Sky Burial

A Chinese friend emailed me this morning to say how he and his wife liked to think of a group of English people sitting around making momos. And if I were about to develop a renewed interest in Tibet, did I know you can now "watch traditional sky burials on youtube"?

Because X-M is quite capable of living life with his tongue placed firmly in his cheek, I don't for a minute imagine he expects me to watch any burials, Tibetan or otherwise. But I couldn't resist seeing if it were true. And it really is. I didn't go further than that - without meaning to sound pompous and disapproving, it feels like mawkish rubbernecking of the worst kind, and even if the footage is of events well past, I'm sure it would still feel like an intrusion into someone else's grief.

There does however seem to be quite a fascination over here with the idea of this burial practice. A Tibetan student once pointed out how it made perfect sense, as much of Tibet is high enough above the trees to make Western style cremation impractical, and the ground too rocky for easy interment. And in any case, is the practice any more grisly than sending someone into flames? I actually don't think I find it that horrific. I know the Chinese government decided to ban it for while from some kind of moral stand point, but am fairly sure the ban has since been lifted.

My student also went on emphasise that there are a million other things to talk about, Tibet-wise, and so why did it all just come back to sky burial and throat singing? He has a point, and I'm guilty as charged. Look at me doing it right now.

Some time back, I was delightfully lost for a couple of nights in Xin Ran's Sky Burial. Emerging from a dazed reverie at the end of it, I promised myself that I must learn a lot more about Tibet. I still know very little and there's no excuse.