Various cultures have various ways of marking the death of a loved one. There’s no way to say farewell.
We witness a person traveling through a funeral or funeral in the United Kingdom. These are generally somber celebrations, in both situations, which honor the life of a person.
These rituals offer the sorrowful loved ones an opportunity to say farewell and maybe even grow by their losses. However, this does not indicate death in every culture. Some cultures have customs that might be “bizarre” to many British.
These customs appear odd, yet in certain areas, they have much importance. Viraltrendzs has studied some of the world’s most bizarre rituals of death, including burials in the sky and water, rock climbing and many more.
South Korea – Ashes into death beads.
Death beads aren’t really a fashion trend in South Korea; they’re a means of honoring the deceased.
Since a 2000 rule requiring anybody burying their deceased after that year to remove the tomb 60 years later, the concept of death beads has grown in favor.
This is owing to a lack of available burial space in South Korea.
As a consequence of societal trends, cremation rates have increased, and the beads are now seen as healthy rather than terrifying.
Tibet – Sky burial.
This Tibetan burial ritual involves placing the body on a hillside to decay while being exposed to the weather or being eaten by scavenging animals.
It’s a type of excarnation seen in China’s Tibetan, Qinghai, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, and Mongolia regions.
The body will be brought to the sky burial site by horse or automobile, where the master of the sky burial ritual will perform ceremonies on the body.
The master will chop the cadaver into small bits for eating once the birds have circled the area, and it is considered a good indication if the vultures devour the entire carcass.
Scandinavia – Water burial.
A ship burial, which is mentioned in old Norse poetry and Icelandic sagas, entails the deceased being buried in a boat with grave gifts.
The bones would then be covered with stone and dirt piles to form a tumulus (burial ground.)
Many people nowadays want a “Viking funeral,” however as revealed in a Scattering Ashes Q&A, it will not be done in the traditional Nordic manner.
An intact ship burial with a large assortment of Anglo-Saxon relics may even be found at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk.
Philippines – A cigarette in the lips.
In the Philippines, Tinguians dress the dead in their nicest clothes and place them in a chair.
The body will subsequently be left for many weeks, usually with a lighted cigarette between the lips.
Women’s wrists are tied to their feet and bodies are buried seated up to keep “ghosts” at bay.
Sagada, Philippines – Rock climbing.
The Igorot tribe of Northern Philippines’ Mountain Province practices hanging coffin burial.
The coffins are either roped or fastened to the sides of cliffs, and measure just approximately one meter in length, as the corpse is buried in the foetal position, even if it only happens every few years or so anymore.
It is then covered in a blanket and bound with rattan leaves before being transported to be buried, while a small group of men chisels holes into the cliff’s side to hammer in the coffin’s support.
The party then climbs up the rock face and places the body into a hollowed-out log coffin.
China – Funeral strippers.
In China, funeral strippers are a real thing.
Strippers are utilized to enhance funeral attendance, according to The BBC, since huge crowds are considered as a symbol of honor for the departed.
As seen by an article from The Global Times pledging to crack down on funeral strippers, it’s understandable that it’s not to everyone’s taste.
Madagascar – Catch up with the dead.
Famadihana, Madagascar’s “Day of the Dead,” occurs every five to seven years.
It is here that families will exhume their relatives and re-wrap them in fresh shrouds.
They scent the bodies, dance with them, and even tell them stories to keep them company.
