Sky burial

What it is

Sky burial is a sacred funerary custom found in Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, Nepal, and Himalayan regions of India. In the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition, it is known as jhator, which translates to giving alms to the birds. The rite takes place on an elevated outdoor charnel ground, where a human corpse is laid out on a large flat stone to be consumed by wildlife, particularly griffon and Himalayan vultures. Because practitioners believe the spirit has already departed to undergo transmigration, the physical body is considered merely an empty vessel. Offering these physical remains to sustain living birds is viewed as a final deed of generosity and an instructional demonstration of worldly impermanence.

Where it comes from

The custom was first documented in the twelfth century within the Tibetan Book of the Dead, known as the Bardo Thodol. Some traditions link its development to Chöd practices brought by Dampa Sangye in the early twelfth century, while others point toward earlier Zoroastrian excarnation customs. Practical conditions strongly reinforced the rite, as the cold high-altitude terrain contains shallow permafrost and solid rock that prevent digging graves. In addition, timber above the tree line is scarce, making cremation an expensive option generally reserved for high-ranking lamas. Mongol groups, including the Tümed, later adopted the practice during the Ming and Qing dynasties after embracing Tibetan Buddhism.

How it is done

The rite typically begins at dawn on a high charnel platform. Monks chant mantras and burn juniper incense, either on the day of the ceremony or the preceding evening. Handlers known as rogyapas or tokden cut the body into pieces and may pound the flesh and bones into a pulp with heavy rocks or mallets. This material is mixed with tsampa, a blend of roasted barley flour, tea, and yak butter, before scavenging birds are summoned. Vultures consume the main offering first, followed by crows and hawks that eat the remaining bone paste. The workers converse and joke lightly, an attitude believed to help the soul pass into its next life without clinging.

Tools and materials

The ceremony relies on basic implements such as mallets, cutting tools, and fragrant juniper incense. Food offerings use tsampa, made from barley flour blended with tea, butter, or milk. Charnel grounds also provided materials for sacred tantric instruments in Tibetan Buddhism. Artisans fashioned human bones into items such as the kapala skullcup, the kangling thighbone trumpet, and symbolic bone ornaments representing the five wisdoms.

What it is for

The core purpose of the ritual is to dispose of physical remains through an act of selfless generosity. Surviving family members and the deceased provide nourishment to hungry creatures, earning spiritual merit through compassion. The ceremony also serves as a direct teaching for the living on the impermanence of physical existence. Rather than attempting to preserve a shell from which consciousness has departed, the practice releases the body back into the natural cycle of life.

Who does it

Disassembly of the remains is carried out by specialized body-breakers called rogyapas, or by a ritual master known as a tokden. These practitioners are usually men of modest social standing who receive compensation from the family of the deceased. Lamas and ordained monks supervise the procedure, recite prayers, and provide instructions on how the remains should be divided. Rogyapas perform their heavy physical work with an easy, informal demeanor, which tradition holds prevents the deceased spirit from lingering between life and death.

Peoples and places

Sky burial is maintained primarily by Tibetan communities across Tibet, Qinghai, and Sichuan, as well as by Mongolian populations who adopted Tibetan Buddhism. Similar excarnation rites are practiced in Bhutan, Nepal, and high Himalayan regions of India, including Ladakh's Zanskar and Sikkim. Related forms of aerial exposure historically existed among other cultures, such as the Maasai in East Africa and several Caucasian groups, including Georgians, Abkhazians, and Adyghe peoples, who historically placed their dead inside hollow tree trunks.

What people believe

Vajrayana teachings hold that death frees the spirit to transmigrate into its next rebirth, leaving behind lifeless physical matter. Omens during the ceremony are observed closely. If vultures refuse to land or leave food behind, observers interpret it as a sign of negative karma accumulated by the deceased, suggesting an unfortunate rebirth. Local lore also cautions against overusing a single charnel site, believing that an excess of remains can attract restless spirits.

When it is done

Sky burials are scheduled immediately following a person's death and are traditionally conducted at daybreak. Preparatory rites and prayers by monastic adepts often begin on the preceding day. In some localized customs where excarnation is carried out during the night, attendance is strictly limited to individuals who personally knew the deceased.

How scholars and sceptics see it

Outside observers sometimes assumed the practice was intended to unite the soul with the sky or celestial realms. However, ethnographers and Buddhist scholars emphasize that Tibetan commentary rejects this idea, viewing the body solely as discarded matter. Researchers also compare Himalayan excarnation to archaeological findings at ancient sites like Göbekli Tepe and Stonehenge, where similar early evidence of defleshing and exposure to scavenger birds has been documented.

Compare and confuse

Sky burial shares functional parallels with Zoroastrian funerary rites, where bodies are placed atop stone structures called dakhma to be excarnated by birds of prey. It also resembles historic air burial traditions found in the Caucasus and among the Maasai, where remains were placed above ground in hollow trees.

Law and persecution

The Chinese Communist Party completely prohibited sky burials during the Cultural Revolution, closing monasteries and treating the custom as a public sanitation issue. In recent decades, the rite has received legal recognition and cultural protection in rural areas. However, municipal authorities enforce strict regulations near cities. Environmental protections enacted under national wildlife laws also guard threatened vulture species, prohibiting observers from disturbing the birds during feedings and barring contaminated remains from charnel sites.

Today

Modern sky burials have declined due to dwindling vulture populations, urban zoning limits, and rising costs. However, major centers remain active. In 2010, the incarnate lama Metrul Tendzin Gyatso renovated the charnel grounds at Larung Gar in Sichuan. The project upgraded the cutting platform, introduced carved statues to restore dignity to the site, and improved facilities to sustain the local scavenger birds while managing visitors.

Questions people ask about Sky burial

Good reading and sources

• BBC - ReligionsBBC, Article

• Sky burial on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data