Sky burial 1774294 223370908 2008-07-03T19:58:24Z 83.233.169.25 /* Disassembling the body */ {{otheruses4|the Tibetan practice|the Xinran Xue novel|Sky Burial|}} [[Image:Drigung monastery.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Drigung Monastery]], Tibetan monastery famous for performing sky burials.]] [[Image:Sky burial site, Yerpa Valley.JPG|thumb|250px|Sky burial site, [[Yerpa]] Valley]] '''Sky burial''' or ritual [[dissection]] was once a common [[funeral|funerary]] practice in [[Tibet]] wherein a human corpse is cut into small pieces and placed on a mountaintop, exposing it to the elements or the ''[[mahabhuta]]'' and animals – especially to [[birds of prey]]. In Tibetan the practice is known as ''jhator'' ({{bo|t=བྱ་གཏོར་|w=bya gtor}}), which literally means, "giving [[alms]] to the birds." The majority of Tibetans adhere to [[Buddhism]], which teaches [[reincarnation]]. There is no need to preserve the body, as it is now an empty vessel. Birds may eat it, or nature may let it decompose. So the function of the sky burial is simply the disposal of the remains. In much of Tibet the ground is too hard and rocky to dig a grave, and with fuel and timber scarce, a sky burial is often more practical than cremation. Additionally, since no fuel, land, or topsoil is consumed, this way of burial is arguably more ecologically friendly than cremation or interment. ==History and development== The Tibetan sky-burial practices<!--, which&mdash;due to the isolation of the region&mdash;was unknown to scholarship until the early 1900s,--> appear to have evolved out of practical considerations:<ref>{{citation|last=Wylie|first=Turrell V.|year=1965|title=Mortuary Customs at Sa-Skya, Tibet|journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies|volume=25|pages=229-242}}, p. 232.</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Martin|first=Daniel Preston|title=On the Cultural Ecology of Sky Burial on the Himalayan Plateau|journal=East and West|volume=46|issue=3-4|year=1996|pages=353-370}}, pp. 360-365.</ref><ref>{{citation|last=Joyce|first=Kelly A.|last2=Williamson|first2=John B.|chapter=Body recycling|title=Handbook of Death & Dying|volume=2| editor-last=Bryant|editor-first=Clifton D.|isbn=0-7619-2514-7|year=2003|publisher=Sage|location=Thousand Oaks|page=815}}.</ref> a) most of the Tibet is above the [[tree line]], and the scarcity of timber makes cremation economically unfeasible; b) subsurface interment is equally difficult since the [[active layer]] is not more than a few centimeters deep, with solid rock or permafrost beneath it. The customs are first recorded in an indigenous 12th century Buddhist treatise known colloquially as the ''Book of the Dead''.<!--date beyond that is unknown.<ref>{{citation|last=Martin|first=Daniel Preston|title=The Emergence of Bon and the Tibetan Polemical Tradition|year=1991|oclc=24266269|series=(Ph.D. thesis)|publisher=Indiana University|page=212}}.</ref>--> Tibetan [[tantra|tantricism]] appears to have influenced the procedure.<ref>{{citation|last=Ramachandra Rao|first=Saligrama Krishna|title=Tibetan Tantrik Tradition|year=1977|publisher=Arnold Heinemann|location=New Delhi|oclc=5942361|page=5}}.</ref><ref>''cf.'' {{citation|last=Wylie|first=Turrell V.|year=1964|title=Ro-langs: the Tibetan zombie|journal=History of Religions|volume=4|issue=1|pages=69-80}}.</ref> ==Purpose and meaning== As the name implies, ''jhator'' is considered an act of generosity: the deceased and his/her surviving relatives are providing food to sustain living beings. Generosity and [[karuna|compassion]] for all beings are important virtues or ''[[paramita]]'' in [[Buddhism]]. Although some observers have suggested that ''jhator'' is also meant to unite the deceased person with the sky or sacred realm, this does not seem consistent with most of the knowledgeable commentary and eyewitness reports, which indicate that Tibetans believe that at this point life has completely left the body and the body is simply meat. The government of the [[People's Republic of China]], which has controlled Tibet since 1950, prohibited the practice (which it considered barbaric) in the 1960s but started to allow it again in the 1980s.<ref name="nyt">{{citation| last=Faison|first=Seth|year=1999|date=July 3, 1999|chapter=Lirong Journal; Tibetans, and Vultures, Keep Ancient Burial Rite|title=New York Times|publisher=nytimes.com|chapter-url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE2DB123DF930A35754C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all }}.</ref> Non-Tibetans are not permitted to observe it, and photography is considered unethical, extremely offensive and is strictly forbidden. ==Iconography and medicine== The tradition and custom of the ''jhator'' forded [[Traditional Tibetan medicine]] and ''[[thangka]]'' [[iconography]] with a particular insight into the interior workings of the human body. Aspects of the [[human skeleton|skeletal structure]] were reverently employed in ritual tools such as [[Kapala|skullcup]], [[Kangling|thigh-bone trumpet]], etc. [[Alex Grey]], a [[Vajrayana]] practitioner and celebrated artist, employs the symbolism of these rich confluent traditions. ==Setting== A traditional ''jhator'' is performed in specified locations in [[Tibet]] (and surrounding areas traditionally occupied by Tibetans). [[Drigung Monastery]] is one of the three most important ''jhator'' sites. The procedure takes place on a large flat rock long used for the purpose. The charnel ground (''durtro'') is always higher than its surroundings. It may be very simple, consisting only of the flat rock, or it may be more elaborate, incorporating temples and [[stupa]] (''chorten'' in Tibetan). Relatives may remain nearby during the ''jhator'', possibly in a place where they cannot see it directly. The ''jhator'' usually takes place at dawn. The full ''jhator'' procedure (as described below) is elaborate and expensive. Those who cannot afford it simply place their deceased on a high rock where the body decomposes or is eaten by birds and animals. ==Procedure== Accounts from observers vary. The following description is assembled from multiple accounts by observers from the U.S. and Europe. References appear at the end. ===Participants=== Prior to the procedure, [[Tibetan Buddhism#Monasticism|monks]] may chant [[mantra]] around the body and burn juniper [[incense]] – although ceremonial activities often take place on the preceding day. The work of disassembling of the body may be done by a monk, or, more commonly, by ''rogyapas'' ("body-breakers"). All the eyewitness accounts remarked on the fact that the ''rogyapas'' did not perform their task with gravity or ceremony, but rather talked and laughed as during any other type of physical labor. According to Buddhist teaching, this makes it easier for the soul of the deceased to move on from the uncertain plane between life and death onto the next life. ===Disassembling the body=== In one account, the leading ''rogyapa'' cut off the limbs and hacked the body to pieces, handing each part to his assistants, who used rocks to pound the flesh and bones together to a pulp, which they mixed with [[tsampa]] (barley flour with tea and [[yak]] butter or milk) before the vultures were summoned to eat. In several accounts, the flesh was stripped from the bones and given to vultures without further preparation; the bones then were broken up with sledgehammers, and usually mixed with ''tsampa'' before being given to the vultures. Many rogyapa first feed the bones and cartilage to the vultures, keeping the best flesh until last. After having had their fill of good quality meat, the birds usually fly away - leaving the bones and less favored bits. In another account, vultures were given the whole body. When only the bones remained, they were broken up with mallets, ground with tsampa, and given to crows and hawks that had waited until the vultures had departed. Sometimes the internal organs were removed and processed separately, but they too were consumed by birds. The hair is removed from the head and may be simply thrown away; at Drigung it seems at least some hair is kept in a room of the monastery. None of the eyewitness accounts specifies what kind of knife is used in the ''jhator''. One source states that it is a "ritual flaying knife" or ''trigu'' (Sanskrit ''[[kartika (knife)|kartika]]''), but another source expresses skepticism, noting that the ''trigu'' is considered a woman's tool (''rogyapas'' seem to be exclusively male). ===Vultures=== The species of vulture involved is apparently the "[[Griffon Vulture|Eurasian Griffon]]" or "[[Old World vulture]]," Order [[Falconiformes]], Family [[Accipitridae]], scientific name ''[[Gyps fulvus]]''. In places where there are several ''jhator'' offerings each day, the birds sometimes had to be coaxed to eat, which in one case was accomplished by a ritual dance. It is considered a bad omen if the vultures will not eat, or if even a small portion of the body is left after the birds fly away. In places where fewer bodies are processed, the vultures were more eager and sometimes had to be fended off with sticks during the initial preparations. ==References== {{reflist}} {{refbegin}} Eyewitness accounts: * [http://www.khandro.net/animal_bird_vulture.htm Eyewitness account], Niema Ash, 1980s * [http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~pamlogan/skybury.htm Eyewitness account], Pamela Logan, 1997 * [http://www.ciolek.com/WWWVLPages/TibPages/tib-burial.html Eyewitness account], Mondo Secter, 1999 - This page also includes references and links to other eyewitness accounts and to a 1986 documentary film that shows a ''jhator''<br/> * [http://www.keithdowman.net/books/ppct.htm Description of Drigung site], Keith Dowman, orig. pub. 1988 {{refend}} ==External links== *[http://www.giftofireland.com/Tibet.htm Tibet's Sky Burials] *[http://www.lonelyplanet.com/theme/fatal_attractions/fatal_sky.htm Lonely Planet theme guides - Sky burial] *[http://www.smcm.edu/rivergazette/articles/05-5-2-9.pdf Tibetan Sky Burial] *[http://www.yoniversum.nl/dakini/jhator.html Entry on ''jhator'' in ''Dakini Yogini Central''] [[Category:Death customs]] [[Category:Tibetan culture]] [[Category:Tibetan Buddhist practices]] [[de:Himmelsbestattung]] [[ja:鳥葬]] [[zh:天葬]]