|
Each butter image is assembled
to create a tableaux or 'torma'. The display of butter offerings
are described as 'butter ornaments', 'butter flowers' or 'offering
of flowers'.
The making of butter sculpture
in Tibet differs in several ways from that achieved by artists
and chefs in the West. The butter is modeled, not carved; and
is dyed before use, not painted afterwards. In this respect,
the methods used resemble closest the modeling of icing in cake
decoration.
Many tools are used in modeling,
including wooden needles, hollow bones for making long threads,
moulds for leaves and the like and many types of spatulas.
Unlike other sacred arts, the
butter sculpture is associated with both play and competition.
Because of the competitive aspect, the techniques are carefully
guarded, and a monk must show genuine interest and commitment
before he can find a willing teacher.
Great pride is taken in making
the offerings as attractive as possible. For example, before
1959, in Lhasa, Tibet, His Holiness the Dalai Lama would inspect
the work of the great monasteries of the city and award a prize
to the best tableaux.
Due to the destruction of the
monasteries in Tibet, most of these traditions have been lost.
In exile in India, the two Tantric Colleges of Gyuto and Gyume
carefully preserve the rituals and ceremonies by constructing
displays of offering and passing on their skills.
The monks of Gyuto, for example,
will fulfill a traditional commitment at the end of each year
by traveling to the Dalai Lama's own monastery in Dharamsala
to begin creating the butter sculpture display required for the
New Year Celebrations. Each year is an opportunity for the younger
generation to ask questions and learn under the supervision of
an elder. |
utter sculptures are offerings moulded from butter. These
offerings are seen as being central to spiritual development
in Tibetan Buddhism. The
height of some of the butter sculptures can be as much as thirty
feet, and depict everything from Offering Goddesses and butter
mandalas, through to flowers, animals and auspicious symbols
of Buddhism.
