Dance, Time and Cosmogony in the Oral Tradition of the Brogpa of Ladakh, India
Proletina Robova
pp. 85 - 92
 
Title: Dance, Time and Cosmogony in the Oral Tradition of the Brogpa of Ladakh, India
Authors: Proletina Robova

Abstract: In the present article, I outline some aspects of dance in the religious and festive traditions of the ethnolinguistic community Brogpa in Ladakh, India. It is one of the few Indo-Aryan groups in the region have that managed to preserve various elements of their archaic pre-Buddhist and pre-Islamic religious traditions. In this context, I explore the relationship of dance as a cultural practice to the cult of deities lha, part of the pre-Buddhist folk religion spread throughout the Tibetan cultural area. The focus here is on key aspects of the conceptual meaning of dance that can be traced back to the Dardic religious traditions of the community. The persistent presence of dance as a central motif in local cosmology, festive customs and oral tradition is examined.

Keywords: Brogpa, Dance, Lha, Ladakh, Folk Religion, Bonona.

Received: 22-08-2023     Accepted: 12-09-2023     Published: 08-12-2023

Citation: Robova, P. (2023). Dance, Time and Cosmogony in the Oral Tradition of the Brogpa of Ladakh, India. Cultural and Historical Heritage: Preservation, Presentation, Digitalization (KIN Journal), 9(2), ISSN 2367-8038, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 85–92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55630/KINJ.2023.090206