The Mongolian Death Ritual
Other Traditions
More recent Mongolian funerals outside Ulaanbaatar(Mongolia's capital), have funerals with a similar beginning. However, instead of leaving the body for the vultures, the family circles the body three times before the body is buried. They bury the coffin with clean sand and they pour milk and sweets over the coffin as well. They then circle the burial place three more times, dip a sugar cube in milk and eat it, and leave in a different route from when they came so the evil spirits won't find them.
by: YukLin Martinez
Possesions
When a person dies, the family must find what mattered most to that person when they were alive and destory it to prevent bad luck from coming to the family.
Citations
Disposal
- Thorpe, JR. "5 Interesting Death And Funeral Rituals Around The World, Form Mongolia To Sweden." Bustle. Bustle, 14 July 2015. Web. 06 Feb.2017.
- "A Mongolian Funeral." Interserve. Faith It Solutions, 1 Oct. 2005. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.
- Michel, Heike. "The Open-air Sacrificial Burial of the Mongols." The Open-air Sacrificial Burial of the Mongols. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.
- The dead are brought to the top of a cliff to be devoured by vultures.
- Their bodies are surrounded by stones, and the stones are a reminder of the spirit of the deceased for when their body is completely gone.
Spirits
- When the person dies, the lamas surround the dead person with blue stones to keep away the evil spirits.
- The family burns incense and keeps food out for the good spirits.
- To prevent evil spirits from coming through the door, they have the body of the dead person carried through a window or a hole in a wall.
The Open Air Sacrificial Burial
The White Veil
A white veil is also placed over the deceased and is not allowed to be removed.
The Mongolian Death Ritual is most commonly known as the Open Air Sacrificial Burial or the Sky Burial.
Lamas
- These people are Tibetan or Buddhist monks, and they conduct the burials. (The lamas also decide when and where the burial will take place.)
- Once a person dies, no one may touch them except the lama.