Funeral rites in different countries of the world

There are many civilizations on the planet that have different traditions from ours in life or death.

While the most classic funeral rites are burial (inhumation) and incineration (creamation), there are regions of the world where death has a particular significance. Beyond religions, some communities have very special rites during a death. In this article, we start discovering several amazing populations that are very far from our traditions.

Inuit in the Arctic region

While they live in a frosty and snowy landscape, Inuit cannot treat the bodies in the same way as we do. When a death occurs in a family, they must purify the place because for them the mind never dies. The cold allows to keep the body until the preparation of its burial. Surrounded by seal skin, objects are placed around him because they will be useful to him in the other world.

But Inuit do not only die of old age or disease. Indeed, they often practice one "institutional suicide" . It is a matter of letting one die outside in order to no longer be a weight for the rest of the group. A way to regulate the population and always be useful to the community. The role of women is to work the skins of animals with teeth while that of men is hunting or fishing. When they can no longer perform their tasks, they simply leave on the bank, by sacrifice.

Death in the Amerindians

Each tribe has different rites and beliefs about death, but most believe that the soul always wanders on Earth. It is therefore important to do a good funeral not to attract the evil spirits. Home Navajos death is a rebirth, so it is a happy event unlike what one might think. After a death, the population fasts a few days to devote themselves to meditation.

For Indian boys, a passage rite must take place from childhood. At the age of 6 or 7 they go alone to the forest and have to bring back a captured animal (a fish, a bird, a reptile...). In a trunk, an engraving of the beast is carved. They renew this approach several times over the course of their lives in order to create a totem that they honour the day of death in memory of the achievements made.

The celestial funeral in Tibet

When people die in Tibet, a somewhat special ceremony is performed. Indeed, as the environment is mountainous, it is difficult to organize a traditional funeral. For practical and religious questions, they expose the bodies to the outside so that the vultures can feed on their flesh. For them, this last meal is a way to venerate the circle of life. It is in a monastery that prayers are performed before the act, then the skin is cut into pieces to separate it from the skeleton.

Attention, the content of this video can shock because there are manipulations on bodies

This small report on the celestial funeral was carried out by blogger Marco, an adventurer who travelled the world to discover different cultures and traditions. He attended this event which seems rather cruel and yet is a reality in Tibet. For the inhabitants of this country, it is something quite normal: we must not judge their practices.

The Malagasy ceremonies

There are two important funeral rites in Madagascar. The first is to pass the dead of the world from the living to the dead: the tombs are grandiose and look like small houses because they have a roof and a door. The second one takes place later in the winter period: "famadihana" is used to pass death on the ancestors' side. They take him out of the tomb and cover him with new sheets so that he does not catch cold. For society it is a sign of good health, fertility.

Funeral rituals at the Dogons

The Dogons are a people of Mali who occupy cliffs that are among the most isolated villages in the world . They are mainly blacksmiths and cultivators who live in a traditional way. Dogon architecture is specific: you can only access the villages by steep paths. The family boxes are organized around a courtyard and the members of the couple have an attic each.

The funeral rite takes place in three times: first the body of the deceased is washed and then wrapped in a cotton linceul, then it is arranged in the cliff so that its vagabond soul. For 40 days, we do not touch the objects of the deceased, they are then shared between all members of the family. A few months later, funerals were organized to pay tribute to him. Then a general event is organized in the community (the dama) to commemorate all the deaths of the year.

At the Torajas (ethnic Indonesia)

♪ Torajas are a native ethnic group found in mountainous regions in Indonesia. Until the funeral ceremony took place, the person is considered to be « sick » . The peculiarity of the burial is that it does not run on the firm earth but on the walls of the cliffs. For this, balconies are made and dolls with the effigy of the deceased are arranged around. Each family is found in the same tomb and the looting of the graves is considered a very serious crime.

Do you know any other strange traditions in the world?

Main photo credit: Wikimedia – HoneyGaLe