Tibetan monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery use colored sand to paint a mandala in the Student Union at the University of Mississippi, Monday, Nov. 17, 2014. DM Photo | Kayla Beatty
A visiting group of Tibetan monks have been painting sand in the Student Union since Monday. Though this small peek into the culture of Tibetan monks is interesting, it is not the highlight of their visit at Ole Miss. That honor goes to “Mystical Arts of Tibet: Sacred Music Sacred Dance,” a live demonstration of dance and chants sacred to the culture of Tibet.
“The tours first started in 1988,” director Irene Lee said. “We’ve been on about 25 tours.”
Out of all of those tours, this is the second time the monks have come to visit Ole Miss and perform at the Ford Center.
“When the monks first came, they seemed to really resonate with the student body,” said Norman Easterbrook, director of the Ford Center. “One of things we try to do is showcase cultures different from our own. This group seems to be a really popular thing with our students.”
The performance is only for one night, yet the monks will display different facets of their culture.
“Some of them are like ritual dances,” Lee said. “Also included in the performance program is the multiphonic chanting and playing of traditional instruments like the longhorn.”
Multiphonic chanting means that one monk can produce more than one note at the same time.
“That’s a type of vocal technique that’s not familiar at all to those of us in the western culture,” Easterbrook said. “I find it fascinating.”
Also included in the program is a debate demonstration to show how the monks discuss philosophy.
“It’s a tool to teach an understanding of how they’re studying,” Lee said. “Usually there is more action in the debate. Two people will take a side, and the others will pose questions. Outside of a performance, they may continue this past midnight.”
Even though this performance is here in Mississippi, the group of 11 monks will still perform in the Tibetan language of their monastery.
“There’s a spokesperson who speaks during the performance and introduces each section as well as when a translation is necessary,” Easterbrook said.
He added that the monks have sent ahead of them a very intensive program that explains everything that is happening during the performance.
Kate Meacham, the marketing director for the Ford Center, highly encourages students to attend.
“In America, we have very little knowledge or contact with Tibet,” Meacham said. “This is really a chance to see Buddhist rituals. These dances that they’re performing and the rituals that are part of the show are thousands of years old and have been performed the same way since the beginning. That’s how they’ve been handed down.”
She added that because American culture is so young, this is really a chance to look back and see history.
The tickets are $10 with an Ole Miss student ID, $30 for members of the community and $24 for faculty and staff. The performance starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Ford Center tonight and will last for just under two hours.
However, that’s not the last event that the monks will bring to the Ole Miss Campus.
The Mandala sand art that the monks have been creating in the Student Union will be disassembled Friday. The particular design they have been creating is symbolic of “boundless wisdom,” which Easterbrook claimed is “apt” considering the approach of finals week.
“The sand is going to be put in vials and distributed among all the students that are there,” Easterbrook said. “The idea is that they can carry this wisdom with them.”
The dissemblance of the sand painting event is set for noon Friday and will be the perfect conclusion to the performance tonight.
“It’s a terrific introduction to another part of the world that we’re not familiar with,” Easterbrook said. “It’s great to take advantage of this opportunity while you’re in school at a place intended for learning.”
