The Butterfly Dance is usually performed by 2 or 4 people. It looks like a dance by a fairy as the people hold flower (lotus flower) in their hands. The dance movements are comparable to butterflies landing on flowers and fishes swimming through the water. Looking at the dance from a different perspective, one might think of it as a dance with a dragon head. This dance might appear as an animalistic dance depicting a dragon holding Yeoweiju in its mouth and soaring into the sky. When interpreted as such dance, it might have had a function of exorcism. However, the Butterfly Dance is performed to seek mercy, patience and Buddhist spirit. In other words, the Butterfly Dance is performed in order to attain awakening after receiving the teachings of Buddha.
Butterfly Dance and Taju Dance
Butterfly Dance is also called "wear cloth" dance as it includes the meaning of wearing monk's cloth and dancing in the cloth. Analyzing the meaning of the word, it can be interpreted as ‘to wear dance cloth’, which is the monk's cloth. As such, monk's cloth is used along with peaked hat for the dance. There are 2 theories underlying this. One is that the Three Lions Four Story Stone Tower of Hwaum Temple has four lions that represents joy, anger, sadness and pleasure and Yeongijosa in the center that supports the tower represents the remembering of mother’s grace. This concept would mean that the tower serves Buddha. Therefore, the peaked hat in the Butterfly Dance symbolizes the tower. Another theory is that the peaked hat originally represented fish head. What we can draw from here is the former theory is the interpretation according to Buddhism while the latter theory speaks of the myth of sea god as a guardian of shamanism and Buddhism. Dopo (robe, cope, red string and so forth), which is called Yuksugasa, represents Yukparamil with 3 strings in front and 3 strings behind. This cloth has the meaning of going from this world to paradise.
Learned Chundojae from Monk Bong Chang Hyun of Pochun Golden Dragon Temple from 1964 to 1975. Learned traditional Chundojae ceremony from Monk Woonsung of Bupju Temple in Sokri Mountain Boeun Chungbuk from 1977 to 1980. Learned Incheon Suruk Chundojae and Bumpae•Jakbupmu from Monk Han Gu Ha and Monk Song Woon Pyo of Yaksa Temple, the center of Incheon Hwaumjong located in Gansuk-dong Namdong-gu and Monk Park Bub Woon of Hwaumjong Haegwang Temple in Shinheung-dong Jung-gu Incheon from 1980 to 1985. Learned Bumpae•Jakbupmu and Suruk Chundojae from Monk Park Song Ahm, an important intangible cultural assets number 50 Bumpae artist, from 1989 to 1999.