Exploring Cultural Identity Through Art: Michael D. Smith Presents Research at The Annual Kathmandu Conference

On Thursday, July 25, 2024, Michael D. Smith, a 2023 graduate of Rangjung Yeshe Institute, researcher, translator, and instructor, presented a research paper at the Annual Kathmandu Conference on Nepal & the Himalaya. This event was hosted by Social Science Baha, the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, the Britain-Nepal Academic Council, the Center for Himalayan Studies – CNRS, and the Nepal Academic Network (Japan). The conference took place at the beautiful Hotel Shanker in Lazimpat, Kathmandu.

Michael’s presentation was part of a panel that explored the role of poetry, song, and dance as manners to express cultural, or even national, self-identity. Drawing from his MA thesis research, Michael presented a paper entitled “Spiritual Songs (mgur) in 17-18th century Dolpa, Nepal: Sub-genres of Song Found in the Writings of Tadru Orgyan Tenzin (1657-1737).” In his presentation Michael discussed the autobiography of this important Buddhist master from Dolpo and the varieties of spiritual song that were integrated in these texts.

Michael’s co-panelists were Professor Anna Stirr from University College, London, who presented on a dance form called Sorati – “Notating Sorati: Subi Shah’s Nepali Dance Notation, Nationalism and the Classical” and Chitra Rawat from the organization Migration Now in India, presenting the paper “At the Crossroads of Ritual and Commercial: Representation of ‘Dotiual’ in Goril Devta Jagar from Uttarakhand.” All three presentations were excellent, well-researched papers that stimulated a one-hour long discussion with the audience.

Although coming from very different fields of expertise, the talks were concerned with questions of cultural identity, which in Nepal display a broad variety of languages, dialects, song forms, etc, whereas politics in India seem to channel national identity into the direction of unity rather than variety.

For more information on Michael Smith’s topic, please find his thesis here. Contact the author at Michael.smith@ryi.org. Details of the conference can be found here.