How people are buried in a mustang. Sky burial in Tibet: how is the funeral

All people come into this world the same way and leave it the same way. Each of us at least once thought about what will be there - beyond life and death. Will we feel, will we continue to exist, will we meet our loved ones? We also believe: in rebirth, in heaven and hell, in castes, rewards and punishments. Worthy to see the dead on their last journey, observing the rites and traditions of their faith, is the duty of loved ones. In each country, funeral ceremonies are unique and inimitable: somewhere beautiful and magnificent, somewhere shocking and incomprehensible. About what they are interesting in Asian countries, eyewitnesses who managed to visit them tell.

NEPAL

Nepal is the last Hindu kingdom, a mysterious country surrounded by the highest mountains in the world. Despite the fact that today an increasing number of tourists visit Nepal, it still remains one of the most mysterious and original places on Earth. Here, traditions are sacredly honored and observed, especially those related to funerals.

When you come to the Pashupatinath temple complex, it seems that time has stopped here about 400-500 years ago: amazing, almost ringing silence, medieval temples and small fires along the banks of the sacred river Bagmati. Being here for the first time, I boldly moved towards the smoking fires, not suspecting what they were. Imagine my surprise when I saw that this is a real cremation, which takes place in front of the visitors of the temple, as a matter of course. The guide, who noticed my absence, hurriedly caught up with me and explained that it was a great honor for any Nepalese Hindu to be cremated on the banks of the Bagmati. “The dust that is thrown into the river is eventually carried away by the current to the Ganges, and there it reaches the feet of the god Shiva, which means that the deceased has a chance to avoid further rebirths, or at least reduce their number.”

It must be said that Bagmati is a very small, almost dry river, and I doubt that it really flows into the Ganges, and does not break off around the bend. However, the Nepalese know better: they spend up to 400 kilograms of firewood on the cremation of one body, which costs them a round sum. And since the standard of living here is quite low, few people can afford such a luxury for their loved ones, even if people save up for a funeral for years. How do they get out of the situation? “They buy as much firewood as they can,” the guide says calmly, and this means only one thing - the body is not burned completely. Despite this, it is still thrown into the waters of the river, because the ritual has been carried out at least for some part.

First, the deceased is undressed and his clothes and personal belongings are lowered into the river, some of which are caught and kept by the inhabitants of nearby villages - this does not bother anyone. Just as the polluted river does not bother the women who wash clothes there. The guide explains that the waters of the sacred river cannot be dirty, even if it seems that way. It is considered good luck to wash your hands and wash your face in it, which I do so as not to offend my Nepalese comrades. An amazing thing: it doesn’t seem dirty to me either - I wash my hands and understand that everything that happens here is not at all strange, and even less scary. If such a picture appeared before me in some other place, then I would not have been able to recover from the shock for a long time, and in Nepal this is something taken for granted. This is one of the few places on Earth where you come to terms with the very fact of death, starting to understand that this is a natural process: the logical conclusion The people in white clothes who participate in the cremation are calm, and some are even cheerful. The Nepalese are sure that in such cases it is necessary to say “good luck” and not to mourn in the voice of the dead, because each death of the physical body brings the soul closer to the longed-for immortality. Then she will be born again and, perhaps, in much better conditions and in a healthier body, unless, of course, she completed all the tasks assigned to her in her previous life.

We go to the exit, and I continue, as if spellbound, to look towards the fires. The guide says that some of the Nepalese are buried in the ground, having no money to buy at least some amount of firewood, although this is not very good for the soul. All hope for the next, much better rebirth, where they will certainly be able to bury according to all the rules of the religion to which the person will belong.

Svetlana Kuzina

VIETNAM

Before, I did not even imagine that I would be watching the process of burial with interest, and even filming it. Although at first it did not look like a funeral at all.

Walking through the town of Sapa, which is located in the mountains of North Vietnam, I suddenly saw a noisy procession with drums, pipes, flags and banners, which consisted of cheerful people. I noticed that on the cloths there was a pile of photocopies of American dollars, and I tried to guess what kind of holiday the locals celebrate. However, when a bus appeared around the corner, which reminded me of a hearse from which someone was throwing the same photocopies of American money, I realized that I was in front of a funeral procession.

At the gates of the cemetery the bus stopped, people took out the coffin and carried it uphill in their arms. Soon a cloud appeared, which plunged the cemetery into a thick fog and hid it from me. I did not immediately decide to go up to continue shooting, but curiosity got the better of me - I headed towards the churchyard. On the faces of people who seemed cheerful a few minutes ago, grief appeared, and now this funeral was no different from what we are used to.

A place in a Vietnamese cemetery costs about a thousand dollars, but this considerable amount, by local standards, is always found. Families are large here, and it is not difficult to collect money from relatives.

The burial was delayed: relatives and friends said goodbye to the deceased for more than an hour. After the burial, the relatives sprinkled the grave with liquid from a bottle and scattered rice grains around. All this time I was walking nearby, watching with surprise how cows graze a couple of tens of meters from us, slowly eating grass and flowers on the graves.

After the burial and the necessary ceremonies, the last to leave the cemetery, apparently, were the closest relatives - people with white bandages on their heads. I left with them and at parting I tried to express sympathy, putting my hand to my heart. They answered me with a nod of their head.

Ilya Stepanov

BALI (Indonesia)

I was walking along the crowded Kuta beach when I saw a bonfire in the distance and bright decorations in the best Balinese traditions. Setting up my camera on the go, I went there in the hope of taking spectacular pictures of the local celebration. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that the scene that interested me was the funeral. One of the participants in the procession, smiling, explained that eight people had died in their village - they were being buried. I looked around: bonfires were burning in bamboo rectangular structures, and the smell of roasting was distinctly felt in the air. People around perceived this process as absolutely natural, there was not a drop of sadness in their eyes.

Funerals in Bali are always a celebration. Relatives consider cremation to be the best gift for the deceased, because thanks to it, the soul can quickly get rid of the body. Some begin to save money for their last bonfire since childhood, because death and burial are considered one of the main events here, which should not be feared. The Balinese believe in rebirth and that the soul will soon begin a new life.

Cremation on the island is not a cheap procedure, so in some cases the body has to be buried and wait until the required amount of money is collected. In addition, the Balinese use the lunar calendar to calculate the most favorable time for the ceremony. If you have to wait a long time, the body is also buried before the cherished date. The Balinese do not see anything wrong with digging up the dead later and cremating them according to all the rules and with due honors.

I moved to a respectful distance and continued to observe the process. There is a certain wisdom in this approach to death. Since childhood, we have heard that mourning is hard and bitter, you can’t smile at a funeral, you should mourn for the deceased. The Balinese have the opposite: to cry here means to bring suffering to the deceased. Why be sad if a new life will soon begin for him?

Children ran around the fires, adults talked to each other, smiled and laid out treats in special tents that were placed nearby on the grass. A hundred meters from us, surfers were jumping on the waves, children were collecting shells, tourists were sunbathing on the sand, merchants were offering their goods, completely ignoring the strange procession and burning fires.

Elena Kalina

JAPAN

Most funerals in Japan follow the rites of Buddhism, which is the main religion in the country. On the day of death and the next, a commemoration is held - cariting and hontsuya, and the burial itself takes place only after two days. It is believed that there are favorable and unfavorable days for the funeral, so the dates are coordinated with the priest and the Buddhist calendar. In the process of preparing the body for cremation, relatives wash and dry it, and then dress it in a white kimono called kyokatabira. Kimono floors are necessarily wrapped from right to left, in contrast to the everyday version from left to right. A white headdress is put on the head of the deceased, and straw sandals are put on the feet. After death, the priest gives the deceased a new name "kaimyo" in order not to disturb the soul when the real name of the deceased is mentioned. Before the funeral, the body is placed in a coffin, sometimes favorite things of the deceased or sweets are put there, and relatives and family lay flowers.

Tsuya is obligatory - night wakefulness at the coffin, and the next day the body is cremated, which usually takes one to two hours. At the end of the procedure, the family and relatives collect the remaining bones with chopsticks and place them in one or more urns. The burial of the ashes usually takes place in a family grave, and the name is engraved on the monument or it is written on a sotobe - a separate wooden tablet, which is installed nearby.

After the burial, commemoration ceremonies are held, when the whole family comes together to honor the memory of the deceased and attend a service in the temple. In the house during this period, a small Buddhist altar "butsudan" with the names and photographs of the dead is usually installed, on which treats are placed, and incense is lit.

In Japan, it is believed that the souls of the dead return to their homes, which happens once a year - on the autumn festival of o-bon. During these days, traditional food is prepared and paper lanterns are lit.

Tasha Voight

CHINA

In the village of Zhangjia Xyacun, we arrived in the morning darkness and coolness, hoping to meet a familiar tea grower. Despite the early hour, there was no one in the house, and the whole edge of the village was unusually empty and quiet. In search of our host, we went to a small but very revered Taoist temple, which has always been the main center of this place. Around the temple it was lively, it seems that the whole village gathered here.

There we learned that one of the oldest residents had died a few days ago, and the funeral was scheduled for today. My companion knew the old man, and we went to the house of the deceased. Along the street towards the cemetery were tables with tea accessories, decorated with blue and white paper flowers.

At the gates of the house of the deceased, the smell of firecrackers hovered, their remnants smoked on the ground, but not red, as for happy celebrations, but blue; firecrackers notify all neighbors of the imminent funeral: in the village this is considered an invitation, since the closest relatives of the deceased should not enter neighboring houses until the very funeral. The door was removed from its hinges, because the deceased spent the last hours of his life on it: it is believed that if you die in an ordinary bed, then it will not be possible for living family members to sleep on it, so in rich families such a bed is burned, and in the poor they arrange a special bed for the dying using a door and special bedding.

The dying and the deceased should not be dressed in animal fabrics or leather, because after death the soul can move into a werewolf animal. Best of all black and white clothes made of cotton, in rich families - silk. Relatives wash the body of the deceased, shave his head and mustache, dress him in afterlife clothes, cover the face of the deceased with a piece of silk cloth, and put copper coins, a comb and a mirror in the coffin.

During preparations, one should not lament and shed tears. It is believed that if a tear falls into the coffin, then the deceased will not appear to his loved ones in prophetic dreams and will not be able to give advice or warning. The position of the coffin in the house is determined by the Taoist geomancer, calculating the best orientation, according to the rules of feng shui. The Taoist also determines an auspicious date for the funeral: sometimes a lucky day falls a week later or even more, and in ancient times they could bury the deceased in a few months or even years. Now they are trying to find a better day in the next two weeks. In the villages, they still bury in a dug grave, and in the cities they are cremated.

My companion was from the same village and knew the deceased old man and his family. While the relatives read the words laid down by the ritual at the coffin and hung white stripes with parting hieroglyphs in the house and yard, we returned to the temple. My escort took out several large bills from his purse and gave them to the Taoist, who folded the money in a special way, sealed it with a strip of blue paper, and wrote on it the exact amount of the mournful offering to the family of the deceased. Other villagers also prepared monetary offerings, depending on their wealth and respect for the deceased and his family. “Paper money” lay in heaps in the temple - sheets of rice paper with the image of the Heavenly Emperor on one side and a large denomination on the other. The attributes of a funeral procession were being prepared nearby: a paper dragon, a chariot, pennants with the name of the deceased, a censer in the form of a gazebo from the Land of the Immortals.

We returned to the house of the deceased, where the procession was already being prepared. The coffin was covered with a lid, and the eldest daughter-in-law swept away the “happy dust” from the coffin with a ritual broom - it is wrapped in special paper and placed on the family altar. The relatives walked around the coffin three times and then carried it to the exit. At this time, the mourners at the gate started a ritual recitative, from time to time interrupted by single gong strikes. The procession moved along the street to the hill behind the village, the procession was brought up by fellow villagers, scattering paper money along the way. The heads of the funeral participants were covered with cuts of white cloth. At each house, the procession made a short stop, the neighbors brought tea to the family members of the deceased. Passing along the river, people threw white flowers and paper money into the water. A grave had already been dug on the cemetery hill, where the Taoist geomancer, following the directions of the compass and his calculations, showed the exact direction of the coffin in the ditch. Then lanterns and ritual objects were lowered there, which should accompany the deceased in the afterlife. A pot of ritual food was broken at the grave: the more fragments the ceramics scatter, the better omen it is considered. Later, a memorial meal began in the house of the deceased.

Family members, observing mourning, should not visit a hairdresser for at least a hundred days, married sons during this period do not share a bed with their wives, it is not customary to participate in banquets, accept invitations to solemn events, wear colored clothes. Mourning colors are white and blue.

Irina Chudnova

Heading to Tibet, I understood that I would not be the first person to conquer the sacred Mount Kailash. I did not hope to become the discoverer of the mythical Shambhala, sung in ancient Tibetan texts. My main goal was to see the beautiful landscapes and the Buddhist academy Larung Gar, picturesquely spread out with red houses in the middle of the mountains. But I did not at all imagine that the path I had traveled would allow me to see traditions and rituals that were not etched out by the Cultural Revolution, something that did not fit into the framework of Western consciousness in any way - Tibetan funerals, which are a ritual accessible to tourists.

The "heavenly funeral" (天葬) ceremony, the most common burial method in Tibet and the Tibetan Autonomous Regions of Sichuan and Qinghai, is one of those things that tears the minds of unsophisticated foreigners to shreds. This is because during the ceremony the bodies of the dead are fed to the birds. Tibetans believe that after death the body is an empty vessel that will either be corrupted by nature or serve a good purpose and be given to the birds as food. Therefore, the "heavenly funeral" is a kind of act of generosity, since the deceased and his living relatives support the life of living beings. Generosity in Lamaism is one of the most important virtues.

First of all, the ceremony is held in the open and anyone, whether it be a close relative or a stranger looking for new sensations, can attend it. The ritual is performed every day, around noon, but often the beginning of the ritual is delayed, and by the time it all starts, there are already quite a lot of “spectators”, both among people and among birds, waiting in the wings. No more than 20 bodies are allowed to be buried on one day, and when we were present at the ceremony, 11 bodies were announced to be buried.

After death, all these bodies remained untouched in the corner of the house where the dead had previously lived for three days, while the lama read over the dead texts from the Tibetan Book of the Dead. This is how the deceased is shown the path in this segment between the death of the physical body and the next rebirth, because the cessation of breathing is only the first stage of death. And death itself is not an end, but a transformation. After a three-day period, and only after there was confidence that the process of separating the spirit from the body was finally completed, the dead were transferred to the place of burial.

Before us appears a funeral scene unique for the whole world: death in Tibet, in the highlands of which life is barely glimmering - this is the crown of existence and the axis of the picture of the world. It is hard to imagine that anywhere else in the world a terrifying funeral scene would be available to anyone other than close relatives, but not in Tibet, where it turns into a rare and vivid ritual of a barren mountain desert, accessible to everyone. No wonder Tibetan society, Lamaism and death cults attracted mystical researchers from Nazi Germany and special expeditions of the NKVD, who were looking for the underground king of Shambhala.

We are in place. The bodies lie a little further away, behind a thin, translucent screen, right in front of us, but from the side you can see only a monk working with the dexterity of a butcher. The spectators stare wide-eyed as the monk begins his preparations: lighting a juniper tree to attract vultures and making his prayer round around the ceremonial grounds. And only then the monk leans towards the body, lying face down. First cut off the hair. The back is then cut into pieces, allowing tatters of skin to hang down, exposing the flesh. The cadaverous smell mingles with the smell of smoldering juniper. The monk works without a mask. Already at the very beginning of the ritual, Chinese tourists can’t stand it and hurriedly leave the place, holding their nose and mouth…

At first it seemed that nothing was happening, but then we heard sounds: the impact of tools during the dismemberment of bodies. Despite the fact that everything is fenced with cloth, it was at that moment that a chill ran through the body. The more our imagination played out, the closer the birds came down the hill to the scene. At some point, dozens of birds began to circle over their heads, which gave a sharpness of sensation to the already off-scale surrealism of what was happening.

By the time the ritual comes to an end, the birds are everywhere: circling in the air, sitting on the walls, guarding the curtain and waiting for it to rise. And now, on a signal, the fabric is torn off and at the same time the birds lose all the “rules of decency”, instantly filling the entire area where people, living and dead, have just been seen. Spectators watch the birds in a daze, some with disgust, some with fear, and some with indifference, while managing to photograph the ceremony, despite the prohibitions.

Birds do not pay any attention to the living, although there are so many of them that sometimes it seems that they are about to dive on the spectators. In reality, the heads of some of the vultures are already covered in red. Somewhere between the birds rolls a bloody skull. Gradually, the flock thins out, but more and more new birds arrive to profit from the remnants of what was a human body 10 minutes ago. Although the ceremony has already ended, the last spectators are still unable to tear their eyes away from what is happening ...

The topic of death has been worrying the minds of mankind for some time, and this is natural, because in fact all that we have is life and death. In all religions, death is treated differently, some considered that burial in the ground would be the best way to honor the memory of the deceased, others decided that the bodies of the deceased should be cremated, while still others went further and simply began to feed the lifeless bodies of their relatives to vultures. Read about these and other interesting burial methods below.

China. floating coffins

The Bo people, who inhabited the modern provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan, disappeared from the map of China centuries ago, unable to resist the struggle against the Ming dynasty. There is almost nothing left of the brilliant Bo culture, only amazing coffins, as if hovering along the sheer walls. The age of the oldest burial is 2500 years, and the most recent were made 400 years ago. The coffins were made from a single piece of wood and raised onto the rocks, setting them in caves and crevices, or on supports driven into the rock. Scholars offer several explanations for this unusual burial ritual. According to some, this was done so that neither animals nor people could get to them. According to another version, in this way the Bo people tried to provide the dead with an easy transition to another world, since the rocks were considered stairs to heaven.

South Korea. memory beads

Several South Korean firms offer relatives of deceased people an unusual service: the ashes after cremation are treated with very high temperatures, it crystallizes and turns into beads, which are then dyed blue-green, pink, purple or black - at the request of the customer. They are usually kept at home in a beautiful bottle.

I must say that the service, despite all the exoticism, is popular. And everything is to blame for the laws and traditions, between which the Koreans were sandwiched as between Scylla and Charybdis. The fact is that Confucianism, which has been the dominant ideology in Korea for centuries, requires zealous reverence for ancestors and mandatory burial in the ground. At the same time, in the 20th century, in densely populated but small Korea, there was a shortage of space. And the government began to promote cremation as a more “compact” way of burial. The final point in this was a law passed in 2000, according to which the graves received a “validity period” of 60 years, after which relatives must remove it. So now only three out of ten Koreans are buried in the ground according to old customs, while others are destined to turn into ashes, or, if you're lucky, into colored beads.

Tibet. Feeding the remains to the vultures

Tibetans believe in the transmigration of souls, the body for them is just a mortal shell that loses its value after death. Cremation or burial in the ground in Tibet is hardly feasible - there are rocks underfoot and almost no trees. It is not surprising that such an unusual ritual arose here as a "heavenly funeral" - feeding the remains to vultures. The rite, shocking for a Westerner, is performed on special sites by specially trained people - Rogyaps. The gravedigger makes cuts on the body with a sharp knife and leaves it to the birds.

Vultures, according to the Tibetans, perform two tasks: they eat the remains and take the soul to heaven. When only bones are left of the body, the rogyapa crushes them, mixes them with tsampa (barley flour with yak butter) and offers them again to the birds. "Heavenly funerals" are still practiced, although environmentalists and doctors are already expressing their dissatisfaction. After all, vultures are offered food not only from the remains of people who died of old age or as a result of an accident, but also from diseases, including such as AIDS and influenza.

Bali. Cremation fit for kings

Hinduism in Bali is very different from the Indian mainstream. One such Balinese feature is the Ngaben cremation ceremony. If funds permit, the ngaben is held three days after death. Otherwise, the body is buried in the ground. There it can lie for months and even years, until the required amount is collected.

When someone dies, relatives continue to treat the deceased as a living, but sleeping person. On the appointed day, the body is placed in a coffin, and that, in turn, is placed in a stretcher in the form of a temple (vada). Vad is carried to the place of cremation, and the procession takes the longest possible path, winding through the streets. The Balinese believe that it helps to mislead evil spirits. Already at the funeral pyre, the body is transferred from the vada to the sarcophagus in the form of a black bull, which is burned. After 12 days (or as soon as relatives can pay for the ceremony), the ashes are solemnly scattered over the sea or river.

Amazonia. circle of life

The Yanomamo tribe lives in the selva on the border of Venezuela and Brazil. The inaccessibility of the habitat helped them to preserve their rituals and customs, which sometimes seem shocking to representatives of Western civilization. So, yanamomo to this day practice the so-called endocannibalism - eating dead tribesmen. In fact, the funeral feast is the last stage of the funeral rite. First, the body is cremated, then the bones are crushed and put together with the ashes in a pot. Then, usually on the occasion of some holiday, the remains and bananas are used to make pasta, which is eaten by the whole village. The Indians believe that if this ritual is not carried out, the soul will forever be stuck between the world of the living and the world of the dead.

Ghana. When Form Matters

In Ghana, the Ga people can order a coffin of any shape for the deceased, just as we order a birthday cake. Mercedez-Benz - for a successful businessman, a bus - for the one who drove him during his lifetime, a giant fish - for a fisherman, a mother hen - for the most loving and beloved mother in the world. This tradition appeared in the 1950s thanks to a curiosity. The ruler of the country ordered a palanquin (a stretcher in the form of a bed and an armchair) in the shape of an eagle, but on the very day of delivery he suddenly died. Relatives without thinking twice put the body on a spectacular stretcher and buried it in them.

Today, the mortician-artists' studios have become a popular tourist attraction, and their (downsized) pieces are welcomed guests in private collections, museums, and art galleries.

Australia. Sophisticated simplicity

In northern Australia, where the traditional Aboriginal way of life is best preserved, funerals take place in two stages. First, the body of the deceased is laid on a special wooden platform, covered with leaves and branches, and left for several months. The remaining bones are then stained with red ocher. Their further fate depends on the beliefs of a particular group of aborigines. Somewhere they are buried, somewhere they are placed in a cave, and the natives of the Arnhem Land peninsula solemnly put the bones into a “tube” from a hollow tree trunk, which is installed in a specially designated place. For the manufacture of these original coffins, trees eaten by termites are used, so the craftsmen only have to process and paint the surface with totem signs. Aborigines believe that this ritual helps the soul to overcome the path full of dangers to another world.

The ceremony is considered very honorable in Tibet. Only since 1974, after numerous requests from monks and ordinary Tibetans, did the Chinese government allow the "Heavenly Burial" ceremony to be resumed. It is this method of burial that many Tibetans to this day consider to be the only possible one. An exception is made only for the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. Their bodies after death are embalmed and covered with gold.

The meaning is simple - the body of the deceased is brought to a special site on the outskirts of the city, on a hill where the "gravedigger" rogyapa first makes many incisions on the body and yields the body to the birds - the vultures do the bulk of the work by eating all the flesh. Further, the "gravedigger" collects and crushes the bones on a special flat stone, mixes crumbly with tsampa(barley flour with yak butter) and feeds it all to the birds. The body is destroyed without a trace, in Tibetan Buddhism it is believed that in this way it is easier for the soul to leave the body in order to find a new one. The ritual is called jhator(Wiley: bya gtor) -" heavenly funeral" or " sky burial".

"Heavenly funerals" are practiced throughout the Tibetan area, including some Indian territories, such as Ladakh or the state of Arunachal Pradesh. Rogyapa, (lit. “dead-breakers”, usually live a short distance from cities, and quite prosperous, if not rich, since “heavenly funerals” are far from cheap pleasure (before the poor, who could not afford to pay for the funeral , they simply left their dead on open rocky areas in the mountains so that birds could eat them). The Rogyapas pass on their business from father to son, this is a family business. If only a daughter is born to the "gravedigger", then it is extremely difficult for her to find a groom it is he who, after the death of his father-in-law, must take this unpleasant business into his own hands. The burial is ideal for such an area in the first place. On the Tibetan plateau, there is a very thin layer of soil, under which a solid stone begins, and there is little wood for burning, it is very expensive and generally sacred.

The body is taken to perform the ritual.

For compactness, the body is transported bound.

The heavenly gravediggers are already waiting.

Rogyala prepares the body for burial.

The birds complete the ritual.

Bones are crushed.

From turning bones in Madagascar to sky burials on the Tibetan Plateau... Learn the most unique and bizarre burial rites.

Zoroastrian funeral

A key tenet of Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion, is the maintenance of both physical and spiritual purity. Death is seen as evil and decay is considered to be the work of a demon called Drui-i-Nasush. This demonic act is harmful to the spirit and highly contagious, so during the funeral, every effort is made not to touch the body of the deceased.

After death, a person is washed in bovine urine and then dressed in old clothes. A special dog visits the corpse twice to drive away evil spirits from it. Only then will everyone be able to see it. The corpse is then placed in the dakhma (or "tower of silence"), where the body is freely accessible to the vultures.

Santhara

What would happen if there was a way to hasten death, to hasten its onset, so to speak? For many adherents of Jainism (a kind of religion that believes that self-control and non-violence are the means of spiritual liberation), such a ritual is the norm. This is called santhara or sallehana. This ancient practice is only allowed for people with terminal illnesses or disabilities.

Gradually, a person refuses small pleasures in life. Starts with books and entertainment, then comes sweets, tea and medicine. Finally, the person refuses all food and water. The day of death is a holiday, family members of the deceased dress in colorful outfits and dine in honor of the departed person. Such a joyful day of mourning testifies that life has gone well.

sky burial

There are coffins, there are urns and, of course, the famous mummies of Egypt. But high on the plateau in Central Asia, another type of burial rite is practiced - burial in the sky. Known in Tibetan as bya gtor, or "almsgiving to the birds," the funeral rite involves placing the corpse on top of a mountain, where it will be eaten bit by bit by birds of prey.

Widely practiced by Buddhists in Tibet, Nepal and Mongolia, sky burials are directly linked to the concept of rebirth. In addition, at any stage of life, a person should be useful. Here it is considered the most real charity to give the body back to the earth, sky and other creatures.

famadihana

In some cultures, the dead are raised again, turned over. The Malagasy people of Madagascar practice famadihana which means "turning the bones". People periodically exhume the dead from family crypts and wrap their bodies in fresh shrouds. Music plays as all family members join together to pick up the corpse and dance around the grave. According to the ritual, the soul enters the realm of the ancestors only after complete decomposition and numerous similar ceremonies.

Aboriginal funeral rites

While Australian Indigenous cultures differ across the continent, spiritual beliefs are often grouped under the concept of Dreamtime (creation time). During the funeral, relatives and acquaintances of the deceased paint their bodies with white paint, cut themselves (an act of mourning) and sing songs to promote the rebirth of the deceased.

Funeral rites are clearly designed for the people of Northern Australia. The burial takes place in two stages. First, the body is lifted onto wooden boards and covered with leaves, and in this position it remains for a month, until it begins to rot. The second stage begins after the bones are collected and covered with ocher. Family members sometimes take the bone and carry it with them as a keepsake. In other cases, the remains are thrown into a cave.

Sati

Although this rite is no longer practiced, sati deserves mention because of its association with marriage. In Hinduism, bodies are cremated on a funeral pyre. In some sects of Hinduism, the widow was voluntarily burned at the stake with her already dead husband. The ritual was banned in 1829, but reports of such acts still remain. There was one case in 2008 in the Indian state of Chhattasgarh, when an elderly woman performed a sati ritual.