Pharaohs in ancient Egypt were embalmed, as were some other rulers, including France's Sun King Louis XIV and communist leader Lenin.
The message is clear: their bodies are dead, but they are immortal. This belief is deeply rooted in many cultures. Here are some ceremonies dedicated to death.
Día de Muertos: Mexican Day of the Dead
During Día de Muertos, Mexicans celebrate death. Although this may seem morbid at first, the Day of the Dead is a cheerful and colorful celebration. Skeletons grin and dance through the streets, bakeries sell bone-shaped bread, and storefronts are decorated with glittering sugar skulls.
It is believed that on this day the dead wake up from eternal sleep to visit their loved ones. This is why families set up richly decorated altars for the dead, with various gifts, photos of the deceased and yellow-orange marigolds. Their bright color should show the dead the way from the cemetery to the house.
In many parts of Mexico, colorful parades are held on the occasion of Día de Muertos. The celebration lasts from October 31 to November 2. On the last day, people flock to the cemeteries and have a picnic on the decorated monuments of their ancestors. Tequila and cigars are shared, there is dancing and drinking.
Dealing with death deeply and believing in life after death has a long tradition in Mexico. Even the high cultures of the Mayans and Aztecs believed that death was only the beginning of a new life in a parallel world. With the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, celebrations in honor of the dead were mixed with Catholic customs. In 2008, UNESCO declared this festival an intangible world heritage.
Heavenly burial in Tibet
Leaving the body of the deceased in the open, exposed to the weather and animals, has been known since ancient times and was preserved in parts of North America and Asia.
In Tibet, there is an ancient tradition of sky burial: when someone dies, they are first symbolically fed for several days, while a Buddhist monk, a lama, reads from the Tibetan Book of the Dead - encouraging and helping the soul to leave the body and go to one of the Bardo intermediate states between death and rebirth .
On the day of the "funeral", the lama addresses the deceased for the last time, before the body, before sunset, is transferred to a designated place. The undertakers then dismember the body into small pieces and "hand" it over to the previously lured vultures. This is considered the generosity of the deceased, who returns to nature his body that he no longer needs. This is an expensive ceremony, and those who cannot pay for it simply leave the body of the deceased in the designated place.
India - fire and holy water
In Hinduism, it is also believed that each person is born multiple times. This is why it is important to cremate the deceased as soon as possible, because only in this way can the soul be freed from the body and continue its journey.
In India, the Ganges River plays a special role in this process. According to Hindu belief, it is sacred because it represents one of the locks of the hair of the god Shiva. Bathing in the Ganges frees from all sins, which is why numerous pyres for the dead are built along the shore. About 100.000 cremations take place there every year.
After the cremation, the relatives collect the ashes and scatter them in the river along with flower wreaths. They believe that in this way the deceased will be freed from the eternal cycle of birth, death and rebirth and will reach Nirvana - the state in which the soul finally finds peace.
The Art of Coffin Making in Ghana
In many places in the world, the deceased are buried in the ground. In Ghana, an art of coffin-making has developed that bears little resemblance to the usual models - because the coffin symbolizes what was important in the deceased's life: if he was a musician, the coffin may be in the shape of a guitar.
If he was a bar owner, why wouldn't his final resting place be in the shape of a Coke bottle? Imagination knows no bounds, and neither does the price of these luxury suitcases.
Indonesia - a long way to the realm of the dead
Even more expensive are funeral ceremonies among the mountain people of Toraja in Indonesia. In order for the soul of the deceased to find its way to the realm of the dead, it needs the help of the living. If a soul is lost and left to wander between worlds, it can become a threat to living loved ones
After death, the body of the deceased is first embalmed and laid to rest in the family's home. Sometimes it stays for just a few weeks, sometimes for years, as the family saves up for a huge, multi-day funeral ceremony to help the soul find its way to the afterlife. The higher the social status of the deceased, the bigger and richer the festivities.
Several hundred guests can gather at this kind of ceremony, and they need to be accommodated and accommodated. During the funeral celebration, an increasing number of animals are slaughtered, most often water buffaloes, which for the Toraj people are a symbol of power and wealth, and it is believed that they also help the deceased to find a way to the afterlife. Cockfights are also part of the ritual.
The highlight of the ceremony is the funeral itself. The deceased is placed in an artistically carved wooden coffin which is then placed in a cave carved into the rock. The entire extended family can be buried in one place. In front of the tomb-cave, on a kind of balcony, there are wooden figures representing the deceased, called Tau-Tau.
Madagascar - new clothing for ancestors
On the African island of Madagascar, as many family members have died as there are living. They are called "Razana" and they have a special power: they can talk to the gods. Therefore, it is useful to have them as mediators on your side, angering the ancestors can bring misfortune and harm the whole family.
Disgruntled dead can be appeased in the very elaborate and expensive "Famadihani" festival of the dead. Sometimes they themselves determine the date of the festival by appearing to a family member in a dream. Usually, however, the "Ombijasi", a Madagascar shaman, contacts the dead to determine the true moment for Famadihana, to which extended family, neighbors and friends are invited.
On that day, the remains of the deceased are taken out of the grave, cleaned and wrapped in expensive silk cloths, and the living and the dead are introduced to each other. The hosts serve hearty food and Toaka Gasi, homemade rum. He drinks, laughs and plays. When the remains are then re-laid in the cleaned and freshly painted tomb, we hope they are satisfied - at least until the next Famadihana, which is usually organized every three to seven years.
Japanese Obon
And in many Asian countries, ancestors are respected. So families set up home altars and honor the deceased with flowers and incense sticks. Their ancestors repay them for this - they can be asked for help, for small or big favors.
In Japan, a three-day ancestral festival called "Obon" is held every August. According to Buddhist belief, the dead return from the afterlife to their homes and families once a year, and should be given a dignified welcome. In order to find their way easily, courtyards are lit bonfires or lanterns are lit on home altars. Survivors bring food to their ancestors every day, including "farewell dumplings". This symbolic meal is meant to ease the suffering of the departed who may be hungry.
Folk belief says that the deceased return to the afterlife at the end of Obon, and their families make them riding animals out of cucumbers or eggplants, with chopsticks used as legs. These figures are placed on the altar or in front of the door. Farewell is once again marked with fire: flames in the form of characters of the Japanese alphabet light up the hills, and lanterns float silently on rivers and lakes.
Obon has become a national celebration, during which almost the entire country is on the move to welcome the ancestors to their birthplace.
Striptease for the dead in Taiwan
On the Asian island of Taiwan, family members often order the "Electric Flower Car" for funerals. It is a truck trailer, richly decorated with flowers and bright lights, on which scantily clad female dancers perform a pole dance in honor of the deceased and the gathered mourners. a converted jeep, while pop music blares from the speakers.
This, for some unusual custom, appeared only in the 1970s. Apparently the Taiwanese underworld saw an opportunity to make money - as co-owners of funeral homes, they simply offered strippers from their nightclubs as cheap "funeral packages". Advertisement: this will attract more mourners, and supposedly the gods will also like it. Besides, the dancers are considered a gift for the deceased who enjoyed entertainment in their lifetime.
In big cities, "Electric Flower Cars" are generally considered immoral and not widely accepted, but they are extremely popular in rural areas - where there is less entertainment.
Christians: All Souls' Day, All Souls' Day, Memorial Day
In Germany - as in most countries of the world - such a spectacle as in Taiwan would be unimaginable. The deceased are buried in a coffin or urn, touching speeches are given, and those present throw a clod of earth or flower petals into the grave as a farewell. After the funeral, family and friends go for coffee and cakes and thus show: life goes on.
Commemoration of the deceased is then carried out on Christian holidays when people visit the cemetery and light candles on the graves. Catholics do it on All Souls' Day, always November 2, and Evangelicals on All Souls' Day, which falls at the end of November as the last Sunday before the start of Christmas Advent.
The Orthodox have memorial services that are celebrated five times a year, always on Saturdays. The milled or boiled grain is taken to the parish or monastery church as well as to the cemetery.
On the day of requiem, the Holy Liturgy is served, and then the priest pours wine over the grain, and after the service, we go to the graves of the deceased. Candles are lit next to the graves, and the priest performs the ceremony and incenses the graves. If the deceased are buried far away and it is not possible to go to their graves, the entire ceremony is performed in the temple.
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