Cremation

Throughout the night there I sat, staring into the fire; it was brilliant. Crimson and gold tongues dancing together like long lost lovers, sending a shower of sparks rising amongst plumes of white smoke into the night sky with every kiss. The slow dance the flames preformed as I sat staring, was hypnotic, their movements aligned perfectly to a tempo in which I could not hear, yet I could feel and see the warmth radiating from this duet, temporarily chasing away the chills and the ever-encompassing darkness.

Throughout the evolution of mankind fire has been a pivotal element in which we base our lives, we use fire, to light our houses and provide heat, it is also there to cook the food which nourishes our bodies. Fire helps create and destroy civilizations, but most importantly it helps us to define and ascribe meaning to the metaphysical world that we create for ourselves through ritual and ceremony. Fire is seen as a purifier, and a destroyer. Because this element holds traits so radically different in meaning we as humans can do nothing but admire it, as we have throughout history.

Through the use of fire, our ancestors have been ritualizing the burning of the deceased; this act referred to as cremation and it has many different meanings depending on the culture in which it is practiced. To better explain the proceedings and importance of cremation in this post I will use Hinduism as an example for description.

Cremation of Gandhi - January 31, 1948

In the case of Hinduism the process of cremation follows a sacred post life ritual referred to as the Antysti, and is fully outlined within the Grihya Sutras. In the Hindu religion cremation is a pivotal ritual, which must be preformed on the deceased. Because Hinduism views the body as a vessel in which the soul only temporarily resides as well as because of the cosmic understanding that time and existence is cyclic in nature; the soul must be purified and freed from the body through cremation so it can proceed to its next destination. Because of the strong belief in this ritual, it is believed that if the cremation is not preformed properly or not preformed at all, the soul of the deceased will become disturbed and will not leave this state of existence, instead remaining to haunt the remaining living family members. Because fire is associated with purity and has the ability to scare away daemons, and spirits it is the chosen medium to dispose of the body.

The origins of cremation predate written history; the first textual account of cremation was documented in Hindu texts around 1,200 B.C.E. and by that time cremation was already a well-established custom. Although cremation was not the only method of body disposal, there is archaeological evidence of internment style burials in large amounts that predate the modern cremation customs. Even today not every person is cremated; infants are buried because it is believed that their soul does not need purification. The Hindu religion has three main stages of preparation before cremation

They are 1.) Completion of the vows, 2.) Atonement and finally 3.) a ritual bath in the holy water from the Ganges river. Only once these three acts are done can the body be cremated.

Manikarnika cremation Ghat in Varanasi

One of the most popular places for cremation in India is along the Varanasi, here the deceased are cremated in huge ghats which dot the shores of the holy river. In 1933 Patrick Balfour described this image as a journey “Through stagnant water, thick with scum and rotting flowers, we drifted towards the burning ghats, where a coil of smoke rose into the air from a mass of ashes no longer recognizable as a body. One pyre, neatly stacked in a rectangular pile, had just been lit, and the corpse swathed in white, protruded from the middle.” (1987. Eyewitness to History, edited by John Carey)