Photo Archive: Tima shaman ceremony

The tima shamans used to occupy a dominant position in Tujia society, and were responsible for making sacrifices to different gods in the Tujia pantheon, as well as exorcising evil spirits. The shamans were banned from practising after 1949, but the more ceremonial aspects have recently been revived as a cultural practice. An audio recording of a tima chant is available from the download page.

Photo copyright (C) Liu Changru