“Although the masks and costumes have been again made only in the last
ten years, the tsam or shaman dance is just beginning to revive as an
art form. The last 108 tsams were made in 1937, by the order of Bogd
Ezen,” said N.Gankhuyag, head of Beauty World.

“Although the masks and costumes have been again made only in the last ten years, the tsam or shaman dance is just beginning to revive as an art form. The last 108 tsams were made in 1937, by the order of Bogd Ezen,” said N.Gankhuyag, head of Beauty World. “We started out by making 108 shamans in the style of dolls, and have continued making them. More than 50 artists have put their heart and soul into this project.” By 2000, they had 20 shamans fully costumed. The first exhibition of tsams was held in Switzerland and included more than 10 items. In 2003, an exhibition of more than 30 tsams was held in Belgium.

Tsam is a combination of folk songs, music, dance, and costumes which began as a  religious ritual. However, the present festival is planned as a cultural, rather than a religious, event. The organizers are aiming to produce tsam as part of Mongolian culture, not overlooking the fact that religion played an important part in shaping this culture. A number of lamas should be present at the festival on different days.  

Khuree Tsam 108 will have four parts. The opening ceremony will be at Parliament House at 2pm on June 29 and international delegations will attend and hear about the progress of the project. The second part of the festival will be the opening of an exhibition of international artists at the Art Gallery of Mongolian Artists Union at 6pm on June 29.

The third and main part will be the dance of 108 tsams on June 30 at 2pm at Sukhbaatar Square. The last part will be the masked dance to narrate The Tale of the God Jamsran at the State Drama Theater at 12 noon on July 1.

The 108 tsam dancers will play more than 80 different traditional roles. These will include Mongolian religious heroes such as the White Grandfather, the god Jamsran, Makhgal and Damdin Choijee.

The Tsam festival will also visit Nantes, France from July 26 to August 5 and Bloomington, Indiana, USA, between October 23 and 28, 2007.

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