How they are buried in Asian countries. Unusual funeral in Tibet Rogyap Sky burial in Tibet
“Sky burial” (jhator or bya gtor) is the main type of burial in Tibet and in a number of areas adjacent to Tibet. It is also called "giving alms to birds." According to Tibetan beliefs, the soul leaves the body at the moment of death, and a person should try to be useful at all stages of life. Therefore, the dead body is fed to the birds as a final act of charity.
Many Tibetans still consider this method of burial to be the only possible one. An exception is made only for the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. After death, their bodies are embalmed and covered with gold.
Post sponsor: How to take a screenshot in 1 click? Let's teach!
1. “City of Prayer Flags” - a site created for burial in the vicinity of the Chalang monastery. Dari County, Qinghai Province, Golog Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, November 5, 2007. Photo: China Photos/Getty Images
Sky burials are practiced throughout Tibetan territory, including some Indian territories such as Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
2. Relatives of the deceased pray during the burial ceremony in the “City of Prayer Flags”, on a site created for burial in the vicinity of the Chalang Monastery.
In 1959, when the Chinese authorities finally gained a foothold in Tibet, the ritual was completely prohibited. Since 1974, after numerous requests from monks and Tibetans, the Chinese government has allowed the Sky Burial to resume.
3. The vultures gathered in the “City of Prayer Flags,” a burial site in the vicinity of the Chalang Monastery.
There are now about 1,100 sites for the rite of heavenly burial. The ritual is performed by special people - rogyapas.
4. Rogyapa (“gravedigger”) sharpens a knife before a burial ceremony in the “City of Prayer Flags.”
When a Tibetan dies, his body is placed in a sitting position. So he “sits” for 24 hours while the lama reads prayers from the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
These prayers are intended to help the soul progress through the 49 levels of bardo - the state between death and rebirth.
Three days after death, a close friend of the deceased carries him on his back to the burial place.
Rogyapa first makes many cuts on the body and yields the body to the birds - the vultures do most of the work, eating all the flesh.
The body is destroyed without a trace, in Tibetan Buddhism It is believed that in this way it is easier for the soul to leave the body in order to find a new one.
5. Tibetans believe that everyone should see the rite of heavenly burial at least once in their life in order to realize and feel all the fleetingness and ephemerality of life.
From bone turning in Madagascar to sky burials on the Tibetan Plateau... Discover the most unique and strange funeral rites.
Zoroastrian funeral
A key tenet of Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion, is the maintenance of both physical and spiritual purity. Death is seen as evil, and decay is considered the work of a demon called Drui-I-Nasush. This demonic act is harmful to the spirit and is very contagious, so during the funeral they do everything possible to avoid touching the body of the deceased.
After death, the person is washed in ox urine and then dressed in old clothes. A special dog visits the corpse twice to drive it away. evil spirits. Only after this will it be possible for all people to look at it. The corpse is then placed in the dakhma (or "tower of silence"), where the body is freely accessible to vultures.
Santhara
What would happen if there was a way to hasten death, to hasten its onset, so to speak? For many adherents of Jainism (a distinctive religion that believes that self-control and non-violence are the means of spiritual liberation), such a ritual is the norm. This is called santhara or sallekhana. This ancient practice is only suitable for people with terminal illnesses or disabilities.
Gradually, a person gives up the small pleasures in life. Starts with books and entertainment, then comes sweets, tea and medicine. Finally, the person refuses all food and water. Death Day is a holiday where family members of the deceased dress in colorful outfits and dine in honor of the deceased person. Such a joyful day of mourning indicates that life has gone well.
Sky Burial
There are coffins, there are urns and, of course, the famous mummies of Egypt. But high on the plateaus of Central Asia, another type of funeral rite is practiced: sky burial. Known in Tibetan as bya gtor, or “alms to the birds,” the funeral rite involves placing the corpse on a mountaintop where it will be eaten little by little by birds of prey.
Widely practiced by adherents of Buddhism in Tibet, Nepal and Mongolia, sky burial is directly related to the concept of rebirth. Moreover, on any segment life path a person must be useful. Here it is considered the most real charity to give the body back to the earth, sky and other creatures.
Famadikhana
In some cultures, the dead rise again, turn over. The Malagasy people of Madagascar practice famadihana, which means "turning of the bones." People periodically exhume the dead from family crypts and wrap their bodies in fresh shrouds. Music plays as all family members join forces to lift the corpse and dance around the grave. According to the ritual, the soul enters the realm of the ancestors only after complete disintegration and numerous similar ceremonies.
Aboriginal funeral rites
While Australia's indigenous cultures vary across the continent, spiritual beliefs are often grouped under the concept of Dreamtime (creation time). During funerals, relatives and friends of the deceased paint their bodies with white paint, cut themselves (an act of mourning) and sing songs to promote the rebirth of the deceased.
Funeral rites are clearly tailored to the people of Northern Australia. The burial takes place in two stages. First, the body is lifted onto wooden boards and covered with leaves, and it remains in this position for a month until it begins to rot. The second stage begins after the bones are collected and coated with ocher. Family members sometimes take the bone and carry it with them as a keepsake. In other cases, the remains are abandoned in a cave.
Sati
Although this rite is no longer practiced, sati deserves mention because of its connection with marriage. In Hinduism, bodies are cremated in a funeral pyre. In some sects of Hinduism, a widow was voluntarily burned at the stake with her already dead husband. The ritual was banned in 1829, but reports of such acts still remain. There was one case in 2008 in the Indian state of Chhattasgarh where an elderly woman performed the ritual rite of sati.
Chinese government plans to ban 'sky funerals'
The Chinese government has announced its intention to take tight control of Tibetan sky funerals. Ancient tradition, according to which the bodies of the dead are left in the open air to be eaten by vultures, according to environmentalists, is very harmful to the health of birds.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Nature Conservation, Lately Unexplained cases of vulture deaths have become more frequent. Officials attribute this to poisoning from stale human meat.
- Tibetans arrange a sky burial for people who died from various diseases and infections. Birds come into contact with carriers of the infection and, in addition to dying themselves, spread it throughout the country, the Commissioner for Tibetan Territories shared his fears Yun Hui. - Therefore, we will make sure that the birds do not eat anything, in particular those who died from AIDS or various types of influenza.The Tibetan community accepted the prohibition of burying according to established religious rites people who died from the disease are extremely negative. It considers these measures another step towards establishing official control over their religion.
By the way, if the customs of the Tibetans seem barbaric to someone, then it is worth remembering that many tribes living on the territory of modern Russia did the same, and, for example, Mordovians observed this ritual until the end of the 19th century. Before burial, our ancestors placed the remains of the deceased on a shield fixed above the ground. A year later, the bones, gnawed by predators, were buried. Hence the modern tradition of holding funeral services every other year. This custom was dictated by the desire not to desecrate the nursing land with rotting flesh.Fish are corpse eaters
Something similar to the Tibetan funeral rites occurs in India. For almost two millennia, Hindus have been burning their dead in the holy city of Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges, and then feeding the remains to mysterious fish.
According to Hindu custom, the body of the deceased must be burned on the first day after death, while the soul is still closely connected with the body. Men should be burned until a bone appears on an arm or leg, and women should be burned until a bone on their back or rib is visible. The remains are thrown into the Ganges.
At any time of the day or night, hundreds of half-decomposed corpses float along the river, which are gnawed by the mysterious fish suis - translated from Sanskrit, the word means “the one to whom they bring the gift of death.”
Scientists believe that suis refers to freshwater Gangetic dolphins, but Hindus shake their heads at this heresy in sacred awe. In Varanasi, any boatman will tell you how, before his eyes, the suis dragged living people into the water who were taking ablutions in the Ganges. Is a dolphin capable of this?
Organizing a suis fishing expedition is officially prohibited by the Indian government. The mystery will remain unsolved as long as Hinduism continues to exist.Brilliant End
Dead Americans are made into jewelry
Since 2004, the American company LifeGem began turning the dead into diamonds. Gemstone A quarter-carat from the cremated remains of a loved one will cost $2,200. A certificate of authenticity of the diamond from the European Gemological Laboratory is included.
By the way, almost a hundred diamonds can be made from one human body. From a dog or cat - a dozen.
 |
And laughter and sin
Chinese will be banned from performing striptease at funerals
In rural areas of China, they strive to attract as many people as possible to funerals. It is believed that this can significantly improve the quality afterlife deceased. For the sake of a bright future for the deceased, his relatives go to numerous lengths. For example, strippers are invited to perform at the coffin.
The custom became so widespread that it attracted the attention of the authorities. Officials at the highest level decided how to regulate the burial ceremony, and decided to eradicate bone dancing in the very near future.
 |
Reference
In accordance with the classification of the French ethnographer Jacques Montadon, all burial methods known in history can be divided into eight main types:
1. Throwing away;
2. Water burial;
3. Air burial (as in Tibet);
4. Burying;
5. Cremation;
6. Mummification;
7. Dissection;
8. Cannibalism.
By the way
Until recently, there was a ban on cremation in Greece. It was believed that this was contrary to Orthodoxy. When parliament allowed the burning of the dead, the Holy Synod of Greece Orthodox Church in response, he forbade the cremated people to perform funeral services.
All people come into this world the same way and leave it the same way. Each of us at least once thought about what would happen there - beyond life and death. Will we feel, will we continue to exist, will we meet our loved ones? We also believe in: rebirth, heaven and hell, castes, rewards and punishments. It is the duty of loved ones to accompany the deceased on their final journey with dignity, observing the rituals and traditions of their faith. In every country, funeral ceremonies are unique and inimitable: in some places they are beautiful and magnificent, in others they are shocking and incomprehensible. Eyewitnesses who managed to visit them tell about why they are interesting in Asian countries.
NEPAL
Nepal is the last Hindu kingdom, a mysterious country surrounded by the most high mountains in the world. Despite the fact that today an increasing number of tourists visit Nepal, it still remains one of the most mysterious and original places on Earth. Traditions are sacredly respected and observed here, especially those related to funerals.
When you come to the Pashupatinath temple complex, it seems that time stopped here about 400-500 years ago: amazing, almost ringing silence, medieval temples and small bonfires along the banks of the sacred Bagmati River. Finding myself here for the first time, I boldly moved towards the smoking fires, not knowing what it was. Imagine my surprise when I saw that this was a real cremation, which took place in front of the visitors of the temple, as a matter of course. The guide, who noticed my absence, hurriedly caught up with me and explained that being cremated on the banks of the Bagmati was a great honor for any Nepalese Hindu. “The ashes that are thrown into the river are eventually carried away by the current into the Ganges, and there they reach the feet of the god Shiva, which means that the deceased has a chance to avoid further rebirths or at least reduce their number.”
I must say that the Bagmati is a very small, almost dry river, and I doubt that it really flows into the Ganges and does not break off around the bend. However, the Nepalese know better: for the cremation of one body they spend up to 400 kilograms of firewood, which costs them a tidy sum. And since the standard of living here is quite low, few people can afford such a luxury for their loved ones, even if people have been saving for funerals for years. How do they get out of this situation? “They buy as much firewood as they can,” the guide says calmly, and this means only one thing - the body is not completely burned. Despite this, it is still thrown into the waters of the river, because at least some part of the ritual has been completed.
First, the deceased is undressed and his clothes and personal belongings are lowered into the river, some of which are caught and kept by residents of nearby villages - this does not bother anyone. Nor does the polluted river bother the women who wash their clothes there. The guide explains that the waters of the sacred river cannot be dirty, even if it seems so. It is considered a good sign to wash your hands and face in it, which is what I do so as not to offend my Nepalese comrades. It’s an amazing thing: it doesn’t seem dirty to me either - I wash my hands and understand that everything that happens here is not at all strange and certainly not scary. If such a picture had appeared before me in some other place, I would not have been able to recover from the shock for a long time, but in Nepal this is something that goes without saying. This is one of the few places on Earth where you come to terms with the very fact of death, beginning to understand that this is a natural process: logical conclusion. The people in white robes who participate in the cremation are calm, and some are even cheerful. Nepalese are sure that in such cases one should say “ Bon Voyage“and not mourn loudly for the dead, because every death of the physical body brings the soul closer to the coveted immortality. Then she will be born again and, perhaps, in much better conditions and in a healthier body, if, of course, in her previous life she completed all the tasks assigned to her.
We go to the exit, and I continue, enchanted, to look towards the fires. The guide says that some Nepalese are buried in the ground, not having money to buy any amount of firewood, although this is not very good for the soul. All hope is for the next, much better rebirth, where they will certainly be able to bury him according to all the rules of the religion to which the person will belong.
Svetlana Kuzina
VIETNAM
Previously, I had no idea that I would be watching with interest the burial process, and even filming it. Although at first it didn’t look like a funeral at all.
Walking through the town of Sapa, which is located in the mountains of Northern Vietnam, I suddenly saw a noisy procession with drums, pipes, flags and banners, which consisted of cheerful people. I noticed that there were a bunch of photocopies of American dollars on the banners, and tried to guess what kind of holiday the locals were celebrating. However, when a bus appeared around the bend, reminding me of a hearse from which someone was throwing out the same photocopies of American money, I realized that in front of me was a funeral procession.
The bus stopped at the cemetery gates, people carried the coffin out and carried it up the mountain in their arms. Soon a cloud appeared, plunging the cemetery into thick fog and hiding it from me. I didn’t decide to go up and continue filming right away, but curiosity got the better of me - I headed towards the churchyard. Sorrow appeared on the faces of people who seemed cheerful a few minutes ago, and now this funeral was no different from the ones we were used to.
A place in a Vietnamese cemetery costs about a thousand dollars, but this considerable amount, by local standards, is always available. Families here are large, and collecting money from relatives is not difficult.
The funeral dragged on: relatives and friends said goodbye to the deceased for more than an hour. After the burial, relatives sprinkled liquid from a bottle on the grave and scattered grains of rice around. All this time I was walking nearby, watching in amazement as cows grazed a couple of tens of meters from us, leisurely eating grass and flowers on the graves.
After the burial and the necessary rituals, the last to leave the cemetery were apparently the closest relatives - people with white bands on their heads. I left with them and, as I said goodbye, I tried to express my sympathy by placing my hand on my heart. They answered me with a nod.
Ilya Stepanov
BALI (Indonesia)
I was walking along the crowded Kuta beach when I saw in the distance a fire and colorful decorations in the best Balinese traditions. Setting up my camera as I went, I went there in the hope of taking spectacular photographs of the local celebration. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that the scene that interested me was a funeral. One of the participants in the procession, smiling, explained that eight people had died in their village and were being buried. I looked around: fires were burning in the bamboo rectangular structures, and the smell of fried food was clearly felt in the air. People around perceived this process as absolutely natural, there was not a drop of sadness in their eyes.
Funerals in Bali are always a celebration. Relatives consider cremation the best gift to the deceased, since thanks to it the soul can be freed from the body more quickly. Some people start saving money for their the last fire since childhood, because death and funerals are considered here one of the main events that should not be feared. The Balinese believe in rebirth and that the soul will soon begin a new life.
Cremation on the island is not a cheap procedure, so in some cases the body has to be buried and waited for required amount money. In addition, the Balinese, with the help lunar calendar calculate the most favorable time for the ceremony. If you have to wait a long time, the body is also buried before the cherished date. The Balinese see nothing wrong with later digging up the deceased and cremating them according to all the rules and with due honors.
I moved away to a respectful distance and continued to watch the process. There is a certain wisdom in this approach to death. Since childhood, we have heard that mourning is difficult and bitter, you cannot smile at a funeral, you should grieve for the deceased. For the Balinese, it’s the other way around: crying here means causing suffering to the deceased. Why be sad if a new life will soon begin for him?
Children ran around the fires, adults talked to each other, smiled and laid out treats in special tents that were placed nearby on the grass. A hundred meters away from us, surfers were jumping on the waves, children were collecting shells, tourists were sunbathing on the sand, merchants were offering their goods, completely oblivious to the strange procession and burning bonfires.
Elena Kalina
JAPAN
Most funerals in Japan follow the rites of Buddhism, which is the main religion in the country. On the day of death and the following, a wake is held - karitsueya and hontsuya, and the burial itself takes place only two days later. It is believed that there are favorable and unfavorable days for funerals, so the dates are coordinated with the priest and the Buddhist calendar. In preparation for cremation, relatives wash and dry the body and then dress it in a white kimono called kyokatabira. The hem of a kimono must be wrapped from right to left, as opposed to the everyday option from left to right. A white headdress is put on the head of the deceased, and straw sandals are put on the feet. After death, the priest gives the deceased a new name “kaimyo” in order not to disturb the soul when the real name of the deceased is mentioned. Before the funeral service, the body is placed in a coffin, sometimes the deceased’s favorite things or sweets are placed there, and relatives and family lay flowers.
A tsuya is required - a night vigil at the coffin, and the next day the body is cremated, which usually takes one to two hours. At the end of the procedure, the family and relatives use chopsticks to collect the remaining bones and place them in one or more urns. The burial of the ashes usually takes place in the family grave, and the name is engraved on the monument or written on a sotoba - a separate wooden tablet that is installed nearby.
After the burial, memorial ceremonies are held, when the whole family gathers together to honor the memory of the deceased and attend services in the temple. During this period, a small buddhist altar"butsudan" with the names and photographs of the dead, on which treats are placed and incense is lit.
In Japan, it is believed that the souls of the deceased return to their homes, which happens once a year - on autumn holiday o-bon. On these days, traditional food is prepared and paper lanterns are lit.
Tasha Voight
CHINA
We arrived in the village of Zhangjia Xiatsun in the morning darkness and coolness, hoping to meet a familiar tea grower. Despite the early hour, there was no one in the house, and the entire edge of the village was unusually empty and quiet. In search of our host, we walked to a small but very revered Taoist temple, which has always been the main center of this place. There was a lot of activity around the temple; it seemed like the whole village had gathered here.
There we learned that one of the oldest residents had died a few days ago, and the funeral was scheduled for today. My companion knew the old man, and we went to the house of the deceased. Along the street towards the cemetery there were tables with tea supplies, decorated with blue and white paper flowers.
The smell of firecrackers hung at the gates of the deceased’s house; their remains smoked on the ground, but not red ones, as for happy celebrations, but blue ones; Firecrackers are used to notify all neighbors about the imminent time of the funeral: in the village this is considered an invitation, since the closest relatives of the deceased should not enter neighbors' houses until the funeral. The door was removed from its hinges, because the deceased spent the last hours of his life on it: it is believed that if you die in an ordinary bed, then living family members will not be able to sleep on it, so in rich families such a bed is burned, and in poor families they arrange a special bed for the dying using a door and special bedding.
The dying person and the deceased should not be dressed in animal fabrics or leather, because after death the soul can move into a werewolf animal. The best clothes are black and white, made of cotton; in rich families - silk. Relatives wash the body of the deceased, shave his head and mustache, dress him in afterlife clothes, cover the face of the deceased with a piece of silk fabric, and place him in a coffin. copper coins, comb and mirror.
During preparations, one must not lament or shed tears. It is believed that if a tear falls into the coffin, the deceased will not appear to his loved ones in prophetic dreams and will not be able to give advice or warning. The position of the coffin in the house is determined by a Taoist geomancer, calculating the best orientation, according to the rules of Feng Shui. Taoist also defines auspicious date funeral: sometimes a lucky day falls a week later or even more, and in ancient times they could bury the deceased after several months or even years. Now they are trying to find the best day in the next two weeks. In villages people are still buried in a dug grave, and in cities they are cremated.
My companion came from the same village and knew the late old man, as well as his family. While the relatives read the ritual words at the coffin and hung white stripes with farewell hieroglyphs in the house and yard, we returned to the temple. My attendant took several large bills from his wallet and gave them to the Taoist, who folded the money in a special way, sealed it with a strip of blue paper and wrote on it the exact amount of the mournful offering to the family of the deceased. Other villagers also prepared monetary offerings, depending on their income and respect for the deceased and his family. In the temple there was a heap of “paper money” - sheets of rice paper with the image of the Heavenly Emperor on one side and a large denomination on the other. Attributes were being prepared nearby funeral procession: a paper dragon, a chariot, pennants with the name of the deceased, an incense burner in the form of a gazebo from the Land of the Immortals.
We returned to the house of the deceased, where the procession was already being prepared. The coffin was covered with a lid, and the eldest daughter-in-law swept away the “lucky dust” from the coffin lid with a ritual broom - it was wrapped in special paper and placed on the family altar. The relatives walked around the coffin three times and then carried it to the exit. At this time, the mourners at the gate began a ritual recitative, interrupted from time to time by single blows of the gong. The procession moved along the street to the hill behind the village; fellow villagers brought up the rear, scattering paper money along the way. The heads of the funeral participants were covered with pieces of white cloth. The procession made a short stop at each house, and neighbors brought tea to the family members of the deceased. Walking along the river, people threw white flowers and paper money into the water. A grave had already been dug on the cemetery hill, where the Taoist geomancer, following the directions of the compass and his calculations, showed the exact direction of the coffin in the ditch. Then lanterns and ritual objects were lowered there, which should accompany the deceased in the afterlife. A pot of ritual food was broken at the grave: what larger number ceramics will scatter into fragments, so this is considered a better omen. Later, a funeral meal began in the house of the deceased.
Family members, observing mourning, should not visit the hairdresser for at least a hundred days; married sons during this period do not share a bed with their wives; it is not customary to participate in banquets, accept invitations to special events, or wear colored clothes. White and blue colors are considered mourning.
Irina Chudnova
Heading to Tibet, I understood that I would not become the first person to conquer the sacred Mount Kailash. I did not expect to become the discoverer of the mythical Shambhala, glorified in ancient Tibetan texts. My main goal was to see the beautiful landscapes and the Larung Gar Buddhist Academy, picturesquely spread out with red houses in the middle of the mountains. But I had no idea that the path I had taken would allow me to see traditions and rituals that were not eradicated by the Cultural Revolution, something that does not fit into the framework of Western consciousness - Tibetan funerals, which are a ritual accessible to tourists.
The "sky funeral" (天葬) ceremony, the most common method of burial in Tibet and the Tibetan autonomous regions of Sichuan and Qinghai provinces, is one of those things that tears the minds of inexperienced foreigners to shreds. This is because during the ceremony the bodies of the dead are fed to the birds. Tibetans believe that after death the body is an empty vessel that will either be spoiled by nature or serve a good purpose and be given to birds as food. Therefore, a “heavenly funeral” is a kind of act of generosity, since the deceased and his living relatives support the life of living beings. Generosity in Lamaism is one of the most important virtues.
First of all, the ceremony is held openly and anyone, be it a close relative or a stranger looking for new sensations, can attend it. The ritual is carried out every day, around noon, but often the beginning of the ritual is delayed, and by the time everything begins, quite a lot of “spectators” have already gathered, both among people and among birds, waiting in the wings. A maximum of 20 bodies are allowed to be buried on one day, and when we attended the ceremony, 11 bodies were announced to be buried.
After death, all these bodies remained untouched in the corner of the house where the dead had previously lived for three days, while the lama read texts from Tibetan book dead. This is how the deceased are shown the path in this segment between the death of the physical body and the next rebirth, because stopping breathing is only the first stage of death. And death itself is not an end, but a transformation. After the three-day period had passed, and only after it was certain that the process of separation of the spirit from the body was completely completed, the dead were transferred to the funeral site.
We are presented with a unique funeral scene for the whole world: death in Tibet, in the highlands of which there is barely a glimmer of life - this is the crown of existence and the axis of the picture of the world. It is difficult to imagine that anywhere else in the world the terrible funeral scene would be available to anyone other than close relatives, but not in Tibet, where it turns into a rare and vivid ritual of the barren mountain desert, accessible to everyone. It is not for nothing that Tibetan society, Lamaism and death cults attracted mystical researchers from Hitler’s Germany and special NKVD expeditions looking for the underground king of Shambhala.
We are in place. The bodies lie a little further away, behind a thin, translucent screen, right in front of us, but from the side we can only see a monk working with the dexterity of a butcher. Spectators watch with wide eyes as the monk begins his preparations: lighting a juniper tree to attract vultures and making a prayer circuit around the ceremonial site. And only then does the monk bend over to the body lying face down. First the hair is cut off. The back is then cut into pieces, allowing rags of skin to hang, exposing the flesh. The smell of a corpse mixes with the smell of smoldering juniper. The monk works without a mask. Already at the very beginning of the ritual, Chinese tourists cannot stand it and hastily leave the place, holding their nose and mouth...
At first it seemed that nothing was happening, but then we heard sounds: the blows of instruments during the dismemberment of bodies. Despite the fact that everything was fenced off with fabric, it was at that moment that a chill ran through my body. The more our imaginations ran wild, the closer the birds came down the hill to the scene of action. At some point, dozens of birds began circling overhead, which added a sense of urgency to the already overwhelming surrealism of what was happening.
By the time the ritual comes to an end, birds are everywhere: circling in the air, sitting on the walls, guarding the curtain and waiting for it to rise. And so, on a signal, the fabric is torn off and at the same time the birds lose all “rules of decency,” instantly filling the entire area where people, living and dead, had just been seen. Spectators watch the birds in a daze, some with disgust, some with fear, and some with indifference, while managing to photograph the ceremony, despite the prohibitions.
The birds do not pay any attention to the living, although there are so many of them that sometimes it seems that they are about to swoop down on the spectators. In reality, the heads of some vultures are already covered in red. Somewhere between the birds a bloody skull rolls. Gradually the flock thins out, but more and more birds arrive to profit from the remains of what 10 minutes ago was a human body. Although the ceremony has already ended, the last spectators are still unable to take their eyes off what is happening...