Wednesday, March 9, 2016

The Sky Burial in Tibet

Very few westerners have even heard of a sky burial.  Only a handful have ever scene a sky burial site.  The practice of the sky burial is an ancient Buddhist ritual practiced in the remote areas of the Himalaya Mountains in Tibet.

What exactly is a Sky Burial?

It is a burial ritual. The person dies and the body is taken to the ritual site.  There they are laid upon a rock slab and a rope is tied around the neck.  The rope is pulled so that the body is tight.  Once stretched, the back is then slashed with a sharp knife.

The scent of blood and death is picked up upon by the local vultures who descend on the body.  After time what remains of the bones is then crushed into a pulp which is left for the vultures to come back and claim.  That is the practice of the Sky Burial that has been practiced for hundreds of years.