Arts writer
WHAT better way to start a celebration than having a good old drum roll, trumpets blaring and flags waving. But when you are celebrating the world’s most famous and loved Tibetan, His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso’s 80th birthday, the instruments need to match the occasion. So, imagine Tibetan long horns droning and blaring, conches piercing the air, giant cymbals clanging, damaru drums rattling, bells ringing and lots of colourful prayer flags, and of course, the Tibetan flag waving and you’ll get the measure of the lui ceremony to be performed by the Tibetan Teahouse at The Labia on Sunday at 5.30pm and at Simon’s Town Museum on Monday at 10.15am, when two special Nepal benefit screenings of the new film Road to Peace take place.
Maryna Kruger from the Tibetan Teahouse explains. “In Tibet they have a tradition called lui. As their old year goes out and their New Year comes in, especially the young people go out into the streets and make as much noise as possible. They bang pots, pans, and play musical instruments, even shoot guns.”
The main thing is to make as much noise as possible and the purpose is to chase away all the bad stuff of the previous year and make room for the good stuff to come in. We are going to do the same for our beloved Dalai Lama, seeing he is entering a new year in his personal life when he celebrates his 80th birthday on Monday.”
“This special birthday is being celebrated all over the world. Therefore, the Office of Tibet, Exploring Consciousness and Sophea Gallery & Tibetan Teahouse felt that Cape Town should also honour the Dalai Lama’s immense contribution to our world and do something that would support his ethos.
A special film fest, a themed art exhibition, plus a special exhibit of Tibetan Buddhist paintings and artefacts and a fundraising drive to support victims of the Nepal earthquake all take place this month.”
Sophea Gallery & Tibetan Teahouse’s art exhibition for the whole of July is themed around Celebrating the Human(e) Spirit. Gallery hours are 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Sunday. Free admission.
The exhibition opens on Thursday with a special four-day exhibit of Tibetan sacred art and artefacts from various private collections.
It features interesting religious and cultural artefacts, such as a silver thighbone used as a ritual music instrument.
The instruments used for the lui ceremony will also be on display along with a wide variety of statues (rupas) and Tibetan paintings (thangkas) framed in Tibetan brocade. The paintings and other Tibetan art works typically serve as inspirational iconography. This special exhibit concludes on Sunday.
Sophea Gallery is a niche gallery, specializing in spiritual art. Dr Anna Slabbert, owner of the gallery adds: “Tibet is mostly Buddhist and their art is deeply grounded in Tibetan Buddhism. The Buddha is not a name of a person, but a title from the root “budh” – to awake. Buddha literally means awakened, developed and enlightened. Images of the various Buddhas are not seen as different gods or idols, rather symbols to remind us that our true nature is the same as that of the Buddha: awakened or enlightened. All of us are able to attain, develop and refine these universal qualities of peace, wisdom, compassion, tolerance and loving kindness within ourselves and act accordingly.”
l See www.exploringconsciousness. org.za, call 021 786 1544, 082 896 6426, or Info: www.sopheagallery.com, www.face book.com/tibetanteahouse