Tibetan Sky Burial

All cultures have their own beliefs and rituals regarding death.

As Catherine Shank explains, every culture has rules concerning what should precede one's death, the act of dying itself, how the body should be treated after death, and what is believed to follow death (2019). These customs are often intimately related to a culture's spiritual beliefs, but they may also be the result of material circumstances. Investigating a culture's death practices can often grant us a greater insight into that culture's core values and beliefs. Such is the case with the practice of sky burials in Tibet.

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What is a sky burial?

Sky burial, also known as celestial burial or jhator, is a method of disposing a corpse through its consumption by vultures (Shank 2019), and it is one of the main burial rituals practiced by Tibetan Buddhists. Anthropologists are unsure exactly how long the practice has been around due to the fact that the body of the deceased is entirely consumed by the vultures, leaving no physical archeological evidence of the ritual behind. However, it is approximated that sky burials have been practiced for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Pre-Burial Death Rituals

Before the burial itself, there are a number of specific rituals that must be carried out concerning the body of the deceased. After death, the body is wrapped in a white cloth, leaving nothing except the crown of the head exposed. For a period of three to five days, the body is to be kept in a peaceful and quiet environment, and family members are expected to suspend all other tasks and responsibilities to aid in this process. A lama, a Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, may be asked to recite scriptures for the deceased's soul. The body is to remain completely untouched during this period (Sohma 2016).

Next, the time and method of body disposal is determined by an astrologer lama using a death horoscope based on the deceased's time of death. (Shank 2019). As mentioned previously, sky burial is but one of the burial methods practiced by Tibetan Buddhists. Other burial practices include cremation, water burials, and inhumation, or in-ground burials, though sky burial is perhaps the most popular of these methods. Once the burial method has been determined, the body is arranged in a fetal position, and oftentimes the body's spine is broken to allow for easier transport. After completing the final purification rituals, the funeral procession accompanies the body to its final destination—the sky burial site.

The Sky Burial

Though the specifics of the ritual may vary from monastery to monastery, all sky burials include the same general themes and actions. Once the body arrives at the sky burial site, rogyapas, or body breakers, begin the work of dismantling the body. First, the flesh is removed from the bones. The bones are then crushed into small fragments—which are occasionally mixed with tsampa, or barley flour—for the vultures to consume. According to several witness accounts, the rogyapas do not work in solemn silence, but rather approach the work in a light-hearted and cheerful manner (Sang 2020).

Depending on the monastery, the vultures may arrive at different points in the ritual. Some accounts state that the vultures begin to swarm once the first incisions into the corpse are made. In these cases, men will fend the growing number of vultures off with long sticks so the rogyapas can continue breaking the body down. Other accounts state that the vultures are summoned by burning incense after the body has been dismantled. (Shank 2019) Regardless of when they appear, the vultures will feast upon the body, eating until the entire body has been consumed, leaving no physical trace of the person that once was.

The Vultures

  • In addition to lamas and rogyapas, the vultures themselves play a very important and sacred role in the sky burial. In Tibetan Buddhist belief, the vultures are, "an emanation of the wisdom deities," and giving one's human body to the vultures is considered a final offering to the deities. (Bush 2011).

  • At sites that perform multiple burials each day, anywhere from 80 to 100 vultures may gather, and in some cases, the vultures may have to be goaded into eating the bodies. At sites that perform fewer burials or have fewer vultures, the birds are often much more eager to feast.

  • It is considered a sign of sin or bad karma when vultures refuse to consume a body. It is believed that either the deceased lived a virtueless life, or the family did not properly execute the death rituals.

  • Griffon vultures and Himalayan vultures are the exact vulture species that can usually be found at a Tibetan sky burial.

Why practice sky burials?

As stated previously, death rituals are often closely tied to a culture's religious belief systems. This is evidently the case with sky burials, as the practice reflects many of the core beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism. In addition to spiritual factors, many cultural practices arise from material circumstances, and in the case of Tibet, ecological limitations play a key role in the continued practice of sky burials.

Spiritual Beliefs

The dominant religion in Tibet is Tibetan Buddhism, and sentiments of this religion can be seen throughout the practice of sky burial. When studying sky burials, it is helpful to understand death in the context of samasara, the cycle of reincarnation. In Tibet Buddhist belief, the nam shes, or consciousness, and the body are two separate entities. At the moment of death, the nam shes leaves the physical body and enters the bardo state, which is the transitory period between death and rebirth (BBC 2004). The deceased's loved ones can help the nam shes through bardo by properly executing the death and burial rituals. In regards to rebirth, whether one's reincarnation is positive or negative depends on how virtuous a life the person lived. The cycle of reincarnation continues until one acquires enough good karmic energy to reach enlightenment.

As Catherine Shank explains, "the practice [of sky burials] demonstrates fundamental values and beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism such as reincarnation, impermanence, compassion, and non-attachment" (2019). Sky burials relate to reincarnation in many ways. For one, the desired result of a sky burial is the complete disposal of the physical body. This complete destruction of the body acts as the final separation of the body and consciousness, allowing the nam shes to move forward in the cycle of death and rebirth. Sky burials embody impermanence by emphasizing an awareness of the inevitability of death as well as the value of every moment of one's existence. Similarly, sky burials encapsulate the value of non-attachment by demonstrating that the human body is merely a vessel for the consciousness. After death, the physical body may entirely disappear, but the soul lives on and continues its journey through the cycle of reincarnation. Finally, sky burials act as the ultimate example of compassion in that every last part of one's body is used to the benefit of other living creatures. In many ways, sky burials serve as a clear demonstration of the core values and beliefs of Tibetan culture.

Material Constraints

In addition to these spiritual factors, sky burials are also beneficial for many material reasons. As discussed, cremation and inhumation are also practiced in Tibet. However, these methods of burial occur much less frequently due to ecological limitations (Faison 1999). Due to its high altitude and tundra-like ecosystem, tress are relatively scarce in Tibet. Therefore, using the limited amount of wood as fuel for cremation is an honor traditionally reserved for people of high stature. Tibet's high altitude and cold temperature also results in the ground being quite solid, with rocks and layers of permafrost making it hard to dig through. For these reasons, there is not much space available for in-ground burials, making inhumation unfeasible as a long-term practice. Considering these ecological limitations, sky burials are the most practical method of burial as well as the most ecologically sound option, as they result in little to no land or water pollution.

Learn More:

  • For an in-depth examination of the sky burial process, as well as more cultural context on Tibetan Buddhism and the political climate in Tibet, read Tibetans, and Vultures, Keep Ancient Burial Rite.

  • For a brief overview of Tibetan sky burials, as well as an examination of sky burials across different cultures, read Give My Body to the Birds: The Practice of Sky Burial.

  • For an examination of the problems this cultural tradition encounters in the face of urbanization, modernization, and environmental change, listen to Why Sky Burials are Vanishing in Mongolia.

  • For a more personal look at the sky burial process, as well as an examination of the challenges this practice encounters in the face of ethnocentrism, watch Vultures of Tibet. (***This documentary contains very brief scenes/imagery that may be distressing to some viewers.)

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