(Rajeevi K. Shetty -May 31st 2011)

 

​The funeral ceremony in Hindu Bunt culture lasts 13 days. Rituals prepare the body and soul for departure and provide time for the family to grieve and heal. For the wake the family baths and dresses the body for people to pay their respects. It is custom for people to place holy water from the Ganges into the mouth before the body is taken for cremation. After 13 days of mourning at home and traditionally singing for the spirit, priests perform religious ceremonies from which rice is placed by the sea for the crows to eat as a symbol of the spirit flying on to the next life. On the last day the loved ones favorite dishes are prepared and left in a room for the spirit to visit and eat prior to family members breaking a vegetarian fast. After the 13 days, the ashes are brought to priests for one last ceremony prior to placing them in the Ganges along one of its holy sites.