Cremation In Nepal

In Nepal the population consists of either Hindus or Buddhists. They believe in reincarnation, and that one’s actions in life will grant him or her a higher rebirth. People of Nepal believe in rebirth and the soul to be immortal. Only bodies dies, soul leaves the body and changes the body. The change of body depends upon the deed did before the death.

In Hindu tradition, the dead are cremated on the banks of the holy river which is near to the place of death. The body is dipped into the river three times before cremation. The chief mourner, who is usually the first son of the deceased, will light the funeral pyre and take a bath in the holy river water immediately after the cremation. Because of this, there is one social problem arose which

In this ceremony, the house itself must be further cleansed of its death pollution, which long last for 13 days with different activities to purify the soul and to make travel soul to the heaven. During the year following a death, men who have lost a parent will wear white and will not wear leather shoes or belts. If a mother is lost, men are not supposed to drink milk for one year; if it is a father, they are not supposed to eat curds (“Levy, Robert I. Mesocosm: Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1990 1990,list 82, print”). If a male phuki member other than a man’s father dies, men are supposed to wear a white cap for forty-five days; if it¬¬ is a female household member other than a man 's mother, the household men are supposed to wear white caps until the twelfth day after the death.(“Levy, Robert I. Mesocosm: Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1990 1990, List 83, print”).This norms and values are changing day by day. Some believe this is the last thing they can do for the dead person and follows the norms and values. While other believe if there is respect and love in their heart there is no meaning of doing thing in their

After death, while the dead person is being prepared for the funeral fire, the monks continue to chant in order to help the dead one’s good energies to be released from their fading personality. The monks come with the family to the funeral. The family and all their friends give food and candles to the monks. Goodwill is created by these gifts and it is believed that the goodwill helps the lingering spirit of the dead person. While other Buddhist perform sky burials, in which a dead body is cut up and left at sacred sites for vultures to eat. Buddhists believe the soul is immortal and that the body is only a shell to hold the spirit. They believe it is better for another creature to benefit from the body, rather than letting it rot(“K-Dean, Funeral Traditions in