Exposure Magazine 2

EX POSURE Treat ment s of t he Dead

THIS MONTH Tibet an Sky Burial, Toraja, and Famadihama

Layla Togasa, Maxine Semczyszyn, Morgana Zayas

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction- Page 1 Tibetan Sky Burial- Pages 2- 5 Toraja- Pages 7- 9 Famadihana- Pages 10- 14 Word Search- Page 15 Bibliography- Page 16 Photography Bibliography- Page 17

INTRODUCTION This edit ion of Exposure magazine f ocuses on the various ways that cult ures expose and preserve their dead. The cultures that will be the discussed include the Sky burials in Tibet , Toraja in Sulawesi, Indonesia and Famadihana in the highlands of Madagascar.

Narrowing in on each f unerary pract ice provides a glimpse int o t he way these cult ures deal with death and t he af t erlif e. There are many dist inguished f eatures among t he f unerary rituals, as well as many similarities pert aining t o t he preservation techniques and handling of the deceased.

Figure 1. Malagasy peoples lif ting a deceased ancest or

1

SKY BURIAL

FIGURE 2. PRAYER FLAGS ON TIBETAN MOUNTAINTOP

SKY BURIAL Int roduction Sky burial is an excarnation ritual known only t o be practiced in Tibet , Persia, and two communities in modern India. This article ref ers to the Tibetan practice, which can be def ined as the ?deliberat e exposure of human corpses to carrion birds? (Martin, 1996: 353). However, it is assumed that the term ?sky burial? may have entered into west ern ethnographic literature through intensive t ranslation. No researcher has f ound a phrase in the Tibet an language that corresponds to ?sky burial?, the closest phrase being "rir skyel", a Tibet an word literally meaning ?to carry to the mountain?

(Mart in, 1996: 355). Without the appropriate cont ext , Tibetan sky burial may initially seem st range or repulsive to many coming f rom a west ern perspective. However, this rit ual st ems f rom a variety of historical, religious, and environmental inf luences, all of which signif icantly shaped the practice into Figure 3. Corpse worker washing hands af ter what it is t oday. Hopef ully, with an undercutt ing up the corpse in Lhasa st anding of its origins, one can come to appreciat e and respect sky burial as a unique this transf erence has been complet ed, t he yet valid f unerary practice. body must not be t ouched, as t he consciousness may leave f rom a spot on t he body considered t o be a point of ?bad rebirt h?(SanTibetan sky burial is incredibly complex gay, 2011: 49). This process must only be and it s st ages vary according to the de- perf ormed by a experienced spirit ual masceased individual. For sake of brevit y, this ter. art icle will attempt to describe the rit ual Once t he mast er has complet ed all his process in a simplif ied manner, wit h all due tasks, an ast rologer steps in. He is t hen respect t o Tibetan culture. given t he deceased?s dat es of birt h and It is important to note that sky burial rit- death in order t o choose an appropriat e day uals may not take place until all necessary f or the disposal of t he body and t o det erpreparat ions are completed. Immediat ely mine if any special rit uals are t o be perupon deat h, close f riends and f amily invite f ormed (Sangay, 2011 54). The corpse is a spirit ual master to their home to perf orm then kept in t he house unt il t he day of diswhat is called a consciousness transf er- posal. The day bef ore t he disposal dat e is ence? t he rituals and emergency prayers called t he ?Day of t he Light of Deathlessnecessary t o ensure the cast ing of the de- ness?(Sangay, 2011 pp 54). It is on t his day ceased?s horoscope (Sangay, 2011: 49). Until

The Process

SKY BURIAL that f riends and f amily gat her and provide of f erings, alms and prayer requests (Sangay, 2011, pp 54). The next day, the corpse is placed in f etal position and wrapped in white clot h (Gáspár, 2012: 39). The deceased is t hen transf erred to a platf orm f rom which it is carried in a specif ic direction so as to f avour positive rebirt h (Gáspár, 2012: pp 39). The procession is led by lamas and incense and inst ruments are carried alongside them (Sangay, 2011, 55).

Upon arrival to the site, the corpse is placed f ace down on a large f lat rock known as a ?mandala?(Gáspár, 2012: 40). It is then handled by an expert ?body cut ter?who removes t he cloths and makes large incisions on the f ront and back of the body. He ties the body t o the rock by a rope around its neck and t ies the limbs toget her. Finally, he

removes all of t he int ernal organs t hrough the abdomen (Gáspár, 2012: 40). Wit h a small hand gest ure, t he corpse- cut t er leaves the body f or t he vult ures t o f eed on. Of course, t he birds are not able t o consume t he bones of t he body, so af t er a while t he corpse- cut t er comes back and breaks all of the remaining bones, occasionally leaving out the skull if f amily members desire t o keep it (Gáspár, 2012: 40). He adds t hese remains t o tsampa (mixt ure of t ea, yak but t er, and barley f lour) and once again lays it out f or the vult ures t o f ully consume t he body (Gáspár, 2012: 40). Though t he body is wholly devoured, t he process does not end.

Various rituals are perf ormed f or many days af ter the ceremony, wit h each one as signif icant as t he sky burial it self .

Figure 4. Vultures consuming corpse as part of sky burial ritual

SKY BURIAL Why was (and is) Sky Burial so Popular in Tibet?

There are many theories as to how sky burials came to be the dominant f unerary rit ual in Tibet, one of which emphasizes the inf luence of the unique natural ecology of the region. The Tibetan Plat eau has an average elevation of 4900 meters, being the highest and largest plat eau in the world (Gáspár, 2012: 42). Due its the extreme alt it ude, this region contains minimal f orest coverage and the temperatures can be ext remely low. High elevation, lack of lumber, and low temperatures are all assumed t o be contributors to the lack of arable land, or land suit able f or conventional burial in Tibet (Gáspár, 2012: 42).

These combined conditions result in very thin soils laid atop hard bedrock, proving dif f icult t o dig. Even if the soils are adequat e in some areas, the extremely cold temperat ures can make the soil st if f (Gáspár, 2012: 42) and even more dif f icult to manipulate. Furthermore, the lack of trees means little resources f or f uel or or

f ire, signif ying cremat ion as ecologically costly. Thus, f or t hese reasons alone, one can assume t hat sky burial would have been considered a much more f easible opt ion considering the regional environment of Tibet .

However, Mart in (1996: 354) not es t hat research has f ound many archaic grave sit es, manually shaped f rom t he rock and covered with st one slabs, some in stone shaf t s and ot hers in pot t ery jars. Moreover, during t he Imperial Period, many burial mound t ombs were f ound cont aining Tibet an Emperors, which st ill stand in t he Chonggye Valley (Martin, 1996: 354). This gives evidence t hat historically, sky burial was one of many f unerary and burial pract ices in Tibet .

Although t here is lit t le archaeological evidence, a Tibet an ast rological work published in 1685 provides t he oldest account describing burial cust oms used on t he general public (Martin, 1996: 354). It cont ains a list stat ing the cost of f unerals corresponding t o one?s social st at us, wit h religious t eachers at t he top, f ollowed by kings, minist ers, wealt hy persons, and soldiers (Mart in, 1996: 354).

With each societ al member, a hierarchy of burial met hods is allocat ed. For example, kings should not be cremated, but minist ers may be. Religious scholars should be cremated with sandalwood but monks with f ir wood (Martin, 1996: 354). There is also ment ion of ?commission cost ? f uneral services allocat ed to commoners. Each met hod gives insight into the complex hierarchical organizat ion of ancient Tibet an societ y. It is clear t hrough these hist orical accounts t he geography and environment al condit ions were not t he only inf luencing f act ors on sky burial popularit y.

Finally, religion, part icularly Zoroast rianism? stemming f rom Nort h India and Iran? may have played a large role in shaping Figure 5. "Tower of Silence" used by Zoroastrians sky burial pract ices. The Parsees of t his ref or exposure of the dead gion f ollow a burial met hod similar t o t hat of the Tibetan cult ure. However, instead of bar-

SKY BURIAL

Figure 6. Vultures f eeding on the "mandala" rock used to expose the dead

Conclusion ing the deceased up in the mountains they have constructed ?Towers of Silence?, where vultures consume the body (Gรกspรกr, 2012: 42). There are many parallels bet ween the practices including the white clot hs, the corpse in f etal position, and t he pulverized bone and barley f lour mixture (Martin, 1996: 357). These similarit ies are not unusual however, as it is known t hat Tibetan Buddhism was prof oundly inf luenced and shaped by Indian Buddhism through immensely detailed and t edious translation processes (Raine, 2014: 284).

Cutting a deceased body, binding it s limbs wit h rope, f eeding it t o vult ures, and pulverizing bones, t hese vivid images could be considered outright revolt ing f rom t he perspective of an increasingly secular west ern society. But bef ore assumpt ions and prejudices are made, it is import ant t o understand where the root s of t his pract ice originat e and what f actors were involved in shaping it s popularity. It is not simply a cult ural phenomenon, it has arisen out of environment al, hist orical, and symbolic f act ors (Mart in, 2010: 366).

Hopef ully, exposure t o t hese perspect ives will allow west ern societ y t o concept ualize and appreciat e t he pract ice of sky burial as more than a barbaric primit ive pract ice.

TORAJA

FIGURE 7. TREE OF BABY GRAVES, KAMBIRA, TANA TORAJA.

TORAJA

Figure 7. Locat ion of Tana Toraja, Indonesia.

Int roduction Indigenous to the mountainous regions of sout hwest ern Sulawesi [Indonesia], the Torajans continue to hold prominence f or their complex death practices st emming f rom Alukt a [traditional/animism] origins.

The recent ly Islamized and Christianised Torajan population, however, may st ill pract ice t he two death rituals [in modif ied f orms]: t he f uneral, and the exhumat ion

Figure 8. Hanging coffins, Ke'te' Kesu', Tana Toraja.

rituals. And alt hough t he corpses of Christians and Muslims may be laid in rock- graves, like t hose of t he animist ic belief s, the ?core of t he t raditional mort uary rit ual, t he sacrif ices t o t he gods and to the soul of t he deceased, has been eliminated? (Palm, 1986, p. 170).

Funerary Treatment Like the Tibet an sky burial, t he elaborate Alukt a f unerary pract ice involves multiple st ages that varies wit h t he deceased.

Eminent f igures have more extensive services t han commoners; higher clif f - burials, larger ent ombment s, extensive decorations on t ombs and/or t ongkonan [traditional house], and t he use of t at au [almost lif e- sized ef f igies] are evidence of eminent f igures. The basic component s of the deat h rit ual, however, are indif f erent f or all classes; t he wrapping/preserving of the deceased, ?f ollowed by lament at ion, t he death song and t he slaught er of sacrif icial animals?, and t he ult imat e ?ent ombment in a rock grave? (Palm, 1986, p. 170).

Nevertheless, it is import ant t o not e t hat some dist rict s, like t hose in Sa?dan, Toraja, have made burial in earth a cust omary pract ice, regardless of class (Palm, 1986, p.

170).

TORAJA

Figure 9. Lemo burial site, Lemo, Tana Toraja.

Wit h st atus and spiritual belief s playing heavy roles in the society, the interval between death and f uneral will vary: where more elaborate f unerary preparations will require more time, f unds, and considerat ion f or auspicious dates (Hollan, 1996, p. 174).

During t hese preparation periods - last ing days t o even years - the corpses are placed in homes under reed mats, or in wooden cof f ins, ?either wrapped in several layers of clot h or injected with f ormalin? (Hollan, 1996, p. 174). As the Alukt a term - to mamma?, meaning ?sleeping person? suggests, t he deceased are treated as living people: of ten of f ered f ood and drinks, and ?inf ormed of the departure and arrival of household members?(Hollan, 1996, p.

174).The f uneral itself may take several days, t o weeks, to conclude; the bodies of the deceased get moved f rom house, to yard, to f uneral ground, and, f inally, to the burial sit es (Hollan, 1996, p. 174).

Children Funerary Pract ices The ost eological dist ribut ion of adult and children remains display dif f erences in f unerary pract ices, and belief s, among age groups. Aimed t o carry non- teet hing inf ant s and t heir placent a, sof t t rees are dug out - in similar f ashion t o stone graves of Ke?t e Kesu or Lemo, Tana Toraja - t o f it only one child, as opposed t o rock graves aiming t o house Torajan f amilies and descendant s. Archaeologically, t he burial of inf ant s with no t eeth, f acing t he opposit e direct ion of t heir homes, and placed wit h their placent as suggests t hat non- teet hing inf ant s were considered t o be separat e ent it ies f rom t he rest of t he f amily, perhaps viewed as still being a part of nat ure hence the opposing direct ion and use of f ruiting t rees (Palm, 1986, p. 192- 3).

TORAJA Ma'nene' Exhumat ion Ritual The Ma?nene ritual takes place every f ew years af t er a death ritual of equal or higher signif icance, and af ter the rice has already been stored (Palm, 1986, p. 203).

Like t he f unerary practice, it involves of f erings, f east, and animal sacrif ices.

The rit ual involves the exhumation of the deceased, where corpses and their ef f igies are exhumed f or cleaning and rewrapping, Figure 10. Ma'nene' exhumat ion of Child, and t he repair of damaged cof f ins; the Tana Toraja, Indonesia. corpses are then walked around the village bef ore being returned to their graves hence t he evident change in outf it s and ?The tongkonan [traditional house] is, as it of f erings (Hollan, 1996, p. 175). The were, the navel of Torajan lives. It is the cont inued attention paid to the body of place where the umbilical cords of people are the deceased, even af ter burial, displays buried and where people returns af ter respect f or the dead and the af t erlif e death. [...] Through the design of the house, Hollan, 1996, p. 175)

its size, distinctive shape and f ine ornamentation, the tongkonan provides a clearly visible display of people?s wealth, status and power? (Jong, 2013, p. 286).

Video link:

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Figure 11. Ma'nene' exhumat ion, Tana Toraja, Indonesia.

FAMADIHANA

Figure 12. Highlands in Madagascar

FAMADIHANA What is Famadihana?

Famadihana or also known as secondary burial is a f unerary t radition conducted by t he Malagasy people in the highlands of Madagascar. The t erm applies to rewrapping of t he corpse and to turn over the dead (Kot t ak,The Past in the Present, 228).

The t wo groups of people f rom Madagascar who pract ice t his f unerary tradition are called t he Bet sileo and Merina. The ceremony t akes places post - harvest during the dry wint er mont hs af t er tombs have been f inished f or t he corpses to be transf erred.

While t he corpse is waiting to be placed in t he new sepulchur, it is placed in a temporary burial sit e. The Malagasy people values close kin ships, t hus the accompaniment and burial f or t he af t er- lif e holds great meaning. Famadihana has several dif f erent implicat ions f or t he Merina people and the signif icance t o preserve their links to ancestors of t he land by up keeping tombs in t heir ancest ors land (Kottak,The Past in t he Present, 228)

Figure 14. Famadihana in the highlands of Madagascar

Figure 13. Deceased laying next t o one anot her

Why is Famadhana Signif icant?

Merina have a f ear of being buried alone, t hus t he energy exert ed on t he af terlif e is import ant t o t hem and lif e is not complet e without t he close kinship of others surrounding t hem

(Kot tak,The Past in the Present, 228). Merina use Famadihana f or ot her ceremonies comprising f irstly of opening a new t omb and rewrapping and t ransf erring remains f rom t emporary burials and old t ombs to t he new spelchur. (Kottak,The Past in the Present, 228)Bet sileo and Merina people engage dif f erent meanings f or t he t erm Famadihana, thus t here are several variat ions in regards t o what it means f or each group of people. For t he Bet sileo, t he re- wrapping and t ransf erring t o a new t omb is t he standard meaning.

Merina people also ref er t o Famadihana f or re- wrapping t he corpse and placing t he corpse back t o it s original placement and t he t hird meaning includes re- wrapping t he corpse and placing t he corpse in an ent irely new tomb (Kottak,The Past in the Present, 228).

FAMADIHANA The Meaning Behind Famadihana Highland Malagasy usually conglomerate the dif f erent variat ions into one ceremony wit h several ancest ral bodies. The purpose f or Famadihana is to honour depart ed ancestors by wrapping the corpse in sheet material to ensure t he decomposition of the bodies do not disappear int o unt raceable dust .

(Kot t ak,The Past in t he Present , 229) The Malagasy people believe t hat proper care of ancest ors promot e health and f ert ility.

Famadihana occurs during the agricult ural of f season and dry wint er months of July through September af ter the harvest is complet e (Kottak,The Past in the Present , 229)

Figure 15. Famadihana f unerary ritual

Typically, a single t omb is reopened af ter 5 t o 7 years, af t er t he reopening t he Famadihana is perf ormed. The secondary burial is necessary f or t he Malagasy people since t hey believe t heir ancest ors are const ant ly int ert wining wit h t he living people?s lives and bring import ant blessings. (Larson, Austronesian Mort uary Rit ual, 123) During Famadihana, drinking, dancing and eat ing all t akes place, along wit h t he accompaniment of the emot ionally int ense ceremony, honouring t he deceased and t heir memory (Kot t ak,The Past in t he Present , 228).

FAMADIHANA Af ter Death?

Frequent Famadihana is necessary f or the f ollowing reasons including to assist in decision making wit hin the living people?s lives in respect s t o relat ionships and f inancial problems, int ermingle in people?s dreams f or inspiration and guidance, and also use their power in int imidat ing ways such as demanding f or att ent ion and t hreat ening violence if att ent ion is not met . Thus, the necessity to periodically t urn t he bodies over so they do not become cold and disgruntled by being in t he t omb f or several years.

(Kot t ak,The Past in t he Present, 228) Figure 16. Malagsy people carrying a deceased ancest or

?Over t ime, t he memories f ade and t he ancestor becomes less demanding?

Figure 17. Exposing deceased ancest or

The corpses that demand the most attention are the ones that are recently deceased but if a tomb is opened and there are several other corpses inside, they are all generally re- wrapped, regardless if the death was recent or not. The corpses whose names are still remembered are the ones that need the most attention (Kot tak,The Past in the Present , 228). In some cases, ancestors who are highly remembered af ter numerous unwrapping processes, are wound together with a previously deceased f amily member. The combination of corpses with other deceased f amily members, create a ?great ancestor?, the translat ion f rom the word ?rezambe?(Kottak,The Past in the Present , 228)

FAMADIHANA Osteological Distribution

Ethnological Approach

The Merina and Betsileo peoples of Madagascar take part in similar death Merina have high emigration rituals that is seen in Sulawesi, rat es, t hus t he homeland of the Indonesia. The compounds alike in each ancest ors are f urt her f rom their ritual includes the wrapping of the newer est ablished colonies.

Moreover, if people die outside the deceased and parading around in a f unerary ritual, celebrating with f ood, region t he t omb is locat ed then drinks and music. Wrapping the corpse t hey are buried t emporarily until in sheets or cloths assist s in preserving t he complet ion of t he t omb; af ter the corpse, thus the decomposition is harvest season is over (Kottack, decreased to enhance longer The Past in t he Present , 229). preservation.

The up keeping of t he ancestral lands preserves a connection to deceased ancest ors. Around two years af t er t he deat h of the individual t hey are t aken back to t he f amily t omb. The return Famadihana t o t he Merina is the t erms key import ance which is the process of t aking t he corpse back t o t he land of t he ancest ors (Kot t ack, The Past in t he Present, 229).

Figure 18. Skeletal remains

WORD SEARCH

DEATH

VULTURES

TIBET

HANGING

EXCARNATION

FAMADIHANA

SPIRITUAL

PARADE

SKY BURIAL

TORAJA

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gรกspรกr, D. (2012). The popular ity of sky bur ials in Tibet. Ethnographic Encounters, 2(2).

Hollan, D., & Wellenkam p, J. (1996). Adulthood, Aging, and Death. In The Thread of Life: Toraja Reflections on the Life Cycle, pp. 174-178. Honolulu, Haw ai'i: Univer sity of Haw ai?i Pr ess.

Jong, E. (2013). Living W ith the Dead. In M aking a Living between Crises and Ceremonies in Tana Toraja: The Practice of Everyday Life of a South Sulawesi Highland Community in Indonesia, vol. 284, pp. 283-295. Leiden: Br ill.

Kottack , Conr ad Phillip. (1980). The Past in the Pr esent: Histor y, ecology and cultur al var iation in Highland M adagascar ( M ichigan: The Univer sity of M ichigan Pr ess, 1980), 228-234.

Lar son, Pier M .( 2001). Austr onesian m or tuar y r itual in histor y: Tr ansfor m ations of secondar y bur ial (fam adihana) in highland m adagascar.

Ethnohistory 48 (1-2): 123-55.

M ar tin, D.. (1996). On the Cultur al Ecology of Sky Bur ial on the Him alayan Plateau. East and West, 46(3/4), 353?370. Retr ieved fr om http://w w w.jstor.or g/stable/29757283 Palm , H. (1986). Death Rituals: Intr oduction and Gener al Review. In The Sa'dan-Toraja: A study of their social life and religion. pp. 169-171. Dor dr echt: For is Publications.

Raine, R. (2014). ?Tr anslation ar chaeology?in pr actice: Resear ching the histor y of buddhist tr anslation in tibet. M eta,59(2), 278-296. doi:10.7202/1027476ar Sangay, T (2011). Tibetan Ritual for the Dead. Tibet Jour nal, 36(3), 49-59

PHOTOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY

Figures 1- 6

Figures 12- 18

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