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Theatre of Emotion: A Nepalese Dramatic Art Form

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Gérard Toffin
Gérard Toffin*
Affiliation:
CNRS, France
*
Gérard Toffin, CNRS, UPR 299 Centre d’Etudes Himalayennes, 7 rue Guy Môquet, Villejuif CEDEX, 94800, France. Email: gtoffin@vjf.cnrs.fr
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Abstract

Every year, traditional Balami woodcutters, living on the edge of the Katmandu valley, in Nepal, offer ritual dramatic performances to the people of the surrounding villages. Among these, the small town of Pharping. These performances stage traditional royal sequences. Over the years, changes took place in the plot. Comic dimension fits alongside the more dramatic aspects of these stories. Emotions expressed by the comedians play a critical role in the drama, particularly when it comes to the tears wept by the princesses who witness their husbands’ death. The play is highly structured and codified; religious beliefs are embedded in it. These pieces end with animal sacrifices that took place on stage. Derived from the classical Newar theatre of the Malla era (17th-18th centuries), they are the product of a persistent combination of popular traditions with learned literature.

Type
Articles
Information
Diogenes , Volume 60 , Issue 2: Homage to Claude Lévi-Strauss , May 2013 , pp. 5 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © ICPHS 2015

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