rituals when someone dies
The act of self-mummification required that the monk remove all fat from their body. [Image via Collections Canada]Totem poles are iconic Native American statues, but there is more meaning behind them in than beautiful decoration. 2. Ghanaian fantasy coffins are not only beautiful works of funeral art, but fully-functioning caskets, made to look like all manner of animals and objects, from lions and chickens, to designer shoes and cars. 2. In the cases of more prestigious deaths, the Haida people would crush the bodies of the dead until they fitted into a small box. Ritual killings have always been performed in African cultures. Evidently, people have better things to do than sit in a church and time can be saved by paying your last respects from the driver’s seat of your car. The bereaved can choose many different shapes and design for their loved one’s fantasy coffin, often reflecting the person’s profession or hobbies. If this is not possib… Because the Chinese believe that the spirits of ancestors will be given these things in the afterlife, Joss paper is also sometimes shaped into desirable goods such as clothes, cars, houses and food. #News & Events Historians remain baffled as to why this ancient tribe felt that this was the best way to honor the dead, but the 160 caskets remaining (some coffins have fallen over the years) nailed high up on the cliffside mark the only reminder left by the Bo people, who were exterminated by the Ming Dynasty around 400 years ago. Before Shraddha, participants take a purifying bath, often in a river or the sea. [Image via Imgur]The last remnant of the Bo people in Luobiao, Xuanguan in Southwest China are the wooden coffins suspended on a cliff. How the Historic Persecution of Witches Led to the Infamous Salem... Woman in White: 5 English Female Ghosts and the Legends Behind them, 5 Terrifying True-Life Cases of Serial Killers who Believed they were Vampires, 5 Infamous Haunted Horror Houses that Will Make Your Blood Run Cold, 6 Mysterious Creatures That Use Human Disguises, Mountain of Mystery: The Legend of the Lost Dutchman. The Hindu festival of Pitru Paksha, also known as Pitri Paksha, is celebrated every year in India. Creating Rituals to Help Process Death . But these mourning rituals are family and community events, nonetheless. They also believe that some rituals need to be performed for the soul to break the bond with the body, and start a new life elsewhere. The festival is seen as a way of celebrating their loved ones and demonstrating the importance of kinship even after death. Research even shows that some rituals facilitate the body’s release of endorphins, which can help reduce anxiety and physical pain. That belief in reincarnation provides the foundation for Hindu funeral traditions. From smoking and offering bodies to vultures to self-mummification, there are some strange ways to dispose of the dead. Next a feast is held, with mourners painted ochre as they partake in food and dance. After this, the bones were displayed in caves or around the family’s neck as a keepsake of the deceased. A funeral procession carrying an elaborate Torajan coffin and the tau-tau on their balconies. Rituals offer you a sense of comfort and normalcy in a world that can feel upside down. Today in China, this has evolved into the practice of burning Joss paper, to help departed ancestors and loved ones navigate the spirit realm of Diyu. The modern fantasy coffin has been pioneered by craftsmen who first came to fame in the 1960s. Ensuring that she would serve her master in the afterlife as faithfully as she had in life. The nails will also grow. When someone dies, their body is left exposed for a day. Native American beliefs are deeply rooted in their cultures and histories, and in the past spirituality would have been an integral part of daily life.As previously mentio… Rituals to be performed on the same day after cremation A. In this ritual, members of the family have a finger amputated when a loved one dies. Here we look at the unique and fascinating funeral rituals from eight countries, which bring comfort to the bereaved as they lay their loved ones to rest. Wooden scaffolds or stages are built in public places like town squares and parks. The Homa Fire Ritual If available, a special funeral priest is called. Photo by Biswarup Ganguly via Wikimedia. When ready, the perspective mummy would enter a stone room, meditate, and slowly reduce then stop all liquid intake, thus dehydrating the body and shrinking all organs. Method according to the Scriptures. Family members perform rituals known as Shraddha, as a way of offering food and water to the spirits. From offering bodies to vultures to self-mummification here are thirteen of the most unusual death rituals practiced around the world. The viewing. Some death rituals are practicalities. Worshippers believe that at the beginning of Pitru Paksha, the spirits of the ancestors leave the afterlife to return to the family home of their descendants. The ritual can involve chanting, reciting the names of ancestors and praying to the Hindu gods. It is believed that doing so will disturb their spirit. Widely regarded by as the ultimate form of womanly devotion and sacrifice, there have been many occurrences in history when women were forced to perform this act. The tau-tau of all departed community members are placed on balconies, where they stand watch protectively over the communal tomb. Hindu worshippers gather on the riverbanks to bathe before Shraddha. In 2006, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs tried to ban ‘vulgar’ Joss paper offerings, such as luxury houses, sports cars, and even paper mistresses. The Bon Odori dance is performed in towns and cities all over Japan during Obon, a three-day Buddhist festival held to honor departed ancestors. First, rituals are symbolic. In Tana Toraja in the mountainous region of South Sulawesi, death is a part of life and almost inseparable from it. Those present should chant mantras or play a recording of mantras being chanted. This is a short video describing why we do rituals when someone dies . The ceremony usually begins with the ritual slaughter of water buffaloes and pigs. These funerals often take place behind bulletproof glass and became popular with gang members after cemetery shootouts in the 1980s made them reluctant to gather for funerals. Buddhists in Tibet believe in the transmigration of the soul and therefore that once the person has died, the body is an empty vessel. It’s strange to think about, but the following death customs make our modern rituals seem mundane … Mongolian culture is … I was driving past one such reminder when it hit me, I could go to where my miscarriage had begun, to perform acts of remembrance. Photos by Photo by Jean-Michel Rousset via Wikimedia and David Stanley via Flickr. Before smoking, the guts and drippings from the corpse are collected and smeared onto the skin of relatives. Every culture and religious organization has its own way of interpreting death. Made from bamboo or rice paper, Joss paper is often made to look like money and is burnt in order to ‘give’ the money to the souls of those who have died. Find out more about religious funeral traditions. To date, some communities still follow this practice. Dane June 27th, 2011 at 3:58 PM . Shocking Cases of People Who Were Mistakenly Declared Dead, 8 Morticians Share Their Spookiest and Most Disturbing Experiences, 5 Macabre Cases of People Discovered Years After they Died, 9 Strangest Victorian Deaths Reported in the Newspapers. According to Hindu beliefs, when a person dies, his soul lingers around near the relatives, the body, and his materialistic possessions. This the Anga people believe transfers the strength of the dead into the living, any leftovers are then used as cooking oil. Sadhguru: In India, if someone close to you dies, you are supposed to sit and watch – no one leaves a dead body alone. Ceremonies can last for days and even weeks. Holding a vigil in the … Ngaben processions are colourful, noisy and joyous.This lavish and expensive ritual is thought to guide the spirit into its next life and is considered a celebration. This is considered an act of generosity, allowing the living to benefit from the body once it is no longer needed. The Kane Kwei Workshop in Accra and a leopard-shaped fantasy coffin. However, other forms of sati existed, including being buried alive with her husband’s corpse and drowning. Generally believed to be a way of physically connecting with those who recently have passed. Religious acts presuppose some degree of impurity or defilement for the practitioner, which must be overcome or neutralized before or during ritual procedures. Malagasy people walk to the cemetery to exhume their loved ones for Famadihana. Often the dancers will move in a circular pattern around the yagura, or sometimes the dance will form a procession, moving through the streets of the town. You have lost a loved one, and this is where creating a new normal, new routine, new ritual can help you through the process. A tau-tau is then made, a wooden effigy that represents the loved one. By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. The funeral procession, each person painted with traditional white body paint, carries the body towards the burial site. It is carried by mourners as part of the procession and burned along with the Waddhu. Midnight Hour: 7 Paranormal Games to Play in the Dark Tonight, 10 Short Creepypasta Horror Stories That Will Make You Shudder, 30 Scary Two Sentence Horror Stories To Read In The Dark, True Crime: The 10 Most Infamous American Murder Mysteries, Urban Legend: 25 People Share the Scariest Stories from their Hometowns, The Haunting Stories Behind Six Strange and Unusual Graves, Campfire Stories: 13 Terrifying Accounts of Paranormal Encounters in the Wilderness. Photos by Clemens Marabu Jorge Láscar via Flickr. Torajan funerals are incredibly elaborate, notoriously expensive and can last days or even weeks. The Yanomami have one of the strangest social rituals. This brings about disintegration of … The practice is thought to have evolved from to the traditional burial rites of the Ga people of Ghana and Togo. Sapindi-karana — a rite to mark the transition of the deceased and a merging with the ancestors. After loved ones pay their respect (without touching), the body is sent to be eaten by vultures. Removing the bed from the deceased person's bedroom 3. Various religion do it various ways. What makes a ritual so effective? When someone dies in an automobile crash, memorials are usually right where the tragedy occured. [Image via ]Many cultures see a relationship between physical and emotional pain, and the Dani people of West Papua, New Guinea take it to the extreme. The ashes from the cremation are scattered in the sea. Instead of a widow, it was a slave of the nobleman who joined him in the afterlife. The people of Tana Toraja tend to bury their loved ones in communal tombs, which are built into cliffs or caves. © 2018 The Occult Museum.com | All Rights Reserved. Ritual Finger Amputation As if the death of a loved one wasn't traumatic enough, the Dani people of West Papua, New Guinea also had to cut off their own fingers. [Image via ]The Zoroastrians have a peculiar, yet strangely sensible ritual surrounding the dead. Each region in Japan has a different variation of the Bon Odori dance, with different moves and ways of performing it. Burying grave goods and giving food offerings to the dead is an ancient funeral tradition. Death is another circumstance that gives rise to some of the world’s strangest social rites. In sky burials, the body is cut into pieces and placed in an exposed place where animals, such as vultures, can consume it. These rituals are largely based on events from the Hebrew Bible. Photos by NH53 and Henry Zo Rakotondramanana via Flickr Every few years, the Malagasy people of Madagascar conduct a sacred ritual called Famadihana, or the Turning of the Bones. However, elaborate paper offerings are still made and sold. Why would you take an artistic and expensive box and the person’s best clothes and bury it? In part, as a reminder to take a corner slowly or call a cab when out drinking. The Yanomami, who live in the jungle areas of Venezuela and Brazil, perform a very curious ritual. Photos by Sergey via Flickr and Michael Gunther via Wikimedia. It is seen as only fitting that the last act of a person is to nourish another living being. Photo by William Cho via Flickr. This ritual is based on the Malagasy belief that the spirit does not depart this world until the body has fully rejoined the earth. Known as a yagura, the stage is where singers and musicians perform traditional songs while members of the community gather to dance the Bon Odori. A viewing will normally take place before a Hindu cremation, but since the cremation typically happens within 24 hours after death, they are usually brief. Although different groups have slightly different practices, there is a common set of Hindu funeral rites they all follow. [Image credit: Oddity Central]In the Menyama region of Papua New Guinea, for the last several hundred years the Anga tribe have been practicing a form of mummification that involves smoking the meat of their dead. Some people even take it a step forward, and go bald, to offer all the hair to God. The body is traditionally placed atop a platform and covered in leaves as it is left to decompose. This involves exhuming the graves of loved ones, washing and redressing their bodies, and throwing a huge party in their honor. The mind is just a bunch of information that has natural tendencies which find expression in a certain way. It’s strange to think about, but the following death customs make our modern rituals seem mundane by comparison. Although it is outlawed today, older members of the tribe still show signs of this brutal practice. The bereaved family will collect the horns of the buffalo and display them outside their home. And though we don't often stop to think about it, there are specific rules of etiquette that apply and adhering to them is expected. [Image via Sarah Max Research]While many cultures around the world have been credited with cannibalism, most have done so in the form of a death ritual or custom. When a loved one dies in Aboriginal society in Australia’s Northern Territory, elaborate rituals begin. In modern civilization, the death ritual usually involves a dead body being displayed for the friends and relatives to pay their respects. They are often made to look like the latest gadgets and trends, from smartphones, designer clothes and shoes, to bicycles, cameras and even kitchen appliances. The Yanomami tribe for example, who live in the Amazon rainforest, believe that by consuming the ashes of a deceased tribe member will keep their spirit alive and well for generations to come. A small amount of water from the Ganges River should be placed in the dying person’s mouth. According to Hindu death rituals, when a person dies, they remain at home before they are taken to the cremation venue. For the same reason, embalming is rare and unnecessary. They believe that although the physical body dies, their soul remains and continues to recycle until it settles upon its true nature. Women in traditional dress performing the Bon Odori dance during the festival of Obon. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. Communities often refer to the person who has died by a substitute name, such as ‘Kumanjayi’, ‘Kwementyaye’ or ‘Kunmanara’. Often, we wonder why Hindus burn or cremate the body, instead of burying it. Photos by NH53 and Henry Zo Rakotondramanana via Flickr. As the body decomposed, the liquid was often rubbed onto the children of the community, an act which was believed to pass on the person positive qualities and attributes. They were then be placed in totem poles and displayed in front of the deceased’s home to ward off evil spirits. In modern civilization, the death ritual usually involves a dead body being displayed for the friends and relatives to pay their respects. It is a joyous occasion, with lots of food, music and dancing to give thanks for their ancestors. Ananda Homa — for inviting a return to joyous living and severance with death and mourning. In this culture, decomposition is seen as a crucial step in entering the afterlife. From eating the flesh to grinding bones, in New Guinea, Brazil, Australia, and other locations throughout the world people have taken part in ritualistic cannibalism. [Image via Wikipedia] The Wife Burning Herself with Some of her Husband’s Property, etching 1799.Sati was a ritual practiced in India, in which a widowed Hindu woman laid with her deceased husband on his funeral pyre and was burned alive. This can take many lifetimes, and with each death they strive to move closer to Brahma, the Hindu God. Shanti Homa — a fire-ritual for peace of mind for the family and for the departed one. It has been … Purification, usually with water, is thus a typical feature of most religious actions. Mourners build a Waddhu, also sometimes called a Bade, a ceremonial tower of multiple levels, made from bamboo, wood and paper. According to the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dyingreference, home rituals often include: 1. A Memorial Bench for Bereavement Rituals. The workshops of leading lights including Paa Joe, Ataa Oko and Seth Kane Kwei remain open and active today. This involves exhuming the graves of loved ones, washing and redressing their bodies, and throwing a huge party in their honor. Joss paper in the form of fake money is sometimes called ghost money, spirit money or hell money. The death rituals people of the Jewish faith observe when someone passes are deeply steeped in custom and hold significant meaning, although the actual execution of the ritual may vary depending on the customs followed by the family. First, a smoking ceremony is held in the loved one’s living area to drive away their spirit. In most Hindu families, the body is bathed immediately after death, sometimes by women in the family. Every seven years or so, the community open their family crypts and exhume their ancestor’s bodies to hasten decomposition. Therefore, loved ones need caring for long after they die. The monks would die in a state of meditation, and their body would be naturally preserved as a mummy with skin and teeth intact without decay. [Image via Crowded Planet]Famadihana, also known as ‘turning the bones’ is still practiced by the Malagasy people of Madagascar. Photographs or depictions of a person who died may also be seen as a disturbance to their spirit. If a crow eats the food, it is considered that the ancestors have accepted the offering, as it’s believed that crows are messengers from Yama, the god of death. [Image via ]An unusual modern-day funeral practice can be found in Los Angeles, CA. This is why some Aboriginal families will not have photographs of their loved ones after they die. There is no central set of rules or beliefs and historically spiritual teachings were never written down, only passed on from generation to generation. Families, friends and members of the larger community will come together to grieve and support each other when someone dies. Funerals and mourning are very much a communal activity in Aboriginal culture. The funeral ritual, too, is a public, traditional and symbolic means of expressing our beliefs, thoughts and feelings about the death of someone loved. [Image via Wikipedia]Sokushinbutsu, or self-mummification was a process practiced by Japanese Buddhists between the 11th and 19th century. A guide to Veterans Day in the United States, with information on the history & meaning of Veterans Day & events to commemorate it. Photo by Guilhem Vellut via Flickr. Why would you take an artistic and expensive box and the person’s best clothes and bury it? Ngaben literally means ‘turning into ash’. A Chinese woman burns Joss paper and Joss paper in the shape of designer clothes. The coffin containing the person who has died is called a Lembu, which means ox, and is often also shaped to look like an ox or other animal. And some people, the way they grieve, commemorate, and dispose of dead varies greatly from culture to culture, but some traditions really take funerals to the next level of macabre. It’s as good a custom as any, but strange if looked at from an outsider’s perspective. [Image via Cbc]In the Tibetan Buddhist culture, corpses are seen as no more than an empty vessel. After the smoking process is complete the brightly colored bodies are placed on the steep cliffs that overlook the nearby village so the dead can look down upon the living and protect the village below. Some don’t simply accept that someone has lived and died, but their life is truly celebrated. Ganges river should be placed in totem poles and displayed in caves or the... The ashes from the corpse are collected and smeared onto the skin of relatives is! Joe, Ataa Oko and Seth Kane Kwei Workshop in Accra and a with... River or the sea for inviting a return to joyous living and severance with and... Their soul remains and continues to recycle until it settles upon its true nature and finding healing religious... 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