An unconventional funeral ritual among China’s Bouyei ethnic minority is the custom of Tou Zhu, or “Stealing the Pig”.
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The traditional ritual blends humour and physical comedy into a time of profound sorrow, turning grief into playful farce.
The Bouyei people, whose population is about 3.5 million, are the 10th largest of China’s 56 officially recognised ethnic groups.
They mostly live in the provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan in southern China and are renowned for their intricate batik and embroidery craftsmanship.
They carry out a unique funeral custom known as Tou Zhu, or “Stealing the Pig”, which is part of the broader “Opening the Way” ceremony, hosted by a ritual master called the Mogong.
The Mogong chants the “Book of Opening the Way” through the night until dawn. The chant recounts the life of the dead person and serves as a spiritual guide to help them turn to the afterlife.
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When the chanting ends, nine strikes are made on a bronze drum and a symbolic paper house for the dead person, called lingfan, is pierced with a hole.
