Seven Unusual Funeral Traditions from Around the World

VIVA – Death is a process that people must go through. Usually, someone who has died will end up in a burial place. The funeral process also consists of various stages, ranging from ceremonies, prayers, and burials. In fact, there is a funeral process with the option of cremation.

This funeral process is a tradition that must be done to respect someone who has died by providing a comfortable final resting place. As it turns out, there are some unusual funeral traditions from around the world, such as the following.

1. Burial in the Sky, Tibet

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Ilustrasi pemakaman di tibet

Photo :

• U-Report

Sky burial is the most common funeral ritual for Tibetan Buddhists. They believe in sending the souls of loved ones to heaven. During this ritual, the corpse is left on a cliff, cut into pieces, and used as food for the vultures.

People of Tibet believe that a vulture that comes and eats the body signifies that the deceased has no sin and his soul has gone peacefully to Heaven.

2. Famadihana, Madagascar

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Ritual Famadihana di Madagaskar

Photo :

• instagram.com/rufo

The ceremony describes the "dancing with the dead" funeral tradition that takes place in Madagascar. Malagasy people usually open the graves of the dead and replace them with new ones every few years.

While changing clothes, music and dance are played to celebrate the ceremony. According to them, this ritual is designed to accelerate decay and promote life after the death of the spirits of the deceased.

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Proses kanibalisme.

Photo :

• Pixabay

It turns out that the funeral tradition of the Melanesian population in Papua New Guinea and the Wari Tribe in Brazil is very strange and unique, namely eating corpses or Endocannibalism. Both tribes chose to eat corpses rather than bury them. Many said it was done as a ritual to exorcise bad spirits and other mysteries.

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Pemakaman massal warga Suku Indian Sioux yang jadi korban pembantaian

Photo :

• US Library of Congress

Funeral rituals from Varanasi, India are unique in that they lift the dead and display them on the streets and are considered a procession. The corpse wore brightly colored clothes to symbolize a specific purpose (e.g., red for purity, yellow for knowledge).

To promote the salvation of the soul and to end the cycle of reincarnation, the body is fed with water from the Ganges River and cremated in the crematorium of the big city.

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ilustrasi musik jazz

Photo :

• Pixabay/pexels

Jazz music is usually used as entertainment or fun. However, it is different from the tradition carried out by the people of New Orleans, Louisiana, Cajun United States. They make Jazz music as a funeral accompaniment for someone who died.

South Korea has a unique funeral ceremony in which the ashes of the dead are crushed and made into beads. The beads are slightly shimmery and come in a variety of colors, from pink to black to blue.

The beads are then placed in a glass vase and displayed at home as a center of attention. This is a funeral tradition held in high esteem by Koreans.

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Jurnalis Filipina Ditembak Mati

Photo :

• Aljazeera

People of Philippines have a variety and unusual funeral rituals. It starts with a Tingguian who changes his body into the most beautiful clothes, puts his body on a chair, and puts a lit cigarette in his mouth. In addition, residents of Benguet usually blindfold the corpse before placing it on a chair near the entrance of the house.

Although the citizens of Sagada usually hang their coffins on cliffs as a symbol to bring the souls of the dead closer to heaven. The diversity of the Philippines has given birth to a variety of unique funeral rituals.

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The ceremony describes the "dancing with the dead" funeral tradition that takes place in Madagascar. Malagasy people usually open the graves of the dead and replace them with new ones every few years.