Sky Burial in Tibet, Letting Human Corpse at the Top Mountain
VIVA – Tibet is a province of the Republic of China. Tibet is located in the Himalayas that are often said to be the peak of the world, bordered by Nepal, Bhutan, and India. As it turns out, Tibet has an unusual and extreme funeral tradition, the Sky Burial.
People who have died in Tibet will be buried by placing the body on the top of a mountain and allowing the corpse to rot, and the vultures will eat the carcass. For information, the vulture is considered sacred by the Tibetans. Feeding the vultures is considered an act of charity, or final kindness.
Sky Burial was carried out by the people of the provinces of Qinghai, Mongolia, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia. Because, Tibet has a rocky and hilly geographical structure that makes it impossible to create a burial ground.
Burung Sky Burial
Not only that but there is also a scarcity of fuel and wood. So, the bodies cannot be burned as usual. However, not all bodies can be buried with this tradition.
There are several conditions; those aged 18 years and over, women who are not pregnant, and those who died because of accidents or illness cannot perform this ritual.
This funeral tradition is very sacred because it is still carried out in a few Buddhist temples. Many Tibetans believe, that if the ritual is quite extreme and strange, it is also called Jhator. Where this ritual is believed to be able to bring the spirits of the dead bodies directly into heaven.
History of Sky Burial
During the early history of Tibet when the main religion was Bon, earth burial, or simply tombs was the most common burial practice for the noble Tibetans.
In the Yarlung Tsangpo Valley, there is still the tomb of the first Tibetan King. The Valley of the Kings is located outside Tsedang. The most prominent tomb is that of King Songtsen Gampo. At this moment, the tomb looks like a huge hill from the outside.
