7 Unique Mortality Rites Around the World
The news of the death of a loved one affects every person differently. After that news, takes on unique forms around the world as cultures celebrate life and honor the death of individuals often singular to their culture. Let's look at seven different burial rituals (death rites) practiced around the world.
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| image credit-pixaby.com |
1--An array of Filipino traditions
We were promised seven unique burial rituals, but when it comes to the Philippines, there were just too many to choose from. The Tinghuan people dress the dead in the most luxurious clothes and place the body on a chair, often holding a lit cigarette in their lips, while the Benguet people put their dead in the blinds before placing them in chairs at the entrance of the house. Cebuano people dress children attending funerals in red to reduce the chance that they will see ghosts. In the Sagda area there are coffins hanging from the rocks, bringing the souls of the dead closer to heaven, while in Cavite people often entomb the deceased vertically in a hollow tree chosen by the person before death. The diversity of regions in the Philippines has given rise to the diversity of Filipino burial rituals that are second to none.
2-Ashes to Death Beads
While cremation is involved in countless burial traditions around the world, South Koreans have taken it a step further by turning the deceased's ashes into beads. These beads have a slight sparkle and come in a range of colors from pink or black to turquoise. Open inside glass vases or even in dishes, beads can take center stage indoors, a more decorative option than a traditional urn. In a country where space abounds and cremations are becoming the only real option for burying the dead, getting something beautiful out of the process brings a new tradition of embracing loved ones and a legacy to treasure.
3-Tower of Silence
A Zoroastrian tradition requires vultures to keep their ancient burial ritual alive. In that tradition, a dead body is believed to impure anything it touches – including ground and fire – and raising a corpse to the sky for vultures to eat was historically the only option. Bull urine is used before tools to clean the body, which are then destroyed, are used to cut clothing. The zombies are then placed on top of the Tower of Silence, out of the way of survivors who may be tainted by it.
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| image credit-pixaby.com |
4- Parade
Celebrating the life of the deceased can take many forms. A tradition from Varanasi, India, involves parading the dead through the streets, bodies dressed in colors that evoke the attributes of the deceased (for example red for purity or yellow for wisdom). In an effort to encourage souls to reach salvation, ending the cycle of rebirth, dead bodies are sprinkled with water from the Ganges River and then cremated at the city's main cremation ground.
5- Water Tomb
Many cultures, especially the Nordic countries, have embraced water in their rituals of choice for the dead, from laying coffins on top of rocks facing toward the water to actually use the water as a burial ground. . Some set bodies are flown into "death ships", shipped either along the river or in the sea, giving the bodies back to the places most valued by the gods or people of the region.
6-Famadihan
"Dancing with the Dead" best describes Famadihana's burial tradition in Madagascar. The Malagasy people open the graves of their dead every few years and wrap them in fresh burial clothes. Every time the dead get a fresh wrap, they also get a fresh dance near the tomb, while music plays all around. This ritual - translated as "turning of the bones" - is meant to accelerate decomposition and push the souls of the dead to the afterlife.
7-Sky Burial
Sky burial is common among Buddhists in Tibet who believe in the value of sending the souls of their loved ones to heaven. In this ritual, the body is left outside, often cut into pieces, for birds or other animals to eat. It serves the dual purpose of destroying the now-empty vessel of the body and letting go of the soul, as well as embracing the cycle of life and providing sustenance to animals.
