In Gaopo, the Miao people refer to cave burial as "Ba Ge Du." It is said that "Ba Ge" means cave, and "Du" indicates ghost in the Miao language. Combined, the three characters means "cave ghost" or "ghost in the cave."

Caves, for the Miao people who have been living in mountains, play a significant role in local people's daily life. For example, their ancestors lived in caves, and the young people usually choose to develop a romantic relationship in the caves.

From January 4 to 9 of every lunar year, the Miao people in Gaopo celebrates "Skipping Cave Festival" alongside the Lusheng dance in caves, which is intended to commemorate the lives of their ancestors as well as the traditions of the Miao ethnic group.

With the elapse of time, caves have gradually faded out from people's lives, and earth burial has become the trend, almost taking the place of cave burial. Though coffins are still seen carried into the caves now and then, the old burial custom is disappearing.

Although most of the Miao people in Gaopo do not believe in God or evil, they fear ghosts. They offer sacrifices to the land and their ancestors every day. They believe in the saying "The ghost is the dead people's souls. The ghost of anyone who dies in a normal way will not go out and do mischief to the living people, while the ghost of anyone who dies in a unclean way will become an evil ghost."

As far as the local villagers are concerned, any one who dies suddenly of from an accident is considered "dying in an unclean way", and such people cannot be buried in caves.

Even if the dead person dies normally, his or her family still has to invite a "Ghost Master" to open a road for him or her, which is known as "Kagan" in Miao language. Otherwise, the dead people will not be able to reach the ancestors' place or live together with them. In the Kagan process, the "Ghost Master" usually gives an account of the dead person's life story, and then leads the dead through 32 thorny roads. Only after a complex ceremony can the dead person be buried.

Considering this, it is easy to understand why cave burial means "cave ghosts" in Miao language.

Author: Jessie

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