to destroy the
images if they were inhabited), and the monks quickly dismantled the sculptures. The
frames werre saved, but the sculptures were stacked up, their coloring was scraped off
and they were melted down. The end of the festival was marked by a ritual in which
people tossed constructs called "sur" (zur) into a pit.
Sur are structures made of sticks in a pyramidal shape, connected with strong paper
and decorated with images of fire, clouds, jewels, and other symbols, all made from
butter. On top of the sur was a skull, with flames coming out of its mouth. Ribbons
and strings were tied to the top of the tripod, these were used to steady it while it
was being moved. Inside the legs of the tripod was a torma, which is a painted
sculpture made of butter and flour. The sur sur was built as part of a ceremony to
exorcise evil forces, which were lured into it by special rituals...
After rituals were conducted to bring all the evil of the area into the sur, the
structure was taken outside the grounds of the monastery, and burned, thus making
a clean slate for the new year..."

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