field of coffins above ground
01deathrituals_DSC5838

In Upernavik, the soil is too hard to bury the dead. Instead, they are laid to rest in concrete and stone-covered coffins above ground. Often, these coffins face the ocean, so that dead sealers can watch the place they once worked.

Poignant pictures of death rituals

Around the world, funerals take many forms.

ByBecky Little
Photographs byKlaus Bo
March 15, 2016
5 min read

For the past several years, photographer Klaus Bo has documented how different cultures deal with death in his ongoing Dead and Alive Project. His aim is to document at least 15 distinct death rituals, including ones from all five major religions (Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism)—a goal he admits will likely take “the rest of my life.”

Bo thinks his work will surprise people by showing them how other cultures deal with death.

“It’s the one thing that we definitely have in common all over the world, that we’re going to die,” he says. Yet although many of the ideas behind death rituals are the same—the desire to honor a dead person’s life, or give them a safe passage to the other side—the specific practices and beliefs that go along with them vary incredibly by region and religion.

These photos take you to death rituals around the world: to Ghana, where a poultry farmer is buried in a casket that looks like a chicken; to Haiti, where a dead priestess’ spirit is called out of her body; and to Madagascar, where bodies are taken out of their graves every seven years.

Ghana

a carried coffin
dead body in family home
dead body on coffin
music funeral
mourning family members
burial ground
GhanaChurch members carry Nene Nomo’s body to his grave.
Photograph by Klaus Bo

Nepal

a young man carriying offering
a family gathered around covered dead body
elder giving blessings
people throwing rice
people gathered around cremation
cremation site
NepalThe oldest son carries a candle and offerings of rice and flowers for the spirit of his mother, Ramri Tamang, at her death ritual in the Timal region, east of Kathmandu.
Photograph by Klaus Bo

Haiti

voodoo ritual wake
dead man in mortuary
voodoo high priestess performing ritual
a funeral
funeral in Catholic church
HaitiWomen in Port-au-Prince chant to lure the spirit of a deceased mambo, or Vodou priestess, into a kalabasa squash (seen floating in a bowl in the center). Afterward, they will release the spirit at a nearby road junction.
Photograph by Klaus Bo

India

Manikarnika Ghat cremation ground
a family caring for dead body
funeral parade
the water from Ganges being poured on a dead body
a body during cremation
a body in final stage before cremation
IndiaBodies are cremated at Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi’s main cremation grounds. More than 150 bodies are cremated there every day, and its frequent use has caused deforestation in the area.
Photograph by Klaus Bo

Madagascar

a community of people at a burial
a funeral proceeding to burial ground with body
family mourning
a wrapped dead body being carried above heads
a body being placed in a grave
MadagascarFamadihanas are usually held every seven years. When someone dies in between a Famadihanas, they are placed in a coffin until they can enter the family tomb at the next ritual.
Photograph by Klaus Bo
Read more about death rituals in our April issue of National Geographic.

Susanne Sayers, Merete Dalberg, Emmanuel Delone (Haiti), Bishwas Asitis and Arun Karki (Nepal), John Owoo and Eric Adjetey Anang (Ghana), Andry Andrianaivo (Madagascar) and Pia Flores (Guatemala) contributed to this report.

FREE BONUS ISSUE

Go Further

Animals

Environment

History & Culture

Science

Travel