Sky Burial: How the Tibetans believe to bury corpse in the sky.
Processes and beliefs behind why the Tibetans lay their dead to rest above ground.
For the Tibetans living in Tibet, a mountainous region; Sky burial which is the disposal of a corpse on high places to be devoured by vultures is way honourably putting their dead to rest. To them, they believe the wishes of the people to go to heaven has been fulfilled.
When a Tibetan dies, the corpse is wrapped in white Tibetan cloth and placed in a corner of the house for three or five days, during which monks or lamas are asked to read the scripture aloud so that the souls can be released from purgatory.
On the day before the burial, the corpse is fixed n a fetal position. Usually the body is bent into a sitting position, with the head against the knees.
On a fixed date, the corpse is carried to the burial platform by the body carrier or body breaker referred to as rogyapaa at dawn. The burial site is among mountains which is always far from the residential area. They drag the dead body to the mountaintop and dissect it with blade.
image: Body breakers carrying the corpse to the burial site.
image: Body breaking dissecting the corpse.
A special smoke which they call "Su" is burned to attract large American vultures known as Condors, which will devour the corpse. Lamas chant sutras to redeem the sins of the soul.
When the flesh is eaten up by vultures, the body carrier or body breaker will smash the bone into pieces and mix it with tsampa (a staple food for Tibetans, made of barley flour) to feed the vultures.
image: Body breaker smashing the bones.
image: Vultures feeding on the pulp.
To them, there is no need to preserve the body, as it is now an empty vessel. Birds may eat it or nature may cause it to decompose.
They believe that if the vultures come and eat the body, it means that the dead has no sin and that his or her soul has gone peacefully to the Paradise. And the condors on the mountains around the celestial burial platform are 'holy birds' and only eat the human body without attacking any small animals nearby. Any remains left by the holy birds must be collected up and burnt while the Lamas chant sutras to redeem the sins of the dead, because the remains would tie the spirits to this life.
In several accounts, the flesh was stripped from the bones and given to vultures without further preparation; the bones then were broken up with sledgehammers, and usually mixed with tsampa before being given to the vultures. Many rogyapa first feed the bones and cartilage to the vultures, keeping the best flesh until last. After having had their fill of good quality meat, the birds usually fly away - leaving the bones and less favored bits.
The birds, they say, will take the soul into the heavens, which is understood to be a windy place where souls await reincarnation into their next lives.
