Ghost-Beating Dance — Tiaobuzha

"Tiaobuzha", a ritual dance for driving away ghosts, is a custom of Tibetan Buddhism or Lamaism, and is originally a religious dance.

The Tiaobuzha Festival falls around the fifteenth day of the sixth lunar month every year. The festival originated in Tibet and has always been one of the major Buddhist ceremonies celebrated by Mount Wutai’s Gelugpa sect.

Lamas on the mountain begin chanting the sutra and act out the "Jingang" or "Tiaobuzha" dance to protect the Buddhist doctrines by cracking down on ghosts near the Bodhisattva Summit a day before the activity.

When it comes to the day of the official festival, more than a hundred respectable master lamas step out of Mount Wutai’s biggest Lamaist temple, the Pusading Temple (also called the Great Wenshu Temple), to wander about the streets and lanes as a statue of Maitreya Bodhisattva carried on a rack leading the way. Meanwhile, a chief lama, often the most respected one, takes a sedan, and another two lamas are seated on horseback. The rest play Buddhist music while heading for the ceremonial place, Luomuhou Temple, where they will do a dance while in a trance.

On the following day, they kill ghosts on the Bodhisattva Peak by using rituals where the leading lamas, dressed in majestic apparel, and other monks in masks march and dance.

The festival is held to ward off evil and promote auspiciousness and peace.

A collection of moments recording the Tiaobuzha Festival, observed around the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. [Photo/absolutechinatours.com]

Pusading Temple, also known as the Great Wenshu Temple, is positioned on the Vulture Peak to the north of Xiantong Temple and is the largest Lamaist temple at Mount Wutai.

A lama is performing the "ghost beating" dance which is often called "Tiaobuzha" while wearing an elaborate costume. The dance is usually done to exorcise ghosts based on the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism or Lamaism. [Photo/sxwts.gov.cn]

A lama is performing the "ghost beating" dance which is often called "Tiaobuzha" while wearing a mask. The dance is usually done to exorcise ghosts based on the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism or Lamaism. [Photo/ecns.cn]

Lamas performing the "ghost beating" dance together in a circle. The dance is usually done to exorcise ghosts based on the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism or Lamaism. [Photo/ecns.cn]