“Tsam” by Chimed Tudev & Darima Tumur

2024 · color · MO · MO/EN · 47’

It was said that the whole country and all the families prepared for the tsam ceremony, assured of the ensuing happiness, prosperity and protection from evil and disease until the next tsam. Tsam was considered to be an important state ceremony and was celebrated with appropriate decorum and significance, with laws passed establishing specific procedures of this event.

Tsam ceremony was used to introduce meanings of wrathful protectors and deities, to promote Buddhism and to appeal to the souls of pious believers. It was also used to generally tame ignorance, anger, hatred, greed, desire-attachment, jealousy and all other delusions present in one’s soul.

If one carefully studies the procession of the tsam dance, one can observe the doctrine, ceremony, philosophy and the teachings of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism. However, the meaning of particular roles in the dance profoundly reflect the ancient traditions, perspective and the way of life of Mongolian people, making tsam undoubtfully a masterful historical document of cultural heritage and ethnography.

Thus, when our ancestors adapted the masked dance tradition of Tibet and India, they have assuredly incorporated elements of Mongolia’s shamanist worship and legacy, symbolisms of pristine nature, further enriching it with elements of our folklore, traditional dance, music and theatre. Therefore, Mongolian tsam was able to flourish uniquely in its own right until this day.

Even though the characters of Mongolian tsam were played by various protectors and deities, each role in truth also represents the sacred hopes and aspirations of all sentient beings. Therefore, tsam serves as a tool for fostering ideas about morality, compassion and harmony and it is considered to be a theatrical dance with a declaratory religious denotation.

As Mongolian tsam deeply reflects the philosophy, talent, achievement, aesthetic values of our people, it is considered to be not only a comprehensive creation of our folk tradition, but also a valuable bestowment to the cultural heritage of the world.

THE DIRECTOR | CHIMED TUDEV

Chimed Tudev was born in 1945 in Burd Soum (present day Karakorum) of Uvurkhangai Province, Mongolia. In 1966-1970, he studied at VGIK (Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography) in the then USSR, graduating as a film critic, writer and director. He returned to Moscow in 1977-1979 to complete advanced course at the National Academy of Picture Arts and Sciences. In 1970-1977, he was a specialist (official term for Chief Censor) in the Art Department of the Ministry of Culture and in 1980-1982 he held the position of a specialist in the Department of Drama and Film at the Ministry of Culture.  In 1982-1984 he was the Editor-in-Chief of state-owned “Mongol Kino” Film Studio before returning to the Ministry of Culture for the 1984-1990 period, where he was the Executive Producer of the Documentary Film Department. 1990-1994 saw him act as Secretary General of the Union of Mongolian Artists.

Severe economic hardships caused by the collapse of Communism in Mongolia in 1990 led to eventual dissolution of the Ministry of Culture, which in turn triggered his departure from filmmaking. To this date, Chimed maintains an active role in teaching at the Mongolian State University of Arts and Culture. During his prolific career, Chimed wrote scripts for popular feature films, such as “Human Life”, “Five Colours of the Rainbow” and “Decisive Step”, produced over 20 documentaries, including “Tsam” and “Zanabazar” and translated 12 foreign films as well as 9 plays into Mongolian, which were all staged at the National Academic Drama Theatre in Ulaanbaatar. His film about Mongolia’s fight for independence from Manchuria is kept in both Japanese and Chinese national film archives.

CREDITS

Composition Written by Jav

Assistant Composer Sereeter

Directed by Chimid

Director of Photography Sukhbaatar

Music Produced by Damdinsuren

Supervised by Nyambuu

Art Directors Makhbal, Chultemsuren

Music by Sambuu, Norjmaa Narration

Written by Chimid

Narration Read by Gungaa

Photographers Otgontenger, Ochirbar

Assistant Director Baasankhuu

Editor Narantsetseg

Makeup by Naidanjav

Stage by Battulga

Costumes by Samdan, Nyamtseren

Extras Coordinator Munkhbaatar

Line Producer Dashtseren

Mongol Kino Studio, Recipient of the “Star of the Red Flag” Labour Achievement Award

From Mongolia’s People’s Republic 1989

This film was created with the assistance of Mongolian Art Museum Choijin Lama Temple Museum Treasury of the Bogd Khaan Palace Museum Artists of the Arts Council of Mongolia Dancers from Union of Mongolian Artists