Tibetan ‘Sky Burial’
Tibetan Buddhists like
most Buddhists believe in reincarnation. ‘Sky Burial’ is not actually a burial
but refers to the feeding of ones corpse to the vultures. The traditional term
for this is jhator, which means “giving alms to the birds”. The event
always happens at dawn in a specified location usually near a mountain or hill.
The deceased’s relatives and loved ones are kept close but are out of sight of
the actual feeding of the birds, as it can be a very brutal practice. As part
of the ritual the dead body is cut into small pieces and flayed to become more
appetizing for the vultures. “They also beat the bones and flesh against the
rock to create a pulp, which is mixed with barley flour, tea, butter, and milk.
This mixture is then left for the vultures”.
Throughout the entire process the monks in charge
incorporate the use of costumes and tools made from human bones. This is to
combat the fear of death, and instead making it seem like just another phase in
the cycle of life. Buddhists believe death is merely arriving at rebirth, which
reinforces the notion that our physical bodies are unimportant and temporary,
whereas our minds are forever. Buddhists believe that however you dispose of
ones body after death, the mind will always leave the body and take a new form
as it has in the past. By feeding their corpses to vultures Tibetan monks are
acknowledging the ending of their life and helping prolong the life of another
living creature. This also serves as an indicator of the Tibetan Buddhists
oneness with nature and their surroundings.
Jazz Funerals in New Orleans
In
New Orleans, Louisiana many funerals incorporate the use of traditional New
Orleans Jazz to help set an appropriate tone. The ceremony is a concoction of
French, West African, and African American traditions. The purpose of these
funerals is to establish an atmosphere of grief followed by a more joyous
celebration of the life of the departed. Traditionally the procession starts
with a march from a church to the cemetery by the family and friends of the
deceased, they are accompanied by a brass band who initially play somber hymns
and tunes during the march. A horse-drawn carriage transports the coffin as a
line of traditional dancers performs in rhythm as the procession advances to
the cemetery. After the burial the band tends to shift to a more upbeat tone as
the service takes on a more celebratory mood, in remembrance of the deceased.
Later participants meet at a feast held either at the church or home of the
family to commemorate the life of the departed.
A
New Orleans jazz funeral is evidently a far more festive affair in contrast to
the Tibetan jhator ritual. Both rituals demonstrate a very different
cultural viewpoint of death, which is representative of their societies unique
norms in terms of what is deemed an appropriate reaction to ones death. Tibetan
monks believe that life is just a cycle that repeats itself and ones physical
body is unimportant compared to the mind, this notion stems from their Buddhist
roots. They make this clear by not making ones death ritual an elaborate
affair, instead they simply put ones corpse to use in what is seen as a
productive more practical death ritual. In Christianity however death marks
one’s ascent into the afterlife, and serves as an end to their physical
presence on earth. Since Christians view death as absolute the rituals
surrounding ones funeral are far more elaborate and exquisite. These rituals
accurately expresses the very different levels of importance placed on death
and the afterlife in the two societies.
No comments:
Post a Comment