TITLE: Chung Mask
TYPE: face mask
GENERAL REGION: Asia
COUNTRY: Bhutan
SUBREGION: N/A
ETHNICITY: Ngalop
DESCRIPTION: Chung (Garuda) Mask
CATALOG ID: ASBT005
MAKER: Carver: Bumpa Dorji (Tashiyang, 1991- ); Painter: Tashi Phuntsho (Lhuentse, 1990- )
CEREMONY: Cham Dance
FUNCTION: Celebration; Entertainment; Protection/Purification
AGE: 2025
MAIN MATERIAL: blue pine wood
OTHER MATERIALS: mineral paint; lacquer; cotton cloth; wool cloth; wool batting; thread
The Ngalop people inhabit western and central Bhutan and are originally of Tibetan origin. The ethnic group includes an estimated 710,000 persons. The Ngalop are primarily Tibetan Buddhist, and their masks are typically worn at monastery celebrations known as Cham Dances to bless the sowing of the grain, pray for a bountiful harvest, and entertain the public.
The chung, or Garuda, is not an original Buddhist character, but is instead a Hindu deity that takes the form of an eagle-like creature, often with a human torso, the wings, beak, and talons of a raptor, and serrated teeth. In Hindu mythology, Garuda is the mount (vahana) of Lord Vishnu and king of the birds. In Bhutanese tschechus, the chung is used is several dances, such as the Bardo Cham, but most prominently the Chung Zam Cham, or Dance of the Four Garudas.
For more on the masked festivals of Bhutan, see Kezang Namgay, Sacred Dances of Bhutan (self-pub., 2d ed., 2017), and, with regard specifically to the traditions of Bumthang, Yonten Dargye, Festivals of Bumthang Dzongkhag (Thimpu: Research & Media Division, Naitonal Library & Archives of Bhutan/Tshangpa Press, 2018).
