Strange Funerals, Death Rituals, and Weird Funerals From Around the World
We only touched the surface of some of the bizarre and unique funerals in our infographic. We’ll take a look at 21 unusual funerals and burial customs from throughout the world.
Cremation in the open
There are no Smores to be found here. Crestone, Colorado is home to the only permitted, public open-air cremation facility in the United States. Yes, you read that right… Mourners may be seen stacking logs and pinyon pine, which burns more strongly than other types of kindling, right here in the United States. What is the price? The $500 will cover the cost of the wood, the use of the land, the stretcher, and the availability of the fire department.
Sky burial
If you’re buried in the sky in Tibet, your body will be broken up into several pieces and placed out for the local birds to eat. Some Buddhists regard the sky burial as both compassionate and charitable.
Memorial to the Ocean Reef
What if you died and became a marine habitat? Eternal Reefs, a firm established in the United States, will take your cremated remains and turn them into a cement sphere or “reef ball.” Local marine creatures will have a permanent home in you!
Endocannibalism
Endocannibalism is described as the practice of consuming human flesh from members of the same community, such as a local tribe, social group, or society. To get rid of their fear of death, the Yanomami of South America, the Wari of Brazil, and the Melanesians of Papua New Guinea used to ingest the local dead.
Burial of Jazz
A fantastic time was had by everybody! New Orleans and jazz go together like peanut butter and jelly, so why not include it into a funeral rite? A huge horn band plays sorrowful melodies at the opening of a New Orleans funeral procession, but shortly after, joyful jazz and blues numbers roll in, followed by frenzied dancing.
Funeral in the Kitchen
Why don’t you bury your food where you eat? If you travel to the northern Philippines, you may encounter the Apayo, who are infamous for burying family members’ corpses beneath their cooking areas. The Apayo also include goods in the coffin for the dead’s afterlife trip, such as basi, an alcoholic liquor.
Funeral for a Totem Pole
A fantastic conclusion: The Haida, a native North American civilization, had a quite unusual death ceremony. A shaman or chief’s body would be crushed with clubs if they died. The remains would be placed on a totem pole in a suitcase-style box. This totem pole would be erected in front of the house of the deceased.
Coffins of Fantasy
What about a fictitious coffin? People in Ghanaian culture like to be buried in something that symbolizes or portrays their lives, and they believe that they would be able to continue working in the hereafter. Do you like to see some examples of these fantastical coffins? You could see caskets in the shape of buildings, animals, ships, automobiles, or airplanes!
Suicide Burial at the Crossroads
Don’t meet me at the fork in the road: In ancient England, suicide was considered a crime. At the crossroads, the corpses of individuals who committed suicide were buried. This was done in order to confound the ghosts of the deceased. Suicidal ghosts, the English thought, would return to their home or village and torment them.
Burial of a Skull
Do you think you can handle it? Kiribati, a Pacific island nation, burys its deceased in their own houses. The deceased may be put out for up to 12 days, depending on their condition. They’ll be buried after that. However, their corpse is dug up and their skull is taken months after burial! The skull is polished and disinfected before being placed on display in their house.
The Bones Are Turning
That’s all there is to it! The Malagasy have a death ritual known as Famadihana. The Malagasy bring the bodies of their deceased from their family crypts during this funeral ceremony known as the turning of the bones. They’ll rewrap all of their bodies in fresh fabric before dancing with their corpse bags.
Amputations of the fingers
Reduce your losses as much as possible. Although this practice is officially prohibited (thank heavens), the Dani people of West Papua, New Guinea, will chop off several of their fingers if they are connected to the deceased. It’s not just anyone… it’s the children and ladies of the deceased’s relatives!
Funeral with Blindfolds
Is there anyone at home? The Benguet people of Northwestern Philippines blindfold their dead and position them next to their home’s entryway. – the dead body sitting up. Visitors are always met with a warm welcome, you could say. A dead body, on second thinking, would be a “cold welcome.”
Tinguian Funeral
Do you have a light? The Tinguian people of the Philippines will dress the bodies of the dead in their finest clothing and attire. They’ll next place the dead on a chair and fire a cigarette between their lips. This is undoubtedly one of the creepiest funerals I’ve ever seen.
Timber for Tree Burial!!!
A people group known as the Caviteo exists in the Philippines. When they are nearing the end of their lives owing to old age or health problems. They’ll walk into the woods and choose a tree to prepare for their demise. For the soon-to-be-deceased family member, the family constructs a little tree cabin. The dead are vertically entombed into the hollowed tree trunk when death strikes.
Sati
That’s quite a blaze! Sati is currently one of the few odd funerals that are no longer permitted. Sati was an Indian burial ceremony in which a Hindu widow was burnt alive on a funeral pyre with her deceased husband. Other versions of this story involved drowning and being buried alive with the spouse who had died.
The Silent Tower
That was quite a show. The corpse is bathed and cleaned with bull urine during a Zoroastrian vulture funeral. A Sagdid, or holy dog, then pays it a visit. Finally, it is affixed to the top of the Tower of Silence. The body gets consumed by ravenous vultures at this location.
Burial of Aboriginal People
Moisturizer? Aborigines in Australia used to leave their deceased relatives out in the open to decay under the dirt and leaves. The liquified corpse would occasionally be smeared on the skins of the youngsters after it had decomposed. It was supposed to offer and pass on the deceased’s greatest attributes. The surviving bones were subsequently worn around the family’s necks or displayed in caves.
Buddhas that shine
A particular gleam: Who has the world’s greatest cremation rate? Japan has a 99.9% success rate. Glow-in-the-dark Buddha sculptures may be seen at a unique columbarium in Tokyo. A blue shining light illuminates all but one of the sculptures. The only exception is for visiting mourners, their Buddha illuminates white and tells exactly where their departed loved one is among the other exhibits.
Rental in Germany
Is it possible to rent to own? Germans, like many other European nations, do not purchase graveyard sites. They will be rented out to Germans for around 20 years. When the timer runs out, what happens? The bodies are buried in a mass grave.
Beads for Burial
Change the dead into colorful beads: This ritual is practiced in South Korea, where the deceased are crushed into small colorful beads and displayed in houses. What are the most popular colors for burial beads? They’re usually a gleaming blue/green, black, or pink color.