25091

.{

Painting
and
Performance
CHINESE PICTURE RECITATION

AND ITS INDIAN GENESIS

Victor H. Mair

Sinologisch lnstituut'
Riiksuniversiteit Leiden
Arsenaalstraat
Wayng bbr scroll. Archiues Internationales d' Ethnogrdphie,'

16 (1903),

23oo

taf' 18.2.

MI
University of Hawaii Press
Honolulu

l,

P.O. Box 9515

RA LEIDENT

llolhnd

The publication of this

book was made pos_

To Li-ching

i.fillr::n:nmi:'
T1",
re HL nanides, an independent
lederal{o.agency.

and the memory

W*g
9,

of

Hsiu-chih

r_Tg Universigz of
Hawaii press

AI1 Klghts

Reserved t

Manufacfured

to,h.

Urrrr.a Shtes of America

Library of co'gress
cataroging-in-publication
Mair, Victor H., Ig43_

r.iipttXi1'#,*"'
P.

chinese recitarion

Data

ad its rndian

cm.

Bibliography: p.
Includes index
ISBN 0_8248_ltoo_3

l.

pien wen (Buddhist

song-tales)-Historv

2. chi".r.

ti;;.:;,;il
1988
398.2'0951-dct9
pL2365.M35

.dic

influences.

and criticism.

f. iitle.

s8_2t591

irt;

Sinologisch lnstituut.
Rijksuniversiteit Leiden
Arsenaalstraat I, p.O. Box 9515
23OO RA LE|DEN, Holland

would suffer if
it were obliged to recognise the least influence
from the neighbours. Love of the country, like
love of God, can degenerate to stuPid fanat:cism; it would be necessary in order to satisfy
the maniacs of chauvinism, that aU arts, all
sciences, all discoveries, all inventions should
have grown out of the privileged soil that has
had the honour to bear them.

It

seems that national honour

Sylvain Lvi,
L'Inde et Ie Monde (1928).
Cited and translated bY C- L. Fabri,
"Mesopotamia and Early Indian Art"' p.245'

Contents
Preface

Key Terms

Major Chinese Dynastic Periods

Note on Transcription Schemes and Method of Reference

Introduction

.- l. Picture-Storytelling in Ancient India

2. The Transmission of Picture Recitation through Central Asia
3. Indonesian Analogues
4- Picture-Storytelling in Recent and Modern India
5. Picture Recitation around the World

xl
xv
xvii
xix
I
t7
39
55

8l

tll

Figures and Plates

Notes

133

Bibliography

227

t9l

Abbreuiations
Works i1t European Languages
Chinese Studies, Texts, Translations, and Dictionaries
Japanese and Korean Studies, Texts, Translations, and Dictionaries
South and Southeast Asian and Buddhicized Central Asian Texts,
Translations, and Dictionaries
Near and Middle Eastern Texts, Translations, and Dictionaries
Films, Petformances, Lectures, tJnpublished Manuscripts, and
Personal C omnunications

228
230
253
256

Articles and Books Not

267

Seen

259
265
265

Illustration Credits

269

brdex

271

Color Plates follow page74

lx

Preface
Ir
literature known

t*.

other works I dealt with a genre of Chinese popular

("transformation texts"). During the course of

my research for Tun-huang Popular Narratives (1983) and T'ang Transformation fexts (1988), I gradually came to reafize that written pien-wen were
derived from an oral tradition of storytelling with pictures and that this
as pien-wen

tradition had Indian antecedents.

Several considerations made it advisable to issue this material as a separate
work. In the first place, the earlier studies were primarily Sinological and
literary in character. By contrast, the subject matter for this book has to do
mainly with folk art and culture outside of China. Because of the paucity of
data on picture recitation in China, I have had to supplement the available
historical and anecdotal evidence with information drawn from parallel tradi-

tions elsewhere.

It did not

seem a wise approach to bore scholars interested

only in Chinese popular literature with hundreds of pages about picture

recitation in India, Indonesia, Iran, and elsewhere. At the same time, the
information assembled here is too important for students of folklore and
folklife generally to be hidden away in a specialist's monograph. Naturally, I
hope that Sinologists will be enticed to look into these pages and that folklorists will be sufficiently curious about pien-uez to consult T'ang Transformation Texts.
One of the chief purposes of this book is to put in historical and social
context the unique and inestimably precious Chinese picture-scroll which
depicts the contest between Sriputra and the Six Heretics and which is
preserved in the Bibliothque Nationale in Paris (Pelliot manuscript 4524).
This scroll has already, most deservedly, received the careful attention of
Akiyama Terukazu, who has written an exacting set of articles dealing with its

artistic aspects. Nicole Vandier-Nicolas has published a beautiful facsimile, for

which all students of Chinese popular literature must remain eternally thankful, and has also contributed a study ofthe sources for the story in the form of
a booklet that accompanies the facsimile. I have myself made a complete
translation ofthe corresponding text, which has been published inTun-huang
Popular N arrative s. IJence it will not be necessary to spend a great deal of time

xt

xii

Preface

Preface xiii

describing the sriputra scroll itserf, since

that has already been done satis_
factorily elsewhere.
The nature of this investigation has, of necessity,
been wrde-Jnging and
has led me into areas where I do not
normaty speciarize.
Even thougi I have

striven hard to achieve competence in arl ofthe

ranguages and fierds touched
upon in this book, the task is larger than any
single inaiauar can handre with
ease. rt is only the interectualy compelling
nature of the undertaking that
drove me to comprete these investigatons iln
spite of the obvious and seem_

ingly awesome difficulties. Hence

Iiust beg the forgiveness of sanskritists,

Tibetologists, Arabicists, persianists, Turkotgists,
and experts on rndonesia,
central Asia, and Japanese riterature and art r,riho
wilr unaubteaty iio ,o-.
technical points upon which to differ. Fortunatery,
mrmerous ndividuats
have offered me generous assistance at cruciar
moments, which has enabred me
to amend various deficiencies and avoid potentially
embarrassing pitfa's.
william Hanaway provided me with fuil nd fascinating
details f L"oi"r,
picture recitation and corrected my persian
transcriptions. A. D. H. Bivar arso
helped me with specific rranian narratives.
Metin And was extremely generous in providing me with references to Turkic
materiars. Ruth Ailee supplied
information about chinese_art history, craig
crunas did so for chinese prints,
and Lore Sander for centrar Asian ari histo{r.
rrr" lute and much ramented M.
Mohandessi told me about.
urat_khwan ad The Threepenny Opera, a good
indication of the astonishing breadth of his
rearning. In matters Arabic, r was
fortunate to be assisted by Kevin Reinhart,
Roger A'en, and Adnan Haydar.
My former colleague Barbara Ruch deserves not
onry my own thanks for much
sage advice but those of ar who are interested
in medievar irustrated narra_
tives for her vigorous advancement of this field.
was my privilege to

meet Bambang Gunardjo, director of the

Museum
-._It
wayang
in Jakarta, when he was travelring through this country
under the
auspices of the JDR 3rd Fund. I was also bl"
to correspond with D. C. H.
subandono of the Konservatari Karawitan in
surakarta who sent me two
magnificent cloth paintings in the wayang bbr
style.I would, too, like to
thank Dr. singgih wibisono of Jakarta-selan and
two of my former students,
Diana Borden and wiliam crawford, who visited
him duringi trip to rndonesia
and asked him numerous questions on my behalf.
Marie Adams and Isaber shaw took time out from
their work in the peabody
Museum of Harvard university to ter me about
batik and uayang kurit.
Harrison Parker not onry answered many of my
queries about the state of
wayang today but gave me free access to
his ric crection ofcontemporary
Indonesian art. The frne coilection of Indian

to Henry
l:'"-Tt"g
opened

picture-storytelring ma'terials
and Joan Ferguson of Intercurture Associates was
arso

ro my inspecrion. Hsieh Sheng_pao

#+-Fs,librarian of rhe
college ofEducation in chiu-ch'an, Kansu,
sp"ent several rong sessions going
over numerous detairs of western Kansu pao-chan
and, stowing me his
precious collection oftexts. Lucy L. Lo, curaior
ofthe Far Eastern Art seminar
at Princeton university, graciously repried to
several ofmy questions about

ItT-Ott

the Tun-huang photographic archives there. Joseph C. Miller, Jr., of the

University of Pennsylvania and John D. Smith of the University of London
were thoroughly generous in sharing with me the results of their excellent
research on the paytradition. I wish particularly to thank Joseph C. Miller, Jr.,
for allowing me access to his rich collection of audio and video tapes, unpublished manuscripts, printed materials, photographs , and pay paintings. He also
kindly spent many hours helping me clear up hundreds of small details
concerning picture performance traditions in Rajasthan. Among those to
whom I am most deeply indebted is Anne Pellowski, director of the Information Center on Children's Cultures of the United States Committee for UNICEF,
who possesses an incredible wealth of knowledge about all forms of storytelling from around the word. Stella Kramrisch and Michael Meister offered
expert guidance in matters relating to Indian art. Dan Ben-Amos and Maxine
Belmont Weinstein kept me abreast of developments in folklore and folklife
studies. Eugen Weber directed me to interesting topics from recent French and
German history that are related to my research. I would, further, like to
express my appreciation to participants of the Conference on Rdh and the
Divine Consort, held at the Center for the Study of World Religions (Harvard
University) June I5-18, 1978, especially Brenda Beck, Norvin Hein, Barbara
Stoler Miller, and Charlotte Vaudeville, who responded to my queries on
storytelling with pictures in present-day India. Likewise, I am grateful to

Valentina Stache-Rosen and Jyotindra Jain for their letters on the same
subject. I am delighted that, just as this book was going to press, the Institute
for Medieval Japanese Studies at Columbia University sponsored a "Workshop on Painting Recitation" (November I4-I5, f987). The entire weekend
was most stimulating and informative. I was particularly pleased to learn that
Peter Chelkowski, Susan Slyomovics, Brooks McNamara, Sal Murgiyanto,
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, and others are actively engaged in various
historical and theoretical aspects ofresearch on this emerging field. Jonathan
Chaves lent me much appreciated support by being one of the few Sinologists
who recognize the importance of Indian performing arts for the development
of Chinese folk literature. Alfredo Cadonna tracked down an elusive Italian
source and arranged to have a copy sent to me. My colleagues Ludo Rocher,
Barbara Ruch, V. S. Rajam, Frank Korom, George Cardona, Masatoshi Nagatomi, Peter Gaeffke, and Wilhelm Halbfass each read various portions of this
book in draft and offered much helpful advice. Ann Cheng kindly offered to
help with the preparation of the index and the proofreading. Finally, I would
like to thank Damaris Kirchhofer, editor at the University of Hawaii Press, for
the meticulous care with which she prepared my somewhat intractable manu-

script for publication and for her unfailingly kind and cordial manner in
handling all aspects ofits production.
The National Endowment for the Humanities contributed to the completion
of this long project by awarding me a Summer Stipend in 1984. I am deeply
grateful for this support from the Endowment.
While happy to acknowledge the munificent assistance received from

xiv .

Preface

others, I take full responsibility for all statements made and facts put forth
in this book. The special nature of the work presented herein has required
consultation with experts in many areas. The granting o{such help should not
be construed as an endorsement of any of the interpretations or positions here
advanced, for these are entirely my own.
It has been my primary intention throughout this book to offer as much
raw data as possible. Naturally, it is impossible to present factual matter in a
connected discourse without adopting some sort of interpretation. The interpretive framework for this study is what might be called the "Indian hypothesis." This hypothesis is only one attempt to make sense of the mass of
evidence that has been brought together here. It is offered in the spirit of
honest scholarly debate, and I welcome alternative schemes for bringing order
to the material presented herein. It is even conceivable that some who reject a
priori any suggestion of diffusionism may deny out of hand all possibility of

Indian influence upon the other traditions of picture recitation that are
discussed. I wish to reemphasize that what is important to me is the evidence
concerning picture recitation that I have laboriously accumulated during the
past dozen years, not any hermeneutical scheme which may be brought to bear
upon it. During the past decade and more, I have diligently and painstakingly

pursued every lead concerning picture recitation that came to my attention.

May the information from throughout history and around the world assembled
here be of some small use to my colleagues in a variety of fields!

K.y Terms
bnkelsang German storytelling with pictures; also called moritatand several
other names.

bhopo Rajasthani picture-storyteller.

dalang Indonesian shadow play performer and picture storyteller'

etoki

Japanese

"picture explanation."

Varieties of Indian and Iranian picture-storytelling'

meaning of these words, all of which are related, is "[painting on a]

pal, pa(, Pata, parda,

theiiteral

etc-

cloth."
Chinese Buddhist technical term meaning "change"' "ttansfotm"'
pien
'"strange

happening," etc. During the T'ang and Five Dynasties periods' it was
with
also used as the name of a literary geme (pien or pien-wen) dealing
art
ofvisual
type
manifestations and appearances as well as the designation ofa
(pien or pien-hsiang) dealing with the same subjects'

wayang word (literally meaning "shadow") used in Southeast Asia to

designate a wide variety of theatrical performances'

xv

Mujor Chinese
Dyrastic Periods
Shang

Chou

Spring and Autumn

$y'4ing States

ca. L523 n.r..-ca. I028

ca. L03O-722

722-481
480-22L

ch'in

22L-207

Western (Former) Han

Eastern (Later) Han
Three Kingdoms
Western Chin
Eastern Chin

206 B.r.E.-8 B.r.E.

25 t..-22O
221-265

265-3r7
317-420

Northern and Southern

(Sung, Ch'i, Liang, Ch'en)
Dynasties
Sui

Tng
Five Dynasties

420-58I

Six Dynasties
(those with capitals at
Chien-k'ang
[modern Nanking])

581-618
618-906

Liao

907-960
907-Lt25

Northern Sung

960-r126

Southern Sung
Chin

LL27-L279

Yan

Ming

1260-1368
1368-1644

Ch'ing

1644-19tI

tII5-t234

xvtl

A Note on
Transcription Schemes
and Method of
Reference
a"uriog with numerous languages, some of them not very
years'
well known in the West and others of them dead for at least a thousand
will
them
transcribing
for
ortomanization
it is inevitable that various systems
authorities
various
the
among
occurred
be encountered. where conflicts have

I'

consulted,Ihaveendeavoredtoregularizethemaccordingtoasinglescheme.
is usually a
Occasional discrepancies in usage may survive, however' and this
dialectical
to
due
variations
or
sources
result of the precise quotation of
chinese,
Mandarin
with
Even
time.
differences and linguistic change over
enormous
are
there
language'
"exotic"
which is no longer considered an
diffculties involved in any attempt to achieve consistency in transcription.
scholars
The standard chosen for this work is that traditionally accepted by
system.
wade-Giles
the
of
version
working in the field of sinology, a modified

IsolateJinstances of other transcriptions do occur but are restricted to ProPer

names, quoted material, and the like'
also
The method of source citation employed in the text and in the notes
might
who
those
of
convenience
the
For
requires a few words of explanation.
not be familiar with some of the languages that are used herein' an English

translationisusuallyprovidedinthetext'Inthenotes'however'worksare

unnecesnormally identified by a shortened form ofthe original title. To avoid

in the
both
"tetragraphs")
,".y rrr" ofChinese characters (i.e-, fang-k'uai-tzu,
in
forth
so
and
names'
terms,
ProPer
text and in the notes, excePt for technical
to
the
restricted
been
largely
have
they
the Introduction and rarely elsewhere,
East
Bibliography. The reader who needs to know the characters for a given
In
necessary'
when
Bibliography
the
Asian title is thus encouraged to consult

thetext,referencestoTun_huangmanuscriptsareprecededbyabbreviations
YIY

Painting
and
Performance

Introduction

7Tt
rl

Ino book is the outgrowth of a more than decade-long

study of a genre of Chinese popular literature known as pien-wen ffi\
("transformation texts"). Pien-uten, which date from the T'ang period (6I8906), are extremely important in the history of Chinese literature-especially
fiction and drama-because they are the first extended vernacular narratives
in China. There has, however, been a great deal ofconfusion and controversy
concerning pien-wen since they were discovered at Tun-huang (in the far
northwestern province of Kansu) around the beginning of this century. The
usual explanation is that pien-wen were the promptbooks of Buddhist monks,
which they referred to when giving lectures or sermons. Available evidence
drawn from various sources, however, indicates clearly that pien storytellers
were primarily lay entertainers rather than monks and that some of them were

women. The contents of pien-wen were both secular and religious (chiefly
Buddhist).
Both in t}'e pien-wen themseves and in contemporary historical writings,
there are subtle indications that this literary genre derived from a type of oral
storytelling with pictures called simply chuan-pien ffiF (literally, "turning
transformation [picture scrolls]," hence, "performing transformations").t
"Transformation" here ultimately refers to the illusory manifestation or representation of Buddhist figures. A full understanding of the term can only
be gained by reference to such Indic notions as nirmr.ta, vikuruarya, yddhipratihrya, and so forth, all of which refer to miraculous Powers of manifestation and all of which were translated into Chinese expressions that included
the graph for pien.2 Essentially, it was the task of the artist to represent these
manifestations on paper or silk, or in wall-paintings, in which case they may
be called pien-hsiang ffi.lfl ("transformation scenes or tableaux").r 'the pien
storyteller would then use tlne pien-hsiang as an illustrative device during his
performance. To "perform a transformation" thus signifes the realization or
animation by the storyteller-through various devices of his stock in tradeof the transformational figures and scenes on a picture-scroll.
Unfortunately, because transformation picture recitation in China was basically a folk tradition, there are very few details about it in the historical record,

fntuoduction

Introduction

which naturally was the product

of elite societv- onr
Only n-^
one rn^,,^r_uniquely precious
picture-scroll
has

survived, pelliot

Although transformation (pien) performances proper seem gradually to

have died out during the sung period (960-1277),? storytelling with pictures
persisted under other names. This is borne out by the writings of Ma Huan, a
chinese Muslim who was secretary to the renowned Ming dynasty admiral,
Cheng Ho (11p), and who travelled wirh him to Sourheast Asia. Among his

Tun-h,rr.rt"'

deta')intheBibriorh;ue;r;;;;;;;::.tiliiilJ::1.]i;;i1ij,3J

ofsupernaturar powers between Buddha's

disciple, sriputra, and the chiefof
the heretics, Raudrksa- Although
we must be infinitery gratefur that
sheer
chance has allowed for the survi,ial
of this scroll, it i, t".rufri.rgiy
_yrr*"",
in that it has been cut off from the
performance context in which it was
once
employed.
There exist transformation text manuscJipts
that rerate the same story as the
picture-scroll' They are stein manuscriptssrr
and 439g verso in the British

reports for the year L4l6 is the following passage about Java:
They have a class of men who make drawings on paper of such things as men,
birds, beasts, eagles, or insects; [these drawings] resemble scroll-pictures; for the
supports of the picture they use two wooden sticks, three ch'ihlfeetl in height,
which are level with the paper at one end only; sitting cross-legged on the ground,
the man takes the picture and sets it up on the ground; each time he unrolls and
exposes a section of the picture he thrusts it forward towards his audience, and,
speaking with a loud voice in the foreign language, he explains the derivation ofthis
section; [and] the crowd sits round and listens to him. sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, exactly as if the narrator were reciting one of our expository tables

:i:'"1"ff J"'J;:T:lt:ll;:nl"E**",Xi**:

il:1;:itrtr

j:i,":

J:"#ij;;il: ff ,.,;; ''ii*;

poken) and verse ung)_the ,o_.ula ;;prosimetric,,

or ,,chantefable,,
form-the picture-scrot (p452+) has onry
th ,r".r" portions on its back. A
host of questions assails us abouthe
r"utorrrrrip between the transformation
texts and the transformation picture-scroll.
were the transformation texts
used as promptbooks or aides-rnmoire
10r picture recitations? why
does the
picture-scrot carry onry rhe sung po.tiorr
.r
ilr. r""r"w;; ;. in.
formers of these transformations?
what was their social status? And so n.._
on.
Due to

the disappointingry meager accounts

of transfor-"rio.,
f.rrorlurr"",
China, p4524 and all the p.bl._,
surrounding it might well remain
forever suspended in perprexing
rimbo. To break through such an impasse,
I have adopted in this oot a.ri"ur
r"r."r"h strategy. rn order to filr in the
abysmal gaps in our knowledge
of chiner" pi*r. r".itation, I have
sought for
information drawn from analogo.,,
g".rr" in India, Indonesia, Japan, Iran,
Italy, Germany, and any-other countries.
The results have been
l".U:{,
surprisingly
sarisfying. Wheeas I ;nitially had
hoped ro"..ly ;;:;pl"_.rt
the chinese record with eviclence
from pailer traditions ersewhere,
organic
linkages among a number of these
traditions have emerged. This is more
than
I b-1Sui1.1 for originally, bur ir is pleasant
Uy_proauct nonerheless.
Yet' the focus of my efforts has
arways beenn p4524.5 Standing in
splendid
isolatiln, this Tng period picture-scru
must once have been a part of a wide_
:rld u"1 flourishing tradition.o The aim of rhe remainder of this inrroduc_
tion is to document from scattered
sources the survival of picture recitation
in
china after the T'ang period. wh'e
some of the materiar presented is fragmentary and other evidence is hypotheticar,
it shourd be sufficient to demon_
strate that-in spite of orth-odornegligence
and even opposition_foprrfu,
religious and secular storytening
wit iiustrative devices i.rr"..rrti.y di"d
out until the second harf of this century.
For ar we know, it may stiil cotinue
in some hidden corner of china's vast territory.
My fondest hope is that this
book might stimurate those who are aware
oiits existence to provide fuller
documentation of this fascinating subject.

lp'ing-hual.8

on the basis of these observations, Gustave schlegel induces that rndonesian uayang bbr (storytelling with pictures) had a greater anriquity than
wayang purwa (shadow puppets) (see Chaprer 3). "ff the Wayang purwa (or
scenic shades) were played in Java in e.t. 1416, Ma Hoan, the most exact
chinese enthogfapher of Java, would not have failed to notice it. But he only
speaks of t}"e Wayang bbr, a long picture between two wooden cylinders,
and which is unrolled (ambbr) as the dalang, or representator, goes on with
his explanation."e Schlegel suggesrs that this passage logicaly implies that
there
been a common Indian

in

of storytelling with
may also be
S
1430-1434) A Record of Foreign Nations
across the Western Ocean, under the heading "Kingdom of Java,,(\EE).ro
Here and in Ma Huan's original account, it is clear that wayang bbr has been
directly compared by the Chinese observers to the popular genre known as
"expository tale" (p'ing-hua.+ or T). This comparison is of rhe utmost
significance and cannot be stressed too strongly, for it offers compelling

grounds for the belief that-Yan

3nd Ming exposilqry lales (p'ing-hua) lg."
originally a type of picture-storytelling, a fact that modern scholarship Las
heretofore failed to realize. rf we may assume that printed expository tales
derived from the sort of oral expository tales mentioned by Ma Huan and Kung
Chen, as appears likely, then the origin of th.e format of printed expository
tales (serial narrative pictures on the top portions ofthe pages and text below)
becomes plain. In addition, we gain from these accounts evidence of the
existence and nature of wayang bbr in the early part of the fifteenth century.
Furthermore, because ofour knowledge ofthe form oftransformation picturescrolls, it is possible to say with some assurance on the basis of this passage tht
expository tales (p'ing-hua) were the direct
in the Yan

: il

fntroduction

(r260-t368) of transformation
simply thatp

Introduction
We might even go so far as to
a Sinicized name

language (#=-JjEZ#). Y further mentions a Classified Collection of

Teachings for the Family (t^xffiH) by one Hseh Meng-li (frgFg), also
of the Ming period, which had pictures with explanations such as, "This
person standing inside the door is so-and-so ofsuch-and-such a dynasty, etc."
(-fI^'v^*+*^,
). Here, too, the labels were written in
the colloquial language. Y suspects (E) that this is the form ofthe expository
tales that were so popular during the Ming period.
It is essential that more intensive research be carried out on the expository
tale to determine whether any other Chinese sources allude to the fact that it
was originally atype of picture-storytelling. In other words, the early expository tale now needs to be investigated as an oral performing art rather than as
the genre of written popular literature into which it later developed. A type of
expository tale did, of course, survive as an oral performing art into the
twentieth century but does not employ illustrations. Yet, even with the
presently available evidence, we may say that early expository tales had an
organic relationship to transformations. Thus

with

Orally Performed Orally Performed Orally performed

Transformation + Expository Tale + Expository Tale
(p'ing-hua)
Transformation Text

Without Pictures
Written Expository Tale

(pen-wen)

That the tradition of

with pictures survived in China after the
nominal
of
texts
other soil*tff-rheTiftfth
chapter of t]ne Complete Story Telling of
Yeh Fei (Shuo Yeh ch'an chuan, -#F|S) begins with an account of the
appearance on the battlefield of a new and formidable Chin () general named
Ts'ao Ning (Sffi) and describes how the Sung warriors are unable to defeat
him. Wang .Iso (f E, b. 1126), who had previously infiltrated the Chin army
through the ruse of cutting off one of his arms and presenting it to the enemy
commander-in-chief, Wu-chu ()L^, d. ll48), as a sign of his allegiance and
who is now posing as a storyteller called "Wretched One" (ff/fl), learns of
this unfortunate (for the Sung) development.16
But let us teII how Wang Tso, who was startled when he heard of this matter in the
Chin encampment, came before Lu Wen-lung's ({ffi) camp. He went into the tent
and saw WenJung, who asked him. "Wretched One, which stories are you going to

tell again today?"

"Today I have an extremely good story,"replied Wang Tso. "But you must have
all of these contemptible barbarians go out so that Your Honor may listen to it
alone."

Wen-lung ordered all of his attendants to go out. When Wang Tso saw that
all of the contemptible barbarians had indeed gone out, he took out a picture

f-arJ[f=J@t ,"a
it to wen-lung
l""t
,i ri,i pL'".:""'"'
"would Your Honor
then rlJ
;;':-r".isaving'
Please
wenJung ."..,.,"r'11
';;
took a rook H
(-Ei/gr,i;;".1^ll:t
that it was a storv
one Person t"
n pjctures
in" i.,J* whom
resembring t r,
,urn"..111 p'in""'
he seemed tJ te"'gni'"
;;';r";i:e
u,
a big hatt.r" utro
general and a dead
,r* .'le t"n ttut;;*;.in"*d
"t
woman in
tha rhere were
manv il;u
an' He arso saw
His Hon o*'"u", ",,,1?:"'" -, t".". p""-,.ffi ??r::::.wom
story js
:

come and

tell it ro,o".,Inu'

"please just

ru' wretch
vvrtched one?
" this,
I don't understand'
You

,,, -^ *^--,
the side. Your Honor,
t.r t. ,-#il; -orr",
i ;;,i:to
jt that it wiil be easier for me to
at the.picture.
;;;::i
cenrral parr of
is the state or Lu-an
China.
in the
luiil* dead
sovernor and *r, ,,ro,.fll "; s*''-'"
")
occupjed the posirion
t
r,f
,,,
of
ir#;:
r son, we5g name is a" ,1,1j
--- "-rD is Madame Hsieh'
riis is their
"wretched or,.,
"urk4/:t-l"t'8'"
-tung?"
ed Lu wen-lung, "how
is:it that he' too, is
rs
cared Lu wen,,you
just keep on ,u*",,. ,,
^_ -" ,"*

;:;:'.:il'l'":"1',;#lii:.;r#J',...ff .:'*i:,U
:t-r:rTii::"i:"t;:;;,':'.':.".
;'"i'i:i;;ilJi*":fi
*a ?"-r'..0 n,arready o*" in,,"
::*i;-ff:, i:::r;f:'
,31 "*"t'v
- --'-er' n"

upserrins?r,.

"Wretched One,,,
said
--.*

me.,,t7

"i'-,i":;ii,ri:';:*:::::,i:

lu wenJung, ,,it is
obvious that you

are talking about

fntroduction

Introduction

possible that the group is engaged

stories of its

are_

lor

of some sort. Whatever the exact nature of their enterprise,

they are surrounded by spectators, including some ecstatic children.
Altogether. there are at least thirty-seven known versions of the ,,picture of
Spring Festival by the River" extant.27 There are dozens ofother pictures from
the T'ang, sung, Yan, and Ming periods that depict in detail scenes of daily
life. An exhaustive examination of these paintings is certain to be rewarding
for the student of popular entertainment in these periods.2s
There is a "detached canto" (san-ch' fr ffi) Uy the sixteenth_century Ming
poet and painter Ch'en To (lH$, courtesy name Ta-sheng )ff, nom de plume
ch'iu-pi ffifi ), which sheds a grear amount of light on a number of issues that
are cntral to this book. Since the poet's works are hard to find outside of
China, I shall translate the poem in its entirety:
Man of the Way
To the tune "Fragrance Fills the Court,,

They call him "foul face,"

And he styles himself a Buddhist;
But who ever heard of a master
Going door to door asking whether
people want to make vows on the stras,

And spending the whole night long without sleep?

He wears2e a long cotton shirt that he
trails after him as though it were a monk,s robe,3o

"""",1i'.1i",ffi ]Jil : :"i"1H:",

When he finishes prociaiming
the "[Precious] Scroll on the Diamond Stra,', zt
It's inevitable that he'll ask for some vegetarian food.
But he's only interested in getting something to eat,
He's not after money.32

It is obvious that the poet does not consider this individual to be a proper
monk. At the same time, however, the "man of the way,, clearly has religious
pretensions. As we shall see over and over again in the course of this study, he
is the sort of layman-entertainer who inhabits a niche in society that lies
between the sacred and the secular. In many cases, such persons are essentially
beggars and this seems to be the case with the "man of the way.,, This poem
is also important in that it makes a connection between the recitation of precious scrolls (pao-chan ffifr) and displayed illustrations.33 precious scrolls,
popular didactic tales in typically Indian prosimetric form dating primarily
from after the Yan period and dealing with Buddhist themes, are commonly
accepted by scholars as having derived from transformation texts (pien-raen).
This is the first evidence that, like oral transformation (pien) performances,

they too could be presented in conjunction with pictufes or other types of

images.
The data provided in Ch'en To's poem are both sharpened and confirmed by
information I obtained on an August 1985 research trip to Chiu-ch'an ("Wine
Springs," ipft) prefecture in the province olIgltU, northwest China. paochan are still being performed (nien l"recited"] ) in the towns and villages
surrounding the cities of wu-wei (Etd), chang-yeh (w@, and chiu-ch'an.
Close to Tun-huang and spread out along the Kansu Corridor beneath the
shadow of the snow-capped Ch'i-lien (rIiE, Richthofen) Range,
.agaditig,l'q_f
Plg:igglf_ !!-olyte!+g that bears many similarities to oral pien survives to
this day. Because the performance aspects of western Kansu,p9o-,chan.ihave
not been reported on in any language, a rather extensive diicussion is warranted here.
In the first place, it should be noted that it has become exceedingly difficult
to make contact with western Kansu pao-chi)an performers since the founding
of the People's Republic in 1949 and particuarly after the consolidation of
power by the Communist authorities there in the early fifties. There are fiftythree different pao-chan known to have been performed in that area up until
the mid-eighties. All of them, including superficially secular ones such as
"Precious Scroll on Herding Sheep" (K+F ), which deals with rhe period
ofthe Tibetan occupation ofthe Kansu Corridor, and "precious Scroll on the
Girl from the Secluded Apartments" fff/.p), have a pronounced religious content. This is, of course, even more so the case with overtly Buddhist
pao-chan, such as that on the filial saint Maudgalyyana (Mulien iJ S)
rescuing his mother from the sufferings of the underworld, and pao-chan on
various Taoist deities. Because oftheir religious aspects, after L949 it became
_unlawful to perform q1 publish pao-chan in western Kansu. The genre
persisted in outl-ying aras,-hwever, until the Great proletarian Cultural
Revolution of the late sixties and early seventies when its practitioners were
ruthlessly persecuted and their texts confiscated and destroyed. Since the end
of the Cultural Revolution, there has been a modest reviva outside of the
larger cities where the authorities do not exercise rigorous, constant control.
still, it is impossible to pubtish the texts of the pao-chiian for distribution and
sale. Hence those who wish to obtain a text for themselves often make
handwritten copies from manuscripts owned by friends and acquaintances. In
spite ofthe ideological turmoil ofthe last half-century, an underlying current
of Buddhist piety strongly persists in the Kansu corridor. For those individuals who identify themselves as Buddhists, it is a virtue to keep pao-chan
texts at home and to sponsor their recitation. Hence much of the activity
connected with pao-chan is now secretive.
Before 1949, pao-chan performances were extremely popular in western
Kansu. The usual time for their presentation was at the New year's and other
festivals. They were often also put on in conjunction with temple fairs.
watching a pao-chan performance was considered to be a form of entertain-

lO

Introduction

Introduction

Virtually all of the pao-chan picture_scrolls were destroyed during

the
Cultural Revolution and the performers still do not consider it
safe enough to
begin using such conspicuous paraphernalia at the present
time.

Pao-chan performers in Tsng County (tffi), Hopei

province, used
similar sets of paintings. In fact, according to my informant,
they still own one
nearly complete set, which is missing only a single scroll out
of the original
ten.36 The Tsng County pao-chan performers called
their set
"{.Etg'tg
scrolls "Land and
(see Color Plate 9). Like the Kansu
picture-

they
various scenes in hell, more specifically, the horrors of
the;e".:"t{s_9f Y"=_: (god of the underworld) purgatory. The Ts'ang
County
perlormers were part of a branch of the White Lotus Sect (e) known
as

the Gate of Heaven and Earth (Xf&

f l). This association shows the cultic, folk
religious nature of such popular Buddhist literature. It is likely
that the sets of
scrolls were called "Land and Water,, because the p ao -c han performances
,originally formed an integral part of the Land and warer ceremony (zJrEffi)
in which sacrificial food was offered to watery sprites and terrestrial
ghosts.
Aside from the pictorial element, the western Kansu p a o - c han p er
f or mance
consists ofspoken and sung portions uttered alternately by the
performer. The
audiencejoins in at certain points to repeat homiletic phrases ofthe
storyteller
(compare "Buddhaputra', or "Jinaputra"
, literally, "SonofBuddha"l as
repeated in some Tun-huang popular narrati ves). The verse is normally

danqer of extinction.
The most striking new discovery about the western Kansu pao-chan
reciters

is that, before the advent of the people,s Republic, they customarily

used
pictures in conjunction with their performances, It is now apparent that
some
western Kansu pao-chan performances were originall y a type o{_pi"!glg_

pictures were large colored paintings pn cloth that could be

for easy transportation. The performerwould hang them on the outer
wall of a building facing the street and
to relevant
on them as he
told his tale. The most common paintings
These could be used in conjunction with virtually any of the
pao-chan to
show what happens to those who go against the moral lessons they
proffered.

-Igl$J!-The
rolled up

The paintings were

_19! Siytded by lines inro secrions but did portray

flffi!

deca-

syllabic (3-3- sylables) and is sung to a number of fixed lyric tunes, about
half of which are specific to western Kansu. Some of the songs, such "Tune
as

of the Five Hours" ( F E), are traceable directly back to

Tun-huang cantos.
The usual verse introductory formula of tbe pao-ch)anperformer
is 'This truly
is a case of
"
. . .), o. a variant thereof, though it is

(tr
seldom written
into the text. Short, pentasyllabic verse, which is chanted, occurs at
major
breaks in the text. The next prose section which follows is introduced
by the

of narrative
one scholar'who has been studying western Kansu pao-chan
performances
reports having witnessed a monk from the Ber Tower Tempre
for lanyears
in chiu-ch'an pointing at narrative wail-paintings in the main hail of
the
temple and telling the story of the pilgrimage of the T'ang monk
Hsa ,.-,.g
to India in search of scriptures. His prosimetric rendering
*us 6rifi"a_
tion ovisitors to the temple and devotees who attended its fairs.3a
Another
observer has provided a more detaired account of performances in
wu-wei. ,r
-::!.. * Every year during the fifth [runar?] month, a rotus fair would be li;rerd '
.:lr".

formulaic expression "Now it is said that

" 6fl --#). No musical instrumentation of any sort is employed
The western Kansu pao-chan texts date from the Ming to the
present day.
Except for very recent copies written with fountain pens, it was
usual for them
to be done by brush on poor quality paper and sewn up with thread
in booklet
form. The general appe*ance of many of these texts is strikingry similar
to
Tun-huang pien-wen. More than one scribe may be involved .,
.opyiog
single pao-chan. corrections and interlinear additions abound.
orthographic"
errors are very common, as is inevitable with individuals of low
literacy. For
example, ,1 may be written for
fi; $ for p; fr for fg; and so forth. Vulgar
forms of characters ( fo.
S; !:l- for E4; etc. are also frequent. Other types
of nonstandard language usage are met with (e.g.,
tft*H instead of Xpt

under the sponsorship of the local

oiliG. Large clorh painrings
be hung up on walls at four"h"-b..
or five praces inside the ci"ty. The paintings
depicted heaven, hell, the cycre of life and d,eath (samsara), and
so forth. e
storyteller would stand on a tabre in front orrris affiii
a precious scroil

would

in one hand and a wooden stick in the other, reciting and singing whie

pointing at the scenes on the painting. The listeners, who were of both
sexes
and all ages, would surround the storyteller but fert free to
come and go as

they

pleased. The people of wu-wei referred to this type of ilustrated

narrative
performance
"' :j"pelg1133*X.-b gq5,r,, # # #., 5

_-H).

where multiple copies of a single text exist, they are never identicar
and
may even have entirely different titles. Each storyteller
adapts the story to his

,: '

fntroduction

13

and images ({ft) during the Ghost Festival.3s Such images

and dramatic skits on
the Maudgalyyana theme from the same period provide

i:-,:9lfgterformanc

cnuctn).

your heart.

_^. rk*C(i.e., l) :8.

x.+,,

T="fr+k,

,4i_,t.
Judging

from the ofrlious correspondences

in form and content between
Tun-huang p ien-wen ofthe
ninth
*estern

twentierh cenrury,

,l"I

""rit".y ""
probabty
relared

Kansu pao_chan

of

the

representares l ,r.rgf"
popular Buddhist tradition -"or o.ul
also has wri*en derivatives.
'urt;;;",
o" done on
t<""' upao-chan.B";",,,"

*"t""
or,l'"
ormers,,,,1;;,';""r;",i:til,t:::;#ir,l;r:*::l*:

l::T:tr:::t
perf

dedicated persons, however,

who are proceeding cautiously,
and there is good
reason to hope for a murtivorrrm"
prrbri"ution giving edited texts
and other
acceptable material to be
issued *iirri., ,;;;;;".

According

ro the
on the Orrgrrc oj-rr"nts.and
fhings (f;fuftffi),
probabry wrirten somerime
^oes
berween r&;;; iosr,
a,rri'g celebrations of the
Ghost Festival (F
z fi,-middle or ,rr. ,.rr..rir, lunar month) ,,painted
sentations f Maudgalyyana
repre_
saving hi, _;;;;, are displayed,,
E
|H *f
#14'zz Though the rexr does not siy
r" ;l;;;y, ir is conceivabre
rhar these
_p.aintings were derived
T,ang

{om
evit'-hrs itie iurry
mst

f.1rJ^i""rformatign tuUt.u.,*.o

nd Mi ng oral

rec itat ion s

-{!g!,between T,ang
of precious r"Sii pool
1

..ttt:n" +-i:-iilg pgJiod (1644-191t), rhere was still a targe number of

p'\n-s;!yz pelfolmers active in_yngcrrcw. Li Tou's list of entertainers
on rhe
pleasure-Eoii ihre nu-"r i*o-individuars who stiil
seem to have used
pictures while narrating their expository tales. They
are Kao chin-kung
(A a.) with his "picture of Five Virtus,, (f
@) and Ts,ao T,ien_henq
(gXftr)withhis "Pict rre of Good and Evil,, (*o).irssK,o, *.n1g
end of the Ch'ing, tells of a strum_lyric (t,an_tz,u
"";?
ld) performer in a \1lu_
lhe
hsi (fi(f) teashop who "could exprain th picture
of the five morar obligations" ('E#E).no
It is an intriguing phenomenon that about 10 percent of traditional
strum
lyrics had tirles that ended with the word "picture"
(t'u 6.+r This is such a
high percentage that it cannot be ac counted for by
chance. Nor can it be
adequately explained by the fact that in some of
these strum lyrics, a picture

If someone should come to request

(borrow) this scroll,
please read
it.in your home;
No matter whether man
or womlt,
Remember it firmly in

i"';ti;."'" Tng precedenr, for in u.ry

Extensiue Register of Great
the
Tra-nquitity (k+
;1, citing Tares from procramarion Chamber (Hsan shih ch.ih,,e
e, *irlo of a acrfiai .r".*g a.
souls suffering in purgarory
( rt r# u, p..a amidsr
banners, srreamers,

14

fntroducion

Introduction

sellers of t,u-er
@fC. (peking colloquial

strange tales from

ul'o.,".-

printed sheets wi
s u pp,y .,
ll,f
o,

",,."

u"r,.ilj...ticture").

p ,rr.i,"J|
l*rux,,jf "". 1;lifl :, *;
ir..or.i .;;;;;"";"_*lo"o m
rr," ."r"-ir];;,;

residenrs. rhose
who_w*"
one or rhe pictures.

":l;#;":l':'*

"

;i;

;;;:iil'iffi:

tieth century

rhey woutd colecr

tn

"

",

,o o.,n

*oauz ),r"r*ii'rn"earriest

.iupt". s
in
";o

the nrst harr or rhe

twen-

'':-i.i:tri;,#:::::r;ii;'^+i:ii::"::r,,i'i::f
{i:-i::l'ti#,i,1i.',::!,:,!,{i'i:v,",";':i:'ti:
rf
,,puuing,.in
","h ""," i, u."r."";: ;l:1i:s^"^(.tyn-hua ff;t)
rharrhe"n";;';;i;;;:,, j.r,,T::rhe,pi*ures*"."",r,.J

;klilft ;*r#ilf.':ii'.;::H*fti

:::i"f ::::::fi*#;:iii:ilip:i?Hi,',ij";:*
presents
were possibre. one

-a.-"",

,.,0

;" ;i:ii

it- "

ie

ae

orher effecs

trJl"'","$:n*:*l::i:1;""'";i::t;:;
qvrLl trny
i+"""",:t};1Jfl
on
top
of rhe box.5r

rt"^,,^i

: ,""

^
movemenrs"r,n"o"sr.{'il1".ffTffi

Anorher painring
Meng chiang_n

(see

Figure nl o.oi",r
4a,

PuPpets housed

ifi'"r,'ffi +:l:
rhe rare

ii"r,". f.o-

atso,pop;rr;; ,rr,_hu"rg.

The

of rhe heroine
pi*ure. whjch is

i:*ffi i?iiff:::r::*that' jn these twopoint"a ,i*,,', ,i*],,"o on,n"

instances,
o"io"''s

pictures served

",

;;;;;;":i"nd

orlf.-"::

the

*fu*r**rqaia*ffi 'i{*,iffi

peepshow u-oarrrt.d',
i m pr,e d
i
:T
the showmn unwilting

*,-,

peepshow, he

J ro). or.,
i l,il i,l:l: :,""
u
; ;v"r nornr!
rcitation.
,;;;;:;"1::l'-i*"

cr.,r".lyT,,lt:l:td""

5"

was
his puppers or picures
in favor of the

;ii*ru:r*:',-"ifl '*'iTii':'t''""*'in'n"i"**o
and in the enterrainSirs
o".r.r"ih:i:]:
"ffi :l';';:'i:11i,:.i:,:"T:::i:':;i,J,''i":l
;;'.i'

'Inent centers-orthe norrh

:::'fta1dr'io*)fri::i;:1;,'J:ji'
would sing *r,ii" o"uting

."1

;J ;;

offered fuller commen.tarie

;.";i::.,Tt
prose
manipulaled
explanations as rhey
a pointer nside
the b;:i"e :h
sang and narrated
in prose.

l5

chinese peepshows came in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

Regardress of

it is curious that not onry is the technique simIar to the

Iranian shahr-i farang but the names in both cases make expricit
reference to
the foreign (hence marvellous) origj,n of the pict ,.T,s. (see Chapter
their appearance,

5).

The czech scholar and sinoogist iJaroslav prrek h"

krro*l"ds. opictrr.estorytelling in china d uring the secnd world w# After a br;efiscussion

of

pien-wen and pien-hsiang as narrative and illustration, he asks

the questions,
"was not the same method used, perhaps, in the narration of historicar
tares?

Did the storyteller perhaps show pictures to which he gave a commentary?,,

And he answers:

The illustrations in the historical books and perhaps in

others too could have been
the form in which these pictures survived, and when the ilustrations
arso disappeared, the notes to them may have survived in the form
of these summaries of the
action. The term p'ing-hua would then have been very apt
for what the storytelier
was doing,,"
and
The
when
stories

ibtd still

tn

war-55

I consider PrriSek's remarks on this sr4ject brilliantly suggestive and

illuminating. rn 1957, American sinorogistlpatrick Hanan-rt". ,.po., a

picturestoryteller at the Heavenry Bridge (r'n-ch'iao,

]( ffij entertainmenidistrict
in Peking.se His series of pictures was attached to verticar rolers and the
subject was a war, perhaps the Russo-Japanese conflict.
sketchy reports have also been made of an apparentry defunct forrn
of

picture recitation from Fukien province called ;high

ilatform,,

(kao_t,ai

-a). si.r." kao-t'ai perIJrm..s were rast known to b

only in remote
"cii.re
hilly areas, very little information concerning them is available.
ail th"t
be said now of

-uy

kao-t'ai is that it entailed the use of

l4rg9 m{3tiy-g
which were suspended behind rhe storyteller. lt is is inlir-fi"g ilrtC-tfatjsns
-;r" tlr"t
Fukienese historians of the performing arts refer to kao-t'ai as a ,,fossilized,,
form of storytelling, imptying (in accordance with local tradition)
that it was
a very-ear-ly type of narrative recitation.sT

Even

mor rc inrormation on this subject is to be found in Gary

Seaman's 1977 fllms showing chinese hell screens and the dramas
enacted
before them in-la-iwqn.58 These films are important for their documentation
of
the survival in Taiwan of the use of pictures in the performance
of Buddhist
oral narrative. The dramas take place in conjunction with funeral ceremonies

and are performed in front of a temporary altar erected especially

for this

Purpose. The altar consists of hanging narrative picture-scrolls. on the pictures are brief inscriptions in cartouches that describe the scenes depicted.
It
is noteworthy that the dramas enacted are the same as the stories
deiicted on
the hanging scrolls (e.g., the Tng monk Hsan-tsang's pilgrimage
to the west

to retrieve Buddhist scriptures and Maudgaryyana's

passage through the

16

fntroduction

Picture-storyte lling in
Ancient India
TA7
lrtt
V V"

have seen in the Introduction that transformation

performances were a type of picture-storytellin

g, thattheir prosimetric form
and ontological presuppositions point to n Indian
origin, and that they were
normally performed by lay entertainers rather than
monks. \Me must now turn
to an investigation oftheir probable early Indian antecedents.

F' w' Thomas, discussing daily rife under the Mauryas

(325-rg4

B.r.E.

[Before International Era]), indicates that picture-storyteiling was arready

a
common entertainment then: "The king provides
in amphitheatres constructed
for the occasion dramatic, boxing,
oh". contests of men and animars, and
"nd
also spectacles with disprays of pictured
objects of curiosity- no doubt the
priuate showman with his pictures of Hades,-etc.,
.uas arso aitiue-, and not
seldom the streets were righted up for festivals
and it was not penal to stir
abroad." l Let us now see exactry what sort of evidence
for the existence of
picture showmen in earry rndia there is which wourd
ailow Thomas to make
this surmise.
The renowned sixth- or fifth-century B.r.E.
grammarian pnini speaks of the
or images by which one may earn a hJng but not through
sale of them
-o_fj""tr
(v'_3- 99 of his sutras).2 Various commentaries on
the text,

beginning as earry
vmana's Kasika in the seventh century, generaily
ih"t pinini was
"gr."
referring to images of gods made by a lo* o.a of
rairmns (deuataka).3They
earned their living by carry_ingapicture of the
god siva or so. othe, g'oa t odoor to door and begging from people. The cJmmentaries
make the very fine
point that such pictures had different names when intended
for sale and when
as

used for exhibition, as

in storytelling.

Perhaps the most important reference to storyteiling

with pictures in
ancient India is that in the Mahabhasya of patajali.
rhis work,
u g."-matical treatise, was written sometime between I60
"ro
and r40 B.r.E. The cruciar
passage occurs at 3.r .26, where patajari is discussing
the use of the so_called
historical present.a rn such sentences s "He has Kamsa
kirted (i.e., he narrates
the killing of Kamsa)" and "He has Bali bound
(i.e., he narrates the binding of

l8

Chapter

I
Picture-Storytelling in Ancient

BaIi)"'it is proper to

use the present tense, even though

these events took
place in the remote past, because
the aubhika(,,ilusionists ,,)

and, granthika
("reciters") represent them as actuary
rrupp"rirg in front of the audience.
rn the first prace, what we shourd
.ror.
bring about the kiringof
"on....ring the aubhikais that they

though n *"r" occurring before

the eyes of
the beholders and the binding of Bali
ai though it too we occurring before
,,How
the same eyes.
in respe-ct to the paintings?,, asks patajati.
Kar.nsa as

"[Here too the present is employed.

for] in the pictures one sees the rifting
of the
arm and the falting of the blow
as well as Kamsa being dragged
uborrt.ll-

"How in respect

granthika [Iiteralty,,,binder,,]?,,
(onlv)ro-ora-binaing. whrte they deiineate
rheir destinies

To tihe

r",;li:J::l;':.*
incidenrs",n"oo.",'fjl:no.I:i,:,i"ir*'fi
Therefore'

.J;,1ff t::,::

say 'occurring in the present time'

because ,rr"y
,rrJ r"ilr"" ..utty
appear to be devotees. Some are
devotees of Kamsa and others of
vsudeva. They
also display different corors.
Some have red faces, while others
have
brack ones.,,s
atrapi yukta

katham

I
r ye uad ete obhanik nrnaite pratyaksa,t
Karyzsaln
ghtayanti pratyakaaT c.a Barir-n bandhayanttti
citrequ katham I citreu apy udgunla
nipatita ca prahr driyanre Kamsakasanyai I
ca I granthikeru i*n- yliro
mo_
gaQumatrar4 raksyate t,e
hi tra- uipoiprabhyty a uinaad
I
_'pi
Tddhtr uyacaksana
sato buddhiuiayan prakayanti
| ta ca sato uyamir hi dyyante I kecit Kam_
sabhakt bhauanti keci.d Vasudeuabhakth
I uamanyatuam khalu ,r,
Orr'rrr, Ti!*
raktamukha bhauanti kecit katamukhah.c
Heinrich Lders was of the opinion,
and went far toward proving, that
this
from the Mahabhasya on saubhika incruded
a r.fr.nc.?o pi"trr..
showmen or, more particurarry, to
shadow prayers.T He arso tried to
show that
these representations were uriimatery
retaied'to the ancient origin of Indian
drama proper' A. B. Keith, howev".,
took vehement exception to Lders,
views on,the subject, trling to estabrish
an origin for rndian theater more
akin
to that of Greek drama.s yet neither
are the da's of Keith,s highry
technical
argument concerning this particular
passage clear nor is rris cciu*.,
vincing' what is more, the research
"orr_
of tlr.iu., majority of reputabre author_
ities (e'g', Albrecht weber, Arfred
Hilebrandt, Moriz winternitz, Richard
Pischel, Ananda
passage

Coon

wh'e
dirrering. on o
"i"u',
There has been a tremendous amount
"T; "ifi1e,
of controversy on
whether saubhika

*piii1iJ;ii",ff

i.i:. i

were picture showmen^or shadow

players. Arguments

on this point are

unnecessary' however, for they
have been both. There is a close
-"y*"rt
relationship between the techniques
ofpicture recitation and shadow prays.
This is borne out by abundant evidenc
presented in other chapters

of this
book, particularry those on rndonesia
and odern rndia (see chapters 3
and 4).
Asian folk entertainers, furthermore,
often speciarized (and st'r do) in severar

India

19

closely related genres. Hence Lders' scholarly efforts to prove that the word
Saubhikainthe Mahabhaqyapassage under consideration refers to the shadow

play may also, with appropriate modifications and provisos, be used to

document the early existence of picture-storytelling. In my estimation, Lders
in stressing too heavily that the type of illustrated narration
Patajali described was necessarily the shadow play. Similarly, K. M. Varma is
has perhaps erred

in claiming that Saubhika were puppeteers. Winternitz's

opinion that picture reciters were meant seems more judicious, especially in
unduly definite

ight of the mention of citra ("picture"). Indeed, there is now sufficient

evidence available to demonstrate conclusively that some aubhika wee
definitely picture showmen or that they at least performed in concert with the
latter.
We may begin with a brief discussion of the etymology of the word aubhika
and its cognates in other languages. In Pli, the equivalent term is sobhiya,
"a sort of magician or trickster; clown."r0 The Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit
equivaent for aubhika is obhika, which Edgerton quite correctly defines as
"shadow-playman." 1r In his Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Monier-Williams
ctes saubhika, " a juggler [i.e., an illusionist]" and indicates that it is related to
aubhilca, which he says is a kind of actor.r2 Sobhanika, likewise a kind of
actor, is obviously also related to this group of words. All of them go back to
a root Subh, "to appear; flash; flit; shine; look like; adorn." t:
The word saubhikaf Sobhika occurs in tlne Mahauastu, tlne oldest Buddhist
Hybrid Sanskrit text (some portions date to the second century s.r.. while
other may be as late as the fourth century r.r.) among a list of entertainers who
came to see the Buddha when he paid a visit to Kapilavastu. As translated by
J. J. Jones, the list reads: "All the musicians were there, namely, jugglers,
court bards, actors, dancers, athletes, wresters, tambourine-players, clowns
[(?) --r picture storytellers, Sobhika], tumblers, tam-tam players, buffoons,
duistualas, reciters, pacaua(ukas, singers, dancers, comedians, performers on
the drum, trumpet, tabour, kettle-drum, cymbal, flute, and the guitar and the
lute-all gathered at the palace gate." ralnorder to understand more precisely
the types of performers with whom th e obhika is classed in the M havastu, the
following enumeration and commentary are valuable:
Category I.

The

gandharvikc (musicians and players on various musical instruments):

1. chakrika (the discus-holders or wheel-players, who exhibit tricks by discus or

wheel);
vaitIika (the court-minstrels whose duty is to awaken kings, princes, or chiefs
at dawn with music and song);
3. nala (the actors or gesticulators);
4- narttaka (the dancers);
5. rilla (the players ofa particular instrument; or cymbai-players, prize-fighters;
drummers, if the reading be jhalla);
6. malla (the athletes, wrestlers, performers of gymnastic exercises);

2.

7. p4i_suarika or

Picture-Storytelling in Ancient

o,

.;;;o::::,;,i,::,"i:i!!,:';Aii",:j:,::,::"i"il:umen,s,hrough
';::::" !;i:iij,"i*g.o1.,,i#'i;ire11 rbr which the commenraror
e ta nghik a,*_ o;,,ilir:i:
.; ;",;; :;;,*
mounting exercjses by means
i: i;:;:*x}
of bamboos
Jr,-a .op"r;,
".
'" :T::3:;:ika (has ih" *o.d ";;; io ao *it prayers wirh jars and

'

" T:::i:;izf;i*;::: li T"o"l'"' hanging, or osciriaring exercises; ir rhe

12 duis,at-a.bhr,t*I{!:"2"::J:

:
i:^

;j*,i::,;:,,,i::);,_"",rir,"r,,
;;;ffi;'
* ov ",,.,","g il,;;.;;",
;'.:::;'fi*:'

'##:W;l'";p"-h"p'

plavers plaving with nve

young chaps);

"

'"

15. bharlQauika (players

v' ua uurudr
musical instrument
r --e of
rnsf,rument c,called bharlQa,
or those given to
buffooneriesi

r6'

_
'

17

bhert-amkha-mridairya-patahika

(music-prayers
r--r -^- through kettre_drums, conches
or trumpets, tabors, and
war_drums);
teava-panaua-uer1u-uarar"t-e*aasirt
a-udatca
[prayers on the musicar in_
srrumenrs calle d turlaua

(mean,"g ,Or;..i ,l)

(nuresorpipu.irtorr_i,u,"or,,.!i,$il;;;1llil,iX??;J:

i:'i?":i:^r"::'(the

ramous

t"ioi-ti,.;

and manv other udyaka

)

n gu1,u**(;.;;;;',:rTii;o*l

19. .arjdauika (the performer

of tndauar franric

ll "!re might say: 'whereas some recruses and Brahmans, whire

living on fbod
provided by the faithfur, continue addicted to
the injury of seedrings and growing
plants whether propaged_from roots or cuttings
orjoints or buddings or seedsGotama the recruse hords aroof from such
rnjury to seedrings arrd g.oi,irrg plants.,
tz "!rle might say: 'Whereas some recl,rJes nd srahma;s, whe
,ivirig on food
provided by the faithfur, continue addicted to
the use of things stored up; tores, to
wit, of foods, drinks, clorhing, equipages, bedding,
p.rf.,,o, and cuy_stuffs_

Gotama the recluse holds aloof

(6) Hand music (pnis saram).

"li:ff":r:jiiJJr*
:.'if;#*:.',::f ::i''J:;':;:::#"!"'?'ulil,r."^;1li:i',".ff
tambours and tambourines
and ail kinds of
song well executed' musical

instrumenrs and
; ff:
"Jumpers and wrestlers
o u." here, and a sight of jugglers
literaily,

gongs, behoid created

;:i:1,.',Ti:::

;,

uv n

' "" iu iv a1 una.v,i u". a[more

"

u".

".,,

Here there

is no question about
what sort of showmen thrhp
6n",t t;t-- _._e Saubhika
were. since
they are matc hei wtti-mayakra.
This latte, a".."-"t
rn dian dramaturgy
wir, ir,"

_*",

"s

4i,s"

"

:i."jj:: i"i

stored up.,

(7) The chanring of bards (uetalam).

(8) Tam-tam playing (kumbhathunam).

{9) rairy scenes [picture_sroryteliing ( sobhanagarakam).

.
(10) Acrobaric feats by Kandlas
XanaU_ua*ra dhopanam).

(ll)

#:::]

Combatsofelephants,horses,buffaloes,bulls,goats,rams,cocks,andquails.

(12) Bouts at quarterstaff, boxing, wrestling.

(]l-^t9; Sham-fights, rolr-cails,
-rno..rrr."i.eviews-Gotama the recruse hords
aloof from visiting such shows.,,, 18

abour former incarnations

of the Buddha known as

"Cymbals, and lutes

fro- ,rr.h use of things

13. "ore might say: 'whereas some recruses

and Brahmans, *il" rrrirrg on food
provided by the faithful, continue addicted to
visiting shows, that is to say,
(l) Naurch dances (nakkarn).
(2) Singing of songs (gxtam).
(3) Instrumental music (uaditam).
(a) Shows at fairs (pekham).
(5) Ballad recirations (akkhanam).

gonik (harrots or courtesans

who used to attend these
parties ofmusicians).rs

"See drums and tal

cymbats, creared t;;;lrli"ti"nchs'

2I

the treatise on the art of the theater,

the Nat-yaiastra, attributed to Bharatamuni, 23' 2o9-2ro: "one shourd rerease
missires on the stage with skill or with
skill and cleverness
[mayakytena].', v
A cognate or aubhika is arso to be found in
the foilowing rist ofentertain_
ments from the pti text entitred Brahma-jara
sutta, u,.d.erthe section entitled
"Minor Details of Mere Morality,,:

"':::?ii:":.;;:;:.1;#'"'*ll,i::";::i:il::'in..,,
zt'

India

We see that the sohhanagarakam is here

classed with various types of
prosimetric recitation (akkhanary cf. Sanskrit
akhyana,,,story,,),ro.rgiurr..,
and other performances. oto Franke, it
o,rgt *.iitni iJrg ugo u,
i:i"^b*t^:r,
l913' offers much information on how to interpret
this difficult word.re He
begins

by listing some of the variants (sobhanakarakaqn,

sobhanakarakam,

sobhanagaraqtam, sobhanakam' sobhanagry,

sobharyakaraan), thenproceeds to
the early notion that it had som*ething to do
with ,cerre, oi the city of
leflate

Gandharva' He cites

a pri

commentary ihat rinks sobhanagarakam and

patibhanacittarTt, a word. that obviously
hs to do with pictures on cloth to be
used in connection with recitation. In
one text, patibhanacittarp occurs in a
context which shows that it has crowd-gathering
power. Franke fina'y refers
to the Jtaka text just discussed and
p-oi.rts out that, as the word sobhanagarakary occurs here in the Brahma-jara
sutta, so
close

does sobhiyaoccur there

juxtaposition with vetata (sanikrit and pli

for "demon[-bardr,,).

it

in

re-

22

Chapter

Picture-Storytelling in Ancient

mains only to mention in regard to this

passage from th e Brahma-jara sutta that
Gautama stayed away from such actiirities.
The implication is not that all
people should avoid attendance at such

the community should.

on it.

r,r-"":',::it;i:ffii'?"Tif,:

The final passage containing a reference to aubhika that I should like to

discuss is found in tlne Silcsasamuccaya, a compendium of Mahyna Buddhist

somadeva stri's tenth-century commentary

on the word. saubhika in the
Ntivakya (55) makes it virtually certain
that we are here dealing with the ancestor of both rndonesian wayang bbr
and chinese transformation scrolls.2'
My crude translation is as fonows: "one who
disptays at night various sorts of
individuar beings by means of a screen made
up of sticks and cloth,, (KapayarTt
krldapatavara4ena,ndnuidhanmarup
adar). It is arso worth remembering
that the word pat, riteralry, "[parntini
on a] crorh," figures in rhis definirion

doctrine dating to around the seventh century. As translated by Cecil Bendall

and W. H. D. Rouse, the passage-which deals with the abitities and good
works of holy beings who remain on earth to help save sentient beings-reads
as follows:
By miracles manifesting the supernatural power of the Tathgata, by their power
over form on all sides, they convert all beings by transfomation that comes from
their supernatural power. They walk the earth working the world's good by all
kinds of ways and means; like a lotus unsoiled in the water they go doing pleasant
and gracious things; they are poets and kings of poets, they are actors and dancers,
musicians and wrestlers, fakeers, cleaners[?(a mistranslation of obhika in tlne
Sanskrit text)], dancers, robbers[?], jugglers [i.e., illusionists], showing these many
shapes, they become villagers, guides, and charioteers, they become traders, merchants, householders, kings, courtiers, chaplains, messengers, learned physicians,
men versed in the scriptures; they become great trees in the forest, herbs, treasures
of immortai jewels, the wishing-gem, trees that give all desires, guides to those that

because, as we shar see in chpter

sl tts the desrgntion used for picture_
storytelling in many modern rndian languages.
And we shall see later in this
chapter that it forms a part of the sanskJt
word for picture-storyterling of the

horrors ofhell.

rn the medieval sectarian

monastic rures known as the Murasaruastiua_

dauinaya (a5), there i1..a__sentence that
may be used to demonstra te that, in
at least one case, p,u ffi (titeraily, ,,spread.i,
or ,,layout,,_the numer ary ad._
junct or classifier forpien-hsiang["transformation
tabreaux,,])means precisely
pat' The chinese transration says "you may
paint one hyut of a Buddha
image and send it ro rhar king,;zt (El-f,fr

go astray.28

@- AW.. ihe sansk.tt

original reads "send as a gift an image of
the Tathgat" fJ.a on crorh.,,
(Tathagatapratimam pate likhapayitv prbhrtam
ouprraya.r] it i, _ort
interesting that what was a noun in sanskrit
has become
nu^.r^ryadjunct
in chinese even rhough the overat meaning
^
of the senten; *;;;;""d
fairry
literally.
The Sanskrit word pat.may originally have
had a non_Aryan

compare/ for example, Tamll puttam

(,,cloth,,) and Telugu
particular kind of cotto n croth").24 Th
usuar chinese

The corresponding Chinese text, while written entirely in heptasylabic verse

and not a literal translation, actually follows the Sanskrit fairly faithfully.2s By
now giving the original sanskrit and citing the equivalent Tibetan translation,

I would like to focus on the particular line in this

passage that contains the

important word iobhika.3o The order of pythu and rupa in the Sanskrit text has
been reversed to match the Tibetan. Since the Chinese is not an exact rendering, it has been impossible to make explicit correspondences in all cases.
In spite of the obvious difficulty of the passage (printed onp.24), it is clear
that obhika appears here in company with various types of showmen, in
particuar those who create appearances.
There was also a class of performer known as aindrajalika ("magician,"
Iisted as a synonym of Saubhika in the ca. twelfth-century Buddhist dictionary
of Purusottamadeva entitled Harauali) who were illusionists.3s They were
nomadic puppeteers and magicians who performed acrobatic feats as well. The
Gupta king Harsa, who assumed the throne in 6O6, described a performance of
an aindrajalika in the fourth act ofhis play Ratnavall.36 As described by Harsa,
the aindrajalika was a conjuror who carried a bunch of peacock feathers
(picchika)as his attribute. The feathers may have been used to point at various
scenes on narrative pictures.
Although this is not the place to go into arry great detail regarding the
evidence presented, I believe that the studies of Winternitz, Hillebrandt,
Lders, Konow, Jacob, and especially pischel have proven beyond the shadow

source;

porn,iiao*u q,,^
tralshieratio n forpat(a)

ff t ("woven clotf sitk,,). In Newari (the language of larg.

3r
f.oporrion
of the inhabirants of rhe
vaily, Nepal), the "
is

pa'ubha'25

]<alhmandu
In Tibetan Tantric
Buddhism, the"equivaren t

ras ri mo ("design on cotton").26 These

and relaied
mean "freligious icon, often with narrative

croth."

rhii

*orjfo.

pa(a) is

of pat(a) is ras bris or

*o.d, i'oth. h.rgrrrg., utt

co

is preciserv the meaning

23

And I have already shown in the Introduction that indirect evidence for Sung
picture-storytelling indicates that one layout could have more than one scene

sh

sionar who is supported bv raithrur

India

,^iit;ffi:i1i ff"i,,17

appear in popular Buddhist contexts. "t

It has been estabrished firmry that there could
be several scenes on one
p'u'zt This

is in perfect u..o.i with what is known

of rerigious picturestorytelling from other rndian and rndian-infruenced
tradition; That a single
or "setup" (i'e-, p'u $H) courd have more
than one scene is indicated
by examination of the illustrate sriputra
scrot (p4524) which, even in its
present
"'layout"fragmented condition, has six. we shail arso see that centrar Asian

wall-paintings clearly demonstrate that

one pacould have at least four scenes.

l-"-

Sanskrit:

utlcuta

iobhika

English translation
of Sanskrit:

walking on tiptoes
or heels3l

picture showman
or storyteller

Tibetan:

bshugs'

mdze.s.

rg)tan

English translation
of Tibetan:

phreh

thogs.

sit(ting)

fair; handsome;

decorate;

beautiful32

string; thread;

ornament,
decoration

carrying

Chinese

lfi#i"

ry#

English translation
of Chinese:

turning; revolving

a necklace

haraka

precious stones;
things strung
together:a

adornment;
ornament

mayakara

roa

prthu

English translation
of Sanskrit:

making illusions

form

many;

Tibetan:

sgya.ma'mkhan.po

English translation
of Tibetan:

illusion master

English translation
of Chinese:

dancing

stn' gar.byed
and dance_doing

rffiffi
of

Sanskrit:

Chinese:

nytya

bearer; gambler

Szugs

man

form; statue;

manv;

various

Ek7

.rE

#t3

like an illusion

form

many;

dance

dar[an]i

all

showing; dispaying

kun

du

various

all; pervading

[accusativemarker] showing

various

all

drama

and

various types of
entertainments

ni

dait

stun

ffi
displaying, manifesting

Sgl lgr l

q;l*e

i l lg [

iIr
l *-

i1i1ii[

r-l

I
(h

|-l

rl
0a

g|[rt

N)

26

Chapter

Picture-Storytelling in Ancient India

It is significant in terms of showing social standing that the words of the

song that Nipunaka sings are in the vernacular Prakrit:
Panamaha Jamassa calarye
kirn kajjam deuaehi annehim
Eso khu annabhattanam
harai

jiam

caQapaQantam ll

Bow down at the feet of Yama,

No use, bowing to all gods but Yama.
Know ye, oh men of Yama,
He visibly killeth, the unrelenting god,
Devotees of gods other than Yama.

The more highly iterary Sanskrit equivalent would be

Praltarnahi Yamasya carane,
kir.n karyarTt daiuatair anyai
khalu anyabhaktanam
harati juam parisphutantam ll
|

E qa

After the spy has completed his mission, he reports to Cnakya: "spreading
out the Yama scroll,
gldaim gaidum)."

commenced my ballad (jamapadarp pasaria priuttohmi

This tradition of picture-storytelling about hell has continued into this very
century. But, in his Beast and Man in India, John Lockwood Kipling rernarked
on the degenerate state of yamapattaka inthe late nineteenth century:
One of the most popular pictures sold at fairs is a composition known as D armraj,

of Yama lsicl, the Hindu Pluto, and also used broadly for justice. The judge
is enthroned and demon executioners bring the dead to receive their doom. The
river of death flows on one side of the picture and those go safely across who hold
a cow by the tail, while others are torn by terrible fishes. Citragupt, the clerk or
recording angel of Yama, consdered to be the ancestor o tine Kayasth or clerkly
caste, sits in an office with account books exactly like those ofa Hindu tradesman,
a name

and according to the record ofeach soui, punishments or rewards are given. For, as
a popular native saying has it,-"God looks out of the window of heaven and keeps
acco\tr't." Duts or executioners torture offenders, while the blest sail upwards in airborne chariots.a5

References to spies adopting the guise of picture showmen in order to

facilitate their movements can be found in even earier literature than
Mudrarksasd. There is, in fact, a description of such a ploy in Kautiiya's
famous handbook of politics and economics called ArthaSastra (ca. 32r to 296
B.I.E.). As translated by Shamasastry, the relevant passage from Book 7,
Chapter 17 (entited "Making Peace and Breaking It"), reads thus:

21

Whoever is rising in power may break the agreement of peace. Carpenters, and
other spies, attending upon the prince (kept as a hostage) and doing work under the
enemy. may take away the prince at night through an underground tunnel dug for
the purpose. Dancers, actors, singers, players on musical instruments, buffoons,
court-bards, swimmers, and saubhikas(?), previously set about the enemy, may
continue under his service and may indirectly serve the prince. They should have
the privilege of entering into, staying in and going out of, the palace at any time
without rule. The prince may therefore get out at night disguised as any one ofthe
above spies.a6

Following Johann Meyer's German translation, I would prefer to render

"swimmers" as "ropedancers" and "saubhikas" as "conjurors," "illusionists," or'"picture showmen." a7 Regardless of the difficulties in understanding
individual words in this passage, there can be no question whatsoever that
aubhika were understood by Kautilya to be entertainers and that they were
employable as spies.
The Jains believe that the father of the leader of the rvikas (an ascetic,
unorthodox sect that arose about the same time as Jainism and Buddhism),
Gola Mankhaliputra (d. 493 B.I.E.[?]), was an itinerant picture showman.as
As interpreted by the Jains, the name literally means "He who was born in a
cowshed, the son of a wandering beggar and picture showman." Mahka (or
nakha, as they are sometimes called) were wandering ascetics who showed
pictures of suffering in hell and told stories about them. They are mentioned
in Jain texts with other entertainers such as actors, dancers, storytellers, and
so on.4s Tlne Antagada-dasao (date unknown), for example, lists actors, dancers, rope-walkers, wrestlers, boxers, jesters, reciters, jumpers, ballad-singers
llasagal, story-tellers, pole-dancers, picture-showmenmahk], pipers, luteplayers, and clappers.so The Aupapatika-sutra (third to fifth centuries[?])

mentions mahkha together

with

dancers, actors, rope-dancers, wrestlers,

or buffoons, fortune-tellers,
acrobats, musicians, attendants, and bards (magaha).sl Hemacandra (1088Il72) Iater defined ma'hkha as magaha, but since both of these occur in the
Aupapatika-sutra list, we know that they were not identical.52 Be that as it
may, these environments parallel exactly those in which iaubhia are found.
The reasoning behind the Jain interpretation of Go6la Malkhaliputra's
name is given in the Bhagavatt-sutra, which dates, perhaPs, from as early as
the third century B.I.E. but no later than the end of the fifth century t.r.s3
Following the original form of manuscript pagination, the passage is found in
I 5., Ieaves 1204-1205;

jumpers, mimes, storytelers, ballad-singers

mar.nkha, known by the name of Mamkhali, was GosIa's father.... Then it

happened that while, on a certain occasion, Mar.nkhali-Mamkha travelled from
village to village, wandering about hither and thither, together with his wife, who
was blessed with maternity, dressing himseif in the garb of a mamkha with a pictureboard in his hands, he wended his way toward the place where the cow-pen of the

Picture-Storytelling in Ancient India

Brahmin Gobahula
,hrowing

"*

k;;;;J;:dil:;:.::T #;:;Ji:T",1::::.;::i"*,

"^iil'o',,f"i;#:t:l:'*'*

MarTtkhatinamarp

pita hottha.... raenarz

se

Y:;:#i;;:;;-:#;#;',:::;':":::;;:;:::#':,:::;?:'#iJM
The account goes on to say
how he went from house to house
cotecting arms
and named his son ,,Cow?en_m"",,
ta.lii"i because he was born there. The
Bhagavatt-sutra

(r5.1, r"f tzoo)rt'rroilry

craims that Gola,s father,

Mankhali' was a picture-storytelier
by p.of"rsion but that Go6ra himserf

adopted the same profession

own decisions. The crr

*h.n

rr" g."'*1o manhood and courd

make his

exrr2ctsa,msby*,Jpi"1i::i:iiif
was, however, not
(

":?f;f;"":;*::::n,#

firmly estabrished untit the composition

of the Sanskrit ika
"commenrary,') on thi nhagauatl_stra,ioOn"y"
,,^Deva (ca. ,oto.r-.^'
A. F. Rudolf Hoernle, in his translation

of

the uuasagadasao (,,the ten

date but con_
taining parts that go back at reast
to the first century r.E.), cites the
Sanskrit
commentary on the word mahkha
which sta
[chapters on the duties] of the ray

Jain"rr"."",,,-of uncertain

uyagrakara-bhiksu-uiesa,a,,kindof

beggarrJ"ir:r'r".:::iii::l:::ft

charitable by showing them

picture, o?'"trt", which he carries
about with
him' " Hoernre goes o' to ,ry
7h^t "rnthe present day in Bengar
such
beggars
usually carry smat pictures or representaiio.r,
of such deities as shtata, the
goddess of small-pox, or otabtbI,,rt"
goaa"r,
pictures of Jagannth, and greatry"pester "cholera, "t.. r'r*i tt .y.u..y
it prtg.i-, to that shrine.,,57
Hoernle further mentions thal
the *opno *u, " p".ror, of very
low caste.ss
The Jain penchant for the
of prctures n" rerigious discourse
1se
was st'r
prominent in 779 t.r. when uddyotaia-Suri
wrote his Kuuarayamari, u tong
prosimetric novel in prakrit, at.Jabaripura
(Jabor) in Rajasthan."rori-.-*rn
y_
ninth chapter thereof, he describes
u" aui*" scro, painting on cloth
cared
the samsara-cakra-paa ("croth[-pain,t"g]-"n"
cycre of Transmigration,,,
which might well have bee.,
vvv' ruqsrcq
.eie.e nro
,-;i. unrnese
l
as ffi_) and its
mode of use:

"In the country of

known for its dresses and de2a-bha;al

ruled a mighty king, Sirirha by
[diarectsr, there
name, of*i.l""nnu,
have beenrhe eldst son,
addicted rather too much to
painting. o""
, ,"".her showed me a painted scro,
presenting what he caried the

;1i:"i:rj*;l*r,
m e

rir

on

e,

L|,a'

sairs-ra-cakra nd depicting
ari that was there on the

out wirh a stick that the.vrious..gio.,,

",, 0,",,, *, i,,lll,:il

, ;: i:

;:i

_...

i,.n,

**:l;

i,;
rr,.
subhuman being' and with
prenty of merit and a iittre sin one
is born as a man:
everywhere' however, there is
-ise.y. a king with great sin to his credit goes to heri.
A king with hunting paraphernalia
*."1 ,i". ,i.r. *u, u thief suffering awfully
""ry
as a

29

for his deeds. The cultivators were ill treating the beasts of burden and causing
injury to one-sensed beings; and they arone had to suffer for their sins. one carried
only puryya lmerir] and ppa [sin] wirh him, and left everything behind, on rhe eve
ofdeath. Young men enjoyed various pleasures, and they were painted on the scro[.
Similarly, men in various professions and positions, proud of this and that, were
depicted, with the consequences of their acts etc. In the subhuman world there were
the various beasts and birds, killing each other. Then there were painted the scenes
in hells, and also those in heavens. Lastly, there was the picture ofLiberation which
is characterised by eternal bliss. . . . when he unfolded the scenes of this Sarhsracakra, I could realize the despicable character ofthe worldly life; and I told him that
he must be a god or so coming from heaven, with this scroll, having some definite
purpose in mind. Then there was another picture the details of which he explained
thus: 'Here in the town of Camp ruled the king, Mahratha. Dhanadatta was a rich
merchant; from his wife Dev he had two sons: Kulamitra and Dhanamitra. soon after
their birth, the father died; and the mother urged them to do some business and earn
their living. They practised varied professions and tried their hands at different arts
and crafts; but they proved failures everywhere, with no earnings to their credit.
They decided, at last, to commit suicide; and when they were about to jump down
a mountain peak, a divine voice prevented them from being rash. It was the
admonition of a great saint in the vicinity who knew their plight and who advised
them sympathetically to take to renunciation, so that they would never be born poor
again but would get heavenly happiness and liberation. Both of them entered the
order, practised austerities, and were born in heaven. Thence one was born as
Bhnu, the son ofSirirha, i.e., yourself; and I, the teacher or painter, am the second.
I have come here to enlighten you.' Hearing this, I, Bhnukumra, fell into a swoon,
and on coming to my senses, found in that teacher a brilliant god who reminded me
of our earlier births and urged me to accept renunciation with a view to attaining
eternal bliss. on hearing this, I pulled out five handfuls ofhair, received the ascetic,s
equipment (rayahararla, muhapottiya, and paQiggahal, and left the park to the
great consternation of my friends etc. who rushed to the king. The god brought
me here." The prince appreciated his autobiography and his obliging brother.
Mahendrakumra accepted samyaktva
[perfection] which grew more and more
firm.se

By the time this novel was written, picture explanation was apparently no
onger solely a low-caste occupation. Note that in uddyotana-suri's descrip-

tion of the painting, there is little indication of a connected narrative. This

would have made it less appropriate as a device for entertaining others and
begging from them.
Yet there is very strong evidence in the vaddaradhane, an early tenthcentury collection of Kannada stories attributed to Sivaktycrya, that
picture-storyteling was still enormously popular in the marketplace. There
we read of a Brahman named soma6arm who is taking his daughter, NgarL
to renounce the vows she had made to a Jain teacher. on the way, they see a
man being led to the stake, and Ngari asks her father why. Somaarm
consults the city-guard and then tells his daughter that the man who is going to be executed is named Vainayika. His crime was that of depicting three

30

Chaprer I

Picture-Storytelling in Ancient

stories on canvas and conspiring to

stear rice from merchants wh'e tering
- the peopre in the mrket!u".. To give an idea of the types of
stories
'n-"told by picture showmen in ninih-centrr.|
rrrdiu, r quote the three tares of
Vainayika as related by Soma6arm to NagaSri.
rn the town of Kauambi, there was a
rich merchant named Sumitra. one day, his
son Vasumitra had a snake_bite and
was taken to the cemetery, ,,rppor.J
to hu,r.
been dead' But a snake-charmer, Garudanbhi,
promised them to save his rife the
next morning and advised Sumitra to keep
som. g,rurds there till then. The merchant
appointed four guards' At night, u-o.rgrt
th. fo'rr. guards, one store and brought a

sheep' another brought fuer. the thir

brought fire and the fourth, meanwhile,
guarded the body of vasumitra. Ar the
four" baked the sheep and ate it. In
the
morning, Garudanbhi, by his spells, brought
Vasumitra,s body back to life. The
merchant rewarded the fourguards in the
piesence ofmany peopie with four boxes
each containing a thousand dtnras.
one oflhem denied having received such
a box.
The merchant comprained to the King
that a box of his containing a thousa nd,
dmaras
had been srolen. The King. ordered tle
city_guard to find the th-ief. The
_r"-a,
not being able to find out rhe thief, came
hme wirh the four grru.ds urra k.f
hmself
in great distress' His shrewd daughter,
sumati, seeing him in that condition, rearnt
the cause and assured him that se would
find the cuiprit the very next day. That
night she remained by the side ofthe four
guards and narrated thm, ,ro.y,
In the town of ptaliputra there was a mlrchant
sudm. once, as .r,. trt.a. in rhe river
."or;,
crocod'e and appeared for herp to Dhanadatta,
ier maternar uncre,s son, who was on
the bank. He rescued her

ili:iXilJr..,;.:,f:

justwishedrohave,.J:,'l:;i:'::i:i::;i:iJ:*;":

Later, on the day of her wedding. remembering

herpromise, she dressed and was
going at midnight, to her maternal-uncle,s
,o.r,Jrhop, when a thief stopped her and
demanded the ornaments. on her body.
She promis'ed to give them to him after
a
little while, when she had attended to some
rirgent househord business, and asked
him to wait there arone' As she was
warking arg, the city-guard brocked t
*ry
suspecting her to be a base woman. with
".
a simir promise to him, she moved
on,
only to face a demon advancing to swatow
her. uim arso she made tt e r"-" p.o-ir.
and proceeded' The thief, the city-guard
and the demon fotowed her to find
out
about her errand' she went to the shop
where her reratve was sreeping and appeared
before him according to her promise. He
appreciated her honesty and advised her
to
return home immediatery. The three learnithis
from outside and returned quickry
to their respective praces to wait for
her. The bride, while returning. offered
erserf
first to the demon to eat. The demon appreciated
her truthfurness and atowed her
to proceed home without fear. The city-guard
and the thief arso reacted similarly.
The bride, thus, reached home safe. ,;N*,
u_orrgst the four, who is the best?,,
sumati questioned the four guards. one
who traa iirea the sheep said the demon
who had guarded the body of Vasumitra marked
the ciry_guard as
Ti,,l.the best; l:r,,"1.
the fire-bringer xpressed Dhanadatta as
the best; and the rrr.r-u.iig".
stealer of the box of a thousa nd, dtnaras pointed
"rra
to the thief as the best. Then Sumati
was convinced that the last guard was the
curprit and, a littre later, when aII were
asleep, she roused him and tord him in confidece
that she roved. him and that if he

India

31

had gold sufficient to make ornaments for her, she would marry and accompany him.
He, being pleased, took her away and gave her the box with the thousand dlnras.
She made it over to her father, who handed over the box as well as the culprit to the

King.
Narrating such picture tales, O Ngari, Vainayika stole the paddy ofthe listening
sellers. Now I will tell you another story narrated by him:
In the town of Dharmapura, there was a merchant, Ngadatta, who had a servant
named Vainka. One day, as he ploughed a sugar-cane plot, he found hidden wealth
and wished to make it his own. In order to test his wife, he pretended to be pregnant
and told her about his pregnancy on the condition she should not disclose it to
anybody. But she did disclose the strange news, so that all the ladies in the town
came to know it soon.
Then Somaarm told Ngari the third story:
An old woman, Gamhblr, of Haripuri had a daughter named HariTi, who was
married to Vasudatta, a merchant of the town of Jayanta. Harini was pregnant and
longed for sweets. Gambhir prepared some sweets and left for her daughter's town.
On the way she happened to meet eight robbers. To escape from them, she stopped
one of them, pretended that he resembled her own son, who had left home twelve
years back, and then as a mark ofherjoy invited all ofthem to her daughter's house
for dinner and rest for the night. She took them to her daughter's house, arranged
for their bath, had them served with hot gruel, and then raised the alarm from the
top ofthe house crying "Thieves! Thieves!" Alarmed by the treachery ofGambhrr,
all of them ran away. But she, with the conviction that her victims would burgle her
daughter's house that night, kept herselfalert, armed with a sword. The thieves did
come and cut a hole in a waII of the house, and as one of them attempted to enter
through it, the watchful Gambhrr cut off his nose with her sword. He, pretending
difficulty in getting through, cme out and asked a colleague to get in. His nose too
was cut. Thus all of them had their noses cut. Leaving that place, they committed
burglary in the house of a sorcerer, stole his box and carried it to the cemetery. They
also stoie a sheep, which one ofthem killed and started cooking it while the others
siept nearby. The thief, who was cooking, opened the box, found the sorcerer's
robe, mask etc., put them on and stood by the side ofthe fire. The sleeping thieves
awoke, looked at him and, taking him for a demon, rar' away. He, too, taking the
meat followed them in fun. After covering some distance, he threw away the robe
and the mask, gave his identity to his partners and distributed the meat which they
all ate and went ahead together. After some days, Gambhrr started for her home
early in the morning. After covering some distance, she, with fear of robbers,
ciimbed a banyan tree. By this time the same robbers arrived and one of them
climbed the same tree to see if there were any travelers at a distance. He saw the old
woman and enquired who she was. She told him that she was the deity residing in
that tree. He asked her whether she would accept him as his spouse. She agreed to
do so on the condition that he should keep a piece of meat with his tongue in her
mouth. As he did so she strongly bit his tongue and consequently he, raising the
alarm, fell to the ground. Then all of them started running away, whe4 Gambhrr
announced that they should keep in the cavity of the tree the eighth part of each of
their booties; otherwise, she would swallow them. Every day the robbers kept the
eighth part of their booty there and Gambhr secretly came and took it away. Thus
the old woman ruled the band ofrobbers.

pifture
_.lainting
vainayika

ta.les

stole paddy in

paddy as twenty
wl

jii:*-",il,'lf
,,.k

of rhis kjnd on canva:

rn",".u.'rr.:;i

Picture-Storytelling in Ancient

"o

explaining them

,:::.:."j'#.1i*#:,'"',ffi

p;;;)':'sured

corn appeared litrle

in

rhe people,

#jii+:;,iii

o;Jr.':,

.r. th.""
*n.o ri{"' : #j;:::;:.;3:.= o "y, t " s" i,,,i' .,i,",,",",,
,,,:"u,
tn: and compiained to
found out the rreachery
rhe ^-'LL,
;;;;r.tanagara'
of
l,nt
uy wnose order these
the stake.6o
three were being
led
L"g".,l*

to

of
".rton picr ure_srorytei ling with d js
L1"^::"r
types is not
surprisino in lish,r;r
e ;',;
a n d pr a c e
s.
*, _ oi t' s j m ilar descri
pti on s rrom
rr

,,r"t,

p"rro'.-;:";:' thina *:;;;rrJ

enrerrainers and
were
'

:lffl

and cirra("variegared,,,":t^-'i"

;:*'

j:::

rhe Tng period

show thar

hence,

1* : r' r'- p' d,,,m .r

:|;?'1:.:' Buddhaghosa
(fl'

relationsh^if,'0";""'

"picu;ttti ""t*

the Samyutta-nikaya (Kindred

comparison it draws between the work of the painter and

the abirity of the
mind to create illusory worrds. However, r cite here only a brief
portion from
the middle of the discourse that is important because of

written
"o--".rtary
on it to which I shall refer momentarily:
"Brethren, have ye ever seen a picture which they
call a ,show_piece?,,,

rntheAthasa,,r,,iiJ?!.u'rv"'ptiuu;;r",i1'f:Ji:i"t"bvpopurar

*,ff ;'J:',j;i

in

33

Sayings) that dwels on the same ,,master_piece,, or ,,show_piece1,

o which
Buddhaghosa spoke. The passage is interesting, furthermore,
for the explicit

"Yes,

i'J;Ti::1i::

.*

There is a long discourse by the Buddha

India

fourth

n ctu ("consciousness")

lord."

"well, brethren, this so-cailed show-piece

is thought out by mind. wherefore,

brethren, mind is even more diverse than that show_piece.
"wherefore, brethren, again and again must one regard one's own
mind thus: ,For
a long time this mind has been tainted by rust, by hatred,
by irusion.'By a tainted
mind, brethren, beings are tainted. By purity of mind beinls are
-ud" pllr".,,
Dittharyt uo bhikkhaue carar.xat nama cittanti
ll ll
Euam bhante ll ll
Tam pi kho bhikkhaue caranam nma cittam citteneua cintitam
ll tena
khaue caranena cittena cittaeua cittataram
Tasmtiha

ll

pi kho bhik-

ll

bhikkhaue abhikkharyam sarcar.n cittarn pa.cauerckhitabbam

ll nrgharat_
tam idam cittam sankililtham rgena dosena mohentillll cittasampnes
thiklchaue
satt sarpkilissanti cittauodna satta uisujjhanti

ll

1163

Buddhaghosa's commentary on this passage in ]his sarattha-pakasint

explains why these "master-pieces" or "show-pieces" are referred to as
carana
("rambling") by saying rhat
There are Brahmin sectaries whose generar name is Nakha. They
having a (movabre

or portable) pcture-gallery made, roam about with it, exhbiiing the-reupon

(ap-

parently upon the outer faces of the four piece-boards serving as walls)
the various
kinds of representtion of happy or woeful states of existencJ accordig
bad destinies, and causing the labels to be inscribed to the effect:
deed, one attains to this stte." "Having done that, one attains

to good or

"uaviigdne this

to that state.,,Thus
showing different destinies, they wander about with these pictures.oa

This constitutes virtually incontrovertible proof that there were itinerant

picture showmen in Buddhaghosa,s day.
There is also a difficult passage in the pri psalms of the Brethren
(ccLXII,
Tlaputa, II29), which may refer to the same sort of itinerant illusion-maker:
Nay now, thou shall not dupe me as of old
Time after time, again, ever again,
Like mountebank showing his little masque
fcararyika1];
Thou playest guileful tricks with me,
As with a lunatic_
Tell me, my heart, wherein am I at fault?6s

34

Chapter

Barua has summarized and analyzed some of what can be gleaned from the

literature concerning the closely related types of early picture-storytellers

under the following ten headings:

l.

That these sectaries were Brahmins by caste and known by the name of

2-

Nakha;
-rhat they wandered
about in the country, taking with them movable or

3.

portable picture-galleries with pictures drawn and exhibited thereupon;

That they entertained as well as instructed the people with the aid of these

pictorial representations;

4- -rhat they delineated the pictures of destinies after death, of happy or

woeful states of existence in different celestial abodes or infernal regions,
publicly demonstrating the Doctrine of Karma, promulgating the Theory
of Rebirth and proving the existence of paraloka or World_beyond;
separate labels indexing contents of the depicted

5. That they inscribed

scenes;

6.

That painting was just one of the arts whereby they tried to inculcate their
doctrines and secured support ofthe people;

7. "lhat their institution existed also in the time of Buddhaghosa;

8. That there can be no doubt that the Mamkhas [sic] referred to in the
Jaina Bhagavatr-Sutra and its commentaries and the Nakha-Brhmanapsandikas referred to in Buddhaghosa's srattha-paksini were representatives of one and the same institution;

9- That here one may trace the origin and antiquity of the Indian folk-art,
Patacitra, which, as a means of popular instruction, developed side by
side with ballad-recitation and similar art of narration or story-telling.
The subject-matters changed according to exigencies of time and according to needs ofthe teaching to be imparted; and
10. That these pictures contained continous representations of successive
stages in the progress ofa story in order to have a scenic effect.66
There are two passages in the poet Bna's account of King Hara, Hara_
carita, that give a vivid account of picture-storytelling in seventh-century
India. The first is a simie: "Like those who depict infernoes

fyarnapatikahl,
loud singers paint unrealities on the canvas of the air
fambaral.,' z The second
is a full description of a lively street scene, which I shall quote in full:

No sooner had he [Harsa] entered than in t],'e bazaar street amid a great crowd of

inquisitive children he observed an Inferno-showmanlyamapattakal, in whose left

hand was a painted canvas stretched out on a support ofupright rods and showing
the lord of the dead mounted on his dreadful buffalo. wielding a reed-wand
larakandenalin his other hand, he was expounding the features luyatikaraml ofthe

next world, and could be heard to chant the following verse:

Mothers and fathers in thousands, in hundreds

children and wives
Age after age hav{>assed away: whose are they,
and whose art thou?

Picture-Storytelling in Ancient

India

35

Mat-pitr-sahasrar.ti, putra-dr-3atani. ca
Yuge yuge uyatltani, kasya te, kasya ua bhavn?68
I

Here is a real picture showman, one who is not masquerading in that guise as
did the spy in Vikhadatta's Mudrrakss. The performer seems to be
holding a painted canvas in his left hand and pointing to it with a reed wand
hed in the right hand. This would resemble in format the modern Rajasthani
Ramdla type of picture-storytelling (see Chapter 4). C. Sivaramamurti quotes
this passage from the Harsa-carita and remarks that "During temple festivals
in South India there are always picture-showmen who carry yamapals in one
form or another for the amusement of children and their own living." og This
tells us something about the who, what, when, why, and where of yamapata.
All of the available evidence indicates that the situation was not very different
for transformation performances in China.
In the short play Dutavakya that is based on incidents from the Mahabharata, also attributed to Bna, Duryodhana, the enemy of the PTdava
brothers, asks that a citrapata ("painted cloth") be spread out in front ofhim.
On it are depicted ten different scenes that constitute a narrative sequence
dealing with the mistreatment of Draupad wife of the Pndavas, by Duhsana
(a son of Dhrtarstra). Each scene is first described in prose with the following
formula: "This (esa) is [the place/time/scene where/when] XXX [happens]," or
"Here XXX [happens]." This is then folowed by a verse passage emphasizing
some aspect of the scene. The same is then repeated for the next scene.70 The
formal parallels to transformation texts cannot be ignored. Before the verse
sections of transformation texts, there is a consistent formula: "the place

[where] XXX [happens], how shall I present it?" 71

The first act of the [Jttararmacarita (Rama's Later History), written by
Bhavabhti, who flourished in the closing years of the seventh century, is
entitled "Citradar6ana [A Seeing of Pictures]." To divert the mind of the
sorrowing Srt, Laksmana has had an artist (perhaps named Arjuna) paint the
life of Rma, her lord.72 As they observe the pictures (utthicitra), Lakmana
explains them to her.73 Here is a case of the absorption by the elite (if only in
a dramatic setting) of a folk practice.
In the section of the Jain hagiographical text known as tlne Trisastialakpuru;acarita ("Lives of Sixty-Three Excellent Men," written by Hemacandra
at the request of King Kumrapla sometime between 1I60 and ll72)74 dealing
with Rsabha's (the first tlrthalca,hkara ["preparer of the path"]) sixth incarnation, there is a passage in which pictures are similarly used tq{"_94y_t1r_ great _
effect past events in an individual's life (here actually a former life):
One day Srimati had gone to a pleasure-garden, and her nurse, named Pa4dit,
seized a favorable opportunity and spoke to her privately: "You are like my life to
me; I am like your mother. There is no reason for lack ofconfidence between us. TeII

ne, daughter, why you have taken to silence. Make your grief easier by sharing it
with me. When I know your grief, I shall proceed to the business of curing it. For a
treatment of an unknown disease is not right." She then told Pa?dit an exact

alone, poor, pitiable.

Here, I think, my wife also IS falling. Here

I think she ls here. Remembering her former

Hrth she painted that. For i:ertainly one person does n9t know
what has

been exPe-

xhced by another Pal{it agreed, and went to Srimati and told her
everythinga remedy

for healing the arrow-wound ln her heart. 75

have seen ln the Introduction that a similar device

was used to reveal the
of 2n adopted boy tn a popular Chinese play and novel
set ln the Sung
son, who was

In the quasi-historical-biographical

fittingly named Durdnta,

".r.r_t*:r-ffDurdar3ana,s

came rhere.

;il"*x:..iii:l1i:i;*iti
*i'1;i.jl::::ff
for
fainting, afte;e

ful"

".orrrrr. l-lro-ilto"

his

had

birth,and",,n",,rilr",iiL,i:':i,:,,ff

;:l'Til:ii",t

n*ola

**

g*

"p,

;;;;;r rr"r",

Ji;ij,**ffi :f #,n*i
exctry

-vg;;,,. u,nu

agrees

with what is

;r:ttl'*:T,'r.*ir'"'::#ff :l,i;;j:ru'li j:;ittl*

:'J,ffi *ft',:ii'ili'!,ff::iru','1,lir:i:r;
ascetic?"
replied, "I do not u"l"tr-""*"r.',

he
Recognized as a o"..nr.1""
accounroryourr.._Jloffi
and Svayamprabh is
vor" *ir"''o;;;iJ,
Nandigrma'

of_karma she
a tr*.'girt i'
she painred her own
rife and
I went to otrr.*""Jal have searched for you out of
as she is. So,
""_;;;;;"T"uikha4rda. I shall lead'you to her
*r"*o"i"r.i:::::?

From recolectio.,

gave me the canvas when

compassion for her, lame

Presence. piriable

t"

j*;
"::'H'i,:l-*;l*;::*
is

ort". ro]"*1.irrn,

i,r"o.*.'ii"";r"1"".,*:J,,:i:,i,ffi

i:,".#**:i*ru:

{{:ii:,'i:,:'*l#::.i'"111i:,i1ry'..*,'r.i"oa"r,*"o
;;,"#'I,ffi:::
;,;#:3;*r':"'1.":;;:i:i::ff
r, (looking) like a

sale, went

piece ofgoods that has

been left after

elsewhere.

Lohrgara, say the evenrs

painred in the
,'Jff;':#::;:-1:-:l'ju,
with fans, sprinkled wirh
warer,

tion of his former birrh

,ned

n","i". *iu*_

tri;xi:;r,i[::"',-;;iii.iffi i,l]iitii:']*;t
madam when r ,"* it, i
rui.,t" d;, ;;;*iri::.":i _ru"Ti:::
?fJ""r:;

Srrprabha.

Here am I named Lalitnga,

ohtakikhanda, having
"* i _", *rr., Svayamprabh. fr..e i'
a.r".rro.a ii N.rri;;*".,
named Nirnmik, was
m rhe house of a poor man'
born
Here she has ;";.;
Mt. Ambarar'aka and begun
,,* .
myserr to her she died
".."
Here in *""0u"" t
engaged t',
Tt.
rere, going from there
to other

:Xi:T:r':ii.'; ;::11"

i'

**,rtppt,g*;:t:.t;#":

g.*

"-

Jain work Prabandhacintamani,

ln 306, there are men"
pratimdhritl ("those who carry pictures") 76 have
not been able to
nd any additional references to this particular type of performer
and so
nnot describe them ln greater detail.
Fron a Passage ln the ancient epic Mahabharata, ir
ts apparent that entertainers like aubhika and puppet-players generally
had an abyssmall low
v
eocial position ln early India:
Stories), completed by Merutunga

"'Parara[i.e., parara] said,-rn the Brhmana,

wealth acquired by acceptance of
gifts, in rhe Ksharriya tha-, won by victory in battre,
in the iaiya tt ouinea uy
following the duties laid down for his order, and in
the cudra th earned by serving
the tbee other orders, however sma'its measure,
is worthy of praise, and"spent for
"cudra
the aquisition of virtue is producrive of great
benefits. rhe
[i.e., sdrJ is said
to be the constant servitor ofthe three ther classes.
Ifthe Brhmana, pressed for a
Iiving, betakes himselfto the duties ofeither the Kshatriya
or
f:ll off from righteousness. when, however, the Brhmana the vaiya, he does not
betakes himserf to the
duties of the lowest order, then does he certainly
fat off. when the cudra is unabre
to obtain his riving by service ofthe three othertrders,
then trade, rearing ofcattre,
and the practice of the mechanicar arts are lawful
for him to forow. App'raror*

the boards of a theatre and disguising oneserf

in uarious
sale ofspirits and meat, and trading in iron

on

forms, exhibition ofuppets, the

iut*

and reather, shourd ,r..r". b

rrp ro.
Purposes of living by one who had never before been engaged in those
professions
every one of which is regarded as censurable in
the world. It hath been rieard by us
tat if one engaged in them can abandon them,
one then acquires great merit., ,,77

Later, when we discuss the social position of

modern Indian picture showmen,

it will

be helpful to keep this passage

in mind.

"

RUSSIA

Karakorum

MONGOLIA

SINKIANG

CHINA

TIBET
-.,

MONGOLIA

mop area

o Sngim

"

a
Kucha

Gobi Desert

Toklqmqkon Desert

1'
,.J:^

HIN

Khotan

CENTRAL ASIA
A

TIBET

t'

rrl
T-fl--

150

300 krn
''

100

200

,'d

300 mi

'f+
ld rJ
HYr
J

uit,
ii*

,'

ffici ffi

i[

ssigi i ii

r
}o lJ
r,F+Fr

F{

ss8

\o

ii iil
+;+ i[s f*ii

''

v)o

lt tg

f+'

3
EF{ N)
ql
ct
JHir

llo

Fo

I rr

40

Chapter 2

Transmission through Central

Iranian sounds with enthusiasm and broke fvar. analyzed them into [equivalent]
Chinese meanings. They thought carefully as they translated and each wrote down
what he had heard. When they returned to Karakhoto, they assembled [it all] into a
single work. After that, they crossed the shifting sands and brought [the book]
back to Liang-chou

ffi/'1,1.6

The stra was subsequently (in the first part of the ninth century) translated
into Tibetan by 'os-grub (1f,ft) of Kansu.T The filiation of the text is rhus as
follows: India --+ Khotan --+ Turfan --+ Kansu (China) --+ Tibet.
Willi Baruch has brought to our attention the widespread existence of
a Maitreya cult in Central Asia that is known from artistic and literary remains.s Among these is an extremely important text for our study of the
Centra Asian parallels to transformations, transformation texts, and transformation tableaux, namely, the Uighur version (Maitrisimit) of the drama
Maitreyasamiti (Meeting with Maitreya). The Uighur text was found at Sngim
near Turfan by Albert von Le Coq, who explored the area for the Berlin
Academy of Sciences during the first two decades of this century. According
to one of the colophons, this translation into Old Turkish was from an original
in the language of Karashar (Toyr tili, i.e., "Tocharian"; the speakers of this
language preceded the Uighurs in the Tarim Basin) that was written in the form
of a prosimetric dramatic narrative.e According to Paul Demiville, the Uighur
follows the Tocharian closely.0 A Khotanese (a middle Iranian language)
version, on the other hand, is all in verse. One ofthe colophons to this version
provides the interesting information that the copyist was assisted by a spiritual master named Punyabhadra.
As Sylvain Lvi has shown. the "Tocharian A" Maitreyasamiti-nata.ka,
discovered by the German expedition in the region ofKarashar at a place called
Shortchouq, has "comme tant d'autres oeuvres de la mme region, le caractre
d'une lgende dramatique o Ia rcitation chante et la forme dialogue
alternent. . . ." 1r According to Lvi, this genre is designated by the Sanskrit
word naaka ("dance, drama") as is indicated in the colophons of the Maitreya
samita. The sections of this drama, which carry the name nipat or nipant (any
connection to par, pat, etc.?), end with a sort of stage direction lcr po.sri :
Sanskrit niSkrantah sarue ("no one remains on stage; exeunt omnes"). The
eleventh chapter, for example, ends thus: "ll lcr pons ll Maitreyasamiti natlakam Guruf daram oma ciksapint nipAfi | Everyone exits; Ends the t lth
chapter with the name "daran ('display' or 'showing') [of the Teacher] from
the drama Maitreyasamiti." 12 Formulas such as praueiakkar (Sanskrit praveSakah samapta, "the intermezzo finishes"), too, are unmistakable.13 What is
perhaps even more remarkable is that the Maitreyasamiti-nataka andthe Sutra
of the Wise and the Foolish, the ancestor of the transformation on Sriputra and
the Six Heretics, bear so many similarities of content and detail that it is
impossible to believe they are unreated.14
|

Asia

4I

Annemarie von Gabain, in her studies of the Uighur kingdom of Chotscho

between the years 850-I250, has discussed the dramatic nature of Maitrisimit
and its performance in conjunction with displayed pictures:

In its Old Turkish version, Maitrisimit is the beginning of theatrical art. At a

public festival in the temple, the fairhful gathered on rhe fifteenrh day of the first
month to worship the holy places. They confessed, presented material, spiritual, and
symbolic offerings, performed liturgical celebrations for the salvation of the dead,
and in the evening they listened to edifying stories or they took pleasure in looking
at pictures that were displayed and in watching gifted mimes and elocutionists who,

apparently with different roles assigned to each other, put on some such work as
Maitrisimit or a scholarly discourse between a master and his students. These
relgious texts for delivery were not canonical, but they were composed by authorities on the iastra(docir'ardisquisitions) with the aim ofattracting the people to the
holy teaching through examples from life and with the stimulus of al sorts of
magnificent displays.

rs

Elsewhere, von Gabain has spoken more directly of the textual authority for

her reference to the use of pictures during performance. The Tocharian

version of Maitrisimit, though designated by the Sanskrit word nataka
("drama"), seems rather to have been intended more for narrative recitation.
In one ofthe colophons to the uighur version, the recitation is said to be held
supposedly during the Feast of the New Moon. The important word krn
("sight, scene") occurs, which, according to von Gabain, in this context could
mean illustration and/or pantomimic performance to accompany a recitation
narrative
when our colophon speaks of a krn, t must be referring to some sort of pictorial
object. For example, in Bhadra's Choice in Marriage ([Mller], "Uigurica 1I,,, p. 22 at
the bottom), we find: z z kr.i)nkiglk qaliylarinda yiyTtdTlar "they assembled on
their respective display pedestals." And somewhat later: brahmadati' iligning
krnIgi qayu c)rki

"which then is the showpiece about Brahmad

atta?,, t6

von Gabain's analysis has prompted Demiville to make the brilliant suggestion that krn corresponds to pien-hsiang.rT Before attempting to find some
textual authority for this correspondence, a closer examination of krn is
necessary.

Kriin is a Uighur deverbal noun meaning "vision, apparition, spectacle,

show, pageant, sight, scene, play, something to be viewed, aspect of something." te Etymologically, it should mean i /appearance" or the like, but in
Xknr (a type ofTurkish from the eleventh century and later) it seems to have
a more active force.le This suggests that it might, in some cases, be understood
as meaning "that which is made to appear" or "that which has been conjured
up." The verbal root lor kri.in is krn, which is the reflexive form o kr-.

42

Chapter

It means "to be visible, to appear, to let oneself be seen.,,2o An important

related word is the denominal verb krnle, meaning ,,to display, make
a show of (something)."21 Another related word is kriin, meaning ,,to
meet, have audience, etc." 22 Some additional paronymous uighur words are
krk ("something visible; shape; form"-usually represents Sanskrit rupa,
" form"); krkin (" manifestation, " used
for the form or shape of a deity which the
worshipper longs to see); krtkr ("to cause to be seen,,); and krtgr_ (,'to
show").23 Compare also modern Turkish grni (,,view; aspect; appear_
ance") and east Turkish krng ("image; picture").za Another interesting bit
of information is that kr-, "to see," has an old etymological connection
with : z, "eys."zs Lastly, the Turkish-Arabic dictionary of Mahmd al_
Kgari, Dlwan Luati 'l-Turk, written in the third quarter of the eleventh
century, defines krn (ktizi)n on the manuscript) as al-qawmu'l-nazzara ila
y' (" a crowd of spectators at something").26 Could this be a reference to some
kind of fantasy show? In any event, it is plain that old Turkish
is well
within the range of meaning of T'ang Buddhist plen
"E*
According to $inasi Tekin, there occurs in most of the uighur Jatakasin,
either at the beginning of the story or in the midde where a new episode is
supposed to begin, some such formula as: ,,The following event must be
imagined in the land of Magadha, the village Andayagiri." 2T The formula also
occurs in the Uighur version of the Maitrisimit.
Now this type of formula must have a special meaning. Such an introduction
would not make much sense if the text were intended to be read silently. These
formulas are intelligible only if we consider the text that follows (namely, the

entire Jtaka or a section ofit) as one that was to be recited aloud or possibly
performed by actor-monks during religious festivities. During these performances, portraits ofthe figures to be activated (Bodhisattvas or other Buddhist
deities) or pictures of various scenes might have been used. The basis of this
assumption is the uighur word krn (literally, "something to look at or to
watch," "spectacle"), which seems to be the functiona equivalent in this
context of Sanskrit nataka ("dance,,, ,'drama,,'or ,,show,,), by which the
Tocharian version of Maitrisimi calls itself.
A passage from the suu artapr ab ha s a[utt amar aj af- sutr a (" Golden Splendor
Sitra," ft!1ffi ffi E ffi, translated into Chinese during rhe sixth century and
twice later) allows us to gain a better understanding of the word, krn.28
Although there exists a sanskrit text of this sutra, because of obvious differences with it, both the chinese and uighur versions discussed here must
have been translated from a different sanskrit text.2e The corresponding
passage in the sanskrit would be expected to be found between chapter 5 (,,on
Emptiness") and chapter 6 ("On the Four Great Kings,,). Unfortunately, it is
not and so we will be unable to establish an exact equivalence between krn
and a given sanskrit word. But the passage is worth studying in some detail for
the light it shines on the relationship between uighur krn and,its chinese
parallel, huan!)
in this particular passage. A single sentence will

-"illusion"

Transmission through Central

Asia

4i

illustrate this relationship: "anta yilvilning tzin tpin y(i)ma atirdlig bilirlttir
... birk ol krnftci"; Tekin renders this as "although they recognize precisely the root and the ground of that sort of enchantment. . . . ,, o The matching chinese sentence in the rranslation of I-ching *S (637-713, the famous
monk who spent twenty years in India, half of them at the Nland monastery)
is "understands the root of ilusion" (T \fif;.rt
It must be noted, however, that the chinese word huan does not consistently
correspond to the Uighur krn throughout the passage. Evidently, the
translators of both texts were not absolutely rigorous in their renderings. And,
in general, the chinese is laconic while the uighur is prolix. For this reason, the
two words may be spoken of as parallels rather than equivalents. what is
important, none the less, about the overall match betwe en huan and, krn is
that it proves that krn, in Uighur Buddhist usage, not only means ,,sight or
appearance" but, more exactly, "illusory sight or appearance.', This brings us
even closer to the meaning of pieninchinese Buddhist contexts when we recall
that there existed the sanskrit present middle participle uikuruamarla (i.e.,
uikuruana, "transforming [i.e., manifesting] illusions,,) and that it was ren_
dered into chinese as pien-huan ffi!). Here we find pien and. huan linked.
together in the same expression.
Another passage from the uighur translation oft]ne suuarryaprabhsa-sutra
he us to gain a still clearer understanding ofthe Buddhist understanding of
uft t;n.rr In his etymological dictionary of Turkish, Gerard Clauson quotes a

sentence from it (6a.6) that reads as follows: yaruktu! krkdelerin orun orun
sayu koQu yarltkap.33 He renders this as "[The Buddhas] deign to show their

shining replicas in all places." The equivalent sentence in the chinese translation of I-ching is "manifested various bodies; these are named transformation
bodies (i. e., nirmanakay a)" G.ffi ffi . ft. & IL q) :n N ow nirmanakay a is some-

times also rendered in Chinese as pien-hua shen @,11,fr. Hence we may once
again conclude that
is well within the range of meanings covered by

Buddhist pien.
_

{t"ar-

The uighur version ofthe Srl-pariuarta(chapters 16 and 17 on the goddess

srl who brings wealth) of the suuarnaprabhsottama-sutra

erences to the painting and worship
Ratnapuspa Buddha:

incudes ref-

of the image (krk) of a deity, here

If anyone, from day to day should [make a wish.] saying ,,Would that my harvests
grow greater! would that my wealth increase! would that my granaries grow full!,"
then they with devout and fithful hearts, making a new house and besmearing the
ground with ox-dung, let them painr my image
fffifr]\fft] inside rhere artisrically
and well with decorations and adornments [cf. Sanskrit vaiQryasuvan2aratnakusumaprabhasar:tguryas.gara.,

literally, "an ocean full of such splendors as lapis

lazuli, gold, gems, and flowers"].

And again let him worship my image ti'.1i.@l with other

[offerings of] incense,

flowers. and food and drink.3s

44

Chapter

Transmission through Central

As a final note on this text, it is most intriguing that there are Tun-huang
manuscripts that point to the existence of transformation tableaux (paa, if
you will) on the Suuan.caprabhasottamaraja-sutra itself . The manuscript designated P4690 has the title "One Layout on the Surpassing King of Golden
Light" (#XFfffi.Wf--ffi). More remarkable still, P3425 has the title "Inscription for One Layout of a Transformation Tableau on [the King of] Golden
Light" (yc,Hffi-ffi$f,; last character added later). It was composed by
Chang Ch'iu, Mandarin of the Ninth Degree, Fourth Class, Who is Serving as
the Military Adjudicator for Sha-chou and Provisionatly in the Post of Censor
for External Investigation s (ffi f+E t&{,i l.l F + +J ' + ffi.* ( #),ffl dF }fr
&I). The inscription onP3425 is not a narration of the content of the stra
but praise of the painting itself and those responsible for it. It tells how the
"'tat\gata manifesrs his appearance" (@ K,f,Nffi) and then goes on ro
describe how this is captured by the painter. Unfortunately, neither of the
"layouts" mentioned onP469A or P3425 survives.
There exists a Uighur translation of the biography of the famous Chinese
pilgrim Hsan-tsang (596-664), which has been studied by von Gabain.36 It
was translated from Chinese.directly into Uighur by Srngqu Sli Tutung,
who hailed from BiSbalg and was the same person who translated the
Suvarnaprabhasa-sutra into Uighur.37 The Uighur version of the biography
dates from the second quarter of the tenth century.3s In it, among the materials
mentioned by Hsan-tsang as having been gathered by him in India, are
krkkirin, translated by von Gabain as Bildnisse ("images" or "pictures").rs
The matching Chinese word is hsiang & ("1. ffi).no
Included in the biography are two extremely valuable letters written to
Hsan-tsang by Indians, the first from Jnaprabh (ff7) and the second
from Prajdeva (ffi{). Both are also in the Uighur translation, so we have
here the very interesting situation of texts that were originally written in a
Sanskritic language, then translated into Chinese, and finally translated into
Uighur from the Chinese. The translator was thoroughly conversant with
Buddhist technical terminology in both Chinese and Uighur so that, in places
where the Chinese is obscure, we may rely upon the Uighur for help in
understanding it, and vice versa.
What is most significant for our purposes is that there occurs in the second
letter a reference to pien. The crucial line in Chinese is +Xe# +#.!ffiX
ilfr#.=l[.nt This has been rendered into English by Li Yung-hsi as, "'I,
Bhiksu Prajdeva, have composed a stanza in praise of the great divine
powers of the Buddha. . . ."'42 The Uighur text has mn prtyadiwi toyn tngri
tngrisi buryan-nng ritiwid krn qt'lu yrlqamn ilok tayiut yaratp. yon
Gabain renders this as "fter I, the monk Prajadeua, had composed a poem
about the view which the most divine Buddha deigned to have with regard
to the fi.gveda. . . ." 43 Her understanding of ritiwid krn as "Anschauung
.. . des Bgueda" is open to question. The Chinese simply has ta shen-pien

Asia

45

X1fr, which means "great(ly) miraculous transformation." The expression shen-pien rr,ay render Pli iddha or sappatihariyo dhammo; Sanskrit
pratiharyaaa or vikurvita; and Tibetan rnam par sprul pa35 AII of these
expressions have to do with the ability of a Buddha or Bodhisattva to manifest
himself in various forms for the instruction of all living beings. Compare also
shen-pien hsiang -ffiffiffi, "sign or mark of spiritual transformation" (mahanimittary pratiharyar.n\. It is a commonplace to attribute such powers to a
Buddha, and there is no reason to seek a different interpretation ofthe Chinese

ritiwidmay quite possibly refer back to Sanskrit

rddhi ("supernatural powers"), which would bring it in perfect harmony with
the Chinese. In any event, there would appear to be no justification for
bringing up the Rgueda. Asfor krn, it clearly means a "manifestation" of a
deity, here specifically the Buddha. Hence, the Uighur translator must have
understood ta shen-pien as signifying something made uisible through manifestation. It is both the epiphany and the artistic rendering of the epiphany.
here. I suggest that the Uighur

This could hardly refer to anything other than pien-hsiang.a6 Furthermore,

there are so many examples of "eulogies" (Sanskrit stotra and karika) on pienhsiangthat the notion here seems perfectly logical and acceptable.aT
The Twelve Deeds of Buddha, a rare example of early Mongolian Buddhist

literature, is the translation of a Tibetan original compiled by C'os-kyi 'O,-zer

(fl. 1294-1307). The Mongolian translation is by a Saskya monk named Ses-rab
Sen-ge. In addition to Mongolian, he knew Tibetan, Uighur, and probably
Chinese, but not Sanskrit.as The nature ofthis text affords clear evidence ofa
Mongolian Buddhist literary tradition that was only indirectly related to the
Sanskrit one.
The Mongolian text (end of fol. 5f v), as translated by Nicholas Poppe, has
a passage that reads: "From the north came the Bodhisattva called 'fing of
Arrangements,' and by magic, made visible a picture of the land of all the
Buddhas."ae The Mongolian word for "picture" here is krg, w}ric]n goes
back to the important Uighur word krn.50 The Sanskrit version of the
parallel passage in the Lalitauistara (a miraculous biography of the Buddha in
the Tusita heaven before his descent to earth as Skyamuni), as translated
from the French rendition ofFoucaux, reads as follows:
Next, in the northern region, Sryvartt-the part of the world belonging to the
Tathagata Candrasurya-jihmi-kara4aprabha-a Bodhisattva Mahsattva [perfected
Bodhisattva] named Vyharja, stimulated by the light of the Buddha-field, surrounded and preceded by an incalculable host of Bodhisattvas, approaching the
site of t}ne bodhimanda [the platform of intelligence] and the place of the Bodhisattva,
in order to pay homage to him, caused to be seen within the extent of the maryQala
[circle] (of lapis lazuli) everything there is u.tithin the ten directions of space and all parts
of the world, the configurations of the qualities of the Buddha-fields. Whereupon, some
Bodhisattvas spoke thus: "Why are there such configurations?"
And from the middle of all these configurations, t}nis gtha [stanza] was heard:

46

Chapter

whose body has through many repetitions been purified by merit and by
-He
knowledge; whose language has been purified by his vows, his austerities, and the
True Law; whose spirit has been wel purified by modesty, renunciation, gentleness, and mildness; that very one who approached the king of trees, 'twas the
chief of the Skyas who was honored.5r

The Mongolian version is so highly condensed that it is impossible to determine exactly how individual words in it correspond to those in the Sanskrit.
Yet we may say that the Sanskrit lacks any word meaning "pcture," and,
furthermore, the visualization of the King of Arrangements (Vyharja) was
but a part of the larger worship area which is designated as a mar.tQala.
The Chinese translation by Divkara (613 687) follows the Sanskrit fairly
closely. As such, the word pien does not appear in it as an equivalent of krg.
It is clear, however, that embedded in the parallel Chinese text is the notion of
the manifestation ofa scene through the exercise ofsupernatural power.52 The
usual Chinese title for the Lalitauistara (literally , "sport-exten sion") is Fangkuang ta chuang-yen ching (h ffi). r,ffi f;f ) (literally, "broad fuaiputya] greatly
adorned lmahauyuhal stra"). It is interesting to note that an alternate Chinese
title for this text is tlr.e Sutra of the Play of Supernatural Spirit (Shen-t'ung yu-hsi
ching, fr ftffiF,\). Shen-t'ung yu-hsi (ffi,T) is one Chinese translation of

the Sanskrit word uikrldita (cf. u/krid, "to play"). In Buddhist Hybrid
Sanskrit, this word may mean something like "miracle, exhibition of supernatural power." 53 Another Chinese translation of vikrtdita is shen-pien rfil'ft
("supernatural transformation").sa In essence, the entire Lalitauistara is a
disquisition on the playful-yet instructive-transformational manifestation
ofthe Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, which is a key to our understanding ofthe
concept of Chinese Buddhist pien and Uighur Buddhist krn.
There exists a fragment'of the Uighur version of the Lotus Sutra that can
further help us to understand the Buddhist meaning of u/kAr-.ss This is from
the Samant amukhap ariu arta Au alokite u ara-uikuru ananirde a section (24),
which describes the thirty-three apparitions (or appearances or manifestations, - J-f.-$) of Avalokite6vara. In each case where the Chinese text has
hsien !fl . . . shen q, tlne Uighur reads krkin kiirtkr ("to cause the [.{.]
manifestation to be seen") where krk(in) means "manifestation" or "Qorm"
and krtkr() is "to cause to be seen." It is patently clear from this section that
,/kor- implies the manifestation of the body of a deity. This, again, brings it
well within range of Chinese pien, Sanskrit nirmna, and a host of other
Buddhist terms having to do with transformational manifestation.
The most important and clearest proof of Indic storytelling with pictures in
Central Asia is the celebrated wall-painting from My-Hhle II atKyzil (ptates
IV and v). The painting depicts the intelligent and faithful minister Varskra
(llFy'.-E) showing King Ajtaatru, a fervent patron of Buddhism, a cloth
that illustrates four major events in the Buddha's life: (I) his mother, lr'ry,
giving birth to him in the park at Lumbini; (2) wirhstanding rhe onslaught of

Transmission through Central

Asia

47

Mr's hosts beneath the Tree of Enlightenment; (3) turning the Wheel of the
Law during his first sermon at the Deer Park in Benares; and (a) entering
niruqta int}re sal grove at Kuinagara.56 The purpose of employing this device
was to break the news of the Buddha's death to the king as gently as possible.
The wall-painting shows King Ajtaatru taking a bath in butter which, it is
intended, will help to calm him.s7
Records of the German explorers in Central Asia during the early part of this
century indicate that the scene was actually a common one in the remains of
Buddhist monuments encountered there.58 Its profound significance for
understanding the nature of narrative has, regrettably, largely been ignored
by most students of Chinese literature.5e The existence of this story in the
canon and its tradition of representation in wall-paintings provides a firm

link between Indian picture-storytelling and Chinese transformation performances- Since the majority of the known wall-paintings depicting it date from
the sixth and seventh centuries (the middle perod of painting in the Kyzil
area), the slightly later appearance in China of picture-storytelling begins to
make some sense. This constitutes reliable evidence that the use of pictures
painted on cloth as storytelling aids was widespread in Central Asia during the
first half of the T'ang period and just before it. The fact that this scene is
described in precise detail in a Mlasarvstivdin text further proves that this
practice had an Indian prototype.
In the Mulasaruastiuadauinayak;udrakauastu, we find textual confirmation

of this iconographical theme (the disclosure of the Buddha's niru1ta to King

Ajta6atruoo) that is important for the study of the form of transformation
texts.6r According to this account, Ajtaatru's minister, Varskra, has a
series of paintings made in which the major events of the Buddha'slifle, ending
with t}re pariniruana, are portrayed. Varskra plans to use the paintings as a
basis for explaining to the king, one after the other,62 these turning-points in
the Buddha's \11e (Ellff</k'#iFJ IH#).63 Later in the same passage, it is stated
even more explicitly that "Varskra thereupon explained for the king [the

major events in the Buddha's life], one after another, the same as in the
paintings" (1.E.r^ffiffiIj.lH;/-4Ei).un Th" word for "explain" here in
the parallel Tibetan passage is the usual bsad-ta,os which does not help us to
throw any light on what the original Sanskrit for erh-uei ch'en-shuo mFJ R;h
("thereupon explained") may have been. What is extremely important to
note, however, is that we have here identified, in a Buddhist text transated
from Sanskrit, the occurrence of part of tine transformation text pre-uerse
formula in the context of explaining a series of pictures.
Less positive confirmation of a tradition of picture-storytelling in Central
Asia is the recovery of numerous narrative paintings in various formats.
One, in particular, that has attracted my attention, is a fragmentary painting
(Plate VI) from Tun-huang with Uighur inscriptions that identify the scenes
thereon.66 Since these inscriptions have not previously been studied, it may be
worthwhile to give them here. The fragments with writing on them, numbered

48

Chapter

Transmission through Central

from top to bottom and from left to right, read as follows:62

.['*l

A.

..

B.

[tnkry tnkry] sy 'yn' ty[p]

or: [tytsy]sy

c.

...

A.

having led. . . passion (:klea)

. . . [God of Gods or His Master]

B.

(d)wzup nyz['ny]

Iyrtyq'dyl . . .
ftwrt] (t)wqrum[py "zwn. . :f

...

...

z- 'vl
3. ...

y(tuz)
face/one hundred

...

lq'k'lwrdy

'lkp'k...
...

he (they) brought

...

the Lord (prince)

b' yz'r . . .

5. ...

..

are

...

bad persons

o- .--(y)ytyp ...
having disappeared
or: ['] (y)typ . . .
having provided ...

7....kwyrksl*r\...

...|k...
...ugtyones...
s. .-- lyrl . . .
pwlwr...twyrk'...
twyrlwkkwyrkl ...
typyuruk'tan'r...
It is lin such and such] . . .
In Turkish (language), the
meaning comes out (i.e.,
it means): ". . . [number] kinds

of pictures [... and...]."

s. ... l)t ... lr

49

Thefinal translated lines would seem to indicate that the inscribed pictures are
kived from another Buddhist tradition and language. Note the occurrence of
important word, krk (kwyrk) in the eighth sentence.6s It is possible that we
here a Uighur version of a transformation tableau expressly identified as
Were it not for the fragmentary nature of the manuscript we might also
the equivalent word in some other language.
ft is certain that the technique of picture recitation had made its way to the
heatland of the Turkish-speaking world by the end of the sixteenth
and probably long before that. In his account oflife in lltanbul, Evliy
(ca. 16I I-1660) provides this fascinating description of a group known
"Painter Fortunetellers" (Fljin Msavirn):

in four]

forms of existence [and in five forms of life]

. doing
.

..

[deigned] to speak

... [creatures] .. . [which

c.

...

...

Asia

The most famous of them was Khoja Mohammed Cheleb, who had a shop at
Mahmd Psh. He was an old man who had seen and had the honour of speaking
to Sultn Sleimn. He filled his shop with rhe pictures and figures of all the
aforesaid heroes and knights drawn with the pen on coarse paper, for the use of the
F$sengers who stopped at his shop, in order by looking at these pictures, to get a
soottrsaying in favour of their wishes, viz.: whether there would be war or peace,
wheter Ysf or Z:.Ieica, Mejnn or Leila, Ferhd or Shern, Wirka or yulshh
would yield to amorous desires. The painter consulted to this end the pictures of
these heroes and fair dames, and delivered his answers in comical verses, which
aisd immsnse laughter. With these fgures he obtained his living. Sometimes he
carried tem to the Emperor, and at the public procession passed as chief of these
painter-soothsayers exhibiting his pictures. The prophecies ofthese soothsayers are
delivered in ridiculous words, accompanied by comical gestures.6e

parficular reciter here described had largely ceased to be an itinerant and

received the patronage of the emperor himself. Nonetheless, he had not
his mantic and titillative functions that betray his origins in a folk
A seventh-century wall-painting recovered from the Knight's Cave at Kirish

five miles east-northeast of Kucha) consists of narrative panels of

from the Buddhist parable, Mahprabhsa-auadna.1o A Tocharian
running in a band along the top reads, according to K. Schmidt,
to him in (great) detail the. . . Jtaka: Because ofan elephanthe (scil.
Mahprabhsa) renounced the world (and) attained prophecy." This
a close connection between oral tales based on the Jtakas and
pictures depicting them. It also exemplifies the role of the Tocharians
bearers of Indic culture across Central Asia. Another band with an inscripin Tocharian runs across the bottom of these scenes, but the pictures to
it refers have been too badly damaged to be identified.
Let us now consider the cultural configuration of Central Asia during and
the Tng period so as to understand how Indian motifs and techniques
be transmitted through it to China and remain relatively intact. pavel

50

Chapter

Transmission through Central Asia

"In Turkestan Indian culture was prevalent.

central Asiatic literature of the first thousand years [r.E.] was essentially
Buddhistic; also Buddhistic influences are found in the uiguric manicheism
Poucha has simply said that

[slc]. In central-Asiatic languages, especially in the Tokharic, there are a great

number of rndian words."7r But the Buddhist culture that came through
central Asia to Tun-huang, as Ren Grousset has observed, was not simply a
product of rndian civilization.T2 It was also, among other things, GraecoBuddhist and lrano-Buddhist in nature. This is understandable when we
consider the types of individuals who were responsible for cultural exchange
in central Asia. As Liu Man-tsai explains, "Traders, missionaries, envoys, and

soldiers, who passed through Kucha, were also bearers of culture, and so there
arose a syncretism that was evident in art."73

central Asia's ties with the rest of the world became especially intense
during the fifth to seventh centuries due to the expansion of international
trade along the Great Silk Route. The Sogdians were prominently involved in
transmitting elements of vafious cultures along this route.Ta As a result, the
Sogdian language developed an elaborate Buddhist vocabulary.T5 In narrative
art, the Sogdians employed the technique of the "continuous pictorial epic,,,
to use Guitty Azarpay's term. She defines it as referring "to t]ne use of a
continuous sequence ofindividual scenes ofsecular and epic interest, in which
identical persons appear in episodes or events separated in time." 76 This is the
same technique used in virtually all picture-storytelling traditions. Buddhism
had penetrated Sogdiana by the first centuries of the International Era.77 By
the early eighth century, however, Arab armies had largely crushed this
civilization, causing its function as a transmitter of west Asian and south
Asian culture to the rest of Central Asia and points east to diminish.T8
Perhaps the greatest of all cultural amalgams operating in central Asia was
Manichaeism. Because it may have direct bearing on the fondness for pictures
in popular chinese Buddhism, it is important to examine certain aspects of this
tradition in some detail.
Manichaeism was founded by a third-century parthian of royal ancestry
named Mani who was born in Babylonia in 2L6. He announced that he was a
prophet in the year 24o. Tlne religion spread slowly from its west Asian base
until, sometime around 6OO, the Uighurs were exposed to it by Sogdians
who traded along the Silk Road. rt made its initial appearance in china in
675 and the first missionary arrived in 694. This was brought about through
the conquest of eastern Turkistan by the chinese and the consequent reestablishment of the caravanroutes to west Asia. rn73l, a Manichaean bishop
([A]ftn) was ordered by the chinese emperor to compose a catechism of his
religion.zr He produced, in response, a compendium informing the authorities
of Manichaean doctrines, scriptures, and discipline. The result was a mixture
of Taoism, Buddhism, and true Manichaeism arrived at through an effort to
gain acceptance. Apparently, the combination was effective, for in 732, an

5t

edict was announced that granted freedom of worship to the Manichaean

rcligion and it began to spread with great success.
The next important event in the history of Manichaeism in China was the
establishment in 744 or 745 of a huge khanate in northern Mongolia that
extended from the Ili River in the west to the Yellow River in the east with its
capital at Karakorum. Upon the establishment of this empire, the Uighurs
became the dominant force on the northern border of China. The Eastern
Turks, whom they replaced, had always been determined enemies of the
(hinese, but the Uighurs were well disposed to forming alliances with the
Tng government and, indeed, were instrumental in suppressing the rebellion
of Rokhshan (An Lu-shan frfrLll [d.7571). Upon the formal conversion of
their king, Bg Khan (Mou-y 444, r. 7 60-7 8O), to Manichaeism in 7 62' it
became the official religion of the Uighurs. But, when the Uighur khanate was
destroyed by the Kirghiz Turks in 840, Manichaeism was much weakened
ld survived only in a few spots in eastern Turkistan. And, by the beginning
of the thirteenth century, the Mongol invasion of Genghis Khan finished
off entirely in the area of the former Uighur khanate. In China ProPer,
il[anichaeism had already been proscribed from 843, very soon after the fall of
Uighur khanate. Traces of it did remain, however, as an independent
nligion in scattered areas (particularly within Fukien along the southeast
Chinese coast and its hinterlands) until as late as the fourteenth century.so
elements of Manichaeism also survived as an ideological force within
tecret societies until the seventeenth century.sl We should note that, as with
fi many foreign religions in China, it was in the mid-ninth century that a
SFong reaction against Manichaeism occurred.
A curious phenomenon that deserves our scrutiny is the fact that the period
gf the flourishing of transformations throughout China is approximately
same as that of the flourishing of Manichaeism. If this is not simply a
we may explain the relationship between the two as centering on
$re or both of the following factors: (I) a mutual emphasis on pictures; and
cultural elements
{2) a period of optimum conditions for the spread of foreign
h China. The propensity in Manichaeism for the use of pictures in worship is
Pronounced that I am tempted to call the Manichaeans "the people of the
" Pictures even figured prominently in Manichaean doctrine. In their
of the Manichaean catechism of July 16, 73I, G. Haloun and W. G
discovered the central importance of "The Drawing );1\ffiffi (ilhe
Men-ho-i82)"

ofthe list ofthe "seven scriptures," in such a way as

it is on a level with the whole set of the books; "there
are seven parts, together with a drawing," "tlne seven great scriPtures and the (one)
drawing," and in the caption "the canon of scriPtures and the drawing." It is at any
rate clear that the " Drawing" is not a written book, but literally a drawing or

this

is mentioned at the end

to suggest that in importance

Asia
Transmission through Central

52

ChaPter 2

This item in the list of the sacred

picture, perhaps a set of drawings or pictures'
books' where the Eikv is named
copticworks has its precise """;;;;;"; in tie
ttr^e rlglt view in
' ' ' Polotsky ' ' ' took
immediately after the '""t"
of Tafelband ltable
akind
a Bllderbuch[picture bok]'
suggesting that this Eikv wa s""tip""es'
this view' ' ' '83
confirms
docrment
The Cinese
volumel to illurt

"t"

f"f""i"i""chings.

T'u ching @ffi ("Sacredook with

Antonio Forte, in explicating the words
dated the year ll2' confirms
illustration[s]") from a Manilchaean document
this interPretation:
Coptic

corre-sponding to the Eikv of the

Without doubt, it is a question of a work
ofersian literature' The title in its
Ertenk
]rle
to
texts, to the Parthian A;;h";8'
intheCathecismof 731 with
Chinesetranscription, *"-ho'-il1'ismentioned
rhe Two Principles)'

(Great lllustation of
the Chinese gloss ? nn t'uig f u I - X
tu El' it is placed after tlne seuen ching
i-'pty
In the same document, attig";t
^H"t" it is obviously being considered as
("scriptures") in the list of-tvft'i'' *otk''
that the
canon' Polotsky has already observed
constituting Part ofthe [tn""i"ft""""1
of
doctrine
the
illustrate
to
Tafebt?d
of
Eikv must have been ^ iA"u'n"^ sott
to the.translation of tlre Catechisrnby
Mni. Henning, in the '""o"a uppt"dix
thesis' Our present text defin!
Polotsky's
of
core"t'is
Haloun, has affirmed th"
mearLs ScriPture with lllustratively clarifies tfre question since T' chinSte;ally
spoke'84
pr""ir.ty ttre Iderbuch of which Polotsky

tio,i,

In the

hymn-cycle J<nown as the

Chinese translation of the Manichaean
two lines:
following
the
find
for Us")' we

Huwldagmn("Fortunate

words'
AII from the living Ianguage and marvelous
revealed thereby'
are
saints
of
host
The transformatls oitfte

H't'ffi#)+
4**.4y'ffiffir"
fragmentary original Parthian and

While it is most unfottunatefor us that the

particular passage, from the chinese
the old rurkish version both lack this
Manichaean doctrine considered the
translation alone we are assured that
Paradise) to be malileltea through
inhabitants of tn. rigttt World BE F (i'e''
the Chinese folk Buddhist tradition'
evocative transformation' similary' n
to call forth the appearance of
the performer of transformations ndeavored
pictures and enchanting
spirits and demons by means of his phantasmal
speech.

activity in China was during the

The most intense period of Manichaean
period (713_74I)' As we have already
Epochal Beginning 1f'^f-y"""1 reign
to
the transformation tradition seems
seen, this is precisely the tlme when
ltemized
"statement of
sotidify. on the other hand, in Lu Yu's (1125-1210)
against the activities
proPosed
Responses" ({ftYJflt), certain prohibitions
between
in the Fuken area also indicate a connection
of the Manichaeans

53

of pien-wen. These
k) and the demise
tbe so-called "Doctrine of Light' EE
and publish
demons
of
who 'paint images
oclude punishments for those
86 This linkage of extraordinarY
tb absurd scriptures of Manichaeism.
official attacks on
texts ls a constant theme of
.pictures and unauthorized
the period of
explain
may
then, that we
Manichaeism ln China. I ProPose,
to the fare
as being partiall v related
te rtse and fall of oien representations
it ts
to be at all credible, however
a7
of Manichaeism. For this proposal
of ideas and terms
there was a broad exchange
becessary to demonstrate that
of pien (it
mention
The Iast-known
,) ls ln a clearly
between Buddhism and Manichaeism.
picture'
narrative
the Pro bable sense of transformational
the develoPment of the
88 The Manichaean IN puts to
Manichaean context.
that arose around
sect of apocrYPhal Buddhism
millennial White Lotus secret
here But the
discussion
obvious to requlre
end of the Yan period ae too
are even
Central Asia and tn China
influences n Manichaeism ln
apparent.
IS
by Manichaeism tn China
The Buddhicizing tendencY experienced
'images
from the year I I 20 here
evident ln a memorial dating
(' 'images of
are written Fo-hsiang tfr w
deities' and "names of deities'
,,), respectivelY 89 The same
s
Buddha
and Fo-hao tfr 2t^ (" names of
texts as Sacred Book "f
Buddhist-sounding
hight
v
also refers to such
i-shih

'l

staza of the Seven Hours'

(Ch

ffi), Ga
(Fu-mu ching
(Miao-shui
Buddha of Marvelous Water'
ffi w), and Painting of the
did not
terminologY
of Manichaean
cltcttg w 7K \fr F) This Buddhicization
Asia. 91
from an earlier period ln Central
ln China but has clear precedents
Iranian
1n mind the k"y role of
I! this connection, it 1S important to keeprn Central Asia From at least the
ln cultural exchanges carried out
ln large areas of western and
92
centurY Sogdian was the Iingua franca
by another Iranian tongue, Persian
Central Asia until it was replaced
also
Khotan

90

of
Asian Buddhist kingdom

people of the important Central

Chinese ln Tunclose contacts with the
an Iranian language and had
rn Central Asia such that artistic,
There was a great mixing of cultures
from various sources were
Iiterary linguistic, and other influences
Asia absor bed Iranian
Central
ln
93
to Iose their puritY Thus Buddhism
Asia assimilated Indic comPonents
and Manichaeism ln Central
of
develoPment
a decisive impact on the
resu-Itant amalgams,

ln turn, had

and Manichaeism 1n China

that the technique of
stage of our inquirY
We may conclude, at this
fostered
Indian by birth, that it was
storytelling with pictures was
that it was adopted by
uncles and Turkish aunts, and

Buddhicized Iranian
parents.

3
Indonesian Analogues

Irt

,rrdo.r.sia, virtually all types of dramatic representation

are referred to by the r'ame wayang. In simplest terr'r's, luayang derives from a
root that means "shadow." r Mantle Hood paraphrases this word as ,,material-

ized silhouettes."2 The performance of wayang has also been beautifully

forth.": This matches closely the Chinese Buddhist

conception of pien a type or transforntational realization used in religious
instruction. Eventually, the word wayang evolved to the point that, in some
Southeast Asian languages, it had largely lost the original meaning of
"shadow" and denoted simply "theater." In Malay, for example, the verb
uajangkan(me) is defined as "to act out tales on the stage; to bring someone on
the stage." a All Indonesian and most southeast Asian theater, regardless of its
actual format, has intimate links to the world of "shadows.',
The statementthat wayangmeans "shadow," therefore, must be qualified in
the sense that it refers not so much to the technique of illumination from
behind to throw a shadow on a screen as it does to the phantasmagorical
appearances presented before the eyes ofthe beholder. Hence picture-scrolls,
puppets, shadows, and dancers can all legitimately be referred to as wayang.
The illusory effect is enhanced by the fact that most such performances were
given at night, in caves or in rooms without windows, and illuminated solely
by flickering lamps or candles. It is probable that the invention of the genuine
shadow play was prompted by the chance observation in such a setting that
back illumination was more suggestive and mystifying than was front illumination.
A similar course of development (i.e., phantasm -+ shadow play) may have
occurred in the early Sung period in China. There are many expressions in
Chinese having to do with umbras (e.g., ying-pi v61ffi, "shadow wall,,; yingshen {ffi, "shadow spirit"; ying-tien KtW. or ying-t'ang fu, ,\all of
shadows"; ying-shih vp$, "insubsrantial things"; ying-kung vvffi, "worship
of an image"; ying-hsien wIfl, "shadowy manifestation"; and ying-hsiang
w"2@, "shadow image
lSkt. pratibimbal"), which bespeak primarily psychical
rather than optical phenomena. It should be noted that the majority of these
rendered as a "shadowing

4
re-Storyte n i n g
Recent and
dern India

I"

Chapter I we learned that storytelling with pictures was

n India from a period well before the beginning of the International
chapter, we shall see that these traditions have continued right up
day. A respectable amount and quality ofethnographic research

out on Indian picture showmen during the latter part of the

century and the first third of the twentieth century. Because this
ls invaluable in its own right and is essential for comparative purposes
our meager knowledge of Tng picture showmen, and further
it is relatively inaccessible, I shall cite extensive passages that bear
on the subject of our inquiry.
in Mysore state for which there is fairly abundant documentaKillekyta (also called Killikiater, Killiketar, Kiliket, Katabu, Katbu,
other variants).i According to L. K. Ananthakrishna lyer,
are a wandering tribe of picture showmen found scattered all over
They are also known locally as Shillekyatas, Bombe Atadavaru. Another
of them who fish in rivers are known as Burude Bestas, i.e., Bestas or
using dry gourds when swimming in water for fishing. Killekyta means
itmp, kille meaning mischievous, and kyata, mp, or a crooked fellow
tey give their shows after the usual offering of prayers to Ganapati and
they exhibit a doll of fantastic appearance, jet black in colour, with rilted
hair, flowing beard, protruding lips, pot-belly and crooked hands
This figure, which is known as the Killekyta, is accompanied by its
equally hideous in appearance. Both these figures represent the
of the performance, and keep the audience amused with rude jests and
The whole exhibition has come to be known as the play of Killekyta,
nams s f6n6e passed to the caste itself. With reference to this profession,
also known as marionette dancers, Bommaltauall in Telugu, and Togaluin Kannada. Another section have altogether given up this trade, and

8l

82

Picture Recitation in Recent and Modern

Chapter 4

taken to fishing, and they are on that account styled Burude Bestas. They style
themselves Dtyeru, but the origin of this term cannot be traced. In the adjoining
districts ofthe Bombay Presidency, they are known by the name ofKatbus....
The characteristic occupations ofthe caste are marionette shows and fishing. They
play various scenes of tlrre Ramayana and Mahabharata, tlne lormer being more in
demand. The dolls are cut out ofgoat's skin and painted in gaudy colors. They are
made of several pieces cut separately and joined together with wires, and various
motions and postures are caused by dexterous manipulation behind the curtain with
the aid ofthin bamboo splits. The actions ofthe figures are made to correspond to the
story as recited by the showman in prose and doggerel. For the minor class of
showman, the stage is made of screens of kamblis and white cloths borrowed of a
washerman. The showman alone sits inside, and uses both hands for moving the
dolls. A woman sitting outside produces low shrill music with a reed sounded on the
back of a flat dish of bell-metal. The words of the play are crudely conceived, and
are often fit only for a low class audience. The stage ofthe Dodda Botnbe A'tadavaru,
on the other hand, is built on a raised platform, and decorated with plantain and
mango leaves. It is spacious enough to accommodate within its curtains the whole
troupe, furnished with fiddle, drum, cymbals, etc. The text is taken from recognised
books on the epics, and the players, including women, are all literate. The women do
the singing, while the men show the pictures over the curtain. The play begins at
about l0 p.rrr. and continues the whole night. The performance is enlivened by the
appearalr.ce, on the scene at intervals, ofthe buffoons, a Killekyta and his wife in
fantastic garb, whose part sometimes borders on indecency. When the performance
is over, the whole party go to every house in the village and get presents in kind, in
addition to the lump sum collected by the whole village. Besides, during the
enactment of the play, they demand and obtain presents of cloths and other articles
from the spectators. It is considered auspicious for rains and crops to have these
shows about the harvest time, and in certain places, Killekytas are entitled to
customary annual fees for their services. . . .
The major fishing section have better plays borrowed from standard renderings of
t}ae Ramayana and Mahabharata, and also employ marionettes with separate joints,
so that the action of the play may be more effectively exhibited. They have also a
better appointed stage, large enough to accommodate all the actors and musicians.
The minor showmen composing the other division have a much cruder apparatus,
and the singer of the party, generally a woman, has to sit outside the booth, her
instrument being a reed fixed on the back of a bell-metal dish with a base of wax, on
which she produces a shrill monotonous sound, by the friction of both her hands.
This is accompanied by a drum. The plays enacted by these are also of very poor
style, very coarse in language and sentiment.. . .
The Killekytas are a wandering tribe, and live outside the villages in sheds
constructed of arched bamboos covered with mats. Though they profess to be
Kshatriyas, they are looked upon as very low in the social scale. But some of the
Bomb section [i.e., subtribe or subcaste] have, on account oftheir education, earned
a respectable position, and are received even by Brhmans into their houses. The
showmen wander in definite areas, and in some places have inams2 given them on
account oftheir proficiency in their art. They admit recruits, especially women from
the higher castes, with the sanction of the Ganchari, obtained after payment of a
fine. They have no social disabilities in the matter of conveniences in the village.

India

g3

Barbers may shave them, but not pare their nails; but the fishing section have
usually their own washerman. . . .a

ol:9f the most significanr items of informarion provided by Iyer is rhat the
Killekytas sometimes combine the use of puppets or marionettes and pictures.
This is in conformity with the intimate connection between picture-storytelling
and early theater in China and in Indonesia.
In chapter 3 ("Population") of the Bijapur volume or the Gazetteer of the
Bombay Presidency, under the section on "wanderers," there is risted
a group
called the Killikets or Katbus who were said to number 374 around the time

the
'volume was published in 1884. Although they claimed descent from high_
caste Ksatriyas, they lived outside the villages in little reed
cabins where ,,a
few cooking vessels, a grindstone, some clothes, and the show-box of pictures
constitute the furniture . . . . " 5 This box of pictures, which they showed to
earn a living, was definitely considered to have demon-dispelling qualities.
For, "when a Killiket is possessed by a ghost, he or she is made to sleep near
the show-box for three or four days, and this scares the ghost away.,'6
As the Gazetteer describes it, "Their calling is peculiar. The men fish with
nets, and in the evening show, before a light, transparent pictures painted in

brilliant colours on skin, representing Lakshman, Rmchandra, Sitbi,

Hanumant. Rvan, and many other heroes and gods, the character ofthe show
closely resembling that of the chitrakathis or picture-showers of the north
Konkan and Deccan."T It is extremely important to note that, although the

Killikets were considered to be picture showmen, they displayed their translucent figures before a light and evidently without any srt of screen. This
is further indication that generically there is no absolutely clear distinction
among puppet plays, shadow plays, and picture stories (using scrolls, hang_
ings, or other types ofpainted scenes and figures). Again, the use ofartificial
illumination should be noticed. what this impries is that, in evolutionary
term , a shadow play figure is essentially a cutout from a narrative picturescroll. In the early stages of the development of the shadow play, the rhudo*,
did not have movablejoints, even though they had become detached from the
painted background.
There were also Killikiatars to be found in Dharwar. They are described in
the volume of t]..e Gazetteer of the Bombay presidency that deals with that
district under the section on "craftsmen" in the third chapter.s Around the
time of the publication of the volume in lgg4, they were ruid to number 445.
From the description of their performance given inthe Gazetteer, welearnthat

their "dolls" were shown from behind a curtain and that more than

one

performer was involved.

Their

main calling is showing leather dolls of various shapes all naked and
indecent. These dolls are placed behind a curtain with a lamp close
by. A man sits
near, explains the movements, and beats a drum. The motions and the
explanations

rtis curious thatpeopre of sim'ar

occupation with the
proscribed

same time were

same name

and at the
by the t.""."'-."tn Dharwar
fo. rir". i"..".y
but' in nearby Bergaum,
as we shil see momentar'y,
were considered to be
re'ligious beggars. perhaps
their repertoo.r- *"* broad
enough to include

llT::i"""r""

*hor" ru,r"

".,"a

*in"rn. o""",io.,.

rr,"ri"r".,

o.

,#i*::fpiTJ:::.;::::n;*:::r*;"**:,"".,:,1;
:epersandpicture-showme.r."toth.

tosaythat

"";rii;igorr"n

Their chiefoccupation isshowing

pictures ofthe pndavs
and Kauravs, and other
heroes. The pictures ar^e
drawn ;1"., ;;;;rr.
3d. to 6d. (2_+ a,s.[equal
abour.lT rroy ounce of pure,u"*j.
to
r.yr.irrr "or,
rnr* rhem ar night. one of the
with a risited
shows rrom o,,. r.*o
hundred
""0
rhe women u"", 0","'*.
iasts rive ,.
,no*
"

il:il:: i*#.:;:"t"
'iJ
,;;.;;;;:5',1,1i:it::

;:i:::'"li;H".:i:li,T:**ji"+::,il:i:;ff
correding

g.,t" *h,.,h"

This description is

r,.,ru,,,a*.;;;;;"f,]ffiilT"-

JJ'i::',,'":l:

vilage to vilage

rich and self_explanatory

source ofinformation;
the entire

passage deserves to be
highrigrra
that ar least two

"-pti"ri. *" shourd .ro,. p".r.,rrurry

-.o u'd"t**;;; *".i*.r""a
""in"r, "rffi,n.,
::'#:1,i:';:i, orsome 'o" "o-u.,*.r,t ,r"-",,",,"*'J,"."i,,,.g,,,
io.

;,;*;i::#iii'#t":ii:,::,,i:,*J,"*i
a religious people, and
daily *".rn;;;io*

picrures.,,12 '

or

Iyer',s and the Gazetteer's

accounts are suppremented
by other observations:
The caste contains two

,'m*.r'#rT#ritl#**'ffi ";'"lr,T;ru:
::i;::;i:,;ii;J*{fu

vvuvusl
,yffi;,".",:-i",#:';,:,;,:N::iu,.
marronettes are

called stradagombe,

from stra, "string.,,. .

.
Dr' Spies remarks that

[the,shadow puppet cated K'rekyta

from whom the caste
gets rts namel has a huge
phatus.

Kirrekytaismade,o,pip*',"ii.,[n,T:i#;,,1i:"#,i;ii:1;
"n ""'-iu*;",i:::j:I_holthe

hrcleous wife Bangarakka,

to amuse,1.
The picrure-exhibiting

*th

"ai".r..
subdivtrt.".tin.
*-r'ty;r*

se*rons' viz" the maior and

rhe minor

Ir seems to be rhe minor secrion

,n",

sh.*-.",lJoi,
.it.nti"t

obscene jokes.

i,

rubdivided

sorr of show. . .

with such traditions ersewhere in rhe

world, while the ?rir.;;;;",
folk performers, they have from
time to ti.rr" ..".irr.d elite, even royal,
"..
patronage' Finany, though the
themes of their stories often have
crassicar
soruces (the Puranas, Ramyarya,
and Mahabharata), their texts
have never
to writing' Thy are, instead, t'ansmtttea
oraly,

usuary wirhin

ffi;i:l

various vorumes of the Gazetteer

of the Bombay presidency provi.e
interest_
information on another group
of picture showmen who are cated
chitrakthi
citrakathil.tr

ing

inro rwo
"gurrr
and cikka Bombeyradavaru.

,n. ruder

The Killekytas originally hailed

from Kolhapur, now in Maharashtra.
Altogether there w"." among
them fourteen recognized crans
of nomadic
descent, half of which took
io showmr.rrfrrf, _or, as shadow performers.
These sev^en crans spread far
across the tndiai subcontinent,
and there are as
nuny as four hundred families
who pursue their art today. The
K'rekytas,
as did so many of the other
picture ,fro*_"r, in ancient India,
sometimes
functioned as spies. They went
from vilrage to vinage putting on their
shows
while at the same time gthering
int.ltig";"* It is for these two reasons that
they gradually became so
wrdery s"atterd. But, no matter where
they go, they
converse among themserves
onry in their native Marathi tongue.
Also consonanr

.e.,

In the vlume fo,

listed under chapter 3 in he.secri""

148 and are called simply ,,picture

f_rr"lrro* called pune), we find them

." -*;;;rs.,, They are said to

,ho*_"rrl?

number

86

Chapter 4

They take their name lrom chitra a picture and kathali.e., kathal a story, because
they show pictures ofheroes and gods and entertain their audience by telling them
stories from the Purns.
They live in houses ofthe poorer class with walls ofciay and thatched roofs. Their
house goods include blankets, quilts, cradles, boxes, and metal and earthen vessels.
Neither men nor women have any store of fine clothes for holiday wear. As a rule
Chitrakathis are dirty, thrifty, and hospitable. Their chief calling is begging by
showing pictures ofgods and heroes and reciting stories and songs about them. They
also show wooden dolis whom they make to dance and fight to represent the wars
ofthe heroes and demons. These puppet shows have ceased to be popular, and they
now seldom do anything but show pictures by which they make 8s. to IOs. (Rs. -5
[about 2 to 2I troy ounces of silver]) a month. A boy begins to act as showman at
twelve and in two years has mastered his work. A Chitrakathi's stock generaily
includes forty pictures ofRm worth IOs. to l2s. (Rs. 5-6 [about2l,to 3 troy ounces
of silverl), thirty-five of Babhruvhan the son of Arjun one of the five pndavs
worth 8s. to lOs. (Rs.4 5), thirty-five of Abhimanyu another son of Arjun worth
l0s. to I2s. (ns. 5-6), forty of Sita and Rvan worth IOs. to t2s. (Rs. 5-6), forty of
Harishchandra king ofOudh, and forty ofthe Pndav brothers worth lOs. to l2s.
(Rs. 5-6). They paint these pictures themselves and offer them for saie, and they
have a caste rule that on pain of fine every house must have a complete set of
pictures. The women mind the house and never help the men to show pictures. They
fetch firewood, beg, and cook. As they get paid in grain their monthly food expenses
are small.

As a class, the chitralcthis are badly off and growing poorer.t6

The Thn (or Thne, a place just north of Bombay) volume of tlne Gazetteer
gives the population of chitrakathili.e., citrakath)inthat district as thirty-rwo

in number:
They are a Marthi speaking people. who go about carrying a few coloured pictures
oftheir gods rolled up and slung on their backs. Each showman has a companion
with him, who carries a drum and beats it when they come near a dwelling, and
offers to tell the exploits of Rm and other incarnations of Vishnu. If the people
agree, the showman opens his book and shows them the pictures singing and
describing. Their dress and customs do not differ from those of Marths.r7

Especially noteworthy in this description is the fact that these citrakath carry
their picture-scrolls (or books) around on their backs. This is reminiscent of
the portraits of presumed Central Asian itinerant storytellers found at Tunhuang and of information regarding Indonesian dalangJe
Int};.e Gazetteer for Kolba and Janjira, tlne citrakathiare recorded as only
three in number and are classed as beggars: "Chitrakathis or picture-showers,
come occasionally from the Deccan, begging from door to door, offering to
show two or three dozen paintings of the ten incarnations of Vishnu." le
Chapter 3 of the volume for Stra, gives the population of tlne citrakatht as
ninety-eight and refers to them as beggars. "They show pictures of heroes and

Picture Recitation in Recent and Modern

India

87

gods and repeat stories from the Purns while showing them, and also sing and

beg."zo The Ahmadnagar Gazetteer, also listing them as beggars, gives the
number of citrakatht as 387: "They beg by showing pictures of gods and
heroes, and reciting stories and songs regarding them. Women mind the house
and beg by singing songs."21
Additional information on these picture showmen that is useful for comparative study is provided in an article on "Chitrakathi, Hardas":
A small caste of religious mendicants and picture showmen [may be found] in the
Martha Districts. In t90I they numbered 200 persons in the Central Provinces and
1500 in Berr, being principaily found in the Amraoti District. The name, Mr.
Enthoven writes,22 is derived frotrt chitra, a picture. and katha, a story, and the
professional occupation of the caste is to travel about exhibiting pictures of heroes
and gods, and telling stories about them. . . . Though not impure, the caste occupy a
low social position, and are said to prostitute their married women and tolerate
sexual icence on the part of unmarried girls. Mr. Kitts23 describes them as "Wandering mendicants, sometimes suspected of associating with Kaikris for purposes of
crime; but they seem nevertheless to be a comparatively harmless peopie. They
travel about in iittle huts like those used by the Waddars; the men occasionaliy sell
buffaloes and milk; the women beg, singing and accompanying themselves on the
thali. -lhe old men also beg. carrying a flag in their hand, and shouting the name of
their god, Hari Vithal (from which they derive their name of Hards). They are fond
of spirits, and, when drunk, become pot-valiant and troublesome." The thIi or plate
on which their women play is also known as sarthada, and consists of a small brass
dish coated with wax in the centre; this is held on the thigh and a pointed stick is
moved in a circle so as to produce a droning sound. The men sometimes paint their
own pictures, and in Bombay they have a caste rule that every Chitrakathi must have
in his house a complete set of sacred pictures; this usually includes forty representations of Rma's iife, thirty-five of that of the sons of Arjun. forty of the Pndavas,
forty of Sita and Rwan, and forty of Harishchandra. The men also have sets of
puppets representing the above and other deities, and enact scenes with them like
a Punch and Judy show, sometimes aided by ventriloquism.2a

This immediately calls to mind Edward Moor's 1791 description of the camp
followers atDharwar.25 One wonders whether the Venerable Kumra Kassapa
who had, even during the Buddha's lifetime, the reputation of being a citrakathl
might not actually have been a forerunner of these late nineteenth-century
picture showmen.26
A closely related group, both in name and in occupation, are the citrakar(or
citrakar) who were still present in Benga as late as the fifties. Biswanath
Banerji has studied them extensively and I quote here a portion ofhis "Notes
on Chitrakars."
Their main business is to exhibit their scrolls and sing the traditional explanatory
verses as the scroll is unfolded gradually. The scroll is generally 24 ft. to 50 ft. long
and rolled like a film strip. They do not sell the scrolls like art pictures, but earn their

88

iivelihood by exhibiting these pictures and singing in accompaniment. These scrolls

their chief wealth. They generally spend Rs. 6
for preparing a scroll. In the village they get rice and vegetabie (j a poa to t] poa
of rice i.e., 4 to 12 ozs.) for one performance. On rare occasions, they get a Dhuti
[i.e., dhoty, }{ndi dhotl, "loosely hanging ioin cloth that extends to the knees"l or
Sari in the towns, or in moffusil [i.e., mofussii, Urdu mufaqqal, "provincial, outlying"] areas they get a few annas as remuneration.
The scrolis are made by men. Formerly, for making scrolls they used hand-made
paper and for the pictures they had their indigenous colours such as charcoal for
black, chalk for white, "Pat atta" or juice of ripe "telakucha" (certain local fruit) for
red etc. But at present they use ordinary paper and foreign paints for preparing
scroils and painting pictures respectively (Ref. The Tribes and Castes of West
Bengal-Census 1951, West Bengal).
The men also make images of Gods and Goddesses during different pujas ["rites,
ceremonies, sacrifices"] which fetches them Rs. 3 to Rs. 35 according to the size and
shape of the images. In making images of such Gods and Goddesses or scrolls the
are looked upon by the chitrakars as

India

89

charity of the villagers. At present, this totaliy landless artisan group is leading

miserable economic life.28

Stella Kramrisch emphasizes that these artisans work in several media. They
their houses and rub off the exercises

also practice painting on the wals of

dailY.zs

Like the citrakathl, the citrakar too may well stem from myth-shrouded
antiquity. In a discussion of the theory and origin of castes, the Brahmauaiuarta purr.ta ("legends of the metamorphoses of Brahm [who is identified
with Krsla], heavenly bodies, their influences on human behavior and other
matters") mentions them among a list of outcastes who apparently were expert
draughtsmen:
Those who were begotten by the Vaiyas upon S'dra women were styled Karanas;

son or the daughter or the wife assists the chitrakar. The chitrakars help one another
in making the images. Here, the helper is never paid in cash; at least he takes his meai

and those who were begotten by the Brhmanas upon the Vaiya women were
Amvasthas. Afterwards, Viwakarm begat 9 sons on a S'dra woman. They are
named as follows: Malkra, Karmakra, S'ankhakra, Kuvindaka, Kumbhakra,

there.

Kamsa-Kara, Sutradhara, Chitrakra and Swar4akara. AII of them are illegitimate and

To exhibit such scrolls, the chitrakars usually go to the neighbouring villages

within a radius of four miles. When cultivation and harvesting is over, generally
from the last part of January to March, the men go with their scrolls from village to

expert in architecture; but out of these, the first six are particularly accompiished in
architecture and the last three being cursed by a Brhmana became unholy and were
deemed incompetent by the S'stras to offer sacrifices. Any one who engages them
for the purpose of presiding in matters reiating to sacrifice is also an outcaste; in
other words, he is rendered unholv.3o

village.

All of my informants used to tour in different villages and towns of

Bankura, Birbhum and different villages of Midnapore. Some also used to go to

Baleswar, Jamshedpur etc.
In the village, it is revealed that the chitrakars exhibit scrolls and beg from 7 a.u.

A few pages later, the same text states the specific charges made against the

to 2

ancestral citrakar:

P.M.

The theme or subject-matter of the scroll is taken from:

l.

Picture Recitation in Recent and Modern

Chapter 4

2.
3.

Ramayana as Sita Harana, Ravanbadha. Lakshman Saktishela.

From Bhagbata as Krishnalila, Jagannath.
From Mahabharata-as Naramedh Yagna, Sabitri Satyaban, Data Karna etc. and

from

4.

Manasa Mangala,

5. Chandi Mangala and such other Mangala poems. Each scroll opens with a largesized portrait of the presiding deity which is followed by a series of pictures
illustrating his or her awards or punishment upon mankind. The concluding
scenes of the main story-is a comedy of rescue etc. Interesting scenes are
carefuily selected and painted from memory.
The women make toys from clay by freehand modelling or from clay sheets cast
in terracotta moulds. These toys are generally sunbaked, sometimes also baked in
fire. They make idols of different gods and goddesses, "aIladl" dolls and figures of
different birds and animals. These toys have many colours. In coiouring these toys
also now-a-days foreign colours and paints are used. These toys are not sold in the
weekly mrkets but in the fairs held during Pous or Chaitra Sankranti etc. Price of
such toys varies from 2 pice to annas 4.21 Men sell these toys in the fairs.
The chitrakars have no other profession. But their earning is not sufficient to
satisfy even their minimum requirements. They. actually, have to depend on the

Of the sons of ViSwakarm, Swarnakra became outcasted and

unholy on account of

the curse pronounced against him by a Brhmil whose gold he had stolen. Sutradhra also neglected to carry out the orders ofa Brhmin to collect fuels for sacrificial
purposes and, being cursed by him, was likewise degraded. Chitrakra transgressed
the orders of a Brhmin in respect of a picture the construction of which was
defective and not according to orders and underwent the same fate.3l

In Varhamihira's (d. 587?) Brhatsa\nhi (the Great Compendium on the

astrological significance of heavenly bodies and their incluence on human
behavior) (5.74), artists (citrakra) are classed with musicians and dancing
girls.:z

Another surviving form of the picture-storytelling tradition in India is the

pat or pata (also called patacitra), which is to be found in Bengal, Andhra
Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and elsewhere. Pat may be either small, squaredup illustrations for sale oy jqr1no-pat (literally, "rolled [paintings] on cloth").

The favorite themes are drawn from popular mythoogy and may focus on
matters ofsocial injustice. In the latter case, they often end with a depiction of
hell and the evil-doer receiving his just dues there.33 They may tell stories of
saints as well as of prostitutes and sing-song girls.

90

Chapter 4

Picture Recitation in Recent and Modern

Except for the fact that Bengali pa scrolls are usually arranged in a vertical
format, the scenes being divided into horizontal panels, they functioned
virtually identically as did wayang bbr and pien scrolls. The scrolls range in

length from about ten feet to as much as fifty feet and are about one or two feet
wide. The "priest"-painters who unroll the painted scrolls for the spectators
also narrate them.3a According to G. s. Dutt, these scroll paintings "represent
an art tradition of pre-Buddhist times with but the slightest admixture of
foreign elements." 35 The oldest extant specimens, however, probably do not
date from before the seventeenth century.36 But, given the fact that these
scrolls were ritually discarded when they became tattered, it is remarkable
that any survive from such an early date. Although few extant pa{ d.ate from
before the late eighteenth century, there are specific references toBengalipat
in a text dating from about 1600, the caryQ Ma.iryala (Auspicious song to the
Goddess carydr) by Mukundarma37 and in the Manasa-maitgal of visnupla, an
eighteenth-century poet. A painting in an illustrated Jain Mahapurta, dated.
l54o at Palaam, shows a woman with a pal as tall as herselr)B The pat is
attached to two long, vertical sticks and depicts two human figures, two trees,
and four other unidentinable objects. To the left of the woman holding the pa(
is another woman who is either meant to represent the audience or, perhaps,
because she appears to be dancing, she may be a partner of the woman with the
Pat.

It is no wonder that so few old scrolls survive considering how quickly they
wear out due to the constant turning. when a scroll begins to fall to pieces, the

artist often simply copies a new one from it. Although the tradition

does

change slowly over long periods of time, there is little urge to create a new
story or even to present the old stories in a new way. The intent ofthe artists
is to preserve and perpetuate the old versions. Another reason why the scrolls
do not last is because they are often painted on the cheapest available
materials, such as waste paper from shops or government offices and discarded
newspapers (Tun-huang popular literature was also often written on similar
materials-the backs of old government documents, letters, religious texts,
and so forth). The individual sheets are glued or sewn together at the edges,
varying in length from two to fourteen panels. A piece ofcalico or the tail of
a worn-out shirt might be sewn to each end of the scroll to protect the more
fragile paper. The pieces of cloth are then attached to two sticks on which the
scroll can be rolled.
The itinerant professionals who recite th e pat, t]ne patua or patidar, are poor
and oflow caste. Their caste ranking is comparable to that ofpotters, barbers,
blacksmiths, and sweetmeat makers. These storyteller-painters may be classed
as jadupau, who specialize more in magic, and duanpaua, who,,wait at the
door." 3e The area in which they wander is usually about seven or eight square
miles, but famous performers may range somewhat farther abroad. They travel
light, carrying only their bag of scrolls and a bamboo container of oir. They
usually stay the night in the village where they perform.

India

9l

The pat is often performed by a singre pa(ua at acrossroads or in

the center
of a viuage. or the paua may travel from door to door exhibiting ihis
pa(. rf a
householder or someone in the street expresses an interest in hearing
he

will gradually unfold and explain

story,

of the pa{ he carries with him.o rhe

patu must erect a simpe bamboo frame on which to hang his scroll
(the need
one

for such preparation is, of course, obviated when a small handscroll is

used).
He then praises the protective deity of the pat and begins his
story. As he
narrates the story, he points to various parts of the scroll. But
perfect
correspondence between picture and story is not absolutely essential
b".r..r"
the themes are so well-known both to t]'e patua and to his audience.
Important sour ces for paa performances incrude Bengali folk po ems, the Ramaya4a
epic and numerous episodes from Krsna's life. The most often rcited
folk poems are
about the goddess Manas, who is the rival of Lord siva and the proteitoress
of
snakes, and about the goddess cand the wife ofsiva and adversary
frtanas. the
tradition also accommodates new themes which the paua may introduce
to atfiact
larger audiences and income. popular sources for these are stories
of famous robberies and murders. Like the rerigious stories, these are stories
with a morar: the good
are rewarded and the evir are punished. These traditionar
songs, along with the

recitation and painting techniques, are passed down from faiher to

son. New
material is also gained from friends an d other pauas as well as from
literature. some
patus, n fact, create their own compositions.ar

'rhe pa{ua do not consult promptbooks or any

other riterary materiars in
connection with their performances, which are strictly oral and visua.
By
contrast, "narrative paintings produced for court or elite patrons
often are
accompanied by a written text or refer to one.',42
Most pa{ua speak a vulgar form of Bengali and local diarects. socially,
they
are looked down upon by the people for whom they
perform but are respected
for their illusion-creating powers. some individ ual
aua started to calithem-

selves i7667 (painters) in an apparent attempt to improve

their social
standing.
The status and modus operandi of the west Bengal patua are well
described
in the following paragraphs:
There is a community, particurarly in west Bengar bordering on orissa
on one side
and Bihar on the other, known as pau or scror painters. They
come of a very low
social origin and hence they are not admitted in the Hindu community.

They form
their own social group though they have more incrination towards Musrim
r"tigio'
than Hindu. They earn their riverihood by painting the episodes
of the Ramayana,
the Bh.gavata and other rocal legends for enlerhinment
oithe peopre among whom

they live. They exhibit the paintings in pubric in accompaniment

of a class of
narrative song sung by themselves. They paint on canvas, about 2 ft. in
breadth and
about 40 ft. in length, the events of an episode one below
the other and roll it up
while carrying it from prace to prace or when not used. whire exhibiting
the
paintings they unfold the scro[s and exprain them to the ray
pubric by means of

92

Chapter 4

picture Recitation
in Recent and Modern

songs they sing. The scroil

painters are unrettered but

hereditar'y they possess the

talent of painring and the knowredge
ortne t.aaitronar themes *r,. ,ri.v
g.rr".^'y
paint' The songs they sing are also i"nherited
from their fore*rn".r, ,"-.r;mes
newly
composed songs are arso added if
the situation demands and itrrr"
pr1",.* nave some
talent for composition. The tradition
is entirery orar and it has nothing
to do with the
texts either of vImiki, rhe originar
author, o"r of Krittivsr. ,rr.
translator.

These

foik

songs are

U":"

ur"th" ,orrg, oi J. ,..ott_painters ".""gr,

of Bengal.
Among the themes of the songs
and'paintings, the Ramayanaprays
a vitar rore.
The scro'-painters have deverop"ed
an ai tradition of the Rmyanaof
their own
and they describe the incid_ents
according to such tradition showing
littre regard
either to vrmki or even to Krittivs.
Acrding to this trdition, the characters
of
the Rmyana have been
vvL' rvr
more rrdLuraltseo
naturalised rn
in tire
tl environment of Bengali sociaj

and
domestic life.
The scrot-painters serect one independent
incident from the Rmyana,rike
the
killing of Sindhu, rhe young son of.rhe
biind
as

and
the incidenr bv means .r r.ro
'iusrrare
before'
In the course of their public exhibition
made from door to door in the
v'rages, the scrot painters siow
unfold the scrors and exhibit the
paintings one by
one as they explain them by singing
a narrative song. . . .43

illl'rr:::t"i:::::"::ii

The case of the Bengati patu arso

affords proof that a group of picturestorytelers do not always restrict
themserves to a singre format nor
even to
storytelling alone, for that matter. rn
their effort.s ;" .;.';;:"-:":,
community aso paint wooden dous
and
multiralented artisrs and minstrers,
they mighiarso entetain trr"
stories about them' And, rike their
"i"., *i,r,
co,rnter"pa.ts in Japan and cermy,
they
often increase their income by se'ing
ort.n.up copies of the artwork about
which they sing.

.".rni;ii:";i;:X";:i":IZi:;T

The Kalighat paua prod,uced rerigious

paintings for mass sare to p'grims
who thronged to the Kari tempre,
.ri".rutiy rrring the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.a5 pal were also
,.ritubl. _..
great pitgrimage center at puri,
the abode
whose present shrine was estabished
"rr;:::"u:,.lirl'ji,:
there in the eleventh century.ae 1...
were
suppried by Mahrns, heredita ry
jhe rainlings
citrakara who rived
(some still do) close to the temple
p...i.r"tr.ir-From the essays in the book
by Sankar Sen Gupta, The patas and
"dit"d
Patuas of Bengal,I have been abre
to obtain the fotowing additional informa_
tion about Bengaripat and' patu.rn
the first place, Indian schorars
generary
believe that they are traceable to
pre-Aryan'ti-., u.rd have proposed that
there is some evidence for their
.*irr"rr. at lvfoheno_daro and Harappa.+s
There are, at a.'y rate, riterary references
to their forerunners from at reast the
international

era.so The
o,11,:,, in rhe ca s re,
il:,",i
small income from pat performances
m.al be supplemented by money earned
through piercing ears and .ros.s, ,rr"k
p

r,,.,ll!

;i:,";;

n'*. f# J,Tli:

"hu.irrg,

metal smithing, and

so

India

93

forth's2 The craft of the patuaispassed

on almost exclusivery hereditar'y.
The
son wir attend his father's p".fo.-urr."s

to observe hi,

learns how to paint tn,

tracingorr",
considered to be a type oflli-O,
folk_art becaise t
the vitages
no formal ,,^"ua"^i",,

w;;;;"

;";"i;;;s

and he

,tr. latter,s *o.k. th. pat

are

f{^lilj::ff3iffffi:ri

they fulfirl are those of education,

mass communication, and entertainment
for
the common peopre.54 In an interview
with a patuanamed Khandu chitrakar
(note the surname), in response
to what kind of patis most in demand,
he said
that people prefer scenes fmurder,
.obbe.lr and hooriganism.s5 This reminds
us very much of the sensationarist
news-reporti ng Bcnkersnger of
Germany.
Another comparative note is struck
by th. .t that, arthoug

h pa aremade in
various formats' the themes und
,.p"..s.ntation remain the same.56 This
is
similar to the situation in Indoneriu,iupurr,
and elsewhere.

This form of picture-storyteting

ak spread from Bengar to neighboring

orissa' Kunjabehari Das' comments
on theiature of the narration in
picture_
storytelting in orissa
a srriking simitarity to *i"r'T"
or,n"
?::f*O
quality of the wayang bbr recitations:

i.""i

Oriya patus now si

matterfrom,h"R,-,I';;T,J:il::iJ:::ff

i#:i"r",.,,+.,

songs are simpre in thoug-ht and

ranguage and can easiry be understood
by the
illiterate mass. This type of song is
calied Tpuai-Uu.ra,,_the meaning
of which is
nor required to be exprained to
the audience. The other typ. i,
.ufiJ r,A.thubandi"-which has a eeper meaning
,"Jt, ,*r..",.d in a juggrery of words. This
requires an expranation
the c.-rk-ring.., who has a power
of oratory and is
learned. The firsr rype of-ftom
song t, u...pu.rtJ y , a._
,n
,*""
,rO" o,
Murdanga which is adopted from palawallas.
"o
"

There are six or seven members

memhe." including
in^t,,J;-^ Gyak
:
and Byak in a patua_Jatra.
There is one Rutni_en
-a male member who puts on the dress
and ornaments of a
female borrowed from women
of rich family. He breaks the monotony
of Jatra by
occasional

dances.

Patua-Jatra

[patua-itraj starts seven days before the Baisak-samkranti

Vaikha-samkrnti, ,,vernal equinox,,]
[sanskrit

"rid "o.r*rr.. into the l5th

Note that, like the Maudgatyyana

variety play

Baisak_s7

in

the Sung period, this

performance falls around fr".".rt
time, lasts f
one davs ror patua-jtra. nine
davs ror,n.
fifteenth'5s The forerunners
""3ri"ir1,"t"::"f1t;
mances on the same subject.

of these plays during the Tng

werepienperfor-

The correspondences !:r:""

Bengalipa[and Indonesi an wayang
bbr are
obvious in philip Rawson,s
discussion of the former:
In Bengal there stit exist peasant
fam'ies of professionai story te'ers,
who travel
ro vitage earning their riverihood by
giving pubric recirarions of
3"T.ltttit"
taditional legends .,
noes. They
*.1
which they unrot
:".1
""_y *rrn them long painred scrolis

to'rustrate the differerrr.irro.', orrheir

stories.

These

<n"^ro.--

94

Chapter 4

fam'y property'

and are made

picture Recitation
in Recent nd Modern
by members of the famiry. The profession
is an

i:;::.H:ii:1,::,ii';i;:,*:l*t'*,ln*::

illustrating their talks with illuminated

scrolls.:g

Sudhansu Kumar Ray has pointed to

the simirarity between patua scrors
film: "The pictoriar arrangement in the painted
scrots made y irr" p.i.*_
painters is in the form of a sequence
ul,'ort recalling the ,arly'days of the
cinema."60 one is reminded of the rong
record of deveopment i tt Indone_
sian narrative tradition from wayang
b, to wayang gambar htdup.
Another branch of the Indian traition of
picture recitation comes from the
Telangana region of northwestern
Andhra pesh, in the heart of the Deccan.
Investigation of this branch shows that
the same scrot-if made of fine,
and

durable handwoven cotton-might be

used for performa.rc.s drr.irrg a period
that lasted more than three hunred
years. In the Mittar Museum of Indian

Art' Hyderabad,

there. is a magnificent painted scrolr

(accession number
76'469) showing episodes from the
life of the sage Bhavana, the regendary
progenitor of the padmasaris, a subcasre
of the ialis, *;;;;;;
of
weavers. The scror carries an inscription
"'cast.
at the bottom which revears
that
it
changed hands on November 13, 1644,
in the Mahbu bnagardistrict of Te'an_
gana' Another inscription which most

rikery wourd havJprovided the name

of the artist and the date he completed
the iroll, has been erased.
The scroll was owned by a fam'y of itinerant
minstrers of the Kunepu'alu
caste' Their prosimetric performances,
which rasted for ,"rr"., .,r.-rrrrgs, were
staged for various padmasali communities,
and were the means of riverihood
for the Kunepullalu minstrels.
Performances by the sforyteters arways
opened with prayers to Ganesha, the
elephant-headed Hindu deity who is
invtei before any un".tutirrg. "rr"rtu,,
large image appears on the first panel
of the scroll. speaking in the vernacular
Telegu, the narrator then began to iet
the story. Three or four other members
of the
family played instruments or. occasionary
nea in the singing. As the drama
unforded' the scrot, suspended f.opot.s . uffixed to a wat, was srowry unrolred,
event by event.6l

It is curious that the paintings^on the Terangana

scrots are too sophisticated to
be termed "folk.,,Judging from thei*tlt"
urrd the high q,rfrry-of ,h.*
artistry, they seem to have been painted
by the same crass of artists who
worked on commission for powerful Hindu
tandlords.
The Indian picture-storytening tradition
that has been studied best is
known as par or para.62 Firsthand, verifiable
knowledge of this riving performance tradition is extremery varuabre
in trying to understand the context of
less well observed genres in other
areas, incruing those that are extinct
and
for which only fragmentary d.ataare available.

India

95

The par tradition flourishes in

the semi-desert state of Rajasthan in the
northwest part of rndia' It is also
found in, Gujarat, Huryunu', and Madhya
Pradesh. The word, parand all
other technic"]j":t ," ,frr, lfrrfr*
.lrr.".rri.rg
it are transcribed from the Marwri
(i.e., Mvr) ranguage. A par is a long
cloth (cf' sanskrit pata and Bengari
p a, notethar the owner of
the p ar is ca\ed
a pataui bhopo) on which
is aepictea an epic relating to a
certain
"rry. O po,
performance is referred to as par
,cano i,,recitation of the paypainting,,)
or
bhagata and invorves exposition
and exiranation of the painting through
a
number of different devices, chiefly
,o.rg
chant.63 ,"r" *!

twenty-four

Bagaryvat brothers urr

I,o. ".rd
D __

i"rfor

the

lu*o::1a"tn"-."g,"narheroes),*n.".;':^::{r;i,,ti1liJii:
normatly
parronized by the uppr
castes.

rh"

;i;;;;;;;;;"..ant
and
pursue their occupation by journeying
from village to village ,r, ,""."t o
u
group wi'ing to sponsor a performnc.
the singers who perfor m thepa are
called bhopo, a word that means
roughly ,,priest for a folk_god ,, or ,,shaman.,,es
This is in perfect consonance witr,
trre designation of the bhopo,s Indonesian
counterpart' the darang._The bhopo
arso geneiaty functions u, p-t-i-"
rorupriest who does some hearing nd
divination during trance. He may be
in
charge of a smalr shrine (nota
Lmpre) that is earcated ro his deity.
In fact, the
pay itserf may be conddered u rort
or portabre shrine.65 Though the
performance is basically a religious
observanie, the performers are drawn
from the
lower and occasionaly middle
classes . bi
-': lp^intinq and recitation are nor
high-caste, Brahmanicil
actjvities.

It appears that no bhopo earns his living

entirery from thepar performances
he presents in rurar v'rages
or at fairs. compare Amin sweeney,s remarks
about Malay storytellers:
It may be said of traditionar Maray
entertainments in

generar that the exponents onry

very rarery attempt to subsist entirery
on their incomes from performing,
and even

the most popurar darangs.

..

w'l

,reu.ry arwuys have

a secondary occupation. This

is usuaily sma'-scare agricuiturar
work, fo."ar-ost at performers of traditional
drama and story-teting are rurar
peopre, and the majority are ititerate
or semi_
iterate' Indeed the rate of i'itera"y
-orrg sto.y-terters is higher

genres....

than in other

,,66

A bhopo can earn the equivalent

of between five and ten dotars for a
night,s
entertainment'.7 This income is
suppremented by wages earned
from
agricurturat day-labor or tending or
r_uiiplots an
needs to be made here thaione
of th. ,erigrous leaders of the Littre
Tradition
in raiwan, ".;;;and rndia *","
r.,r_

,il:;;;.;;iJ",""

i*:ii#J:J:jff:1"ry
",,g"g"d
i*o
;.,;;A
i::'J".::;:::
iio "" but one
:::;
occupation'
rqil",iii
which clearry-.*p.:esred

individuals who pursued it.

deep psychologicar drives of the

96

Chapter 4

Because of the extensive

Picture Recitation in Recent and Modern India

ethnological work that has been done on them, we

know with a high degree of ac.'"acy the social background of the bhopo.
They include members of the following castes: Gujrs (cattle-keepers and
peasants), Kumbhrs (potters), Balais (weavers), and Nyaks or Thories (tribal
peopes). The first three groups focus their storytelting almost exclusively on

Lord Devnrya! while the latter group will tell stories about him as well as
about Pbjr and Rmdev. These are all from the middle and ower classes of
society. They are decidely not rulers, warriors, priests, intellectuals, or merchants. Yet, though they may be illiterate, they are always thoroughly con_
versant with the folklore of their traditions.6s A full Deunarayaq k par, for
instance, may utilize more than 335 songs and the bhopo remembers them all.6e
Unlike theBengalipatua, who is painter, musician, and poet, the Rajasthani
bhopo rarely paints his own pictures . par are normally painted by professional
painters. T.e bhopo who orders a par may or may not consult with the painter
during the course of his work.
The par bhopo generally travel in groups of two-the patavi, who is the
chief singer, and the diyaluldiuala or dlptyo ("light-holder,') bhopo, who is his
assistant. They may be accompanied by optional vocalists calledgayakfal,who
may also play percussion instruments. The pataui bhopo dresses like a Rjpt
prince.7. "|he diuala bhopo (bhopt if a woman) holds an oil lamp suspended from
a stick to illuminate the par.

In the Pbji tradition the pair are normally

and bhop;

a man and wre, called bhopo

in the Devnryan tradition there are two or more men. Both of

these traditions utilize song(gau)alternating with declamatory speech(arthv;

cf. artha ["meaning"], hence "explanarion

[of the song],,). The latter is not
prose but instead a more or less modified version of the metrical lines of the
song. some of t'e gav lines are quoted almost verbatim in t]ne arthau section.

The last word or last few words in sentences of t]'.e arthau are frequently
spoken by the assistant. In doing so, the assistant may simply repeat what the
bhopo }.,as said, may vary it stightly, or may himself complete the sentence.
Fuller versions of the par performances employ more extensive narration
through the sung parts. The shorter versions tend to allow the narration to be
carried mainly by the declamatory parts. In the DevnryaT epic, the gau
Iines are simply sung to a number of repetitive stichic tunes, but in the pbji
epic they are enormously expanded with padding words to produce a text that
can be made to match the strophic tunes used.Tr This is, incidentaly, the
identical technique employed in chinese performing arts to inflate a pentasylabic, heptasyllabic, or decasyllabic line to fit a canto or lyric meter. It also has
affinities to the practice of central Asian saga-tellers who deliver both the
poetic and rhythmical prose parts of their narratives in recitative, not in
spoken voice.72
T}:.e bhoporefer to the cloth painting during the "spoken" (actually chanted)
arthau sections. Some of them make a great deal of use of the painting,
illustrating every little detail of the narrative. others seem hardly to notice

97

that it is there hanging behind them. When they do use the painting, it is the
lead singer who points to the pertinent parts while the asistant singer illuminates them with a lamp. It is significant that these are night performances.

They are,

in

fact, considered to be a type of jagarary ("all-night wake").

Consequently, artificial lighting is important, even though it is from the front.

The dancing flame of the lamp contributes immeasurably to the illusion that
the hero himself has appeared before the very eyes of the beholders.

Another important aspect of the p ay performances that might be taken into

consideration in trying to imagine what the oral pien presentations may have
been like is that no rigidly set formulas are employed in pointing at a particular
part of the cloth. Bhopo do, however, often use formulas both at the beginning
and at the end ofthe "spoken" arthau sections, but these vary from singer to
singer. The initial formulas for the arthav portions of the text are quite
mechanical and perfunctory. The assistant almost invariably begins by saying
rajlal bhala ("Very good, sir"). This is an unmistakable signal that the gav is
concluded and the explanatory arthau wlllnow begin. 'Ihe bhopo then usually
says "The name of Lord Devnryal is good" or the equivalent for the other
heroes. He may add a few more words leading into the upcoming arthv. -Ihe
end of the pre- arthau lormula is marked by sunai lla ko asauara, the last word
being uttered by the assistant. The meaning of lta ko asavra is not readily
apprehensible but a common understanding is that it refers to the rider of
Lil[gar], Lord Devnryan's horse, hence, perhaps tne bhopo as his representative. There is no doubt about sur.tai, however, which simply tells the
audience to "listen." These pre-rthau formulas serve chiefly to signal the
shift back into declamatory chant at the conclusion of a song. The nearest
approximation of this function in t}:.e pien-wen are t}:re tendencies for one or
more of the following to occur at the beginning of the prose portions within the
first full sentence after the verse:

L perfective particles and verbs (chi ffi, yi 1,, ch'i:61, liao f , pi 4);
2. averb denoting speaking, hearing, or proclamation(yueh , yen fi,

wen

l, piao , pao fft);

3. a word or phrase indicating the passage of a period of time (hs-y g1, tsoyeh W&., i-chen
liang-chiu fl./y);
4. a word or phrase-gS,
indicating movement through space (hsing f1, chih fi,
hsiang-ch'ien Jffi, hui E, j"

^).
The end of a gau is also marked by shifts in the musical and prosodic pattern.
It is impossible to correlate these shifts with any comparable phenomenon at
the end of the pien-wen verse sections because the music has long been lost and
the lines have been standardized at heptasyllabic length. There is, however, a
remarkable correspondence between the verse introductory formula of pienwen and the concluding expressions of arthav sections, which aso serve to
introduce the gav or sung portions of a par performance. We now turn to a

98

Chapter 4

Picture Recitation in Recent and Modern India

detailed examination of the similarity in form and function between these

formulas.
The complete pien-wen pre-verse formula is "Let us see . . . " or "Please look
at the place where XXX happens. How does it go?" (Ch'ieh k'an XXX ch'u, jowei ch'en-shuo, H XXX ffi#ffiF{ffi) There are a number of variants of this
formua, most of them abbreviated versions. -l!:'e arthau-concluding, verse

introductory formulaic language of pay performances includes all three basic

elements of the complete pien-wen formula: the reference to seeing, an overt or
implicit indication of narrative locus, and a rhetorical question that serves as
a preview of the succeeding episode that will be sung about in the verse
section. Here I quote some examples from "The Epic of the Twenty-Four
Bagar.vat Brothers and Lord Devnryaq[a]".

1.21-22 And let us see, does that Mother Cow go to the sacred fireplace of Baba
Rupnath? And how does the story continue? Let us see. What things happen? Let us
see.

2.14 And what does this Mother Cow hear? Let us see, in the place of meditation.

3.I5 As these very words are .being (said), what does Mother Cow, the one entrusted
with speech by the Lord, discuss? And what does Baba Rupnath hear? Let us see, at
the place of meditation.
4.14 What matters does Mother Cow explain? And what does Baba Rupnath hear?
Let us see, at the place of meditation.

What did Baba Rupnath say? And what did Bhoj Maraj hear? Let us see. Let us
Parvati heating the milk. Let us see.

5.32
see

8.12-I3 And

at this time does he tie up the bundle ofash and grain husks? Let us see.

And how does the story go? Let us see, among (Bhoj's) men.
9.26-27 Letus see how Bhoj Maraj goes into the cows'pens. And how does the story
go? And does he let the calves of the cows go (to nurse)? And circulating (among
them) does he match (each calf with its) cow?
10.14 Then what does (his) mother say? And what does Bhoj Maraj hear? Let us
How does the story go among (ehoj's) men? Let us see.

see.

I l.I0-I I Whiie explaining these matters, what does Bhoj Maraj say? And how does
the story go? Let us see, among (nhoj's) men. What does your Mother Kathera hear?
Let us see

21.39 And then what does Baba Rupnath say? And what does Bhoj Maraj hear at the
abode ofmeditatiorr, at the sacred fireplace? Let us see.

24.L2-L3Yes, so then (what) does Bhoj Maraj say? And what is the talk about taking
the robe? Let us see, at the abode of meditation. What does Baba Rupnath hear? Let
us

see.73

The transcription of the operative words in these formulas (significant portions of which are spoken by the assistant) are as folows. dek, exactly

99

equivalent to Chinese ch'ieh k'an (ancient ts'ia-k'an,7a "let us see'); kt uarta

calu ho jauai ("how does the story continue?"), functionally identical to
Ckrnese jo-wei ch'en-shuo ("how does it go?"); t< at baa javai ("what
things happen?"), which occurs less often than the preceding two components; arrd par[] (post-position for " at"), m (post-position lor "in"), or some
other indicator oflocation comparable to Chinese ch'u ("place").
The similarity of these verse introductory sentences with t]J:e pien-wen pteverse formula is striking. Both are highly visual in their orientation; t]"jle bhopo,
or more often his assistant, consistently says "Let us see" (dek) evenwhen he
is asking what someone in the story hears. The resemblances betweent}Je pienwenpe-verse formula and the pre-verse formulaic language of t]ile pa performance are so great that they can scarcely be ascribed to sheer coincidence.
Surely these likenesses affirm an analogous function. And, considering the
compelling evidence for a historical relationship between Indian and Chinese
picture recitation, in all probability, they also attest some sort ofevolutionary
Iinkage. It is highly unlikely that these two traditions could mirror each other
so closely unless they were descended from some common ancestor whose
traits they both reflect.
At the same tirne, we must not ignore the differences between these two
formulas. -]he pien-wen pre-verse formula is far more obligatory and unvarying than is the pre- g u lang]diige of t]ne par tradition. In my estimation, this is
due to the act that pien-wen is a type of written literature that is already at a
remove from the oral events whence it derived. Conversely, the passages frorn
the epic of Lord Devnrya! translated above were taken from an oral par
performance. No written texts are used by the performers of this tradition.
Hence the formulaic language, while displaying obvious affinities with the
pien-wen pre-verse formula, is more fluid and adaptive. sometimes t]ile bhopo
and his assistant omit parts of it athgether or they may repeat parts of it
several times, especially dek.It is probable that fixed formulaic regularity
creeps into folk literature only when it is written down and becomes Popular
literature. Before that happens, there seems to be considerable variation
among individual performers and even by a single performer from performance to performance and during a given performance, although each bhopo
follows his own patterns, which he may, indeed, have learned from his
teacher. All pay ucano bhopo, however, being part of a coherent tradition,

retain a common framework within which they maniPulate the pte-gav

formulaic language and the other essential elements of their craft'
Unlike performers in some other Asian picture-storytelling traditions, the
calling of bhopo is not strictly hereditary. This is explained as being due to the
fact that singing and dancing talent are essential for a bhopo and not all sons may
be so gifted. A bhopo also needs a good sense of humor and a developed ability
in mimicry to animate his performance. So, instead of automatically choosing his
own son as successor, the bhopo has an understudy (cel) known as stkhadar
("a learner"). Only someone who demonstrates genuine aptitude will be

Picture Recitation in Recent and Modern India

IOI

given performance. On the other hand, he might well point to the same scene
ont}le par two or more times during the course of his narration. This tremendous degree of flexibility on the part of t}:'e bhopo is tempered and constrained
by the expectations of the audience and the shared heritage that comes from
belonging to a given performance tradition. -fhe lull par epics (i.e., those that
include all possible episodes) are very long but there is a varety of narrational
devices available to the bhopo which rescue him from having to exhibit
superhuman feats of memorization. For example, the epics are composed of
discrete story segments or episodes called parvaro that are like building blocks
for the narrative structure. There are also memorized lines called kartthatmay
be inserted when needed. Embellishment is frequent and the bhopo is adept at
filling out a passage extemporaneously.
-Ihe bhopo alone is not responsible for the actualization of the par performance. The event is made possible only as a resut of a rather complicated
social enterprise that may bring into association par artists, t}:'e bhopo w}:'o
present the show, patrons who donate money to sponsor it because they wish
to fulfill vows to the deity, the village elder who helps with some of the
organization, and the audience (some of whom are devotees) who attend it and
who often punctuate the performance with questions to which the bhopo must
be prepared to respond swiftly. Nert' and inexperienced singers may receive
critical attention. The people also provide oil for the lamp and give meals to the
bhopo whlle they are in the village. They may be in residence for several days,
since the full tellingof apay epic requires two or three nights. During the rainy
season, when it is believed that their protective deities are asleep, the bhopo do
not go out into the villages seeking opportunities to put on their shows.78 A
practical consideration is the liability that would result from getting rained
out. This does not, however, preclude other types of narrative performances
less subject to the elements. The Pbji bards, for example, often find work at
odd times performing non-par entertainments for Rbri camel-keepers.Te
When the bhopo arrive in a village with their paraphernalia, the people
begin to gather and stir with excitement.so After the bhopo are convinced that
they will be adequately rewarded for their efforts, they purify the ground and
then begin to erect their pay in the street. As the sun goes down, tlne par is put
up on its stand. The par may be set up outside or in front of a patron's doorway, near the communal sitting stone, or in the vicinity of a shrine or temple
to which it may have some connection. Individuals or communities may
sponsor a pay perlormance either as a separate event or as one activity in the
context of a festival. Because a pay perlormance is elaborate in comparison
with some other forms of recitation, particularly those without a large and
cumbersome painting, sponsorship is relatively expensive and requires a fair
amount of preparation. The size of the par is truly enormous, ranging from
about 5 feet by t5 feet for those on Pbji to 5 feet by 35 feet for those on
Devnryan.8r
Once the par has been set up and all other necessary arrangements have

lO2

Chapter 4

Picture Recitation in Recent and Modern India

been made, the show can begin. The performance itself starts in the evening
after dinner; the singing and dancing before the paf go on all night long. The
first part ofthe performance is the bhopo's evocation ofthe deity, Devnryan
or Pbtjr, to bless the people with prosperity and joy throughout the year.Bz
'Ihe bhopo narrates the story, event by event, and the exotic colors ofthe pr
come to illusory life as his assistant shines a flickering lamp upon the various
appropriate parts of t}ae par. The effect of conjuration is heightened by the
burning of incense and the jingling of the small bdrls (ghungru or ghughar)
worn around the ankles of the performer. The pay bhopo sings and plays;
sometimes he and his assistant will join in a sort of singing duel. The excitement of the performance depends upon many other techniques as well.

and hear everything. . . . Between the songs are poetic recitations carred arthav.T]hen
the bard may bend over and point out a particular scene which illustrates the episode
he is reciting. At other times songs and recitations stop altogether. Then a spectator
wiil offer a rupee to the deity. For this the bard or his assistant blows the conch shell
in the name of the donor for the pleasure of Devnrya4 or pbji. They continue all
night. The next morning before the sun rises, they close the performance.s3

The sequence of elements in a typical Devnryarl par performance is as

follo,t's: initial purificatory rites; opening of t]ne par; donning of the costume
by the bhopo; seua (this service may include hymns, burning of incense,

Iighting of lamps, etc.) consecration for the par; a series of invocations;

prosimetric relation of the story; collection of offerings during the numerous
breaks; celebrative aratt ("ceremony of the tamps") songs to the relevant
characters and deities; and closing seua service for the par.8a Tinis is not very

differentfromtheorderofpicturerecitationelsevhere(e.g.,Indonesia,

Japan,

and so forth).
The Rajasthani par tradition can be traced back approximately three hundred years (legend pushes it back another three hundred years), and the

painting ofthefirstparis thought to have been commissioned by choch Bht,

who was a devotee of Devnrya4.s5 But there is great difficulty in establishing
the early history of the paintings because once the colors fade or the canvas
cracks they are ritualistically destroyed in an elaborate ceremony by being
thrown into a sacred lake called Pushkar or some other body of water.86 The
par are sacred and, as long as they are usable, must be preserved with all due
respect and in accordance with prescribed ritua. The professed religious
nature of these performances is evident from the fact that they are intended

primarily to evoke the protective deity for the welfare of the

audience.sT

(Before secularization, tlne pien had a similar purpose, viz., to cause or [re]capture the appearance fcf . pien: transformational manifestationl of a divine
being.) The p ar performance also serves to transmit religious ideals while at the
same time providing entertainment. From a sociological viewpoint, it may be

said that the par performance promotes the solidarity of the community
a certain deity or deities. The purpose of a typical performance
may be said to be threefod: it provides the community with devotional
fufillment, instruction, and entertainment.ss
It is interesting to note that Devnrya\ bhopo occasionally get together for
their own fairs (conferencesl) to discuss their craft and pay respect to their
patron deities. There is little competition among them because each seems to
stick to his own mutually agreed-upon circuit.se
A process of commercialization and secularization in tlne pay and related
genres has been observed.eo When this happens to an oral tradition there is
often a loss of grounding in the essential folklore that sustains it. As a result,
the tradition gradually becomes vitiated and its survival problematic. The
same processes are observable in other Asian picture-storytelling genres. The
death knell of a vital folk art is frequently sounded when urban entrepreneurs
and the scholarly elite take possession of it for their own ends.er Wtin par
performances, however, this process is partially belied by the Devnryar,r
tradition, which continues to thrive.
There are other forms of storytelling with pictures in Rajasthan. One is the
Rmdal, which involves a much smaller cloth than tine par. Tlne bhopo holds
an end in one hand and tucks the other under his armpit. Using a pointer held
in his free hand, he cals attention to various scenes on the painted cloth.e2 The
kavar provides another format for storytelling with pictures in both Rajasthan
and Madhya Pradesh. This is a box in the shape of a small wooden temple with
numerous doors, inside which are panets depicting Hindu deities and illustrating popular stories. The bard, called a kauariya bh{, opens them one at a time
and narrates the exposed scene with song and recitation.e3 This would seem
to be very much like some of the earliest precursors of German picturestoryteling.
Other traditions arethe kalamkar(paintings on cloth) from Andhra pradesh
and Madras, and the Krsnala ("Krsna's sports or diversions") and Ahmedabad temple prints.ea Written above each frame of the kalamkarz are inscriptions in Tamil or Telugu describing the action of the scene. The narration is in
prosimetric form and the storyteller points to the scene as he tells about it.
Some of these cloth-paintings are enormous. One colorful kalamkarl from
Andhra Pradesh illustrating the futl story of the Ramayana with sixty scenes
arranged in eight rows measures 30 feet by I0 feet. 'Ilne Viuidha-tlrtha-uastrapata of Abmedabad (164I) is approxrmately I0 feet by 4fleet. A fragment of an
old kalamkarf from South India in the Madras Museum bears several points of
similarity with the Sriputra illustrated scroll (P4524) and Indonesianwayang
bbr that deserve mention. All three employ a horizontal format with trees
functioning as boundaries between scenes to break up the otherwise continuous narratives into episodes. Here, too, the forces of good are arrayed on the
right, the forces ofevil on the eft.es The so-called "Avatr" scroll painted by
hereditary faujdar (IJrdu, for "soldier" or "military man") artists of Vishnupur
focused around

The bard jaunts back and forth in front of the pay, oftenspinning, sometimes chasing
his assistant, which excites the children, who sit right up front so that they can see

foj

years. 96 The Gujarat mata nx pachedl 'temple-cloth of the Mother

Goddess ")
ts painted by guildlike groups of artists and used for narration

reddi ) of stories

about the mother goddess, Kulagotar by shepherd bharwar)

.97
Paintings from Paithn, town ln Auranga bad district, Maharashtra,
ate
also used ln storytelling. They come 1n series and illustrate
stories from the
Mahabharata and Ramayana, myths from the Puranas and
stories telling of
regional heroes 98 The storytellers of this tradition are called
citrakath, which
means/ as we have seen, "[someone who paints] pictures
and recites stories
[about them]." As is true of virtuaily ari picture-storytelrers, the paithn
citrakathare itinerants oflow social status: "These story
tellers travel from
village to village in Maharashtra, reciting their stories in
song and verse for
patrons in the regionallanguage, Marthi. Their low social
staius and poverty
O.:.n."1:9 by the way they live in make-shift camps ourside their
iarrons,
villages." ee
Paithn paintings were originary made in sets (roose-reaf
forios carted pothi).
Each set beonged to an individ uar citrakathland served
to ilrustrate a particular narrative. The number of scenes per set varied from thirty
to uppro"i
mately seventy. The obvious advantage of this format over
a ,-1, nurra-iraa
picture-scroll is that scenes courd be rearranged or
omitted easily during the
performance. The paintings measured approximatery 12
inches inieight uy t s
to 17 inches in width. These dimensions wourd have been
suitabre fJ, g.o.,p,

no larger than

ten to thirty individuars. since the scenes on the sriputra

transformation scrolr have about the same dimensions, we
can get an idea of
the average size ofaudience at transformation performances.
In spite oftheir
relatively small dimensions, the paithn paintings have
been dlescribed as
muralistic in nature. some of them were divided ino two
sections by a verticar
element, such as a pillar or tree. usually two consecutive paithn
paintings
would be pasted back to back and occasionany were mounted
on an extra
piece ofpaper placed between them for added strength.
In order to supply the
demands of collectors, they_ are often sprit apart anJ
the sets broken
uor,
ofthe paintings have been bady frayed through frequent handling. "p.
rvr"rry or
them have been patched at the top in the nter where
they ,irere worn
through by being hed up to the audience during performance.
The paithn
paintings are closely rerated stylisticaily to
the lelther shadow puppets of
Karnataka (Mysore), Andhra pradesh, and Kerala.roo
Athough their art is rapidry dying out in competition with
the cinema,

there are still numerous picture showmen operating in

the Indian countryside,
but information concerning most of them is xceediigly difficurt
to obtain. one
such group that has recentry been brought to light ai

tne Thakar inhabitants

of Gudi wadi vilrage of pinguri town in South atnagiri
disrrict of Maharashtra.r.i T'heir history as entertainers can be traced ack approximately
five

hundred years. During their early history as a recognirrUt"

g.o,rp, tir.y

received some support and patronage (in the form of

smal grants

JrurJrrom

duties, such as performing during the Navartri ("nine days and nights")
sacrifices before Daahr (or Dussehra, Durg pj, Durgotsava, etc.), a tenday Hindu festival that starts on the first night of the month of Asvin, which
falls between September and October. Out of seventy-seven villages in Sawantwadi state, the Thakars still perform in twenty-nine of them. For this, they
receive an annual income from some of the local temples. Among the performances_ they offer are pangul (showing a trained bull\, citrakath (pictwestorytelling of myths), chamadyachya bahulya (myths and ghost stories told
with leather shadow puppets), and kalasutri bahulya (myths and popular
stories enacted with string puppets). Individuals, however, may specialize in
one or another of these performances. Across the Thakar community of entertainers as a whole, we see that there is not a hard and fast line between drama
and narrative. This corroborates the hypothesis that Indian-influenced narrative and drama in china are part of a continuum and not two wholly separable
realms of literature.
Occasionally, the Thakars have been classified as untouchable leather
craftsmen because they had, at times, to repair their own puppets when no
other skilled craftsmen were available. But socially they are actually even
lower than the untouchables because their occupation as wandering players
places them outside of the caste system altogether. They are not priests,
monks, or ascetics, yet many of their performances deal with religious subjects. The community has its own governing council (Jt panchayar) that acts
as mediator to resolve conflicts among members. They even have their own
special dialect (a sort of thieves' Latin), which they use when strangers are
around. Many of the younger members of the community are abandoning
the traditional occupation as entertainers and are taking more lucrative jobs
in Bombay. The seventy families who live in Gudi Wadi are mostly farmers
or fishermen but all of them also engage in one or another type of folk
entertainment.
In Pinguli, the most interesting type of performer, for the purposes of our
research, are those who display pothi, sets of approximately thirty pictures
painted on sheets of brown paper measuring about I by t j feet that illustrate
the classics. The pictures seem always to be tattered from repeated use. As
with the illustrated Sriputra scroll and ruaJang bbr, there is a clear division
between the forces of good and evil on the right and left, respectively. The
Pinguli pothi reciters believe that their pictures were painted long ago by their
ancestors and they treasure them accordingly. There are communities in the
northern part of Ratnagiri district who call themselves citrakathl but the
Pinguli people maintain that they are imposters who do not have the pothi to
authenticate their claim.
In performance, two Gudi Wadi citrakath sit cross-legged on the ground,
one playing a small two-headed drum, the other-who sings and gesticulates
three-stringed instrument called tambur and small finger cymbals. The

-a

f06

Picture Recitation in Recent and Modern

Chapter 4

from their recitation of picture-scrolls, they lead devotional songfests and

also practice palmistry and astrology. Their scrolls are called tipanu or tippan

("recording," "remark") and the recitation may be referred to as bhambhal

("noisy narrative"). The scrolls used to be on cloth but now are almost
exclusively on paper. They measure a little under 14 inches in width and are
about l3J feet long. There are usually five to seven seams per scroll. They
always seem to be badly worn, and the torn parts are mended by pasting on old
newspapers or pages from an almanac as backing. Some of the scrolls are
poorly painted by amateurs; others are the work ofexperienced, professional

artists. They are done in different, individual styles but all show the same
scenes and in the same order. Each scroll has nineteen panels arranged
vertically. These depict different stories and sometimes several scenes from a
single story are represented on a given panel to allow for narrative development. Puranic myths, regional epics, the Ramayara, and the Mahbharata
provide the themes but local elements predominate.l02
The Garoda are itinerants but do maintain a small cluster of homes that they
come back to from time to time. Some of them are at least partially literate
because they keep books of folklore written in a corrupt script. The following
passage describes the performance of a Garoda picture showman:
. . . a Garoda, carrying several bags on his shoulders, went from door to door, singing
in a low voice a couple of Gujarati stanzas which said: "One should obtain merit by
Iistening to sacred stories.... Such opportunities don't come often. '.. One should
be charitable to the wandering Garoda priest who shows the path of virtue." He had
a scroil in his hand and, as he offered to narrate the stories, he half-opened the scroll
and then closed it when he received a negative response. Often people gave him a
coin or put some grain in his shoulder bags, without asking him to narrate the
stories. While he was still moving about in the village, some women had second
thoughts and called him back. He washed his hands and face, drank some water and
sat down on a string-meshed cot in the open courtyard. In the meanwhile the

lO7

villagers gathered around him. He opened his recital with the first panel and related
in verse and prose the import of the panels and their ethical implications. As the
interest and response from the audience heightened, he rose and approached the
crowd, holding the open scroll in his hands and collecting coins or currency notes
on the scroll itself. After the show was over. he was given wheat-flour and grain
which he collected in different bags kept for the purpose'ro3

man who plucks tlne lambur props against his knee a wooden board slightly
larger than the size of the pictures to give support to them. A black cloth is laid
on the ground and bunched up at the base ofthe board to prevent the pictures
from slipping. When one episode is finished, the picture portraying it is
removed and replaced by a new one chosen from the pile that is lying on the

ground next to the singer. Some of the Gudi Wadi citrakath are reported to
hold up the scene being narrated so that the audience can see it better. Others
exhibit leather puppets and wooden dolls while they narrate stories about
them. Like earlier picture showmen we have encountered, some of the accompanists produce a drone by turning a stick on the center of a brass plate.
Another obscure tradition that has recently been studied for the first time
is that of the Garoda picture showmen of Gujarat and Rajasthan. It is known
to have been widespread in the past but is now on the verge ofextinction. The
Garoda are a caste of folk-priests, sometimes described as fallen Brahmans.
They minister to other low castes, particulary various types of craftsmen. Aside

India

The parallels

with other Indian picture-storytelling traditions and with

Chinese transformation performances are obvious.

There is one more widely practiced type of Indian storytelling with pictures

that should be mentioned

-narak

citra ("lnell paintings").

An integral part of the funeral rites of many Jain and Vaisnava communities living

in Western India is to have a priest read or recite the Garuda

Purrya. Besides

describing numerous rites and paths of liberation, tlne GaruQa Purrya expounds
upon the sins and punishments delivered in HelI (Yamaloka). The recitations
continue for three or four consecutive evenings during the period ofmourning. On
one evening, an account of the torments of Yama, the king of HeII, is given' Along
wirh this account, the priest displays small paper paintings which graphically show
the grisly tortures of Hell.roa

.lhese narak citra rerrlind us not only of ancient Indian yarnaPala but of
numerous scrolls found at Tun-huang that depict the various halls and horrors
of hell.ro5 Such paintings were immensely popular throughout China until the
middle of this century.
Finally, there exists a type of indigenous Tamil folk theater called terukkuttu
("street drama") that was very popular in the nineteenth century'106 While
gradually being forced out of existence by the cinema, it still survives.
Although terukkuttu is not a kind of picture-storytelling, certain of its features
offer interesting parallels to other types of performing arts in Asia and are
worth discussing briefly. Before any character enters the stage, he first
introduces himself behind the curtain. The plays are mostly in song, the prose
passages serving primarily to bridge the gaps between songs rather than to
construct story lines. Furthermore, the audiences know the stories by heart
and so it is the repetition and variation of the songs as well as the quality of the
singing that are appreciated, not the novelty ofthe plot. The latter is usually
episodic in nature and the individual scenes might well be described as
tableaux. At moments of great excitement, not only do some of the actors
become possessed, members of the audience may also fall into trancelike states.
The terukkuttu plays were so well liked and well known by the broad masses
of the people that the literati became familiar with them and soon began to
experiment writing imitations of them. With the introduction of the printing press, these written versions became cheap enough for many people to
buy. But as happens again and again in the process of the adaptation of folk
performing arts into written traditions, the ptot structures became noticeably

108

Picture Recitation in Recent and Modern

Chapter 4

dancers. This is taken from Edward Moor's narrative of the siege of Dharwar

logically more sophisticated forms tend to achieve a position of prominence

in l79l

over simpler ones.

has

necessarily focused on picture recitation per se, we have repeatedly seen how
difficult it is to separate this particular genre of folk performance from a host
of associated oral and performing arts. This is not surprising in light of the fact
that a given group of performers often specialized in telling the same story or
stories in several organically linked media. The most recent monograph on
Indian shadow puppets, for example, richly details the close interrelatedness

with picture-storytelling:
Leather puppets are one of India's most ancient folkloric treasures. As old as
civilisation itself, we have evidence of their existence from the ancint scriptures
like the Puranas and the Jatakas. The [s]hadow theatre existed iong before human
theatre and originated from the first pictorial performances, like the Chitra Kathi of
Pinguli, Maharashtra, the Pads from Rajasthan, the other Chitra Kathas from the
South, and the Yamapatta ofBihar. Judging by the literature and historical documents, shadow theatre had already acquired a degree of excellence by the llth
century.
Shadow theatre gradually developed from picture dramatisation to cut-out figures. These were stuck on a length of cloth with thorns, in a sequence of the scenes,
and a lantern was passed behind it, moved by the narrator as the story unfolded.
Soon these cut-outs were given mobility and the figures came to iife on the white
curtain with lamplights, music, song and narration, and even sometimes a dance

rhythm.

109

I shall close this chapter with a detailed and revealing eyewitness description of a late eighteenth-century troupe of Indian picture-storytellers and

more rigid than the plays without scripts. The gradual displacement of terukkuttu by the cinema is a natural evolutionary phenomenon whereby techno-

Although our attention in this and the other chapters of this book

India

The themes played were mostly from the epics of tbe Ramayana alrd the Mahabharata. They were the only audiovisual educational aids of decades ago, for these
themes involved not only religious thought, but also social norms, philosophical
thought and of course the initial conviction of the good over-powering the evil.
In India, six different styles of leather shadow puppets have developed in six
different regions-some opaque, some small and coloured, some medium sized and
some the largest coloured shadows in the world. AII the puppets are stylised figures
in the flat, symbolic of the characters portrayed and in no way an attemPt at
adhering to human proportions.
The puppets representing gods and celestial beings are revered and considered
sacred. They are stored together and never mixed with those representing demons
and lesser humans. The latter are often grotesque and exaggerated to show the evil
in them. Even the stage entries are reserved according to tradition, with the godly
characters entering from the right side of the performing screen and the left side
reserved lor the evil ones.
These rules are adhered to by all shadow theatres in India from whatsoever region
they come and have even been adopted by the Indonesians, Javanese and Malay
shadow shows which have a Hindu origin.r0T

The number of women with this army, could they be at all accurately computed,
would not be beiieved; our estimate so far exceeds the bounds ofprobability, at least
strangers would deem it so, that we are afraid to give it. There are a great many sets
or parties ofdancing and singing girls, five, six, or seven in a set; others who dance
the tight rope, jump, tumble, and play all manner of tricks; of these parties, ten or
fifteen perhaps are constant in their visits to our line. The singing girls are generally
ttended by an old man who carries a drum and a parcel of pictures, chiefly
descriptive ofthe battles and conquests oftheir deified heroes. These he exhibits in
rotation, and chaunts an account of them, in which he is now and then relieved by
a stave from the damsels by way ofchorus. The girls in their singing are accompanied
by a curious piece of music: it is a round shallow pan of brass, about a foot in
diameter and two inches deep, on the bottom of which a thin piece of sit bamboe,
inserted in a piece of wax to keep it from slipping, is placed; and one of the party
siides her thumb and finger of both hands alternately heavily down it, bringing out
a sound uniformly deep and sonorous, that serves as a bass to their vocal strains- The
pan is actually a culinary utensil; it is used to wash and clean rice in preparatory to
cooking, and to serve it up in at meals: when used as a musical instrument, one side
rests on the ground, supported by the feet of the performer, who, as well as the
whole party, squats on the ground, or on carpets, if the auditors choose to furnish
them. The subjects of their songs are not at all limited; they comprehend a great
variety ofincident from which the obscene cannot be exciuded; the actions oftheir
armies and heroes are for the most part the theme, and we could not but remark that
our detachment did not go unsung. The persons, however, who through their favour
had become heroes, were not very characteristicaliy introduced, from which it may
be supposed the poems were not new but old ones adapted to the occasion. It would
be impossible for so many of these itinerants To get a livelihood merely by singing;
they depend, indeed, more upon their personal appearance than their vocal abilities,
which we apprehend they find more profitable as in general the handsomest girls are
selected for this vocation. Being professedly votaries of pleasure, subject to the same
regulations as the dancing girls, of whom they are an inferior class, chastity is not at
all necessary either to their credit or character.tos

Moor has left littte to the imagination concerning the social status and dramatic abilities of these entertainers. Judging from what we know of picturestorytellers elsewhere, his account is credible.

Picture Recitation
around the World
fus
far in our investigations, we have discovered that
picture-storytelling was found in India, central Asia, rndonesia, and china.
This genre of oral folk literature was, however, by no means restricted to these
areas alone. There is plentiful evidence that shows it thrived in numerous
other countries, both in and outside of Asia. The purpose of this concluding
chapter is to survey the available data for picture recitation as it existed (and,
in some cases, still exists) in Japan, Tibet, Iran, the Near East, and Europe. As
always, r shall endeavor to extract information that may be useful for understanding the performance aspects of the isolated, perplexing transformation
scroll from Tun-huang, P4524, which depicts the contest of magic between the
Buddhist disciple, Sriputra, and his heretical opponents.
The counterpart of pien storytelling in Japan, etoki {@ffi (,,explanation

oflby a picture"), is a tradition that goes back to at least the Heian period
(794-I i85) and is still alive today, though in a limited way. on the question of
how picture recitation reached Japan, it is possible that Koreans were involved. There is documentary evidence that Korean monks not only visited
Tun-huang but lived there in substantial numbers and may even have established a temple, called on one manuscript (p3935) the ,,Han ssu
ffig.,,r
conceivable that they may have been involved in the transmission of pien to
Japan. The famous pilgrim Ennin (79314-864)and other Japanese traveuers to
china, we know, had extensive contact with Koreans who had established
temples and monasteries in various parts of china. Korean traders and merchants were also active in China.
The earliest unmistakable reference to etoki may be found in the Miscellaneous Notes Concerning the Temple of Clarified Truth (Daigoji zakki,
HHffi+
ffi), aatea 93L-2 Etoki were definitely being performed in Japanese temples
dwing the twelfth century. rn the diary of Fujiwara no yorinaga (1I20-l t56),

under the twenty-second day of the tenth month of the year |43, a description is given of the explanations of pictures by a "monk" (;fr
ffig) rerating to
the life of prince shtoku (ry', 574-622) at the shitennji (zsxE*) in

lI2

Chapter

Picture Recitation arond the

Osaka.3 "Holding a stick, he pointed at the painting as he explained

it"

in
$+re|j-=l,/). This could very well be a description of similar traditions
India, Tibet, and Germany.
Barbara Ruch has written an extremely important article entitled "Medieval
Jongleurs and the Making of a National Literature" that explains in detail who
the "picture explainers" were and how they operated. She also reproduces
several old paintings showing these efoki jn performance, among which one
dates from the year 1299. These paintingsre invaluabe for understanding
some of the various techniques for displaying and commenting on pictures
that were current, particularly during the Muromachi period (1392-1573).
Ruch's Figure
a

I, dating from between

low-ranking samurai.a He has spread

1469 ar,d 1487, shows a man dressed as

a

wraPper (fukusa Tit 4) in front of him

and has unfolded (cf. Indonesianbbr) upon it a painting (tatami e ffiffi)that

he has taken from his travelling case. Since the pictures have straps, it is also
clear that he could hang them up if necessary. He accompanies himself on the
balloon-guitar (biwa ffirfi) and stops from time to time to Point at different
scenes with a pheasant feather attached to a stick. The use of this particular
kind of pointer is to protect the pigment of the painting.
Figure 5 (mid-seventeenth century) of Ruch's article shows a female etoki
performer who is a nun or priestess but in name only.5 Her stylish hairdo and
her small box oftexts or scrolls modishly carried beneath one arm revea her
as a completely secular performer. Some such female etoki, called "singing
ntrns" (uta bikuni ffiL?,,[,), were known in Japan for combining a far oder
profession with that of picture explanation, which they occasionally used as a
pretext for travelling about freely.6
But there were more religiously oriented etoki as well, especially among the
Amidist sects. They would take to the road from time to time in order to
proselytize or raise funds for the temples where they were based. Ruch's
Figure 3 (seventeenth or eighteenth century) shows a woman in nun's robes,

her shaven head covered by a cloth, sitting by the side of the road, where
many travellers are sure to pass, telling about her pictures.T These she displays

on a stand in the form of hanging scrolls (kakej;fr l3l'4). The one she is
pointing at with a staff has the basic circular arrangement of a mandala
depicting heavens and hells.s This puts it squarely in the tradition of Indian
tamapata and Tibetan ma-r.ti-pa (see below). She seems at this moment to be
discussing the character kokoro,' ("heart-mind"). Behind her is a large box
that must have been difficult to carry and which was used to hold her scroll
pictures. Her young assistant holds out a cup to solicit donations. There is no
musical instrument evident. A whotly different setting is portrayed in Ruch's
Figure 4 (dated tS04).e This illustration shows a "nut" performing etoki lor
two ladies at court or, perhaps, in their house. She is gesticulating while the
ladies look at the scroll. which is unrolled on the floor. A little girl covers her
face with a handkerchief as though she were crying. The box for storing and
transporting her scrolls, similar to that carried by the "singing nun" in Ruch's

World

lf

Figure 5, is placed near the performer. No musical instrument is noticeable.

According to one report, beggars in Japan during the early part ofthis century
were stili showing similar pictures of hell (called yemma yezu lenmaro ezu
H fEl) and singing stories about them.rt
One striking aspect of Japanese etoki that helps us to understand other
traditions of storytelling with pictures is the wide variety of formats employed. There are hanging scrolls with subdivisions into sections, horizontal
scrolls that are unrolled on a stand or on the floor as the narration progresses,
paintings that are unfolded and hung up and, in some cases, sets of illustrations in booklet form that were used when the performer went from house to
house. There were even sets of dolls or figurines that the etoki performer
would display by the side of the road. As he arranged the dolls in different
ways and against varying backgrounds, he would tell stories about them.
What this amounts to is a type of movable etoki tableau, as it were. Or one
might look upon narratives told with dolls as incipient puppet plays.
ln the Collection of Antiquities by Edo Seisei (d. 1816), there is an old line
drawing, said to date from the Kan'ei reign period (1624-1643).12 It is entitled
"Picture Explanations by Nuns Who Promote Virtue" (kanjin bikuni no etoki,
bff-t?,.tr,ffi). The drawing depicts two "nuns" facing each other and

in their hands. They are gesturing, apparently in

rhythm. Spectators are looking on. In front ofthe nuns is a "cow king box"
(gobako +f ffi), which probably contained their paraphernalia.r3 It is significant that these nuns are said to be from Kumano (F Ff ), an area sacred to
Buddhism and Shinto. Indeed, women who specialized in showing pictures
were often referred to simply as Kumano bikuni (flft[/), "Kumano priestesses or nuns." Men were called etoki hshi ({,ffi'ftf,ffi), "picture-explaining
holding picture-scrolls

priests.

"

Ruch's remarks on the social and religious status of these "priests" and
"priestesses" are illuminating. These people were actually from a very low
Ievel of society and performed religious and semireligious ceremonies for
shrines and temples. Etoki performances of engi (ffifu), "legends concerning
the founding of a temple and the deities worshipped there," and eden (li+),
"illustrated biographies of important religious figures," were not considered
to be menial tasks. On the other hand, they were not undertaken by the
ordained nuns and monks either. "In general ..., such highly specialized
performing arts seemed to be the province ofpeople from the bottom level of
society who were associated with temples but not fully involved with religious
pursuits."l4 This corresponds closely to what we know of similar folk performers in India, Central Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, Korea, Indonesia, and China.
That the Kumano bikuni were not really ordained Buddhist nuns at all is
brought out in this account oflchiro Hori:
In medieval times, especially during the Ashikaga period (1338-I573), the mountain
ascetics (yamabushi or shugen-ja) of Mount Kumano sometimes married shamanesses

l14

Chapter

Picture Recitation around the

and wandered with them from village to village throughout Japan. Because the
Kumano-shugen-jahad been controlled by Mantrayna Buddhist Tendai and Shingon sects, the wives of sftugen-jawerc colloquially called nuns (bikuni). They traveled

from village to village to preach the way to salvation in the Pure Land of Amida
Buddha and the moralistic theory of causality, designating as etoki boards on which
pictures of paradise (Jdo) and hell were painted. They iived on offerings from the
villagers.

r5

In Japan there was aso a distinction made between those etoki hshi who
operated in and around shrines or temples and those who stationed themselves
at the roadside or in the marketplace.
Like their counterparts elsewhere, etoki performers were not always what
they seemed to be in other respects as well. Reminiscent of the accounts in
Indian literature of spies who disguised themselves as yamapattaka (painters
and explainers of pictures about hell) is a scene from a play by Chikamatsu
Monzaemon (1653 1725) called Shume Hgan Morihisa (+
t1), prob+lJ

in 1686.t6 Some women try to impersonate Kumano bikuni in

order to get permission to pass through a road barrier. What is most interesting
is that they do not even have in their possession the picture-scrolls habitually
carried by Kumano bikuni. Instead they attempt to improvise a performance

ably written

using the small scroll with pictures of heaven and hell that is inside the
portabe Buddhist altar the travellers carry, as is customary, for protection.
That a group of women could hope to deceive the barrier guards by such a
poy or that a spy could gain entrance to an important official's house in
the guise of a yamapataka s surely indicative of the enormous popularity
of picture-storytelling in seventeenth-century Japan and in eighth-century
India. Rather than drawing attention to oneself, a person who had adopted the
guise ofpicture-storyteller was effectively concealed from suspicion. Like the

later kamishibai ("picture-card show" ftfr{ffi, literally "Paper theatet")

entertainers for children and the Bengali pa{u, they must have been such

that-except for those interested in hearing and

watching a story ilustrated with pictures-other people scarcely paid them
any attention.
As to whether written texts were used or not during performance, according to Ruch, "all the evidence points to etokiwlno memorized or extemporized
on their narrations but who read the snatches of conversation written on the
pictures of the scrolls as they reached out to point to scenes. " 17 This is in basic
agreement with many types of Indian and Indonesian picture-storytelling but
is especially important for understanding why verses were written on the back
of the Sriputra scroll (P4524). Even a low level of literacy might be sufficient
common figures on the roads

for reading a very limited number of brief inscriptions with which

the

performer was intimately familiar through long training and practice- The
written inscriptions probably were not meant to serve as a text to rely on since,
through repeated performance, the storyteller would quickly memorize them'
They must have been intended, rather,

as a

reminder that these were the parts

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l15

of the oral narration (most likely the verse) that were not to be tampered with.
They were what gave structure to the narrative and, as such, should remain
unchanged. In some cases, however, no texts were used at all.ig
In Japan today there are still approximately fifty different temples in which
individuals regularly perform etoki. Most contemporary etoki use hanging
scrolls, in sets ranging from two to eight in number.re They do occasionally use
a horizontal handscroll very much in the format of p4524. one particularly
interesting religious hanging scroll with many scenes is a pictorial biography
of the priest Rennyo 48-t^'!l*fflS published by the temple called
Gankei-ji Fq+ on the mounrain named yoshizaki-san
il6 in the province of Echizen frdi, which lies northwest of Kyoto on the Japan Sea. As we
have discovered so often in Asian picture-storytelling traditions, trees are
utilized in this etokito divide scenes with registers.

Kamishibai-the "picture-card show"-is a kind of storytelling that,

as

late as 1950, was stil enormously popular in the Japanese countryside. It has
been estimated that at that date there were yet active some 25,000 players. In
spite of the poor documentation (as is the case, incidentally, with nearly all
other types of folk arts in Japan and elsewhere until recenty), the magnitude

of their impact on society was tremendous. satoshi Kako calls kamishibai a

type of early-day television.2o with the advent of that modern electronic
device, however, its primitive forerunner faded from the streets with amazing
rapidity. Kamishibai now is to be found, for the most part, only in primary
school classrooms as a teaching device and devoid of its traditional associations. very few Japanese under age forty whom I approached had ever heard
of kamishibai as a form of street entertainment.
"Uncle kamishibai" usually carried with him three sets of pictures for
telling separate stories. Each set consisted of approximately ten thick paper
sheets or light boards of illustrations. The sheets would be inserted one after
another into a box with a large, fixed-frame aperture. The most important
words that went along with a given scene would be written on the back of the
sheet.2r The box, during this century, was most often attached to the back of
a bicycle. 'rhe kamishibai player would ride about from neighborhood to
neighborhood, striking his wooden clapper or beating on a small drum to
attract the attention of children. when a crowd had gathered, he would sel
them sweets or, more rarely, books, medals, and trinkets that even poor
children could afford.z2 Those who bought from him would be permitted to
stand up front where they could see and hear clearly. This is how the
kamishibai player earned his living. one is reminded of the old folk doctor of
the American frontier. It is difficult to say which of his wares were more
important-the remedies, potions, and appliances or the bombastic rhetoric
and showmanship. In both cases, what was important is that a minor entertainment "event" took place that relieved the participants of the tedium of
everyday life.
The origins of kamishibal are lost in obscurity but may, perhaps, be traced

116

Chapter

back to so-called "shadow-picttxes" (kage-e ff1[S)33Ithas also been suggested

that they may have been imported from Germany during the nineteenth
century. Peep shows or raree shows were indeed introduced to Japan from
abroad and were known during the Meiji period (1866-1912) as nozoki
karakuri AF,' I 0 ("peep gimmick") ot karakuri-megane h\ < D HF$

("gimmicky glasses") (note that PupPets and marionettes may be referred to as

"gimmicky dolls"). It would seem, however,
karakuri-ninglto ' < 0

derived from a combination of influences

that the technique of kamishibaiwas
^frr,
European
picture boxes, etc.). Be that as it
and
Eastern
Middle
(etoki, kage-e,
development of Asian picturethe
general
falls
within
may, kamishibai clearly

storytelling.

In Tibet, the functional equivalent of wayang bbr dalang and pien petformer until recent times has been ma-r.ti-pa.2a 'lhese are itinerant storytellers who recite edifying tales whie showing the episodes on a painting that
they carry with them. They also engage in a certain amount of mime during the
explanation of the pictures.25 Guiseppe Tucci has described the practice in
detail:
The custom survives in Tibet; in the fairs, places of pilgrimage and bazars of the
chief cities one frequentiy meets itinerant lamas or laymen, who sing to a devoutly
spellbound audience wonderful stories about Padmasambhava and the glories of
Amitabha's heaven, showing as they sing, on large tankas they unroll, the pictorial
representation of the events or miracles they are relating. Often they repeat tales in
verse, reciting them in a sort ofsing-song, and drawing them from a special section
ofsacred literature, calledgsol qdebs,]nymns or invocations; the saint is invoked in
each verse, with a brief allusion to one of the most remarkable episodes of his life, a
vision he had or a miracle he performed; some tankas . . . are precisely iilustratedgsol
qdebs.26

Inhis Recherches sur I'popee et le barde au Tibet, Rolf Stein shows a ma-nipa at atemple in Ghoom (near Darjeeling) during a festival.2T He has hung up
his tanka (tibetan thahka, a religious painting that is usually mounted on
fabric) on the wall and is sitting down to the left of it. He has set a plate in front
of the tanka, most likely for expected donations.

i
\...

Picture Recitation arond the

sven Hedin gives a firsthand account or a ma-ryi-pa performance: "Pious

visitors also frequent my courtyard: two nuns, for instance, wth alarge tanka
representing a series of complicated episodes from the holy scriptures. While
one chants the explanation, the other points with a stick to the corresPonding
picture. She sings so sweetly and with so much feeling that it is a pleasure to
listen to :her." 2s For a photograph of these so-called "nuns," see Plate X'
Frederick Spencer-chapman, who travelled in western Tibet during the
years 1936-1937, photographed two adult male ma-ni-Pa reciters and their
t*o yolrog male assistants. one of the reciters has a prayer wheel and both are
*""iir,.g packs to carry their picture-scrolls. These itinerant entertainers

World

LI7

would hang their tankas by the side of the road and chant the stories depicted
on them.2e

Like their counterparts in many other lands, t]ne ma-ni-pa possessed clear
shamanistic traits. Their very name reveals them to be adepts equipped
through Avalokite6vara's initiation with the "power,, (d.bang) to recite the
"lotus" formula-Om mar.ti padme hum ("Oln, Jewel
fmaryil in the Lotus!,,).
Apart from their picture-storytelling, they also performed various rituals that
demonstrated their unusual powers.3o
A final, key observation about the ma-ni-pa is that their subjects were
largely the same as those enacted in Tibetan plays.3r This is a crearnalogy to
the uayang tradition and stands as further confirmation of the unified nature
of narrative in Asian storytelling and drama.
The epic of Gesar (or Kesar [< Caesar]) of Ling was enormously popular in
Tibet and Mongolia. The men who wandered about telling it resembled picturestorytellers elsewhere in Asia in many respects. Since this was still a living
tradition in the first half of the twentieth century, it might be well to quote in
extenso the observations of a student of Tibetan culture, George Roerich,
regarding it:
Among the rhapsodists of the Kesar Epic one finds both professional itinerant
a special costume, and ordinary laymen, both men and
women. The recital of the epic may take anything from three to ten days. The epic
is sung or often read drawlingly. A professional rhapsodist may often improvise
whoie passages while reciting it. I still vividly remember my experience with a
rhapsodist of the Kesar Epic whom I had invited to write it down. This rhapsodist
continually improvised passges and whenever I asked him to repeat the passage
sung by him, he would always sing it in a slightly different version. professional
rhapsodists seidom use manuscripts of the epic during recitals. They know it by
heart and often sing it in a sort of trance. Laymen on the contrary iead it from a
manuscript, and seldom know it by heart, except for a few passages. Itinerant
rhapsodists are distinguished by a special costume. These rhapsodiits (sgruirpa,
pronounced drul-pa,or sgruh-bad) wear on the head a special high hat, called the
"rhapsodist's hat" or sgruirwa. The hat is white and is adorned with the images of
the Sun and Moon. It is a pointed hat with three triangular shaped sides, edgeJwith
red. on his body a rhapsoist wears a white Tibetan coat or chu-pa. It is noteworthy
that the colour ofthe hat and coat is white, white being the colour ofthe ceremonial
Sarments worn by Bon-po priests and exorcists. An itinerant rhapsodist ofthe Kesar
Epic always carries with him a painted image or than-ka representing the life story
ofking Kesar, and an arrow adorned with multicoloured (blue, green, yeliow, and
red) ceremonial scarfs or kha-btags. with the help of this arrow or d-tar (mda'-dar),
the rhapsodist points out the various episodes of the Kesar Epic depicted on the
painting. Some ofthe more famous rhapsodists are accompanied on theirjourneys by
a troop of disciples who learn the art of singing and reciting the epic. In the Amdo
Province of North-East ribet the rhapsodists of the Kesar Epic often belong to the
ancient Bon faith. very often a rhapsodist of the Kesar Epic is also well known as
an
exorcist. Among the Goioks and the Hor-pas of North-East Tibet the epic is recited
rhapsodists, distinguished by

ll8

Chapter

during funeral ceremonies. Before such a recital a flat platform is prepared and the
floor is strewn withrtsam-pa or barley flour. The listeners sit around the platform
and the rhapsodist sits facing the platform. The recital continues for several days. It
is commonly said that frequently hoof-prints appear on the platform, and these are
beiieved to represent the hooprints of the mighty steed of king Kesar, invoked by
the rhapsodist. Some ofthe rhapsodists lead a sedentary life and marry. In such cases
the sons often follow their fathers and become rhapsodists in their turn. In western
Tibet, in Ladak, the Kesar Epic is sung by village musicians or bedas. One of the
versions of the epic recorded by Dr. A. H. Francke (his "first manuscript") was
recited by a girl of about sixteen years of age (Indian Antiquaryt, vol. XXX, 190I,
p. 330). In some districts ofTibet the Kesar Epic and its singers were persecuted by
the Lamaist clergy and this somewhat reflected on the popuiarity of the epic (king
Kesar is popularly beiieved to be the mortal enemy of the yi-dam lCam-srin).32

It

is

Picture Recitation around the

evident from this description that Roerich's "rhapsodist ofthe Kesar Epic"

possessed pronounced shamanistic traits; that he was normally an itinerant;

that he utilized a picture to illustrate his tale or, perhaps more accurately, that
his tale was an explanation of a pictorial rePresentation33 ofthe story of Gesar;
that he used a pointer to mark various scenes on the picture; that he often had

apprentices; and that he was sometimes at odds with the religious establishment. All of this is in agreement with what we know of other picturestorytelling traditions in Asia. Furthermore, Roerich's report that the professional teller of the Gesar epic did not resort to a text while "laymen" (i-e-,
nonprofessionals as entertainers-both were laymen in the sense of not being
ordained monks) who dabbled in it did keep written versions from which they
read is highly significant. This confirms our understanding not only of the
situation in south and southeast Asia but in Tun-huang as well. 'lhe written
transformation texts (pien-wen) discovered at Tun-huang were neither for nor
by the professional teller of transformations; they were the preserve of the

very individuals who copied them down and passed them about among
friends. There is no clear indication that such copies ofpopular literary texts
were sold commercially until during the Sung period when, with the "sprouts
of capitalism" and the development of printing, enterprise in the book trade
became a reality.

An Iranian analogue of Indian aubhika' yamapafiaka, and other picture

showmen is surat khwan. In his Persian-English Dictionarl, F. Steinglass
defines the term as specifying "one who pictures the state of angels and men
as to reward and punishment on the day of resurrection, and receives a

remuneration for it from the bystanders."3a Steinglass was undoubtedly

relying on the Persian dictionary Bahar-i 'ajam lPersian Springl, compiled in
1760, which defines quret-ch(w)n as "someone who, sitting in marketplaces,
displays and lectures for people on figures of gods and men and their treatment
on the day of resurrection, both rewards and Punishments, and receives some
(money) from them."35 Ananda Coomaraswamy offers the following invaluaLr'le li<rccinn nf fhe nrioins of rnt kh.u.n'-

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This is cleary a parallel to the Indian yamapa[ika. grat also means puppet and in
the Persian popular theatre the reader or singer for the puppets is called khwn or
khon; he usralTy prefaces his performance by the recitation ofa religious poem called

rak-i-hind|. Martinovitch, to whom I owe this information, renders this ,,the Indian

way," but it seems much more likely that rak : rag, and thus the meaning should
be "rndian song or tune." In any case there is here some positive evidence for an
Indian origin of the puppet show in persia, or at least for Indian influence in the
manner ofits presentation, and this supports the idea ofan Indian origin for the srat
khwn.36

coomaraswamy's remarks are important also because they point to the evolu-

tionary unity of picture-storytelling and puppet plays, which is one of the

main theses of this study.
There is, in Iran, another type of picture showman called parda-zan. That
the form of entertainment he provides is probably foreign to Iran can be
deduced from one of its other names, shahr-i
farang (,,foreign city,', i.e.,',city
of the Franks"). It is also referred to as Hazrat-i 'Abbs after the martyred
shiite saint who is the chief subject of the story told. The Soviet ethnographer,
R. A. Galunov, who studied tlre parda-zan in Teheran during the year 1927,
referred to their performances as "itinerant picture theatre.,,37 In a way that
plainly recalls the pien formula("ptease ook at the place ..., H, ...
ffi,,),
the parda-zan invites the viewers to "Look at the place of the murder! Look at
the martyr!" 38 Galunov's Figure 20 shows a crowd of people around an elaborate box that houses the pictures. However, persianparda (r have been unable
to determine conclusively whether this is cognate with sanskrit pat, though I
suspect that it is) means basically sheet or curtain.3e The origina form of
Iranian storytelling with pictures was calTed parda-dari ("owning or possessingthe parda") and the person who performed it was the parda-dar. This was
clearly more like the hanging picture sheets usedinpar, etoki, Germanpicturestorytelling, and so on.o It cannot, for example, be sheer happenstance that
the ead singer in a Rajasthani par performance is called the paradart bhopo.
Judging from the photographs of parda-dar that I have seen (coor plates
7 and 8), the paintings measure approximately 4!feet by 13 feet. They are
painted in bright, bold colors and are densely packed with large and small
figures- The outlines and features ofall the figures are crearry delineated. The
central personage is nearly always the hero-martyr, Hosein, on his magnificent
horse and with sword in hand. There is much blood and gore, all graphically
depicted. The colors, density, heroic postures, and general them es oftjhe parda
all contribute to making them strikingly attractive and powerful.-]he pardais
hung on the external wall of a building along some busy street (as in a bazaar)
where the performer is likely to attract a crowd without too much difficulty.
The performer (or performers-sometimes they work as a pair) stands in front
of the parda and, singing and declaiming, explains its contents. The performer
himself is imposing, what with his full beard., fez, and long, often dep purple,
robes. He refers to no printed material during the performance nor, t the best
Of mv knowledoc

rn fhpra pvct anrr

+--.+-

+L^^^

l{-

l2O

Chapter

Picture Recitation around the

narratives. I am not aware that any musical instrument is used as accompaniment for this type of storytelling. At appropriate moments, he points with a
cane to various scenes on t]ne parda to illustrate his narrative. The onlookers

who gather to listen and watch usually give him a few coins. Should a
constable come to harass him, he will immediately begin to sing the praises of
the sheriffwho is painted on the upper right corner forjust this purpose. This
meager attempt at self-protection would appear to be a necessity because the
parda-darperformers have long been persecuted by the authorities. The latter

scorn them because they are manifestations of rude, folk culture and fear
them because their performances are sometimes capable of stirring the peope
to protest. An essential comPonent of alI parda sessions is copious weeping.
Though we might consider tine parda-dar to be a sort of folk priest' he
receives no recognition from the religious establishment; no imam, mullah, or
ayatollah he. Persians make a clear distinction between the molla-akhondayatotlah group who have formal religious training (no matter how little) and
the entertainer. Parda-dar perform no legal religious functions, nor do they
officiate in mosques. They are not recognized by the ecclesiastical authorities
because they do not represent the Islam ofthe books and the law, but rather
popular folk belief, which is always in tension with what the religious
establishment tries to promote.a After centuries of government interference
with their performances , tine parda-dr ate now very hard to locate and carry
out their tradition only in remote, provincial towns and villages. This situation
parallels quite closely the fate ofpien performers in Sung Chinaandpao-chan
reciters in the People's Republic.
Another lranian picture recitation tradition is that of tt'e shamayel-gardan
(literally, "picture/portrait circulator"). T'he performers usually travel in pairs
with their religious pictures. one carries the pictures and explains the stories
depicted on them; the other sings at appropriate moments, sometimes slapping
his chest for rhythm.a2 Shamayel-gardaT is essentially the same tl:'ingas pardadar, and the two terms are used interchangeably today.
The connection between lranian religious storytelling with pictures and the
primary stages of development of folk drama has been recognized by Jiii
Cejpek with regard to the perform ance of tlne parda-zan: "It is but a small step
from alluding to simple pictures as accompaniment to a narrative about a saint,
to having his story actually dramatised by live persons." a3 This observation of
a real historical process perfectly coincides with the argument I have been
making about the evolution of folk and popular literature in parts of Asia

farther east.
In Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, there is a type of entertainment similar to
thatof theparda-zanwhichis calledsandukal-'ajQyib ("wonder lcf.pienint}jle
sense of shen-pien fF4l box"). The storyteller carries it around on his back,
announcing his presence with a klaxon. when he finds an audience, he sets up
the box on its stand and collects a few pennies from each of the children and
occasional grownups who

will watch. The box

has six holes

with magnifying

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I2l

glasses inserted.

Illumination is provided by a candle inside the box. The

stories may be about contemporary figures and events, or they may tell of
ancient legends and epics. As in Indian and Japanese picture-storytelling,
descriptions ofheaven and hell are favorite subjects. The audience is directed
to each new scene as it is rolled before their eyes with the invitation ',shuf i(alla'ya-'yuni" ("Looklobserve, my dear [literally, eyes],,). The stories are
memorized and told in a combination of prose and verse. The verse utilizes a
common musical meter that has a long tradition in a variety of popular literary
forms. At the conclusion of the session, the storyteller causes a set of blinds to
drop before the eyes ofthe audience and recites the final verse:
Your turn is over, my dear,
You who have paid the Syrian

frank [five Syrian piastres].

Khala dawrak ya:yunl,

Ya abul frank es-sur.aa

Georg Jacob has identified the tamathll ofeleventh-century shiite Egypt

as
form of storytelling with pictures.a5 The basic me aningof tamathTl is') quotation of examples" -+ "exemplification', -+,,portrayal', __+ ,,picturing,, or ,,il_
lustration" and hence "[dramatic] representation."46 rn the modern Arab
world, tamathll stlll exists, and its most popular stories are hero tales. The
pictures illustrating the story are painted in bright colors on a long canvas
roll, which is wound from one side of a wooden frame to the other as ihe story
a

unfolds.aT

Throughout the Arabic-speaking world and dating back to at least the

fourteenth century, the Saga of the sons of lrilt (sIrat Bnr Hitat)hasbeen
weil
known as a kind of profane counter to Islamic rerigious literature. It is a
popular epic that deals with the wandering of the Hilali tribe from the Arabian
peninsula across North Africa and down into the Sudan. The events narrated
in the epic are said to have occurred during the eighth and ninth centuries. It
was told in colloquial language by professional outcaste bards who were
iliterate. unlike the classical Koranic tradition, the epic was always recited in
diaect. chapbooks of the epic do exist, however, u.t th"y were iaken down
from performance by local nonelite literates. The secular, unsanctioned nature
of the epic made it liable to charges of subversion. what is particularly
interesting for our present purposes is that the epic was sometimes recited
in the presence of paintings under glass that graphicalty depicted various
memorable scenes. After the recitation, the bard might sell off some of
the
paintings. There are records ofthis convergence ofpainting and recitation for
eighteenth-century Tunisia, though I suspect that its antecedents are still
earlier. some of the artistic motifs clearly come from lran. virtually every
aspect of the epic performance that is outlined here-except the
specific
narrative content-is consonant with picture recitation in the other panAsian traditions we have examined in this study.as

i-

L22

ChaPter

Picture Recitation around the

Moving northward into Europe, we find that picture recitation was also
up the
widespred there. During the Middle Ages in South Italy' there grew
pictures
scroll
practice of reading t:ne praeconium Pa.schale from illuminated
vigil
called "exultet rolls." These rolls are so denominated because the Easter
(rejoice!).
service in which they are used begins with the exhortation exultet

Mostoftherollsdatefromthetenthtotwelfthcenturies.agTheyareina

vertical format, like the Bengali pat. The deacon would stand in the pulpit
the
and, pointing with his index finger to the apPropriate pictures' unroll
the
before
down
scroll over the front of the ambo so that it would hang
various
the
between
congregation.5o The text was usually inserted alternately
,""ri"r.rd upside-down so that the deacon could read from it directly. The
earliest known scrolls, however, did not have the text written in upsideor
down.5 Occasionally the texts were destroyed, cut away' erased' rewritten'
illusthe
that
rearranged in the opposite direction.52 llence it would aPpear
trations were primary and the written texts secondary. Nonetheless, since

it
there is no true Roman liturgica extant older than that of the ninth century,
connection
has
some
is possible that the use of exultet rolls in religious services
that
to its formation.5s Two other interesting features of the exultet rolls are

the texts include neums instructing the deacon in the correct manner of
singing them and that, on at least one, the Vatican MS. Latin 9820, christ is
pictured inside what could well be described

as a marydala'

At the Museo del Duomo in Salerno, there are illustrations of Bible stories in
blue, red, and gold that were used like films. These paintings date to the
twelfth or thirteenth century and consist of eleven sheets approximately 24
inches by l8 inches-" 54
The earliest attested predecessors of modern ltalian picture reciters can be

traced back to the first half of the sixteenth century and were known as
cantambanco (var. cantimpanca, cantainbanca, cantambanca, cantambanchessa,
cantambanchina -- "bench-singer"). Some of the variant forms are feminine,
which indicates that women must have been involved in early Italian picture
recitation. From seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Paintings (see Figures
IO-12), we know that the cantambanco sometimes worked alone and sometimes in pairs. When they performed in pairs, the singer would accompany
himself on a guitar and his partner would indicate the appropriate scene with
a pointer. Various media (carved wooden triptyches, hanging banners' and
so forth) would be used as the illustrative material. A portion of their earnings derived from the sale of printed versions of their songs and stories and
cheap pictures. Their social status in the seventeenth century is determinable by their customary association with magic, swindlery, skulduggery,
quackery, charlatanism, puPPetry, and even acrobatics'55 Some ofthe earliest
cantambanco were blind or affected blindness. Their performances were a
combination of comedy, horror, and profanity in varying degrees' In the
seventeenth century, they were also called ciurmadore and cerretano. while in
the twentieth century they have been styled cantastorie. The pictorial layouts

World

123

they used normally had multiple scenes represented (from seven to thirty-five
in the ones I have seen and read about). A I79O engraving (Figure t3) by
Giuseppe Testi of the picture reciter Luigi Pergola shows that it was even
possible to recite before a large crowd with the aid of a medium-sized picturebook. Like most other picture reciters around the world, Italian reciters were
usually itinerants and, together with their audiences, came from the poorest
leves ofsociety (see Figure l5; cf. Figure 74).56In Sicily today, tll'e cantastorie
still sing stories of legendary heroes and contemporary criminals. They usually
accompany themselves on a guitar and display large, garishly painted canvas
banners. The banners are divided into sections illustrating various episodes of
the stories they tell.57 Tlne cantastorietravels about (some now by car) with
several of these banners and mounts them on a pole for all the audience to see.
Italian puppet theater showbills reveal a direct link to the narrative illustrations of cqntastorie.ss The puppets too are made to appear like the figures in the
storyteller's pictures and the plots used in the two genres are identical.:s This
is reminiscent of the Indian, Indonesian, and Chinese drarnatic narrative
traditions.
In Germany, the analogue of Asian picture reciters was called Bnkelsnger
("bench-singer")so; Marktsnger ("market-singer"); Strassens(inger ("street
singer"); Zeitungssringer ("news-singer"); Strindlisnger ("stand-up singer");
and Schildersringer ("picture-singer"). They are also sometimes referred to as
Moritat, the precise meaning of which is uncertain.6l One of the earliest textual
references to a German picture reciter. in the I536 account book ofthe town
of Ochsenfurt, simply called him a Spilman (Spielmann, "street-player" or
"minstrel").62 The first pictorial evidence for picture recitation in Germany
dates from around 1485 and is found in a drawing from the Hausbuch der
Frsten Waldburg-Wofegg (see Figure 28). J. Scheible's Die Fliegenden Bl(itter

reprints many Bcinkelsang texts from the first quarter of the seventeenth
century and a few from the sixteenth century, including one dated 1520. There
are other grounds for placing the origins of Bnkelsang in Germany at least
back to the fourteenth or fifteenth century.63
Most of tl:'e Brinkelsnger wete itinerants. Their performance was usually
quite straightforward. First came an announcement or advertisement and that
was

followed by

prologue. Then there was

a series

of song verses, alternating

with prose explanations. At the beginning of some verse sections came a line
that is remarkably similar to tlne pien-wen pre-verse formula: "Look at this
picture ..." ("Betrachtet dies Bild hier ...")^un
The best account of the early history of these itinerant picture-storytellers
may be found in Rolf Brednich's article entitled "Zur Yorgeschichte des
Bnkelsangs." 65 lIe traces them back as far as the beginning ofthe seventeenth
century and gives one reference to the year 1536.66 It may be speculated that
the forerunners of the Brinkelsang were introduced from Italy with the exultet
scrolls and wandering juglares (jongleurs). Since, however, many of the oldest
known pictorial records of Bcinkelscinger show them performing with folding

I24

Chapter

Picture Recitation around the

caselike triptyches or diptyches, it is impossible to say precisely in what form

they entered Germany and from where. I would mention only that I have seen
Indian boxes (e.g., the Rajasthani kavay) hinged in such a way that they can be
opened to reveal a series of pictures that are used by storytellers to illustrate
their tales. Japanese etoki also sometimes employed similar devices as did
seventeenth-century ltalian cantambanco.
To give some idea of the nature of early Brinkelsang performances, I shall
describe three of the plates in Brednich's article. In the first plate (Figure 34
here), a reproduction ofan anonymous copperplate engraving that dates from
172I,67 we see a man and a woman standing on a bench (a primitive sort of
stage, whence the name "bench-singer")that has been set up outside the door
of someone's house. Underneath the bench is a boxlike object with two
projecting poles and what appears to be a supporting strip joining them.
Judging from its size and shape, this could well be a pack-frame for carrying
pictures and other equipment used by the ballad singers. Behind them two
large picture-sheets (approximately 5 feet by 3 feet each) are hanging; the thick
vertical support of one is clearly lashed with rope to the bench and it is likely
that the second sheet is hanging from a horizontal support that extends from
the first, although this is not visible in the engraving. Both of the picturesheets are weighted at the bottom by thick, wooden rods. The perspective is
such that it is impossible that either of the sheets could be hanging on the wall
ofthe house. All that can be seen ofthe picture on the first sheet, behind the
male singer, is the raised leg of a man and a hand holding a sword. I surmise
that it may be a portrait of the bandit leader Louis Dominique cartouche, who
was executed on November 27, r72r, after a spectacular trial that captured
the attention of all Europe.6e At the bottom of the first sheet is alarge acorn,
which may have served as the artist's signature. The second picture-sheet is

manifestly about cartouche.

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125

Musically Talented Wife." John must have done most of the talking and his
wife most of the singing. The audience consists of a woman and a child'
Although we see them from the back, the quizzicalposture and the pointed left
index finger of the woman as well as the raised, outspread right hand of the
boy indicate that they are properly spellbound and fittingly aghast. At the
bottom of the engraving is a short poem, probably as it would have been
spoken by the man, written both in French and German. I offer the following
crude translation:
Listen to what happened to Cartouche and his band,
How they were executed, as usual, on wheel and with rope,

Which you would know if you look not blindly

upon this sheet (Taffel, tableau),1o

And which my song wiII tell you more about.

Oh! thus must every thief die too,
Anf the hangman will make a fortune from it.71

This may well have been the sort of ballad singer who was satirized by
Daniel Chodowiecki inlnis Rermation of Morals (1787, see Figure 4l) and in
an almanac compiled by Friedrich Nicolai and illustrated by Chodowiecki:
Eyn feyner, kleyner Almanach Vol schnerr liblicherr Volckslieder, lustigerr Reyen unndt
klegJicher Mordgeschichte, Sesungen uon Gabriel Wundeilich, weyl' Benkelsengerrn zu
Dessaw. . . .

A fine little almanac fuII of beautiful, charming folk-songs, merry and lamentable
tales of murder sung by Gabriel Wunderlich [Wonderful], formerly ballad-singer in
Dessau. . .

.72

It

depicts grisly scenes of mutilated bodies

hanging from a gallows, being turned on a wheel, and impaled (?) on a stake.
From its perch on the gallows, a skull presides over all. At the top of the sheet,
there are four words, "La Bande de Cartouche," which serve as a label. The
male performer is pointing with morbid gusto to a particular spot on the
second picture-sheet with a long, thin stick that tapers to an end. In his right
hand is a promptbook, which he is not referring to at the moment, or it may be
a copy of the news-sheets about the execution that are for sale and extras of
which the man has tucked in his waist. To his right, at the other end of the
bench, stands the female singer, who is obviously portrayed in the midst of her
performance. Her left hand rests on her hip and her right hand holds a
promptbook that is in position for convenient reference.
Both the man and the woman appear to be seasoned professionals. Their
seeming reliance on printed texts is most likely due to the fact that they served
as news-singers (see below) and hence had to change their ballads and recitations frequently. captions in French and German beneath the engraving refer
to the pair as "John Blowbag, Licensed Market and News Singer,6e with his

Brednich's second plate (Figure 32) depicts a singer, mouth wide open, with
a hinged triptych that has been elevated for easy viewing, on a small table.73
The nine scenes within the opened triptych are carved in relief. In front stand
six pious children in rapt attention.
Brednich's third plate (Figure 78) shows an enormous diptych standing high
above a crowd of observers.Ta A singer, again with mouth wide open, also
stands above the crowd, probably on the same bench with the diptych- The
singer has casually hung his tricorne over the front edge of the diptych. His
left hand holds a long, thin stick that points to the middle of the top row of
scenes, which apparently depicts Christ on the cross. In his right hand are
some sheets of paper (probably texts for sale). In this market setting, the
women passersby who have chores to do (note the heavy water pails) and the
children tugging at their skirts evince far less interest than the men, who seem
to demonstrate genuine curiosity.
It is important to observe that the Brinkelsnger sometimes earned a part o
their living by selling copies of the ballads they sang and the commercial

126

Chapter

Picture Recitation around the

broad-sheets called l"{eue Zeitung, which were written versions of the stories
they told. -l};.e Bnkelsang peorrr'ar.ce was, in a sense, an advertisement for
the published wares. T}r,e Bnkelsringer sold other sorts of goods, including
quack medicines, at parish fairs, entertainment centers, and elsewhere.T5 This
is reminiscent of the Japanese kamishibai performers, who survived by selling
candy to the children in their audience, or those Bengali palua wlno peddled
their paintings to pilgrirns. There is also good evidence that Bnkelsangs were

in close association with other types of entertainment such as

puppets (see Figures 48 and 5l).76 Bnkelscingermight be hired to perform at
private parties (Figure 49) and they were often found in various processions
performed

(Figure 71).
By chance,

I discovered a copy ofa 1588 copper engraving ofan itinerant

merchant selling Neue Zeitung (Figure 29).zt t^""O on a drawing by Jost
Amman, it is entitled "Der Kramer mit der Neue Zeitung" and was printed by
Jacob Kempner. On his cap, the merchant has affixed a tiny card that reads (in
German): "New Daily of France. Frightful assassination of the Duke of Guise."
This refers to the event ofthe same year (1588) that took place at Blois. In his
right hand, the merchant holds a view of the city of Orlans. His left hand
holds a folded picture ofthe battle ofthe Armada (also I588). The verse patter
imputed to the merchant (not shown in the figure as reproduced in this book)
says that he brings news of France and England and that he "scorns" his
competitors "who deceive and mock you" (meaning his customers). The
caption goes on to say that he gives a good bargain because he needs the
money.

There exist other examples of drawings of Neue Zeitung sellers and analogous vendors in France (see Figures 3l and 76), so we may assume that they
were fairly commonplace in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Germany and
elsewhere in Europe. But we may not assume that literacy was so widespread
that all auditors would be prompted to buy the printed texts. An illustration
for a 1619 picture recitation shows an encounter between a Neue Zeitung seller
and a peasant (see Figure 30b). The accompanying text says that the peasant
does not want to buy the merchant's broadsheets because he would not be able
to understand them.78
Anne Pellowski has brought together in convenient compass a great deal of
valuable information regarding the mode of operation of t}:,e Bnkelscinger.Te
'Ihe Bnkelsnger were active from the late sixteenth century, as we have seen,
to the beginning of the twentieth century in German-speaking areas of Europe.
There were similar performers in other language areas of Europe but they have
scarcely been studied at all. It should be noted that these street-singers were
despised as being among the lowest classes of society.8o In Basel, Swiss
Morithaten were considered by individuals of refined taste to be so abominable
that they would sometimes call in the police to disrupt the performances.sr

In spite of this, the masses delighted in listening to them. The

audiences

World

127

consisted mostly of the petty bourgeois, workers, and domestic servants.E2

"rhe Bcinkelsringer would wander about from

place to place in search of people
lvho were interested in watching him perform. He would set up a stand,
often
in a town square and especially during market season, and upon it he wourd
hang a large picture-s3 In front of the picture he would place a bench so
that
he could stand above the crowd during his performance. pelowski's plates

l2

l3 reproduce two marvelous scenes of Btinkelsanger in action. The first

dates from 1740 and shows a village setting. The second is from the
midnineteenth century and vividly portrays a crowded market setting in a town
and

or city. "rhe Bcinkelscingerltas a hand organ that he cranks with one hand and
in the other he holds a pointer.

The performance consisted of singing and chanting about the picture

as the

Bnkelsnger pointed to the appropriate parts ofit. The subjects

ofhis narration were often topical events of a sensational nature such as fires, robberies,
murders, and so on. The Bnkerscinger wourd ask for donations during
their

performances but they also earned their living by sale to the audience
of
printed versions of the sung narratives. The printed narratives were called
Fliegenden Blcitter or Flugblcitter (both of these names mean
approximately
"flying sheets"), and Flugschriften, (,,flyingpapers,,). The former were
sheets
printed on one side, usually just one picture with a simpre text.84
other types
of vendors also might sell these but usually they were to be
obtained from the

Bnkelscinger themselves. The latter were more el,aborate,

sometimes reaching
as many as fifty pages in length and with fewer pictures in proportion
to the

amount of text. The printing was generally of the poorest quality and the
paper used was crude and rough. one publisher who issued a tremendous
number of Bcinkelsang texts during the second half of the nineteenth century
was Ernst Reiche of schwiebus. He had an in-house writer named zerndt,
an
elementary school instructor, who composed them for him. The Bnkelsnger
themselves were also known to commission poetasters, jesters, and teachers to
write songs for them. occasionally, as for example was the case with the family
Damm, the Bcinkelscinger would compose their own texts, especially the picture
explanations in prose.s5

-the Bnkelscinger, who

were common fixtures at fairs and in markets,
frequently punctuated their performances by such invitations and commands as "Listen! See this! Here! Hear!" The 1933 fitm Hitterjunge
euex,
directed by Hans steinhoff, includes a local carnival scene with an anti-Nazi
Moritat performer. This device was apparentty modelled after a film of the
Dreigroschenoper (Three Penny Opera).86
Bertolt Brecht's Three penny opera is,

in

essence,

a dramatized

Bcinkelsang

performance. Although he borrowed the plot from John Gay's (16g5-1732)

The Beggar's opera, the mode of presentation is strictry Breclt's own invention. The intended effect is that ofa street singer singing an extended ballad
in which he narrates the whole ptay. It is, in a sense, an operatic elaboration

128

Chapter

Picture Recitation around the

and parody of the "Moritat von Mackie Messer (Ballad of Mack the Knife)." sz
The characters, of course, soon step out from the illustrative stage tableaux

and begin to sing and speak for themselves. At various important points
(compare shih lr and ch'u ft of tlne pien tradition) in the play, a board or sign
will descend from the flies or light up on a screen to give fitting tags for a
section of the play (compare pien-hsiang cartouches). For example, at the
beginning of Act I in Mr. Peachum's shop for beggars, the sign says, "It is
more blessed to give than to receive." 88 In the final scene, these words appear:
"Third Finale: The Arrival of the Mounted Messenger."se Brecht has, in
effect, created on the stage an animated series of transformation tableaux or
Bcinkelscinger's Schilder ("bench-singer's pictures").
There are much earlier ties between picture recitation and mainstream
European literature. For example, an intriguing parallel to such storytelling
recitation formulas as Chinese pien-wen " Ch'ieh k'an fplease look!]" and Indian
par " Dek [Let us see!]" exists in the recurring locution " Asf ais uosf uus or As
les uus fSee now! or Behold!]" of the medieval French Song of Roland.eo Gerard
J. Brault remarks that this narrative technique "imparts a sense of immediacy

to the narration, but it also implies pointing by the jongleur to draw the
audience's attention to the approach of an imaginary walking or riding
figure-"et There may, however, be more to the locution than Brault himself
suspects. After more than a century of scholarship on the chanson de geste, its
origins are still clouded in obscurity. It is possible that thejongleur's frequent
"See now!" or "Behold!" suggests a connection with picture-storytelling.
The events in t}'e Song of Roland took place on August 15, 778, and were
written down in the Oxford manuscript version sometime around 1095 to
1100. This time period coincides with that of the worldwide diffusion of
picture-storytelling. Other aspects of the chanson de geste that suggest an
affinity with picture-storytelling are the dramatic nature of its narrative and
the illiteracy of its jongleurs.e2
In France, the picture reciter was known as Ie chanteur de cantiques, Ie
chanteur

foire, marchand de crimesf complaintes, crieur de journeaux, and tine

seem that the images d'Epinal (from the middle of the seventeenth century on) and other popular prints were used for storytelling.e3 The
marchands de complaintes as well sometimes sold pictures of the "complaints"
they sang.ea Picture-storytellers were still active in Paris in I900.e5
In Spain, beginning from at least the seventeenth century, wandering merchants would sell folded pictures known as auques or "lpliego del aleluyas."
There was a tradition of jongleurs orally explaining the stories depicted
en

like. It would

ft

thereon.e6 Furthermore, one of the major themes of this

book-the lack

of

firm

boundaries between various types of oral and performing arts-is also borne
out by the history ofSpanishjongleurs. The first Iiterary reference to puppets
in Spain dates to I 2 I I and is found in a poem by Girant de Calans. The juglar
(jongleur), says de Calans, should know how ro present puppets (bauastels)

World

l2g

and do conjuring tricks (e fey tos castells assalhir).s7 The counterpart of the
Btinkelsnger in Spain was commonly known as cantor de
feria.

It is remarkable that another spanish name for picture recitation might

almost be considered a translation of Chinese pien-hsiang-',retablo de las
marauillas" ("tableau of marvels"). cervantes (1547-r616)even wrote a short
ptay by that name which is entirey organized around a picture-storyteiling
session.es The underlying message of the play is that illusion can sometimes
be
more real than reality itself. The retablo de las marauillas is an appropriate
vehicle for such a view and cervantes is justified in speaking of cnjuration
and chicanery in connection with this species of performance. In their notes to
this play, two of the editors of cervantes' interludes mention the close relationship of retablo de las marauillas to puppetry.ee One of them states that
retablo de las maravillas was brought to Spain from ltaly.roo This is in accord
wlth the expected pattern of diffusion.
To show that spanish picture recitation remained a lively tradition for four
centuries, I need only mention a play by Frederico Garca Lorca (1g99-1936)
entitled "LazapateraProdigosa [T]re shoemaker's prodigious wife],, (Io:o1.ror
Like cervantes, Lorca uses the device of picture-storytelling to trick the
audience within the play and to convey to his real audience the close link
between fantasy and reality, pointing out the essential reality of fantasy. This
is a commonplace of picture-storytellers around the world. Since Loica describes the performance in some detail, it is worth our while to record here its

characteristics.
The people in Lorca's play who watch the show refer to it as one of titeres
and to the showman as " seor tituitero." These terms are usually rendered into

English as "puppets" and

"Mr. puppeteer,,, respectively, but this is not

accurate in many instances. The showman in Lorca's play is actually a picture

reciter, not a pupppeteer. He carries a trumpet and has a picture-scroll (rolto,
teln, or cartIon) that is rolled up and slung across his back. He is prepared to
give his performance on the street but may aso be invited into someone's
house. Before he begins his performance, he displays the scroll on which the
narrative ofhis story is painted. It is "divided into tiny squares, drawn in red
ochre and violent colors."102 T'he audience becomes so involved with the

narrative and its embellishment that they tremble and shiver. Like virtually
all the other picture-storytellers we have encountered., seor tituitero is an
itinerant jongleur (: juggler; magician). Lorca writes of "those ballads and
little songs you sing and terr through the villages (todos esos romances y
chupaletrinas que canta y cuenta por los pueblos).,,r0: fs verses he sings
are also called aleluyas ("couplets");Io4 this implies a connection with the
seventeenth-century wandering merchants of foided pictures mentioned
above. The showman points with a staff (uarill) to incidents depicted on the
painting. As he does so, he uses the same types of picture-storyteller's phrases
as do his counterparts in many other lands:

f3O

Chapter

Picture Recitation around the

"Look now at that beastly woman . . .
(Miren ustedes la fiera . . .)."

"And now look how

she was courted

(Ved cmo Ia cortejaban . .

.)."

"Mark her how with one she's flirting

(Miradla hablando con uno . . .)."
The storyteller shifts back and forth from third-person narration to dramatic
dialogue with him taking all the parts. There is, as we find in picture recitation
elsewhere, a great deal of audience interaction with the storyteller.
Storytelling with pictures in Russia is known from the second half of the
eighteenth century and dealt with a wide variety of subjects: myths, saints'
Iives (often inspired by apocryphal scriptures), heroic efics, and so forth.
The stories told by the picture showman may have been the Russian popular
epics known as b'ilinn'. Like the German Bcinkelscinger, the itinerant Russian storyteller would also sell his stock of cheap pictures (called lubochnye

kartinki.tos
In old Moldavia, entire churches used to be covered with colorful frescoes
inside and out. As on the fifteenth-century monastery church at Voronet,
these paintings illustrated Romanian folklore and stories from the Bible.r06
Their purpose was to serve as teaching aids for the illiterate who would come
to hear recitations ofthe tales portrayed thereon.
I have also come across reports of picture-storytelling in Holland and
England (see Figures 80-83) but have not been able to document these entirely
to my own satisfaction.I0z It is clear, however, that from at least the sixteenth
century, there existed in Europe a continentwide phenomenon of storytelling
with pictures. The Swedes called picture reciters marknadsngere; the Swiss
styled them Stndlisringer, Steliscinger, or Schildersnger, and, in Frenchspeaking areas, simply Ie chanteur; the Czechs referred to them as krmarski
zpevk; in Flanders they were known asliedjeszanger; and so on. Because of its
low social status, unfortunately, picture recitation has not been regularly
recorded in the history books. Consequently, it is very difficult to obtain
reliable information on this subject for many countries.
In all areas where I have traced storytelling with pictures, religious imagery
is frequent but not exclusive. Another common trait of picture-storytellers
around the world is that they are virtually all itinerant lay persons who have
to supplement their income from storytelling with other types of work. Though
they are, as a rule, illiterate, they are capable of reciting lengthy tales. Their
social status, as we have seen repeatedly, is generally quite low but occasionally, because a wealthy or powerful person enjoys their performances, a
few individuals among them may attain a certain degree of fame and influence,
if not wealth.

World

131

In tracing the origin and extension of picture recitation, we have now come
ful circle. I have not pursued the spread of this genre to America because it is
essentially a modern phenomenon in the New World and my purpose has
been to study traditional manifestations of storytelling with pictures. Furthermore, we are all familiar with flannel board ectures at Sunday school,
grade school projects involving picture-scrolls on wooden dowels viewed
through the front of an old shoe box, and the like. Visitors to Gettysburg
(Pennsylvania) will remember the spectacular postbellum cyclorama painted
by Paul Philippoteaux. Even more intriguing were the moving panoramas that
were six to ten feet tall and hundreds offeet long. Like gigantic uayang bbr,
etoki, or transformation scrolls, these paintings were wound on two upright
spindles and were transferred by means of cranks from one to the other.
Displayed on the proscenium of a theater stage, these moving pictures were
accompanied by music and a lecture. The owner of the scroll, like so many of
the other picture reciters we have encountered in this study, was an itinerant
performer.108 We have, then, literally followed the development of the phenomenon of picture recitation around the entire world.
To bring this chapter, and indeed this book, to a close, I refer the reader to
the map appearing on the endsheets. What with all the arrows of influence
emanating from India, it would seem to be a diffusionist's delight. Certainly,
we have seen in various chapters indisputable evidence of links between
South Asian picture recitation and parallel traditions elsewhere. At the same

time, many question marks could be added to the map. For a genre of
folk literature that has been so vital for such a long period of time and
in so many different places cannot conceivably be reduced to a few lines
on a simple schematic map. Hence the map ought to be viewed only as suggestive of some possible connections in the spread of this phenomenon
across the globe.

My intent in gathering the information offered in this book has not been to
demonstrate that picture recitation has a single Indian source. My sole original
purpose was to carify the meaning and function of the enigmatic narrative
picture-scroll from Tun-huang (Pa52a), which shows the contest of transformations between Sriputra and the Six Heretics. After many more years of

investigation and far more mies of travel than I had anticipated, I am as

surprised as anyone that India has emerged as the apparent fountainhead of
picture recitation. The subtitle of this book should thus be taken as a hypothesis to be tested. In conclusion, the strongest impression I have gained
over more than a decade of research is that of the broad diversity and wide
distribution of picture recitation throughout the world.

INDIA

Figue L Twentieth-century drawing of Bengali Picture-stoyteller

Illustrated Weekly of Inia (June 15, 1952), P.10.

See

pp. 89ff-

CHINA

Figure

7.

Figure

8. Ch'ing period itinerant picture reciter. From

feng-su pai

t'u, pl. 36.

See

Pei-ching min-chien

pp. 13-14.

iI

pbnjr bhopo in front of his pr singing and playing the rva4tahtto. Tlne bhop stands behind him. Bhilwara,

Rajasthan.

.'

.
',)t,

44

,t
Itt

(
Y
t

w,

\r

ITALY

iS

+:

'\,

,"\

with figure of Mother Mary in

with folding doors and hanging
Oil painting by Alessandro Magnasco
Collection of Gatti-Casazza (Venice). From
Catttastorie

.Jt,",

*
:
.,., ... ;'l

-''"
?':''
.- t. -f'
'a:*4
.'.t" !n-' ,".-".&"{:

Figure 10. Picture reciter with guitarist assistant in idealized landscape. Based on a
pantlng by the Dutch artist Karel Du Jardin (L622-I678) who worked in Italy' From
Petzoldt, Die freudlose Muse, p. I0.

pl. I63

Figue t Ib. Another version of the same painting. From

Zimermann, Lechzend nach Tyrannenblut, P.40.

t,

:-r: i
,

{
i:t

FigureI2. Cantastofiewithmandolin-playingassistantusingbothhangingpainting_andhinged

tripty"h for illustration. Alessandro Magnasco. Venice, Private collection. From Brednich, "Zur
vorgeschichte des Bnkelsangs," pl. 4.

is {-q((t(

l\14trlA

Figure 14. A cantastorie singing about various street

entertaines in Florence, including a vendor of news
sheets and a picture reciter like himself. Drawn and
engraved by Carlo Lasinio. Florence, la Societa
Calcografca, ca. 1800. From Aerigoni and Bertarelli,
"Le stampe popolari," fr,g.2.

t*

o."

r,i
.'J

-
.]'.

Figure 15. "La Cantastoria della Mad"" del

Carmine," c. I83O. Anonymous colored
chalk lithograph. Puppet theater collection
of the Stadtmuseum, Munich. This
lithograph, which comes from the Naples
area, is extremely interesting in that it
shows clearly several impotant features
of picture recitations. The poverty-stricken
lay status of the performers and their
audience is obvious from their tattered,
threadbare clothing. The subject ofthese
cantastoric is the Mednnna'c ahilitrz tn heln

,l

LI

Figure 6. An Itlian seller of medicines. He stands

barrel in the middle of a piazza and blows a trumPet
attract an audience. Note the large hanging banner
behind him. Lithograph of mid-nineteenth century
From Piantanida, " Ciaatani," P. 237.

t0

Figure 18. 'Ihe cantastorie Orazio Strano di Riposto (Catania) sings a

dramma perched on the hood of an automobile. Note that the picturescrolls are on rollers, which allows the cantastorie to advance one by
one a very long series of narrative scenes- Photograph of 1958 by
Roberto Leydi in his "Cantastorie," following p. 368.

ruJ
il

.-+a.!^a;D'^'ith

arri+rr

rinlinicf

ssis*nf-

&

rl
F

,1

't

/:

'

ir

t\:'

Figure 20. The North Ifalian cantastorie Maino Piazza and Vincenzo Magnifico, performing in
1966. From Schenda, "Der italienische Bnkelsang heute," Pl. L

ft

Figure 22. The ltalian piture reciter Luigino di Parabita

Schenda, "Der italienische Bnkelsang heute," pl. 3.

**:-

I
t|

,t,
n*.

t rt

with his brother Leonardo

as assistant. From

GERMANY

,'' itr

i
,t
1

t
1

-e.

Figure 28. Fantastic depiction ofcharlatan with trumpeter

assistant carrying a monkey on his shoulder. Note
medicines on table and hanging illustration behind.
Drawing fom the Hausbuch der Frsten WaldburgWolfegg (1480-1490). From Zimmermann, Lechzend nach

Tyrannenislut,

Figtre 27. Spanish picture reciters presenting a mystery play. 1965. From Eichler, Btinkelsang
und Moritat, p.48.

I
29- Sixtcenth-^.rr?,,

p. 15.

Figure 30, a and b. Broadsheet used by German picture reciter and detail (Actus IV) showing a seller and singer of early
illustrated newspapers. 1619. From Scheible, Die fliegenden Bltter.

Figure 32. Singer with folding triptych. Mezzotint by Jacob

Gole. Freiburg, Deutsches Volksiederarchiv. Inv. Nr. 362.
From Brednich, "Zur Vorgeschichte des Bnkelsangs," pl.2.

1(,',I'l'l{.1\

8"e-

ft$^</ o,,{ilot<l

foo*

o",*'l,.,,.,..

'' Jte'

Figure 34- "Hans Pumsack, privilegierter Marckt- und Zeitungs Snger, mit seinem Musicalischen Weibe," ca. !72L.
Anonymous colored copper engraving. Kunstbibliothek der Staatlichen Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz. Berlin. Fron
Brednich, "Zur Vorgeschichte des Bnkelsangs," pl. l. Discussed in detail in the text at pp. 124-L25.

Figure 36. Johann Wilhelm Meil (1733-1805), "Der Bnkelsnger," 1765. Note broadsides
tucked under left arm ofthe performer. Drawing from the Veste Coburg collection. From
Eichler, Bcinlcelsang und Moritat, p.92.

.offiilft
\..-rmlf
'

i,#l$

{.

f
-

ti
a

r.l\,r

-tl

';-[
I t,^#,

Ih
1#

it

, t"lt

,,

f'

*l'

',,

\l!\

'ld{$'l

,*l*ffi\' t
r

il.

,tr\

\
I

'

Figure 38. Quack doctors who are also

Bcinkelsnger treating a Patient (note
medicines on table). Copper engraving,
I769. Munich, KuPferstichkabinett' From
Zimmermann, Lechzend nach Tyrannenblut,

p.18.

Figure 40. Brinkelsringer and his wife. Detail ofa picture-sheet. Nrnberg, second
eighteenth century. From Petzoldt, Die freudlose Muse. p. 16.

halfofthe

9er Snnfetnger.

Figure 42. Bnkelsringerwith male and female assistants.

Note the texts for sale and the back-pack for their
belongings at the foot of the steps. Drawing by Michael

, -,,.,t",,./ -/tt a.t.1...."h,,'. 1,. '"f.,,.'

\-

Mettenleitner (I765-I833), used as an illustration fo a

Bavarian historical caendar of 1790 created by Lorenz

,- /.,/,,.L,,,./.,.t

westenrieder. From Petzoldt, Die freudlose Muse, p.22.

.tirlntt '

{$
I

I
It

'1

ii

'
t!'

lt

fi r rl . if l .rr rt rtrrb 1'''rrt

Figue 44. Bnkelscinger telling the story of Napoleon's

retreat from Moscow. Woodcut, I8I3. From
tt

Zimmermann, Lechzmd nach Tyrannenblut,

p.4I.


*-,
.*

tr,

Figure 46. "Der Jahrmarkt zu Krhwinkel," ca. 1800-1875. Anonymous lithograph on

Iight blue paper. Musem fr Deutsche Volkskunde, Berlin. From Eichler, Bnkelsang und

Moritat, p. lo4.

et.r6rfa. Slorlall, ..fra eor ilorlcr glltt f, .la

.frc.le? 8.f& fnr cc onlcr llirt.
$ e
sr

a*d,*

ad., h.& co
.d fs dh

trft

g F *J, l. hr,,
fa &h.!r. .r r
lrn
ai lh p
e.dkln.nlh
r lt . rLln b tr.,
t!.
ld d.lhh
tr*iok
&'drdttu,4lh
t.

rlltra

r,

f.r l.

n. *. rA nblt,
rkd,
t& rr a
9r dl .a blr
r
$..rthktQr.r'
o erd0 r tu
& Fr.thr&lrdr
&iSSt
Atd.grrh

ld

rr ad*
il.*,
l4 l{d, dt. .r,
&h ll h aurd

rd*&
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dkt4
*aiw
hH.-9.
Dbr*b,

.*.-*.
&a*-s
*8ts.
rdd*.
bhtd.
bhx{tr

tfr*,

Figure 52. Illustration lor Die entsetzliche Mordgeschichte uon dem jungen Werther by Friedrich
Nicolai' From "Musenklnge aus Deutschlands Leierkasten," reipzig, rcas,1r. Auilage. From
Neunzig, Das illustrirte Moritaten-Lesebuch, p. 22I -

F.*,r

i.4r"..hda*..r!.'

Figure 50. "Der Jahrmarkt," I852. Drawing by Kaspar Braun (I807-I877). A street scene in
Munich. Collection of Ulrike Eichler, Stuttgart. From Eichler, Bnkelsang und Moritat, p. 163.

t...,.:

\t

'

n*

Figure 56. The noted street singer Frau Rosemann (ne Kahnert) at Nicolaiturm in Grlitz
(1900). The six hanging illustrations are by Adolph Hlbing of Neustadt/tlolst. From
Zimmermann, Lechzend nach Ttrannenblut, p. 60.

Figure 54. Street singer at Nauen in 1898 performing before a large crowd. The six huge paintings hanging from the
warehouse wall are by Adolph Hlbing of Neustadt/Holst. From Zimmermann, Lechzend nach Tyrannenblut, p. 59.

'

r ' '.!

'1i

1Ir I't^ 3('(

/

.,1
r
I

Figure 58. Maimed soldiers earning a living as Brinkelsnger.

Terra cotta figures, early twentieth century. From
Zimmermann, Lechzmd nach Tyrannenblut, p.33

Figure 60. Photograph ofa picture reciter's setup taken at a

steet fair in the earry part
century. From petzoldt, Die
freudlose Muse, p.3:).

-fj.

l .;il.

$ffi

tu#

t*n
&T
i;FF
{

i
il

' '''.t'y

TF,!
/

Il>t

,[;,

ofthis

.v,

{l

f
L

PlateII. Detailfromawall-paintinginthePalaceofEternalJoy.YungJokung,pl.

t9I.Seep.6.

Plate

III.

Detail from ,,picture ofspring Festival

by the River.., Courtesy Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New york.

See

lr
I

, ,-

il
i.

''
:

:r

t,:

ti!.
-

{'
.

f,r
.

Plate

Iv.

Detail of a wall-painting from My-Hhe II, Kyzil (Chinese part of Centra Asia). See. p. 46.

\:

':

t'
:.

I
T

gtur wative

picture-scroll.

See

pp. 47ff.

tFiT

t:

4,'

Lte

VII. PreParingfor

a wayang bbr pefiormance. Archiues Inteffiationales d'Ethnographie

t6 (t903), Taf. I7.t

\
I,I

',,

,.

llate

vul.

warang bbr scrorr. Archives Intemationares d'Ethnographie t6 (r9o3), Taf. r8.

-t_

il

ri

1,

Wayang bbr scroll- Archiues Intemationales

d,Ethnographie 16 (1903), Taf.

t8.t.

Notes
Notes to Introduction

l. rnanumberofbooksandarticres, Ihaveshownthatpien-wend.erivedfromatype
of oral storytelling with pictures. see victor H. Mair, Tun-huang popular Na.rratiues;
T'ang Transformation Texts; "Lay students and the Making oi w.itt.r, vernacular

Narrative: An Inventory of Tun-huang manuscripts"; and others. For additional

well as the Bibliography of this

references, see the bibliographies to these works as

book-

2. For a general discussion of the ideas behind popular Buddhist fiction, see
victor H. Mair, "The Narrative Revolution in chinese Literature: ontologicar
Presuppositions.

"

3. See Victor H. Mair, "Records of Transformation Tableaux.,,

4. Kawaguchi Hisao, Etoki no sekai (pL. IIr and accompanying explanation),

believes

that an illustrated copy of part of t]ne Lotus sutraintheBibliothquNati onaeis

apienhsiangscrolrused in connection with popular lectures on that scripture. He
specifically
mentions that the illustrated scroll in question was used as an illustration
fo. th. ,,st.u

Lecture on the Stra of the Lotus of the Wonderful Law',

*) #.{+# ffi 1f (p2t33, c.
P2305-another stra lecture on the same text-which is not cited by Kawaguchi).
But
the text of the stra lecture and that on the illustrated scroll bear no resemblance.
The
Iatter simply copies verbatim the chapter of the Lotus k,,ow.- as Samantamukha
( FI ffi) while the former is an elaborate exegesis of a small portion of another part of
the stra. Furthermore, the format of the illustrat ed, samantamukha scroll
is entirely
different lrom P4524. 'tlne Samantamukha scroll consists of a panel of serial narrative
pictures on the top third ofthe sheet and corresponding text on the bottom two-thirds.

It is obvious that this scroll was designed for private reading (the classical language
also
confirms this assessment). p4524, n contrast, has illustrations that occupy
the entirety
ofthe recto and corresponding vernacular verse passages on the verso. For additional
evidence thatP4524 was used as a transformation(pien)performance
scroll, see chap.
4 of Mair, T'ang Transformation Texts.
5- P4524 has been reproduced in magnificent facsimile with an introduction by
Nicole Vandier-Nicolas and studied intensively from the art historian,s
viewpoint by
Akiyama Terukazu.
6. For evidence, see Mair, T'ang Transformation Texts, chap. 6.
7. There is evidence of government repression due to the association of pien-wen
with unauthorized religious movements. See ibid.
8' J. v. G. Mills, tra.,s., ying-yai sheng-ran, p. 97, with a sright modification. w. p.
Groeneveldt, Historical Notes on Indonesia and Malaysia p. 53, translates
the same

192

Notes to Pages 3-7

ed., Ying-yai sheng-Ian chiao-chu, p. 15, and PauI

Pelliot, "Les grands voyages maritimes chinois," p. 370.
9. The word ambbr could also, evidently, mean "unfold" or "spread out." See
Gustave Schlegel, "Sprechsaal," p. 34.
10. "There is another type of person who variously draws human figures, fish,
beasts, insects, and reptiles in the form of what in China would be a handscroll with two
pieces ofwood three feet in height and level at the top as uprights for the painting. The
man [i.e., the performer] sits cross-Iegged on the ground with the pictures set up on the
ground. He unrolls a section and, facing forward, using his foreign language, explains
the background of the section in a loud voice. The audience sits round about and
listens. sometimes iaughing, sometimes crying, just as though someone were telling
expository tales(p'ing-hua) in China." Kung Chen, Hsi-yangfan-kuo chih, p. lO.
ll. Ch'an-hsiang p'ing-hua wu-chung. The originals are in the Japanese Cabinet
Library (Naikaku bunko). See Li Pen-yao, Sung Yan Ming p'ing-hua yen-chiu, pp. l948, for a relevant discussion of the origins of pien-en and its vital influence on the
development of the colloquial short story, including p'ing-hua, in China.
12. Noted by Sun K'ai-ti in the catalog of the library of the Mori ({ f,lJ) family in
passage. See also Feng Ch'eng-chn,

Japan. See Sun's Chung-kuo t'ung-su hsiao-shuo shu-mu, p.2, andPatrick Hanan, "Sung
and Yan Vernacular Fiction," p. 175n. 83.
13. See Saryu Doshi, "Spring Festival: The Vasanta Vilasa (three vignettes)," pp.3738, plus plate. See also the exhaustive textual treatment of W. Norman Brown, The
Vasanta Vilasa.
14. See A-ying, Chung-kuo lien-huan t'u-hua shih-hua, p.8.
15. Y Yeh, Chiu-chiu hsiao-hsia Iu, l2.LOab.

16. ForthebiographyofWu-chu,seethefirstentryintheofficalHistoryoftheChin
Dlnasty hin Shih +,ql) 77.4 similar stratagem is employed in a Yan drama with a
T'ang setting, the anonymous Hsiao Y-ch'ih chiang-tou chiang jen fu kuei ch'ao,7b-Bb.
17. Ch'ien'[s'a, Shuo Yeh ch'an-chuan, pp.275-276.
18. See T'ao Chn-ch'i , Ching-ch ch-mu ch'u-t'an, p. 283. This play is still popular
in the Cho-chou ($nrfl) operatic tradition. Wang Tso's profession as a storyteller is
brought out very clearly in Act II. The crucial point at which he begins his illustrated
tale is as follows: "Here I have a picture which I wili hang up. I wiil relate my story in
accordance with the picture" (?-E-+F, #|ft!^, FEX;) From the recording by Kuo ChihJeh (9ll86), et al., "Wang Tso Cuts off His Arm."
19. Tom Gee, Stories of Chinese Opera, pp.27O 273.
20. Shansi sheng wen-wu kuan-li kung-tso wei-yan-hui, ed., Yung-lo kung, Preface,

p. 16.

2I. Ibid., Plates

136 and 137.

22. Reference is to the plates section ofLiu Yanlin, Ch'ing-ming shang-ho t'u chih
tsung-ho yen-chiu. The White Cloud HaIl copy is owned by Huang Chn-pi E
(ibid., p. B2). Liu's dating of this copy is given on p. 49. It is difficuit to tell from the
reproduction in Liu exactly what is being displayed.
23. The Yan Secret Treasure copy is also reproduced among Liu's plates. Here,
however, there appears neither to be a cioth nor a narrator holding a pointer. The same
is true of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (A) copy, section nine, except that it does
show a curtain of sorts.
24. These are the copies by the Ming artist, Ch'iu Ying (Shih-chorr) W lhfr(l:h,
| /'l'l ) ; see plates in Lu, Ch'ing-ming shang-ho t'u.

Notes to Pages

7-13

193

25. The Metroporitan Museum of Art (A) copy shows in this

position a horizontar
scroll depicting four figures.
26. AIan Priest, intro. and notes, Ch'ing Ming Shang Ho, detail 9.
27. Roderick Whitfield, ,,Chang Tse_tuan,s Ch,ing_Ming shang_ho
t,u,,,appendix 3,
pp. 196-206. See also Chiang Fu-rsun g, ', A City of Cathiy ., ,,
28. The ethnomusicorogist, Iris pian, tord me that, somewhere in
her travers around
the world, she did see a copy of the "picture of Spring Festival
by the River,, that
included a Picture-storyteller. I have not been able to determine
for certain which one
,

this might be.

29. The missing character is most likely either

,ffi or .
3O. Kasaya in Sanskrit.
3 7. Vaj racc hedika-praj ap aramit a_ stra.
32. I am gratefiil to Kuan Te-tung of the chinese department at shantung
university
for providing me with the text of this poem in a retter dated
March 14, t 9g5. professor
Kuan gives as his source ch'en Ta-sheng yeh-fu ch'an-chi
[The complete bar]ads of
Ch'en To] m,t4i*ffift. Here is the poem in the Chineseoriginal:

lffitrefrl

(^)

ffiryffiffi, Iffi\frtu,
#tJ

-'

,1s,

la

Ti

ft

aF-n tt 'gffi ,

ER,

11 rT f,*

i ffi FF.

xtFrywFt. T (
)L* fr,, trr EFr, .|^8i,&..

ffill

),

ffi .

I was unable to locate this poem in the two vorumes of ch,en To's san-ch,
that were
republished in this century: Ch,iu-piyeh_fu
and, Li_yn chi ao
^H#ffi
in
flfiffiffi,
t,l'ch'i." (chi-yeh) i(Hgi), ed., yin-hung i so k,e ch,u
1r"ip.i,
Shih-chieh shu-ch, 1967 rpt.), vol. l.

ffitrffffi/fr

33. In Ming-Ch'ing popular religious usage, hsan chan

ff (,,recite scrolls,,)
usually means hi;uan pao-chan
H (,,recite precious scrolls,,).
34. Hsieh Sheng-pao, "Ho-hsi pao_chan y Tun_huang
pien_wen te pi_chiao,,,
p. 79.
35' Tn ch'an-hseh #thg, "Ho-hsi pao-chan
[precious Scroils of the Kansu
corridor] irl 1H., Tun-huangy-yenuen-hsehyen-chiut,ung-hsrr
[Newsietter for
research on rhe languages and literature of Tun_huangl-f_k,;E{Ef..elf+riI",
I
(1986). Cited in Hsieh Sheng-pao, ,,Ho_hsi pao_chan,,,
pp. 79_30.
36. Li Shih-y, personal communication, November 6, 19g5.
37' Kao ch'eng, Shih-wu chi yan, chap. g, p. 30g. I hve trnsrated
the entire
transformation text on MaudgalyyanainTun_huang popular
Narratiues, pp. g7
38. Li Fang er al., comp., T,a-i_p'ing kuang_chi, chap. 422,
39. Li Tou, Yang-chou hua-fang lu, chap. lt, p. 258.

l2l.

no.

(I,u Vtan_y-U

tr6;.

40' HsK'o, ch'ingpailei-ch'ao,77.43.HsK'o'snotes,especiariyinfascicresTT-g0,

are a veritable treasure trove of information about
chinese performing arts.
41' Based on a survey of titres and variant titres given in

Hsn, eds', T'an-tz'u hs ru. This phenomenon

der Loon.

*r,

Tn chng-pi and T,an

"[.d

to my attentioi

ty riet van

42' Compare, for exampre, the folowing ch'ing dramas: picture of Drinking
wine
and Reciting Vexations (ftE;EE), picture oj Auspicious
Celebration
Picture of Numerous progeny

(-+E),

and many others.

f*ml

194

Notes to Pages 13-16

Notes to pages 16-lg

43. 'I'an Cheng-pi and T'an Hsn, eds., T'an-tz'u hs lu, pp. 33 36.
44. Ibi.d., pp. I60-162.
45. Maudgaiyyana is calied Molon Toyin and Labay or Labuy (i.e., "Turnip").
46. See Alice Srkzi, "A Mongolian Picture-Book of Molon Toyin's Descent into

Heil."

Hard documentation became available in 1983 with the publication in facsimile

of the Pei-ching min-chien feng-su pai t'u [One hundred drawings of popular customs in
Peking]. See picture number 36 therein (reproduced as Figure 8 in this book).
48. Herbert A. Giles, A Chinese-English Dictionary, no. 6662.
49. George Henry Mason, The Costurne of China, Illustated by Sixty Engrauings,
plate 10, "A Man with a Raree-Show." The hand-tinted engraving was by Pu Qu's
studio in Canton. It was published May 4, 1799, by W. Miller (London). Cf. Mason,
Costume of China, plate 38, "A Puppet-Show" (same attribution for the engraving).
This type ofentertainer stands on a stool and completely conceals himselfas far as the
ankles with a cioth. A tiny covered stage for puppets, which he works from below, rests
on the top of his head. I suspect that this type of puppet show may have been
introduced to China from Russia where it was one type of skomoro ("mountebank")
entertainment. The "puppeteer in a bag" is documented as early as l63O in a famous
drawing by Adam Olearius from Vermehrte newe Beschreibung der Muscolritischen und
Persischen Reyse [New and enlarged descriptions of Muscovite and Persian journeys].
See Russell Zguta, Russian Minstrels, p. 79. Another variant ofthe small puppet show
has the stage piaced on a table in front of the showman. See William Alexander,
Picturesque Representations of the Dress and Manners of the Chinese, plate 25, "4 Raree
Show," engraving ofJanuary l8l4 by J. Murray (London).
50. Kuan Te-tung, personal communication, March 21,1984.
5t. The painting, by an unknown Chinese artist, is gouache on pith. Jean Gordon
Lee, Philadelphia and the China Trade, 1784 1844, no. 188.
52. For a picture of a Hsi-hu ching showman in action, see Pei-ching min-chien fengsu pai t'u, no. 6.
53. The Yen-shihchipilAccumulated vices of the city of Peking] tftffiffi4+, cited by
Li Chia-jui (comp.) in Pei-p'ing feng-su, p. 363, states that there were many different
varieties of peepshows in Peking and that some of them were corruptive of public
47

morals.

54. Li Feng-hsing, Chung-kuo min-chien i-shu, pp.54-56.

55. Jaroslav Prek, The Origins and Authors of the hua-pen, Appendix II, pp. I 12I I3.
56. Patrick Hanan, letter to the author, September 28, 1982.
57. All of the information in this paragraph was supplied to me in Philadelphia on
March 2l and 22, 1988, by the noted Soochow p'ing-hua storyteller Chin Sheng-po
+.+I. He has promised to send me additional materials on the subject upon his return
to China.
58. Gary Seaman, The Chinese Cult of the Dead (a series of films); a fine set of hell
screens (date unknown to me, probably from mainland China) may be seen in the
Breckinridge Public Affairs Center of Bowdoin College at York, Maine. On the popularity and didactic use of pictures of hell during the T'ang and Sung periods, see
Wolfram Eberhard, Guilt and Sin in Traditional China, p. 46.
59. One of the poerns I discussed in chapter 6 of T'ang Transformation Texts does
indicate that the preformer wore a special costume. Uighur Buddhst ntaka (dance
l----

J--^-i.-l

L.,

n^l.^i-

:-

;^

.,;^",-;--L--

v^-;^-;.h

f 95

uon Qoo and $inasi Tekin in

personar communications, also
bears certain sim'arities.

H' Mair' "rhe origins of an Iconographicat

Form of the pitgrim,

"ri:":;tor
61. Information kindl.

62rhe""k;;;;;,J.:.::i:f'..i:l:i#:::];01,,'l;",

Lily

Chang, "The Lost Rot, ofChirr.se

Shadow Theater,,,pp.

t3 and 430.

Notes to Chapter I

l. F. W.

Thomas, ,,political..and

Social Organization of the Maurya

Empire,,,
pp. 480-481 (iralics added). Niharranjan
nuy'ntouryo and Sunga Art, p.57)
has
the. opinion that the narti.r"
.rrJi, u, ur.hur, Bodhgay
Tltt ""1::d.
and sciare,

rn essence' rithic picture-scrots.

see arso

steta Kramrisch, (Jnknoun India,

p.70. The
Iintel of rhe Easrern gare,ar sci
do"" irrd.;o;;rfr"y
continuous narrarive. For
example, when the Buddha is
"
shown leaving fri, rfr..,, palace,

.r in a left

;:,f

ro righr progression.

onihe .ou_rlr.

his h;.r;-;pp"u.,

the p.ogr"ssion o

,-rn

,op

Jarl Charpentier, ,,tui'a,,, pp.67l_672,and

commentaries noted there.
3' For western language expositions olprlini's
extremely terse statement, see Louis
Renou, trans., Le
sramml1re di.p4ini, vor.
iis,S.3"
.o ,
rhe Ashtadhyaytof parlini, vol.
2, p. gZS; anOro ,Onrfr.rgf., ('d!s'
""0
anded'
ed., pnini,s
^' hans. ano
Grammatik, p.262

2.

See

z,i

4.

F. Kielhorn

ch""j;;;;;,i.rr.

, ed., The Vykararya_Mahabhashya

by patajati, vol. 2, p.36. For

well
over a cenrury, there has been
extensive scholry drr.,r.rio,'
orirri.'pilug" rro.n
Patajari' The most recent and
exhaustive treatment of the issues
invorved is that by
Norvin
The Miracle.,plays
Uotnura, pp'.'240_258. Unfortuntely,
''ein,
I did not
discover Hein's work untir afier "
irt"a
several monrhs of work on rhe
passage myserf. while exhaustive
"r.."iipent
in its
treatmnt of the schorarry debate
on this
celebrated passage' Hein's coverage
has its o*n
Hein attempts through his
elaborare

anarysis of rhe texr ro sho-w

"g".rar.
thrr Kr;; ;;mas

by human actJrs arready were

in existence by the second century
B".ii. rJorars have spoken on both sides
this extremery compricated issue ".r.u.
of
and r behevehat the evidence
for such dramas
remains inconcrusive' None
of Hein's presumed strictures (pp.
25r and, 253)against
Saubhika as picture reciters
is disabling.
5' My crude rendering of thir pur i,
based upon sten Konow, The
Indian Drama,
pp.70-71;AnandaCoomaraswamy,,,pictureShowmen,,,p.
Indische Studien,

tB2;and,AlbrechtWeber,

vol. 13, el:

Indologisr.peter Gaeffke,s help

is also ap_
preciated' arthough he is not to188.1S9.
be biamed to.
,rro.t.omings in the finar resurts.
6. Keirh, The Sanskrit Drama, p. 32n.
"n-y
f . feifrl,

somewhatdeficienr.

rhesanskritquotationa,r","ilJ.T;'"::Tifi;:i,ff;:i;

I have paraphrased in the three rvrLLIL

sentences rurrowtng
followi note 4 just
tanslation Jove.
7' See Lders',cerebrated essay entitred "Die

saubhikas. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte

des indischen Dramas,',

(tTuI

+otff. orignally published in S,AW

":l".jiily_fp
and reprinre
d

lr.u-]]7,
8. Keith,
The Sanskrit D

inremperate

before my direct

in riilotogica_naii, pp. 3er_428.

-

i;;;;i,';i,:::,if ,ui,,ii,;l;**9

32_33

:i:':::,: ,y::f.:3::::p::-

196

Notes to Pages 18-21

theory," "renders

Notes to pages

. . . nonsense," "whoily impossible," "disastrous results," etc.) that

it

smacks of an argumenl ad hominem and should accordingly be discounted. See also

Keith's "The Caubhikas and the Indian Drama," where he dismisses outright the idea
that the Mahabhas.ya passage has anything to do with the explanation of pictures.
9. Weber (writing before Lders) ,Indische Studien, vol. 13, "Das Mahbhya des
Patajal," pp. 48S- S9 of 293-496. Hillebrandt, "Zur Geschichte des indischen Damas," p. 228, where he also points to the similarity with German picture-storytellers;
Winternitz, "Krsna-Dramen:' pp. l2O and 142n. 3, where he gives other references to
aubhika in early Indian literature; Pischel, The Home of the Puppet-Play, ttans. by
Mildred C. Tawney, p. I3; Coomaraswamy, "Picture Showmen," pp. I82-I83, and
Histor! of Indian and Indonesian Art, p. 4On.3; Konow, The Indian Drama, pp.7O-71;
Varma, "The Art Medium of the Saubhikas and Its Nature," in which Varma narrowly
restricts the profession of the aubhika to puppetry.
I0. Cf. T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede, eds., The Pali Text Society's PaliEnglish Dictionary, p. I85a.
Il. Franklin Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid Sankrit Grammar and Dictionary (B.H,S),

t,ii;,i;|:j

;:liiLi.itr;: r;;:

rai s h o-,,, 0,,

.
"
Chou I-liang, ,,Tu T,ang_tai
su_chiang
22. Cf. the inscriot
2

16. V.Fausbil,ed.,TheJataka,book22,lI99

12OI,p.277;trans.byH.J.Francis

in vol. 6 of Edward Cowell, ed., The Jataka (t902), p. I35. The material in brackets has
been added by me. It is interesting to note that in this Jtaka the formula "Passa: . .
manimhi passa nimittary" ["Behold created in this jewel"] frequently recurs. Cf.
"Please look at the place . . . " (E- ... ffi) in the transformation texts.
I7. Adapted from Manumohan Ghosh's translation of Bharata-Muni, The Natyaastra, p.439; Sanskrit edition in Kvyamt 42, ed. Sivadatta and Parab, c}'aqtet 22,
number I89, p.24O.
18. Slightly modified from T. W. Rhys Davids and C. A. F. Rhys Davids, trans.,
Dialogues of the Buddha, vol. I, pp. 6-9. The correction in square brackets has been
added by me. The translators provide helpful notes on all of the terms given and these
should be consulted by those who are interested in the subject of entertainers in early
India.

*,, n;, ::,ioned by

21.'ij'r
As record-ed in E. B. Co*.[ urrin.
a. U.i
24.,IanfredMayrhof er,Kurzgef
asstes,;r;;;:r::";r'#ri':!;f
:::;o,irrrorr,
pp. 192-193; Henry yule and
e. C. Burnelll Hobson_Jobson,p. 683a.
25. Pratapadit
"""t;.::::.lsf.oml.tepali.rtheprinceofWalesMuseum,,,p. t6.
26' Tibetan scrots
for picture recitation are arso
caTled thanka(,,something
rored
up")' see Guiseppe Tucci, Tibetan painted
scrous, p.267, whosays that
the word for
pa{(a)inNepalisprabh.-TheTatterirp.ouuurf
u rrariantof thewari wordpaubha.
,, ,Ippo,

. Minani Shinj,

:..lio:,
fol:et!^in

p. t56.

senren c e

:,',ilf ;i'""5i1".1T,1;r
lit,;.'EH,T-':.@i;111i;:ff
- i+i'rnshihyai,Tun-huangshih-shihhua-hsiangt,i_snii,;p.;;;r;air;.

,;"ij::#,:j,i::i

hundred magicians skitled in the ninety-six forms of iilusionism." Alain DaniIou,

trans., Shilappadikaram, p. 166, and Ka. Naa. Subramanyam, trans., The Anklet Story,

q=

U,*,,, p.-362.

urq

trans.,TheMahuastu, pp. II0-IIInn.5-l0and l-10. Theoriginaltextmaybefound

in E. Snart, ed., Le Mahuastu, p. Il3. The material in square brackets has been added

f5. Slightly modified from Radhagovinda Basak, A Stud! of the MahuastuAuadana, pp. 37-38; also in his "Indian Life as Revealed in the Buddhist Work, the
Mahuastu-avadana." The material in brackets has been added by me, excePt in
number 17, which, incidentaliy, is left unclosed in Basak's original commentary.
Aithough they are not listed by name, it is iikely that tlne Saubhika also existed in South
India at a very early date. We read in the Tamil novel Silappadikaram, composed
around l7l I.E. with the possibility of additions as late as the fifth centry, of "a

Ig7

19. R. Otto Franke, ed..and trans.,

Dlghanikya, pp. g_9n. 13. It
would have been
better for Franke to give the
variants i" ?.i.
form (without final_m).
Das Attindische' nuch uom
j:,t;T;::=!:^? Mevea trans',""-i"ative
wett- und

p. s33b.
12. Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionctry, pp. I253c and 1093.
13. Cf. also Armenian surb and Sanskrit.obhate, ubhra, which function similarly to
Tocharian kwlte. See Pavel Poucha, Institutiones Linguae Tocharicae, pt. I, p. 6 I , and
A. J. van Windekens, Lexique tymologique des dialectes tokhariens, p. 32.
14. For helpful annotations on all ofthese terms, see the commentary in J. J. Jones,

by me.

2l_25

27

28. Cecil Bendall and W. lI.

Doctrine, p. 294. Italics

,r.riJ.,l

no tgt ni

. nJ.r..,

Skshasa mucca|a:

added.

A Compendium of Buddhist

29. :rakh Tripitaka (1636)32. t3Sa.

see Bendal, ed,.,
ikshasam*.,oyo,on.33o [t486],j.16. rhe

no 3e40(stk,';:.:;::r'l"r:;11,i!?i2;:i:',";:,;::",_:X;,.^

tocaring and in expcring rhe

,ib.r;; passage.
31. Cf. V. Trenckner, et al., com'ps.,

crixal pali Dictionary, vol.2, fasc.7,

p' 334ab' under ukkuika, and
Edgern, BHS, "tuka.Thismust
refer to some sort of
acrobatic scetic or fakir.

32' The Tibetan transration is indicative

of the etymorogicar root of obhika

aubhika) but is not an accurte
(i.e.
rendering ofthe word in this
context.
33. Cf. rhe expression
ft.F (,,turno'ifr. fr..tr-; for which
ft *S may be an error.
It is possible, however' that
the chinese transrator simpry
omi ur-uriuroinir
refers onry to the movements
rt w
of the dance, which i,s mentioned
rater in the passage.

"rt:;';:;:;;;i::t';::"
Index, p. 484a.

ts

rrom w'riam

' s'oir''r

and rewrs

n"i"','

with sanskrit and English Equiualents

and

a'

*,r,",v

ials-krt-pat

35. Valentina Shche_Rosen, ,,On

the Shadow Th,
in India," pp. 278*279.
36. c. R. Devadhar and N. G. suru,
eds. and ,.urrr.t""t
37. cired in Richard pischet, ,,Das
attindisch ;r,;:iiK:r,?l{r;i,*,pp.252rr.
38. After pischei,s trnslation,
ibid.,
pp.

n;;_;;r.

39. Konow, The Indan Drama,

pp.5, , urrdT;.
40. pischel, ,,Das altin
studyof

thiswordin;;::;::;;:ii:.,1":i;l..#li;"fi:::;"::;:r;,rr:^i

an i ndi vid ua.l ga

ka (,' cou rtesan_performer,,

41. Translation adapted from

Ananda oo_u.ur*urn y, ,,The
Shadow_play in
Ceylon," p.627. Cf. Stache_Rosen, ,,On
the Shadow Theatre in India.,,
42' This passage is discussed by
both coomaraswamy, ,,picture showmen,,,
184-185, and B. M. Barua ,,Maskari_OoSaiu,,
pp.
ir.u"rO",,, pp. 369_370. I have relied
heavily on borh of them ro.
th. r".o,';;;t;1;
a carefur
review of rhe probrern

198

Notes to Pages 25-28

Notes to Pages

of dating Vikhadatta, G. V. Devasthali, Introduction to the Study of

pp. l0-I4, conservatively places him among the older group of dramatists
followed Klidsa and certainly nlourished long before the ninth century. There is
evidence that indicates he might well have been active under candragupta rI of
Gupta dynasty, the same reign(375-a) under which Klidsa himself flourished.
Keth, The Sanskrit Drama, pp.146_147.
43. Picture showmen also functioned as sPles IN Japan (see Chapter 5) and
44. The entire relevant Passage has been translated by J A. B. van Buitenen tn
Plays of Ancient India, p. l9l, as follows:
Enter a spy; he is carrying a canuas which pictures the exploits
of Death.
spy: Bow, world, to yama! Why pray to other Gods at all?

of

yama,

He gets the toiling souls of each denomination!

Each man lives by the trouble of his God,s dictation,

But Yama gets us all, no other Gods at all!

am going into this house here, and show yama,s picture and sing his

(He walks around.)

wyrr (Iooking up\: Don't

come in here, fellow.

Who lives here?
ruru,: My master, the worshipful Clakya.
spv: Oh?

spv: Oh, we belong to the same school! Let me come in and show yama,s
to your master and instruct him in the Law.

For the Sanskrit text, see Alfred Hillebrandt, ed., Mudrraksasa of

p. I7.

45. John Lockwood Kipling, Beast and Man in India, pp. I23_L24. On
yamapata, see also Ajit Mookerjee, The Arts of India, p. 32.
46. R. Shamasastry, trans., Kautilya's Arthastra, pp.343_344. The question
in the quoted translation after the word ,,saubhikas,, is Shamasastry's own.
47. Meyer, Das Arthaastra, pp.4B2 and 850. See also R. p. Kangle,s critical
The Kautllya Arthastra,2.27.25,7.t7.34, IL.t.34, and glossary, p. 78b.
48. The PIi name for him is Makkhali Gosla [putta]. rn sanskrir he is called
Go6liputra. We might understand the latter name as referring to a wandering
who carried tn his hand bam boo staff maskara) It 1S not my purpose here,
to dispute the accuracy of the Jain legend.
49. See Coomaraswamy, "picture Showmen,,. p. Ig3n. 2 for references.
50. L. D. Barnett, trans., The AntagaQa-dasao, pp.l_2. A similar list of
appears in the Ka lpasutra (sixth cenrury
[?] ) of Bhadrabhu. See Jacobi, The
sect. 100,

p.57.

51. Ernst Leumann, ed., Das Aupapatika Sutra, p.22, sect.2.

52. Otto Bhtlingk and Charles Rieu, eds., Hemak'andra's
verse 795, pp. la5 and 365. The Sanskrit equivalent ofprakrit magahaismagadt.
53. See Moriz Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature, vol. 2,
PP. 432-434.
54. Cited and translated by Barua 1n 'Maskari -GoIa s Ear Life, pp
v
Also see Benimadhab Barua, A History of Pre-Buddhistic Indian Philosophy, p. 298,
the same author's "Books of Stories of Heaven and HelI,,, p. ix, an appendix in

28-34

199

Law' s Heaven and Hell xn Buddhist Perspective.

The information ln this section
drawn chiefly from these sources. A.
L. Basham, History and Doctrine
the
35- 37 also treats of these matters.
"f Ajvikas,
55. Cited by Barua tn Maskari-Gola'
s Early Life,
PP 59 and 36t Saeltar-n se
drae ummuka-ualabhue

irlt.t ay a-p

appr1at7t Dnauemane

ar in ay amat t e jubbanagamanuppatte

uiharai.

2OO

Notes to Pages 34-40

Notes to Pages

67. P.V. Kane,ed., TheHarshacharitaof Barlabhatta,p.

ll

of chap.4;E.B.Cowell

and Frederick Thomas, trans., The Hara-carita of Bar\a, p. I 19. The translator's note
on this page states that ambara means "ether, the vehicle of sound" and ,,canvas.,,

4O-42

2Ol

Harvard university is presentry engaged in writing a doctorar dissertation

on this
subject.

9.

The

Maitrisimit colophons are listed in F. w. K. Mller and E. sieg, ,,Maitrisimir

68. Kane,Harshacharita,p.2lofchap.5;CoweliandThomas,Hara-carita,p.136.

und 'Tocharisch:

69. C. Sivaramamurti, Sanskrit Litefature and Art, p.96.

70. Sudarshan Sharma, ed. and ttans., Dutaua.kyam, pp. ll-16 (SanskrT.),4_5

originally written in t],,e Anritk (Indian) anguage, was translated into t'e 'roNn
("Tocharian") ianguage by the Master acarya ("teacher"), the vaibhsika(,,member
of
a realistic school of Buddhism") rycandra, and was then transiate
d, from the Toxri.
ianguage into the "Turkish" (i.e., uighur) Ianguage by rhe Master prajraksita.
It

(English).

71.

See Mar, T'ang Transformation Texts, chap.4.

72. For anBnglish translation ofthe reievant passage, see Shripad Khrishna Belvalkar,
Rama's Later History or I|ttara-Rama-Charita, pp. lSff.
73. There is no agreement among the commentators on the exact meaning of the
operative word ulthicitra. I follow the commentary of vlarghava (ulthyam citramayarenyam), which indicatesthatulthimeans rer.tl("serial" or "continuous," i.e., "narrative"). Cf. Flix Nve, ttans., Le Dnouement de I'Histoire de Rama, p. I4l, "une srie
de tableaux"; R. H. Tawney, trans., The Prabandhacintmani or Wishing-Stone of
Narratiues, p. 5, "series of panels"; Bhavabhuti, Uttararamacharita, ed. Bhnap,
p. I27, "a long scroll in compartments showing panoramic representations of the
Mahabhrata alrd Ramyana, often carried by a class of people called Chitrakathis

Ipicture-storyteilers].

"

74. Coomaraswamy, "Picture Showmen," p.

184.

75. Heien Johnson, trans., Trisastialakapurusacaritra, vol. I, pp. 60,63. This same
story was found earlier in di-purna of Jinasena (fi. 77S-B3S).
76. Merutuga carya, ed., Prabandhacintmar1i, p. 258; Tawney, trans., praandhacintamani, p. 160.
77. Pratapa Chandra Ry, trans., The Mahabharata, book 12, vol. 2, section 295,
p. 540; italics added.
b

Notes to Chapter 2

l. H. \/. Bailey, "The Culture of the Iranian Kingdom of Ancient Khotan in Chinese
Turkestan," p. 25.
2. PauI Pelliot, "Autour d'une traduction sanscrite du Tao T King," p. 355n.4.
3. Paul Pelliot, "Notes propos d'un catalogue dtt Kanjur," p. I39, supposes this to
be the Gomatrmahvihra.

4. In

Khotanese, parpjsi-uari. See H. W. Baiiey, "Irano-Indica

pp.405 and 414. Tl'e colophon in question states tht the text was

would appear that both ofthese men were Indian scholars. see pavel poucha, ,,Indian
Literature in central Asia," pp. 2i-29 and ir. For additional discussion ofthe
various
central Asian versions of the Maitrela.samitl and their coiophons, see Baruch, ,,Maitreya
dprs les sources," pp.79-91.
10. Paui Demivilie, review of Annemarie von Gabain. ed., Faksimile der alttrkischen
Version eines Werkes der buddhistischen Vaibhaika_Schule, p. 435.
ll. Lvi, "La Stra du Sage et du Fou," p. 3I8. see arso Emil sieg and w. siegting,
Tokharische sprachreste, vol- l, pp. 51, r0r, 125_126, and,254-256(notes),

and werner
Winter, "Some Aspects of 'Tocharian, Drama,', p. 2g.
12. My reading and translation are based on poucha. "Indian Literature in central
Asia," p. 32; Pavel poucha, Institutiones Linguae Tocharicae, part l, p. 26g; and
wolfgang Krause and werner Thomas, Tocharisches Erementarbuh, vor. 2, p.
36, sect.
6.

I3.

Poucha' "rndian Literature in centrar Asia," p. 3r, commenting on fol. 2ggb.5 in

Sieg and Siegling, Tokharische Sprachreste,

vol. l.
14. Lvi, "La Stra du Sage et du Fou,,, pp.325_326.
I5. TranslatedfromtheGermanofAnnemarievonGabain, DasuigurischeKnigreich
uon Chotscho, pp. 73-74.
16. Translated from the German of Annemarie von Gabain. ed., Maitrisimit,
vor. r,
pp' 19 and 29-30; qtotation from p. 30. Also see vor. 2, p. 19. cf. krn-rk ("stage,
platform") in a list of entertainers and musicians mentioned in Das uigurische InsadiSutra, ed. and trans., by Semih Tezcan.
17. Demiville, review of von Gabain, Faksimile, p. 436. The modern uighur
word
for pien-hsiang, as used, for exampre, to refer to a wall-painting
of the Maitrya regend
in cave I7 atKyzil is zgirii ("transformation,').
18. B. M. Nadelyaev et al., Dreunetyurlcsii slouar', p. 3I9a and A. Caferollu, comp.
'Eski
Uygur Trkesi SzI!,

IV," pp. 930-931.

5. Thus Pelliot and Takakusu (see note 6 below for references). It is conceivable,
however, that this should be rendered "teaching in accord wtln karma," that is,
exercising the doctrine of upaya ("skill-in-means").
6. Taish Tripitaka (21a5)55.67c. This passage has been exhaustively studied by
Sylvain Lvi, "Le Stra du Sage et du Fou dans ia littrature de l'Asie Centrale,"
pp. 3L2 3I3; Paul PeIIiot, "Neuf notes sur des questions d'Asie Centrale," pp. 258261; and J. Takakusu, "Tales of the Wise Man and the Fool, in Tibetan and Chinese,"

pp.4s8

"

a59.

7. Berthold Laufer, "Loan-Words in Tibetan," p. 415n. 2; Pelliot, "Neuf notes,"

p.261.
8. Willi Baruch, "Maitreya d'aprs les sources de Srinde." Jean Nattier-Barbaro of

p. tt7.

19. Gerard clauson, An Etymological Dictionary of pre-Thirteenth-centur! Turkish,

p.746a.

20' Ibid., and vasilii Radloff, versuch eines wrterbuches der Trk-dialekte sdsi_
biriens, coI. 1254.
21. clauson, Etymologicar Dictionary, p.746b. Listed as krnk(mk), ,,to expose,
exhibit" in Caferoglu, Eski Uygur Trkesi Szt!, p. tt7 .
22. Radloff, versuch eines wrterbuches, cor. 1255. For additional citations and
explanations, see W. Bang and A. von Gabain, Analytischer Index, p.25
(4g3), and von
Gabain, Alttilcische Grammatik, p. 316a.
23. Taken from Clauson, Etymologicat Dictionary, pp. 7aL and

74Oa.

24. Julius Theodor Zenker, Trkisch-Arabisch-persisches Handurterbuch,

p.77ra.
wilma Heston has mentioned to me (letter of July 26, rg}4) a similar fr--g-shift in
a

2A2

Notes to Pages 42-43

curious root that shows up u"

tlg*-, .[*

Notes to Pages

, t6* ,meaning "to

see"

in

Pashto,

Sogdian, and Yaqnobi, resPectively, which iacks a good Iranian background.

Dictionary, p. 736b' One might speculate whether the

Turkish word for shadow pIay, kara-gz (literally, "black-eye"), has any connection
with this whole complex of Uighur words for making things visible.
26. Turkish translation by B. Atalay, Diuan L(tgat-it Trk Tercmesi (Ankara,
lg4}-1g43), vol. 3, p. 373. Cited by Clauson, Etymological Dctionary, p.746a; see aiso

25.

C1auson, Etymological

p. xviii.

27. inasi Tekin, in a letter dated May 27, 1978. For the "following event," or
happening. affair,matter, story, cf. Clnineseshih .FortheUighurword (sauf savlsab),
see Bang and von Gabain, Analytischer Index, p.40 (498). The formula reads: mt bo
sauii magat ului-ta ndaTtakri atly suzaq-ta bilmi uqmi' krgk. After Annemarie von
Gabainand TadeuszKowalski, eds., "Turkische TurfanTexteX," pp. 10-12, n.3f-33.
In another ietter, dated September 25, 198L, inasi Tekin states that the imPortant
expression of narrative moment and locus, "the time/place when/where X did such and
such," can be found in almost atl the Old Turkish Jtakas, especiaily those translated
from Central Asian languages into Uighur. i.e., from Tocharian, Khotanese, etc. For
example, Tekin refers ]UsTo Maitrisimit nom bitiq, edited by him, and to F' w. K.
Mller, ed., "Uigurica III." This corresponds closely with the pien-uen pre-verse
formula that derives from picture-storyteliing (see Chapter 4) and to the inscriptions in
the cartouches of pien-hsiang inscriptions.
28. Edited and translated into German

by $inasi Tekin, Die Kapitel ber

die

Bewusstseinslehre.The Sanskrit predecessors ofthis text have a bewildering number of

variant titles, severai of which we shall encounter.
29. Johannes Nobel, ed., Suuarnabhasottamasutra; R. E. Emmerick, trans., The Sutra

of Golden Light, p. x.
30. Tekin, Die Kapitel ber die Bewusstseinslehre, p. 62, II.12-13 (Uighur text), and
p. 90 (German translation, rendered here in English).
31. Taish Tripitaka (665)rc. 26a.2. Note the gratuitous (in Chinese) use of the
pseudo-objective case marker yzi fS.
32. While the extant manuscript of the Uighur translation dates from the eighteenth
century, the composition is much earlier. According to Clauson, Etymological Dictionary, pp. xv-xvi, it dates from the eighth century or later. I believe that it probably is
from the end of the ninth or the beginning of the tenth century, exactly the time when
many of the plen-wen mar,scripts were being copied.
33. Ibid., p.742a. Clauson's definition of krkde is "ofthe same shape, ateplica."
Cf. also Annemarie von Gabain, "Die Uigurische bersetzung der Biographie Hentsangs," p. I73n. 156.

34. Taisho Tritaka (665)16.408b.

35. Roger Finch, "The Sn--parivarta (chapters xvi and xviii) from Sngqu Sli's
Uighur Translation of I-tsing's Version of tii'e Suuarnaprabhasottama-sutra," pp- 68,
8I, and 189; the Chinese portions that I have inserted in Finch's translation (italics mine
to indicate ki)rk) are from l-ching's version (the original upon which the Uighur seems
to have been based), Taisho Tripitaka (665).a39bl0 and 16. Finch's romanization
seems unusual. For 519.8, he gives k.wmyn lkwyrkwmynl and, for 52O.lO, k'um-k'
lkrtyrkutm-k'l.Clauson, EtymologicalDictionary,p.T4la,defines,trfr(g)as"something
visible; shape; form." It may also refer more specifically to an image or statue. See aso
Caferoglu. Eski uygur Trkesi SzI!, p. I 16. The word is derived lrom nl kr-' In a

43-47

203

conversation of Jury 27, rgg0, $inasi Tekin informed me

that. in more deveroped usage,
,trk is equivalent to Sanskrit naaka (,,dance, drama,
representaton,,).
36' von Gabain, "Die uigurische bersetzung der Biographie Hen-tsangs.,,

.37' c'TaishTritaka(20550.Thererevanlportionsofrhechineserexlaregiven
by von Gabain. For the uighur text, see v. . nadrov, and S. E.
Marov,, eds.,
Suuan.taprabhsa, pp. 343,1.tO and 674, ll. ff.
38' von Gabain, "Die uigurische bersetzung

39. Ibid., p. t58, t.58.

der Biographie Hen-tsangs,,, p. r52.

40' A similar usage occurs in the uighur transration from the chinese
biography of
Hui-yuan i (334-4t6), founder of the pure Land Se*: "abit(a)
bur*on karkdri
skintri (before rhe form/represenrarion/image of Amirbha
n,ria'rra.,, xoikdri is an

adjective here being used

as a

noun.

See

Kahar Barat's unpublished

paier ,,Hui-he-wen

liang-chien," p. 8, ll.8-9 ofrext.

41. Taish Tripitaka (2053)50.26rb.
42' Hu-ri, The Life of Hsuan-tsang, p. 235. stanislas Julien, trans.,
Histoire de ra uie
de Hiouen-thsang, p. 32o, seems to render the
cruciar rast six characters as ,,un crit

consacr l'loge du Buddha.,,

43' Translated from the German of von Gabain. clauson, Etymorogicar
Dictionary,
p' 746a, follows her: "when I. the monk prajdeva, had compsed
a poem about the
divine Buddha's rtiued krin kitu yartikamiin deigning
to bring aboutihe appearance

(or revelation?) of the Rgueda....,,

44. "Miracle," see Edgerton, BHS, s. v. prtiharya, p. glb.
45. Nakamura Hajime, Bukkyogo daijiten, p.795b.
46' see also, in rhe same^biography (Taish Tripitaka[2053]50.272b,
the presentation of "implements of rhe faith"
ro the son ;f rh.
whici incrued ,,one
"-p.r.,
ser of transformations of t'.e Sutra of Recompense
for Kinness" (+F,n.ffi-dr). cf.
Julien, trans., Histoire de Ia uie de Hiouen_ths:ang, p. 32g.
47' see victor H' Mair, "Records of Transformation Tabreauxi'
for numerous
examples ofsuch eulogies. They usualry consist ofa
cerebration ofthe compretion ofthe
pien-hsiang, praise of the artist and patron, and some
discussion of its coirtents.
48. Nicholas Poppe, trans., and annot., The Twelue Deeds of Buddha:
A Mongolian
Version of the Lalitauistara, pp. Il and 13.
49. Ibid., p. r49.

s0. Ibid., p.

'51'

103.

For the Sanskrit version, see p.

L. yaidya,

ed..,

Lalita-uistafa, p.zr2,and saro-

man Lefmann, Lalita Vistara: Leben und Lehre des

tcya_Buddha,

trans'' Le Larita vistara,

p.

p.

ZbZ;d. Foucaux,

25r- Foucaux's translation of the Tibetan (Rgya tch,er

rol pa, p.282) indicates that, for an practicar purposes,
it is identicar with the Sanskrit.
Italics and bracketed word added.
52' Taish Tripitaka (r87)3.5ssbc. The portion that corresponds
roughry to the
Mongolian
text's "made visibre a picture of the tand of ail the Buddhas,,
and the
italicized portion of the translarion from rhe Sanskrit reads
thus: ffi F+ g ffi D_l iF j .

|tt'tiffi Z. !tfl ,\t g q.

53. Edgerton, BHS, p.482a.
54' wogihara unrai and Tsuji Naoshiro, ed,s., sanskrit-Japanese
Dictionary, p. r2o2a.
55. F. W. K. Mller, ,,Uigurica U,,, pp. I4_2O, fragrnint

+ + fr R&^tJ

Trip it aka (26a)9. t9 2a.

56. See Ernst Waldschmidt, Gandhara, Kutscha,

i, T.IIy.t' ." Ci. fosno

Turfan, pp.73_75 and plate 42;

2O4

Notes to Pages

Notes to Page 47

Kultstttenin Chinesisch-Turkistan, figures92,32I,

YaId2, Along the Ancient silk Routes, p. 47.
Marianne
and
3g3, 3g4; Herbert Hrtel
57. Cf. Albert von le Coq, Buried Treasures of Chinese Turkestan, p' 137' with a line

Albert Grnwe

del, Altbuddhistische

aTKyzil. see also

Albert Grnwedel,

drawing (after Grnwedel) of the wall-painting

Alt-Kutscha, II, PP. rO3-I04.
,,Kosha hekiga ni okeru Ajasei-o koji,,, traces the theme
58. Matsumoto Yeiichi,
from Central India to Chinese Turkestan. In the same issue of Kokka,566'I (January
lg3g), there is a stunning colored woodblock reproduction of a part of the painting
from My-hhle at Ming-oi near Kyzil that is preserved in the Museum fr vIkerkunde,Berlin.SeealsoGrnwedel, Alt-Kutscha,figuresS6'87'92'321'plate23'and
double plare III-IV (pp. 42-43, amagnificent color reproduction); Albert Grnwedel,
Amtlicie Berichte, frgures 106 and I07; Albert von le Coq, Die Buddhistische Sptitantike
in Mittelasien, vol. i, plate Aa; Dietrich Seckel, Kunst des Buddhisn, fgure 264; and
yki somei, saki ga shusei, vol. 10, nos. I and 2. PeIIiot manuscrpt 3352 is a list of

n shih
incidents in the story of Ajta6atru. They are of cartouche length and many end
Tun-huang
with
connection
a
close
F+ (,,the time when..."). This format suggests
suddhist popular narratives. See Mair, T'ang Transformation Tetcts' "\"Ptt' 1-:.
in
59. Simone Gaulier, Robert Jera-Begard, and Monique Maillard' Buddhism
its
from
"apart
that
Afghanistan and Central Asia, pt- l, p. Is, have recognized
icographical interest this image is proof of the existence of a mobile form of painting
I0
servirig io instruct the faithful and to transmit the sacred images." See their figure
reproduction.
another
for

60.seeWilliamE.SoothillandLewisHodous,ADictionaryofChineseBuddhist

293.
Terms with sanskrit and English Equiualents and a sanskrit-Pali Index, p.
61. Taish Triptaka [a5t)2a.399bc62. lAnufkram, meaning

"in

methodical/due order'"

63. Taish Tripitaka (1451)24-399b, 1.25'

64. Taisho Tripitaka 24-399c, I.I2.
65. Vol. da of Ildul-ba, no- 6, in Thoku catalogue (Hakuju Ui et al'' A Cotnplete
Tibetan
catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist canons), zgob, I.7. For a summary of the
.,r"rsio (Snarthang ed.,635a.7-G39a.4) o this story, I offer that given by Anukul
Chandra Banerjee, Sarustivda Literature,

p'

97:.

The venerable Mahkyapa (flod-srun-chen-po), who was then residing at

Rjagrha (Rgyal-pobi-khab), came to know from the signs that Buddha had
He knew that so deep was the devotion of Ajtaatru (Ma-skyespurra
"*uy,
gr" to n.rana that if the news of his death was broken to him suddenly, he was
sure to die. To save the life ofthe king he asked the brahmin Varsakra (Dbyarbyed) to draw pictures illustrating the different stages in the life and career of
Buddha-the last of which would represent him in his final rest at Kuanagara
suc(Gron-khyer-rtsba-can). The representation should be shown to the king
The
him.
to
explained
and
be
shown
should
scene
last
the
essively and finally

kingwouldthenfallintoaswoonandhisbodyshouldsuccessivelybeplacedin
sevn ars fiIIed

with fresh butter. Finally, the body should be placed in

rhe

eighthlar fiIIed with sandal wood, and the king would revive. Varsakra (Dbyarbyed) followed the instructions and the life of the king was saved'

66. Introduced by umezu Jir, "Tonk shutsudo Kaikotsu Bukky danpen." The
Japan)' is
date of this painting, which is kept in the library of Tenri universit5z (Nara,
Gahain.

"Ksitigarbha-Kult

47-50

in Zentralasien," has introduced numerous other

205

fragments of

uighur picture-scrolls that deal mostly with the underworld. since many of the

fragments have snatches of writing, they merit further study. von Gabain's figure 64
particularly interesting in that it shows a man holding a scroll unrolled in front ofhim
as though he were displaying it to some onlookers.
67. r am deeply grateful to inasi rekin, who both transcribed and translated these
highly fragmentary inscriptions.
68. I follow Kudara Kgi, whose work only became available to me just as this book
was going to press, for the translation of krk. Tekin had suggested "form" (Sanskrit
rupa).Kudata tentatively dates the painting to the Mongol period (thirteenth-fourteenth
centuries). He identifies the content of the painting as being based on an apocryphal
uighur text about the ten kings ofthe Buddhist underworld. Kudara also published in
the same article another fragmentary painting associated with the same apocryphal text
that bears the following uighur inscription: onun bcig uu ta(o . . .) luin wang icig(-ning)
[k]rki ol ("this is the picture of rhe tenrh king, rhe King of the rive oestinies;,).
69. Evliy Efendi, Narratiue of Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in the seventeenth
is

p.219.
70. This wall-painting is now in the Museum fr Indische Kunst. Berlin. see Hrtel
and Yaldiz, Along the Ancient SiIk Routes, pp. 105-106.
71. Poucha, "Indian Literature in Central Asia,,, p.27.
72. R.en Grousset, Chinese Art and Culture, p.221.
73. Translated from the German of Liu Mau-tsai, Kutscha und seine Beziehungen zu
Century,

l, p.3a.
74. Aleksandr Markovich Belenitskii, Monumental'noe iskusstuo pendzhikenta, p. 59;
Samuel Nan Chiang Lieu, "Diffusion and persecution of Manichaeism,,, pp. 56ff.
75. D. N. Mackenzie, "Buddhist Terminology in Sogdian: A Glossary.,, The Middle
Iranian specialist David utz (personal communication, July lgga) hotds that much of
the sogdian Buddhist terminology was derived from chinese sources. The polyglot
atmosphere ofcentral Asian Buddhist culture may also be seen in the texts recovered
from the Turfan, where chinese characters are intermixed with scripts of other
languages, especially uighur. cf. Gerhard Schmitt and Thomas Thilo, comps., Katalog
China, vol.

chinesischer buddhistischer Textfragmente.

Sogdian painting, p. lO2.
77. A- M. Belenitskii and B. I. Marshak in ibid., p. 2g. David utz (personal communication, JuIy I98a) denies any close connection between India and sogdiana. Recent
archeological findings, however, tend to confirm the view of Belenitskii and Marshak,
particularly for lower levels (i.e., those not textually oriented) of society. The research
of Ahmad Hasan Dani, chilas: The city of Nanga paruat, and Helmut Humbach, "Die
sogdischen Inschriftenfunde," shows that sogdians and other central Asian people
did not wait passively for the Indians to bring Buddhism to them but that they
regularly travelled at least as far south as the Karakorum area. mile Benveniste,
"L'Inscription sogdienne de Ladakh," Etudes sogdiennes, pp. 17O-173, plus plates, also
documents this phenomenon. Nicholas sims-williams, "Indian Erements in parthian
and Sogdian," has identified a number of Sanskrit, Gandhari, and other prakrit words
that occur in Sogdian texts. see also the detailed articles by B. A. Litvinsky, ,,outline
History ofBuddhism in central Asia," and by Lore Sander on "Buddhist Literature in
Central Asia."
78. Remarks by al-Birni (973-1048) and other Arab and chinese historians lend

76. Guitty Azarpay,

SUDDOft to this internretation

Therc ic hnrrre,p a nnnnoi-^

;+F+^+i^- +L^+

206

Notes to Pages

Notes to Pages 5O-55

points to a complicated shift ofpower and culture (a Persianization, as it were).

Cambridge History of lran, vol. III, pt.2, p. L2I7.

See Te

80. The information in this paragraph has been gathered chiefly from Hans-Joachim
Klimkeit, Manichaean Art and Cattigraph!, togetner with articles n the Macropaedia of
tlne Encyclopaedia Britannicaby E. G. Pulleyblank on An Lu-shan and by Henri-Charles
Puech on Manichaeism. I have also consulted Colin Mackerras, ed. and trans., The
Uighur Ernpire According to the T'ang Dynastic Histories, and Luc Kwanten, Imperinl

and "phenomenon" are

derived from tirreverb phanein, "tobringto light, make known, display" and its
mediopassive counterpart phanesthai, "to appear, be brought to light,', both
ultimately from the noun phs rignally phos), ,,Ight.,' ActuaIIy,
fantastic as
weII as fantasy, phantastn, phantotn (or fantom), and phantasmagoria (ofignally,

magic-lantern display in which optical illusions were produced for entertainment), come from the verb phantzein, "to make visible," itself a reasonably
transparent dervatve of phanelnt}.'roug].'tj.,e addition ofthe -z- infrx signifying
process (which appears in English as -ize and ise).
Other English spinoffs from the verb phanen having to do with appearances,
apparitions, and illuminations are:
diaphanous ("transparent, see-through"), used at least 97 percent of the time
as an epithet for women's wear;
epiphany ("showing forth, revelation"), specifically (and capitalized), rhe
revelation of the infant Jesus to the Magi;
phenocryst ("an easily visible crystal in an igneous rock,,);
phenotype ("an individual that looks like another but may be genetically
different underneath it aII");
phosphene ("an appearance of light" and, specifically, ,,the appearance of
rings of light when somebody pokes you in the eye");
phase (as in "phase of the moon," that is, "the way something appears at a
given time");
emphasis ("special significance or prominence given to something',);
hierophant (originally, "an explainer ofthe Eleusinian mysteries," that is, of
the sacred rites of spring celebrated at Eleusis in honor of the goddess Demeter).
a

82. Men-ho-i, as suggested by Benveniste and reported by Puech (Le Manichisme,

p. I49n.262-see G. Haloun and W. B. Henning, "The Compendium of the Doctrines
and Styles ofthe Teaching ofMani, the Buddha ofLighT," p. 210n. 6) probably derives
from Parthian bungah ("fttndament"), *mbon- ya-yeg (reconstructed form of rnen-lwll
being the unattested adjective form.bungahtg. In an unpublished paper, "Two
Parthian Words in the Chinese Manichaean Tradition," p. ll, David Utz gives tle
Parthian adj ective as " buny hag ("fundamental").
83. Haloun and Henning, "The Compendium of the Dctrines and Styles of
Teaching of Mani, the Buddha of Light" tryc,|frfu.*B-6, pp.209-210.
84. Antonio Forte "Deux tudes sur le Manichisme chinois," pp. 240-241.
85. Taisho Tripitaka (2I4O) 5a. n77c.
86. Lu Yu, Wei-nan wen chi,5.4b.
87. Hard data in support of this proposal are presented in chap. 6 of Mair,
Transfornation Texts.
88. rbid.
89. See Forte, "Deux tudes, " pp. 238-2aI and 2M-245, for this and the
that follow in the discussion. Similar Buddhicisms are frequent in earlier

Notes for Chapter 3

I.

A Descriptive Dictionary of the Indian Islnnds and

445, states that wayang probably equals bayang, that is, "

John Crawfurd,

Countries,

p.

apparition."

2. Mantle Hood, "The Enduring Tradition: Music and Theater in Java and
p. a39.

207

3. Beryl de Zoete and Walter Spies, Dance and Drama in Bali, p. 343.
4. A Malay Dictionary, p. 169.
5. This connection between fantastic manifestations and illusional phenomena
would not have been at all strange to the ancient Greeks. Both the English "fantasy"

Nomads8f. Cf. L. Carrington Goodrich, Short History of the Chinese People, p. L32.

translations of Manichaean texts.

90. Cf. the entries under/o (p. IIT d) and. bumo (p. II83a) fmata-pitlin
mura, Bukkygo daij iten.
91. A. van Tongerloo, "Buddhist Indian Terminology in the Manichaean
and Middle Iranian Texts."
92. Paul Pelliot, "Les influences iraniennes en Asie Centrale et en
p. r05.
93. For a good example of a Manichaean document that is permeated with
terminology and Buddhist concepts, see W. Bang and A. von Gabain,'
Turfan-Texte III." For other instances of Buddhist-Manichaean exchanges, see
Tien-min, T'ang-ch'ao chi-tu-chiao chih yen-chiu, especially chaps. 4, 5, and 6. Cf.
the works by Hans-Joachim Klimkeit listed in the Bibliography.

55-56

From Alexander and Nicholas Humez, Alpha to Omega: The Life and Times of the Greek

6.

See

pp. r57-I58.
Victor H. Mair, T'ang Transrmation Texts, chap.2.

7. N. J. Krom, Hindoe-Jaoaansche Geschiedenis, p. 47.

8. See the appendix to chap. 3 called "The Origin of Wayang" in Ramesa-Chandra
Majumdar, Ancient Indian Colonisation in South-East Asia, vol. 2, pt. 2, pp. 57-60.
9. See H. Meinhard. "The Javanese Wayang and its Indian prototype,,,pp. I09 and
lll; Antoine Cabaton, "Communication"; and Theodore Bernard van Lelyveld, Ia
dnnse dans Ie thtre javanai.s, cited

in Marjorie Batchelder, Rod-puppets and the Human

Iheatre, p. 333; and Jiwan Pani, Rauana Chhaya, pp.7-16, for a concise and persuasive

emary of critical factors, including a list of basic technical terms in wayang that
Sanskrit and Oriya words with the sme or similar meaning. Jacques Brunet,
his "Attempt at a Historical Outline of the Shadow Theatres," p. 129, states that
spread to Southeast Asia with the expansion of Indian culture. See also
Friedrich seltmann, "vergleichende Komponenten der schattenspielformen von sdMalaysia, Thailand, Kambodscha, Bali und Java, who emphasizes the
echnical and ritual similarity between Indian and Southeast Asian shadow-play
performances.

208

Notes to Pages 56-59

10. Hood, "The Enduring Tradition," pp.438-439.

Il.

G. Coeds, The Indianized States of Southeast Asia, p. 14.

L2. lbid., pp. 8I-82, citing J. Takakusu, tralas., A Record of the Buddhist Religion,

p. xxxiv.

13. See Tibor Bodrogi , Art ol Indonesia, figs. I l8-l19, and Gy Kovcs. "An Illustrated Wayang Book."
14. Lindor Serrurier, De Wajang Poenu, eene Ethnologische Studie, p. I3O.
15. See l|i/.ar, T'ang Transformation Texts, end of chap. 2.
16. Betty Erda, Shadow Images of Asia, p. 35.
17. AIso transliterated as keroetjil or kelilik.
I8. Bodrogi, Art of Indonesia, figs. lt3-I14, l16, l17. pl. rI.
19. R. M. Soeripno, "Javanese Classical Dances."
20. Georg Jacob, "Die Entwickelung des Schattentheaters," p. 14.
2I. There are also numerous other minor types of wayang, such as tuayang madya,
urayang woesana, wayang dobel, wayang lilingong, etc., all of which are derived from
"shadows." For another descriptive list of wayang, see C. Poensen, "De Wajang,"
pp.234-242.

22. Onthe

"Kunst," in

greater antiquity of wayangbbr than the otherTorms, see G. P. Rouffaer,

Encltclopaedie uan Nederlandsch-Indi, p. 335.f; Serrurier, De Wajang

Poerw, pp.72, 130-13L, and237ff.; Hanns Bohatta, "Das JavanischeDrama," p.282;

Ananda Coomaraswamy, History of Indian and Indonesian Art, p. 2!L; Tyra de Kleen,
Wayang, p. I0; and custave Schlegel, Review of J. J. M. deGroot, The Religious Systetn
of China, p.43.

23. or the European progression, beginning in the seventeenth century, fro

magic lanterns to projections onto smoke, illumination on gauze, and finally to moviag
pictures, see Erik Barnouw, The Magician and the Cinema.

24. Harcld Forster, Flouering Lotus: A View of Jaua, p. 2O9.

25. Elinor Clark Horne, Jauanese-English Dictionary, p.6O9b.
26. Cited in Claire llolt, Art in Indonesia, pp. f 3I and 281.
27. DeKleen, Wayang, p.9.
28. J. Ensink, "Rekhacarmma, On the Indonesian Shadow-Play," pp. 415-4
}J.olf, Art in Indonesia, p. t28; Majumdar, Ancient Indian Colonisation in South-Easl
Asia, vol. 2, pt. 2, p. 57; Laurie Jo Sears, "The Transmission of the Epics from India to
Java," p. 18; and Soewito Santoso, "The OId Javanese Rmya4a, Its Composer and
Composition," pp. 23-24. The Ramayana is explicitly mentioned in the same Passage
as being the subject of another type of oral narrative performance (mamirus).
29. Cited in Ensink, "Rekhacarmma," p. 416, and in Batchelder, Rod-Puppets, P.9.
Cf. the translation by P. J. Zoetmulder n Kalanguan: A Survey of Old Jauanc*
Literature, pp. 2O9-2IO: "For it is as with the spectglors of a
(ringgit). They (are carried away,) cry, and are sad (because ofwhat befalls their beloved
hero or heroine) in the ignorance oftheir understanding. And this even though
know that it is merely carved leather that moves and speaks. That is the image of
whose desires are bound to the objects of the senses, and who refuses to
that all appearances are only an illusion and a display of sorcery without any reality"
30. J. Hooykaas, "The Myth of the Young Cowherd and th e LittIe Girl," p. 27 5
see Ensink, "Rekhacarmma," p.416.
3I. James R. Brandon, On Thrones of GoId, p. 2, following G. A. J. Hazeu, "Bij
tot de kennis van hetjavaansche tooneel," pp. I0-lI.

Notes to Pages

59-62

209

32. Wayang presented during the day is known as utayang lmah; duringthe night
it is known as wayang ptng. See Seltmann, ,,Vergleichende Komponent en,,, p. 3A.

33. Kamaladevi Chartopadhy, The Glory of Indian Handicrafts, p. lg4.

34. Meinhard, "The Javanese Wayang,,, p. lll. For an example of the composite
fgures that are sometimes used in lrarang kulit, see t],.e bansan ('ar^y")in Museum
Folkwang, Wayang Kulit, fig. 83, and also Jeune Scott_Kemball, Ja,uanese Shadou
Puppets, fig. 2a. For a single raayang perdjuangan (a type of ltrqnng kulit) stick that
depicts an audience of twenty people, see Alit Djajasoebrata, Jaua wajang purw
Schaduuttoneel en Wereldbeeld, pl. I7a.
35. see victor H. Mair, "The contributions of Transformation Texts (pien-wen)to
Later Chinese Popular Literature."
36. Dhaniniwat, "The Shadow-play as a possible Origin of the Masked-play ,', p.26.
37. Jo}rn Crawfurd, History ofthe Indian Archipelago, vol. t, p. l3O, nore.
38. This word is used for anything that is "screened," including the cinema. Most
o the information on the Thai shadow play here is derived rom Dhaniniwat, shadow
Play, the Nag, and "The Shadow-Play as a possible Origin of the Masked play.,, See also
James Low, "On Siamese Literature," p. 389.
39. Rene Nicolas, "Le Thtre d'ombres au Siam," p.39. For a series of photographs
that show the features of Thai Nang-yai as described here, see Uetin And, a nyada
ve
Bizde, plates

l, L2-I3.

40. In India, Andhra Pradesh shadow puppets (tlubommatata) arelarge like Thai
tnng but also share many features wiT]n lalang kulit. There are the usual clown
chaacters, called Killegithirigadu and Bangarakka, and the puppets are stored in a box
similar to the chest in which wayang kulit fgures are kept. Joseph c. Miller. Notes for
an exhibition entitled OraI Literature in India: An Exhibition ol Pictorial Media Used in
Narratiue Recitations, p. 5I. For an illustration of splendid flat leather cut-outs for
shadow plays from Andhra Pradesh and Mysore, see verrier Elwin, Fotk-paintings of
India, p. 49.
4I. Dato Haji Mubin Sheppard, "The Khmer Shadow play and Its Links with
Ancient India," p. I99.
42. Jacques Brunet, "The Shadow Theatres ofCambodia." pp. 53-55.
43. The quotation in Thai, together with its translation and much ofthe information
that follows, are drawn from E. H. S. Simmonds, "New Evidence on Thai Shadow-play
Invocations," pp. 553-555.
44. Cf. Robert Shafer, Introduction to Sino-Tibetan, pp. 69 and 499-500:

pl$en'

Siamese

Laotian
Ahom

Pin

btyrn
phieit

Shan

Pin

Black Tai
White Tai

pien

pieit

Pin
pien

peir

pien
pien

piit

Tho
Nung
Dioi

Pit)

Jai

Pln

Cantonese

pin

peiz

pieit
pien
byn

2lO

Notes to Pages62-64

Notes to Pages

Bernhard Karlgren, Analytic Dictionary of Chinese and Sino-Japanese, p.l9O, ffi,

Cantonesepln,andp.227, +(tT), Cantonesep'ingorp'eng, AncientChinese ,b'i-ong.
I have included the pronunciations of z[ in these various languages because the
evidence seems to indicate that a confusion between it and the sound of ffi might be
possible. I offer this only as a speculative suggestion for how pien-fuen) may have
become p'ing-fhual. The case is made somewhat more probable by considering the
pronunciation of these words in the time when p'ing-hud was actually current. See
Hugh M. Stimson, The Jongyuan In Yunn, zp (no. 4993) and f{ (no. 4995), both Middle
See also

Mandarn phiin2, and #ft (no.4743), Middle Chinesepjens and Old

Mandarin pians. Li. Fang-kuei, A Handboolc of Comparatiue Tai, pp. 85 and 28l, lists
Siamese plian together with Lungchow and Po-ai pn. R. A. D. Forrest, The Chinese
Language, p. 99, gives the following words for "change" in Miao and other related
minority languages of China: K}:asi pli, Ba}r.nar pli:h, Stieng and Biat pleh, Ch'uan Miao
plei. Cf. Indo-European a6no 'to shine") and see Chapter 3, note 5 above.
45. Paul Benedict, Sino-Tibeta.n, p. 176 and note 469 on the same page. Benedict's
tentative conclusion that "this appears to be an old loan-word in Chinese" is still open
to discussion because the word is so very much a part of the whole Sino-Tibetan
language family. But the fact that it has not been found n the oracle bones does
give some credence to Benedict's suggestion. Bernhard Karlgren. "Word Families in
Chinese," p. 59, following Henri Maspero, "Le dialecte de Tchng-ngan sous les
'I'ang," p. 25, also accepts the identification of Chinese pien and Siamese plien (i.e.,
Shafer's pllyen').
46. Joseph Guesdon, Dictionnaire cambodgien-franais, vol.2, p.7178a, and Robert
K. Headley et aI., comps., Cambodian-English Dictionary, vol. I, p. 604.
47. Nguyn-Vn-Khn, Vit'Anh Anh-Vit t iAn, p. 87b. I have also consulted
numerous other Vietnamese dictionaries, for which see Victor H. Mair, A Partial
Bibliography for the Study of Indian Influence on Chinese Popular Literature, pp.78, 82,
C}llinese phiary2 and Old

I02, and

ll0.

48. I am grateful to Charles Benoit for having checked this for me in Vietnamese
etymologicai dictionaries.

49. Lin Huan-wen, comp., Kamus MIayu-Tionghoa, pp. 49b and

50. Holt, Art in Indonesia, p. I25.

658a.

5I. Miguei Covarrubias,

Island of Bali, p.237.

52. Ijolt, Art in Indonesia, p. 125.
53. Batchelder, Rod Puppets, p. ll, describes how the dalang employs the puppet
box during performance: "A wooden chest to his left holds the puppets when traveling
and serves as part of the 'noise effects' during the play. He holds a wooden knob
between the toes of his right foot, and with this strikes the box or a pair of wooden or
metal plates hanging from it. This device is used to signal the orchestra, to underline
the speeches ofthe characters, or to provide general noise, as for war."
54. Ensink, "Rekhacarmma," p. 423. Ensink's note on "Tumpk Vayan" is as
follows: "An auspicious day falling on Salu:rday of Vayah,the2Tthweek in the 2l0-day
cycle of the Balinese calendar. The day is celebrated as the 'birthday' (odalan) of the
wayangs" {p. nn. l). Cf. Seltmann, "Vergleichende Komponenten," p.28.
55. Ensink, "Rekhacarmma," pp.434 435.

56. IngeC.Orr,"PuppetTheatreinAsia:'pp.T3andT9.Onthedisposalofpuppets
in water, see also S. G. Morab, The Killekyatha, p.25.
57. JacquesGernet,DailylifeinChinaontheEueoftheMongollnuasion,p.223,citng

64-69

2ll

Robert H. van Gulik, trarrs., T'ang)tin-pi-shih, p.82. tnt}:,e T'ang-yin pi-shihrhere is a

particular legal case that cites Shen Kua (1030-1094), Meng-hsi pi-t'an, fascicle 13, for
this information about the whining, nasal quality of puppets.

58. On Bali, t.e gunungaz is also called kakayon or babat; cf. Ensink, "Rekhacarmma," pp. 415n. and 423. Eor magnificent color photographs of a kayon or gunungan ("Symbol of Cosmic Ord.er"), see the frontispiece to Scott-KembalI, Jauanese
Shadout Puppets, and Th. G. Th. Pigeaud, Literature ofJava, vol. 3, pl. 14, facing title
page.

59. See the edition of M. L. West, Hesiod: Theogony, p. I 12, on ,rihom I rely for my
understanding of the proverb, and his extensive discussion (including references to
Ugaritic and Latin texts), pp. 167-169. My thanks to Sylvia Brown for bringing this
classical motif to my ttention. I have also independently traced the proverb to the
following texts: Homer, Odyssey, xix. 163 (Loeb Classical Library, vol. 2, pp. 240-241,
esp. n. I); Iliad, xx. 126 (LCL, vol. 2, pp. 462-463, esp. n. l), and Plato, Republic,
544D (LCL, v.12, pp.240-241, esp. note c).
60. E. T. Kirby, Ur-Drama: The Origins of the Theatre, p. 45. For a general documentation of the sacred tree symbol throughout the world. see Roger Cook, The Tree of
Life: Image of the Cosrnos. And for the cosmic symboiism of the tree in India and in
Greater India, see F. D. K. Bosch, The Golden Germ: An Introduction to Indian Symbolism.
Inhs The Daemonin the Wood,David,Bynum offers an extensive discussion of the motif
ofthe tree in storytelling throughout the world.
6I. Paui Wheatley, The Piuot of the Four Quarters, p. 417.
62. W. H. Rassers, Paji, the Culture Hero, p. 172.
63. R. A. Kern, "De Beteenkenis van het Woord Dalang."
64. H.aze:u, "Bijdrage tot de kennis van hetjavaansche tooneel," p. 23.
65. Onghokham, "The Wayang Topeng World of Malang," pp. lt4-t2l.
66. Amin Sweeney, "The Malaysian Rmyana in Performance," p. 140.
67. Christian Hooykaas, Kama and Kala, pp. 33, 32, and 85.
68. For a full description of an Indian picture recitation tradition (performed by the
baQuo l"masTer of rituals"] of the "scheduled" tribe from central Gujarat province
known as the Rathva) that is so mystically incantatory that it has nearly lost whatever
narrative qualities it may once have had, see Jyotindra Jain's Painted Myths of
Creation.
69. R. A. Kern, "De Wajang Beber van PatJitan," p. 342.

70. On the priestly, shamanistic function of tt,e dalang, see Seltmann, "Vergleichende Komponenten," pp. 3lff.
71. De Kleen, Wayang, p. ll.
72. lJolt, Art in Indonesia, p. 132. On the duties and abilities of tJne stradhra in
ancient India, many of which resemble closely what was expected of a dalang, see
Jeannine Auboyer,

"Le'Ihtre classique de l'Inde," p.

16.

73. Hood, "The Enduring Tradition," pp.44O-MI.

74. Kern, "De Wajang Beber van Patjitan," p. 342.

75. Brandon, On

Thrones of Gold,

pp.3t-32.

76. Paul Thieme, "Classical Literature," p. 79, in W. Norman Brown, ed., India,
Pakistan, Ceylon.
77. S. J. Tambiah, "The Magical Power of Words," p. f 80. Cf. Bronislaw Mali_
nowski, Argonautsof theWesternPacific, chap. lB,pp.428-463, "Thepowerof Words

in Magic-Some Linguistic Data."

212

Notes to Pages 69-73

Notes to PagesT3-76

78. S. J. Tambiah, Buddhism and the Spirit Cults in North-East Thailand, p. ZO9.
79. P. L. Amin Sweeney, The Ramayana and the Malay Shadow-Play, pp. 64-65.
80. Holt, Art in Indonesia, p. 139.
8f . Tjan Tjoe Siem, Hoe Koeroepati zich zijn Vrouw Verwerft, p.2a9.
82. See James Frazer, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, and William
Ridgeway, Dramas and Dramatic Dances of Non-European Races.
83. Kirby, Ur-Drama, p.2.

84. rbid.
85. Ibid., pp.3 and 8.
86. Lucile Hoerr Charles, "Drama in Shaman Exorcism," p.

tooneel," p. 72, }lazeu reported that wayang bbr was a form of popurar
entertainment

in marketplaces, a source of amusement for children, and so forth_

100. Holt, Art in Indonesia, p. t27.In a note on this sme page, Hort mentions
that
Benedict Anderson of cornell university, on his return in 1964 after
two years of field
research in Indonesia, reported that the very scrolls Holt had seen
were still in existence
but that performances were serdom. if ever, meant to entertain, being used onry in
connection with purification rites. The owners ofthe scrolls claimed thaithey
had been
in their family for twelve generations. In "The Last picture show,,, Anderson also

names marriages and rites carried out in

96.

87. John Beattie and John Middleton, eds., Spirit Mediumship and Society in Africa,
p. xxviii.
88. IrvingA.Hailowell, TheRoleof ConjuringinSalteauxsociety,p. IO.TheSalteaux
Iive along the Berens River in Manitoba, Canada.
89. Ibid., pp. 35 and 9-I0.
90. Selwyn Dewdney, The Sacred Scrolls of the Southern Ojibtaay.
91. Francis Huxley, The Way of the Sacred, p. 263. Italics added.
92. Charles, "Drama in Shaman Exorcism," p. 95, referrin! (note 2) to the important
study of B. Laufer, "Origin of the Word Shaman ," American Anthropologist (n.s.) 19, 3
(I9l ). In strictest terms, the word "shaman" (from German Schamane which comes
from Russian shaman) refers to certain religious practitioners of northern Asia who
were thought to travel to the abodes of the spirits during trance. It uitimately may be
traced back to Tungusic aman ("priest, medicine man"). Further derivation from
Tocharian qamne,Prakrif samat.ta, and Sanskrit Sramaqa ("ascetic") is suspect. The
word "shaman" has long since come to be used commonly by anthropologists and
students of religion to refer to a broad variety of medicine men and mediums.
93. Piet van der Loon, "Les origines rituelles du thtre chinois," English summary,
p. 168. In the same article, pp. I58-162, van der Loon discusses the purification aspects
of Mu-lien performances. Mu-Iien (i.e., Maudgalyyana) was a favorite stbject of pien
performances and texts.
94. Though a very few dalangmight achieve prestigious position and considerable
wealth, it was customary for them to be drawn from the ranks of the lowest castes.
95. Sten Konow, The Indian Dran'a, pp. 59 and 67.
96. Brandon, On Thrones of Gold, p. 5.
97. DeKleen, Wayang, p. 10. Mydiscussionof uayangbbrwaswrittensevenyears
before I became aware ofBenedict Anderson's study ofthe same subject entitled "The
Last Picture Show: Wayang Beber." His interpretation of the history and social
sTandngof uayangbbr differs greatly from mine. He strongly emphasizes the courtly,
elite aspects of the genre to the extent that he comes close to denying it ever was a form
of popuar entertainment. After reading Anderson's study, I reread my own account
and did not feel that the evidence he presented was sufficient to cause me to change the
basic understanding of the genre presented here and in other chapters of this book.

98. Brandon, OnThronesof Gold,p.5,andJamesBrandon,TheateinSoutheastAsia,

p. 45. Anderson, "The Last Picture Show," dates a similar prohibition by the Islamic
ruler in Java to ca. l5l7.
99. See G. A. J. }Jazeu, "Ene 'Wajang Beber' Vorstellung in Jogjakarta, " and Kern,
"De Wajang Beber van Patjitan." In "Bijdrage tot de kennis van het javaansche

2I3

occasions

fulfillment of a promise or vow as appropriate

for the performance of wayang bbr. cf. Joan Raducha, ,,The arrative

Tradition in Mathur Art," who notes the hieratic and devotional qualities
that seep
into and, in some cases, dominate the narrative realm.
l0l. Recorded by Brandon, Theatre in Southeast Asia, pp.45 and 340n. g.
I02. Bapak sarnn was interviewed in his village for me by Diane Borden and Bill
Crawford during the summer of 1977.
103. For photographs of wayang bbr, see N. J. Krom, "L'Art javanars dans res
muses de Hollande et de Java,,,pl. 59 (same as in Rassers below); i. Kunst, ,,Een
en
Ander over de Javaansche Wajang,,' figs. 9 and l0; Holt, Art in Indonesia,
pt. lO5
(p. IZZ), an old and battered wayang bbr scroll of pacitan, South Java; W. H.
Rassers,

Paji' the culture Hero, p. r7I, from Leiden National Museum of Ethnology
(series 360,
nos. 5254-5259).

104. Theinformato''o.,walangbbrdalangistakenlargeryfromRassers, paji,the

t6a-r65; from Hazeu, "Eine'wajang Beberi Vorsterung,,; and from

Kern, "De Wajang Beber van patjitan.,,
105. Poensen, "DeWajang," p.242.
106. Kern, "De wajang Beber van patjita'," p.342.'rhe basis for Kern,s article
may
be found in the manuscript materiar listed by pigeaud Literature
g4o
,
of Jaua, vor.2,
Cuhure Hero, pp.

p.

(KITLV, or 354, B-3r.I4I), which contains two different descriptions in Javanese of

laayang bbr of Pcitan district dealing with the paji romance together
with two
sheaves ofnotes in Dutch by Kern.
107. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, The History of Jaua, vol. l, p. 379.
108. John M. Echols and Hassan shadily, An Indonesian-Engtish Dictionar!, p. 42,..
109. Horne, Javanese-English Dictionary, p. 62b.
II0. Shyam Parmar, Traditional Folk Media in India, pp. 0_4I.
I I I ' Integral translations of both these texts may be found in victor H. Mair,
Tunhuang Popular Narratiues, pp. 31-84 and g7-121.
l12. Holt, Art in Indonesia, p. t3B.
I13. See the ltter part of chap. 4 in Mair, T'ang Transformation Texts.
l14. Anderson, "The Last picture Show.,, pp. 43 and 53n. 55.
l15. The only extant text I know ofthat might specifically have been intended for
use in conjuction with uayang bbr is mentioned in pigeaud, Literature ol Jaua, vol.
2,
p.55 (Leiden university Library, oriental Department 1979-B-3l.0gt). This is a
manuscript oftreebark paper and consists ofa collection of I66 concise prose outlines
of wayang purtua prays, the l l lth of which is smar barang wayang bbr. cf. arso in
Pigeaud, vol. 2, p. 67I (LOr 10.832-8-31.082), four ua)tang purwa lakon by tj'e
surakarta dalang Lagrfiama, the third of which is on dalang wangkng (i.e., smar
appearing

as

dalang, performer of wayang bbr). This sort of lore seems to indicate that

2I4

Notes to Pages 76-79

uayangbbrs more ancient ttrar' wayang Purua, sinceiTs embedded within. it. There
is also listed in Pigeaud, vol- 2, p. 70O (LOr f 0.973-5-43.12O, tem six in the portfolio)
a wayang bbr of Wdi, Wanasari, from Jogjakarta. This is a Javanese text dated
1832-1902 entitled Lakon Pajalin kincang, written in Jogjakarta script. Item seven
in the same portfolio, incidentally, has photographs of the tuayang bbr of Pacitan by
Mr. J. L. Moens. There are also two more recent complete texts written for interested
persons. The first (Pigeaud, vol. 2, p. 965 [LOr I 0.934-B-3 I. IaI] ) is of the wayang bbr
on Paji Jaka Kmbang Kuning, noted down by order ofMangu Nagara VII in 1918, and
the second (Pigeaud, vol. 2, p.671[LOr I0.834-B-31.142]) is a romanized text made for
Dr. Pigeaud in l93l ofthe uayang bbr scrolls ofGdompol, south Centrai Java, on the
same story, and including suluk songs and conversations. The private collector Harrison Parker mentioned to me the existence of lontar (synopses of the plays written on
palm leaves or paper) to be used to refresh the memory before shadow-play performances, but I have not seen any such for utayang bbr.
I 16. Holt, Art in Indonesia, p. 136.
ll7. TCWSC, pp.97-98 and 3IL
I18. Ensink, "Rekhacarmma," p. 422; de Kleen, Wayang,.p. 14.
1 19. Cf. Clifford Geertz, The Religion of Jaua, p. 264: "T}re lakon as t}rie Qalangleatns
it is hardly more than an outline, consisting of a bare description of what happens in
each of a half-dozen to a dozen major scenes. . . . In the uajang t}ae same Pattern recurs
over and over. First the people face each other, then they talk, then they leave, then
they talk again, and then they fight." Not only does formulaic language assist the singer
to elaborate the bare outiines of his story, there are also formulaic structurai elements
that he relies on for the very shape of the narrative. For an example of a complete,
written lakon, see Tjan Tjoe Siem, "Hoe Koeroepati zc}:' zijlr Vrouw Verwerft."
120. Brandon, On Thrones of GoId, pp. 3a-35.
I2t. Similarly, in Manichaean scriptures and paintings, evil-doers are invariably
located on the left side. L. Koenen, lecture, "Manichaean Apocalypticism at the
Crossroads oflranian, Egyptian, Jewish, and Christian Thought."
122. See Hanfmann's article on Greek illustrated narrative in the symposium on
"Narration in Ancient ArT," p.74.
123. The earliest-known illustrated stra from Japan is t}ne Kako genzai inga kyo
This stra narrates bioAttta-pratyutpanna hetuphala stra (?)l *ti,E*ffi.
graphical events concerning Skyamuni and Jtaka stories ofhis past lives. There are
severai illustrated versions. which began to aPPear in Japan in the Nara period, just
after the middle of the eighth century. The scrolls are believed to have a Chinese
prototype, but it has not yet been discovered. The top half of the scroll consists of a
continuous series of narrative pictures, broken oniy by mountains and trees. This
method of scene division bears a striking resemblance both to the illustrated Sriputra
scroll and to uayangbbr. The bottom halfofthe scroll contains the text, each segment
of which begins "At that time " (^ft+) and which corresponds to the illustration
above. See the l9I8 facsimile reproduction of the Tokyo Academy of Art copy
pubtished by Nihon bijutsu gakuin and Kadokawa shoten henshubu, ed., tngo-ky.
124. See, for example, the palm-leaf manuscript of Jayadhaval, painted between
t I 13 and 1120, in the collection of Siddhnta Vasahr (Mudibri, South Kanara, Mysore
State). In Moti Chandra, Studies in Early Indian Painting, figs.27 and 28.
I25. See Mar, T'ang Transrmation Texts, chaP.4, fot a full explanation of these

terms.

Notes to Pages

79-87

2I5

126. Becausethistypeofstorytellingalreadyexistedinlndiamanycenturiesbefore
the beginning of the International Era, I hesitate to seek an earlier source elsewhere.
The possibilities of satisfactory documentation today would be very slim. At the same
time, I do not wish to rule out hypothetical Egyptian or Mesopotamian influence even
as far back as Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa.

Notes for Chapter 4

l. I have

regularized the spelling of this name throughout the chapter as killelcyata.

2. From Arabc in'm, "a gift (from a superior),, or,,afavor.,, In India, this word
often refers to a gift of rent-free land.
3. Indo-Portuguese term for "headman of a viliage.,,
4. In H. v. Nanjundayya and Rao Bahadur L. K- Ananthakrishna ryer, The Mysore
Tribes and castes, pp. 516-517, i32-533, 534, and 535. A more recent but less helpful
study for our purposes is S. G. Morab, The Kiltekyatha.
5. Gazetteer of the Bombay presidency, vol. 23, p. l9g.

6. Ibid., p. 199.
7. Ibid., pp. I98-I99.
8. Ibid., vol.22, pp. 152-t53.
9. Ibid., p. I53.
10. Ibid., vol.2t, pp. 185-I87. rbid., p.

185.

II. Ibid., p. 186.

12. Ibid., p. 186.

13. H. Meinhard, "The Javanese Wayang and Its Indian prototype,,,pp. I09_I10.
14. rnformation in this paragraph drawn chiefly from Karnataka chitrakala parishath, "Leather Puppets ofKarnataka: The Art and performance ofLeather puppets.,,
15. Thereareatleasthalfadozendifferenttranscriptionsofthisname.Throughout
this chapter I have regularized it as citrakathl.
16. Gazetteer of the Bombay presidency, vol. lg.l, pp. 44g_450. See aiso R. E.

Enthoven, "Chitrakathi," especially p. 2g9.

17. Gazetteer of the Bombay presidency, vol. 13.1, pp. 196_197.

I8. For the Tun-huang portraits,

see

victor H. Mair, "The origins of an lcono-

graphical Form ofthe Pilgrim Hsan-tsang." Descriptions ofthe Indonesian

be found in Chapter 3 of this book.
19. Gazetteer of the Bombay presidency, vol. I l, p. 73.

da

langmay

20. Ibid., p. ll7.

2I. Ibid., p. 178.
22. Bombay Ethnographic suruey, draft article on chitrakathi.
[original note cited in

R. V. Russell and Rai Bahadur Hira Lal, ',Chitrakathi, Hardas.,,]

23. Berr census Report (r88r), paragraph 206. The passage is slightly altered and

abridged in reproduction. [originai note cited in Russell and Lal, ,,chitrakathi,

Hardas."l
24. Russell and Lal, "chitrakathi, Hardas," n The Tribes and castes of the central
Prouinces of India, pp.43B-44O.
25. see the passage from Edward Moor, A Narratiue of the operations of captain
Little's Detachment, quoted at the end of this chapter.

216
26.

Notes to Pages 87-90

B.

Notes to Pages

M. Barua, "Books of Stories of Heaven and HelI," p. xii (Appendix to Bimala

Charan Law, Heauen and. HelI in Buddhist Perspectiue).

27. Under the oid system of Indian currency there were four pice
sixteen annas in one rupee.

in one anna and

28. Biswanath Banerji, "Notes on Chitrakars," pp.92-93.

29. Stelia Kramrisch, Unknown India, p.71.
30. Rajendra Nath Sen. trans., The Brahma-uaiuarta Puranam, chapter entitled
Brahma-khanda, p. 30 (p. 27 of Sanskrit TexT), 5.74. The present recension probably
dates to the fifth century I.. or later but the events related in the text supposedly refer
to the Vedic period more than two thousand years before. Note that the citrakr occtrs
in close company with his brother, the sutradhara ("thread-holdet," .e., "[puppet-]

play director").
3I. Ibid., p. 3 (p. 3l of Sanskrit text).
32. P.V. Sastri and V. M. Ramakrishna Bhat, trans. and annots., Varahamihara's
Brihat Samhita, p,67.
33. Verrier Elwin, ed., FoIk Paintings of India, p.8.
34. See Sudhansu Kumar Ray's remarks in Asok Mitra, ed., Tribes and Castes of West
Bengal, pp.3ll-312. Sankar Sen Gupta, however, in The Ptas and the Patuas, p. 5O,
makes a distinction between t}re patu who are supposed to paint t}:,e pat and the
pattikr w}:Lo sing about them. Most other authorities indicate T}l.at patua do their own

singing.
35. Guru Saday Dutt, "The Indigenous Painters ofBengal," p. 19.
36. Ibid., p. 21. Most of the old pa in the Asutosh Museum of Indian Art, Calcutta
Museum, and in the collection of G. S. Dutt are not more than I l5 years old. The earliest
extaT jarano-pa are probablv not more than 180 years old. See D. P. Ghosh, "An
Illustrated Rmyana Manuscript of Tulsids and Pats from Bengal," p. t33.
37. Joseph C. Miller, Notes for an exhibition entitled Oral Literature of India,
February 14 through April 9, 1978, Van Pelt Library, University ofPennsylvania, p.4,
and Rebecca Tiger, "Narrative Folk Pd-s of West Bengal," p. 8.
38. See Saryu Doshi, "Iconic and Narrative in Jain Paintingi' p.32. This illustrated
manuscript is in the collection of Shri Digambara Jain Atishaya Kshetra (Shri Mahavirji)
ofJaipur. My colleague, Peter Gaeffke, has kindly identified the literary source for this
illustration as canto 22.21, lines l0ff. of the Mahapurna by Pupadanta. His translation of the relevant lines is as follows:

And she painted on it the deep danger of knavery and the

secret play of lovemaking;
Where she iived, and where she made love"This is me and that is you."
Having said this, she did not hide anything,
Sundasi said all that she knew.
"Oh, learned one, bring me my beloved and quench
the burning pain of my love;
There is no other woman like me who shines
as

the stars in the

sky."

10

Il

9O-94

ZL7

the object of her younger brother-in-Iaw's unwanted attentions, she points

to the
drawings from the Ramyar\a onthe wars of their house and teils how royar
Lakmana
was to his older brother Rma:
1.35 The young lady of the family is recturing the whore day to her brother-inlaw (her husband's younger brother), whose mind is corrupt, on the deeds
of
sumitr's son (Laksmana), who was so devoted to Rma, that were recorded
paintings on the walls of (their) house.

in

[Radhagovinda Basak, ed. and trans., The prakrit Gathasaptaatl, p. 6, with minor

changes.]

39' Ewin, Folk Paintings of India, p. 23, and. Kramrisch, (Jnknoutn India, p.70.
40. Sen Gtpta, The patas and the patuas, p.74.
41. Miller, Notes for Oral Literature of India, p. 3.
42. liger, "Narrative Folk pat-s,,, pp. 7 and 66n. 2O.
43. Asutosh Bhattcharya, "Oral Tradition of the Rmyana in Bengal,,, pp. 604_
605, with stylistic revisions.
44. W. G. Archer, Bazaar paintings of Calcutta, p. LO.
45. Elwin, FoIk Paintings of India, p. IL.
46. J.P. Das, "PatachitraofOrssa," p.77.

a7 . cf . pp. STff. above. see Erwin. Fork paintings of lndia,

p. 14; for inusrrations, see
pp. I5-I7.
48. For a partial bibliography, see pp. 37-38. For brief references in western
scholarly works, see p. 10.

The patas and the patuas, pp.39_40, 54, and,9O_92.

50. Ibid., pp. 39-40, 47,54,89, and 94nn. 7-8. On rhe erymology oftineword,paa,
see pp. 30-3t.
51. Ibid., pp. l0S and 87.
52' During the forties, they earned about two annas (coins formerry equaling onesixteenth of a rupee in value) or a paita (measure) of rice per performance. see
Mirdred
Archer, Indian Popular painting in the Indian office Library, pp. I5ff. and 4r, for
this
and other valuable information that I have relied on aboutt patua.

49. Sen Gupta,

53. Sen Gupta,

The patas and patuas,

p.39.

54. Ibid., p.41.

s5. Ibid., p. lI5.

56. Ibid., pp.48-49 and 124.
57. Kunjabehari Das, A Study of Orissan Folk_lore, pp. SI_82.
58. see victor H. Mair, "Notes on the Maudgalyyana Legend in East Asia,,, n.2l:
"The musicians from the entertainment quarters, starting fro the
seventh day [ofthe
seventh monthl, would enact the variety play.... It lasted straight through to
the

fifteenth...."
12

final couplet

This sort of private picture explanation for the purposes of heartfelt communication
goes ali the way back to the first century in India. In the collection of Prkrit poems
associated with HIa Stavhana entitled Gathasaptaat-, when a chaste wife becomes

59. Philip S. Rawson, Indian painting, pp. 153-154.

60. Sudhansu Kumar Ray, The Ritual Art of the Bratas of Bengal, pp. 5l_52.
61. This quotation, Iike aI] the other information concerning the Kunepullalu scroll
given here, is taken from Jagdish Mittal's description in Stuart welch, India: Art and

5l-52 (quotation is on p. 5l).

62- See Ebeltje Hartkamp-Jonxis et al., "pbji's pa: Essays on an Indian clothPainting and Its Function in an oral Tradition." This section ofmy study relies heavily
on information provided in privte communications by John D. smith and
Joseph c.
Culture, pp.

218

Notes to Pages 94-IO3

Notes to Pages

MiIIer, Jr. Also

see Shyam Parmar, Traditional Folk Media in India, pp.78-79, and Om

Prakash Joslti, Painted Folklore and Folklore Painters of India, for extensive information. For a photograph of a pa, see Anne Pellowski, The World of Storytelling, pI. 27,
and the magnificent cover illustrationof Aditi (also p. 232). Authorities differ on the
proper vocalization o pay and other important terms in this tradition (hence we also
find paya, parancan, and so forth).
63. Joshi, Painted Folklore, p. 3; Miller, Notes for OraI Literature of India, p. 8.

6a. Ibd., p.

29.

65. Joseph C. Miller, "The Performance of Pbji's paf :' p. 7, and John D. Smith,
"Metre and Text in Western lndia," p.349.
66. Amin Sweeney, "Professional Malay Story-Telling," p. 56.
67. Miller, "Performance of Pbji's paf:' p. 43n. 4O, mentions a figure of five
dollars for 1972.- in another paper, "Current Investigations in the Genre of Rajasthani Pay Painting Recitations," p. 12, Miller cites twelve and a half dollars for
t977.

68. Joshi, Painted Folklore, p.9.

69. Ibid., p.29.
70. Ibid., p. 31. Compare the Tibetan Gesar storytell.. *o *"u., attributes of the
hero as part of his dress.
7I. Smith, "Metre and Text," p. 350
72. N. K. Chadwick and Victor Zhirmunsky, Oral Epics of Central Asia, p.213.
73. Unpublished transcription and translation by Joseph C. Miller, with the assistance ofBhoju Ram Gujar, Nathu Nath, and John D. Smith. For all the extant variants
of the pien-uen pre-verse formula, see Mair, Tun-huang Popular Narratives, appendix.
Additional information provided by Joseph C. Miller, Jr., in the spring of I98I and in
early 1985.
74. T'ang pronunciation provided for informational purposes only; no claim of
phonetic equivalence.
75. Joshi, Painted Folklore, pp. 3f-32 and l0l.
76. Joseph C. Miller, "The Three Principal Ways the Epic of the Twenty-Four
Bagaravat Brothers and Lord Devanarayan Is Performed," p. l.
77. Joshi, Painted Folklore, p. 3, and Miller, "Performance of Pbji's par i' p. ll .

78. Ibid., pp.9 arad 22.

79. MiIIer, Notes for Oral Literature of India, p. 12.
80. Joshi, Painted Folklore, p. ix.

8t. Ibid., p. 23.

lO3-107 2I9

91. Cf. chap. 5 of Mair, T'ang Transrma.tion Texts, and Victor H. Mair, ,,The
contributions ofTransformation Texts to Later chinese popular Literature."
92. Miller, Notes for Oral Literature of India, pp.25_26.
93. Ibid., p. 27; also Valentina Stache-Rosen, "survival of Some Ancient Forms of
Audio-Visual Education in Present-Day lndia," pl. 10, and Heinz Mode and Subodh
chandra, Indian Folk Art, pp.263ff. and plates 388-396, for this and other types of
modern narrative paintings.
94. See Pellowski, The World of Storytelling, pl. 26. Ltla means ,,play, amusement,
sport, pastime," but it may also mean "mere appearance, sham, semblance.,' The
etymology is uncertain. see Monier-williams, sanskrit-Engtish Dictionary, p. 903bc.
For an example of a twentieth-century Krsrla-Illa scroll from Midnapur, west Bengal,
see Elwin, FoIk Paintings of India, irrustration 13. Also see Ajit Mookerjee, Art of India,
pl. 94, for a nineteenth-century Kr.ta-ltlascroll-painting on paper from Midnapur kept
in the Asutosh Museum of Calcutta.
95. Shridhar Andhare, "Painted Banners on Cloth: Vividha-tirtha_pala ofAhmed_
abad," p.40, and Pupul Jayakar, "G^iety in Colour and Form: painted and printed
Cloths," p.31, fig. ll.
96. Elwin, FoIk Paintings of India, p. 12.
97. JoanErikson,Mtn Pachedl:ABookontheTempleclothoftheMotherGoddess,
p. 15. For some other types of narrative picture cloths, see Robert F. Bussbarger and
Betty D. Robins, The Eueryday Art of India, pp. f 9I-I93.
98. For bibliographical information on paithn paintings,

see Eva

Ray, ,,Documenta_

tion for Paithn Paintings," p.24On.4.

99. Miller, Notes for Oral Literature of India, p.49.

I00. Most of the information in this paragraph has been gleaned from Ray, ,,Documentation for Pailhn Paintings," pp. 240-244.
l0l. Valentina Stache-Rosen, "On the Shadow Theatre in India,,,p. 2g3 and fig. ll,
and "Schattenspiele und Bildervorfhrungen," especially fig. 6. Ray, ,,Documentation
for Pailhn Paintings," p. 240, has provided additional helpful information. There is an
excellent fiIm on this group by pramod Kale entitled "Folk Arts of pinguli." Mr. Kale
has aiso

kindly written me a long and detailed lerter (April 6, f gSf).

I02. All ofthe information in this paragraph

has been drawn from Jyotindra Jain,

"The Painted Scrolls of the Garoda Picture-showmen of Gujarat.,,
I03. Ibid., pp. 5-6.
104. Miller, Notes for Oral Literature of India, p.28.
105. Stephen Teiser, a specialist in medieval Chinese religion, is presently engaged

82. lbid., pp. ix and 34.

83. Ibid., p. 8. The picture of the bhopo presented here is reminiscent of the
enigmatic whirling figure on Peking National Library Tun-huang manuscript 6110

in an extensive investigation ofmedieval Chinese narrative paintings that deal with hell

verso (discussed in my article on "The Origins ofan Iconographical Form ofthe Pilgrim

by BiIl crawford entitled "The Tamil cinema and the plays of Tmil NIu Ntaka
Ntikar cnkam" and from a lecture by Richard A. Frasca entitled "Ritual Theater
of Tamil India." Much of what I have to say here of terukkttu could also be said of

Hsan-tsang").

84. Miller, "The Three Principal Ways," p.

3.

85. Joshi, Painted Folklore, pp. x,7, an.9.

86. Ibid., p. 35.
87. Ibid., p. 36.
88. Miller, "The Three Principal Ways," p. L
89. Ibid., p. 102.
90. Joshi, PaintedFolklore, pp. ll-12 and 18 19.

and its torments.

106. My information on this subject is drawn largely from an unpublished paper

other folk dramas in India such as khyal, suaizg, nautahlcl, turcakalairyt, and so forth.
Khyal, according to Miller, "The Three principal Ways.,, p. I0, ,,offers an interesting
fusion of verbal expository and written (often prompted) song texts." The prompter,
who stands on the stage in close proximity to the actors, ensures that they do not stray
too far from the main drift of the story by constantly referring to a chapbook version
of the story that he holds in his hand.

22O

Notes to Pages 109-l l2

107. Meher Contractor, The Shadout Puppets of India, "Introduction" (unpaginated

text). Contractor gives the following names and identifying information for the six
regional shadow puppet theaters of India: t}re tlubommala (" t}':re play of leather dolls")
from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, which has existed since 200 B.r.E.; the
chamdyacha bahulya {Iiteral meaning uncertain) from the western state of Maharashtra;
the Rvala chaya (" shadow of Rva{la") from the eastern state of Orissa; the tolubommalta of the southern state of Tamil Nadu; the tgalugombe atta ("T.he play of leather
dolls [?]") from the southwestern state ofKarnaTaka; andthe tholupaua kootu("theplay
of leather dolls") from the southern state of Kerala. Contractor has interesting observations to make about all of these forms, but his remarks on the last-named type of
shadow puppetry are particularly reveaiing for our purposes.

[T]he characters . . . are set in a rectangular, oval, round or square shape having
implications in design of their environment [usually a tree]. The puppets
are very static, and may have only one arm and hand which is mobile and of an
exaggerated proportion to the character. They are heid with one main stick
running down the centre as the supporting stick with another stick which is
detachable to the hand and arm. They are, howevqr, very richly perforated.
While performing they are at times moved away from the screen to create an
some

illusion.
The manipulation of these puppets lies only in an up and down or side to side
movement with gesticulations of the mobile arm if any. But battle and hunting
scenes take place with great vigour to the beat of the chanda falayalam cheryQa]
drum, ankle bells, a gong and a large pair of cymbals. Spare arrows and bows are
made separately so they can be let off by the manipulators to make them appear
as if the puppet is doing so.

The gist of Contractor's remarks here is that T],e kootu paua are essentially a cross
between pictures and manipulable shadow puppets. Perhaps it would be more accurate
to say that, in essence, they represent the tentative emergence of mobile shadow
PuPPets from the flat. stationary surface of narrative illustrations. For additional
information on the early history of the Andhra Pradesh shadow theater tradition,
see M. Nagabhushana Sarma, Tolu Bommalata, pp. 14-17. The two most scholarly
monographs on the Indian shadow theater are both by Friedrich Seltmann and have
appeared within the past two years: Schatten- und Marionetten-spiel in Suantv.di (SdMahr;lra) and Schattenspiel in Kerala.
I08. Moor. A Narratiue of the Operations of Captain Little's Detachment, pp.29-3O;
partially cited in F. Seltmann, "schattenspiel in Mysore und ndhra Prade," p.453.

Notes for Chapter

1.

See Naba Toshisada,

summarized on pp.

"Tdai no Tonk-chi ni okeru Chsen-jin"; conclusions

5l-52.

2. Hayashi Masahiko, Nihon no etoki, pp. 105 and I15.

3. FujiwaranoYorinaga, Taiki,3.l02b.Referencetosuchexplanationsarefrequent
elsewhere in this and similar diaries. Barbara Ruch, "Medieval Jongleurs and the
Making of a Nationl Literature," p.296, suggests that paintings depicting events in the

Notes to Pages

l12-I16

221

life of Prince Shtoku on the inner walls of Hryuji * p

+ in Nara, founded in 607,
were also lor etoki.
4. Ruch, "Medieval Jongleurs." From the illustrated scro\ Sanjuniban shokuninuta
aluase = T- &[&^#tr.
in the collection of Mr. U. Sakai, Tokyo.
5. Ibid. Hanging scroll reproduced by courtesy of the world Messianity, Atami Art

Museum, Atami.
6. Murata Noboru, Nihon bungaku no bukkyteki ronkyu, p. lO5.
7. Ruch, "Medieval Jongleurs." Detail from a pair of screens, ,,A Festival at the
Sumiyoshi Shrine," in the Freer Gallery.

8. Thenun'spaintingisspecificallyofagenrecaliedKanjinjikkaizuffi,,fFEor
Kanjin jikkai mandara

#ffi ("picture or Mandala of Mental contemplation of the

(if fi.) are

Ten Realms of Existence"). The ten realms of existence or dharma-worlds

hells, hungry ghosts, animals, titans, men. deities, saints, serf-oriented Buddhas,
bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. on pilgrimage mar.tQalathatwere used by etoki, see victor
and Takako Hauge, Folk Traditions in Japanese Art, p. 17; for a photograph ofa folding
Nachi pilgrimage mandala with loops to hang ir, see p. 38. no. 3, and, p. 226.

9. Ruch, "Medieval Jongleurs." From the second vorume of the woodblock-printed

book entitled Kinsei kiseki,to published in Edo by Sant Kyden.
10. Nihon daijiten kank-kai, ed., Nihon kokugo daijiten, vol.3, p.296ab.

Il. Moriz winternitz (based on information supplied by J. Takakusu), Geschichte

der indische Litteratur, vol. 3, p. 212n. l.
12. See Iwase Kyden, Kottshu, pp. 415 416, or explanation and p. 417 for

drawing.
13. See Nakamura Hajime. Bukkyogo daijiten, p. 378c.
14. Ruch, "Medieval Jongleurs," pp.296-297.
15. Ichiro Hor, Folk Religion in Japan, pp. 2r4-2r5. on the various types of

medieval Japanese eo,ti and the parallels they offer to T'angpien performances, see also
Naba Toshisada, "zokko to henbun," pp. 432-433. For brief remarks on fourteenth-

century etoki,

see Akiyama Terukazu, "New Buddhist sects and Emakimono (handscroll painting) in the Kamakura period," p. 66. A good general account in Japanese of
etoki and related art forms is okami Masao, "Etoki to emaki, ezshi. " There has been
a recent surge of interest in etoki that has resulted in a number of valuable scholarly
contributions. See Hayashi Masahiko, Nihon no etoki; Kawaguchi His ao, Etoki no sekai;

and Kokubungaku: Kaishaku to Kansh,47.II (october l9g2), special issue on etoki.

f6. Fujii Otoo, ed., Chikamatsu zenshu, voI.2, pp.523-594.

17. Ruch, "Medieval Jongleurs," p. 29g.

I8. Ibid., p.301.
19. The information in this paragraph is drawn primarily from a talk given by
Barbara Ruch at Harvard University on November 20, lg7g.
20. Satoshi Kato, "KAMISHIBAI-the Unique Cultural property of Japan,,' p. 6.
21. Horio Seisi and Inaniwa Keiko, Kamishibai; see the photograph following the

title page.
22. Kata Koji, Machi no ji joden, p. t3; Anne pellowski, The Wortd of Storytelling,
pp. 56-57 a',d 144-145; and V. Hrdlikov, ,,Traditional Games of Japanese

Children."

23.

SAtOShi KAKO,

"KAMISHIBAI."

24- For the sort of picture that could be used by t]'e ma-r1i-pa, seeL. A.wadd,ell, The

222

Notes to Pages

l16-ll8

Buddhism of Tibet, p.542 and facing fgure. This particuiar painting has forty-nine
different epsodes in a former life of the Buddha as the Charitable Prince Vivantara.
The story has a canonical basis and is also acted out as a play.
25. Roif A. Stein, Tibetan Ciuilization, p. L74, and Recherches sur l'pope et le barde
au Tibet, p.330.
26. Guiseppe Tucc, Tibetan Painted ScroIIs, vol. I, p.271.
27. Stein, Recherches sur l'pope, pl. l.
28. Sven Hedin, Trans-Himalaya, voi. I, p. 383.
29. See Michael Hoffman. ed., Tibet the Sacred Realm, p. 134.
30. Stein, Tibetan Ciuilization, p. 174.

3I. Ibid., p. 278.

32. George N. Roerich, "The Epic of King Kesar of Lng," pp. 285-286. I have
omitted the Tibetan letters from Roerich's text and italicized his romanizations of them.
33. As to the nature and origins of these representations, Roerich (ibid., pp. 307308), has this to say:
Images of king Kesar, both pictorial and in bronze, found throughout Tibet
and Mongolia, can be conveniently classed into two lroups:
(a) representations of king Kesar's miraculous iife, closely following the
extant written version of the epic;
(b) representations of king Kesar as Kuan-ti, the Manchu War God and
protector of the Manchu dyansty.
The second group is by far the largest, and most of the images belonging to this
group date back to the XVI[-th and XIX-th centuries.
To the first group belong the so-called Ke-sar than-ka or painted banners of
king Kesar depicting the miraculous life of the king. Such than-kas are mostly
found in the possession of itinerant rhapsodists of the epic, and are only rarely
seen in the homes of Tibetan laymen. Some of these banners, representing king
Kesar's life, belong to the ri-ma-pas or 'Oid-believers' sect of Tibetan Buddhism, who were the first to accept the epic and adapt it to their needs. In such
cases on the top of the painting will be seen an image of Kun-tu bzan-po or
Samantabhadra, or the central figure will represent a Buddhist deity, for example the goddess mThi-gi ial-bzai-ma, an attendant of the goddess Lha-mo,
riding a mule and holding an arrow (md) and a mirror (me-loir). (See the Ke-sar
tha-ka in the Tibetan collection of the Muse Guiment in Paris.) Some of the
representtions of the Kesar Epic belong to the Bon-po faith, and are distinguished by Bon-po symbology. Sometimes the central figure ofa painted banner
represents king Kesar himself depicted attired in a white garment with a
tira-like hat surmounted by feathers, a costume still worn by professional
rhapsodists of the epic in North-Eastern Tibet. Usually round the central figure
are grouped episodes of the miraculous life of king Kesar: his fights with demons
and werewolves, which appear in the shape of a black yak, a black horse, and a
black she-goat, the destruction of three ravens, birds of evil omen, Kesar's
marriage to 'Brug-mo, his combat with the powerfui demon king of the North
(rDud-rgyal), Kesar's war against the three kings of the Hor, etc. The composition of such banners reveals clear traces of Buddhist influence and is very similar
in composition to the Buddhist tha-kas depicting the lives of famous Buddhist
teachers and sages. Such Kesar tha-kas are hung during the recitals ofthe epic

Notes to pages tlg_122

223

by itinerant rhapsodists, and this again seems to be an adaptation

of a weilknown Buddhist custom ofpresenting edifying Buddhist drarnas,
as for exampre
the story of prince vessantara or the Dri-med Kun-ldan rnam_thar.
sometimes
famous episodes of the Kesar Epic form the themes of
wail-frescoes in private
residences of wealthy Tibetans.
34. F. Steinglass, A Comprehensiue persian_Engtish Dictionary, p.795.
35' cited in Johann A. vuilers, Lexicon persico-Latinum Erymotigicum, vor.2,

p. 520.

Georg Jacob, "Zur Geschichte des Bnkelsangs,,, pp. 5_6.

36. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, ,,picture Showmen,,, p. lg7.
37' R. A- Galunov, "Narodn'ii reatr rrana." See also M. Rezvani, Le thtre
et ra
danse en lran, pp. r2r-122. Rezvani refers to chhr-frengr
[slc] as being securar, topicar,
and even occasionally indecent.
38. As reported by Galunov, ibid., p. 6g.
39. Steinglass, Comprehensiue persian_English Dictionary, p. 241a,
gives ,,veil,,,
..
" ctrtain," " tapesy," etc.
40. My coleague. wiliiam Hanaway, discussed this form
of picture-storytering on
April2,1982, atthe Association for Asian studies Annuai Meeting
in chicajo. His talk
is the source ofmost ofthe information given onparda-dr,
thoug t am responsibre for
any errors ofinterpretation. In private conversation (February
o, r,oazl,he iold me that
the zan of parda-zan means ,,he who beats on.,,
See

4l' The preceding three

sentences are

from a letter written to me by wiriam

Hanaway on July 5, 1984.

42. Rezvani, Le thtre et la danse en lran, p. t2l.
43. Jii Cejpek, "Iranian Folk Literature,', p. 6g0.
44. r am deeply indebted to Adnan Haydar who provided ail of
the information in
this paragraph about sandk al-'ajayib during a conversation on
January 29, rgg2. r
suspect that both Arabic sanduk ar-'ajayib andrranian shahr-i
faranghave teen techno_
ogically influenced (use of renses, brinds, iamps or candles,
and sJforth) by European
peepshows. These were a popular form ofentertainment
from the seventeenth century
on' The itinerant showman carried his equipment on his back as
have so many

other picture-storyteilers. see Encycropedia Americana (l9gr),

vor. 2r, p.46gb and
Encyclopaedia Britannica, t5rh ed. (Micropaedia), vol. 7,
pp. 832c_833a.45. Jacob, "Zur Geschichte des Bnkelsangs,,, p. 9.
46' see Hans wehr, ,4 Dictionary of Modern written Arabic, p. 892b. Tamthr
r is arso
commonly taken to mean ,,statues.,,
47

'

r am indebted to peter Moran for this information (retter

of August 16, r984).

48. All information in this paragraph comes from Susan Slyomovics,

author of The
Merchant of Art.
49. The earliest known ror is Rome vatican MS. Latin 9g20, which
was produced at
Benevento between 98r and 984. see Myrtilia Avery, ,,The
Exurtet noiis of South

Italy," pp. l9t and

203.

50. This scene is actualry depicted on many of the exurtet roils themserves.

see

Avery',sExultetRorkorsouthltary,vol.2,prs.rg3(Troia,no.33,cereus...consecratusnote the man catching the scroil at the bottom as it comes

off and the two acorytes

h_olding paschel candles), 36 (Gaeta

2),38,41,42(Gaeta 3), 7z (Fondi), I2t and t24

t33 (Vat. Lat.37B4), and l5l (Barberini).
51. Avery, "Exultet Rolls of South ltaly,,,p. 13, and H. M. Bannister,,,The
Vetus
ItalaText of the Exultet,,' p.45.
(Casanatense),

224

Notes to Pages 122-126

Notes to pages

52. Bannister, "vetus ltara," p. 53; Avery, "Exurtet Roils of South Italy," p. r9l.
53. Bannister, "Vetus Itala,,, p. 52n.2.
54. According to a fravel diary entry by w. scott Morton of May I, r9g0, communicated to me on February 20, L9gl.
55. See Ettore Li Gotti, il teatro dei pupi, and Giuseppe cocchiara, ,,Il carte[one
dell'opera dei pupi." Arso Roberto Leydi, "Cantastorie," photographs following
p. 2BB
and preceding p. 369.
56. Willi IJir dt, Italienischer Btinlcelsang,,,Vorwort
[Foreword].,,
57. Roberto Leydi, '1 cantastorie siciriani," pp. 353-389, in the author.s
"Cantastorie."

58. Cocchiara, "Il cartellone."

59. The intimate relationship between cantastorie and,puppets,

wer

the acting
teatro dei pupi, pp. 45ff
as

as

ability of the cantastorie rhemserves, is discussed in Li Gotti, iI

and 87ff. See also Figure 24.
60. The name is crearry resonant with rtaria,- montambanco or montirnbanco
("mountebank"). Note that the Bcinkelscinger did not always display pictures during
their singing and storytelling.
.61' Moritat would appear to have something to do with songs about murder and
death (cf. rnordtat).

62. walter salmen, Der fahrende Musilcer in europescher Mittelalter, p. I3gn. 503.
63. Otto Grner, "Der Bnkelsang,,, p. 157.
64. Karl V. Riedel, Der Bnkelsang, pp.76_77.
65. Rolf Brednich, "Zur vorgeschichte des Bnkelsangs." See also Elsbeth Janda
and Fritz Ntzoldt, Die Moritat uom Brinlcelsang, for the late nineteenth-century
variations of this type.
66. Brednich, "Zur Vorgeschichte des Bnkelsangs.,, p. gl.
67. Kunstbibliothek Berlin, stiftung preussischer Kulturbesitz sign. 930.35; photo_
graph by K.-H. Paulmann.
68. Brednich, "Zur yorgeschichte des Bnkelsangs,,, p. g3.

69. The French caption reads, ',Chantre des Vaudevilles.,,

70. Cf. Indian paa and pa7, C}tinese p,u, Indonesian r, Iranan parda. and so
on.
7I. Brednich has transcribed the German on p. g3 ofhis article,,Zur Vorgeschichte

des Bnkelsangs."

72. Maria

Grfin Lanckoroska and Arthur Rmann, Geschichte der deutschen

Taschenbcher, p. 203. Translation by David Kunzle, The Early Comic
Strip, p.459, with
minor changes. For a discussion of the Reformation of Morals, see Kunzie, p. 40I.

73. This is a mezzotinr by the Durchman Jacob Gole (ca. L66o-r7); Deutsches
Volksliederarchiv Frieburg i. Br., Inv.-Nr. 362.
74. Acopperplateengravingbasedonasketchofc.N.cochinofparisdatedtorTTg.
75. Brednich, "Zur vorgeschichte des Bnkelsangs," p. g4; Riedel, Der Bnkersang,

p.t4.

76. Leander Petzoldt, Brinkelsang, p. 30. walter Rhler, Grosse Liebe zu lcleinen
Theatern, demonstrates a close connection between theater, paper theater.
and prints

about the theater that were sold on the streets ofGerman cities.
77 . The original engraving is in the Cabinet des Estampes
and has been reproduced
in Jean Mistler, Franois Blaudez, andAndr Jacquemin, pinal et I'imagerieopulaire,

p.45.

,.rr\..rt

225

Scheible, comp., Der

fliegenden Bltter des XVI. und XVII. Jahrhunderts,

"J'r, ;;T:: :::iY"

rion drawn *o*
80' on

126_12g

s t oryt

euing, pp.

s e

62, 1 37

-t

4s, t

5, 20

t,

238n. 66 -7 0,

I have supplemented pellowski with

informa_
orn"rrllllpropriate,

the sociar position.of

Bnrcersnger, seepetzordt, Bnkersang,pp.

4ff. Gunnar
Mter-waldeck, unter Reu' und bittermirn'*ur,,
p. 269, says that aniersanger often

were also magicians, quack doctors,

and the like. A German dictionary
from the earry
part ofthis century gives as English
equivarents "street-sin ger,,' "ne*ro-minstrer,,,
and
"wretched rhymester" (twuret--sanders:

This is not to say, however, that

Riedel, Der

nnzyitopciarscnu aritrrn-rng;rn"r^

l.u.rr"j

iun*urn|.

rrrtho,rs were uninfluenced by

them'

nanttsaig,pp. 20ff.
81. Arthur Rossat, d chanson populaire
dans la Suisse romande,p. 36n.
82' Hans Adolf

See

l.

Neunzig, nas irustrrte Morita.ten-Lesebuch,

p.273, attributes much
of the Brinkets'g"r'" popir^riry ro
the itire.".foi rri, u,raiences. Lisrening
ro a picture
reciter was an inexpensive way for
an'ritera person to experience riterature.
83. Called Schilder, these pictures are
now e"'tr"-.ly r"r".
reciters simply sold prints of the
.tales.
,84' ,some,European picture
illustrations to their
,,Kauffen
An etching labled
Sie mi. d;h
picrures, *on't'vouz)'; ansts to such
";;

r#T# *"[i:ffirli

a practice
in Les cris de Berrin: Zwrf me.rhardige
Aur*rrion Berrin mit in
err"ny(Berlin:
Johann Morino' Knigr' Acad. Kunstind.,
"ri
rseo;. The picture reciter
stands in the
street selring his wares to a poor
"r.
man whire surrounded
by two chirdren and a woman.
Reproduced in Karen p- Beat, Kaufrufe
und strasse:nhcindrer, p.55. For
numerous other
examples of such picrure ,,"]t-.r:
Europe and rhe New Wortd, cf. ibid.,
pp.
llr:lqnout
96 -97, 99, 168, t7 0, 35t,
405, 447, 45, urrd purri_.
85. Riedel. Der Bnketsang, p.12.
86. David Stewart IJulI, Fitm in the
Third Reich, p. 34.
87. Karl Riha, Moritat, Song, Bnkelsang,pp.
t tiff..flere is an entire monograph
by
Sammy McKean enritled The Bnkelsang'""'rn
*"r,, o Bertolt Brecht.

88. Bertolt Brecht, The Threepenny pera,

p. tl+.
89. Ibid., p. 192.
90. Occursinlines 263,413,889, I187,
f889, f989, 2OOg,and34o3.Ihaveusedrhe

edition ofGerard J. Braurr, The song

iliJ#"i

i:,:#:::""

na"rai l-analyticar Edition.Braurr does

not

riterar!,."*y

'r'""r,

i"

sarbara Ruch ror

inig,"g ,l,o

9r. lbid., p. tr3.

92. Brault, Song of Roland, vol. I, pp.

tt2_tt3; Joseph J. Duggan, The Song of
Roland: Formutaic Styte and. poe,c
craft, i.39. ;";;;", citing Atbert l
Lord,, The Singer
of Tales' Harvard studies in co-pa.ti
ur.*;:;, 24 (cambridge: Harvard univer_
sity Press' I 960), p. 20, notes that
epic singers and o.ll po.r,
,rearly always
Brault (vol. l, p. 383n. 602) also .rlt",
"..
tut in medev"l European
'riterate.
art and drama,
the
right hand side was good and the
reft was bad
iupt", 3, p.78, andp. 2r4n. r2r).
1.r.
93. See Mistler, Blaudez, and Jacquemin
, n)n t-r, I,imagerie populaire. The muse_
um in this town in the Vos
that straddles the upper Mosele porr.rr.,
an excellent
'g"t

collection ofthese p.irrrr.

94. See the lithographs by E. F., ,,Le
marchand de crimes ou crieurs de journeaux,,

226

Notes to Pages

128-l3l

by Anon., "Le marchand de complaintes" (ca. f850), reproduced in Ulrike

Eichler, Bnkelsang und Moritat, p. 84.
95. As observed by G. Herrmann and reported in Grner, "Der Bnkelsang," p. I 57.
For a picture of a late seventeenth- or early eighteenth-century French picture reciter,
see Figure 74.
96. See Juan Subias Galter, El Arte Popular en Espaa, p. I43; R. Violant Simorra, ,El
Arte Popular Espaol, pp. I3fff.; and J. E. Yarey, "Titercs, Marionetas y otras Diversiones Populaires de 1758 a 1859," pl. 5 (dating to 1830).
97. Cited in N. D. Shergold, A History of the Spanish Stage frorn Medieual Times until
the End of the Seventeenth Century, p. 176n. 2, and, J. E. Varey, Historia de los titeres en
Espaa, p. 9. The precise meaning of fey los castells ("make castles") is not clear but
must refer to some sort of illusionary display. Cf. the well-known Spanish expression
"castillos en el aire." Varey's substantial dissertation, "Minor Dramatic Forms in Spain
with Special Reference to Puppets," lends support to many of the theses in this book.
He shows (p. 9) that "juglares" were wandering players of various kinds who became
prominent in Spain during the tenth to twelfth centuries, having come from Italy (pp.
8lff.). Among the entertainments they performed was the retablo (n.b.), which consisted of scenes in a box, sometimes with automata. Spani puppets showecl a close
connection with legerdemain, dancing, and acrobatics (pp. SZff.). All of this sounds
reminiscent of Indian Saubhika, Indonesian wayang, and C};rnese pien.
98. S. Griswold Morley, trans., The Interludes of Ceruantes, pp. 14I-163.
99. Miguel H. Garcia, Ceruantes: Entremeses, p. L57n.2, and Eugenio Asensio, trans.,
(18a5) and

Entremeses,

I00.

p. f69n. L

Asensio, Entremeses.

I0l. See Frederico Garcia Lorca, Obras Completas, ed.. and annot. Arturo del Hoyo,
pp. 861-870, and James Graham-Lujan and Richard O'Connell, trans., Five Plays,
pp. 88-95, for the picture-storytelling scene. I would like to thank Alex Hadary for the
references to Cervantes and Lorca.
lO2. Lorca, Obras Completas, p. 865; Graham-Lujan and O'ConneII , Five Plays, p . 9l .
103. Lorca, Obras Completas, p. 863; Graham-Lujan and O'Connell , Fiue Plays, p.90.

lO4. Lorca,ObrasCompletas,p.364;Graham-LujanandO'Connell,FiuePlays,p.gl.
rasse et les livrets graus 16291885, pp. 23ff ., and Russell Zguta, Russian Minstrels.
106. Merle Severy, " The Byzantne Empire, " pp. 7 3O-7 31.
I07. Evidence for picture recitation in Holland and England may be found in
William Hogarth's (1697-1764) paintings of fairs at Southwark; Robert Thomas
Stothard's (1775-1834) "The Ballad Seller" (1795); Francis Wheatley's (1747-1801)
"A New Love Song Only Ha'penny a Piece" (1796); and in Jan van Meurs' (ca.
L76O-1824) "De Schilderij Vertooner" (179I) in the Deutsches Volksliederarchiv,
Freiburg/Brs. Cited in Eichler, Bnkelsang und Moritat, p. 94. An engraving from the
late eighteenth century by the French Artist, Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg
(L74O-1812, lived in England from l77l), shows a mountebank with medicines,
monkey, texts, and hanging illustrated banner. See Sandro Piantanida, "Ciarlatani,"
p.249.
lO8. Llewellyn Hedgbeth, "Extant American Panoramas."

I05. Pierre-Louis Duchartre, L'Imagerie populaire

Bibtiography
Due to the wide-ranging nature of this work, it has been impossible to provide
exhaustive bibliographical coverage for any ofthe geographical areas iouched

upon- By consulting the bibliographies and references given in the works

listed below, however, the interested reader ought to be able to locate most
of
the important scholarly studies concerning painting recitation throughout
the
world. For those who wish to pursue the topic of transformation texts in
greater depth, the bibliographical references in my various publications on the
subject, particularly T'ang Transformation Texts, should,enable one to find
the
whereabouts of virtually all significant scholarship dealing with this subject.
The reader is also invited to consult my A partial Bibtiogrphy
for the stuy of
the Influence of India on chinese popular Literature (2L5 pages) which
has been
published in Sino-Platonic papers.
chinese, Japanese, and Korean titles have been given in English translation
as well as in romanized transcription and in characters. The translations
enclosed by square brackets are my own. Those within parentheses are
either
established equivalents or have been provided by the authors and editors
of
the works concerned- on occasion, r have made minor changes in these latter
renderings to bring them into agreement with standard Engish grammar and
usage. It should be noted that translations of texts
/ro m a given lanquage are
included in that section of the bibriography rather than in the secti,on of the
language into which they have been transrated. For example, J. V. G. Mils,
English version of the ying-yai sheng-lan may be found in the chinese section
rather than in the European.
works from the chinese (see Taish Tripitaka under Abbreviations) and
Tibetan Buddhist canons are not listed individually in the bibtiography:
specific references to such works occur only in the notes. The same is true
of
the standard dynastic histories ofchina and Tun-huang manuscripts. For the
latter, where in the nores r do not refer specifically tothe published source
of a manuscript, the reference is either to the original in London, paris,
Leningrad, and Peking or to microflms, photographs, and photocopies in my
private collection, the Harvard-yenching Library, the Van pelt Libiary ofthe
university of Pennsylvania, and in olin Library of cornell university. rnfor-

228

Bibliography

European Language

mation about the Tibetan Buddhist Canon is from Kenneth K. S. Ch'en "A
Study of the Svgata Story in t}:'e Diuyvaddna inlts Sanskrit, Pli, Tibetan,
and Chinese Versions," HJ AS 9, 3-4 (February a7): 207 -314, originally the
author's 1946 Harvard University Ph.D. dissertation, as folows:
a. Peking blockprint edition (completed 1700), Harvard-Yenching Library;
b. Lhasa blockprint edition (perhaps completed under the thirteenth
Dalai Lama in 1933 [?]), Harvard-Yenching Library;
c. Derge blockprint edition (completed 1733), Harvard-Yenching Library.
The Snarthang blockprint edition kept in the Harvard-Yenching Library was
cut in l73O-I732.
The bibliography is divided into the following sections:

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed. Chicago: Encyclopaedia

Bri_

HJAS

Haruard Journal of Asiatic Studies.

Internationales Archiv
fr Ethnographie.
Indian Historical euarterly
Journal Asiatique.
Journal of the American Oriental Society.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and
lreland.
Journal of the Siam Society.

tannica,1978.

IAE
IHQ
JA
JAOS
JRAS
JSS

KITLV
KKK

I. Abbreviations
in European Languages (Other than Translations from Asian and
MBV
NT

AKPAW

Berlin.
Abhandlungen der Kniglich Preussischen Akademie der Wissen-

SPAW
SPPY

ArchOr
BEFEO

BMFEA
BSOAS
BSOS

CYYY

8.Tokyo: Sbunsha, 1974.

#ry

Sitzungsberichte der preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Ssu-pu pei-yao fEssential Works of the Four Categories of

Literaturel
crassics

published by Chung-hua shu-ch in Shanghai, t927_I937; Taipei

rpt.,

1966.

Takakusu Junjir fJlF/^F and Watanabe Kaigyoku

lff;

fiq, eds. Taish shinshu Daizoky (The Tripitaka " Ci"rq in

Xfrlff, I00 vols. Tokyo: The Taisho Issai-kyo Kanko Kwai,

1922-1934. rndividuar works from this collection are not risted

separately in the bibliography. The form of citation used in
the
notes is Taisho Tripitaka (number of work) volume of
Taish

Wissenschaften zu

shinshu Daizkyo, page and section ofpage from same; e.gTaisho

Tripitaka (9)4.433c.

Asia Major.

TCWSC

Abhandlungen der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Archiu OrientIn.
Bulletin de I' cole Franaise d' E xtrme-Orient.
Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.

.; Bl ?r, Ff H

lt.

Tung-ching

meng-hua lu (wai ssu chung)

lRecord of Dreams of the
Splendors of the Eastern Capital
Qtlus Four Relateil Texts)l H.".

+f+ (rf
TP
TsSCC

Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies.

Chung-yang yen-chiu-yan li-shih y-yen yen-chiu-so chi-k'an (BuIIetin of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica)

+ iEffi rr,H,ffi

#=,

v!lffiw Elegant, sung-style typeser editions of chinese

schaften.

AM
APAW

Mitteldeutsche Bltter
fr Volkslcunde.
Naba Toshisada ]3 l U . Tdai shakai bunka shi kenkyu
(Ilistori_
cal Studies on the Society and Culture of T'ang China)

ffif\f

Tripitaka

der

[Painting Recitation: Now Shedding Ught on the Horizons of

Literaturel" f, + , \ t E ][ ry ,ft
FA T .
-

f.lN,FV+qi,. Tygaku ssho (orienrat Studies Llbrary)

Abbreviations
Abhandlungen der Deutschen Akademie

Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land_ en Volkenkunde.

Kokubungaku: Kaishaku to Kansho
[Japanese Literature: Interpreto_
tion and Appreciationl Wy.ryfrqf# ffiH, 47.tL (Octob..
rssz.
Special edition on "Etoki: Ima kokubungaku no chikei
o terasu
Japanese

Taisho

ADAWB

Z2g

EB

2. Works

Near and Middle Eastern Texts)

3. Chinese Studies, Texts, Translations, and Dictionaries
4. Japanese and Korean Studies, Texts, Translations, and Dictionaries
5. South and Southeast Asian and Buddhicized Central Asian Texts, Translations, and Dictionaries (Includes Indic, Tibetan, Uighur, Indonesian, and
Other Texts)
6. Near and Middle Eastern Texts, Translations, and Dictionaries
7. Films, Performances, Lectures, Unpublished Manuscripts, and Personal
Communications
8. Articles and Books Not Seen

Texts

"L,rr-pur_

T{ung-shu chi-ch'eng ch'u-pien

[Compilation of Collectanea, First
ffiSft .flJffi. Wang yn_wu E=, chief editor. Shang_
hai: Commercial Press, I935-1940. Typeset and photoreproduce
editions of Chinese texts in 3464 ts'e; not finished.
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlndischen Gesellschaft.
Seriesl

ZDMG

V!ffi). Shanghai: Shanghai ku-rien wen-hseh

she, 1956.
T'oung Pao.

23O

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Buchdruckerei der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, IB55-1 g75.
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Buddhaghoa. Sarattha-ppaksin. Commentary on Sar7yutta-nikayd. pli text in

Siamese letters. 3 vols. Bangkok: Sayamaratthassa rjadhaniyam mahmakuta
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Devadhar, C. R., and N. G. Suru, eds. and trans. RatnAual of Sn Harsa. 2nd rev. ed.
nnna.

nnna

rianfal

f^^L

H^".-

I o</

Texts

261

Dikshitar, V. R. Ramachandra, trans. and ed. fhe Silppadikram. Madras: Indian

Branch, H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1939.
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L9t2.
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F-']

E *

,fR

Jft

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Gaekwad's Oriental Series, 51. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1931.
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Winter alonel. Heidelberp: Carl Winter

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[with

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ed. Sarattha-Ppakasinl, Budhaghosa's Commentary on the SarJyutta-nikay. 3
vols. London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University press for the pali Text
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Near and Middle Eastern Texts, Translations, and Dictionaries

And, Metin. Dnyada

ve Bizde: Glge Oyunn. Ankara: i Bankasi

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1977 .

clauson, Gerard. An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-Thirteenth-century Turkish. oxford:

Clarendon Press, 1972.
Evliy, Efendi (ca. 16I f -f 660) . Nanatiue of Trauels in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in the
Seuenteenth Century. Translated from the Turkish by the Ritter Joseph von
Hammer. London: printed for the Oriental translation fund of Great Britain and
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Johnson Reprint, 1968.
Lane, Edward William. An Arabic-English Lexicon, in eight parts. Beirut: Librairie du
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L952.

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Georg Olms, 1967; reprint of Leipzig I876 ed.

Films, Performances, Lectures, Unpublished Manuscripts, and

Personal Communications
Barat, Kahar. "Hui-he-wen liang-chien" [Two Old Uighur fragments] E,e1ffi{+.
Paper presented at the Conference on Tun-huang and Turfan Studies,
Urumchi, Sinkiang. August 1985.
Ben-Amos, Dan. Bibliography of studies dealing with the relationship between texts
and images (1980).
Botsford, A. "The Inter-Relationship of Traditional picture Storelling Methods and
Shadow Puppetry." Paper presented at University ofCalifornia at Los Angeles.
May 1976.

"A Concert ofKorean Traditional

Music including The Sanjo for Kayakeuni and pnsori (Narrative Song).,,
Harvard University Music Department, paine Hall. February 27, 1974.

Chung Yoo-jin (singer), and Gregory Pai (drummer).

266

Bibliography

Articles and Books Not

crawford, Bil. "The Tamil cinema and the plays of the Tamil Nru Ntaka
Nalikar

cakam." cambridge. Massachusetts: unpubrished paper presented at Harvard

University based on field work carried out in Madurai during the year
1976-1977. March t977.
,,Textiles
[Ferguson, Henry and Joan Ferguson].
that Tell a Story.,, Thompson, Con_
necticut: InterCulture Associates, n.d. pamphlet.

A. "Rituai Theater of Tamil India." A videotape presentation and

lecture-demonstration on t},e Terukkuttu, fork theater ofTairnaduuniversity of Pennsylvania Department of south Asia Regionar studies. April 13,

Frasca, Richard

1988.

Gunardjo, Bambang. Meeting with author at Amherst colege on December

13, 1976.
Hanan, Patrick. Letter to author, September 2g, lgg2.

Hartkamp-Jonxis, Ebeltje, Joseph C. Miller, Jr., John D. Smith, and Ernst

van de
wetering. "Pbuji's par: Essays on an Indian cloth-painting and Its Function
in an Oral Tradition.,,
Heston, Wilma. Letter to author, JuIy 26, 19g4.
Kale, Pramod. "The Folk Arts ofpinguli.,, privately produced film
(t980?).
Letter to author, April 6, l9gl.
Keeler, Ward. "Disconnectin g Way arrg,, (unpublished manuscript).
N.p., n.d.
Koenen, L. "Manichaean Apocalypticism at the Crossroad, of l.rrr"rr,
Egyptian,
Jewish, and Christian Thought." Lecture, university of pennsyrvania,'November 14, 1985.
Kuan Te-tung. Letter to author, March 14, 19g5.

Kuo ChihJeh f,W et aI. ,,Wang Tso tuan pi,,

[Wang Tso curs off his arm]
T,I.WH.Recording of Cho_chou Opera j$f ffitJ. Hong Kong: Art_Tune Com_

pany S{irfl,H-a\E, n.d. No. Ac_786.

Miller, Joseph c., Jr. Extensive discussions with author on numerous occasions.
the last
two being December 30, lgg4, and January 22, lgg5.
Notes for an exhibition entitred orar Literature of India: An Exhibition
of
Pictorial Media Ilsed in Narrative Recitations. Held from February 14 through
April 9, 1978, at the Van pert Library ofthe university ofpennsylvania.
"The Performance of pbir,s par." rJnpttblshed paper, 1980.
"The Rjasthri par-paintins Tradition." A firm spnsored by
the central
Research Laboratory for Objects ofArt and Science. N.d.
"The structure and social significance of a Multi-channeled
Epic Recitation
Performance of Rjasthn, India: The Epic Recitation of the pr-painting
of
Devnryan." A proposar for the social science Research councii's International Doctoral Research Fellowships, 1977.
"The Three principar ways the Epic of the Twenty-Four Bagaravat Brothers
and Lord Devanarayan Is performed." unpubrished Manuscript, rgg2
(?).
Videotape of

pay performance (April 1982).

Milier' Joseph c., Jr., transrator and transcriber, with the

assistance of Bhoju Ram

Gujar, Nathu Nath. and John D. smith. "The Epic of the Twenty-Four
igaravat

Brothers and Lord Devanarayan,,, as sung and chanted by Rurnanu.uyan

Litarya Gujar, assisted by Gordhan Bharer Gujar. Third revision, January
27,
f 983. Unpublished transcript.
Molan, Peter, Letter to uthor, August 16, lgg4.
Moran, Robert (puppeteer), Joseph Kubera (piano), and Donaid Case
(projectionist).

Seen

267

"An Evening of Shadow puppet Theater.,, Harvard University Music Depart_

ment, Paine Hall. April 24, 1977.
Nattier-Barbaro, Jan. "on some uses of the Maitreya Myth in central Asia." unpublished paper presented at Harvard University, January 197g.
Parker' Harrison. Private ualang (various types) collection at singing Brook Farm,
Hawley, Massachusetts.
Raducha, Joan A. "The Narrative Tradition in Mathur Art." unpublished paper
presented at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I9gl.
Reed, Larry. wayang Kulit performances at South House, Harvard college, october 25,
1976, and aTLang Hall, Swarthmore Coliege, March 3, 1985.
Ruch, Barbara. Letter to author, November 7, 1978.
"The Religious Picture Scroll in the Development of Medieval Japanese

Fiction." Unpublished manuscript, n.d.

Talk given at the seminar for High and popular culture, Harvard university,
November 20,1978.
seaman, Gary. The Chinese cuh of the Dead, a series of films. cedar park, Texas: Far
Eastern Audio Visuals, I977.
Letters to author, August 3,1978, and August i,19g4.
Smith, John D. Letter to author, July f9, 1978.
Subandono, D. Ch. Letters to author, Marc]n22, 1977 , and, June i, lg77 , from Solo, Java.
Tekin, $inasi. Letters to author, May 27,1978, and September 25, lggl.
Utz, David A. "Two Parthian Words in the Chinese Manichaean Tradition.,, Unpub_
ished paper presented at the University of pennsylvania (19g5?).
wibisono, singgih. Interview with Bitl crawford and Diana Borden, Indonesia, I977.

Articles and Books Not Seen

In this section are listed works which, judging from their titles or from references made
to them elsewhere, would appear to be germane to the subject ofthis study. The reader

should be warned that the bibliographic information here provided has been culled
from various sources, has not been verified, and is often incompiete. several of the
entries have been adapted in works listed in the main bibliography.
Akiyama Terukaru fft' 11t5ff1. "Henbun to emaki-perio shraibon gmahen zukan ni
tsuite" fPien-wen and picture-scrolls-on the illustrated scroll of the subduing
of demons retrieved by Paul Pelliotl" y f,+-^l rJ 2-l+^^ Wtg
@E l:-> \,\ < . Bunkashi kondan kaiho [Bulletinof the cultural history discus_
sion groupl XIt _7&-"a*. +R 32 (te55).
Bhnvat, Mahendra. Ramdala k Par. tJdaipur: Bhrtrya Lok Kal Ma+dal, 1968.
HirookaJosen ffiffifijf. "Jodohensok" [Anexaminationof pure Land.pien-hsiangf
'/+tH. shink [New change]Nfrls,3 (te34).
Koentjaraningrat, Raden Mas, ed. Tari dan Kesusasteraan di Djawa (Dance and Literature in Jaua). Published in connection with the vIII-th anniversary ofJavanese
Dance Institute. Indonesia Tunggal lrama (INTI). Jogjakarta: Taman-Siswa,
I 959.

Kramrisch, Stela, J. H. cousins, R. vasudeva poduval. The Arts and crafts of Kerala.
Cochin. n.d.

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Bibliography

Kure, B. The Historical Deueloptnent of the Marionette Theatre in Japan. New york:
Columbia University Printing Office, I920.
Levinson, Andr. "Javanese Dancing." Theatre Arts Monthly 14 (December 1930):
1056-1065.
Oetoyo, Raden Mas. "Beantwoording der vragen, gesteld door Mr. L. Serrurier, over
de verschillende soorten wajangs in de afd. Batang, res. Pekalongan (Answers
to the Questions Asked by Mr. L. Serrurier concerning the various Types of
Wayang in the Batang District, Pekalongan Residency)." Tijdschrift uoor het
Binnenlandsch Bestuur I0 (1895): 361-406.
Perumal, Sakti. "Origin and Growth of Tamil Drama." Ph.D dissertation, University

Illustration Credits

of

Madurai, 1976.
Radhakrishnan, J. "The Development of Drama and Stage in Indonesia." Indonesian
Spectator II (November I, f958): f5-16.
Rassers, W. H. Bydrage tot de kennis uan het Javaansche tooneel. Leiden: Brill, 1920 (?).
Subandono, D. Ch. "The Enduring Traditional Wayang Beber Theater in the Southern
Mountains of Central Java." Thesis (in Indonesian?).
Tekin, ginasi, ed. and trans. into modern Turkish from the Uighur. Maytrisimit.2vols.
Ankara, 1976. Both volumes now published also irl German versions (q.v.)
from Berlin.
Tolstov, S. P., B. A. Litvinsky, B. Ya. Stavisky, A. M. Belenitsy, L. I. Albaum, and
M. I. Vorobyeva-Desyatovskaya. India in Antiquity. Moscow, 1964.
van Lelyveld, Theodore Bernard. La danse dans le thtre jauanais. paris: Floury, 1931.

Jacket illustrations (front): Courtesy of Marg, vol. 36, no. 3; photograph by

saryu Doshi; collection of Shri Digambara Jain Atishaya Kshetra (Shri Mahavirji). Jaipur. (Back): Reproduced by permission from Honolulu Academy of

Arts.
Frontispiece: Reproduced by permission from Archives Internationales d,Ethnographie.

Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and Color plate 5: Courtesy of Joseph C. Miller, Jr.

Figure 9: Reproduced by permission from Wang yuyi, Chiu-ching

feng-su pai
t'u. @ Join.t Publishing Co., 1984,9 eueen Victoria Street, Hong Kong.
Figures llb, 28, 29, 31, 33, 38, 44, 45, 48, it, i4, 56,58, 61, 65, 70,71:
Reproduced by permission from H. D. Zimmermann, Lechzend nach Tyrannenblut. @ Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin.
Figures L2, 32,34: Reproduced by permission of the publishers from R. W.
Brednich, "Zur Vorgeschichte des Bnkelsangs. " Jahrbuch des osterreichisches
Volksliedwerk Vienna.
Figures 15, 27, 36, 43, 46, 50, 57, 62, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79, 80, BI, 82, and color
plates 2,4: Reproduced by permission from ulrike Eichler, Bnkelsang und
Moritat, Ausstellung der Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Graphische Sammlung, 14
June-24 August I 975. Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart.
Figure 39: Reproduced from Fritz Brggemann, Bnkelgesang und singspiel vor
Goethe, courtesy of Philipp Reclam Jun. GmbH & Co., Stuttgart.

Figure

4l:

Reproduced by permission of the publishers from David Kunzle,

vol. I. University of California press.

The Early Comic Strip,

Figures 52, 64, 83: Reproduced by permission from Hans Adolf Neunzig,
Das illustrirte Moritaten-Lesebuch. @ by Nymphenburger verlagshandlung
Mnchen mit Genehmigung des Deutschen Volksliederarchiv in Freiburg im
Breisgau 1973.

270

Illustration Credits

Plate I and Color Plate 1: Courtesy of Bibliothque Nationale, Paris.

III: Reproduced by permission of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New

York. A. W. Bahr Collection, Purchase, Fletcher Fund, 1947.
Plate

Color Plate 6: Courtesy oKazwo Tokuda.

fndex

Color Plates 7 and 8: Courtesy of William L. Hanaway, Jr.

Color Plate 9: One of a set of ten hanging"Land and Water" scrolls used in
conjunction with pao-chan ("precious scroll") recitations in Ts'ang County,
Hopei province. Courtesy ofLi Shih-y and Paul Cohen.

Plate X: From Sven Hedin, Trans-Himalya, courtesy of Macmillan

London.

&

Co.,

Norn: Fig.
Cpl.

Pl.

:
:

Figure
Color plate
Plate

Acrobatics, 20, 2L, 23, 27, IO9, t22;

Fig. sI
Adams, Marie, xii
Ajtaatru, King, 46, 47

Ajivikas, 27

Andhra Pradesh, 89,94, LO3, 104,209n40

Antagada-daso, 27

Apprenticeship, T4,99, IO0,

Il8

Arjuna-uiuaha, 58, 59
ArthaSstra, 26

ll,

21, 57, 59, 74, 82,

rcr, to4, to7, r2L,

Aupapatika-sutra, 27
Auque(s), 128
Avalokitevara, 46, ll7
Azarpay, Guitty, 50
Backpack, 16,74,86,90, 106,
129, 223n44; Fig. 74
Bali, 56,

It6, t24,

tt8

65, 76
Ballad sheet(s), Figs. 8, 15,45,55,7Oa,71
57

74,83

B\a,34,35

M.,

34

Beck, Brenda, xiii

Begging, 8, 17 , 27, 28,
128, 199n58
Ben-Amos, Dan, xiii

84-88, 106, I t3,

Bendall, Cecil,23
Benedict, PauI,62
Bengal, 28, 87, 89,

9L-93,

LO4

Bhagavat-stra, 27, 28, 9I

Bharatamuni, 2l
Bhavabhuti, 35

123, 125, 126, 129,2O9n34,225n82;

Figs. 6, 15, 16,54,78

Bahr-i'ajam,

5t, 58,

61,71; CPl.5
Baruch, Willi, 40
Beattie, John, 7l

Angkor Wat, 6l

rOO,

("bench-singer"), 93, t23-

128, 130; Fgs. 40-42, 44, 48,

Barua, B.

Allen, Roger, xii

And, Metin, xii

84,86,93,97,

Bnkelscinger

Baphuon, 6l

khyana ("story"), 2r
Akiyama Terukazu, xi
Aleluyas, L29
Allee, Ruth. xii

Atthasalin, 32
Audience, 7, 8, lO,

Banerji, Biswanath, 87

Bhopo,16,95-97,99, tOO,

l0l,

tO3;

Figs. 4, 5, 7; CPI.2

Bihar,9l,

108

Bivar, A. D. H., xii

Blindness, 122
Bombay, lO5
Bon, 1I7,222n33
Borden, Diana, xii
Box, 7, 59, 64, 68, 74, 83-85, I 12, r 13,
124, 2O9n4O, 2l0n53, 226n97

Brahma-jala sutta, 2l
Brahman(s), L7, 29, 33, 34, 37, 89, tO6
Brahmavaiuarta purfu1a, 89
Brandon, James, 59, 73, 76
Brault, Gerard, 128
Brecht, Bertolt, I27

272

Index

Index
Brednich, Rolf, 123
Bhatsarphit, 89
Brunet, Jacques, 6l

'os-kyi 'Od-zer,45

Buddhaghosa, 32-34

Crawford, William, xii

Crawfurd, John, 6I
Cyclorama, I30
Czechoslovakia, 130

Costume(s), 7, 67, 71, 96, lOO, lO2,

lL9, 194n9, 222n33; Fig. 80

Buddhism, l, 6,8,9, Il, 12, 15, 16, 19,

27, 33, 39, 43, 46, 47, 49, 50, 53, 69,

l13, lt4, l16

Buffoon(s), 19, 27,77, 81, 82, 85, 2O9n4O
Burma, 55, 66
Cadonna, Alfredo, xiii
Ca4Q Mahgalq 88, 90, 9r
Cantatnbanco, 122, 123
Cantastorie, I23,224n59; Figs.
12, 14, 15, 17-21,24; CPl.4

IIa, llc,

Carana,32,33
Cardona. George,
cejpek, Jii, r2O

xiii

Central Asia, 16, 22, 39, 78, 86, 96,

lll-,

113,2O5n75
Cervantes, Miguel, 129

Ceylon,25
Chant(s), 23, 58, 69, 70, 76, 96, 97, tOO,

IO2, r09, r27

Charles, Lucile Hoerr, 7I
Chaves, Jonathan, xi

chaya-patti,76
Chelkowski, Peter, xiii
Cheng Ho, 3
Ch'en To, 8, 9
Chikamatsu, l14
China, 2, 3, 13, 15, 16, 35, 37, 39, 47,
49,

5t-53,

83, r05,

64,72,73,75,78.79,
t13, r23

55,

Ill,

Ch'ing-ming shang-ho

t'u,7; Pl. III

lI7,

Daigoji Zakki, III

Dalang, 3, 58, 63, 65-70,72-77, 86, 95,
116, 2IOn53, 2lln72
Dance(s), 16, Ig;21,23,25,27, &, 42,
59,6t,70,81, 86, 90, 93, tOO, lO2,
r08, r09
Das, Kunjabehari, 93
Daahr, 105
de Kleen, Tyra,67
Demiville, Paul, 40

Demon(s), lO8 '

Devnarya4, 96-99, IO2, IO3
Dewdney, Selwyn, TI
Dhani Nivat, 6l
Diffusion, xv, 78, 128, 129, l3l
Diptyches and triptyches, lO3, 122, 124,
125; Figs. Ila, 12, 32, 78, 79

Dvakara,46
Dlwn Luati' I-Turk, 42
Doll(s), 16,58,59,81-83, 86, 92, 106,
lL3; Fig.79

tLg, t2t, t23,202n27

Forster, Harold, 58
Forte, Antonio, 52
Foucaux, d., 45

Hereditary training, 77,91-93, gg

Heroes and heroines, 14, 70, g4, 96,
95,96, t09, ttg, t2t, 123, t3o
High platform, 15; Fig. 39

g7 ,

Hillebrandt, Alfred, t8, 23

Hinduism, 56
Hoernle, A. F. Rudolf, 28
Holland, 130
Holt, Claire, 58,63,68,70, i3,76
Hood, Mantle, 55, 56,68
Hooykaas, C.,67
Hopkins, L. C.,70
Hosein, l19

France, 128

Franke, Otto,2l
Frazer, James, TO
Fujiwara no Yorinaga, Ill
Fukien, 15, 51,52
Funerals, 15,59, 107, l18
Gabain, Annemarie von, 41,44
Gaeffke, Peter, xiii
Galunov, R. 4., l19
Garoda, 106
Gt ha sapt aS atl, 21 6n3

89, 107, lt2, tt4,2t9nt}5,22tn

Hemacandra,2T, 35
Henning, W. G., 5l

Genghis Khan, 5I

Hsieh Sheng-pao, xii

Hsien-y ching, 39
Hsi-yang fan-kuo chih, 3

Hsan-tsang, 10,15,44
Hsueh Meng-li, 5
Hs K'o, l3
Huan ("illusion"), 42, 43
Hu Shih, 2

63,67,74, 86-88,

Dtauakya,35

Gola Makh akputra, 27

Granthika ("reciters"), 18
Greece, 5O, 78
Grousset, Ren, 50
Gujarat, 89, 95, 104, 106

I-ching, 43, 56
Ichiro Hori, l13
Illumination, artificial, 25, 55, 6t, 68,70,
7t, 83, 84,96,97, tOO, ro2, Lo8, t2t

Gunardjo, Bambang,

Illusion,

Dutt, G. S., 90

Engi, IL3
England, I30

Commercialization and secularization,

IO2, t03, rO7
Conjuration, 20, 23, 27, 7I, 72, LO2, I29
Coomaraswamy, Anad, 18,25, II8
'os-grub, 40

Flanders, 130
Folklore and folk traditions, 1,7, tl, t4,
35, 49, 93,95,96,99, tO3, lo7
Format ofpaintings, 4, l:),47,7j, g7,
89-93, r03, tO4, tL3, tzt, I22;Fig. tB
Formulaic language, 35, 47 , 77 , g7-gg,

lt2, ll4,

t16
Hedin, Sven, l16
Hein, Norvin, xiii
Hell, 10. ll, t3, I5-I7, 22,26-29,34,

ll2,

II3

Egypt, r2I

Clauson, Gerard, 43
Clunas, Craig, x
Coeds, George. 56

Ferguson, Henry, xii

Ferguson, Joan, xii
Fiction, 4

Heaven, 26, 28, 34, 36, 45, 52,

Germany, 14,92,93,

Edo Seisei,

I22,2O8n23

97, gg,

Gesar, l17, I18

Gods and goddesses,

Chuan-pien, I
Ch'u san-tsang chi-chi, 39
Cinema, 58, 78, 87, 94, lO4,

Citra, 19, 32, 34, 35, 60, LO7

Citrakar, 87-89,9l
Citrakathl,83, 85-87. 89, 104*106, 108

U,

95

Drama, 4,7, I0, 13, 15,40,42,56,61,

6A, 69, 7t-73, 78, lOO, tO5, tO7, tI7,
l3O, 222n24, 224n59

Ch'ing Period, 13; Fig. 8

Chodowiecki, Daniel, I25

I07, lO8,

Farming and herding, 10, 66,

273

124

93,95, ro2, to4, ro8, 221n8

xii

Ennin, I I I

Halbfass, Wilhelm,

Etoki (' ' explanation of/by a picture' '), 7 5 ,

78, rrl-113, l15, r19, I24, l3I; CPl.6
Europe, lll, 116,122
Evliy Efendi, 49
Exorcism, 64, 67,.85, lI7

Haloun, G., 5I
Hanan, Patrick, 15
Hanaway, William, xii
Hanfmann, G. M.4., Z8
Hanging paintings or scrolls, 10, ll, 15,
ll2, ll3, It5; Figs. t2,28, >4-56

Fairs and festivals, 9, lO, 12-14,21,88,

IOl, 103, tr6, 126, 127;Figs. 53, 57 , 60,

7t,72

Fang-kuang ta chuaflg-yen ching, 46

Fantasy, 129,2O7n5

xiii

Hara,23,34, 35
Haryana,95
Haydar, Adnan,

Hualdagman,52
Huxley, Francs,72

Fig. 5; CPl. 2

l,

14,

t8, 20,

23, 27, 33, 42, 43,

67,7t,72, 9t,97, tO2, r2g,

l96nl5, 226n97
55, 62,

Illustration(s), 60
Incense, 63,67, lO2
India,7, 13, 16,39, 49, iO, 53,56,6t,
64, 68,69,75,77_79,8r, 95, r05,

t06, llt-I14, tI9, t23,

"Indian hypothesis", xiv

t3t

Indonesia, 3, 55, 62, 65, 73, 75, 77, 79,

xii

Hazeu, G. A. J.,73
Hazrat-i'Abbs, tf

83,93, IO2, ltt, tt3, lt4, t23

Invitation to look, L4, 99, 99, t27, l2g,
l3O, l96nl6

Healing, 64, 67, 7t, 72, 95

Iran,5O,53,

Ilf, l2l

Italy, t22, 123

274

fndex

Index

Itineracy, lO, 16, 27 , 33, 49, 66, 74, 84,

85, 87, 88, 90-95, t04-106, lO9, lt5-

Il9, 123, 129-131, I99n58, 222n33,

223n44; Figs.8,79

Iyer, L. K. Ananthakrishna, 8l
Jacob, Georg, 23,

l2l

Jain, Jyotindra, xiii

Jan(s), 27 , 29, 35, 37 , 90
Japan, 7, 75, 92, 93, lO2, ILL; Ashikaga
Period, ll3; Kan'ei Period, f 13; Meiji
Period, l16; Muromachi Period, tl2
Jataka, 20, 2I, 42, 49, IO8, 2L4nL23
Java, 3, 56-59, 61, 64, 68, 69,73-75, 85
Joke(s),81,84, r00
Jones, J. J., 19
Jongleur(s), 123, 128, L29

Kako, Satoshi, II5

Kalamkan, lO3
Kamishibai, ll4, LL5, 126
Kansu, I.9-I2,40
Kanva, 59
Karnataka (Mysore), IO4
al-Kgari, Mabmd, aZ

Kauilya,26,27
Keith, A. 8., 18
Kerala, 104
Kern, R. 4.,68,73
Khmer Empire, 6l
Khotan, 39,40,53

Killekyta, 8I, 83-85

Killiket. See Killekyta
Kipling, John Lockwood, 26
Kirby, E. T.,65,70
Konow, Sten, 18,23
Korea, llI, l13
Korom, Frank, xiii
Krn ("sight, scene"), 4I, 46
Kramrisch, Stella, xiii, 89

Krittivsa, 92
Kucha, 49, 50
Kumra Kassapa, 87
Kumrapla, 35
Kung Chen, 3

Kusumbroto, Mrs. K. R. T., 74

KuualayamIa,28
Kyzil, 46,47; Pls. IV, V
LAKOI, /b, I /

Lalitavistara, 45

Lay entertainer(s).

I. 8. 10, 16,27,67,

68,73,95, tos, rl2, Lr7, r20, I30

Le Coq, Albert von,

4O

Left-right dichotomy, 78, lO3, lO5,

225n82

Lvi, Sylvain,

tor, u4, tr7,

4O

Literacy and illiteracy, 10, 11,76,82,93,

95,96, tO6, It4, 126, t28, t30,225n82,

225n92

Li Tou,

Medicine(s), 72, tli, 122, t26,225n8O,

226nIO7; Figs. 13, 16, 28, 35, 38, 73;
cPl. 4
Meister, Michael, xiii
Memorization and extempori zation, 96,

13

Liu Mau-tsai, 50

Li Yung-hsi, 44'
Lo, Lucy L., xii
Lorca, Frederico Garia, 129
Lotus stra,46

Lders, Heinrich, 18, 19

Lu Wen-lung, 5
Lu Yu, 52

t2l

Merutuga,37

Magic,23, 45, 63,72,90, 122, I29,

2O8n23,225n8O

Mahabharata, 25, 35, 37, 56, 58, 59, 82,

85,88,93, 104, 106, r08
Mahabhaqya, L7,19
Mahprab hasa-au adna, 49

Mahapurfu.ra,90
Maharashtra, 104

xiii

tl3

Music and musical instruments, ll, 14,

t9-2t, 27, 75, 77, 82_84, 86, 87, 93,
94,96,97,t00,to2, ro5, to6, to8,
I09, tt2, r13, lt5, t20, t22, t23, t27,
2l0n53; Figs. 7, tO, t2, t6, t7,28,

6t, 63,67,75,77; Cpls. 2,

Karnataka

Nagatomi, Masatoshi,

4O

7t, to2

Il2,

116, I17; Pl. X

Mahkha, 27, 28, 33, 34
Marathi, 85, 86. 104

Marriari, 95
Mask(s), 57, 72
Mat ni pachedl, IO4
Maudgalyyana, (Mu-lien), 9, L2, 13, 15,

76,93
McNamara, Brooks,

17

Pao-chinn ("precious scrolls"),

120; CPl.9

xii, g-t3,

Par, xi,94-97,99-IO3, 119; Figs.

5-7

Mulasant stiu adauinaya, 22

Mlasarvstivdins, 47
Murgiyanto, Sal, xiii

Nang,6l-62

Majumdar, R. C., 56
Malaysia, 55,62,66,95
Manas-maitgal, 88, 90, 9l
MaqQala, 46, ll2, L22,22Ln8
Manichaeism, 50-53
Manifestation(s), I, 46,55, 63, 67,70,

Ma-ni-pa,

rt9,

3,

Parda-dr,223n4O; Cpls, 7, I
Parda-zan, 119,223n4O
Parker, Harrison, xii, 63
Parthian, 52
Pat or Pata,22,28,34,75,89, 92_
94, 108, 122;Fig. t
Patajali, 17, 19,94
Patron deities, 88,94,95,1O2, 103

Patt, lt4, t26

Payment, 7, 10, t4, 82, 84, 86, 99, 92,

95, tot, t02, 106, tO7, tt2, l15, r16,

t20-r22, t2s, t26, L30,2t7n52,

2181167

Mahuastu, L9
Ma Huan, 3
Matreya,4O

Maitrisimit,

106,

Pakem (texts),76,77

Paninl

Mythology, 72,89, tO5

Mahvan1sa,25

l0l,

t29

Moritat, 123

See

Pbjl 96, l0O-102; Figs.4,5,7

36,86-88,90-93,96,

Mongolia and Mongols, 13, 45,46,51,

Monks and nuns, l, 8,69, 116
Moor, Edward , 87, lO9

Mysore.

Orc,Inge, 64

Painting techniques and materials, 32,

Moldavia, 130

45,

93

7,57,63,74, 87, A9_9t, tol, lo3_

106, l19, 122-124, t3t

Mudrarkasa, 25,35
Madhya Pradesh, 95, f03
Madras, 103

9I,

Oriya,2O7n9

Pacitan (P atjitan), 7 3, 7 4
Painting(s), 47,6t, tC4, t2I; sacrality
of, 63, 64,75, 84, 85, tO2; size of, 4,

Meng Chiang-n, 14; Fig. 9

Meyer, Johann, 27
Middleton, John, 7t
Miller, Joseph C. Jr.,
Mime, 41, 72, 116
Ming Period, 3, 8
Mohandessi, M., xii

Orissa,

275

xiii

xiii

Narrative and narration, lO, 13_16,22,

29, 34, 39, 49, 53, 58, 60, 61, 65, 66,
71,

74,77-79, 83,9I,93,96,

r0l, 104-106, 108,

tOO,

128, 130,2I1n68

Ntaka,40,42
Navartri, 105
NearEast,

llt,

I16

Nepal,95
Neue Zeitung, 126
News-sheet(s), t24; Figs. t4, 2g-3t, 76
Nilakha4ha,25

Nirntatla, l, 43, 46
North American Indians, 7l
Number of scenes, 4, II, 22, 35, 57, 6i,
74,76,84,86,87, tO6, 122,123, I25

Orality, 13,76, 85,9t,92,99, lO3, lr5,

ll9

Peep show, 15, l2O

Pellowski, Anne, xiii, 126
Performance, L, 2, 7-9, 23, 35, 41, 47,
66-68,71,77,82,84; length of, 82,
84,88,93,94,97, t't, IO2, tO7,

ll7. l18

Persecution, l18, 120

Persia,53, l19
Picture recitation, xi passim, xiv, 14
Picrure(s), 48, 49, 5I,53, 58, 86, 87.
See

also

T'u

Picture scroll(s), 2-4, t3,28,49, i5,67,

7t,72,78,93, 87, 88, 93, lOO, 103,

tt4, t22, t23, t29

M, 46, 53, 55-58,

Pien, 41, 43,

62, 72,

t\,

73, 75, 76, 78, 90, 93, 97, tO2,

lL6, l2O, I28,2lOnM, 226n97
Pien-hsiang ("transformation scenes or

tableaux"), 1,4, t2, 15,22,4t, M,

45,49, L28, t29

276

Index

Index
Il,

Pien-wen, xi, l-3, 5,8,9,

12, 15,
16, 35, 39, 53, 97-99, rtg
Pilgrims and pilgrimages, 15, 28, 37, 44,
l16, 221n8; Fig. 80
56,92,
P'ing-hua, 3-6, 13, 15, 57, 2IOn44
Pischel, Richard, 18, 25

lll,

Pointer, 7,8, 14,23,34,35, I00, IO3,

l12, I16-1I8, 122, t24, t25, t27,
129; Figs. 5, 15,43,49,63,65,67,
77, 80
Poppe, Nicholas, 45

Pornography and indecency, 14, 15, 8f85, IO9, 116, LzO, 223rr44; Fig.9
Possession(s), 7, 86, 88, 94
Pothi, IO5
Poucha, Pavel, 49,5O
Poverty, 86, 89, 90, 92, lO4, 123; Figs.

15,74
Prabandhacintamary.i, 37

Pratimadhariry, 37
Priests and priestesses, folk, 7, 66, 106,

tt3, rt4, r20

Printing, 107, l18
Promptbooks or their absence,

I,2,9L,

99, 108, II9, l24,2l9nlo6

Prop(s), r00
Prosimetric form, 2, 9, L7, 2I, 28, 40,
53,76,94, rO2-tO4, IO7, t2t, t23
Prostitution. 87, 89, 109, ll2
Prek, Jaroslav, 15
Psalms of the Brethren,33
P'u ("sptead or layout") , 22, 28, M,
75, I97n22
Puppet(s), 7, t4, 16, 23, 25, 37, 55, 57-6I,
63, 64,71, 72, 8t-84, 86, 87, tO5, 106,
lo8. r16, ttg, t23, t26, L28, L29,
224n59, 226n97; Fgs.24, 48
Purt.2as, 85, 86, 93, I04, 106-f 08

Purupottamadeva, 23
Rafnles, Thomas Stamford, 75
Rajan, V. S., xiii
Rajasthan, 63,74,89,96, LOz,

LL9,

Ridgeway, William,

Shutne Hgan

Ritual(s), 63, 64, 67, 70, 72, 75, 88,

toz, to7, I13, r17
Robbery, 3I, 87, 91, 93
Rocher, Ludo, xi
Roerich, George, l17, Il8
Rokhshan (An Lu-shan), 5l
Roman Catholicism, 69
Rouse, W. H.D.,23
Ruch, Barbara, xii, xiii,
Russia, 130
Saga of the Sons of

l0l,

ll2, ll4

Hil|, L2l

Saint(s), tt6, ttg, r2O, L3O, 22Ln8

Saryyutta-nikaya, 33
Sander, Lore, xii
Sanskrit, 56,2O7n9
Sarattha-pakaqinl, 33
Sariputra, xi, 2, 39, 76, lM, 105, I I l, 13l
Sasta (" docttinal disquisitions"), 4l
Saubhika ("illusionists"), 18-25, 27, 37,
72, 118,226n97
Schlegel, Gustave, 3
Schmidt, K., 49
Screen. 57, 59-61, 75, 82-84
Scrolls. durability and destruction of,
64,73,90,94, tO2, 106
Sculpture, 6I, 62
Seaman.

Gary,

15

Secret societies, 5I
Sen Gupta, Sankar,92

Sequence, 76,94, 100, l0I

Ses-rab Sen-ge, 45
Shadow(s) and shadow play(s), 16, 18, 19,
25, 55, 59-6r, 63, 66, 69.72-74, 8385, 105, I08, I16, 2O9n4O, 22OnrO7
Shahr-i farang, 15, l 19, 223nM
Shamans, shamanesses, and shamanism,
62, 65-67 , 70-74, 95, t t7, I t8,

2L2n92

I03,

106,

t24

Shamasastry, R., 26
S hamy e l- gardan ( " picture/portrait

circulator"), I20

Rma,61,62,86
Ramaya4a,56,58,63,82, 85, 88,
93, t03,104, 106, r08

9I-

Shang Period, 70
Shan-shu ("morality books"),
Shaw, Isabel, x

Ramdl, 35, lO3; Fig. 2

Ratnua|,23

Shinto, I13

Rawson, Philip, 93
Ray, Sudhansu Kumar, 94

Shtoku, Prince,
Shrine(s), 28,95,

Reinhart, Kevin,
Rennyo, ll5

TO

Ringgit,58,59

xii

Shitennoji,

79

Shui-Iu,

ll

lll

l0

Morihisa,

ll4

Shuo yeh ch'an chuan, 5

S-rd, 61

Siksamuccaya, 23

Silk road,

Social sratus, 2, L7, 28, 32, 35, 37, 75,

82, 85, 87, 90-92, 95, 96, LO4-LO6,
109, t13, t23, t26, r30
Sogdian, 50, 53
Songs, singing, and singers, ll,13,14,
19, 2t, 25, 27, 30, 32, 77 , 86-88, 90_
97,99, tO2, t07-109, LL6, rlg, I20,
123, 127-129, 225n8O; Figs. 33, 34, 45,
46, 50, 54, 56,70a,74

Spain, 128,129
Spencer-Chapman. Frederick, 116
Spies, 25-27 , 85, I 14
Stache-Rosen, Valentina, xiii
Stein, Rolf, 116
Steinglass, F., l18
Stoler Miller, Barbara, xiii

"Story of the White Snake", 14

Storyteller(s) and storytelling, xi passim,
r-3,5,7,9, lO, t5, t7,19,22,27,
28, 34, 47, 55, 59, 76, 96, tt7, t20,
130

Subandono, D. C. H., xii

Sung Period, 3, 5,8,23,58,76,93, ItB,
120

Surat-khwan, xii, l18

Srfri, Somadeva, 22
Suv an.taprab hsa- stra, 42
Sweden, 130
Sweeney, Amin, 66, 69,95

Switzerland, 130
Tableaux, 16,61, IO7,
Taiwan, 7, 15, 16,95

ll3, I25, t28, t29

l2I

Tambiah, S. J., 69

Tamil, 103, lO7

lll

l0l, l13, l14; Figs. 78,

lI, t2, 14, 35, 39, 63, 76, 77,

l15, lt8, t2t, L22, I25, t26, t27,

Text(s),

8l;

Siva, 17, gl
Sivaktycrya, 29
Sivaramamurti, C.,35
Slyomovics, Susan, xiii
Smith, John D., xi

Tamathll,

Telugu, lO3

213nI 15, 2l4nll5; Figs. 42, 63, 73, 77,

5O

Singau Sli Tutung, 44

S-rta, 87

r2l,

CPl. 3

Thailand, 56, 60-62, 69; Angkor period,

6t
Thahka, 116
Theme(s),

9l-93,

4?

tI7, t2t, t27, t3O

Thomas, F. W., 17
Three Penny Opera, The, xiJ',127
Tibet, 7, 9, L3, 40, 45,
Tjan Tjoe Siem, 70

Ill-ll3

Tocharian, 40-42,49

roy(s), 88
Trance, 67,95, lO7,

ll7

Transformation(s), 2, , 23, 35,39, 4i47 , 52, 53, 72, 76, tO2, to4, IO7, L28,

I3l

Transformation texts. See pien-wen

Tree-mountain, 64-66, 72, 78, 90, lO3,

lI5;

CPl.

Tri aqli 3 al ak p uru q ac ar it a,

Ts'ang county,
Ts'ao Ning,

II

T'u ("pictwe"), 13, L4, 52

Tucci, Guiseppe, l16
Tungusic, 212n92

l,4,9, ll,12, 14, 16,47,

50, 53,76,78,90, lO7, ll8; Pelliot
manuscript: (P 4524), xi, 2, 22, 76-78,
103, lll, IL4, II5, I3l; Pl. I; CPI. l;
(P 3425),44; (P 3e35), rII; (P a6eo),
44; Stein manuscripr: (S 55ff), 2;

Tun-huang,

(s 43e8), 2

Tunisia, l2I
Turfan, 40
Turkey, Old Turkish, 40, 4t, 48, 49, 5t,
52,66
Turkistan, 50, 5I
Uddyotana-Suri, 28

Uighur, 4O-4, 46, 47, 49, 50; Pl. VI

Uta bikuni, ll2
Uttararmacarita, 35
Uusagadaso,28

58,73, 8t,93
Tan-tz'u ("strum lyric"), f 3
Taoist picture recitation, 6

106,

Thenath,25
Thieme, Paul, 69

T'ang Period, 2,8, 12, 16,47,49,52,

Tekin Sinaci 4?

277

Vaddardhane,29

Vmfti,92
Ymana, 17

278

Index

Varhamihira, 89
Varma, K. M., f 8, f 9
Vasantauilsa, 4
Vaudeville, Charlotte,

xiii

Ventriloquism, 72, 87

Vernacular language, l, 4, lI, 26, 28, 40,

68, 69,73, 82, 9r, 94, LO5, l2r
Yerse, 2, ll, 35, 76, 97, 98, 126, I29,

I91n4
Vietram,62

Vimalakirti, 78
viskhadatta, 25, 35

Vishnu,86
WaIl painting(s), 46, a7, 49, 7L, 76, 78,
89, I30, 217n38
Wang Kuo-wei, 70
Wang Tso, 5
Warring States Period, 4
Wayang,55,66
Walang bbr, xi, 3, 7, 22, 57, 58, 60,
62-65, 67, 68, 73-79, 90, 93, 94,

I03, I05, LI2, 116, 13l; Pls. VII,

IX
Wayang gambar hldup, 57, 58, 94
Wayang gedog, 57, 59, 60
Wayang golek, 57

Wayang karbt,57

VlI,

Wayang keruc[h]i|,57
Wayang kulit, x, 57, 59, 60, 62, 64,
65, 68,73,76,77
Wayang puna, 3, 57
Wayang tal,57
Walang tengul, 58
Walang topeng, 57, 58
Wayang wong or u.talang orang, 57, 58

Weber, Albrecht, I8
Weber, Eugen, xiii
Weinstein, Maxine Belmont, xiii
Wheatley, Paul,65
white Lotus sect, II, 53
Wibisono, Singgih, xii
Winternitz, Moriz, 18, 19,23

Wu-chu,5

Wu-keng tiao, lI
Wu Tzu-hs, 4

Yama, I I
YamaPata, IO7, IO8, LL2
Yamapatlaka, 6, 25, 26, 34, 35, IL4,

n8
Yangchow, 13
Yang Tung-ming,4

Yan Period, 3, 7 , 8, 7l
YungJo kung, 6; Pl. il

About the Author

victor H. Mair is associate professor of chinese in the Department of oriental
Studies at the university of pennsylvania. He previously taught at Harvard
university, where he received his ph.D. in chinese literature in 1976. He also
holds degrees in English literature and chinese from Dartmouth college and
the School of oriental and African Studies at the university of London,
respectively. For the past decade and more, professor Mair has specialized in
the vernacular Buddhist narratives called pien-wen. He has visited Tun-huang,
wherethepien-wenmarruscripts were found, four times and has travelled to all

the major archives where they are preserved (paris, London, Leningrad,
Beijing, and Taipei). He lectures frequently on sino-Indian and sino-rranian
cultural exchange, andhe has published extensively on these subjects. Among
his recent works are Tun-huang popular Narratiues and T'ang Tiansrmation
Texts.