High in the arctic, a drop of glacier melts, freefalls into the oneness of the river that then joins the oneness of the ocean, a collective of the water-beings, everywhere, all at once, unbound, then, in time, rising up on some cosmic whimsy, it evaporates into clouds riding planetary winds to fall as rain in Omaha, Nebraska, down into a reservoir that provides the city’s drinking water, to end up as sweat on a lover’s thigh, and the journey begins all over again. On Earth, there has never been more water or less water, yet it is in constant evolution, forming and reforming, shape shifting in time, no time, all time, part of the everything that is, and so it is and always will be. To me, I believe our spirits are like that and that there is no death, we merely evaporate into other sacred realms, other reckonings, a kind of continuing astral astonishment of willful creation contributing to the ever-expanding universe. And just as I know I am not alone in thinking this I also know there are many others who have their own versions of the universe, so I come at the topic of this post with true reverence and respect for everyone’s spiritual beliefs: Death . . . and its rituals have always fascinated me. From the time as a boy I first witnessed the black-draped adults gather together and cry, freeing the water imprisoned in their bodies, to the fury of my own released grownup grief—so unexpected in its overwhelming, knockout punch suddenness, to the time I mentioned in my last post about the funeral performed by wandering 20th century nomads. The recent Tomb Sweeping Day holiday here rekindled my interest in Chinese and Tibetan death rituals, and while I will approach the subject most gently, those who stick with me to the end of this post are in for a true surprise (no peeking ahead). Having been raised in the northeastern United States where weathered colonial graveyards are everywhere it was odd that in China I only saw graveyards in rural villages. To find out why, I went to my friend Peter, the all around patient, well-informed and cheerful explainer of all things Chinese. It seems as the population of China shifted from a rural villages to Chi-scraper cities, it became law that the newly dead will be cremated and their ashes stored in urns in labeled repositories built for just such a purpose. To learn more, we ventured to one. After a climb upward on crowded buses, we were let out on the last stop of the line, and there it was, modern, solemn, laid out on well-tended grounds that removed any of the suggested chaos a funeral implies with super-organized structure. You could rent a viewing hall in a variety of sizes. The coffin would be laid out on a platform surrounded by plastic flowers. For an additional fee, you could rent military personnel playing musical instruments and have incense and flowers and monks to pray. After the ceremony the deceased is then moved to the crematorium where groups gather to receive the urns. Then the urns are entombed in buildings sort of like a remembrance hall with rows stacked upward like memorial filing cabinets bearing brass plaques with names of the departed. Three days before all this, in apartment block grayspace (kind of like greenspace but without the green) tents are put up and wreaths and cauldrons of food put to fire and people gather to mourn and pray for and remember the recently deceased neighbor with family members and relatives. A few times, in my cultural obliviousness, I have walked by these tents wondering what they were about and also wondering why I wasn’t invited; such unknowing lambs we are sometimes. Pressing for more, I learned about Tibetan Sky Burials. Believing that the recently departed is long gone and that the body is just an empty vessel, corpses are hacked up and fed to vultures at designated spots. Tibetans are encouraged to witness the ceremony and reflect on the impermanence of life. It is believed that the vultures are actually angels or ‘Sky Dancers’ who will take the souls into heaven. Further, this offering of flesh to the vultures is considered a virtuous act because it spares the lives of smaller creatures the vultures may capture and devour for food. Like regular funerals, it begins three days before, but the dead are untouched except for monks who chant around the corpse. Then the body will be cleaned and wrapped in white cloth. The ritual begins before dawn where the deceased is left in a fetal position. After much chanting the body is cut up by practiced design, the internal organs are removed and the bones smashed and mixed with roasted barley flour. Juniper incense is burned to summon the “Sky Dancers.’ To ensure the soul has ascended, the entire body must be eaten. The organs are distributed last. The practice arose where the ground was too rocky to dig up and the scarcity of wood to burn prevented the usual cremation, which was reserved for dignitaries and high llamas. This is still a routine funeral rite in Tibet, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia. The link to the photos here is pretty graphic, so please be warned: it’s not for the faint of heart. Click here for images of a Tibetan Sky Burial. Another Tibetan custom provides for a water burial in high places where there are few vultures available or for poor people without relatives. Yet, in many places in Tibet, it is so common that none of the locals ever eat fish. The body is either dismembered or simply tossed whole into the river. It is seen as not being inferior to a sky burial as both are dedicated to the deities. Burial masters are contracted who reserve special water burial fields and wizards are often employed to select the burial date. Not that I am at all ready to go, but when I do, I prefer a ‘Sky Burial.’ And now, as promised, here is the surprise: a photo essay entitled ‘Tomb Sweeping Day’ in Thailand, using photographs provided by Matthias Delvaux. If you are at all freaked out by skeletons, please do not click on the link. Many thanks to Matti and Peter. Update: recent article on the banning of burials.
1 Comment
Mary
5/6/2014 11:52:08 pm
Wow, a whole lot of history in this post. I had no idea this existed. Sky Burial seems like nature's way but I am not ready for that one although I would like Angels to take me to Heaven!! Thank you also to You, Matti and Peter!!
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