HX Report
Irishman in the Middle East
Weekly Photo Challenge – Beneath Your Feet
Slightly off theme!
At the end of the day we all die. Sad, but what to do! And if you happened to live and die in Nepal, chances are you would end up like the robed dead body in the picture, taken at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu.
Before a dead body is cremated it must first go through the ceremony of purification, which involves taking the body to the edge of the holy Bagmati River, dipping & washing the feet of the body in the water. Following purification, the body is then moved to the adjoining area of funeral pyres where the body is burnt and the ashes washed into the river on completion – onwards towards the next life and eventually (hopefully) reaching Nirvana.
You will notice the the feet of the body extend beyond the end of the timber/straw pyre. As the body burns, relatives will eventually manoeuvre the feet into the flames with bamboo or timber poles.
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Pingback: Beneath your feet. | Renae Rude - The Paranormalist
Fascinating.
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Thank you Miss Rude R. It was incredibly fascinating to watch. A fact that I did not mention now comes to mind – the cremations are considered happy occasions and many family members and friends are smiling and laughing, as the thinking is that the soul is moving onwards for a new reincarnation on the greater journey to eventual Nirvana. Close family members obviously shed a few tears. But there is no overall feeling of sadness like one might experience at a funeral in western cultures. Thanks again for comment.
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Quite moving and fascinating.
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Thanks JL
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