honors thesis final 2-8

7/30/2019 Honors Thesis Final 2-8

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Story and Storyteller: Tibetan Folk Narrative and

Shifting Cultural Identity

Emily Bell

Honors 2012


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I. Introduction

This thesis is a literary study: a reading of six Tibetan tales, collected firsthand

from Tibetans in exile in Dharamsala, India. It examines their plots, characterizations,

tropes, and themes. It also invites comparison with historically collected tales from the

translations of Shelton and Schiefner, looking at how these contemporarily told stories

may differ from their older roots.

This thesis applies elements of anthropological and sociological critical theory. It

concerns itself with how the stories may help us to understand the narrative and even

cultural identity of Tibetans in exile, as well as to characterize that identitys shifting

nature.

The purpose of this introduction is four-fold: first, to provide background on the

narrative theory applied, and, more specifically, to introduce key concepts of narrative

identity; second, to introduce the sociological and anthropological ideas of cultural

identity and how they relate to the first point; third, to explain how this thesis synthesizes

these principles to examine the unique cultural identity of Tibet in exile as read through a

selection of Tibetan folktales; fourth, to clarify the methods used in collecting the tales

and orient the reader to them.

Before continuing I must acknowledge that this is qualitative research, and more

than that qualitative research making postulations about cultural identity. The research

base is limited and the correlations only that, correlations. For these reason, the language

I use in the essay, and the conclusions I draw, are purposefully tentative.

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Narrative Identity:

Narrative theorists believe that telling stories is central to our identity. InHuman

Communication as Narration, Walter Fisher explains the link in terms of the narrative

theory paradigm, a menu of narrative possibilities available to story-makers. He argues

that people see the world as a set of stories to choose from in which they can constantly

define and recreate their own lives. Fisher contends that human beings are not essentially

or primarily rational; instead, they are essentially storytellers (Fisher). Jean-Paul Sartre

expresses a similar view inNausea: A man is always a teller of tales, he lives

surrounded by his stories and the stories of others, he sees everything that happens to him

through them; and he tries to live his own life as if he were telling a story (39).

In their article Narratives of the Self, Mary M. Gergen and Kenneth J. Gergen

postulate that because the invariable, universal events of humanity are life and death,

events that cannot be recollected or retold, we use narratives that imitate birth and death

to compensate for our ignorance. Our lives are made up of a series of progressive and

regressive narratives (connected metaphorically to life and death respectively) that we

relate to each other and ourselves to assert our own identities. Progressive narratives lend

us self-confidence, determine our talents and virtues, and give us the satisfaction of

personal victory. Regressive narratives serve as cautionary tales, reminding us of our

mistakes and defining what we perceive to be our flaws. Because of this, Gergen and

Gergen argue, instead of identity existing in a constant state, we constantly modify it with

the stories we tell and are told. Not merely the stories we tell directly about ourselves, but

any story we take in or put out.

Any story a person puts value on characterizes that person in some way. The

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narratives we value change our perceptions, and the change in perception than alters our

core qualities. By thinking we are one way, we become that way. An anecdote may serve

to illustrate: in The Story of Tibet, Thomas Laird extensively interviews the Dalai Lama

on the history of Tibet, covering not only modern Tibetan history, but also ancient

Tibetan history. I found it significant that the Dalai Lama frequently brought the

conversation back to Tibets current relationship with China. While describing a trade

agreement ancient Tibet had with ancient China at one point, for example, the Dalai

Lama was quick to point out to Laird that this was a trade agreement, not an incident of

paying tribute, since he believed that China did not control Tibet at the time. The Dalai

Lamas political agenda was important enough to color even an ancient historical

incident. However, according to Gergen and Gergen, the inverse is also likely true. The

Dalai Lamas perception of events of Tibetan history no doubt directly correlates to his

current dissatisfaction with Chinas behavior and the Tibetan situation.

This principle in turn ties into the Foucauldian idea that narratives not only reflect

a subject, they constructit, whether that subject is an individual, a country, or a culture.

Given this, analyzing the popular myths of a culture should, in theory, provide us a

window into that cultures identity: What is valued? What is condemned? How are the

heroes characterized? Etc. In recent academic history, a variety of studies have examined

the relationship between folk tales and cultural identity. For example, in her 2011 book,

The Bukusu of Kenya: Folktales, Culture and Social Identities, Florence

Bukusu writes about how the folk stories of the Bukusu people

characterize their values and lifestyle. She explains, Folktales mirror

life by reflecting what people do, what they think, and how they live, as

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well as what aspirations they hold; thus, they are both descriptive and

prescriptive (back cover, summary composed by author).

The analysis in this thesis examines not only how folk tales reflect action and

thought, but also how they reflect cultural change. The cultural identity of Tibet is not

stagnant but fluid, reflected by historical and political changes that have generated a

Tibetan diaspora. Theorist Stuart Hall explains that there are two concepts of cultural

identity, the first much more fairly straightforward and generalizing. The most common

view of cultural identity is the idea of some sort of one true self that a given culture

emphasizes:

Within the terms of this definition, our cultural identities reflect the

common historical experiences and shared cultural codes which provide us,

as 'one people', with stable, unchanging and continuous frames of reference

and meaning, beneath the shifting divisions and vicissitude of our actual

history (435)

This project, in contrast, looks at his second definition of cultural identity, one that

acknowledges its changing nature:

There is, however, a second, related but different view of cultural identity.

This second position recognizes that, as well as the many points of

similarity, there are also critical points of deep and significant difference

which constitute 'what we really are'; or rather - since history has

intervened - 'what we have become' (436).

This second position that Hall explains is essential to my thesis. Although the

Tibetans in exile are doing their utmost to preserve a culture they feel is being hedged out

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by colonial presences, that culture is still inevitably changing. Geoff Childs has

described the preservation movement of Tibet in exile as Cultural change in the name of

cultural preservation (31). We can see this illustrated in a variety of movements,

including in the stories collected for this project, which seem to reflect a cultural identity

different from the one represented by the Tibetan tales from Shelton and Schiefners

collections, which were compiled before Chinas occupation of Tibet.

The ways the Tibetan culture has changed in exile and post occupation do suggest

a unique cultural identity, but one that has fluctuated, becoming different from cultural

formations within Tibet both temporally and spatially. In some ways, Halls second

description of cultural identity (dynamic) explains how the first description (essential)

can exist. Tibet in exile has its own cultural identity, but it is inevitably different from

what prevailed in the free Tibet of 100 years ago.

The relationship between narrative identity and cultural change is lately coming to

be explored more, especially in relationship to post-colonialism, where once colonized

countries explore the impact that colonialism had on their cultural identity. Now, we must

explain that the society of the Tibetans in exile is not a typical post-colonial structure.

Quasi-post-colonial might be a better choice of words. China still controls Tibet, but to

call Tibet a colony is to draw a line of debate. In any case, Tibetans in exile no longer

live under Chinese authority, and they are now caught up in a variety of cultural

movements that reflect upon and assert their identity. Many features of their cultural

expression fit common tropes of post-colonial movements, both in terms of sociological

(and artistic) and political aspects. The most important feature in this essay is that the

cultural identity of Tibet in exile is highly defined by its ongoing relationship with China,

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even though China is not in control of this subgroup of Tibetans.

I would postulate that the cultural identity of Tibet in exile is both preservationist

and reactive in nature. It reflects a post-colonial mindset immersed in exploring Tibet's

complex relationship with China. We can see this reflected by the differences found in

popular folk narratives among the exiles today versus traditional folk narratives collected

before Chinas occupation. Notable are the strains of greater subversiveness against

authority, an emphasis on cleverness as a means of resisting power and on worldliness as

a means of success, and an importance placed on moral justification for deceptive

behavior.

I recognize that these claims cannot be inarguably proven. Cause-and-effect

principles are difficult to distinguish in this kind of analysis, and a myriad of factors

likely contribute to how Tibetan cultural identity has changed, from the socioeconomic

situation to the sheer passage of time. However, I think it is still valuable to examine the

exile factor, because it is undeniable that it has changed Tibetan life in Dharamsala in

dramatic ways. No one I spoke to in my time in India, from the second-generation

dwellers to those who had just braved the Nepalese mountains, ever expressed to me that

life in Tibet (politically, socially, culturally) was similar to life Dharamsala, while many

expressed the inverse opinion.

Methods:

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While living in Dharamsala, I volunteered as an English conversation class

teacher for an educational NGO. I had traveled to India before and worked as a

conversation instructor at this NGO, so I had firm ties with the location and the

organization. Teaching at this NGO proved a good way for me to meet contacts that I

could interview for Tibetan stories, in particular contacts that spoke clear English.

I recognize that although I heard stories directly from the students rather than

from translators, I still listened to them in English, not in their original language, which

may bias my critical reading of them. It is possible that merely transcribing the stories to

English may pre-dispose them to certain narrative tropes. However, despite this

limitation, I believe the pros of analyzing these stories in English outweighed the cons,

and fortunately narrative theory primarily concerns itself primarily with plot features

rather than the specific mechanics and colors of language.

During my time as a teacher (with permission from my employer), I asked

interested students to share their stories with me and make appointments to meet with

them outside of class for interviews. Students were interested in coming to these

interviews because it was an opportunity to practice their English speaking skills with

me.

Due to the students preferences, I actually ended up

interviewing groups of students at a time. We would sit in a small circle

while one student told the story in English. Occasionally, other

students chimed-in with comments in Tibetan. Dissecting which parts

of the story were originally in English, and which parts were

translations on the part of the group leader was difficult to discern.

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I recorded each of these interviews and transcribed the stories found in them,

excising any extraneous information out of respect for my students privacy, according to

International Review Board protocols. Without delving too far into their profiles, I will

say that my primary group of students was a fairly diverse one in terms of background. I

had both male and female students, monks and laypeople, and a few second-generation

refugees as well as newcomers who had only lived in Dharamsala for a few years.

Post-transcription, I made as few changes to the original narratives as possible. I

did very minor line edits on the stories for grammatical readability and cohesion. I also

eliminated any short, unnecessary dialogue not pertaining to the story that was used to fill

pauses, such as uh, um, or the repetition of so. Finally, I excised any information

from my transcripts of the recordings that did not directly relate to the stories that were

told to me, including introductions and irrelevant student interruptions. I titled the stories

myself.

II. Subversiveness Against Authority

Reactions Against Authority:

One of the ways the stories in this collection may reflect a change in cultural

identity is in a greater degree of subversiveness against authority. The authority we refer

to is an authority established with some kind of right to rule or preside. An example of

the hero disrespecting the King of an enemy country would not fit into this category, but

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an example of the hero disrespecting his own King would. We can see this example at

work in two of the collected stories, The King and the Minister and Uncle Dunba and

the Gold Coins.

We can see the degree of subversiveness best illustrated when considering how

the stories differ from similar stories found in much older, direct-from-Tibet collections.

In The Wise Bat, for instance, we are similarly presented with a situation where the

King is bringing harm to some of his citizens, and the protagonist uses his cleverness to

alter the Kings behavior (Shelton). However, the King in The Wise Bat is much more

intelligent and sees through the bats ruse. While he does change his behavior, it is on his

own timetable and of his own accordhe even beats the bat at the end of the story for

being disrespectful to the him. The story ends with the following passage: But the king

in his heart was still angry at the bat because he hadn't obeyed him and came the fourth

day instead of the third, and to show him he was the ruler and to be instantly obeyed he

gave him a light spanking for his disobedience and then turned him loose (Shelton 5).

This final thought reads not only as attempt by the King to reassert his authority, but also,

since the King is successful, an attempt by the narrative to reassert the Kings authority.

In contrast, it is difficult impossible to imagine the King beating Uncle Dunba in

the contemporary story of the gold coins, because Uncle Dunba is presented as such an

in-control and superior character. The same principle applies to the Wise Minister,

particularly since post-discussions with my students indicated that there are a variety of

King and Minister stories, each of which marks the Ministers reputation for being

smarter and more benevolent than the King.

Not only does this kind of disrespect show up in regards to rulership, it also

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shows up in regards to familial bonds. In The Two Brothers, one brother tricks his own

mother in order to provide for the other brother. This may seem innocuous, but it stands

out again in terms of comparison. In the entirety of both Schiefner and Sheltons

collections, the parent(s) of the protagonists are never the antagonist. Instead, most

stories with family disputes employ an age-old replacement: The Stepparent. Stepparents

seem to be everywhere as villains in old Tibetan tales, from The Story of the Turquoise

to the aptly titled The Wicked Stepmother. Many scholars believe that the commonality

of evil stepmothers in folklore around the world springs from a desire for stories that can

feature familial villains but still avoid condemning traditional family bonds.

Kate Karko, a writer who has lived with Tibetans in Tibet for several years at a

time, describes Tibetan culture as incredibly respectful of parents and loathe to vilify

them, explaining that close and respectful familial bonds are part of the societal DNA.

But perhaps in an exile environment, particularly among my students, these bonds are not

as strong. Viewed in this light, it makes more sense that the villain of modern, diaspora

version of a Tibetan tale is a petty mother of blood relation.

Authority and Cultural Identity:

There are two possible ways the above comparisons might speak to how the

cultural identity of the refugees is reflected and constructed by the stories they tell. The

first concerns the characterization of power structures (discussed further in my

exploration of intelligence below): those in authority, such as the parent or the King, are

presented as not merely antagonists, but as foolish or villainous obstructions to the central

goal of the story, which is always morally sound (a hungry brother or a starving people).

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Intelligence and Foolishness:

The fact that the authority figures in all three above stories are foolish and gullible

allows the day to be won out by intelligence, rather than by economic or physical

strength, another aspect that seems to me to be reactive and potentially socio-politically

significant. In all six of the stories I collected, intelligence proved fruitful, and

foolishness proved disastrous, no matter if the fool was a King or a lowly nomad.

In contrast, cleverness does not seem nearly as ubiquitous a solution in Schiefner

or Shelton. While there are examples of cleverness leading to success, such as in The

Clever Thief (Schiefner 37), physical strength, courtesy and goodness, favor of the gods,

supernatural abilities, leadership, and even attractiveness are all also qualities that bring

about success for the protagonist. Cleverness seems to be just one quality on a long list of

good qualities, rather than an essential. In contrast, every story I collected, including

again ones that I was forced to leave of the collection because parts of them were

incoherent, seemed to have cleverness as the most important quality in determining a

characters success (or lack thereof) in achieving his or her goals.

Intelligence and Worldliness:

The big emphasis that Tibet in exile seems to put on intelligence is perhaps best

shown by Tibetan nomadic stories. According to my students, these are a very popular

type of story right now, especially among young people. These stories are short and

humorous, in some ways more like recounting jokes than they are traditional folktales.

The basic structure of the story is this: a foolish Tibetan nomad encounters and interacts

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with something he doesnt understand > his interactions prove to be foolish, unworldly,

and humorous.

During my recordings, students were eager to recount these stories to me. I kept

only those that were recounted in coherent English, since I did not want to misinterpret

their meaning or misrepresent them. However, even in the more fragmented stories, as

well as in this collection, I noticed some general trends. Often the Tibetan nomads

foolishness comes from a lack of understanding of some trend or object, rather than a

fundamental lack of intelligence. And more often or not, these trends or objects seem to

be worldly ones, such as in The Nomad and the Dumpling, where the nomad has never

seen a dumpling before going to the city and cannot comprehend how the meat gets

inside.

The shock of new worlds and concepts, and the danger of not adapting to them, is

not something I have been able to find so prevalently in the older collections I have

reviewed. In fact, in some instances the pursuit of greater knowledge of the world is

presented in a negative light, such as in The Magicians Pupil, where the youth

outstrips his own master in intelligence and is then stripped of his powers for replacing

him. As for new worlds, these are presented as wondrous and strange rather than

something everyone should familiarize themselves with immediately or suffer the

consequences. In the traditional King Mandhatar, for example, pages are devoted to

describing richer and more modernized countries, with the clear implication that they

may not necessarily be comprehended by mere mortals (8). A richer, more prosperous

country is even treated by the narrative in some respects the very same way that the realm

of the gods is treated. Both are described as vast, lush, foreign, and a tad

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incomprehensible.

I would postulate that the contemporary stories preoccupation with worldly

intelligence might suggest the displaced and diasporic nature of Tibet-in-Exile. Some of

my students, and many of Dharamsalas denizens, were actual nomads before entering

India. But even for those refugees from other parts of Tibet, they were still likely living a

relatively isolated life in Tibet before relocating, one that often stands in contrast with the

globalized, tourist-heavy, multicultural, relatively modernized Dharamsala. I have

listened to many accounts of the unfamiliar modes of life in India, but also to stories

illustrating how essential mastering local custom is to survival. Understanding a complex

culture means that one can be mobile in it. The goal to transcend humbler circumstances

reflects the progressive narratives discussed in the introduction. The specific type of

narrative (an emphasis on progression or regression based on ones level of worldly

knowledge) may reflect the specific cultural circumstances of the refugee committee.

IV. Morality

Moral Justification:

A third way in which the stories in this collection might relate to Tibetan cultural

identity also ties into progressive goals. In each story where the protagonist succeeds, his

goals are morally justified, even though his methods may be deceptive. Uncle Danba and

the Minster both trick their Kings, but they do so for the good of their people, who are

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starving. The brother in The Two Brothers also tricks his mother only to help his

hungry brother; he is altruistically motivated. In Uncle Danba and the Barley, Uncle

Danba is not stealing the barley from his neighbor; he is merely stealing it back.

The Clever Thief from Schiefners collection serves as a great contrast to these

stories because it also features a clever, deceptive trickster heroone who has no

justifications for his behavior whatsoever. And yet, after engaging in acts of theft, rape,

and murder, the clever thief is not punished for his behavior. Instead the King of the land

declares, O friends, so little does such a hero of a man deserve to be put to death, that he

ought much rather to be carefully watched over. There upon he endowed his daughter

with ornaments of all sorts, and gave her to the thief as his wife, and bestowed upon her

the half of his kingdom (Schiefner 43). In short, the displaced thief rises to the top on

his own, and without any seeming moral concerns. Such a scenario would be unlikely in

todays stories. The contrast suggests a felt need for the exile community (poor and

displaced) to stick together. In the contemporary stories, there is a strong ethic of mutual

help that dominates the moral calculus.

Moral Justification and Cultural Identity:

As I read The Clever Thief in the field, after I had already collected several

folktales with a more moral bent, I was rather jarred by it. Since then, I have found a

pretty wide variety of tales that would not appeal to modern moral sensibilities,

particularly in Schiefners collection. I would suggest two reasons for the possible moral

differences between these tales and the ones that I collected.

The first is that as modern perceptions of morality change, so do societal stories

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change to reflect them. Thus, in a more ethics-concerned, human rights-centered, rule of

law community, a story like The Clever Thief might not so be so popular. This is

especially true in the sense that during pushes towards cultural preservation, folk stories

become more likely to be aimed at children, and thus are often Bowdlerized. A rather

infamous example is the story of Snow White, which historically ended with the evil

queen being tortured to death at Snow Whites wedding. Needless to say, this

interpretation of events did not make it into the Disney film.

Another possible reason for the moral justifications present in the contemporarily

collected tales, especially as connected to deception, might have roots more specific to

the cultural identity of Tibet in exile. As refugees, many of Dharamsalas residents were

forced to flee Chinese-controlled Tibet illegally. Many of them did so under false

pretenses, forging documents, lying to authorities and even relatives. One of my students

described his escape to me as At night, always at night. We couldnt risk being caught

by the Chinese police.

However, despite the deception these refugees engaged in to flee Chinese

territory, all those I spoke to who fled, whether years ago or recently, seemed to feel

morally justified in their deceit. The most common explanations I received were that

living under Chinese control was immoral and unbearable, and that a desire for a good

education outweighed any other costs, including deceiving others.

Even scholars such as Patrick French have acknowledged that the need to

reconcile with China is a primarily utilitarian view. In the West, those who are pro-

unification typically argue that there interest is in dissolving conflict and preserving

Tibet; whether China has any justification for its takeover is moot. French claims,

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Tibetans working within the Chinese system have a better chance of safeguarding what

is left of Tibetan identity than [any other method]. In contrast, many of those in exile use

moral arguments to justify Chinas removal, detailing examples of human rights abuses,

historical claims of ownership etc. Much like the personal narratives of the refugees

reflect a need for moral justification, so does the macro narrative, which in turn is likely

perpetuated by the popular stories the people tell.

IV. Conclusion: Political Speculations

Many political analysts and scholars today, like French, argue that the best course

of action for Tibetans both in and out of Tibet to take would be tostop calling for

independence. Even the Dalai Lama himself has softened his political demands in recent

years from a call for complete independence to a call for independence under Chinas

continued rule, something he describes as genuine independence.

From a political perspective, these ideas make sense. China is a massive

conglomerate, a global power, and this is not a fairy tale. There is likely no trick that

can be used to undermine the Chinese government. However, something that should be

taken into account is whether most Tibetans in exile will be willing to return to anything

less than a free Tibet, especially as they become further entrenched in exile culture. The

stories in the collection suggest a pseudo-post-colonial mindset in terms of Tibet in

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exiles relationship with China.

As the introduction to this analysis establishes, the narratives that we recount both

reflect our identities and construct them. And if they are fostering a postcolonial mindset,

can they ever return to a semi-colonial rule? Foucault that narratives not only reflect our

values, they shape them. So as Tibetans in exile place value on rejecting authority,

adapting to new environments, and highlighting moral justification for any given

behavior, their resentment towards China is likely to further harden even as diplomatic

talks continue.

It may be that a Tibet that remains under Chinese authority is the best and most

realistic option available for the territory. However, it may also be that even if an

ostensible agreement is reached between China and the Tibetan government in exile, we

may find that many actual Tibetan refugees choose never to return to their homeland.

Judging from their stories, a willingness to be ruled again by outside forces seems

unlikely.

I believe this is because Tibetan cultural identity places such stock in values that

may militate against integration with China. We can see this reflected, and perhaps even

constructed, in the folk tales we discussed. James Holstein argues that identity is

something under construction at every turn of social interaction (3). According to

scholars such as Caruth and Holstein, social interaction is storytelling. So when refugees

in Dharamsala recount their tales, ones that differ from historical versions in many ways,

they construct a new identity. This identity will continue to change, but how and when it

does, and how that will affect the China/Tibet political climate, remains to be seen. One

thing is like:, if we do see changes in the political clime of Tibet in exile, they will run

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parallel to changes in the way the refugees recount and select their folk narratives.

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