Image Source: EverestPeaceProject.com
Everyone has ways of honoring the dead. Tibetans bury their dead in the sky, a funerary practice they call jhator which means “giving alms to the birds” or sky burial.
One of the perks of being Louis Habash is that I get to witness this event.
A sky burial involves cleaning the corpse, dissecting it, taking it to the top of a mountain, and feeding the corpse to the birds, mostly vultures, until only the bones remain. The bones are then broken up and grinded before being given to crows and other birds after the vultures leave.
Image Source: HowStuffWorks.com
I was really disturbed by what I saw, but it was mostly because I was raised as a Catholic, where dead bodies are treated with care and buried properly. For Tibetans, however, this practice is in accordance with Buddhist teachings. Moreover, this practice calls for the relatives and loved ones of the deceased to watch as the birds feast on the deceased’s corpse to ease the pain of someone’s passing and to help hammer in the point that the body is just a vessel for the soul and nothing more.
Image Source: RoguePriest.com
There are many reasons why the Tibetans do perform sky burials. Most Tibetans believe in Buddhism, which teaches rebirth or the transfer of the deceased’s soul to a new body, negating the need to preserve the old one. In addition, the grounds in Tibet are too hard for grave digging, and wood or timber is scarce because of Tibet’s rocky and mountainous terrain.
After witnessing a sky burial, I realized that Tibet is really a place filled with mystery and wonder that never cease to amaze me.
I love to travel and blog about the things I experience in my journeys. Follow my adventures by adding me on Facebook or following me on Twitter.
Louis Habash 
