4/26/2006: Vultures feast in Tibetan burial ceremony

[Undertoad]

Somewhere in this picture, hidden behind all those birds, is a dead body. It's being eaten by the birds. It's the job of that guy in back to observe and pray, and then shoo them away when they're done.

Ya gotta be kidding me. OMG yer not kidding me.

xoB sends along this WaPo image with the crack "he doesn't look like a funeral director", but friends, that's what he is. The official caption tells us that a burial master prays and drives away vultures after they finished eating the body of a dead person during a celestial burial in Qinghai, China. Celestial burial is a traditional funeral of Tibetan people.

According to this description,

Upon invitation from relatives of the dead, the celestial burial master goes to investigate how the dead died. According to Tibetan customs, those who are cut to death, shot to death or die of poison or contagious diseases are not allowed to be celestially buried.

The celestial burial master cleans the body of the dead and ties it into the form of an embryo (with hands meeting in front of the chest and sitting on folded legs) to be placed on the celestial rock.

On the burial day, the master arrives at four in the morning, and draws two white flour lines outside the house of the dead, lines which are one meter apart. He carries the body on his back and walks in-between the lines. This means this would not disturb those alive.

The sun does not appear on the eastern horizon when the body is carried to the celestial burial ground. The master lights aromatic plants for smoke, smoke used as a signal to cinereous vultures, and cut the body into pieces. The master does not have the final say as to which celestial ground is used. It is entirely the choice of relatives of the dead. According to Tibetan customs, people of the same family should not use the same celestial burial ground when dead in 12 years.

If the celestial burial ground is in faraway place, the master has to carry the body to the site at one o'clock at night. The celestial burial ground is generally located on a mountain slope, and the master has to carry the body there without rest halfway. If the master has disciples, he can have one of them to carry body in his place.

As one dies of varied diseases, some celestial burial master would wear white uniform but very few of them wear gloves.

Now, the fact that the WaPo published this image is pretty remarkable in itself. According to this China Daily page, you couldn't take this photo in Tibet. Trying to protect and respect their culture, they're closing ranks around this particular practice, keep it a secret.

It seems to me like they already would have done, because I for one have never heard of it. And yet it's how 80% of the Tibetan people say they would prefer to go.