Welcome listeners to another episode of Beyond the Unknown. I’m your host Joli, and I’m Quinn, and today, we’re going to talk death. I mean, when are we not? Specifically, we’re going to be talking about some pretty interesting funeral and burial customs from around the globe.
So, Quinn there are two things that are certain in life as the old saying goes. Death and taxes.
Before we dove into other cultures and their practices, I thought I’d talk about funerary practices in Canada. And might I say, as I was going through this and remembering our practices, I have to say, it’s a little weird.
In Canada, the common funerary practice of either non-religious or christian people involve a wake and then a funeral and then the burial.
A wake is where you pay your respects to the body of the deceased. Typically drained of their fluids and embalmed with chemicals like formaldehyde. Then a mortician will cover the face, hands, and other exposed skin in makeup so they look… well… alive but sleeping. ya know?. And speaking as someone who has been to many wakes, man…. I don’t know why we do this. The deceased typically looks un-natural, the makeup seems a little too lively or bright. But this is just my opinion.
So, after the wake which can last up to 2 days of having the body on display for 4-6 hours a day, the family holds a funeral at the funeral home or a church. The funeral is a ceremony that consists of songs and speeches from loved ones celebrating their life. Then either that day, or months later depending on the weather, the body is buried underground in a cemetery. In the cemetery, the body is buried 6ft underground to avoid being dug up by animals. The bodies are buried in designated plots and marked with a tomb stone, typically a large and very expensive stone that has the name, birth date, and death date engraved on the stone. Alternatively, families can have the body cremated which is where the body is essentially turned to a fine powder and given to the family in an urn or another vessel that can be displayed.
When I say it out loud, I now realize we have a pretty lengthy funerary process. But, we’re not alone.
Turning of the Bones - Madagascar
Have you ever heard of dancing with the dead?
Well, it’s a real practice called Famadihana, or the “Turning of the Bones,” and it’s a a festival for the dead held in the highlands of Madagascar. Every five to seven years, people honor their ancestors by exhuming them from the family tomb and wrapping them in fresh shrouds, typically made of silk and a woven mat overtop of that. This event is joyful - they play music, roast pigs, drink rum made of sugarcane, and they dance. But they don’t just dance amongst themselves, they dance with the wrapped bodies above their head. Then they dance to live music while carrying the corpses over their heads and go around the tomb before returning the corpses to the family tomb. They believe in celebrating the life lived by the dead person.
The practice of Famadihana is on the decline due to the expense of silk shrouds and the belief by some Malagasy that the practice is outdated. There’s a quote from a BBC documentary on this where one Malagasy man said the following about the practice, "It's important because it's our way of respecting the dead. It is also a chance for the whole family, from across the country, to come together.”
So it seems like a reunion and celebration of life. It’s actually nice because you get to celebrate that person in a more formal way, rather than alone.
Hanging Coffins of Sagada
Now we’re moving on to Sagada, a town in the Philippines located in the Cordillera Mountains. In this area, the elderly carve partake in their burial traditions before their death, kind of like how many in North America plan their funeral or pick out their coffin. But it’s a bit different. The elderly in Sagada hand carve their own coffins out of hollowed logs. If they are too weak or ill, their families prepare their coffins instead. The dead are placed inside their coffins (sometimes breaking their bones in the process of fitting them in), and the coffins are brought to a cave for burial. This is just one of the many ancient rituals and traditions that the people of the Cordillera Administrative Region (collectively known as Igorots) of Northern Philippines have preserved.
This ancient custom starts with a burial gathering led by the deceased’s family and relatives. The burial includes days of mourning, butchering of livestock, and preparing the body for entombment. Thereafter, a family member caries the body to the cave or cliff where the coffin is waiting. It is believed that carrying the dead would transfer luck, blessings, and talents to the family. Instead of being placed into the ground, the coffins are hung either inside the caves or on the face of the cliffs, near the hanging coffins of their ancestors. The Sagada people have been practicing such burials for over 2,000 years, and some of the coffins are well over a century old. Eventually the coffins deteriorate and fall from their precarious positions. Specifically, the coffins are suspended in the rocky cliffs of Sagada’s Echo Valley.
The reason the coffins were hung was due to the belief that the higher the dead were placed, the greater chance of their spirits reaching a higher nature in the afterlife. Many of the locations of the coffins are difficult to reach (and obviously should be left alone out of respect), but can be appreciated from afar.
Tibetan Sky Burial
Ok so we’ve gone from dancing with the deceased above our heads, to them hanging in coffins on the sides of mountains… What could possible be next?
Sky burials. This is also known as celestial burial, and it’s the traditional burial ritual of the Tibetans and has been for over 11,000 years apparently. It’s said that this practice is the result of the frozen and rocky ground making it difficult to dig graves, and their cultural practice to try and return the body to earth without disturbing nature.
Initially, the body is wrapped in white cloth and placed in a corner of the home for three to five days, while monks read scriptures to release the soul from purgatory. Family members cease other activities to create a peaceful environment. They then choose a lucky day for the burial, during which the body is placed in a fetal position and transported to the burial site.
Once at the burial site, their body is cut into pieces by a Burial Master, who is quite positive during the whole process. They believe that doing the processing while laughing or smiling will help guide the dead to their next life.. Once the body is processed, they Burial Master burns something to create smoke which is to attract vultures, that will consume the remains, which will then carry the deceased's soul to heaven for reincarnation.
Skull Burials of Kiribati
Kiribati, a tiny reef island nation in the Pacific, had a complex burial ritual for their dead. For those unfamiliar like myself, Kiribati is comprised of 33 atolls (which are ring shaped islands) and a main island. Kiribati was inhabited by the ethnic Micronesian peoples of the region going back some 3000 years BC and was later invaded by Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji. Until the 18th century, before the island was overtaken by Christian leaders, they practiced a ritual called Skull Burials.
it is believed that the burial ritual included keeping the body of the deceased in the family’s home for three to twelve days depending on the individual’s social standing, constantly covering it with oil, and cleaning the decomposing flesh and organs before burying the body underground near the family’s home. After seven months or so, the body was exhumed then reburied with the skull taken out of the ground and back home to be polished with scented oil and offered food and tobacco. It was displayed on a shelf as a revered possession and a symbol of the native god Nakaa’s acceptance of the deceased’s spirit.
This practice has stopped due to Christian beliefs and practices being forced on the population centuries ago. However, there is a photo of it online from I think the early 20th century which is likely one of the last people to practice this.
Papua New Guinea Endocannibalism
People eat the dead, which is basically an extinct practice now but can’t say it doesn’t still exist. We covered this in episode 27 so go listen!
Fantasy Caskets of Ghana
Our last tradition we’ll cover is less about the overall practice and more to do with what they’re buried in.
In a region of southern Ghana, Ga-people are buried in a thing called a fantasy casket.. And they’re no ordinary casket. The Ga believe that life continues in the next world in the same way it did on earth, so you need to enter full swing.
These caskets are hand crafted by skilled artisans. They’re sculpted and painted to resemble objects or symbols that encapsulate the essence of the deceased. So for example, a fish might represent a fisherman, a lion could symbolize a village leader, and a shoe might be chosen for a fashion enthusiast. I’ll share a picture on Instagram but there are some pretty cool looking caskets. Like this Nike shoe — look.
The tradition of intricate burial artifacts isn't new to Ghana. Historically, ornate palanquins were used to carry Ashanti chiefs and royalty during ceremonial occasions. Over time, inspired by these elaborate designs, carpenters in the Greater Accra Region began crafting personalized coffins that not only served the elite but also became accessible for everyone.
Creating a fantasy coffin is a super collaborative process. Families are engaged in detailed discussions with the coffin artist, they share stories and memories of their loved one. The process to carve wood and paint it can take several weeks. These stories guide the artist, bringing to life a coffin that would resonate with the individual's spirit.
I know if you go, you’ll probably go in a LV bag hahah.
So that’s it!
Quinn: Thank you for joining us for another episode of "Beyond the Unknown." If you have a story you’d like to share, please email us at moody.mediaprod@gmail.com. You can reach out on our website, and who knows, your story might be featured in our next episode.
Joli: All of our sources for this episode can be found on our website: beyondtheunknownpod.com.
And don’t forget, if you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review.
Quinn: Until next time, listeners. Stay curious and remember that the unknown is always just beyond the shadows.
Both: BYEEEE
