Barachum is a representative of the Korean Buddhist ritual dance

Korean dance

Dance in Korea began with shamanistic early rituals five thousand years ago and now ranges from folk dance to newly created and adapted contemporary dance.-Overview:Korean traditional dance originated in ancient shamanistic rituals thousands of years ago...

, (jakbeop), and is performed by Buddhist monks with bara (hangul

Hangul

Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...

:바라). The term bara describes a cymbal

Cymbal

Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...

-like Korean instrument made with brass

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...

. The dance is composed of splendid and complicated movements among the jakbeop. Performers playing bara repeatedly step back and forth or revolve in agile action. The purpose of barachum is to expel evil spirits and to purify the mind.

Types

Barachum consists of the six different types below:

• Cheonsu barachum (천수바라춤 千手---)
• Myeong barachum (명바라춤)
• Sadarani barachum (사다라니바라춤)
• Gwanyokge barachum (관욕게바라춤)
• Meok barachum (먹바라춤)
• Naerim barachum (내림바라춤)

External links

General information about Jakbeop and Barachum at 예술로, Ministry of Culture & Tourism of South Korea What is Barachum at Korea Buddhist Samgyeijong