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Burial in Tibet-major WTF

that's how they prefer to "bury" their dead. With the earthquake they had a mass cremation because it was necessary for public health but typically they just let the vultures eat you.
 
in an area with almost no earth (for burial), as well as almost no trees (fuel for cremation) - what other option is there besides sky burial.
 
This would be my preferred way to be buried. I hate all the waste of burying people in caskets. dust to dust people.
 
315iavo.jpg
 
Actually this relates directly to a study we're doing in my Environmental Monitoring and Analysis class. in the early 90's, those vultures numbered in the 10's of millions in south/south-east asia, and within a decade they've become an endangered species. It's become a huge problem for sanitation in india. read about it here if you're interested. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/vulture.html
 
To preclude the pollution of earth or fire (see Zam and Atar respectively), the bodies of the dead are placed atop a tower—a tower of silence—and so exposed to the sun and to birds of prey. Thus, "putrefaction with all its concomitant evils" "is most effectually prevented."[2]

The towers, which are fairly uniform in their construction, have an almost flat roof, with the perimeter being slightly higher than the center. The roof is divided into three concentric rings: The bodies of men are arranged around the outer ring, women in the second circle, and children in the innermost ring. Once the bones have been bleached by the sun and wind, which can take as long as a year, they are collected in an ossuary pit at the center of the tower, where—assisted by lime—they gradually disintegrate and the remaining material—with run-off rainwater—runs through multiple coal and sand filters before being eventually washed out to sea. The ritual precinct may be entered only by a special class of pallbearers, called nasellars, a contraction of nasa.salar, caretaker (-salar) of potential

Makes WAY MORE GODDAMN SENSE than burying everybody and their mom into the ground


One bird had keeled over as Prakash was observing it through binoculars, and he raced to find its carcass before the dogs did.

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/vulture.html?c=y&page=2#ixzz0lfkj96Ha

WTF

Oaks and Virani received those results just as they arrived at a world conference on vultures in Budapest in May 2003. Euphoric, they presented their findings to the assembled experts. This is no virus, they said; the vultures of the Indian subcontinent are being poisoned by a pharmaceutical drug given to domestic livestock, whose carcasses are subsequently consumed by vultures.

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/vulture.html?c=y&page=3#ixzz0lfm0QuWH

very interesting article, thanks for the read.
 
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I can completely understand the emotional benefit of feeling like you're releasing your loved one to soar in the sky versus feeling like you're leaving them trapped in a dark damp pit.
 
When you think about it, this makes a hell of a lot more sense than dressing a dead person up in a suit and leaving them to rot in a wooden box.
 
So, did that guy only have 3 friends or something?


When you think about it, this makes a hell of a lot more sense than dressing a dead person up in a suit and leaving them to rot in a wooden box.

Hell, now they put the wood box in a cement box, which means that the corpse ends up liquefying and staying as a puddle.
 
this is ethnic tibetan's traditional way of burial. its no different then us putting bodies in the ground and letting them rot. either way the bodies return to nature.
 
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