Death has always been of great curiosity for the Humans. The main feature that makes Humans more humane is the fact that they are always curious about things that eludes their knowledge. Eventually we made a lot of efforts to make inroads for information about death and what happens after death! But the sad part about the searches is that we have not been able to make any inroads that will give us a solid reference about death. The only thing that is as straight as the horizon is the fact that everyone will have to die some day or the other and after that their body will no longer exist in this materialistic world. What happens after death or whether death has a passage or where do the souls go is still a question that does not have any solid answers. Here in this article I will discuss about the top 10 unusual rituals that are related to death in some way or the other!
1. Dancing along with the dead
This is one hell of a ritual. This ritual is not specifically done after death. It is conducted over seven years when the people take out the dead from the grave and dance with them. According to the legend, after the death the souls go up to the ancestors. This meeting with the ancestors is celebrated in this fashion. The ritual is deeply performed in Malagasy of Madagascar.
2. Burial at sky
This form of burial is probably one of the worst kind of death rituals that one has. In Tibet where the ground is too hard to be dug, people actually use the scavengers. They chop the body of the person and then leave it to be eaten by the scavenger birds.
3. Strippers at Funeral Ceremony
There is no doubt of the fact that when it is about China, it is all about population. Even the status of the deceased can be judged by the number of the people who attend the funeral. Thus, in most cases it is seen that the family members hire professional strippers to actually accentuate the crowd. This is nowadays happening a lot and literally turning into a ritual in the Donghai region of China.
4. Tana Toraja Funeral
The specialty of the funerals of the region of Tana Toraja is the fact that they consider death as an event that frees their loved ones from the tension of the world. Thus, it is a matter of happiness and fun. The death is actually celebrated as if it were some sort of good events.
5. Death Diamonds
This is one of the most recently developed rituals that is spreading fast among the masses. There is an American company named LifeGem, which can convert the remains of your loved ones into a diamond. Thus, you can wear the diamond and always be in touch with your closed ones.
6. Endocannibalism
This can be termed as the worst ritual that is associated with the ominous phenomenon of Death. According to many people, there are certain tribes in South America and Australia that eat their own dead. The ritual is truly as creepy as it sounds but according to archaeologists and historians there have been no literal proofs that will actually support endocannibalism.
7. Coffins with a fancy look
A section of the people of Ghana are of the believe that even after death, the body remains closely associated with the occupation that one once did to endure a life. Thus, they bury their dead in fancy coffins which show the occupation of the deceased.
8. Self-Mummification
This is literally one of the worst kinds of death ritual which is followed by some of the Buddhist monks of Japan. They actually put themselves to death by taking in extremely less food. No water, no solid food and a lot of poisonous drinks to degrade their health. Now matter all these the monks locks themselves in a tomb and wait for death there. They ring bells to notify that they are still alive and the day, the ring does not come it is considered that the monk has now passed away.
9. Fast till death
This is something that many people around the world follow as a tribute to the life that they have already been blessed with. The ritual is more common among the people who are already suffering from diseases that can never be cured. In such cases, people in a fast for a un-notified period of time which eventually results in death.
10. Exposure: Unusual Death Rituals
This ritual is followed by the Zoroastrians. The Zoroastrians believe that once the body has lost its soul, it becomes the host for all the ill powers. Thus, by burning or cremating, they might just end up polluting their sacred elements of Fire and Earth. Thus they put up the dead bodies in buildings known as the ‘Tower Of Silence’ where they are devoured by vultures. This ritual is presently followed by the small Zoroastrian community living in the state of Maharashtra of The Republic of India.