Rituals compared

Treatment of the dead across the world

What do we owe the dead? Every culture must dispose of its dead, and the choice of earth, fire, air or preservation reflects beliefs about the soul, purity and the afterlife. Burial keeps the body whole, cremation releases it, exposure to birds avoids polluting earth and fire, and mummification preserves it for a life beyond. Many traditions also keep up a lasting relationship with the dead through yearly rites, offerings and even the rewrapping of their bones.

Tibetan sky burial and Zoroastrian exposure on towers of silence are comparable forms of excarnation, but no source shows one derived from the other. Scholars disagree on whether the Day of the Dead has Aztec roots or is a Spanish All Souls custom; Famadihana may adapt older Southeast Asian double-funeral customs. The other rites arose independently as far as is known.

Across the world

Version	Tradition	What is done, and why
Chinchorro mummies 5,050 BCE		The Chinchorro culture of the Atacama coast prepared their dead as artificial mummies; a child from the Camarones Valley dates to about 5050 BCE. They are the oldest intentionally prepared mummies known; the beliefs behind them are not recorded.
Egyptian mummification and burial 4,800 BCE	Ancient Egyptian Religion	Bodies were dried with natron, wrapped and buried with spells and grave goods; burials of the Merimde culture date from about 4800 BCE. The Egyptians believed these rites were necessary to ensure immortality.
Towers of Silence 450 BCE	Zoroastrianism	Corpses are exposed on raised circular towers (dakhma) for vultures, and the bones gathered into a central pit; exposure is first attested by Herodotus, towers only in the 9th century. Exposure avoids contaminating soil, fire and other elements with dead matter.
Sky burial 1150 CE	Vajrayāna Buddhism	In Tibet and neighbouring regions the body is placed on a mountaintop to decompose or be eaten by vultures and other scavengers. It is seen as a last act of generosity, providing food to sustain living beings, in line with Buddhist compassion. The year is approximate: the customs are first recorded in a 12th-century Buddhist treatise.
Antyesti	Hinduism	The Hindu funeral, the last life-cycle rite, usually involves cremation, and the ashes are immersed in sacred waters at places such as Varanasi or Haridwar. Its name means "last sacrifice", the final rite of passage.
Jewish burial and shiva	Judaism	Burial takes place as soon as possible after death, followed by a seven-day mourning period (shiva) and recitation of Kaddish for eleven months. Jewish law sets burial as soon as possible and structured stages of mourning.
Janazah	Islam	The body is washed, wrapped in white cloth, prayed over and buried as soon as possible, without a coffin and aligned toward Mecca; cremation is forbidden. Islamic law calls for swift and simple burial.
Qingming tomb sweeping 732 CE	Chinese Folk Religion	Families visit, clean and make offerings at ancestral graves in early April; in 732 Emperor Xuanzong of Tang fixed such respects to this day. It honours and cares for the ancestors.
Obon 1500 CE	Buddhism	Families return to ancestral homes, clean graves and welcome the spirits at household altars, with the Bon Odori dance; it has been kept for more than 500 years. The ancestors' spirits are believed to revisit the household at this time.
Viking ship burial 700 CE	Norse / Germanic Paganism	A ship or boat served as the tomb or as part of the grave goods, as in the Oseberg ship found in Norway. The practice is known among several seafaring cultures of Asia and Europe, notably Viking Age Scandinavia. The year is approximate: the earliest presumed ship burial in Scandinavia is dated by dendrochronology to about 700 AD.
Famadihana 1650 CE	Animism & Shamanism	The Malagasy bring ancestors' bodies out of the family tomb, rewrap them in fresh cloth, and dance with them before returning them; in its present form it may date from the 17th century. It keeps the ancestors remembered and celebrates their lives.
Ma'nene	Animism & Shamanism	Each August the Toraja of Sulawesi exhume their dead to wash, groom and dress them in new clothes, within a culture of elaborate funerals and cliff burials. It continues care for the dead as members of the family.
Day of the Dead	Roman Catholicism	On 1 and 2 November Mexican families build home altars (ofrendas) with marigolds and the favourite foods of the dead, and visit their graves. It remembers and honours dead friends and relatives.

Sources

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