Decode the mystery of the strange burial customs of Tibetans

Tibet has many mysteries and heavenly customs that are considered to be one of the unknowns in the customary culture here.

Appreciate the etiquette

According to Tibet's long tradition and culture, people highly appreciate the funeral rite. Careful care for people who die.

Traditions related to death in Tibet reflect the convergence of indigenous beliefs and practices combined with Buddhism over the past thousand years. Many rituals take place to ensure that those who leave have a convenient journey in a new life.

Tibetans highly appreciate the funeral rite.(Photo: BBC)

The Tibetan phrase has the phrase: " Those who are aware of life will be aware of the whole regime ". The question is how to be aware of life. Tibetans answer this question in idioms: "Knowing how to be aware of life is an elaborate, and if it is an elaborate one, one can practice."

Tibetans attach great importance to traditional rituals.(Photo: Tibetanreview)

Many traditional Tibetan books have mentioned this elaboration. Many people believe that life and death are very far apart, but Tibetans alone think that the two realms are close together, to the extent that they can hold their hands together.

Tibetans believe that the most effective method to orient the journey for a person at death is to practice phowa (tib. འཕོ་ བ་; sa. Saṃkrānti), Vietnamese as "the movement of consciousness". This is a method that helps the consciousness of the forested person leave the body through the grave of the spirit at the top of the head.

According to Vajrayana Buddhism, at the time of death the consciousness will escape through one of the 10 "openings" of the body (anus, genitals, mouth, two nostrils, two ears, two eyes, and acupuncture points). the festival on the top of the head).

If the consciousness of the dead escapes through the holes in the upper body, such as through the grave of the body, it will help the person to be reborn in a higher realm.

Strange rules

According to Tibetan tradition, when a family of people is dying, no one is touched as to whether the phowa ritual has been performed.

A lama who is considered proficient in phowa will be invited to perform this ritual for the dying person. Through instructions and by a special massage method, this lama will guide the dying person to move slowly to the top of the head.

When the consciousness has gone all the way to the top, the lama will concentrate his will to emit "Hik-Phat" sound to open the opening on the top of the head to let the consciousness escape. After a few hours, it is allowed to touch the corpse, and the first person will touch the top of the head, a sign of the departure of the phowa consciousness created.

After that, the corpse will be bathed with aromatic water, wrapped in clean cloth, and mouth stuffed with butter. The corpse is also tied with strands of fiber to keep it immobile, when it becomes a zombie.

Decode the mystery of the burial

In the final journey, the dead body will leave the house before it gets morning. In addition to the common burial methods of burial or waterbending, the preferred method in Tibet is cremation and cremation.

A burial practice (tib. Jhator བྱ་ གཏོར་, eng. Sky burial) is a funeral practice in Tibet, in which dead bodies are carried to the mountains, to decompose themselves when exposed to nature, or to be eaten. meat by animals such as vultures, so "burial" is another name "burial".

Heavenly burial is considered one of the most bizarre and mysterious burial forms in the world.

Heavenly burial is a form of burial of dead people from very long time in Tibet.(Photo: Rex Features)

There are two forms of burial: basic and solemn. Nomadic people and remote villagers often use basic cremation. The dead are simply brought up to the mountain to bring the vultures themselves. The second way is more complicated and more formal.

As said, Lama will pray for the deceased to be seated in a 24-hour sitting posture. The body was prayed, washed clean and wrapped in white cloth. People will bend the knees upwards, the head is folded down to the chest and put into a cloth bag.

Tibetans often carry their bodies to a large mound or secluded place to bury.(Photo: Flickr)

Finished, they tied it into a carriage and put it in the front room; on the day of the funeral, they carried the corpse to a large mound or to a wilderness in the mountains to bury. Journey to the burial place begins early in the morning.

Family members accompany to chant and play funeral music, but must keep a certain distance from the dead.

The dead body was laid on his stomach on the stone face, the "rogyapa" (who handled the corpses) would burn juniper trees to create a smell that attracted vultures and started his work with a sharp knife.

From hair to viscera, finally the deceased's limbs were removed and thrown to the hungry vultures. Rogyapa continued to crush the remaining bones, then mixed with barley flour to make the birds more "consumed".

After the funeral, the lama will continue to pray and celebrate for seven consecutive weeks (49 days). A wooden or straw mannequin was brought to symbolize the corpse. The lama took a piece of paper that painted the face of the dead man on the dummy and sat there and continued to guide him.

After 49 days, he burned the dummy-covered piece of paper as a form of telling the dead to cut off all contact with the living. In this last ritual, everyone in the family gathered around and said the prepared words that Europeans could consider to be silly, for example:

" Hey, you are dead, you have gone so far. You are no longer involved in this house. Hurry up and eat the last meal and go on the road, from now on don't come back here . "

49 days is a time that coincides with the customs of many traditions in other Eastern countries, such as Vietnam.

The body is just like a car to transport souls in Tibetan conception.(Photo: Everplans)

Heavenly burial seems like a "barbaric" practice. However, Tibetans claim that the human body is only a vehicle, like a car to transport souls.

Once that car was too rusty and the soul left it, it was no longer worth it and should be discarded, in the most generous way used as food for other beings.

Why do Tibetans choose the form of burial for the deceased?

In fact, Tibetans see heaven as a solemn ritual, the last and ultimate offering that one can make: sacrificing one's own flesh for hungry beings , and these species will bring the deceased to the pure heaven.

Geologically, the Tibetan plateau is an ecosystem that exists in the highest place in the world. The soil here is cold. Tibetans cannot carry out burial under hard rock or cold ice, and land is expensive. Cremation is also difficult because wood and fuelwood are very scarce.

Meanwhile, hungry vultures swarm across the sky, and wolves roam around the area. With these geographic characteristics, the bureaucracy seems to be the most reasonable for them.

Although it is acknowledged by everyone about the mysterious burial custom, there are some "savage" but this is still one of the traditional cultures imbued in the life of the Tibetan people.

The above article was taken from the book " Tibetan mystical and mortal art" by Dang Hoang Xa.