Pad-dgav is a talent Tibetan epic singer, recognized
in 2003. He was born in 1970, Nagchu County, Tibet.
As an illiterate herdsman, he learned epic King Gesar
via dreams and spirits (vbab-sgrung), and has mastered
18 branches (rdzong) of the Gesar storytelling repertoire.
The following installment of 22 images is a running
series from a performance of Pad-dgav¡¯s epic King Gesar
singing and storytelling on May 11, 2004.
As these photos show, IEL epic scholars found diverse
gestures in his oral performance this earlier summer.
It believes that there will be expanding rooms open
for close studying traditional way and individual style
of epic performance by focusing on the multiple connections
between epic plot, narrative line, melody, intonation,
voice, tone, and singer¡¯s gesture that reveal both paralinguistic
features (vocal characterizers, voice qualifiers, articulation,
emphasis, pitch, pauses and kinesic features (combinations
of finger alphabet, body movements, facial expressions).
IEL epic scholars have set a target field study on epic
singers¡¯ gesture in situated performance.
Photos by Bamo Qubumo
Oral Traditions Research Center (OTRC)
Institute of Ethnic Literature (IEL)
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS)
