Human Skin Thangkas, Skull Cups, and Skin Drums – The Mysterious Ritual Implements of Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism

The context of this article is set before the liberation of Tibet, focusing on the esoteric deities, rituals, and instruments used prior to the official prohibition of certain practices. These do not reflect the practices of contemporary Tibetan Buddhism. Any similarities are purely coincidental.

Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, often referred to as Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism, is a syncretic religion derived from the fusion of Hinduism, the indigenous Bön tradition, and Mahayana Buddhism. Because of its unique features, some Buddhist communities in Han China have historically regarded it as a form of heterodoxy.

To provide a sense of the ritual intensity, here is a sample list of sacrificial items once used in a specific esoteric ceremony by lamas:

• Cakes made with black flour and human blood

• A mixture of five types of meat, including human flesh

• A child’s skull born of incest, filled with blood and mustard seeds

• The skin of a young boy

• Human blood and brain matter served in a ritual bowl

• Human-oil lamps with wicks made of human hair

• A large dough figure made of human bile, brain, blood, and internal organs

Among the most commonly invoked deities in Tibetan esoteric practice is Mahakala, originally a Hindu demon-god later subdued by Avalokiteshvara and adopted as a fierce protector and war deity. He is often depicted wearing a crown of skulls, a human-skin cloak, a necklace of severed heads, and carrying a skull cup. In pre-liberation thangkas (sacred scroll paintings), these features were vividly illustrated. In modern thangkas, they have largely been replaced with symbolic multicolored ribbons.

(All thangka images referenced in this article are from historic collections, including the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.)

Another frequently summoned pair of deities is Citipati, the Lord and Lady of the Cemetery. In life, they were meditating monks who were beheaded by a thief without ever realizing it. They represent eternal death and enlightened awareness, reminding practitioners of the importance of spiritual cultivation.

Nairatmya, the consort of Hevajra, favors human intestines and skin as offerings.

Palden Lhamo, a demoness turned guardian deity, serves as the protector of the Dalai Lama, Lhasa, and all of Tibet. Her saddle is famously said to be made from the flayed skin of her own son, whom she killed for refusing to submit to the Dharma.

Dakini, or “Sky Dancer,” as painted by Lasha Mutual, is another widely venerated figure. Originally an esoteric practitioner from ancient India, Dakini is believed to carry wandering souls to the heavens. She is often shown holding a skull cup (kapala), considered one of the most powerful ritual objects in Tibetan Vajrayana. The human skull, believed to house one’s entire life energy, was sometimes consumed to symbolically absorb another’s power.

Such scenes of skull bowls filled with brains are common in classical thangkas and also appear in statues.

An actual kapala typically features carvings of Citipati to suppress the deceased’s spirit.

Human skulls were extensively used to make ritual objects, believed to hold great spiritual power. These include:

• Handheld protective skulls

• Amulets for exorcism

• Incense burners

• Sacrificial bowls

• Eating and offering vessels

• Spell-casting tools

One of the rarest and most exquisite examples is a finely carved skull said to have belonged to a high-ranking lama who had committed transgressions. Originating in Tibet and dated to the 1700s, it reached Vienna in 1901.

Skull interiors were often ornamented with gold, silver, engravings, or blood stains. The most solemn and powerful skull artifacts were ritual masks, only used during live sacrificial ceremonies and believed to control the soul of the offering.

Beyond skulls, other body parts were also incorporated into sacred instruments—like human-skin drums, leg-bone trumpets, and bone-carved vajras. These instruments were believed to facilitate communication with spirits and aid in liberation rituals for the dead.

The “Aje Drum”, a type of ritual drum made from the skin of a “pure girl,” was said to produce sound capable of restoring depleted vitality. Such girls were often chosen for their perceived purity and sometimes rendered mute—either by nature or by force—to maintain spiritual “purity.” This practice has long been abolished.

The drum construction required using the top of the skull along a horizontal line above the ears, to be held in the right hand and played from the bottom edge.

Another notable object is the leg-bone trumpet, used in rituals and believed to repel evil when carried by wandering lamas or practitioners.

A 1920 image of a Chöd practitioner shows him wearing a rosary made of finger bones and carrying a thighbone trumpet. These practitioners would perform rituals in cemeteries, symbolically offering their bodies to spirits as a way to transcend worldly attachments.

Human bone rosaries were common among advanced practitioners.

Human-skin thangkas—painted scrolls using human skin—also existed. Initially worn during ceremonies, they were later hung for veneration. Several examples can still be found in Tibetan collections within Chinese museums.

The Cham masks used in ritual dances originate from the ancient Bön tradition. Their skull decorations and human bone features became iconic in depictions of wrathful deities. In Vajrayana, the more spirits a deity subjugates, the greater its spiritual power—hence the common motifs of skull crowns, necklaces, and belts.

Some records even indicate full human sacrifices. Photographs taken during the PLA's entry into Tibet show what appear to be human remains used as ritual offerings.

Since the official ban on human bone instruments, these ritual artifacts have become extremely rare and highly valuable among collectors.