Tibetan word list
(with Wylie spellings)
a che
lhamo (a-lce lha-mo) - sister goddess, also a name used for
Tibetan opera
Amaleho (a ma le ho)
- the most famous nangma, with a text written by the Sixth Dalai Lama,
who is accredited with around sixty songs in this form
Bho ki Doegar Tsokpa (Bod
kyi zlos tshogs-pa) - The Tibetan Music, Dance and Drama Society, which
later became known as TIPA.
bup-chal (sbub-chal) -
loud brass cymbals used in lhamo
Chabzhug Chenmo (chab
zhubs) the festival at the end of the rainy season retreat conducted
by Sera, Drepung and Ganden monasteries
chak-sam
(lcags zam)
- the iron chain bridges built by Thangtong Gyalpo, founder of the lhamo
tradition
cham
(' cham) - sacred
dance
chang
(chang) - barley beer
Cholkasum (chol-kha
gsum) - three provinces (a term first used in exile for U-Tsang, Kham
and Amdo)
chu-pa (phyu-ba) - Tibetan
traditional clothing
Chungpa (Gchung ri po
che pa) - one of the 4 main lhamo groups
dadar (mda' -dar)
- five-coloured arrow symbolizing good luck
kagroma (mkha' -' gro
ma) - literally ' sky goer' - the dakinis of the five directions
damma (brda ma)
- kettle drum used in gar performance
dingu (mgrin-khug)
- ' throat vibration' used in
the lhamo singing style
dranyen
(sgra-snyan) - Tibetan six-stringed lute
Drepung (' Brad spungs)
- the name of one of the great monasteries of Tibet, which has been reestablished
in India
doe-gar (zlos-gar)
- performing arts, including vocal, music, dance and drama
gar dancers (ssgar phrug
pa) - young boys who were trained in court dances
gorshe (sgor ghas)
- “round song”, Tibetan round-dance songs
gyallu
(rgya-lu) - patriarchs,
' headman'
Gyangkhara (Rgyal mkhar
rtse pa) - one of the 4 main lhamo groups
gyokshe
(mgyogs gzhas)
- 'fast song' in nangma sometimes referred to as shabdro
gyudmang (rgyud mangs)
- "many-stringed" - the hammer dulcimer used in nangma usually known in
Tibet by its Chinese name, yang chin.
gyurku ("gyur-khug)
- different from dingu, meaning
change inside the melody (of the namthar)
Jetsun
Milarepa (rJe-btsun Mi-la-ras-pa) - famous yogi of the 11th-12th
century
khabse (Khab-se)
- deep-fried biscuits, served at Losar
Khache (kha che)
- Tibetan Muslims - the word comes from "Kashmir"
ka-ta
(kha-btags) - prayer scarf
(Khrom skyur gzas) - street songs, usually expressing
social criticism or lampooning officials
Kyormolungpa (Skyor
mo lung pa) - one of the main Lhamo groups in Tibet
Kyasel (skya-gser)
- skya "lay" and gser "monk" - two representatives for the government who
were in charge of testing the actors for the Shoton
lama mani pa (Bla ma
ma ni bas) - itinerant story tellers who utilize a thang ka to provide
a visual aid in their teaching of of a Buddhist story
lev (le"u) - a part
in the namthar
lhamo
(lha-mo) - literally "goddess" or "fairy", the name used for Tibetan opera
(see also ache lhamo)
lingbu(gling-bu)
- bamboo flute (generic term for flute)
Losar
(lo-gsar) - Tibetan new year
Mandala (dkyil "khor) -
a diagram used in Tantric meditation as an aid to visualization, which
represents the residence and perfected attributes of a Buddha [Powers,
1995 #178:452].
moke (mo skad) -
“female voice” of the piwang (can refer to the smaller piwang or to the
higher pitched string of the instrument)
nagas (klu-mo) -
serpent creatures of the underworld
namthar
(rnam-thars) - lhamo songs (arias), also "spiritual biography" a
term generally used or high lamas" spiritual journeys and the name for
the text on which the lhamo stories are based
nangma
(nang-ma) - the "chamber music" of Tibet, the word is suggested
to be a derivation from the Persian and Urdu Naghma,
"melody" or
"song"
Nangma Kyido' (nang-ma"i
skyid-sdug) “The nangma group of mutual support through good and bad
times" (IH)
Nangsa Woebum (sNang-sa
"od-"bum) - lhamo based on a local legend from Central tibet about a young
maiden who devotes her life to the Dharma
ngonpa
(rngon-pa)- the hunter/fisherman figures who perform in the
prelude of the opera.
Norbulingka
- (nor-bu
gling-kha)
the summer residence of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa
("ong-bskor) - circumambulation
of the fields in the autumn
pagchen ("phag-chen)
- "big jumps"- acrobatic movements made by the ngonpas
piwang
(pi wang) - two-stringed fiddle, corresponding to the Chinese hu-ch"in
piwang bompo (sbom po)
- the coarse (larger) piwng which plays an octave lower
piwang tramo (phra
mo) - the "fine" piwang which plays the higher octave
p"oke (pho skad)
- “male voice” of the pi wang
ralpa
(ras-pa or
ral-pa) - acrobatic dances and devotional songs
praising Milarepa and performed by troupes of wandering minstrels
ringa (rigs-lnga)
- the ones wearing the crown with the 5 dyani buddhas (lhamo fairies)
(Rig gnas Che ba lNga)
- the five major Tibetan sciences: technology, healing, communicatio/phonology,
logic, Buddhist Tripitaka.
(Rig gnas chung be lNga) - the
five minor sciences which include poetics, metrics, metaphor, performing
arts and astrology
shabdro (zhabs bro)
- "dance" sometime referring to the fast part in nangma
Shangpa (Shangs ri po
che pa) - one of 4 main groups performing at Shoton
Shoton (zho-ston) -
literally "yoghurt festival" the name for the annual opera festival which
took place in Lhasa during the 6th-7th months of
the Tibetan calendar
shung
(gzhung) -
lhamo libretto
shey(gzhas) - song
Shey pön
(gzhas-dpon) - "song master", often teacher of a particular song
style, one who is recognized as an experienced and conpetent singer. No
political function. (IH)
sinpu (srin-po)
- cannibal, frightening monster (IH)
Songsten Gampo (Srong-btsan
sgam-po)
(srid-pa-ho) - a thangka depicting an astrological
diagram hung on the pole at the center of the lhamo stage
suna (sur na) -
the double-reed oboe, which is played in gar music
tashi sholpa (bkra-shis
zhol-pa) - the "white mask" lhamo tradition, also the good luck dance
te-she (dal gzhas)
- "slow song" section in nangma, sometime called gyangshe ("gyangs gzhas)
"far song" or "long song"
Thangtong Gyalpo
(Thang tong rGyal-po) - purported founder of lhamo in 15th century
toeshe
(stod-gzhas) - "western songs" - modified version of folk songs
and dances from western and central Tibet which became popular in Lhasa
during the early 20th century
trab shung
("khrab-gzhung) - the opera libretto
treling (phred or
khred gling) - transverse flute used in the nangma ensemble
tsampa (tsam-pa)
- flour made of roasted and ground barley
Tsechak Lekhung (Rtse
phyag Las khungs) - the tax office where the lhamo troupes registered
for the Shoton Festival
Tsedrung (rtse-drung)
- government officials
tsikle (tshig lhad)
- filler sylables used in nangma and töshe (eg. a, le, la, ni, etc.)
Tsidevlingka (khral-sde
gling-kha) - the park where troupes audition for Shoton
|