Top 5 Unusual Death Rituals

5. Fantasy Coffins

If Elvis died in Teshi (Ghana), he would have been buried in a guitar coffin. Residents of this Accran suburb bury their dead in fantasy coffins. The casket often represents the profession of the deceased. Giant replicas of coke bottles, fruits or gadgets are displayed in coffin showrooms.
4. Endocannibalism


This might be the worst death ritual ever. Endocannibalism is a practice where people eat their own dead. The idea behind the horrid custom could be anything; from imbibing the deceased’s traits to assimilation of the spirit. A few tribes in South America and Australia are said to have practiced this creepy ritual. But many academics feel that endocannibalism is a false accusation thrown at tribes by early colonists to gain an excuse for political domination. According to anthropologist Napolean Changon, the Yanomamo community in South America still eats the ash and ground bones of the deceased after cremation.
3. Self-Mummification

This makes fasting to death sound like a joke. Some Buddhist monks called Sokushinbutsu in Japan not only committed suicide; they also did it in a way that led to their mummification. The process was started with a diet of nuts and fruits combined with hardcore physical activities. Elimination of body fat was achieved with the first step. The second step involved bouts of vomiting, loss of body fluids and poisoning of the body to deter a maggot attack: accomplished by consuming barks, root and a poisonous tea for a thousand days.
In the last stage, the monk would enter a stone tomb, sit in a lotus position and wait for death. He would sound a bell daily to let his fellow monks know he was alive. And then when the “no-bell” day came, the monks would seal the tomb, wait for another 1000 days before opening it to verify the mummification.
2. Fasting To Death


Vimla Devi, an Indian woman fighting cancer, died in 2006. The cause of death was not cancer but a 13-day fast called santhara. This voluntary death by fasting is practiced by the Jains, a community that believes in non-violence towards all creatures.  Santhara is usually initiated after the person decides that life has served its purpose and is ready for spiritual purification. There is growing opposition to the ritual, which is often seen as a form of suicide or euthanasia. But within the community, preventing santhara can invite ostracism.
1. Exposure

Zoroastrians believe that after death the body becomes a host for corruption and defilement. Cremation or burial are ruled out because they might end up polluting sacred elements like fire and earth. So, they go for a ritual called exposure of the dead. The deceased’s body is taken up to a raised structure called the Tower of Silence and left there to be devoured by vultures. The practice is now only followed in the Indian subcontinent. Dwindling vulture population in India has made the process more gruesome. Some recent photos, showing a growing heap of rotting cadavers atop the Tower in Mumbai (India), have stirred a controversy within the community.
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