On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery

On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
Shunzo ONODA
Bukkyo University, Kyoto
Offering painting “ganzai zurag”
The religious painting named “ganzai zurag” in the Mongolian language originated from
a pictorial style called “kang-zee (bskang rdzas)” in Tibetan, and it is considered to be used in
a ritual named “kang-so (bskang gso)”. The term “bskang” is derived from a verb “skong ba
(fill a heart)” and the “gso” means “treatment” or “cure”. In other words, this kang-so ritual is
a divine service to content the guardian deity or dharma guardian (dharma pāla) and to
prevent the wrathful heart from withering away. Therefore, slightly different from ordinary
offering services to the Buddha and bodhisattvas, it contains sacrificial elements.
Offerings in general are categorized with various standpoints. For instance, chun-zee
(mchod rdzas: offering articles) contains the auspicious symbols and the offerings of the five
senses; chen-zee (spyan rdzas: eye-pleasing offerings) cover articles to delight the deity’s eye,
and a variety of animals, too, are included. Besides, dam-zee (dam rdzas: ritual implements),
e.g. the bell and the vajra, are important offerings as well. Among the offerings are the garb
and the vehicle animal of the deity to whom the offerings are dedicated. Thus it can be
roughly identified what deity the kang-zee is offered to.
Now,
in
the
precincts
of
the
temple,
commonly called “Gorban-zuu (three temples)”
[photograph:
the
Gorban-zuu],
within
the
Erdenezuu monastery, there are three principal
halls which are the origin of the temples’ name.
Erdenezuu monastery
On the eastward ground one step lower than
the site of these halls, on the both sides
immediately behind the gate stand two
shrines, where the murals of “ganzai zurag”
have been preserved. Each shrine has a
the Gorban-zuu
three-room setup and the “ganzai” paintings
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On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
are painted on five walls
altogether: two sidewalls in
the easternmost room of the
left shrine, on two sidewalls
in the middle room of the
the Zambee-zom
right shrine, and on the east sidewall of the westernmost
The Ayus-zom
room of the right shrine. The south shrine is called “the Zambee-zom” and is said to be a
shrine to worship Zamba (Jambhala) [photograph: the Zambee-zom]. The north shrine
[photograph: the Ayus-zom], on the right at the back of the gate, is called “the Ayus-zom” and
regarded as a shrine for Amitāyus worship. The murals in both shrines are similar in size:
each width measures approximately 4.15m; the heights of the Zambee-zom’s and the
Ayus-zom’s about 1.95m and 1.85m respectively. The surfaces of the ganzai murals in both
shrines are covered with the protective glass plates, which along with the supporting stays
make it difficult to take clear photographs. Even without the protection, it still seems
difficult to photograph the whole mural because the wall-to-wall span is only about 3m long.
Zambee-zom east wall
Zambee-zom west wall
Ayus-zom west wall
Ayus-zom east wall
The said shrines were first constructed between 1774 and 1784 and later repaired in
1881 according to a record. Subsequently, these shrines allegedly underwent restorations
several times from the 1940s to 1970s but with no credible record. In the 1990s, the Center
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On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
for Cultural Heritage of Mongolia reportedly did research and repair to a limited extent but
it has not been confirmed. It was explained to me that the protective glass plates were
installed in either 2003 or 2004. Although no photographs of the pre-repair state exist on the
site, the Center for Cultural Heritage of Mongolia might happen to conserve some. I was told
that many of the scrolled thangka paintings in the Erdenezuu were remounted on panels in
1994, but have not confirmed it yet.
Elem ents of ganzai painting
Besides the above-mentioned examples, numerous ganzai paintings remain in Mongolia
and three ganzai paintings are exhibited at Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts. One of them is
of appliqué and its photograph is shown on [Oktyabri Dash, Mongolia Photo Album, p.240].
appliqué ganzai
The other two are murals on entire walls that were recovered from a ruined local temple and
restored by technicians of the Center for
Cultural
Heritage.
[photograph:
the
ganzai of the museum’s collection]
There are some introductory papers
on the elements of ganzai painting. Some
monasteries seem to have been passing
down the formularies of their unique
kang-so rituals, and parts of the texts
have been photocopied. Referring to such
material, I will examine each element in
ganzai mural
the following chapters.
Elements of ganzai painting in general are associated with the deity to whom the
offerings of the ganzai are dedicated, so that every attributive belonging of the main deity
and of his female consort is depicted. The garb, attributes and ornaments are rendered as if
these are worn and held by the deity and just as only the body has slipped out of an ordinary
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On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
portrayal of the divinity. [illustration:
clothing and belongings]
Next, the offerings for the deity are
displayed in detail. These are so-called
chun-zee (mchod rdzas: offering articles):
water for washing the face (or blood in the
case of a wrathful deity), water for rinsing
the feet (or urine), flowers (or human
eyeballs and viscera), incense fume (or
smoke
of
burned
flesh),
votive
light
(lamplight burning human fat), fragrant
clothing and belongings
water (sticky, half-clotted blood), foods
(five kinds of meat including human flesh), musical instruments (flute made of human bone,
drums of human skull, etc), offerings called torma (depicted as served in a skull vessel or
accompanied by the ritual dagger and the crossed vajra along with the sun, the moon and
flames).
As previously mentioned, among the attributes as the offerings, there are naturally
dam-zee (dam rdzas: ritual implements) including weaponry (mtshon) to be used by the
wrathful deity.
Although the deity as such is usually not pictured in ganzai, the heavenly offering
maidens are exceptionally depicted because they themselves are utensils for the service.
They form groups generally called the Eight Offering Maidens and the Sixteen Offering
Maidens.
There is Mt. Sumeru painted approximately in the middle of ganzai; this, too, means the
entire world is dedicated and it is explained that the mountain is an offering, or chen-zee
(spyan rdzas: eye-pleasing offerings), to delight the deity’s eye. Chen-zee includes fluttering
flags and also, as mentioned before, gathering animals: dogs, sheep, yaks and horses for
example. There is a report indicating that the number of the animals of each kind was settled
to thirteen in the offering service for a certain deity but the reason is not given.
Traditionally, offerings are
prepared in the vessels on a
offering table (mchod-lcog) as
follows: cut twigs— trimmed to
an even length and both ends
having been dipped in honey
and butter— to be burned in the
consecrated fire of the homa
ritual,
offering table
4
sesame
seeds
(til),
On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
Bermuda grass soaked in milk (dur ba), barley (nas), rice (’bras), flour (so-zan) dissolved in
milk, ku-sha grass, white mustard seeds (yungs-dkar), bean (sran ma), unhusked barley
(so-ba), wheat (gro), lamp butter (shun mar), water for face washing, water for foot rinsing,
floral tributes, incense, a votive light, flagrant water, foods and furthermore a conch shell
containing water (not shown in the illustration), a pot filled with sacred water, a vessel with
rice. [illustration, previous page: offering table]
On the Ganzai of the Ayus-zom
Ayus-zom west wall
The Ayus-zom contains three rooms, the middle one of which has ganzai painted on both
of the sidewalls. The Mt. Sumeru is painted in the center of the ganzai on the left-hand wall
[illustration: Ayus-zom west wall] along with ’dod yon lnga (offerings satisfying the five
desires) and sgra snyan (musical offerings) displayed next to each other by the upper left side
of the mountain [illustration:
offerings
satisfying
the
five
desires and musical offerings].
Adjacent to the upper right of
the mountain, there lined are
offerings satisfying the five desires and musical offerings
articles called rgyal srid sna
bdun (the seven secular treasures): ’khor lo rin po che (the precious wheel), nor bu rin po che
(the precious gem), btsun mo rin po che (the precious queen), blon po rin po che (the precious
state minister), glang po rin po che
(the precious elephant), rta mchog
rin po che (the precious horse), and
dmag dpon rin po che (the precious
general) [illustration: the seven
kinds of treasures]. On both sides
seven kinds of treasures
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On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
and down below of the Mt. Sumeru the garb and the attributive belongings are displayed
next to one another and numerous animals are painted in the rest of the space. Other than
some saddled horses and collared dogs, most of the animals are depicted in the wild state; the
dogs and wolves are devouring human remains.
Ayus-zom east wall
Painted on the right-hand wall [illustration: Ayus-zom east wall], again, is the Mt.
Sumeru and by the upper left
side of it there are the eight
offerings called bkra shis rdzas
brgyad
(the
eight
kinds
of
auspicious offerings): me long
(the mirror), ghi vam (gallstone
eight kinds of auspicious offerings
of cow), zho (yogurt), dur ba
(Bermuda grass), bil ba (quince fruit), dung dkar g-yas ’khyil (the right-coiling conch shell), li
khri (yellow minium), and yungs dkar (white mustard). Towards the left from the upper right
side of the mountain, there sh own are bkra shis rtags brgyad (the eight auspicious symbols):
gdugs dkar (the excellent umbrella), gser nya (the gold fish), bum pa (the treasure vase), pad
ma (the lotus flower), dung dkar
(the white conch shell), dpal be’u
(the
knot
of
eternity),
rgyal
mtshan (the victory banner), and
khor lo (the wheel of doctrine)
[illustration:
the
auspicious
eight auspicious symbols
symbols].
There are patterns of cloth fringe painted around the ganzai and also is rgyan yog
decoration above as if a thangka. On the upper side are the human viscera hanging like a
short ornamental curtain and being pecked by the birds [illustration: the hanging
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On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
hanging ornamentation of viscera
Dogs and wolves devouring human flesh
ornamentation of viscera] — along with the human flesh and bones devoured by dogs and
wolves, the scene produces grotesque impressions and makes viewers strongly perceive that
these offerings are dedicated to a wrathful deity or a warrior god.
As the name, Ayus-zom, indicates, the main deity is Amitāyus and presently there is a
thangka of Amitābha in the very room where the ganzai are painted. However, since ganzai
in general has a purpose of a service for the guardian deity and to agitate its combative spirit,
the relation between this ganzai and the present main deity is rather remote. Considering
the fact that each shrine with the ganzai paintings is located on either side of the gate of the
temple and that Zamba (Jambhala) as a god of wealth is enshrined on right-hand side, the
one on the left should naturally be a warrior god. As mentioned above, it is possible to
identify the main deity of the shrine, for a ganzai depicts the worshiped deity’s attributive
belongings and garb. The ganzai of the Ayus-zom distinctively indicates that offerings are
dedicated to a warrior god and, especially, the characteristics of the garb and the attributes
show that the possessor is a wrathful deity. It may be conjectured that the Ayus-zom, despite
its name, originally was a shrine for worshiping the wrathful deity.
W eapons and arm or pictured in ganzai
As offerings dedicated to a warrior god, numerous weapons, armor and saddlery are
depicted in a ganzai of warrior god. Although the main deity of the ganzai paintings of “the
Zambee-zom” is not a warrior god, displayed in these two murals are many weapons and
saddlery— helmets, armor, swords and spears meant to be worn and carried by the guards of
the main deity [illustration, next page: Zambee-zom east and west walls]. Regarding the
names of the weapons and armor that were actually used in Tibet/Mongolia areas, part of the
systematized knowledge can be obtained from a natural history, ’jig rten lugs kyi bstan bcos
las dpyad don gsal ba’i sgron me zhes grags pa, written by a sixteenth-century natural
historian, Tashi Namgyal. [cf. Donald J. LaRocca, Warriors of the Himalayas, Rediscovering
the Arms and Armor of Tibet (2006)] The author, Tashi Namgal lists swords and other bladed
weapons in the tenth chapter of his book. With this, he mentions more than fifty kinds of
bladed weapons including the subgroups altogether: 1) nine kinds of sog po, 2) nine kinds of
zhang ma, 3) six kinds of hu bed, 4) twelve kind of gu zi or dgu zi, 5) thirteen kinds of ’ja’ ral.
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On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
Zambee-zom east wall
l
Zambee-zom west wall
Moreover, in the eleventh chapter, he enumerates more than sixty types of armor in total,
including subgroups: 1) nine kinds of rgya byi (rgya dbyi, rgya yi), 2) twenty kinds of dmar yu
(dmar g-yu), 3) thirteen kinds of ’bal (’ba’), 4) seven kinds of g-ya’ ma, 5) three kinds of me ru,
6) three kinds of skya chen, 7) three kinds of li ding (li ting, li thing).
In the twelfth chapter as well, he classifies helmets under ten categories: 1) li ma, 2)
gzha’ ma, 3) gzha’ ri, 4) sul mang, 5) mi nyag rmog, 6) rnam rgyal rmog, 7) dkar leb, 8) mdze
rmog, 9) ur rmog, 10) spung gdong.
These names of the weaponry are listed in the formularies of kang-so rituals mentioned
above; however, it has not yet worked out to compare the names appearing there with the
actual ganzai paintings and with those enumerated weapons and armor in the natural
history. For reference, following shows an excerpt of a formulary from a kang-so ritual.
“Dkon mchog lhun grub Ngor chen, Nag po chen po’i gtor chog dang skang gso, 104b2)
ral gri rtse gsum mdung thung dang/ spu gri gseg shad chu gri dang/
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On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
’phang mdung thag mdung mdung ring dang/ lba mda’ lcug mda’ mda’ po che/ gzhu dang phur bu dam
shing dang/ dgra stwa gtun shing lcags kyu dang/ dbyug pa stwa re la sogs pas/ ma ha ka la’i thugs dam
bskang/
ral gri (the sword) and rtse gsum (the trident), mdung thung (the short spear), spu gri (the razor), gseg
shad (the dagger), chu gri (the knife with wavy blade), ’phang mdung (the javelin), thag mdung (the
harpoon with rope), mdung ring (the long pike), lba mda’ (the bladed arrow), lcug mda’ (the gnarl arrow),
mda’ po che (the great arrow), gzhu (the bow), phur bu (the the ritual dagger), dam shing (the beating rod),
dgra stwa (the ax), gtun shing (the staff), lcags kyu (the hook), dbyug pa (the club), stwa re (the hatchet)
and so on— with these “the offerings of weaponry” the worshipers could humbly satisfy Mahākāla’s heart.”
We should notice here that the ritual implements as the attributes possessed by tantric
deities are essentially the weapons appearing in formularies of Indian origin and not many of
them were actually used as arms in Tibet or Mongolia. For example, the following were not
utilized in reality but are symbolic implements to fight off evil as an emblem of worldly
symbolic combat implements
desires— the symbolic combat implements: the vajra (vajra; rdo rje: 金剛杵), the crossed vajra
(viśva-vajra: rdo rje rgya gram: 十字金剛杵), the bell (ghaṇṭā; dril bu: 金剛鈴), the ritual dagger
(kīla; phur ba: 厥), the tantric staff (khaṭvāṅga), the hand drum (ḍamaru, rnga chung), the
curved knife (kartari; gri gug: 翦刀), the trident (triśūla: rtse gsum: 三又戟), the club (daṇḍa:
dbyug pa, be con: 棍棒), the noose(pāśa; zhags pa: 索), the hook (aṅkuśa: lcags kyu; 鈎), the ax
(paraśu: dgra sta, sta re: 斧 鉞 ), the hammer (mudgara: tho ba; 鎚 ), the razor discus
(cakra:
’khor
considered
lo).
that
It
is
most
probably the painters who
pictured them only knew
the forms of those arms as
ritual implements. Hence,
we should not overlook the
fact that there are two
kinds of objects, conceptual
and existing, intermixed in
ganzai paintings.
armor and weaponry
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On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
Incidentally, on the westward and
eastward walls of the Ayus-zom are
firearms depicted among the weapons.
These are Tibetan guns (me mda’) used
from the end of the seventeenth century
until the end of the nineteenth century in
short barrel gun
areas in Tibet. The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, N.Y., possesses an unusable model of short barrel gun that appears to be an offering for
a wrathful deity. [photograph: short barrel gun] The form of the gun and that of the one
depicted in the ganzai painting of the Ayus-zom’s eastward wall are very similar to each
other.
As for the armor and the saddlery depicted in ganzai
paintings and corresponding archeological specimens that
have been unearthed, the comparative study is still an
awaiting solution. It is rarely a case that even those
realistic images of the saddlery and armor in ganzai were
depicted by the painter who had accurately observed and
recorded the then contemporary forms of the existent
articles; rather, it can more likely be assumed that these
images are of reflections of older forms that were used as
sample pictures for apprentice painters and of repeated
patterns having been passed on by the masters.
Shandong armor
Therefore, it is difficult to induce meaningful historical testimonies out of these pictures. For
reference, compare the resembling appearances of the excavated Chinese armor [illustration;
Shandong armor] that is called rgya byi in Tibetan and the armor depicted in the ganzai
painting on the westward wall of the Zambee-zom.
Additional words on pictorial com position
As previously mentioned, it is presumably the most important characteristic of ganzai
painting that only the offerings are depicted and the deity as such does not appear.
Accordingly, without a focal point in its pictorial composition, every ganzai painting gives
diffused and bird’s-eye-view-like impressions to its viewers. Even though seemingly
discursive, it can be explained, from a different perspective, that this property is closely
related to Mongolians’ traditional point of view to animals and people scattered on the
grassland. Here, we should find out the common quality that is shared by the compositional
arrangement of ganzai paintings and that of Mongolian modern paintings such as “Airag
Feast” [photograph, next page: Sharav’s painting] by Sharav, one of Mongolia’s great painters
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On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
of the twentieth century.
Moreover, ganzai paintings, albeit Buddhist paintings, portray lively animals and also
have “sacrificial” elements that do not exist in the Buddhist doctrine. I believe it is necessary
to carry out anthropological studies as to the reason ganzai paintings are preferred by
“Airag Feast” by Sharav
Mongolians and how they are connected to the life of Mongolians who have lived principally
on animal grazing by calling and have kept religious elements derived from their shamanic
beliefs.
Bibliography (Tibetan)
Ngor chen dkon mchog lhun grub, dPal nag po chen po'i gtor chog dang bskang gso, Gangtok :
s.n., 1967?.104 folios. On boards: Cover title: nag po chen po'i gtor chog dang bskang gso.
Set 1-3. LMpj-010732. R-912.
Bya ’jam dbyangs bkra shis rnam rgyal, ’Jig rten lugs kyi bstan bcos las dpyad don gsal ba’i
sgron me zhes grags pa
In Donald J.LaRocca, Warriors of the Himalayas, Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet
(2006), pp.253-263.
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On the Ganzai Zurag surviving in the Erdenezuu Monastery
Bibliography (English)
Pratapaditya Pal, Art of Tibet, A Catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Collection, University of California Press, 1983.
Ferdinand Lessing, Yung-ho-kung: an iconography of the Lamaist Cathedral in Peking with
notes on Lamaist mythology and cult, Stockholm, 1942.
’Jigs med chos kyi rdo rje ed., Bod brgyud nang bstan lha tshogs chen mo, mTsho sngon mi
rigs dpe skrun khang, 2001.
Donald J.LaRocca, Warriors of the Himalayas, Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006
Bibliography (Japanese)
小林謙一『東アジアにおける武器・武具の比較研究』奈良文化財研究所（平成 16 年度
年度基礎研究 C 科学研究費研究成果報告書）2008.
楊泓著（来村多加史訳）『中国古兵器論叢』関西大学出版部刊 昭和６０年.
小長谷有紀・楊海英編著『草原の遊牧文明』千里文化財団 1998.
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