1925 - Skeleton Dancers in Tibet

In 1925 explorer Joseph Rock visited Choni monastery in Gansu province, where he based himself for two years while undertaking his unsuccessful attempt to reach the mountains of Amnyi Machen. During that time he witnessed the “devil dancers” of Choni.

The Skeleton Dancers are performing a sacred ritual, intended to reflect the transient nature of things, including states of mind and the body itself. The monks pictured in the photo above seem to be performing the dance known as Durdak Garcham, “Dance of the Lords of the Cemetery.” The dance celebrates the liberation that comes from acceptance of our impermanence.

The skeletons depicted in the dance are Chitipati, a pair of lovers known as the Lord and Lady of the charnel ground whose dance represents the eternal dance of death, as well as the attainment of perfect consciousness.

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