Asian death rites

Death is a regular part of everyone's life. We all have to die. We experience deaths of those close to us. Many believe that the death is not the end. Some believe it is the end.

Cultures all over the world have numerous traditions concerning death rites. According to anthropologists, death rites include traditions occurring at the time of death and during burial itself. Death rites include religious beliefs, characteristics of local culture, but also many prejudices.

In Vietnam when some family member is about to die everyone gathers around him/her. These are the moments of silence. The eldest son or daughter bends towards dying person to hear few last words.

Then the eldest member of family suggests a name for the dying person. It is believed that it is unfortunate to keep the name person used when he was alive. Vietnamese men usually get the name "Trung" meaning faithfulness or "True" which means loyalty. Women are usually named "Trinh" meaning devotion or "Thuan" which means harmony.

There is an old Vietnamese tradition that after the body is washed and dressed, a chopstick was put between the teeth and then little bit of rice and three coins are placed in the mouth of the deceased.

In the north of Vietnam people are traditionally buried in the piece of land where they used to live. So, it is not strange to see a grave in the middle of a rice paddy. After two years, the family of the deceased will dig out the body remains. They'll clean the bones and bury them again in the family garden.

Also in Vietnam there is a belief that some fake money has to be put under a rock close to the grave. This is done to help the deceased in his journey to the next life.

Ngaben or Cremation Ceremony is a death rite from the Indonesian island of Bali. Social status of the deceased influence the time of its performance. For people of thigher caste it is held within three days after death. For those belonging to lower caste it takes longer. Mass Ngaben ceremonies are quite common.

Wadah sarcophagus

The exact day of the ceremony is decided by the expert. The ceremony starts by putting the body into the coffin. The coffin is then placed in the sarcophagus. There are two types of sarcophagus. Lembu has shape of a water buffalo. Wadah looks like some sort of temple. Sarcophagus is made of paper and wood.

When everything is ready group of people carries the sarcophagus towards the place of cremation. They do not choose the shortest way. They often change the direction. It is done so to cheat the evil spirits. During cremation sarcophagus is burned. The act sets the sprit free. It enables reincarnation or reaching Moksha. Moksha is a freedom from cycle of reincarnation.

Some 650,000 members of Toraja nation live in the mountains of south Sulawesi island located in Indonesia. The noble Torajas have especially big funerals.

Toraja people (green section) on Sulawesi island

The ceremony is held at the site called "rante" which is usually a grassy field with places for audience, rice barns and structures needed for the ceremony. The ceremony is quite long. It can last from few months up to several years after the death.

For the Torajas death is a process towards "Puya" or "the land of souls". During so called waiting period the body is wrapped in several layers of cloth and kept under the "tongkonan". The tongkonan is a traditional house of Toraja people. It is believed that during the ceremony the soul of the deceased is still present in the village. The journey to Puya starts after the ceremony.