Tsakli (also “tsakalis”) are Tibetan Buddhist miniature paintings, normally produced
as thematic groups or sets, whic
Melek Taus
The subjects found on tsakli are similar to the better
known larger Tibetan thangka scroll paintings on cloth, but much
simpler, usually showing only a single deity, or a pair. The subjects are
usually deities or ritual objects and offerings associated with these deities
are represented on the tsaklis. Occasionally, Tibetan inscriptions on the
backside can identify the subjects which are painted on the front.
The tsakli which are normally painted in sets which
can comprise from 6 to almost 100 small paintings of similar subjects are used
as offerings in temples or in rituals. For example, before a temple building is
started, the area can be marked with tsakli representing protective deities. In
this case they are mounted on small wooden sticks. Similarly tsakli can be used
by a buddhist lama to remove evil influences from a sick
person, from a tree which does not bear fruit or a stack of grain which is
going to be thrashed. A tsakli can also be placed in a portable shrine or box
(Tibetan “gau”) and carried as a device giving protection to the traveller or
pilgrim who carries this box around the neck or on a shoulder strap.
The majority of tsakli are painted on cloth (like most of the
tangkas) or cardboard. There exist also tsakli which
are printed from woodblocks on cloth or paper. Larger sets of tsakli are kept
between two wooden covers in a similar manner as pages of Tibetan books are
protected.
Tsakli are
traditionally assembled into sets and may represent Buddhas, Bodhisattvas,
Yidams, Gurus, mantras, sacred symbols and ritual implements. They are an
important visual aid when conferring empowerments. The vast majority of these
images are painted on cloth.
Many
Mongolian miniature paintings were actually worn in an amulet box or kept
inside a portable shrine and were revered as efficacious protection amulets.
Among the numerous items employed in Tibetan
ritual is a genre of miniature painting little known in the occident and rarely
spoken of in the liturgical literature translated into western languages. These
are the 'Tsakli' or 'Initiation Cards' .Tsakli paintings are employed in
numerous ritual situations such as empowerment, ritual mandalas, transmission
of teachings, substitutes for ceremonial items, visualization aids and
funerals. The subjects depicted in tsakli cover a vast range from main deities
and protectors to their various power attributes and appropriate offerings.
While tangka paintings often depict these subjects in rich detail, tsakli are
unique in that they generally focus on just one item at a time. One card may
have a Mahakala, for example, another card would depict the vajra attribute,
another the rosary of heads, another may have the skull cup and so on. This
individualized approach may add up to form an entire mandala set of cards with
over a hundred paintings.To facilitate visualization during ritual tsakli are sometimes briefly shown to the initiates by the officiating lama by simply holding the card at arms' length, or they may be held by a stick as part of other ritual items in the altar. Sometimes the cards being displayed in an altar are changed gradually over a course of several days as a series of teachings unfold or they may be integrated with torma offerings to form a tridimensional mandala. Tsakli with the guardians of the four quarters may be set up facing the appropriate directions during the construction of a new monastery building. Or they are placed singly within a portable altar called Gau to be carried during a long journey. Tsakli often serve as substitutes for ritual items which are difficult to procure such as precious stones of different colors, or flayed skins of demons.
To facilitate visualization during ritual tsakli are sometimes briefly shown to the initiates by the officiating lama by simply holding the card at arms' length, or they may be held by a stick as part of other ritual items in the altar. Sometimes the cards being displayed in an altar are changed gradually over a course of several days as a series of teachings unfold or they may be integrated with torma offerings to form a tridimensional mandala. Tsakli with the guardians of the four quarters may be set up facing the appropriate directions during the construction of a new monastery building. Or they are placed singly within a portable altar called Gau to be carried during a long journey. Tsakli often serve as substitutes for ritual items which are difficult to procure such as precious stones of different colors, or flayed skins of demons.
The materials employed for tsakli are generally either primed cloth or cardboard made by gluing several layers of Himalayan paper. Some very rare sets have been made on very thin sheets of Himalayan mica carefully painted and then trimmed and glued on the edges. Other sets have been made from carved woodblocks and then printed either on paper or cloth. The large sets of tsakli were often carried between wooden covers specially carved to size.
So far, there is no evidence of tsakli use in ancient
Lobsang Lhalungpa notes the spellings tsak-li and
tsa-ka'-li, and adds; "Tsakali are primarily used for single or serial
empowerments. Besides figures of deities, tsakalis also depict every set of
symbols and offerings, including ritual objects. Sometimes a tsakali of a
chosen deity is placed in a traveller's shrine (ga'u)." Tsakali does not
appear to be a Tibetan word but may be derived from a Sanskrit
word or compound.
