The Tibetan Gesar epic beyond its bards: An ecosystem of Genres on the roof of the World

Abstract

This paper examines the Tibetan Gesar epic beyond its text and bards. It begins with a synopsis of the epic itself and reviews some of the multilingual literature on the Gesar tradition with attention to translations, storytellers and poetics, and questions of historicity. But heritage regimes shape broader knowledge of traditional practices. Using proverbs and localized micronarratives, this paper recognizes an ecosystem of Gesarrelated genres, suggesting how epic knowledge extends beyond heritage epistemologies.