Chapter 12 Section 4 Sky Burial

Tibet, Mongolia, Yugu, and Monba all have this funeral ceremony, and the Dai people also use it occasionally.Its characteristics are: it is auspicious for the corpse to be eaten by birds of prey.If it is not eaten, the deceased will be considered to have committed a serious crime, and a lama will be asked to recite sutras until the body is eaten.Of course, sky burials of all ethnic groups are not all in the same pattern. Sky burial is the most common burial for Tibetans.There are celestial burials in Tibetan-inhabited areas with specialized personnel.After the death of a relative, stay at home for three days, ask lamas to recite scriptures, and then the funeral director will carry the body to the celestial burial ground, put the body on the celestial burial platform, dismember the body into pieces, mix it with Zanzan cake and butter and sprinkle it on Flock of eagles waiting around.After the corpse was eaten, it was thought that the deceased had ascended to heaven, and all the family members rejoiced.If he is not eaten clean, he will have to pay a lama to save him until he is eaten clean and ascended to heaven, so that the family members can feel at ease.Among the Moinba, sky burial is the privilege of lamas and rich people.

The Mongolians only use sky burials in pastoral areas, also known as wild burials.That is, put the corpse on the wilderness and let the animals compete for food.Within 49 days or 100 days after the deceased's funeral, the family members do not shave their beard or hair, do not drink or have fun, and do not greet guests when they meet, in order to express their condolences to the deceased.The Yugu people choose the burial place, lean the body on the big rock, and wait for three days to see the result.After the celestial burial, a tomb should be set up, that is, a pile of stones represents the burial of a dead person, and the stone piles are arranged in order of age.

Jingpo and Tu ethnic groups also use sky burials for children who died young.