February 10, 2009
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WCFQ 35d: The Zombie Hoards
When you die, do you plan to be buried in a casket or be cremated?
Do you have any reasons for this - and are there other customs/traditions
that are to be included with your burial?
Ezekiel36_33to36If I thought that anyone in my family would turn out Pagan, I'd have myself cremated and the ashes mixed with clay to make a statuette for the family to put on their altar, almost like a reliquary. I still might do something like that if any of my Pagan friends want me to hang around after I'm gone.
But, since the first is unlikely, I'd prefer being "planted" under a tree in a burlap sack to become one with the tree. I like to think I could start a trend. The more people buried under trees, the more forest we could save... They couldn't remove us without killing the trees and since by the time it would become an issue, we'd most likely be completely entrenched in the root system, if not subsumed by it... it'd be like environmentalists chaining themselves to trees... forever. lol But I have said it before and I'll say it again, if I do decide to reincarnate again (which looks less and less likely all the time), I'd like to come back as a tree. If I get buried under one, I'm just hedging my bets.
Actually, do you know why the traditions concerning burial exist... tombstones, caskets, cremation... etc? It was a way to render the body inert. Tombstones were meant to hold the dead down, caskets were meant to confine, and cremation was the ultimate means of rendering the dead inoffensive. All of them were intended to keep the dead from rising as vampires! Since I'm a vegetarian, I don't think you need to worry about me coming back to suck your blood. It's those obnoxious Christians, always planning for their zombie uprising (the Rapture), that you have to look out for! heh
February 10th
The New Year in Argunga, Nigeria is celebrated with a festival to start the fishing season. The Kebbawa tribe travel to the Sokoto River carrying large dippers and nets. Everyone jumps into the river at once in the hope that the large splash will scare fish into their nets. The largest fish receives a prize, but the overall size of the catch is also an indication of the will of the gods in the coming season.
Comments (12)
I would be very suspicious about the dead rising up as vampires, as well. YOU JUST NEVER KNOW. lol
I would like to be buried either under the entrance or fireplace at our house, but since that's illegal I don't think it's going to happen.
@heidenkind - Honestly, when the same family lived in the same house for generations, it probably wouldn't have been an issue, but what if your family moved after you died and some unsuspecting new owner accidentally dug you up, unleashing your irritable spirit on their household. I can just see you wandering room to room, criticizing their tastes in art and making collages by throwing food at the walls. lol
@harmony0stars - That's true; if they moved away I would be lonely.
I don't choose either. Sweetheart and I want to be left out where the wildlife can feast upon us. Some animal might as well get some nutrition from us.
@harmony0stars - Wait a minute... that sounds like a blast!
@Broom_Service - Well, there are indigenous cultures that do that. I think in Africa, there's a culture that leaves their dead out for vultures and then collect the bones. Or maybe it's Australia.
@harmony0stars - That's awesome! Of course, I'm not really sure that I would want a vulture gnawing on me... they really, really stink. *wrinkles nose* (I know... what does it matter, right?
)
@Broom_Service - Weeeeeelll, they'll still smell better than you when you're dead. lol It's a proven fact that few things smell worse living than they do dead. With the exception of skunks, because they just generally stink.
@harmony0stars - This is true. (However, I would still love to have a pet skunk. They're just way too much upkeep.)
@Broom_Service - I hear that they can have the stink gland surgically removed, but that's kind of cruel. As cruel as clipping the wings of birds and keeping them in cages.
@harmony0stars - Yes they do that. But it would be so hard to raise one. No one is quite sure what their diets could be. If they get outside they will get lost. There's just so much to be done for them. As much as I'd love to have one, I think that they should be left in the wild.
One recent trend is for non preseved natural burial. Back to the earth et al without formaldihyde leaching into groundwater. That's what I would hope for I think. Hmm... I still don't think I'd want to be burned. Only because I don't like burning in life!
@jesusthepsychic - Some cultures felt that the longer the body remained intact, the longer the departed was forced to remain on this plane. So cremation was the only way to free them completely from "life."
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