10 Extraordinary Burials

Out of curiosity this past weekend, I decided to look at some burial practices from around the world. I found this page that listed 10 burials from various locations around the world. It's fascinating how other cultures and religion act when it comes to death. It's hard not to let our own cultural ways taint our thinking when we read about these. Specifically what comes to mind is the act of leaving the deceased outside for nature to take care of the body, found in both the Mongolian and Tibetan burials. The idea of having a wild animal finish off the remains of a loved one is hard to fathom in our western culture, until you believe that the body is just a shell for the soul and personality of your loved one. Perhaps it is hard for our culture to distinguish the people we know from their body because our culture is so focused on looks. Every aspect of the Mongolian funerary rituals are as meticulous and as serious as our western ceremonies, every care is taken to ensure that the soul of the person has a smooth and safe journey into the afterlife. In Buddhist tradition, the body doesn't hold the same importance as the soul of a person and so it's not treated in the same manner.

Above is an image of a bone pounder during the Buddhist burial ceremony in Tibet.