A sky burial is a traditional Tibetan burial technique that disposes of the dead by offering it to nature. Prior
to a sky burial, the body is covered with a white cloth and placed face
down on the side of a hill. The cloth is removed and the tomden(religious master of ceremonies) anchors the body to the ground while chanting mantras. Most Tibetans
are Buddhist believe in rebirth. In addition to being in line with
religious beliefs, sky burial is also a practical solution for the
disposal of human remains; Tibet, and much of the surrounding region
where sky burials are performed, is a high-altitude climate, rendering
firewood for cremation in short supply and the ground rocky, often
frozen and difficult to penetrate for grave sites.
The tomden taked his saw-like knife and cuts the body
into smaller sections. While the body is being prepared, vultures wait in the distance or circle above. Once the body is cut into
smaller sections, the tomden steps away to allow the vultures(dhakinis) in to feed. When all of
the meat is eaten off the bones and only the hollow carcass remains,
the tomden returns to the body and smashes the bones and the
brains with a hammer before mixing the crushed remains with barley
flower, tea and sugar. This elixir was then shared with
the birds as well. After the body and skeleton were completely devoured,
all that remains are patchy red spots.
Other posts on Tibetan sky burial
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here
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Какой ужас!
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