Vol. 13 No. 1 (2021): Community Building: Family and Nation, Tradition and Innovation
Articles

An Initiation Rite in Tibetan Historiography

Mónika Szegedi
Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)
Bio

Published 2021-12-15

Keywords

  • Tibetan historiography,
  • Khri-srong Lde-btsan,
  • rite of passage,
  • aternal rite cycle,
  • “Chalk Circle”,
  • sitting on the lap
  • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Szegedi, M. (2021). An Initiation Rite in Tibetan Historiography. Journal of East Asian Cultures, 13(1), 187–209. https://doi.org/10.38144/TKT.2021.1.12

Abstract

I shall investigate a quasi-historical event in the biographies of the second ‘Dharma King’ of the Tibetan Empire, Khri-srong Lde-btsan (Trisong Detsen). As the newborn heir to the throne, he was stolen from his mother by a rival queen; however, at a ceremonial event the still infant prince indicated his true descent by sitting on the lap of his maternal uncle. As Ruzsa (2016) noticed, the complex motif of the new ruler choosing his family by sitting on the lap of a male representative can be found in the Indian legend of Śunaḥśepa, embedded in a much richer structure. Following his reconstruction, by analysing further parallelisms in a wider corpus, it appears that the seemingly innocent story of a baby prince is, in fact, a remnant of an archaic rite. I suppose that originally this was a rite of passage, a special variant of puberty initiation: the consecration of the heir apparent. Furthermore, its relationship to the Indian legend of Śunaḥśepa connects it indirectly with the stories of Isaac and even Snow White and also with several rites of passage in ancient Greece. I will also suggest that some versions of the legend point to a probably even more archaic cycle of maternity rites with parallels in Solomon’s judgment and the Chinese Chalk Circle.

References

  1. Dba'-bzhed = Dba' Gsal-snang 2011. Dba'-bzhed. [Testimony of Dba’] Lhasa: Bod-ljongs bod-yig dpe-rnying dpe-skrun-khang.
  2. Doney, Lewis 2013. “Nyang ral Nyi ma 'od zer and the Testimony of Ba”. Bulletin of Tibetology 1.49: 7–38.
  3. Doney, Lewis (ed.) 2021a. Bringing Buddhism to Tibet: History and Narrative in the Dba' bzhed Manuscript. Berlin—Boston: De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110715309
  4. Doney, Lewis 2021b. “The Testimony of Ba: Literature and Exemplars”. In: Doney, Lewis (ed.). Bringing Buddhism to Tibet: History and Narrative in the Dba' bzhed Manuscript. Berlin—Boston: De Gruyter, 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110715309
  5. Gongkatsang, Tsering – Willis, Michael 2021. “Text and Translation”. In: Lewis Doney (ed.). Bringing Buddhism to Tibet: History and Narrative in the Dba' bzhed Manuscript. Berlin–Boston: De Gruyter, 102–157. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110715309-007
  6. Halászné, Róna Judit (tr.) 1999. “Botos gazda.” [The householder Stickholder] In: Lengyel Zoltán – Szegedi Mónika (eds.) A bölcs és a balga. Tibeti buddhista történetek. [Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. Tibetan Buddhist Stories] Budapest: Palatinus, 105–111.
  7. Namgyal Golok (Mgo-log Rnam-rgyal, tr.) 2015. Spor-thang-rtsis-kyi gtsug-lag. [A Confucious astronomy] Pe-cin [Beijing]: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang.
  8. Ngag-dbang = Ngag-dbang Blo-bzang Rgya-mtsho 1991. Gangs-can yul-gyi sa-la spyod-pa'i mtho-ris (= Bod-kyi deb-ther Dpyid-kyi rgyal-mo'i glu-dbyangs. Rgyal-dbang lnga-pa chen-mos brtsams-pa'i rgyal-blon gtso-bor brjod-pa'i deb-ther Rdzogs-ldan gzhon-nu'i dga'-ston Dpyid-kyi rgyal-mo'i glu-dbyangs zhes-bya-ba bzhugs-so.) [Annals of Tibet, Melodies of the Spring Queen] Lhasa–Beijing: Mi-rigs dpe- skrun-khang.
  9. Nyang-ral Nyi-ma 'Od-zer, Mnga'-bdag (1124–1192) 1980. Chos-rgyal mes-dbon rnam-gsum-gyi rnam-thar Rin-po-che'i 'phreng-ba [The Precious Garland – Hagiography of the three Ancient Pious Kings]. Paro: Ugyen Tempai Gyaltsen.RGM = Sa-skya Bsod-nams Rgyal-mtshan 1981. Rgyal-rabs gsal-ba'i me-long. [Clear Mirror. A Royal Genealogy] Beijing: Mi-rigs dpe-skrun-khang.
  10. Sba-bzhed = Mgon-po Rgyal-mtshan (ed.) 1982. Sba-bzhed ces-bya-ba-las Sba Gsal-snang-gi bzhed-pa. [“Testament of Sba”, an Account of Sba Gsal-snang] Lhasa: Mi-rigs dpe-skrun-khang.
  11. Sørensen, P. K. 1994. Tibetan Buddhist historiography: The Mirror illuminating the royal genealogies. An annotated translation of the XIVth century chronicle rGyal-rabs gsal-ba'i me-long. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.
  12. Stein, Rolf Alfred (ed.) 1961. Une chronique ancienne de bSam-yas, sBa-bžed (Edition du texte tibétain et résumé français). Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve.
  13. Taylor, McComas – Yuthok, Lama Choedak (trs.) 1996. The Clear Mirror. A traditional account of Tibet’s golden age. Sakyapa Sonam Gyaltsen’s Clear Mirror on royal genealogy. (rGyal-rab gsal-ba'i me-long, Bsod-nams rGyal-mtshan Sa-skya-pa bla-ma dam-pa, 1312–1375). Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion.
  14. Tóth, Erzsébet 1996. 'Dzangs-blun zhes-bya-ba'i mdo || A bölcs és a balga. Klasszikus tibeti olvasókönyv. [Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. A Classical Tibetan Reader] Budapest: Universitas.
  15. Wangdu, Pasang – Diemberger, Hildegard (eds.) 2000. dBa' bzhed: The Royal Narrative Concerning the Bringing of the Buddha’s Doctrine to Tibet. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
  16. Zahiruddin, Ahmad (tr.) 1995. A History of Tibet by Ṅag-dBaṅ Blo-bZaṅ rGya-mTSHho, the Fifth Dalai Lama of Tibet. (Indiana University Oriental Series 7.) Bloomington: Indiana University.
  17. Afanas’ev, Aleksandr 1945. Russian Fairy Tales. (Tr. Norbert Guterman.) New York: Pantheon Books.
  18. Birtalan Ágnes – Rákos Attila 2002. Kalmükök – Egy európai mongol nép [Kalmyks. A Mongolian People in Europe]. Budapest: Terebess Kiadó.
  19. Cowell, E. B. – Rouse, W. H. D. (tr.) 1907. The Jātaka or Stories of the Buddha’s Former Births. Vol. VI. Cambridge: University Press.
  20. Féng, Mǐn (Tr. and notes by Mtsho mo skyid – Gerald Roche) 2010. “Matrilineal Marriage in Tibetan Areas in Western Sìchuān Province.” In: Charles Kevin Stuart, Gerald Roche, Tshe dbang rdo rje, Timothy Thurston, and Rin chen rdo rje (eds.) Asian Highlands Perspectives Volume Six. Xining City: Plateau Publications, 251–280.
  21. Frye, Stanley (tr.) 1981. Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.
  22. Greßmann, Hugo 1907. “Das salomonische Urteil.” Deutsche Rundschau CXXX: 212–228.
  23. Grimm, Jacob – Grimm, Wilhelm 2013. Grimm’s Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm. (Tr. Margaret Hunt.) Maplewood Books.
  24. Jones, Alexander (ed.) 1968. The Jerusalem Bible. Reader’s Edition. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company.
  25. Kapstein, Matthew T. 2000. The Tibetan assimilation of Buddhism. Conversion, contestation and memory. Oxford University Press.
  26. Martin, Dan 1997. Tibetan Histories: A Bibliography of Tibetan-Language Historical Works. London: Serindia Publications.
  27. Michaud, Alexis 05.08.2015. Online Na-English-Chinese-French Dictionary. (Pangloss Collection. An archive for endangered languages).
  28. https://pangloss.cnrs.fr/dictionaries/na/dictionary_eng_mp3.pdf and http://himalco.huma-num.fr/dictionaries/SelectDictionary.php?dict=na (accessed 06.06.2020).
  29. Ruzsa, Ferenc 2007. “The Fertile Clash – The rise of philosophy in India.” In: Csaba Dezső (ed.) Indian Languages and Texts through the Ages. Essays of Hungarian Indologists in Honour of Prof. Csaba Töttössy. Delhi: Manohar, 63–85.
  30. Ruzsa, Ferenc 2015. “Egyfiát áldozza fel” [Sacrificing his only son]. In: Kakas Beáta – Szilágyi Zsolt (eds.) Kéklő hegyek alatt lótuszok tava. Tanulmányok Bethlenfalvy Géza tiszteletére. [A Lotus Lake below Blue Mountains. Studies in Honour of Géza Bethlenfalvy]. Budapest: L’Harmattan, 45–70.
  31. Ruzsa, Ferenc 2016. “Sacrificing his only son. Śunaḥśepa, Isaac and Snow White.” Vallástudományi Szemle 12/5: 94–133.
  32. Ruzsa, Ferenc 2018. “A kannibál bráhminok a mennybe mennek. Rituális tisztaság a Mahá-Bhárata-ban” [Cannibal Brahmins go to heaven. Ritual purity in the Mahābhārata]. In: Kósa Gábor – Vér Ádám (eds.) Purum et immundum. Vallási elképzelések a tisztaságról és tisztátalanságról [Purum et immundum. Religious ideas of purity and impurity]. (HAGION Könyvek 4.) Budapest: ELTE BTK Vallástudományi Központ, 139–164.
  33. Schaik, Sam van 2011. Tibet. A history. New Haven – London: Yale University Press.
  34. Schaik, Sam van – Iwao, Kazushi 2008. “Fragments of the Testimony of Ba from Dun¬huang.” Journal of the American Oriental Society CXXVIII.3: 477–487.
  35. Schiefner, F. Anton von – Ralston, W. R. S. (tr.) 1906. Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources. Translated From the Tibetan of the Kah-Gyur. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.
  36. Shi, Shuo 08.06.2018. “Ethnic flows in the Tibetan-Yi corridor throughout history.” International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology 2, 2 https://doi.org/10.1186/s41257-018-0009-z (accessed: 10.06.2020).
  37. Szegedi, Mónika 2013a. “A majomremete és a démonnő szerelme. A tibeti nép származásának története” [The love of the monkey hermit and the Demoness. The history of the origin of the Tibetan people]. Vallástudományi Szemle 9.4: 73–91.
  38. Szegedi, Mónika 2013b. “A nőstényördög megszelídül. Tibet megtérése.” [The taming of the female devil. The conversion of Tibet]. In: Déri Balázs – Varga Benjámin – Vér Ádám (eds.) Conversio. Az Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem Bölcsészettudományi Karán 2011. szeptember 22–23-án tartott vallástudományi konferencia előadásai. [Conversio. Lectures at the Religious Studies Conference, ELTE BTK 2011. 09. 22–23]. (HAGION Könyvek 1.) Budapest: ELTE BTK Vallástudományi Központ, 261–282.
  39. Tsumagari, Shin’ichi 2013. “Bashey with supplement: A Critical Edition of the Tibetan Text and an Annotated Translation (4)”. 宗教学年報 [Religious studies] XXX: 193–258.