[7.6] Death in the US, Albania, and Toraja

What do different cultures DO when someone dies? Here's my experience from living in the US, a Wiccan twist, and some stuff I picked up while researching Albania and Toraja, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

DEATH LAMENT: http://tinyurl.com/Vajtim-death-lament
TORAJA via TravelsWithSheila: http://tinyurl.com/sheila-toraja

Follow me? http://twitter.com/cutewitch772

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• cutewitch772
• paganperspective
• death
• funeral
• burial
• cremation
• Albania
• Vajtim
• Toraja
• Sulawesi
• Indonesia

[autumnstar315]

when i die i want to be cremated and a a little bit of me given to my close friends so the farthest they travel away from my home, they can place me there. but i really like the idea of the vial of ashes though i would have to make sure it was a very strong bottle. and i agree, i thought it was facinating about the baby trees.

[alboshqipe]

Awesome video. i can kinda relate to this. my bro died in Albania..and all these people gathered around in like a room, and they started mourning, like..by singing these weird sad songs. i didnt really understand it, i was like 5 at the time. anyways keep the good work up.

[fotogrl1]

It's so interesting to hear about how other cultures celebrate or mourn births, deaths, life...

[AkumaXKami]

I love the idea of being cremated. Fire is the ultimate purifier. I also see no point in mourning a person's death. Why not celebrate their life and recent transition?

[xoanwahn]

OMG, this was such an interesting video! Great job! The Toraja baby tree was particularly intriguing. This may sound really morbid, but, when I was younger, I read The Witching Hour by Anne Rice and absolutely fell in love with the idea of making dolls out of the bones of your ancestors and using their hair and clothing to personalize the doll even more. Obviously, they were used to summon their spirits in the book, but I just like the idea of having something like that.

[cutewitch772]

@MissWiccaRoisin Indeed! lol

[cutewitch772]

@sydneeisanelf Yeah, they have a really unique way of doing things. But I mean, here is a place that only allows 1,000 visitors a year to preserve their unique culture. I LOVE it. If I ever get to travel, I'm making it a goal to visit Toraja.

[MissWiccaRoisin]

Oh my gosh, I never thought about being a witch and being voluntarily burned. XD It is kind of ironic, isn't it?

[sydneeisanelf]

I watched a documentary about the Toraja death rites last week. The sacrifice of the water buffalo was because the Toraja people believe that the water buffalo will carry them to the afterlife. Also, while in "waiting" for their funeral, they will hold the bodies within their houses and feed them regularly as if they were still alive. It's a form of ancestor worship. It's pretty interesting.

[cutewitch772]

@TheFaerieFox I thought so! My class was kinda like "ohhh... okay, Cara." Haha but I think it's an awesome idea. Sheila's video says they don't do it anymore, they have regular burials, but still.