Burial Customs
( 2005-10-27 )

 Other forms of funeral

As mentioned above, there are some other forms of funeral practiced in Tibet besides sky burial.

1. Water burials

Water burials are usually given to the lowest class of people such as beggars, widows, widowers, orphans, and the childless. The body is taken to the river, torn limb from limb, and thrown into the torrent. In some places, a simpler practice prevails where the whole body, wrapped in a white cloth, is thrown into the river. This method of burial is popular in the deep valleys of southern Tibet where there are no vultures.

2. Cremation

Cremation is permitted for the Living Buddha, high lamas, and those of noble birth. Before cremation, people wrap up the body into the sitting position and tie it to the firewood pile. At the same time, the lama chant scripture for the spirit of the dead when people spill oil on the firewood and light the fire. After cremation the ashes are taken to high mountains to sprinkle in the wind or into rivers.

3. Interment

Interment first appeared in about the 2nd century BC when Pude Gongyal held funeral for his father, Drigum Tsanpo, the eighth king of the Tubo Dynasty (629-846). However, as Buddhism penetrated the whole of Tibet, interment gradually became a lower form of burial for those who died of infectious diseases such as leprosy, anthrax and smallpox, and for robbers, murderers, and those who have been killed by a dagger. Religious law does not permit such people to receive a sky or water burial, but decrees that as punishment they must be buried under the earth to destroy their last vestige. Relatives regard such punishment as a great disgrace.

4. Stupa burial

Stupa burial is a very distinguished form of burial reserved for famous lamas only. The body is painted with salt water and dried, and again smeared with precious ointments and perfumes, and then embalmed in a stupa (domed Buddhist shrine). Such funerals are given to honor only great lamas like the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama. After cremation, ashes may also be placed within a stupa.