Sky burial- A religious practice
Known as sky burial, this is the Tibetan practice of jhator, or the giving of alms to birds, in which the body of the deceased is dismantled to allow a faster and more thorough consumption by vultures.
Sky burial is the usual means for disposing of the corpses of commoners. However, it is not considered suitable for:
Few people are allowed to visit and witness sky burials as it is a revered tradition and not for tourist amusement. The processAfter death, the deceased will be left untouched for three days. Monks will chant around the corpse and burn juniper incense.
Before the day of sky burial, the corpse will be cleaned and wrapped in white cloth to symbolise it's purity and rebirth. The corpse will be positioned in a fetal position, the same position in which the person had been born. The ritual of sky burial usually begins before dawn. Lamas (monks) lead a ritual procession to the scared grounds atop the mountain, chanting to guide the soul to the new realm. The body is then chopped into pieces by either monks or more commonly, by rogyapas (body-breakers). The pieces are left on the mountain where either vultures feast on the remains or take them off somewhere else. Once the vultures have finished feasting, the lamas will grind the remaining bones into a pulp, mixed with barley flour, tea, and yak butter, and given to the crows and hawks. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the corpse is nothing but a discarded shell; a vessel that once housed the soul. While the body may lie still upon the mountain, the spirit of the deceased has already moved on towards reincarnation. Thus the act of dismembering the body is not viewed as grotesque because they hold little attachment and importance to the body. To this day, the vulture is revered as a sacred creature in Tibet; a "holy eagle" or even a dakini, a feminine sky spirit. It is believed the Dakinis will take the soul into the heavens, which is understood to be a windy place where souls await reincarnation into their next lives. |