Curious funerary customs of the world
The Macabre Catacombs of Sicily
The dead: preserved and standing. Capuchins’ Catacombs in Palermo, Silicy date back to the year 1599 when local priests mummified the body of Silvestro of Gubbio, a holy monk. Throughout the ages, hundreds of corpses were similarly embalmed and displayed including young children and an army officer from the mid 1800s who still wears his uniform today.
The Whimsical Coffins of Ghana
The people of Ghana have appreciated the art of coffin-making for over 50 years now. The rich tradition has resulted in people being carried to the hereafter in caskets modeled after foods, vehicles, animals, or even mobile phones.
“If you want it, we can do it,” says Samuel Odai Afotey, 23, the sawdust-covered lead carpenter at Paa Willie’s Coffin House. “I like a challenge.”
From The Seattle Times
To increase your understanding of the curious art of Ghanian coffins, visit the The Daily Undertaker blog.
The Wendish skating Funeral Procession
Sorbs also known as Wends, are a Slavis people settled in Lusatia, which is in the territories of Germany and Poland.
The Gravestones of the Sufis
Sufi Dervishes are Muslim mystics who often where a headdress such as a turban or a tall hat. When their gravestones were carved, often the hat their wore in life was depicted at the pinnacle of the monument to symbolize the spiritual attainment they achieved in life.
When a Muslim dies, it is preferred that he or she be buried where they died, and that their body not be moved a long distance. They are washed in a manner similar to Muslim ablutions for prayer and are wrapped in a white shroud. If the person performed the hajj during life, they will be wrapped in the robe they wore while in Mecca. They are buried on their right side facing Mecca. The outcome of this ritual is that today, the remains of millions of deceased Muslims are arrayed in a symmetrical circle, with Mecca at the center.
The Chinese Pauper’s Burial
In traditional Chinese funerary custom, rituals must be followed closely to bring good fortune on the relatives of the diseased. The funeral procession for this pauper, however, was short indeed.
When the prayer ceremonies are over, the wailing of the mourners reaches a crescendo and the coffin is nailed shut (this process represents the separation of the dead from the living). Then yellow and white “holy” paper is pasted on the coffin to protect the body from malignant spirits. During the sealing of the coffin all present must turn away since watching a coffin being sealed is considered very unlucky. The coffin is then carried away from the house using a piece of wood tied over the coffin, with the head of the deceased facing forward. It is believed that blessings from the deceased are bestowed upon the pallbearer, so there are usually many volunteers.
The coffin is not carried directly to the cemetery but is first placed on the side of the road outside the house where more prayers are offered and paper is scattered. The coffin is then placed into a hearse that moves very slowly for one mile (more rarely, it is carried for a mile), with the eldest son and family members following behind with their heads touching the hearse. If there are many relatives, a white piece of cloth is used to link the hearse to family members behind. The order of the funeral procession follows the status of the family members. A white piece of cloth is tied to vehicles accompanying the hearse, or a white piece of paper can be pasted on their windshields. The eldest son usually sits next to the coffin. A long, lit joss stick is held throughout the journey, symbolizing the soul of the deceased; it is relit immediately if it goes out. Occasionally, paper models of such objects as cars, statues, ships, etc., are carried during the procession to symbolize the wealth of the deceased’s family. If the procession must cross a body of water, the deceased must be informed of this since it is believed that an uninformed soul will not be able to cross water.
Source- very interesting article
Below: a model of a more extravagant procession:
The Cannibalism of the Wari’ People of the Amazon
There are two types of cannibalism, both of which were practiced by the Wari’. Endocannibalistic rituals involved the eating of one’s tribesmen, and the Wari’ ritual involved a three day event in which members of the tribe would hug and stack themselves on top of the deceased body, wailing and lamenting their loss. At the end of the three days, the body was cooked over hot coals, sometimes with family members still laying on top of the body as it roasted. The tribe consumed the flesh in one sitting, oftentimes finding the need to purge in order to continue eating.
Exocannibalism was practiced by the Wari’ as well. Warriors who slayed their enemies would bring the body home with them whenever possible to be eaten by the women and children, who, it was hoped, would absorb the enemy’s vital energies.
Source: Conklin, B. (2001). Consuming Grief Compassionate Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society. Austin, Tx.: University of Texas Press.
Incorruptibles
Orthodox and Catholic Christian traditions speak of the Incorruptibility of the saints. Bodies of saints are believed to remain intact after death and show unusually light signs of decomposition. Such bodies are sometimes said to be surrounded by The Odour of Sanctity. Whatever the cause, such bodies often rest on display: the objects of pilgrimages and petitions.
The body of Padre Pio who died forty years ago and was declared a saint in 2002 is now on display in San Giovanni Rotondo. While not totally incorrupt, his body was still remarkably well-preserved. No sign of his famous stigmata was present.
There are more than 250 incorrupt bodies of Catholic saints whose bodies did not decompose in the normal way.
Words and photo from the blog of Jill Fallon
Tibetan Sky Burial
Compassion for all living beings is a central focus of Tibetan Buddhism. As an act of generosity, bodies were brought to one of several special sites in Tibet and placed on a flat stone. Limbs were cut off, and the body hacked into pieces by a monk or rogyapa (“body-breaker”). As the monk performed this grim task, he would hand the pieces to assistants, who, using large stones, would beat the flesh into a pulp before offering it to the waiting vultures.
Below: A sky burial site in the Yerpa Valley. To increase understanding, read this
Update:
Famadihana: The turning of the bones
My sister emailed me a new curiosity:
I read about these guys in a sociology textbook:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famadihana
They dig up their dead people every 6-7 years, unwrap them, dance around with the half-decomposed body, rewrap them and rebury them. It is apparently really traumatizing for the family members
Famadihana is a funerary tradition of the Malagasy people in Madagascar. Known as the turning of the bones, people bring forth the bodies of their ancestors from the family crypts and rewrap them in fresh cloth, then dance with the corpses around the tomb to live music.
The Famadihana custom appears to be a custom of somewhat recent origin, perhaps only since the seventeenth century in its present form, although it may be an adaptation of premodern double funeral customs from Southeast Asia. The custom is based upon a belief that the spirits of the dead finally join the world of the ancestors after the body’s complete decomposition and appropriate ceremonies, which may take many years. In Madagascar this became a regular ritual usually once every seven years, and the custom brings together extended families in celebrations of kinship.
The practice of Famadihana is on the decline due to the expense of silk shrouds and opposition from some Christian organizations. Source
For more curiosities relating to funerary practices:
This is a very interesting blog about funerals and the people who have them
If you know of something interesting that I haven’t learned about yet please tell me so I can learn.