Book Review: Tales of Uncle Tompa: The Legendary Rascal of Tibet - compiled and translated by Rinjing Dorje
(Stanton Hill Arts 1997)
Here is a selection of tales involving this rather odd
trickster character. He uses trickery to get vengeance, make money, and get
sex. Some of the tales are hilarious. Others are oddly silly. Uncle Tompa does
not usually represent the typical Buddhist ideals of Tibet , but perhaps a more
fundamental human folk hero ideal. Sometimes he is on the side of justice but
at other times he is on the side of his own selfish nature. Sometimes he wins
and sometimes he loses but he is always the prankster!
Apparantly, Uncle Tompa’s exploits were/are often the
subjects of Tibetan bards and storytellers. These stories are part of an oral tradition.
Amidst long cold winters and isolation, many villages were visited by these
travelling bards, called Lama Mani. Some think Agu Tompa (Uncle Tompa) was an
actual character who lived in Central and Southern Tibet
in the 13th century while others see him as purely legend. Some even
consider him as an incarnation of Chenrezik, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. Even
though he seems a simpleton his cleverness often saves the day. Many of these
tales can be interpreted as simple comic relief. Sexual themes and politically
incorrect behavior are common in the stories.
Uncle Tompa proves the bane of the miserly, the rich, and
the gullible. Some of his stories resemble those of the “mad” yogi, Drukpa
Kunleg, who travelled around Bhutan
and parts of Tibet
in the 1500’s, though Drukpa Kunleg was a deeply practiced Buddhist yogi whose
stories offer profound teachings. But he also indulged in sex, drink, and much unconventional and ribald behavior. Uncle Tompa, on the other hand, wiled his way
into food, drink, sex, and leisure. He is a hero to the common man.
Some of his trickery revolves around language and double
meanings. In that sense, the stories can be compared to those of the Mulla
Nasruddhin and Native American Coyote.
Uncle Tompa was said to be a former monk, and so was
literate, which gives him a certain advantage in a nomadic culture where
literacy was not common.
In one story he tells a tale to wile momos (dumplings) from
his master. There is a hilarious one about Uncle whose name was “penis” to some
and “vagina” to others.
The tale where he sells penises at the nunnery speaks of
hypocrisy, the just-as-real human urges of monastic people, and more hilarity.
But beware the magic penis, as it will find a hole, and if that’s the only one
you got, well too bad!
Uncle Tompa appears in a stint disguised as a nun in a
nunnery, making nuns pregnant! In another he becomes a transvestite using a
sheep’s lung as a fake, but apparently functional, vagina – so that he acquires
jewelry from a rich man.
Uncle Tompa’s victims often do not fare too well. He is
rather a lecherous and greedy scoundrel using his wile and charlatanry to
satisfy his needs. Quite a con man is he.
The story of the “miracle shit” was hilarious. A king was punishing him by confining him to
the roof without clothes. He took a shit and gradually covered it over with
lime that he found so that it froze. Then he carved mysterious writing into it
and dropped it through the roof hole onto the king’s lap as the king was
meditating. The king was baffled and recalled Uncle Tompa from the roof to
interpret the writing. He noted that it was special lucky shit from heavenly
realms and convinced the king to eat a piece for blessings!
Other accomplishments of Uncle Tompa include making a king
bark like a dog at New Year – apparently an inauspicious act in Tibet
and gaining control of the promiscuity of his promiscuous second wife through
trickery. He manages to talk his way in and out of various predicaments with
his cunning lies.
In a more heroic manner, Uncle Tompa manages to trick a
stingy king into giving a large three-day feast to all his subjects – by making
up a story about a Naga queen living in a well who offers jewels.
Three other stories are also given that do not involve Uncle
Tompa. One is about a village fool and another about rather naïve nomads. The
last story is one about Kyakug, or “Dumbshit,” a rather gullible fellow.
I suspect this small book is just a sampling of the tales of
Uncle Tompa and other Tibetan folk tales. Perhaps other collections will
preserve more of the oral tales as old Tibetan culture gives way to Chinese and
Tibetan-in-exile cultures. Uncle Tompa sure was a peculiar character willing to
do bizarre things to make ends meet or to get laid. One can only imagine what
he would do for Klondike bar!
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