Today we will briefly explore a few of the ways in which humans deal with the physical remains of their dead. In Western cultures, we predominantly bury our dead in cemeteries. In fact, this is so ubiquitous that I have met people who did not know that there were other well-accepted means of disposing of the dead beyond cremation!
There are a huge variety of ways in which people deal with their dead, and a variety of reasons, from practical to esoteric, why these practices arise. Please remember before passing judgement on any other cultures' treatment of the dead that these are frequently deeply personal, and deeply culturally ingrained traditions that may seem strange, but it is quite possible that what you would do seems just as strange to other people! For example, embalming and huge lacquered coffins (you know, like the normal kind) which keep the elements from decomposing a body kind of weird me out! Some of the ways people deal with their dead listed below are probably familiar to you. Others are likely not.
This post is meant to be a quick introduction, and by no means a comprehensive treatment of any of them. If you think of ways I have not listed, or would like to have a conversation (I would love to talk to you), please post below!
To start with, there are a number of considerations to be made when dealing with a corpse of any variety. Disease and decay are two of the big ones. It's not safe to leave a body lying around for very long, and the phobias that people develop around the dead are largely for this reason. It's natural to be afraid of handling something that can potentially kill you, even if maybe the form your phobia takes is a little more literal than it needs to be ;). So most practices around disposal of the dead are strongly tied to rituals around purity and cleanliness that would have started as (if they are not still) very literal concerns about sanitation.
There are four (very general) classifications of "burial", based on the way in which the body is disposed of. Sometimes two or more types are used in combination.
- Earth burial
- Air burial
- Water burial
- Fire "burial"
Within (or between) these overall categories of burial, there are a whole lot of variations in the exact methods by which people deal with their dead. Here are a few:
- Traditional Western burial: in a coffin, in a cemetery (much of Europe and North America, and lots of other folks now. At the moment this is the most common form of burial)
- Plain 'ol "stick a body in the ground" burial. Usually with a shroud, or limited grave goods. (the simplest, and traditionally most common form of burial)
- Sky burial: Most forms of sky burial involve being laid out on a very high platform, and being consumed by birds. Sometimes the birds take everything, and sometimes the remaining bones are then buried or cremated (some Native American, some Buddhists, a few other folks)
- Cremation: There are a whole lot of ways to cremate people. The traditional simple way to cremate people involves laying the body out on a wood platform, and setting it on fire. Then frequently the ashes are scattered to the wind (which could also be considered a form of sky burial)
- Burial in barrows or mounds: instead of burying a body under the ground, a mound or small "hill' is built and the body is buried inside that. This kind of burial usually involves a lot of grave goods, as usually only very important people are buried in this fashion. A subset of this type of burial involves cairns, in which people are laid out inside a hollow barrow until they decompose, and then the bones are buried in the ground or totemized later. (ancient European, Native American mound builders, many others)
- Burial in a pot: This is a thing. Like in a giant pot (Southeast Asia)
- Partial to complete consumption of the dead: ritual cannibalism, to consume an enemy's power, or to consume the spirit of a loved one
- Burial in towers or pyramids or other giant structures: We really love building massive structures for our dead. Like a lot.
- Mummification (mechanical or "natural"): Sometimes a body is buried in the sand and allowed to desiccate naturally. Several cultures have also used a variety of preservatives and organ removal to ensure this process works.
- Bog burial: Bodies disposed of in bogs leather-ize naturally. It's pretty impressive.
- Floating a corpse down the Ganges or another large river
- Burial at sea
- Viking ship burial (which is frequently 2 of the 3: earth, water, fire)
- De-fleshing, accompanied by burial or totemization/display of bones: Flesh is actively removed, and the bones are displayed
- Burial under the floor in your home (Catalhoyuk)
- Deposit remains in a cave. Frequently the same cave is used repeatedly.
- Burial in spaaaaaace! this is totally a thing now. You too can be buried in space!
