Cremation, Caste, and Cosmogony in Karmic Traditions.
Cremation, Caste, and Cosmogony in Karmic Traditions.
Cremation, Caste, and Cosmogony in Karmic Traditions.
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These sacrifices rebuild the deceased’s body, “the head<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g created the first day, then <strong>in</strong> succession the neck<br />
<strong>and</strong> shoulders, the heart <strong>and</strong> torso, the back, the stomach,<br />
the thighs <strong>and</strong> bowels, the lower legs <strong>and</strong> sk<strong>in</strong>, the knees<br />
<strong>and</strong> hair, the genitals, <strong>and</strong>, on the tenth day of the<br />
offer<strong>in</strong>gs, the preta receives digestive powers” so that the<br />
deceased can receive the cont<strong>in</strong>ued offer<strong>in</strong>gs of p<strong>in</strong>das<br />
<strong>and</strong> water from the liv<strong>in</strong>g (ibid). The Buddhists’ mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of the 108 chatafars is another way of giv<strong>in</strong>g the dead a<br />
materialised body. This may symbolise the state of<br />
enlightenment s<strong>in</strong>ce the chatafars are small replicas of<br />
the stupas that Buddha’s cremated rema<strong>in</strong>s were buried<br />
<strong>in</strong>, whereas the <strong>in</strong>gredients rebuild a new human body.<br />
The use of different food nourishes the deceased’s soul.<br />
Each seventh day for 49 days food, which the deceased<br />
consumes, is offered to the fire, <strong>and</strong> after 49 days the<br />
soul has been guided through the <strong>in</strong>termediate state <strong>and</strong><br />
has been <strong>in</strong>carnated aga<strong>in</strong> if the deceased has not<br />
achieved the state of enlightenment.<br />
In death rituals food <strong>and</strong> water are understood as a<br />
means to some other end. That end is thought to def<strong>in</strong>e<br />
the practice (Curt<strong>in</strong> 1992:13). As a substance, food is as<br />
much mental <strong>and</strong> spiritual as it is physical (ibid:10). As a<br />
symbol, food has an immanent power to generate <strong>and</strong><br />
create life. Feed<strong>in</strong>g is viewed as the opposite of sex<br />
(Meiggs 1992:116); these are the two life-giv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
processes that ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> the l<strong>in</strong>eage <strong>and</strong> society. They are<br />
connected, <strong>and</strong> must be controlled. Furthermore, food<br />
calls <strong>in</strong>to question the boundaries of the body (Oliver<br />
1992:71), which are re-created by ancestral worship.<br />
Symbolic consumption of the dead <strong>and</strong> his qualities<br />
emphasise, on the one h<strong>and</strong>, the life-giv<strong>in</strong>g aspects of<br />
consumption, <strong>and</strong> on the other h<strong>and</strong>, processes<br />
transcend<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> overpower<strong>in</strong>g death (Oestigaard<br />
1999b, 2000a). Agni prepares the corpse for the gods by<br />
cook<strong>in</strong>g it (O’Flaherty 1994:49): ”Do not burn him<br />
entirely, Agni, or engulf him <strong>in</strong> your flames. Do not<br />
consume his sk<strong>in</strong> or flesh. When you have cooked him<br />
perfectly, O knower of creatures, only then send him<br />
forth to the father” (Rig Veda 10.16.1). Whether the<br />
souls become food for the gods (Brahma-Sutras 3.1.7) or<br />
the deceased’s qualities are <strong>in</strong>corporated among humans<br />
as a part of the ancestral worship by dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g from the<br />
dead person’s skull-bowl, the emphasis is on<br />
consumption for further life.<br />
Seen from this perspective it makes sense that water as a<br />
life-giv<strong>in</strong>g means creat<strong>in</strong>g food <strong>in</strong> the form of a<br />
successful harvest, is <strong>in</strong>corporated <strong>in</strong>to the death rituals.<br />
The deceased will reap the fruits of this beneficial lifegiv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
process <strong>in</strong> his next life as a human, <strong>and</strong> the rest of<br />
society will also benefit from the harvest <strong>and</strong> further life.<br />
Food creates human bodies – the most favourable <strong>and</strong><br />
positive material “prison” <strong>in</strong> this world. Thus, by the use<br />
of water-symbolism both the deceased <strong>and</strong> the society<br />
160<br />
will prosper, which is a good action accord<strong>in</strong>g to karmatheory,<br />
actions that eventually may lead each human to a<br />
higher re<strong>in</strong>carnation or liberation from samsara.<br />
Death is life <strong>and</strong> life is death – this is the eternal circle of<br />
birth <strong>and</strong> death. Eschatological <strong>and</strong> cosmological<br />
concepts of the life hereafter are embedded <strong>in</strong> culture<br />
<strong>and</strong> religion, but these notions are not sufficient when<br />
expla<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g why people are perform<strong>in</strong>g their death rituals<br />
the way they do. Humans live <strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong> off nature. The<br />
daily struggle for life <strong>and</strong> their cop<strong>in</strong>g with ecological<br />
realities <strong>and</strong> constra<strong>in</strong>ts are important elements<br />
<strong>in</strong>corporated <strong>in</strong> the performance of funerals. Although<br />
death is <strong>in</strong>evitable for all human be<strong>in</strong>gs, there are some<br />
factors that may <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly accelerate the process<br />
towards death without any mercy. Hunger <strong>and</strong> starvation<br />
are such processes. Whether there is too little or too<br />
much water or the precipitation comes <strong>in</strong> the form of<br />
snow dur<strong>in</strong>g the w<strong>in</strong>tertime, the outcome of not<br />
controll<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>corporat<strong>in</strong>g these live-giv<strong>in</strong>g waters<br />
<strong>in</strong>to the sphere of death is actually death. The<br />
consequence of <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g ecological constra<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong>to the<br />
funerals is a religious security from an absence of the<br />
resources that will cause death for a smaller or greater<br />
part of society. Ecological constra<strong>in</strong>ts can be necessary<br />
but not sufficient conditions for the natural symbolism <strong>in</strong><br />
death rituals. Small changes <strong>in</strong> the environment will not<br />
necessarily be <strong>in</strong>corporated <strong>in</strong> this symbolism because<br />
humans act <strong>in</strong>tentionally <strong>and</strong> do not simply respond to<br />
nature. Moreover, such a symbolism also necessitates a<br />
coherent logic, l<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g the different symbolic aspects of<br />
water together <strong>in</strong>to a s<strong>in</strong>gle aim <strong>and</strong> outcome of the<br />
rituals – further life for the deceased <strong>and</strong> society. These<br />
aspects are <strong>in</strong>cluded <strong>in</strong> H<strong>in</strong>du <strong>and</strong> Buddhist religious<br />
practices because death emphasises both the temporal<br />
aspects of the human condition, the desires to end<br />
samsara, <strong>and</strong> the aim which is to reach an eternal <strong>and</strong><br />
non-fettered state of be<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
The <strong>in</strong>corporation of the hydrological circle is of the<br />
uttermost importance for underst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g the development<br />
of actual practices <strong>and</strong> cosmologies, which work not<br />
above, beh<strong>in</strong>d, or apart, but with<strong>in</strong> the natural world.<br />
Materiality <strong>in</strong> broad terms constitutes religion as it is<br />
experienced <strong>in</strong> this world because, ultimately, it is what<br />
dist<strong>in</strong>guishes this world from the Otherworld. The<br />
hydrological cycle is not merely a natural process but<br />
also a religious transformation of procreation. The<br />
natural world is the materiality which the body of myths<br />
refers back to, <strong>and</strong> vice versa. This is the topic of the<br />
next chapter. The hydrological cycle is not only a means<br />
by which fertile fields are created, it is also the very<br />
process by which the soul is transferred from the earth<br />
up to the gods <strong>and</strong> thereafter re<strong>in</strong>carnated <strong>in</strong> a liv<strong>in</strong>g<br />
creature or human. The hydrological circle l<strong>in</strong>ks micro-<br />
<strong>and</strong> macro cosmos both naturally <strong>and</strong> spiritually.