Burial customs from around the world
In the western world, though our funerary practices are evolving, we are most familiar with two methods to dispose of the dead: burial and cremation. In other parts of the world, the treatment of the dead and disposal of remains can vary enormously, with vastly differing rituals and beliefs.
Here, we look at five burial customs from around the world:
Tibet – Sky Burial
The most common method of disposing the dead in Tibet is Sky Burial. This is where the body is left in the open to be consumed by vultures. In Tibetan Buddhist beliefs, this is essential for the separation of the soul from the body. It is seen as a way offering the body back to nature, symbolising the circle of life.
The day before the burial, family members remove the deceased’s clothes and place them in a foetal position. At dawn, the body is brought to a burial site on a mountainside, where smoke is burned to attract vultures, ensuring it is far from any towns to avoid pollution, both literal and spiritual. The body is then dissected into several parts to make the work of the vultures easier. When the vultures have finished with the body, the bones are smashed into pieces and mixed with a Tibetan bread to feed the vultures.
If vultures eat the body, Tibetans believe the deceased led a life without sin and their soul has ascended to heaven.
Sagada, Philippines – hanging coffins
The elderly people of Sagada use hollowed logs to carve out their own coffins. When they die, family members place them inside their coffins whether they fit or not! Bones can be broken in the process of inserting the deceased.
The coffin is then taken to a cave where it is either hung inside or on the face of the cliffs, near the hanging coffins of their ancestors.
Some of the coffins still hanging are over 100 years old and the tradition has been practiced for over 2000 years. In the end, as with human remains, the coffins themselves deteriorate and collapse from where they have been hung. It is believed that the higher the dead were hung, the closer they are to the ancestors. It also fulfils a practical function; the remains are less likely to be consumed by scavengers.
The Tinguian people, Philippines – The smoking dead
Located in the north, the Tinguian people believe in the supreme god, ‘Kadaklan’. They seat their dead on a chair for display for days or even weeks before laying them to rest. They dress them in their most beautiful clothes, decorating them with jewellery and accessories.
They may then place a cigarette between their lips, lighting it from time to time. The belief is that this proves ‘life continues after death’; even death won’t stop them from dressing up and having a cigarette.
Madagascar - ‘Famadihana’, or ‘the turning of the bones’
This sacred ritual of the Malagasy people involves removing the bones of relatives and ancestors from a family crypt, removing their burial garments and re wrapping them in silk shrouds. There is then a party with music, food and dancing, in which revellers dance with the ancestors’ bones. Before the sun sets, the remains are reinterred in the crypt and left untouched for the next five to seven years. The ritual seeks to ensure that the deceased remains part of the community with the living, enjoying the party together.
The Ganges, India – escaping the rebirth cycle
In Hindu culture, the concept of reincarnation is critical to burial ritual. Achieving ‘moksha’ ends the cycle of death and rebirth, preventing the deceased from returning to earth as an insect or an animal.
To avoid this, the dead are cremated and the remains collected to be sprinkled in the Varanasi in the Ganges, the most sacred place on the holiest river.
UK funerary traditions
Western funeral traditions may seem prosaic compared to these examples, but they actually have a very long history, with many interesting customs and traditions you might be unaware of.
