Forty years of colonization
As the title of this volume indicates, it is now forty years since the Chinese communist take-over of Tibet forced the Dalai Lama into exile and transformed Tibet into a colony, but the Tibetan question remains a major issue in China's foreign relations and scholarship on Tibet continues to flourish. This work marks that anniversary but encompasses a far broader scope than is suggested by its title. It brings together six articles by Tibetan specialists, along with an introduction by co-editor Charles Ramble, which discuss major issues of contemporary Tibetan studies, in particular the issue of Tibetan identity.By Alex McKay
George Dreyfuss demonstrates the significance of events in the twelfth to fourteenth centuries in the construction of essential elements of Tibetan Buddhist nationalism, steering us away from narrow Eurocentric definitions of nationalism. Per Kvaerne describes the primary historical features of the Bon faith, the rich (and in some form) indigenous Tibetan tradition. Samten Karmay discusses issues of contemporary Bon identity in a conversation with co-editor Katia Buffetrille whose own contribution concerns the role of pilgrimage and sacred mountains in Tibetan identity. This includes an ethnographic account of a contemporary pilgrimage to Amnye Machen, a major sacred mountain site in eastern Tibet. Here and elsewhere, at Mount Kailas and the Halase-Maratike caves in Nepal for example, an ongoing process of 'Buddhization' has occurred, transforming these 'power places' into sacred Buddhist spaceRobbie Barnett takes up the issue of Lhasa's architecture, describing the changes in the Tibetan capital and the implications of the imposition of Chinese models upon traditional Tibetan architecture, particularly in the Barkhor area in the heart of Lhasa. This transformation has distinct political consequences above the wider issues of tradition and modernity in conflict. The final contribution is by Jigme Namgyal, a Lhasa resident since 1951, who bears witness to the tumultuous years of Chinese colonialism, which he compares to that of the Nazis in the Second World War.
This work provides a valuable French-language summary of contemporary work in the field of Tibetan identity, includes maps and a chronology of Tibetan history, and contains much that will stimulate the student and interested reader.
Buffetrille, Katia and Charles Ramble (Eds), Tibétains 1959-1999: 40 ans de colonisation
Paris: Étditions Autrement, 1998, ISSN 0336-5816 ISBN 2-86260-822-X, 120FF.
Dr A.C. McKay is a scholar of Indo-Tibetan frontier history. He lives in New South Wales, Australia.