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The advantage of the Gesar epic for the communist government is that it appears to talk about a definable Tibetan “nation” or people, and does so in a non-Buddhist vein. King Gesar is a magical little boy born of a beautiful serpent goddess and a human Khampa king. The precocious Gesar displays miraculous abilities as soon as he is born and busily defeats a series of magical enemies. One of my favourites is a demonic groundhog, or pika. Gesar quickly becomes ruler of Ling, an actual kingdom located in the heart of Kham. The kingdom is surrounded by demon-kings in all directions who threaten Ling’s survival. The Epic recounts his victory over each demon-king and the growth and unification of his kingdom.

By adopting and promoting the Epic, the Communists laid claim to a popular part of Tibetan culture. At the same time, the Communists theoretically sidestepped the deeply religious culture of the Tibetan plateau. It also allowed Beijing to maintain some continuity with the policy of earlier governments like the Qing who syncretized the cult of Gesar with the worship of the Chinese warrior-god, Guandi.

All these factors impacted my trip to Tibet and my plans to study the liturgies of Gesar. Travelling to U-Tsang, the region “formerly known as political Tibet” (currently known as the Autonomous Region) isn’t easy. Beijing maintains a significant military presence in Lhasa and travel there requires special permits. By contrast, travel to Kham and Amdo, the regions “formerly known as Anthropological Tibet” is no problem. Both are part of mainland China. No permits necessary. No soldiers on the streets. Luckily, my trip was to Kham. In visiting Kham, I hoped to to learn if Mipham’s ritual liturgies were in use and how they were regarded. At the same time, I wanted to study Kham dialect in Sichuan to prepare for later fieldwork.